Suzie Gets a New Friend

The spinning obsession shows no sign of fading. Last year, I became interested in a little wheel made in Washington by a man named Doug Dodd. Mrs. Dodd was an active member of a local spinning group but found it difficult to transport her spinning wheel to meetings, due to health problems, so her husband offered to make her a lighter, more portable wheel. He produced a little wheel that he named, "The Pocket Wheel" and its introduction to the spinning group caused such excitement that he found himself with numerous orders.

I continued to do research on the little wheel and it seemed that people who owned them loved them. For me, the wheel was interesting for a number of reasons, but primarily because the elevated treadles seemed ideal for a vertically challenged person such as I. It was also an elegantly simple design that I found very appealing. Then, in the spring of 2009, Mrs. Dodd died and her husband posted a statement on his website that he would fulfill the present orders but take no more. Disappointed, but undaunted, I set about finding a used PW but to no avail.

Interest in the Pocket Wheel continued to grow and the news on Ravelry filled my heart with new cause to hope--a new woodworker (married to a spinner) stepped in to take up the lathe.
He announced that he would work with Mr. Dodd to finish the backlog of orders and take new ones in 2010, commencing April 1, 2010.

On March 31, midnight, a host of PW groupies staked out the new website and, by noon the next day, Jon McCoy, the new PW maker had at least 15 orders for new wheels. I was #4 on the list and hoped to receive my wheel this fall. In the meantime, however, I came across a notice on Ravelry from someone who had one of Doug Dodd's last wheels, purchased at a fiber festival and still in its box, never assembled. I pounced and now it belongs to me!

Since the new little wheel is less than half the weight of my Majacraft Suzie and takes up no more space than a large tote bag, I'm looking forward to taking it out and about with me this summer, including a trip with Paul to the Dayton "Hamvention." I plan to hold my own Lambvention.