Medieval whorls

Last summer I participated in an archaeological dig in Cromarty, on the Black Isle, in Scotland, on a medieval site. Although my favorite time period is quite a bit earlier, the excitement of discovering, cleaning, and handling items like those that any spinner today would recognize, was extraordinary. My favorite part was cleaning the artifacts. Washing artifacts is its own little dig, clearing away centuries of dirt to reveal amazing objects. Several spindle whorls were found. Some of them were purpose made and others were repurposed from pot sherds. It made me think of people who use CD disks, cup hooks, and dowels to make drop spindles. I love the continuity and connection that learning about textile production over the millennia gives. 

Where to Begin?

Writing about something that I feel passionate about is easy because I have a lot to say. On the other hand it is sometimes hard to focus and be succinct when there is so much to share. Having a mentor was a great help with this because she gave me feedback and suggestions for organizing this project.

The first decision to make was to decide on the breeds I would explore. I have been interested in this topic for a long time and had collected wool during travels to Scotland, England, and the American Southwest. When it came to deciding which wools to use the most important factor for me was knowing the source and that the wool I used was as authentic as possible. Bringing raw fleece into the country from across the pond was not an option, so in most cases I brought back roving that had been scoured and processed. An exception was the Hebridean wool. I purchased a lamb's fleece and scoured it myself thoroughly on Skye, maybe a little too thoroughly, and brought back rolags I had made there.

I chose to do Shetland, North Ronaldsay, Soay, Icelandic, Hebridean,  and Navajo-Churro. The Shetland, Soay, and Hebridean came from Skye, the North Ronaldsay from the Orkneys, the Icelandic from a breeder in the foothills of the Rockies, complete with genetic information, and the Navajo-Churro from the Four Corners area of New Mexico.