{"id":7678,"date":"2022-03-12T07:51:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-12T06:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=7678"},"modified":"2022-03-12T07:51:02","modified_gmt":"2022-03-12T06:51:02","slug":"peace-of-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/peace-of-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"Peace of mind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

These are troubled times. When my mind is racing and I need something to focus on I turn to nalbinding. Simple (but not easy), close and slow. Nalbinding gives me some peace of mind in a chaotic world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All you need to nalbind is a thumb, some yarn, a blunt needle and time. Yes, nalbinding does take time, but it also means you get to spend time with the material you are creating, following every stitch over, under, behind, under, over again, through and around the thumb. Unlike knitting where I tend to zone out sometimes, nalbinding softly whispers for your attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A little over, a little under and around the thumb and you have yourself a nalbinding stitch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Empirical mittens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I decided to work this process as simply as possible. Tease some wool, card some rolags, spin some singles on a suspended spindle. As the spindle gets too heavy for a comfortable spin I wind the singles into a centerpull ball and ply from there on the spindle. I end up with a sweet ball of around 12 grams. That leaves me enough yarn for a couple of rounds on each mitten. I get into a rhythm between preparing, spinning and nalbinding without getting tired of any one part. I also don’t get fatigued or strained by doing one step for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A short fluff to stuff cycle allows me to be in the moment while learning from all steps in an integrated way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With a short fluff to stuff cycle like this I get a sense of presence in all the steps. I can make the connection between all the parts of the process and get instant feedback from one step to the next in sort of an empirical mini \u2013 or mitten in this case \u2013 study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my Instagram account<\/a> I have saved a video series as a highlight called Fluff to stuff, where I go through the process from carding to nalbinding in this project.<\/em> I have of course teased the wool first, you can read more about that here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I also break the rules<\/a> and omit some of the steps I normally take \u2013 I don’t let the singles sit overnight, I don’t soak the yarn and set the twist before using it. Why? Because I don’t feel like it. In this process like to feel the instant feedback from the previous step into the present and from the present to the next. As the world spins at the moment I just want to be in the moment, channeling my worried mind into that particular step of the process. I need crafting in my hands and in my brain to bring some peace of mind in a chaotic world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I get instant feedback between steps as I work with a short fluff-to-stuff cycle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To be honest I don’t think too much about consequences of my choices, they are not the important thing here. And I don’t always have to make conscious choices. Sometimes the wool and the tools make the appropriate choices for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The safety of wool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nalbinding is an activity where I feel truly in the craft. My hands are literally in the project since my thumb is the actual stitch gauge. For every stitch I make the yarn goes around and over my thumb, making it a tool just as important as the needle. The unwashed yarn smells of sheep and leaves a whisper of lanolin on my hands. The slow process of under-over-under-behind-between and under again brings a focus and a slow pace rhythm that is just what I need and can handle right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A forgiving craft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I make lots of choices in this project \u2013 where I break rules and skip steps. Luckily nalbinding is a forgiving craft, for several reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n