It’s been a minute…

…since I posted an update of my Spindling for Weaving project! Or any blogs for that matter. I’ve got a 6-week holiday coming up. :)

Experiments take a really long time to complete when you need to record every step, every thought, and every setback. As I mentioned in my video comparing the differences between experimentation and experimental archaeology, everything needs to be documented so that the results/insights gathered through the formal process of experimental archaeology can be taken critically. Much of this work never sees the light in a publication, and may not even be present in the appendix—however, it exists in the backbone of the publication.

I wanted to provide a little update about my upcoming publications. If you’d like to get early updates, with a more thorough documentation, please check out my Patreon. I don’t use sponsorships and generate most of my funding through ad revenue on YouTube and my website, and, of course, through shop sales.

Chalk whorl replica based on an example from Danebury hillfort during the British Iron Age

As much as I’ve wanted to share more information about the progress these last 6 months or so, it’s actually quite boring. All there was to say for a long time was just that I’m cracking on with the spinning. I’m about to submit the final draft for peer review at EXARC after having received some feedback on my technical application of the research. I believe this experiment has been a good consolidation of previous approaches and quality data recording to ensure future replications by other researchers. It would be nice to see more data. Once it is published, I will make sure to link it here/on the website.

Whorl A spun with North Ronaldsay wool.

As far as other publication updates, I wrote a small newsletter article about the role of chalk as an important material for the Iron Age people who lived at Danebury (Hampshire, UK). Again, this is an open access publication so you can read it for free. Over the summer last year, I took my mom to see the Bronze Age white horse at Uffington since it’s about 45 minutes from my house. It really got me thinking about chalk…and when I was at Avebury, another site located on chalkbeds, I started investigating this connection of chalk and tool construction. Sure, chalk is conveniently heavy, quick to procure and shape, and seemingly ordinary, but I wondered if there was something deeper. I think there is, and hopefully after more analysis, I’ll be able to say more. If you’re curious, I encourage you to read the newsletter article I wrote (don’t worry, it’s only 1000 words!). You can download it here.

I’ve talked about burnout a bunch on my Patreon page, so if content is slow, it’s because I’m juggling a bunch behind the scenes and I simply have too little time and energy to keep to any schedule. I feel like I’m limping towards my 6-week summer holiday (though, to be fair, I’ve worked steadily since Christmas 2025).