{"id":2710,"date":"2019-03-23T09:32:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-23T08:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=2710"},"modified":"2019-03-26T13:21:51","modified_gmt":"2019-03-26T12:21:51","slug":"textile-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/textile-heritage\/","title":{"rendered":"Textile heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sometimes I envy spinners who have a textile heritage. Their mothers taught them how to spin, they spin on their grandmother’s spinning wheel, they learned because everybody did it, that kind of heritage. I have no textile heritage. In this post I will reflect over where our spinning genes come from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I have no spinners in my family. My mother used to sew a lot when I grew up and I inherited that from her, but I know of no one in the family who has had any kind of interest in spinning. My mother may have taught me how to knit (because that is what you did in the -80’s), but I wouldn’t call her a knitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Josefin
A 12 year old Josefin knitting. The year was 1985 and I was sitting in my aunt’s summer house garden in Austria.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Somepeople are fortunate enough to have a well defined textile heritage. They can point out a person in their life who taught them how to spin or who has in some other way been important to them when they learned how to spin. I have no inherited tools with a personal history, no treasured family textiles, no tales to tell of old hands showing the motions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tradition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some cultures have a strong textile heritage. Perhaps especially cultures where sheep are an important part of the agriculture and the landscape. With the sheep comes crafting that becomes an important part of people’s cultural and personal history. Textile crafting is a natural part of the culture and anyone who doesn’t craft is the odd person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shetland textile heritage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2015 I visited Shetland with my wool traveling club<\/a> for Shetland wool week. Sheep are everywhere in Shetland. I think there are about 10 times more sheep than two-legged inhabitants. The treeless landscape is shaped by the sheep and the infrastructure needs to accommodate for sheep and pastures. Shetland looks like a sheep planet with tiny villages scattered in the landscape for people visiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sheep grazing by the Bressay lighthouse, Shetland. East coast of Mainland Shetland in the background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was of course a wonderful week that none of us will ever forget. But the one thing that made the biggest impression on me was the textile heritage. Every Shetlander knows their textile heritage. And I do mean everyone. Their mothers and grandmothers have knitted when walking and shepherding and whenever their hands were not occupied with something else. Because they had to. Knitted items were sold and used as an important means for trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every Shetlander knows what a hap stretcher<\/a>, jumper board or a knitting belt is. There is a beautiful flora of special knitting terminology with influences from the Norse language and Scots. Hentilagets=Tufts of wool found in the pastures. Sprettin=ripping back (Spr\u00e4tta in Swedish means ripping up a sewn seam). Makkin=knitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The Moder Dy hap. Photo by Dan Waltin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The textile heritage is tightly woven into everyone’s cultural and personal history. Since oil happened in Shetland, women haven’t needed to knit to provide for their families anymore, but the heritage is still very strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navajo spinning and weaving<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After having read a review of the book Spider woman’s children<\/a> in the latest issue of Spin-off magazine<\/a>, I knew I needed to buy the book. I ordered it, and when it arrived it proved to be a beautiful book that warmly told the stories of Navajo women (and a few men) who spin yarn from the Churro sheep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Spider
Spider woman’s children by Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The wool is spun on Navajo spindles<\/a> and the yarn is used to weave traditional Navajo tapestry rugs. The tradition is passed down from mother to daughter (or son), as are the textile tools and specific patterns or styles. It is a strong matriarchal culture with a true and genuine respect for the craft and the crafter. Many Navajo have spent a lot of time at trading posts where they have sold their rugs. The rugs are well sought after today and sell for thousands of dollars on auctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n