comfortable

Note her posture, her position while treadling, the position of her drafting, and the way she has tilted the fiber cone on her sitting distaff to facilitate the draft ...surely these are all the signs of a woman who has been spinning for many, many years. Made me smile.

Taking time to pause

There is a spot on my kitchen table, where the vase sits. I fill the vase each week, with flowers from my garden. For the past few weeks, the vase has been filled with roses. Yesterday, when I went out to cut flowers for the week, there were no more roses to fill the vase with. I was reminded of the quote about taking time to smell the roses, because however trite that quote may be, there is truth to it.

We are at that time. That time, that we should pause and notice the time. Hal Borland said it this way:

"We are at the time of the longest daylight, earliest sunrise and latest sunset, which will continue with only a few seconds of change for another week. Time, if we would only pause and let it flow over us, for a little while partakes of the deliberation that is the mark of summer in almost everything except human affairs."



"The berries ripen in their own time. The bees replenish the hive. Clover comes to sweet blossom, then to seed. Daisies whiten the roadsides."



"Fireflies sparkle in the evenings. Time flows like the brooks that must have leisured through Eden when summer blessed a young and innocent Earth."

And so I notice that the roses in my vase have been replaced with black-eyed susans, and hollyhocks, purple coneflowers, and monarda. Time flows on.

Some of my hours have been filled with making a couple of distaves for a friend.



I wove the bands for distaves on the double hole tapeloom.



I modified an old rigid heddle frame and it worked out well for those times that I don't wish to use a band lock. The pattern for the bands came from the book about Norwegian Band Weaving.

technique

Another example of in-hand spindle spinning without having to use a half-hitch at the top of the spindle. This is how I've been spinning these days.
When spinning off the point, it isn't necessary to make a half-hitch at the beginning and end of each make.
I take joy in noticing the amount of fiber on the distaves. Oh those optimistic Romanians!

The video has another example of in-hand spinning, near the end. I've not attempted to try my hands at this method, something more to learn.

Double Flyer Spinning Wheel & Wetting the Line

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to make a video of how to wet the line while spinning on the Double Flyer Wheel.

With both hands busy, it is a little tricky to take time to dip, and smooth the line while spinning!

But it can be done! Occasionally, you can hold back both lines with one hand and use the other hand to dip.

If you had asked me, several years ago, if this move was possible, I would have answered, NO! But practice has proved me wrong...it isn't impossible, it is tricky to get the timing just right.

In the video, I have dressed the distaff with some hemp that I purchased at the Endless Mountain Fiber Festival. I was told it comes from Romania. It is very nice quality, and comes in a roving type of package.

We won't talk about the weather. There has been a lot of snow shoveling going on, and there is still more to come. Temps are dipping down into the sub zero zone. And February is a good time to sit by the fire and spin. And weave!

weftember weaving

The garden harvest has been getting ahead of me. Every third day I pick and for the next two days, I pack or process. There isn't much time for fun things like spinning or weaving. Moments are snatched.



Usually, those moments come in the morning. This happens, mostly, because I have been waking before the sun is up. We have been having chilly mornings, filled with fog. I make a small pot of coffee, and reach for the distaff and spindle. There is a purpose, a plan, to spin enough linen to weave some cloth.

While at the Endless Mountains Fiber Festival, I picked up some Hemp Sliver in a sort of roving type package. I was told it was imported from Romania. It spins up very well, and I've been amazed at how very much it resembles some of the better flax that I've spun.



Can you tell which spindle holds the spun hemp?



This image shows linen and hemp singles, side by side on the nod. It is difficult to tell the difference.



After finishing these singles will take a trip to the warping board (gulp).



And weaving on the Double Hole Tape Loom has filled some moments in the afternoon. Grace has added some wonderful handmade 4 and 6 inch maple shuttles to the Etsy shop!

chambers

The icicles that surround our cabin are slow to melt. I see the world outside my window through frozen bars of ice. Ice Jail. I am ready to be freed from my indoor chambers.




Even though the morning thermometer readings are close to zero, my calendar helps keep track of the days, and gives me encouragement. Spring will come, and it will be time to plant. I need to be ready. I reach for the jar of Hungarian Flax seed that I rippled from the plants I raised last fall. It is time to free the seeds from the boll.

