Field and Fen

The weather has kept everyone indoors if they have cool, very brief encounters with neighbors, haven't seen friends for so long anyway except on Zoom. Living alone and petless, it weighs on a person. 

No pets because I can't afford the medical bills. If I could find a cat with a trust fund I'd take them in a hot minute. 

Meanwhile what comes of boredom, especially when it's too hot, even early, to walk, is a stirring of new ideas.

Last night I thought maybe I'd consider supported spinning. This is a spindle spinning form where the tip rests in a bowl and it's different from drop spindling.

The idea came from this lady, a pioneer in handspinning cotton, hemp and those more "difficult" fibers. 

She then weaves her clothes from the fiber she's spun, some from plants she's grown. She also loves dyeing. A kindred spirit to many of us.

Ages ago I was given a bunch of cotton roving, organic, undyed, by an experienced spinner who had tried and failed to get anywhere with it, having been given it in her turn by another good spinner with similar dismal results. 

And this week, on the HGA presentation of Textiles and Tea, Joan explained it in about two minutes! 

The ratio on a wheel used for wool and other animal fibers, is no good for the very short staple of cotton. I know not of wheels and ratios, but next the question came up of drop spindling cotton. She explained it's impossible. 

Staple length (fiber length) way too short, an inch or two, compared to the several inches of animal fiber. So the fiber can't support the weight of even a light drop spindle. She said you have to use a supported spindle. Ah.

You can catch the recording if you Google HGA  and go from there. Not a lot to see, but much wisdom and generosity to share. She loves to teach and has a full schedule still, in her 80s.

So last night I was thinking about supported spindles and one thing led to another. I tried a few experiments with what I've got.

This is one of my spindles in top whorl position, my usual.
Then here it is on bottom whorl position, see the little channel at the top to keep the fiber from skidding off.
Trying the movements for supported spindling
And here's the modular one

But first, gnocchi made from bolted wheat flour from Breadtopia, potato, egg, mixed with my lovely Polish beater. 

I learned about bolted flour from Breadtopia. It's wholegrains with some of the husks, but not all, winnowed out. So it's the best of fine grain and the wheat germ.

It makes a fairly sticky dough, and I added in a bit of flour while I worked it. And the resulting gnocchi are very good.

They hold together without being tough. I have a supply now, rolled, cut, ready to boil, in the freezer.  

Lunch was the last of the pasty filling with a handful of gnocchi, plenty of parmesan, and black pepper ground over. The gnocchi are pretty freeform, because I don't like handling dough too much, it can get tough that way.

Yesterday Handsome Son visited, and among other business, presented me with my mother's day card, postponed repeatedly in May. I love it.

I feel seen!

He also polished off the crackers, after brushing off the seasalt to adjust to his requirements. I may have to make more.

This afternoon was interrupted by an ocular migraine probably a combo of too much screen time and rapidly changing atmospheric pressure as a gang of thunderstorms suddenly swept across the state. Vision disturbance, partial blindness. But all's well now.

Then teatime and the weekly HGA presentation of fiber artist stars. Today Majeda Clarke, a Bengali Brit, married to a Welshman, whose work honors the fiber arts of both cultures.

I notice that sewers refer to fabric, weavers to cloth.

She's a weaver and designer who is interested in addressing the traditions while introducing new approaches.

She works with the jamdani muslin cloth of Dhaka, her family's home region,  famous for its fineness. The very best, skill level astronomical, is 500, that is not a typo, epi. That's the number of warp threads that fit into an inch. Cotton. Singles. Unbelievably sheer fabric. Unbelievably high level skill in weaving.

The ancient Romans were familiar with this cloth and described it as "woven air".

Here's some of her own muslin work

This is the muslin wealthy young women in the 18th century, and into the Regency period fashionably wore as dresses. 

No doubt there were down market copies, too. I doubt if Austen's heroines' dresses were this high end. But the influence was there.

It was an Indian cottage industry, exploited by the English when they grabbed India and its treasures.

She works now with Bengali weavers to update and find western markets for this lovely cloth, by adapting traditional patterns to the western market, produced by the few remaining home based Bengali weavers capable of these skill levels. 

Jamdani muslin has now received official legal protection by UNESCO, as a culturally unique Bengali cloth. You can't just decide to make it. Like Harris tweed which can only be made on the isle of Harris. Very specific materials and procedures and artisans.

Similarly her Welsh weaving, double weaving, like double knitting, two layers created at once, was originally spun and woven in Welsh wool. But modern life needs lighter blankets, still craftsman made, but with adapted designs 

She works a lot with indigo, creating an almost black effect from the deepest shades.

And she has a lovely philosophy of art and craft: make what you love, not what you're guessing other people will love. Then you'll do good work.

Look at her website, too. It's an artwork in itself.

 Lovely stroll out this morning before it got too warm, chat with a neighbor I haven't seen for a while along this section

She was happy to see me, said she looks out because she knows I walk regularly, and everyone likes to check up on me! Which is true. If I change my walk I hear from someone who hasn't seen me.