My birthday is coming up and every year I buy myself a nice present. This year I am trying to decide between a new spinning wheel and a LAMB handbag – yes, they cost about the same amount.

I am thinking about getting a Kromski wheel. I definitely want a castle wheel, and I like the way they look…but how do they spin? I read enough good feedback on the darpnet to want to try one out. I probably haven’t mentioned this yet but I’ve temporarily moved to Salt Lake City for the winter! So I looked up a spinning stores in the area and found Warm Threads. They don’t have a retail store but you can make appointments to come to their studio to try wheels. I called several times and left a message but I never heard back, so I decided to try another local dealer. On the Kromski website I found Three Wishes Fiber.

I called up and spoke to the owner to see if she had any to try out. She said she had a Mazurka and was in the middle of staining a Minstrel. They were open until 6:30 and it was only 3 so I decided to head down there. It’s a large and very nice looking shop. I tried out the Mazurka and I liked the way it spun, but it felt a little tipsy to me and it was single treadle. I also tried out the Sonata as well and I really liked it but it rather large and since I don’t need a portable wheel the extra cost isn’t justified.

Kristine showed me the Minstrel she’s in the process of staining and we got a brochure to check out ratios. She was very nice and helpful and was the second person to warn me that weaving is the next step. I don’t know about that..it’s never really interested me.

Her shop is very nice. She’s got lots of fiber including painted roving and specialty stuff. There’s a whole wall of yarn on cones that I assume is for weaving, plus tons of nice  yarns. I bought a couple of skeins to make hats to keep me entertained until the rest of crafty stuff arrives from NJ.

I’m seriously contemplating a Minstrel. She said it’s a little more stable than a Mazurka and it’s double treadle.