The USDA sent me only 200 seeds to start with. Flax seed is generally self pollinating, but cross and even outcrossing can occur. I'm not sure these seeds will all be true to type. There was another variety of flax (Elektra) that was going nearby, and though most of it matured earlier, there is a chance they cross pollinated.



I open each boll by crushing it with a spoon. The base of the boll shows the different segments (they look like little chambers), the wall that separates the segments is called the septum. On average, I'm finding about 7 seeds per boll, and have found as many as 9. Occasionally, there will be only 1 seed in the entire boll.



The color of the seed is lighter than I expected. See the shiny coating? That is the mucilage. If you soak the seeds in water, the mucilage is released and makes a sort of jell that is silky and slippery. Flax mucilage is used when spinning flax to smooth down the wispy ends and hairy surface of the spun linen thread. The mucilage maybe also be used to dress or treat the warp on the loom when weaving with linen. The dressing (when dry) helps to prevent the warp threads from sticking together.

After about an hour of this task of crushing the bolls, I have counted 370 seeds. I have only removed about half of the bolls from the jar so far....so I am very happy with the number. I at least doubled the count that I originally started with. Now remains the test of germination.



So, yes. Spring is coming and although the landscape outside does not show much of a change, the extended daylight hours are upon us! The sun gives me great pleasure on those days that it chooses to shine. I find a spot to soak up the warmth and light and bathe in its goodness.

in preparation

Roc Day is upon us again!



My Almanac states that today is Twelfth Day....

"At Twelfth Day (Jan. 6) the days are lengthened a cock-stride."



The garden is sleeping.

But in the bud, there is a spring that waits to be.

"As the day lengthens, the cold strengthens."

In preparation for tomorrow, Roc Day (St. Distaves Day), I'm clearing the bobbins. And preparing for the icy weather that is predicted.



I look forward to opening up the flax and dressing the distaff!



and to weaving with linen!

Happy Roc Day! Celebrate the Distaff!

now come the greens and blues.

The garden continues to produce a good crop of both! Every other day, I must make time to pick, prepare & pack. We also enjoyed a meal with our first potatoes of the season. They were small and gourmet style, yummy.



Gathering the equipment, setting up and actually canning the produce is not my favorite chore. Once it starts, I know the kitchen will be set up for preserving for another month or so...soon the tomatoes will come, and then the cucumbers. Pick, prepare & pack. Some will be frozen, but most will be jarred.



During the heatwave we had, the retting pool was set up for action. Flax that had been dried and then stored was added to the pool and weighted down with rocks.



It didn't take long, just over a week. It is drying now, and still has a way to go before it will turn into linen. Meanwhile, the flax growing in the garden is starting to flower. With a little luck, I will get a small harvest of Elecktra and the Hungarian Variety. Enough to sample. Doubtful that I would have enough time to ret this season, so it will have to be stored until next summer.

I've been spending a lot of time in the garden, not only working, but taking a moment or two ...looking. observing. enjoying. Morning and late afternoon hours are the best. I like to to take the distaff and spindle with me, dressed with Hemp these days. Standing and spindling while I watch the bees and hummingbirds provides time to pause. admire the beauty. the abundance. the peace.



With cooler weather on the way, and the subtle change of light, I am reminded that we are moving into late summer. The Queen Annes Lace is in full bloom, Joe Pye Weed and Golden Rods point the way to the next season. There are times I feel ready to move on to autumnal pleasures, past all the work of picking and packing...to cooler nights and cozy sweaters.... but I catch myself, and make the effort to linger in the summertime a little longer. Grab an empty basket, the beans need picking again!

the woods

May has arrived and the woods are waking up! The quince and forsythia are in full bloom, and the warblers are starting to appear. The blue blue skies of May and the bees on the blossoms on the fruit trees are pretty enough to paint. There is bird song filling the woods, and nesting materials filling the branches of nearby trees. Around the riverrim, we planted a few plum trees another cherry tree and a peach tree. Gifts from my husband.



The creatures that live in the wood are waking up as well. We were visited by the Black Bear around suppertime the other day.



He waltzed right up the back steps and through the open gate onto the back deck. We will have to make sure we close the gate from now on..and walk with bells and pocket air horn. He or she was much to close to the house for my comfort.



The snakes woke up with the last thunder storm. I've seen small garter snakes around.

