ALL CREATURES – The Swedish Knot

I had the opportunity to take a Warp Weighted Weaving class at the Vesterheim Museum, in Decorah Iowa. And this, with the help of my instructor, who is from Norway, is what I did. Thus began my love affair with Swedish or Scandinavian weaving.

The colors, the design, the feel of the cloth, oh my. This type of weaving is called, Krokbragd, it means crooked path. In the last century and much later, women on farms in Scandinavian countries wove these beautiful designs, which they configured, and invented out of their creative minds. I am amazed that, while they were washing the sheep. Yes they washed them, before they sheared them.  They spun the wool, and made clothing for the entire household in linen, and wool, including the servants. These women had the time and the fire to make these beautiful clothes, and blankets and bench covers for their homes.

These patterns seem to pop out of the warp, and are all very mathematical. Picked by hand but not tapestry. The weft goes completely across the warp, and crosses, or crabs, or lights magically appear. Of course if you use a warp weighted loom you can hear the tinkling of the rocks, which hold the warp down, dancing off each other. The warp moves as you raise the shed and seems to flow together like water.

Here is one of my renditions of Krokbragd woven with some linen,and fine Spesau wool, my favorite, and cooler colors. This is done by hand, and quite fun to bring out the crosses. I am still a novice at this, but am drawn to keep on learning.

Here is another example of Krokbragd and soumak another wonderful type of weave. I use soumak in all my weaving. I discovered this knot, in a book by Mary Black on weaving, in which she declared that the single soumak is indeed the Swedish knot style of weaving. I know that almost all ethnic groups, not just Scandinavian, used  soumak in some way.

The single soumak is unusual, and that is why I have called my blog The Swedish Knot, not to be confused with The Swedish Nut. I believe I may be able to claim some Swedish heritage, from my maternal great-grandmother, Magdalena Bloomintrit, whom I did not have the joy of knowing, but I think of her often and wonder what she was like. 

I did look up ancestry from Ellis Island Regristry, and there is a Bloomintrit family that was Scandinavian, who journeyed to the mid-west. One can only hope. 

Even if I cannot claim Swedish ancestry I can celebrate the beauty of this art and continue to study. And relate to the lone wife who ran the farm and created beauty, along with the husband and children, and animals of course.

I have named my lambs after all the family names.  When my Icelandic ewe had twins, I named the ewe lamb  Magdelena, and the ram lamb  Bloomintrit.

Another attempt at Krokbragd, my own design, hand-picked. I like the colors, they are up beat.The bottom is handspun CVM, and Bliss silk. I also like to put in unspun washed wool for stength. The colored weft is bought Splesau from Sylvia Bolson Tweed in Decorah.

This is a hand spun, knitted, felted hat, which I designed. I cannot read a pattern to save my stitiches. It is spun with Icelandic, the white design, and Gotlandis the grey, which is another love. The Gotland wool comes from the Plesau or Swedish sheep, and they have a lustrous mid-long wool, which is easy to spin and work with., and felts wonderfully.

We are breeding up Gotland sheep and have 50% ewes, white. The twins birth described in the sheep post are Gotland crosses.

Here is a hat made with my handspun, CVM wool and Cashmere, and Bliss silk.  It was going to be a sock, but wanted to be a hat. My own design. I like the ear flaps because we do have wind up here on the ridge. Especially during the frozen tundra time.

The way I began knitting, since I am a lefty and was told that I could not knit, was to buy a book,  ”Scandinavian Knitting The Swedish Way”, again the Swedish influence.

The book had something new at the time, round needls, and showed very happy folks knitting in circles, making fun patterns, and I loved the book and have not stopped knitting that way. I cannot however find the book. If anyone reading this know of this book please send me info. It would have been first out in the 1980’s. I was living in England,at the time, when the wool bug bit me.Went to a wool market with friends and I don’t remember much after that. 

