Flax Spinning.

That Time of Year.

That Time Of Year.

Had I not been in hospital, I should have written this way before Xmas. Never mind, better late than never.  For some of us this is the season for historical trekking, regardless of whether you are in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. Personally I dislike trekking & camping in summer in Australia, I prefer the winter, though actually right now there is a cool breeze blowing through the forest & it is very pleasant out.

  For me this is a time to check over my gear in readiness for winter. There are rarely any repairs to do these days, because I tend to repair items of gear & clothing whilst in camp. But for many newbies there may still be period items to improve on or add to your gear. Not that I am recommending that you add more stuff, but some small items are indispensible. Such as thread winders.

Copies of originals are generally not expensive, and they are very easy to make yourself from bone or horn. In the 18^th century linen and silk thread came in skeins, and for use they required winding on to a thread winder. Of course you could just use a piece of stick, but a proper thread winder takes up little room in the sewing kit and looks good as well.

My sewing kit or "housewife". Another easy item to make. The pin cushion on the end I stuffed with natural greasy fleece. In the pocket I have beeswax, more linen thread, and sinew for repairing the soles on my moccasins and some spare bone buttons.

There are various styles of thread winders, but this style I found the easiest to make. I made this one from horn.

Spools of silk thread a close friend sent me as a gift. I need to transfere some of this thead on to thread winders. Silk is very strong and can be used as fishing line. Traditionally it has been used for making fishing flys. Some of this will go into my fishing kit.