watervole: (Default)
2019-08-04 10:41 am
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growing linen and spinning it

For some reason, all these videos are really relaxing to watch.  Enjoy!

 I found this fascinating, so some of you may too.  How to make your own linen thread from scratch - a delightful gentleman (who used to work i the linen industry and now helping at a heritage centre, shows the entire process from seed to fibre.  Pleased to say that I already knew what 'scutching' meant - I'll bet a fiver to the charity of your choice that no one else knows the possible connection between scutching and sword dancing... (it's only a possible connection, but has a little bit of plausibility)


Now, to spin your flax. Because flax has a very long staple, it needs less twist than wool, so the lady here is using her spindle in a way I haven't seen before.


and, finally, another lady weaving a linen tea towel (very restful to watch)


Modern linen production (which is also quite interesting to watch)

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watervole: (Default)
2016-10-25 04:30 pm
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Gaming and interesting spinning/winding mystery gadget

 Had a great weekend gaming with a group of friends from all over the place. Old PBM friends (Delenda est Carthago), Redemption and Discworld friends, Morris dancers, local gamers, nephews, etc.

I also got to chat about yarn with tictactoepony

We have a (inherited) gadget that looks like this:

Vintage-Antique-Hand-Made-Wood-Bobbin-Lace-Bobbin-Winder-Hand-Crank:


I figured it had something to do with yarn winding, but when I tried to wind yarn on it, it made a ball that was too tight to slide off the cylinder (the wooden cylinder is concave),  the cylinder is also hollow, with a interior profile a bit like and ice cream cone.

One of our party suggested it was a winder for lace bobbins, and there are certainly pictures on the web of gadgets like this labelled as bobbin winders.  (and there is something that might be a lace pattern in the drawer at the bottom) Frustratingly, there are no pictures or videos of them actually being used to wind lace bobbins... (the bobbin would presumably fit inside the cylinder).  I'm not entirely convinced by this, as I can't help feeling that the bobbin wouldn't be gripped very well.

then I found this video, which simply makes things more complicated:



If you have an idea of what my winder is actually meant to do and how it works, please tell me! 
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