Circular and linear thinking, Vancouver II

Mr. Etherknitter insisted on visiting the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.  The building was recently designed and rebuilt to showcase the monumental house totems in the collection.  I wandered through, without focus, until I found the Visible Storage section.

Spinners!  Whorls!  Most of the spinning tools on display were whorls without spindles.  I've included some of the best examples.  The museum has cabinets with many drawers.  You can pull open the glass-topped drawers as you wish.  The artifacts aren't on formal exhibit.  One feels almost sneaky and sly as treasures are revealed.

There was no evidence of knitting.  You can see several spindle whorls that have archival yarn still in place.  Can you picture your own stash, frozen in time, and placed in museum collections?  The story twisted into each yarn was lost. 

Weaving appeared to be the future of spun yarn in the Coastal Peoples' cultures. 

 

Susan Point, a Coast Salish artist, has taken the spindle whorl motif into her inspiration.  The glass whorl in the third picture is from her studio.  I couldn't find functional pieces in any of the Vancouver galleries.  (How functional could a glass spindle whorl be, really?)  Her whorls have become exquisite symbols in First Nation art.  Her website (which speaks of handknitted sweaters by Coast Salish women) is worth a peek.  Marcy has promised to do an in-depth look at her place in the spinning universe at some point in the future.

 

My sock yarn project is evolving.  In everyday knitting, it is harder to measure lengths than I had anticipated.  Each knot that I use to mark out 5' of yarn introduces 0.5 - 1.0 inch of error.  Then, of course, one has to remember to mark down each time a five foot length has been knitted.  And then one has remember whether or not one has remembered.  (I wish I could tell you I was joking, but, alas, I am not.)  I've changed measurement strategies.  I measure how much yarn I use to knit a row (k2p2 row uses more than a stst row, etc.).  Maths will then allow me to calculate yardage used.  I'll have to go back to brute force measurement of foot by foot at the gusset.

This is actually better.  Mr. E has promised that if I give him good data, he can whip up a Java applet for my sidebar.  Then you can plug in your cuff, your sock's ankle length, and your foot length to find out how much yarn your sock will use.  Cool!  It will work initially with simple stst socks with ribbed cuffs, standard heel flap and gusset decreases.  Future modifications (i.e. for short row heels) are possible.  It will NEVER help you with Cat Bordhi's new sock book, which looks incredible.  It is clear that Ms. Bordhi does NOT think in linear fashion.

Vacation knitting was a Baby Kimono, pattern and yarn from Tess Yarns' new shop in Portland, Maine.  The kimono is knit all in one piece, with a three needle bind-off at the shoulders, and two small seams under the arms at the end.  I'm knitting the back now, with just a left front remaining, and it is slaying me with its cuteness. 

Some of the local bloggers and I did a Maine yarn crawl at the beginning of September.  Tess Yarns (1 Spring Street ) is a must.  Melinda is there most days and loves us knitters dearly. 

Comments

[Chris]

What a wonderful way to display and explore such treasures. Was it also hands on?

My fantasy vacation? I'd like to spend a week or two living inside the brains of people like Cat Bordhi. Imagine the fireworks and sparks and colorful tangents. I bet I'd come away exhausted. And inspired - or perhaps cowed - by the "awe-fullness" of the experience.

[Roxanne]

Beautiful! I grew up on the west coast and seeing these pictures melts my heart especially the native carving stuff - my Dad is a fabulous carver - just wish I could get him to do it again! Here's a sample of his work:
http://knitnpurlzen.wordpress.com/2005/12/06/props-to-my-pa/

[Marcia Cooke]

The only spindle spinning class I've taken was with Judith (MacKenzie McCuin) who is a low whorl gal. She has the most unbeliveable collection of ancient whorls. Since they are mostly made of stone or ceramic, they survive. The shafts were any old stick that could be found and they don't survive. It's fascinating to see what people used in different cultures! (I'd love to have a glass spindle!)

[susan]

Wow, those whorls are fascinating. Thanks for documenting and sharing.

[Kathy]

Those whorls are interesting -- I wonder about the weights of them.

LOVE the baby kimono -- Tess is dangerously close :-)

[Danielle]

Great anthropology lesson today.

Love the kimono colors, but you already knew that! This looks like a pretty quick knit.

I have a suggestion for sock-knitting-and-measuring accuracy: knit a complete sock, then frog it, measuring the exact amount of yarn used in each section. What, you don't think that's a good plan? It would be the most accurate :)

[margene]

Don't listen to Danielle;-) The whorls are beautiful in their primitive-ness. I'd love to spin on a glass spindle (while standing on a bed?).

[Kim]

Very cool whorls....fascinating!

Ummmm.....I am still so bummed out I missed Tess's shop. I'm thinking we all need another road trip :-)

[Carole]

Given how often I drop my spindle I don't think a glass whorl would last very long. :-)

[Beth S.]

Those ancient (?--how old?) spindle whorls are really something. I like how the shaft seems to fit in the figure's mouth... but with the shaft missing, he just looks like some kind of wind god. ;-)

I dunno about the glass whorls, though. Unless maybe they were made of Pyrex. ;-)

[Andrea (noricum)]

I love those spindles! (I know what you mean about remembering whether or not you remembered!)

[PumpkinMama]

Wow - some of that paper artwork has me longing for a new tattoo. Just gorgeous. I'm in awe of your diligent sock-tracking, but I think I like Danielle's idea of frogging and measuring as better technique for saving one's sanity!

[Lucia]

Since I'm still making the drop-spindle joke, I think I'll stick (as it were) to the more durable spindles.

As for sock-yarn measurement... (bites tongue) (ow!) (ducks to avoid projectile) (runs)

......b y y y y eeee...

[claudia]

I love ancient whorls. I have a couple that sit on my desk so that I can see them often.

[Sylvia]

Oh, lovely whorls. Any netting?

[Teyani]

wonderful! although, I must admit that I get a tad bit creeped out by thinking of my own spinning or stash frozen in time like that... (grin)

[Cindy D]

I think a Persian rug is in order for spinning with a glass whorl. Lovely combo.

Now tell me whose pattern you are using for the kimono.