Above is a hat that will be a bag, for my knitting. it will have a small neck opening at top and a flat folded bottom. I have recently broken the code for stranded knitting, or double knitting, and used it on the top. Love this type of knitting; it is thick and strong, yet I can use fine hand spun single yarn. Who knew.

I always spin and use singles, in weaving and knitting. The knitting does not track with stranded, or when you knit forward and then backwards on round needles. I like the stockingknit stitch, and always keep it in front of me and do not turn the knitting. But that is another post sometime on knitting.

Stranded is again a Scandinavian style, enough said. When I say break the code, that means I study and read the books which tell the secrets of knitting and weaving, like tubular knitting, and stranded or Krokbragd and then I try and think of what they are saying, after a reasonable amount of struggle I break the code.  Good for the brain and I can wear it too. 

The above bag is knitted from handspun Gotland, and Icelandic, Debbi Bliss silk, and some red dyed bought Tunis wool, I believe from Quail Hill Carding Co, out of Hillsboro. She has a fabulous carding machine and I only spin from cloud, or my own flick carded wool, or my drum carder. I do not like roving much, feel it over works the wool. But that belongs in the spinning posts.

Enough for today. Hope the wind does not blow you away, and you are enjoying your art and craft.

the presenting birth sac

I decide to begin this blog with the beginning of new life, two new lambs were born, with a little help. And so it begins.   Arriving home yesterday, I checked the ewes and lambs in the barn. All still together in the maternity ward, with three Gotland/ Icelandic ewes pregnant, and the rest of the ewes and lambs of various sizes, one Gotland cross was back in the birthing stable, calling out.

I went back to check and saw her birth sac, but noticed she was pawing and calling out, straining her neck. Usually the ewes give birth so fast that I miss some of the  process, and lambs are on the hay and being cleaned. I waited and it was apparent that this was not going to be a fast birth.

After a quick call to my vet, I proceeded to wait and watch. I am a retired RN, but would rather wait than rush in to a natural process.  As I waited the term pulling a lamb came to mind and any text books I had ever read were being summoned to mind. Sensing the ewes tiredness, I looked closer and finally saw two white hooves poking out.  

tow white hooves

Per my vet’s recommendation and after watching the ewe strain and cry out, I saw the nose present and so I decided to pull gently on the hooves, being mindful of the tiny nose. Hoping all would move out straight, and with no harm to the lamb,  out came, head, ears, shoulder, abdomen and legs. I cleaned off the nose and got out of the way, while the ewe cleaned her lamb. A little curly fleeced ewe lamb arrived. I could see the Gotland wavy fleece standing out on the lamb, along with the full Icelandic fleece cross. She seemed fit and began to try and stand up. Soon she was looking for milk.  

the new ewe lamb with mom, her name is Mirabella

Now I began looking for the placenta, but that was not meant to be. Another pair of tiny white hooves appeared. Again I waited and the ewe layed down and strained, thrashing her head about.  I looked for the nose and wiped away the sac and began to pull the hooves with the nose parallel to them. This little lamb seem very narrow, and came out flatter, until it began breathing. Then the lamb’s chest expanded and the abdomen filled out and it lay still while the ewe mom cleaned it. A ram lamb, he got up after a while and went hunting for milk. Here are some more ewe mom and lamb pictures.

Mom and Baby

Finally by about 10pm last night, all were warm, dry, full and bedded down, including me.

And today, you can see the curly, lustrous, clean fleece. The cords are dry, both are getting milk, mom is nattering to them, and they are calling back.

Here is the ram lamb with a lot to say. I am happy to have been part of this event. The lambs are quite friendly.

Now time for a nap.   This was a good day on the earth for me.

One more happy family picture. There is a saying by Julienne of Norwich, an English  mystic,” and all will be well, and all shall be well, and all matter of things will be well”. I always find it comforting.  I hope it goes well with you.

We have 8 new baby lambs on our farm in the month of March