Got a big lampshade handy in your home?  Loosen the screw so that it turns freely and put your hank on it.  Instant swift.   And then, get a dowel or stick or broom handle or even an empty toilet paper roll and google nostepines and how to  use them.  You'll have a great center pull ball in no time too.

Yeah, i thought about that, but since they sent gun oil, and it just smelt awful, it'd be like spraying flowery air freshener over random stinky stuff, and I just couldnt' stand that.  The oil I bought was unscented and then she scents it, and I like it so I am fine with it.

Yeah, that works in theory....in practice, not so much. 
It doesn't stay in the hole that's made for it very well.

The only things I haven't liked about my Sonata were
1) the smell of the oil- but I ordered some nicely scented oil from Rowan Tree Woolery and that fixed that
2) one of my felt pads came off, but I replaced it with some I picked up at Target
3) the orifice hook didn't have a little hole drilled in it so you can put something through it to make it easy to hook to your wheel and not lose it, and I have already misplaced mine.  Luckily I have crochet hooks to spare and  mutilated one to fix it.

Otherwise, I am really satisfied and love love love the wheel and what I spin up with it.
I don't think I'll need the lace flyer for nice lace weight either, which is really nice.

I've had my Sonata about 3 weeks now and it too is my first wheel, and man I  have to say I am just in love with it.

OK, this is my first contribution to Fiber Friday so here goes.

This was some of MamaE's Cyber Fiber Merino/Tencil in the October Night colorway.

It looked like this:
http://soapturtle.net/craftster/fiber.jpg

I navajo plied it and it came out like this:
http://soapturtle.net/craftster/lyingflat.jpg

In a skein it looks like this:
http://soapturtle.net/craftster/skeinend.jpg

And this is what it looks like knit up:
http://soapturtle.net/craftster/knitup.jpg

It's a fingering weight at approximately 16 wpi (give or take), and I used a US3 needle for knitting it up.  The bump was about 4ozs of fiber and it yielded roughly 226 yards, all navajo plied.  I spun this on my Kromski Sonata, which I just got.  It was my third attempt at navajo plying, so it's a little uneven here and there.

That's all the details I can think of right now.  Happy spinning.

Since there isn't a lot of information available because it's so new, I thought I'd post my thoughts on mine.

On ordering it... I didn't get to try before I bought, but I knew I wanted a double treadle and scotch tension, and I liked that it was portable so I took a chance.

There was very little assembly and I am very pleased with the feel of the wheel.  I haven't stopped spinning yet!  I really love the way the wheel looks and the way it spins. It's a joy to use.

I'll be happy to answer any questions anyone has about the Sonata if it helps to make a decision on it.  (Whether it be for or against.)

I just got a Kromski Sonata

I have tried several wheels and still haven't settled on the one that suits me best.  Trying them out without buying one first has let me figure out what I like and what I don't like however, and that has helped a lot.  Now when I see a wheel on sale, I know whether I have a viable chance of liking it or not and that's good, because I don't want to spend that kind of money on something I end up not liking.

So far, I know I like double treadles and specifically the Ashford Joy.  I borrowed a friend's Ashford Traveller for a bit and don't like it at all.  In fact, I prefer my spindle to it.  And from what I can tell, having a spindle first has made the wheel spinning much easier and smoother to learn/do.

I'm not saying you *have* to try wheels first, I just think it's a good idea before you plop down 500 dollars.

I got my package from mayerlove yesterday:



And what I am sending out tomorrow: