Sisters of the North

Dearest sisters of the north.

It is weaving season. The air is a buzz with experienced weavers, ancient weavers and would-be-weavers like me. My nettle fibres are bone dry in my basket and waits like an old companion. Truth be told, processing the stinging nettle last summer was arduous and painful. I used clumps of dock leaf to soothe my hands, arms and face. Fortunately, mother nature provides a healing balm in the form of Dock Leaf (Remex obtusifolius)that grows so very close to Stinging Nettle to save someone like me. I have found the baby dock leaf has the best soothing properties. I digress into herbal medicine, let’s get back to weaving and stay on topic!

Do we weave when our world goes quiet or does weaving quieten our world?

Well, our world is never really quiet, not silent-never silent-but hushed, as if the air itself leans closer when we weave. The loom waits in the corner, wood warmed by hands that remember other hands. That will have to wait for a while yet. When I draw the first woollen thread taut on my spindle, something ancient stirs. It’s an excitement that stirs in my soul. This is not crafting. This is conversation with ancesters.

Weaving is love made visible. Each fibre arrives with a past. Wool that once breathed wind and rain. I don’t tame these threads, I listen and learn. My task is not control-it’s consent.

Weaving teaches what love teaches: tension matters. Gaps speak. Repair is part of the design. Sometimes the weave resists me. A snag. A warp gone rogue. Meek tension and my thread snaps. I smile when this happens. Weaving reminds me that perfection has no magic.

If you need to practice being in the moment, being present – take up weaving. I am new to weaving and have begun an 8-week course through Weaving Remembrance. When I have mastered the art of using a spindle, I will tackle the basket full of nettle fibres and spin those too. But for now, I will remain content in my learning, be mindful and practice patience.

https://www.weavingremebrance.org

https://www.sallypointer.com – Learn Heritage Skill Today

Picture insert: Processing Nettle fibres for cordage-making at a Viking Reenactment display