They don't begin to compare with the size of the one that tangled himself in the netting we had around the blueberry bushes last summer. I felt so badly about that situation. Garter snakes are good guys, and I encourage them to stay around my garden. Last summer, the Blueberry bushes need protection from the birds who were stealing all my berries, so I hung netting on the bushes. I never thought that a big big garter snake would come along and get himself tangled up in it. By the time I discovered him, it was too late.



I've been taking my distaff and spindle with me when I walk. I've been experimenting with dressing the distaff with a painted roving arranging it in a way that allows me to draft down different colors when I want to.

The fiber I'm working with is a merino/ tencel blend, and I am enjoying the way it handles. I can slip the distaff into the belt loop of my jeans, and walk and spindle...walk and spindle....down to the river, out to the garden...walk and spindle ..it is very relaxing. It is not the type of walking that you would call a power walk, it is more of a stroll, or a wandering meandering type of walk. In the bucolic setting that surrounds me, I can well imagine a shepheardess of old accomplishing a good deal of spinning this way.



The amount that is on my distaff was easily spun in short walk down to the river and back...maybe a half mile? Maybe a half an hour or 40 minutes was spent on my afternoon break for spinning.



The distaff is a great tool for walking and spinning. If I want to stop and take a few photographs, I just park the spindle in the fiber and set the staff up against a tree or a rock. The distaff holds the fiber and spindle until I return. While I left it unattended...the little nesting birds showed great interest in the fiber...and I allowed a small chickadee to pick at the merino tencel on my distaff. She didn't take much.

smitten

And it is true love, and i AM smitten.

All the signs are there. I'm preoccupied, and think about doing it even when I'm doing something else. My heart flutters ...my palms sweat, but don't worry, my husband understands my new infatuation. He even made a short video of me in action.

Spinning from distaff to spindle. I am hooked. It is hopeless, I am addicted.
Soft singles fall off my fingers and onto my spindle.

I would do this all day if I could. It is an intellectual infatuation.

The yarn is spun from the point, and the spindle can be held and flicked in the same manner that a supported spindle is traditionally held. The tension from the yarn that is attached to the distaff, along with winding on in a fashion to prevent slippage.. allows me to avoid making a half hitch, before and after each make. here is a brief close up of what is happening...

And it is productive. When I fill a spindle, I'm winding off onto a nod, and skeining about 80 yards on average.

yes, I am smitten. happy valentines day!

curious customs

January mornings have been mostly gray, with little bits of sunshine. The big oak looks like an etching or a pen & ink drawing in the sky. The buds on the branches of the big oak are waiting. Spring will come. All in good time, I tell myself. Besides, I've yet to place my seed order ...there is a forecast for an icy mix. And I've been spinning flax to linen.

When the sun shines in through my kitchen window, I reach for my sitting distaff. I spin on the spindle. I wrote an article for the Spinning Wheel Sleuth about my Guzaly..and it was published in the recent issue.

The spindle (that came with the distaff) has two whorls. I keep both of the whorls on when I begin spinning. The extra weight is helpful. As I fill the spindle, and the weight is no longer needed, I take one of the whorls off. Look at these beautiful lines, left by the maker.

I have been reading about different folklore customs..... tales that have to do with spindles and spinning. Some of the lore is interesting. ...and sets me thinking about the origins...the where and how and why these customs, traditions and stories started out...

...for instance..one of the customs involves putting a spindle in the cradle of an unborn child for which a girl is desired. If a boy is wished for, onions would take the place of a spindle. hum. why onions?

I wonder.

I also read about a ceremony that would take place for a new home. The new owners would throw a ball of yarn through the doorway and into the house. Then, the oldest member of the household would cross the threshold, holding onto the "guiding thread". This would insure good fortune and happiness in the new dwelling.

Some of the customs involve tying herbs and bells upon your distaff. So ...of course...I saw fit to play along.

wool batt on the distaff

There are a few things in this world that can help me relax.

Spinning is one of them. Spinning from a distaff is another.

Being that I needed some relaxation today, I decided to spin this Alpaca batt that I had prepared on the drum carder. I simply rolled it up, (much in the same way as I would if I were going to store it for a time) and attached it to the distaff.

I was spinning on the Canadian Production wheel, and I was using the distaff from my flax wheel. (What a nice combination! I have to remember to do this more often.) I made a little movie to remind myself how much fun it was. Enjoy!