Last summer I took a weaving class at a local place that also supports knitting, dyeing, and spinning. One of the ladies in the class was also taking a spinning class. She told me they were using some fancy new electric gadget to spin instead of wheels or spindles; furthermore she predicted that there would be a glut of used wheels on the market soon because everyone would be switching over.
A year’s gone by, the local place has closed and I don’t have anyone’s contact info, but worst of all, there’s no glut of used wheels OR any electric spinning apparatus that I can find via Google.
It’s pretty much like an old-timey spinning wheel, except with an electric motor, and without the big flywheel that foot powered spinning wheels usually have.
I’d be very surprised if something like this takes over among hobbyists. Electric machines are already used for essentially all commercial yarn, but a hobbyist doesn’t just want to have a little factory machine in the basement that they just turn on.
My guess is she was talking about the electric eel, which I believe has used kickstarter to raise money to make more e-spinners.
Chronos, e-spinners seem to be pretty popular, but often as an addition to a herd of wheels than as a replacement. That said, I know (through the power of the internet at least), plenty of people who find foot powered wheels difficult in ways that an e-spinner can make better-- people with knee problems, people who want to transport their wheel easily (most e-spinners that I’m familiar with are battery powered), e-spinners are often smaller than traditional wheels.
For the present, though, I’ve got a herd of spindles, and no plans to supplement them with a wheel or an e-spinner.
Thanks for the responses, everyone. Apparently my Google-fu failed me on this point.
And Chronos, I dunno. Handspun yarns can have all sorts of special features that are hard to find in pre-spun yarn. Color gradations and differently colored plies etc. If an electric wheel meant I could get the yarn faster and cheaper than with a regular spinning wheel, I’d consider it.
I would think that people who make yarn for sale would like this if it works as purported, It looks to me to be lightweight and flimsy. Having been burned on a wheel I hated using I would want to try it before I bought it.
I have contacts with the local spinning shop (which also does knitting, crocheting, weaving, etc.) and the owner has tried out several e-spinners. Many of them are either flimsy or poorly designed or both.
I’m not saying there aren’t decent ones out there, just that I haven’t seen one yet. Buyer beware.
I have never once thought about spinning wheels, outside the lass in Rumpelstiltskin, but I can’t imagine any machine on earth that’s a better candidate for an electric motor.