Spinning Stories

05/21/19 • 31 min

Spinning a yarn about spinning yarn, in this episode you’ll find stories about hand spinning that you don’t have to be a spinner to appreciate. I’ll also share some notes on creativity and how it affects us at the mill, plus an opportunity to try out the role of Yarn Designer by creating your own small batch of roving or yarn.

Highlights

Listener questions on handling wool scouring waste water [2:19]
Hand Spinning Story: Letting Go [8:23]
Hand Spinning Story: The Broken Wheel [12:33]
Exploring the language of creativity [18:56]
Wool Apprentice survey results [24:23]
Try out the role of Yarn Designer! [27:08]

Highlights

Listener questions on handling wool scouring waste water [2:19]
Hand Spinning Story: Letting Go [8:23]
Hand Spinning Story: The Broken Wheel [12:33]
Exploring the language of creativity [18:56]
Wool Apprentice survey results [24:23]
Try out the role of Yarn Designer! [27:08]

Previous Episode

Wool Scouring

In this episode we’ll unpack the nuance of one of the greatest barriers to sustainability of small batch yarn, wool scouring. We’ll share the 4 essential requirements for scouring, discuss fermented suint, reveal 3 types of scouring baths we use at our mill and also pro-tips on how to tell whether you’ve washed your wool effectively.

Highlights

Lydia tells the story of her first time washing a fleece [2:36]
Four essential requirements for scouring wool [11:50]
- Choosing a vessel [12:52]
- Hot Water [15:08]
- Soap & pH [19:30]
- Extraction [24:55]
A few cautions for the home scouring setup [28:10]
Fermented Suint Method or Cold Wash [32:34]
Three type of scouring baths we use at the Abundant Earth Fiber Mill [37:15]
Picking as part of the scouring process [40:12]
Three tips to tell if you got all the grease out of your fleece [45:18]