So, a little shy of two years ago, I picked up a used Louet S15 spinning wheel. I had high hopes for it, thinking I could supplement my Babe wheel (LOVE) and broaden my skills a little bit. It has not worked out that way.

I’m not exactly sure what the deal is with it, but it makes me crazy to try and use it. The take-up is so strong that at some times it yanks the wool right out of my hand, even with nice steady treadling (and I admit it’s nicer to treadle than my Babe wheel; it doesn’t really have dead spots at 12 and 6 o’clock). I’ve tried all the brake settings I could, all the way to just popping the brake off entirely. In the end I can conclude only one thing: this wheel hates me!

So I think I’ve given up on it. I’ve emailed the nice folks from Louet asking for advice, so we’ll see what they have to say. But in the mean time, I’ve also emailed someone who posted to kbbspin.org looking for Louets… maybe, if she’s specifically looking for Luets, she knows how to make it go, and could give it a less hair-tearing-out home. At least I’d get some closet space back!