I have just bought a Louet W70 loom to expand my skills. It is a 4 shaft and has a stand. From my internet searches I understand this look to be the earliest version of the Louet Kombo Loom, that then became the Jane. It’s very sturdy and U think I am going to have fun with it!
On the dining room table, the stand is still in pieces…
I mentioned that it would be great if I could pedal the shafts. My son took one look at it and was determined to add those pedals!
Today we spent a lot of time trawling the internet for old instruction manuals and seeing what other people had done when converting table looks to treadle ones. There is one video on Facebook that we found very informative, and so we started. He has so far designed a direct tie-up method for lifting the shafts and is now working on designing the treadles. Meanwhile I have ordered Texsolv cord and clips to make the tie-up easier and so that the pedals can be disconnected to enable folding the loom away.
Testing out the first, makeshift pedal. The dog was not part of the experiment.
Update
The loom is now working. It has four direct threaded treadles and I’m working on it with a short, narrow test warp using some wool/acrylic and a 10epi reed.
It’s taking over the living room, but will be moved soon
Yesterday I had a fab time at a workshop learning to spin fancy yarns. We only managed boucle and slub but that was so rewarding. The workshop was organised by the Brighton and Hove Textile Arts Group and hosted by Spring Farm Alpacas in Fletching West Sussex. Ann Dishman led the workshop and provided Blue Faced Leicester tops, still various and other threads for us to spin with.
Although I have spun both types of yarns before, I learned a lot and really enjoyed having four hours in which to practise the techniques. I also found out that Ann had been taught to spin by my spinning hero, Mabel Ross, which made me extremely envious.
Unwashed boucle, Blue Faced Leicester singles and loops, cotton binder. Unwashed the boucle was a bit lively, but it balanced out nicely after a strenuous washing.
Unwashed soft slub; Blue Faced Leicester singles with a fine industrial wool binder.
I took my Louet Victoria travel wheel and at usual she spin well and reliably, it was the user who made the mistakes!
Although it’s taken me a while I have finally finished this cushion.
Front of the cushion. A tufted chequer board that is very tactile and squishy.
The front is Rya tufted and woven with a British wool rug yarn on a linen/cotton warp. The black tufts are Shetland staples and the cream is a mixture of Devon/Dorset staples. Although it’s not that clear in the photo, the squares are reversed; black edging with a cream centre and cream edging with a black centre.
The reverse of the cushion is a faux waffle weave in the same rug yarn that underlies the Rya tufts. Because my rigid heddle loom is only a 20 inch wide, the cushion is composed of four pieces.
I took the opportunity to insert a zip in the centre back seam.
Instead of feathers or polyester wadding, the cushion is filled with a pad of lofty carded wool fleece. I will use this cushion to make my chair extra comfortable whilst spinning at my wheel.
Today is ‘me time’, weaving with a local group, mostly members of the West Sussex Guild. Although I love knitting, it can sometimes seem like work because of my teaching and writing career. Weaving however, is a new skill to learn just for pleasure. Even though I haven’t heard grasped all the basics I am having fun designing fabrics using the simpler techniques.
Waffle effect in 100% British wool. This will be the having for the Rya weave cushion cover front I have already completed.
Typically I have already acquired two kinds, both rigid heddle type, but perfect for my early steps.
This was taken at Traditions in the Making, a Heritage Craft event at Stanmer Park, Brighton. With lots of volunteers from local community textile group Woolly Umbrella, alongside the CSM there were demonstrations of flax processing, lace making, weaving, inkle looms, wool fibre preparation (hand and drum carding), embroidery and wool and flax spinning.
The CSM is an Imperia with an 84 slot cylinder and gm here I am knitting a sock in traditional 3ply sock wool; no nylon. This was the nearest we could get that was most like the wool probably used originally on the machine. Although I have knitted on it with hand spun I felt that demonstrating required enough concentration without the worry of irregular yarn!
Two types of socks in the 3 ply yarn, fake rib and true rib.
In a brave, but foolish, moment I decided to try a toe-up sock at one point. It wasn’t too bad at all, and I am quite pleased with the result.
I’ve just spent about an hour fiddling with the battery pack that came with my E-Spinner. The E-spinner was secondhand and was still unassembled and the battery never been used – the battery pack is not an Ashford one. I thought the details of the battery pack might be useful for anyone looking to buy one of these for their E-Spinner 3.
Super Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, YSN-N12V
Input: 12.5VDC
Output: 12VDC 3800mAh, (this is the DCin/out outlet, a round plug that leads to the E SPinner power plug when being run on battery).
Other output is: 5VDC 6800mAh – (the usb outlet).
Super Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, YSN-N12V
In my excitement I charged it rather haphazardly, but it has been working fine with the spinner. When I came to recharge it I found that it was not indicating charging as explained in the manual. However, a useful review on YouTube enabled me to understand what was going on. There is another lead with the battery, a round pin on one end (that is the same size as the outlet, and a much thinner pin on the other end – no idea what that is for). The lead from the battery to the E-spinner has the same sized pin on each end. It may have been purchased separately from the battery pack?
Basically the instructions were confusing about the charging process. The led on the plug the goes into the wall outlet is supposed to be red when the unit is plugged in to charge, and turn green when it is charged. The unit also must be switched on at its own on/off switch whilst charging, (if you leave it switched on when not in use it will discharge). The battery pack has five green lights on the top, one to show the pack is charged and four others labelled 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%. Nothing is said in the instructions about these, but trial and error showed that pressing the unlabelled button on the left side of the unit indicates the amount of power remaining in the unit using these lights.
I couldn’t find the battery pack on eBay or Amazon but did find it on AliExpress.
I have used the battery for about 4-5 hours spinning before it needs recharging, so am really pleased with the unit. I have also bought the cigarette lighter plug connection so that I can use it on the 12v in our caravan. May be overkill as the battery is working well so far. The battery takes about 8 hours to charge.
Updated September 2025
Having been browsing I have found several posts about the battery for the E Spinner 3. Because mine does run out sometimes, I decided to purchase a second one and found this TalentCell one recommended on FB at a reasonable price so have taken the plunge.
The details of the battery are : TalentCell Rechargeable 12V 6000mAh/5V 12000mAh DC Output Lithium ion Battery Pack – Portable Li-ion Power Bank with 12.6V Charger, Black.
I can give no guarantees that it will work, and have no affiliation to any of the companies named here.
Vikki Haffenden 