bet you the photo made you wince. daunting as it looks it is not really that bad. a single thread of tram silk from france wound into a skein, therefore nothing that a slight tug doesn't straighten. if the rotating skein winder brakes to a stop that means that one of the long wisps has gone behind the spokes, you pull it to the front and keep rotating.
the skein on the background on the other hand looks tidier, but don't be deceived friends and fellow weavers, that one is not a skein, it's a character building device. (although i could easily live with less character)
notice no loose wisps but kinks.(makes me yearn for the days where the kinks were a rock band i used to listen to) the kinks weld together via pils and no tug on earth can separate them. it is also not a single thread, but several unexpected which coil and wind a piacere. silk from china, need i say more?
an unruly skein is a useful learning experience.you hone your observation skills. it also gives the opportunity to delve into your inner self and learn about yourself.
for example i put it on the winder with all the choke ties from dyeing still tied on. this guarantees that however messy it's still in order. avoid the temptation of taking the skein off the winder to whack it and try to straighten it. the result is a useless bundle of worms and a bowl full of tears. ask me how i know .
when it loops on itself it always winds on others to the left, at least in my skeins, so you put it through the loop in the opposite direction and the thread is loose once again.don't try to follow this at home because i have left- right issues. think i missed that class at school.
the obsessive in me wants to wind the pirns i use to fill the small bobbins for my japanese shuttles and thus i have been at it not doing anything else for two days. albeit slow it is a doable chore leaving my inner self to wander free even attempting astral travels.
since i could not make it to japan this may as i planned i am not saying no to any kind of wandering.
neki desu
Neki san;
ReplyDeleteI take one look at this and go straight for the scissors. Snip-snip and bye-bye. Out of sight out of mind. (But I have kept a few and one day will weave them up.) I get the guilty Macnasties having known the actual silkworms that went to all that trouble to make the silk. But I have spent hundreds if not thousands of hours untangling mine(and students) messed up kases. I have to face my lack of patience there. (So far I haven't lost much sleep!
I'm full of admiration - I have enough trouble, sometimes, with my fat handspun!
ReplyDeleteOh, dear! I feel your pain, having wrestled with tramm silk myself (and lost). I have a lot of it that I purchased very cheaply, from a knit supplier who didn't know how to market it. It's all undyed, and every time I try to gently dye a skein, I end up with something that looks like what's on your swift and on your wall. I wish I had some sage advice, but I don't...
ReplyDeleteMy impatient personality would not be suited to this Neki, I would be out with the scissors too, although I must admit I have been known to untangle fishing lines out of fear of retribution from the male owner.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how much this post made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Catherine
O perbacco, che disastro!
ReplyDelete