Slowing Down with the Season
Winter has crept in, draping the mornings in skeins of fog and turning evenings icy. While winter sees many creatures hibernate and curl into deep slumber, for me it is a time of awakening. The scorching Australian sun is wreathed in winter cloud, and the crisp air tastes of green leaves and wet soil.
With this winter awakening, I have been thinking of the season, of the rhythm of the year and even the rhythm of my days. Too often I am absorbed into the digital, swallowed up whole by social media and that endless, endless scroll. It is something I find myself doing automatically, yet I do not enjoy it. A day spent scrolling leaves me dissatisfied and feeling disconnected.
Spinning in progress- some beautiful Autumn toned Polwarth fibre and my Tibetan-style spindle, both purchased from Ixchel Fibre and Yarn (link below)
Instead of the scrolling, this winter I am spinning. Setting my spindle purring on my lap, turning beautiful fibre into beautiful yarn, ready to be knitted into items for those I love and for myself. Shawls and gloves with every stitch made with love and meaning.
In the past, winter was a dark and challenging time. Animals were brought inside the house to winter with the people, sharing warmth to survive. Food was carefully rationed out and the days long, dark and dreary. That said, winter was also the time for spinning. Spindles in every hand, the wool from the last shear (or rooing) spun into thread. A time for weaving too, with that thread transformed on the loom to cloth for dresses, shirt, blankets, cloaks and even sail-cloths for sea faring folk. All the fabric needed for the household for the coming twelve months was carefully crafted in the winter months.
Imagine it. The house dark and lit by precious flame in a banked fireplace. Folks gathered around, well wrapped against the cold, spindles flicking in hands, loom weights clacking. They’d share stories in the long, dark night of winter, tales of gods and spirits, of ancestors and magical adventures.
The finished yarn- the Polwarth above plied with a complimentary Corriedale.
Each night, the small heater working to warm my house’s living space, I sit with my dearest witch and my beloved cat. Together, we are wintering, spending those nights listening to stories as audiobooks. Our hands work wool, stitching and spinning. A warming cup of tea perches on the arm of my chair. My cat Finnegan, snores as he warms his paws. Surely this is a better way to spend the season, slowing down and stepping back from that terrible endless scroll.
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My fibre and spindle in the photographs have come from the amazing Ixchel Luxury Fibres and Yarns. An incredible business run by two people with such talent and knowledge about spinning, yarn and fibre. To visit them, go to: www.ixchel.com.au