Habetrot

Subway Knitting

Arizona Sheep Ranch

Beardsley, Arizona, 1908

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Manx Spinner

Meet Mrs Helen Maddrell of the Isle of Man in a movie filmed in 1938.

This little two-minute snippet of film is a wonderful piece of filmmaking documenting the carding and spinning techniques of another era.  Note Mrs Maddrell's robust style of drafting.

She may well be spinning the fleece of a Manx Loughtan sheep.

 

And if you travel to the Isle of Man, beware the Moddey Dhoo!

spinning wheel

Portugal Spindler ~~ or One Bad Mofo Spindler

Update:  This post has given rise to some interesting comments and conversations.  If you have anything to add, please do. 

Thank you, Kathy, for the subtitle.

Apparently I was wrong that our spindler can speak for herself.  Herewith the backstory authored by Sara:

See that yarn on her hat?  That's the yarn she got mad at, ripped off the spindle and tossed.

She doesn't know it's there, making her look ridiculous.

No one is going to tell her she looks ridiculous.

The street kids are laughing at her though, and that makes her mad.

Damn mad, as they say. 

 

This is one of my favorite spindlers. 

I think she can speak for herself.

 

In a Perfect World II

In a perfect world . . .

. . . you can tell the  snow sheep from the snow dogs.

Winter Sheep

Much of the time when we see pictures of sheep they are in their green spring or summer pastures. 

 

But at this time of the year, as we (in the northern hemisphere) approach the coldest depths of winter, we should remember that sheep are hardy creatures.

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In some parts of the world sheep spend a goodly part of the year in cold and snowy conditions.

These sheep in the French Alps are making their way from their high summer pastures to their winter pastures at lower altitudes.

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And in some parts of the world, the sheep prefer snow to green pastures.  Go figure.

Spinning in Norway

The wheel you see here is commonly called a Norwegian wheel (at least in the US), although not all spinning wheels in Norway are or were in this style.

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I like the state of this spinner's room, with all her tools, and fibers, and yarn gathered round about her.  Even the tall clock is pressed into service holding yarn.  Look familiar?  Except for the costume, it could be any modern spinner reveling in her craft.

Here's another spinner working at the same type of wheel in a photograph taken in 1893. She does seem to be enjoying herself, doesn't she?

I like to make connections to the past when a modern-day spinner brushes up against something that harks back to another time.

spinning wheel