....sit down to spin when you're too excited to sit? *squee* My wheel arrived a whole day early!

Randy left this morning for work (*sigh* vacation over already) and as he passed the front of the house, noticed two boxes on the front step--one quite large. He knew I had things coming, so he stopped and brought them in. When he saw the from address on the large one, he knew: I've been talking almost non-stop about my wheel coming from Colorado and being checked over by my dealer, Tracy, of Woolly Designs.

Isn't he just the *best*? Yep. My wheel's a "he".... who knew? I thought for sure I was getting a girl. He's being a little quieter about his name though.

Before I disappear, never to be heard from again under all the fiber *grin*, I must extol the virtues of Tracy Eicheim. He knows his Majacraft. I emailed a number of "newbie" questions to him, as well as a couple other dealers of various brands of wheels. I wasn't just shopping for a wheel, but a place to purchase my wheel. I mean, we're talking over $700 when all was said and done (thanks to the wonderful people in the White House, for tanking the American dollar). I didn't want to purchase this wheel and end up with a boat anchor. I knew I'd need some help making the decision---which brand, and then, which wheel by that brand?

My favorite yarn dyer pointed me in the direction of Majacraft and once I saw their Suzie's, I never looked back. On my spinning list, there's been a lot of newbies (me included) asking about this wheel or that one. "Which is better?" I've not even begun to spin but I can tell you this: there is a wheel out there for just about everyone. Modern or traditional, portable or not. Single treadle. Double drive. And every combination of the two!

So, when I say Tracy was instrumental in helping me make my decision, I really mean it. He wasn't aimed at selling me a high-priced wheel. He quotes a price based on the current exchange rate and doesn't add a lot of "extras" to push the price up. He has responded with detailed explanations of the differences between the Rose and the Suzie, between the Suzie Pro and the Suzie Alpaca. He listened to me, as a total beginner having never sat at a wheel before (talk about a scary purchase!) and made me feel like I could do this.

I don't feel like I just have a Majacraft dealer in Tracy, I feel like I also have a friend. I feel like he'll want to see my spinning results, want to know my wheel's name.

That's Sam, inspecting my standard whorl, which I ordered with the wheel.
The ferrets aren't quite sure what to make of this new "contraption" I've brought home---they just love the packing peanuts! (Unfortunately for them, I don't love cleaning up the packing peanuts.)

I'd love to stay and chat, but I have all the papers which Tracy included, the manual and so forth to read. Plus, I have to finish my Christmas knitting (help....), and then I have to learn to spin.