@tuban_muzuru @CleoQc theres about 30,000 years between that scrap of yarn and these spindle whorls.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-mysterious-12000-year-old-pebbles-may-be-early-evidence-of-wheel-like-tools-archaeologists-say-180985471/

@feorlen @FanCityKnits

Also this is definitely worth a watch.

https://www.nettledress.org/home

@feorlen @FanCityKnits

That's kind of my point though. Flax has been bred for over 30,000 years to have very good properties for processing for spinning.... and it is still seen as a top spinning skill.

That was made from the bark of a conifer 40,000 years ago with no complex tools, and they still span it better than either me or thee could.

@Kerplunk

I learned to process raw fleeces into yarn because about 20 or so years ago I started to feel that everything is going to go tits up. That feeling has only ever got stronger.

I have a few small skills as insurance against catastrophe... At least I can keep people warm and clothed.

Thanks for following me. :))

@CleoQc The thing that gets me is the level of knowledge passed down before it was made.

Which tree species is best. How to recognise it. Where on the tree to harvest the good bits without killing it. How to process tree bark for its bast. And that's BEFORE you even think about the level of skill needed to make a laceweight 3 ply with only a sick and a stone. It's humbling, in a really good way.

@FanCityKnits Lolerscates!

Yeah.... process the bast from a conifer tree then spin it into a three ply laceweight..... I will be cheering you on all the way.... and seriously doubting you/anyone could do it.

I won't even ask you to use a stone and a stick. You can use whatever you like.

One of my favourite spinning/yarn facts.

Almost all of your ancestors could spin.

There was a tiny fragment of Neanderthal yarn/twine found in France. It's made from the bast from tree bark......

It's at least 40,000 years old....

It's bloody three ply lace weight yarn. I doubt ANY modern spinner could pull that off, even with all our gadgets and knowledge.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/04/neanderthals-made-the-worlds-oldest-thread/

#handspinning #yarn #knitting #crochet #weaving