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Rachel & Rebecca sit down to talk about all things handspinning, yarn, fibre, and community. Join them to deepen the conversation in the Wool n’ Spinning community.
The podcast Wool n’ Spinning Radio is created by Rachel Smith, Rebecca Osborn. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Dear Spinning Circle,
Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Rebecca and Rachel sat down with Meaghan of Bramble Ridge Hand Dyed Yarns, based out of Mission, British Columbia, Canada. Meaghan has been dyeing up a storm in the background, creating our next iteration of Breed Blends and Colour Study fibre for us to spin & create with! Thank you to Meaghan for this opportunity to work with you, support your small business and create with the community at large!
Meaghan has generously offered a discount code to the Patreon community of Wool n’ Spinning. When you log into your account, you will see at the top of your feed (if you didn’t get an email about the post already) that there is a post there about all things Breed Blends & Colour Study. This post has the ordering link, as well as the discount code. Please be sure to put the discount code in before you complete your ordering as refunds will not be offered.
Breed Blends & Colour Study Ordering Links & Discount Code Post here
You DO NOT need to be a member of the Patreon community to participate - only to get the discount code!
If you have questions about what we discussed in today’s episode, please post them in the community, either as part of the Slack channel (available through Patreon) or on the Ravelry group, Wool n’ Spinning. Of course, we would love to welcome you to our community. Membership in the community provides you access to an amazing archive of teaching vlogs & posts that will help you on your handspinning journey. I am also here as a resource to help you! The Join button is also on the landing page on Patreon for those wishing to learn more. If you are enjoying the audio podcast, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a rating or review to help other handspinners find it. Thank you so much!
Comment here with your thoughts for your fibre! What are you going to spin with it? Socks? A fun yarn structure? Please share!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome back to another Radio episode! This month, Rebecca sat Rachel down to quiz her about working through longer projects. It came from a discussion back in August at Knit City Calgary 2024. For context, let's set the table: Back in 2019, you were struggling with the idea of how to justify the time and effort to put into a really big spinning project to weave an heirloom piece. Do you remember that feeling?
What is the Biggest Project you’ve ever completed? How long did it take? How did you feel about it at the end vs. the beginning? How did it change things for you?
Gentle Morning by Trin-Annelie here
Cheviot 3-ply handspun for Gentle Mornning here (1000 yards / 355 grams)
Rideau-Arcott/Charollais 4-ply handspun here (1600 yards / 550 grams)
What kind of big project dreams do you have right now? What, for you, is the motivation behind them?
Aside from the obvious limitations of hours in the day (which is huge and should be acknowledged), do you feel like anything else is holding you back from trying one? How do we give ourselves permission to pursue projects like this?
Compare big projects - like spinning to weave for a coat, etc. - a sampling-heavy or learning-heavy big project, like Year of Yarn, Year of Colour (available for purchase), or a Certificate program. How is the process different? How are they easier or harder to justify? How does each one change you as a maker?
A can-of-worms question: do you think of these pieces as “art”? Would doing so change their perceived value?
How do you manage longer spins, especially those that are colour monotonous? How do you plan for these larger projects? Please share below!
Please take a moment to like & share the podcast, leave a review & share with others! For more, head to Patreon here.
Thank you for tuning in!
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
Rebecca sat down with long-time active community member, Rebecka Roy, known as Becca and @bethy40 on Slack. Becca has been working on her Spinning Certificate of Achievement, from the Association of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers, throughout the past four years. With the recent discussions within the Wool n’ Spinning community about Spinning Certification programs, we thought it would a great opportunity to sit down and hear about Becca’s experience.
I hope you enjoy our conversation. Links to the website, Instagram and more are available in the show notes and at Patreon.com/woolnspinning.
Happy Spinning!
Dear Spinning Circle,
Rebecca and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Maxwell Stein of @maxwillspin (IG) over the past month. We chatted about his origin story, spindle spinning and teaching, as well as how his music influences his making. I hope you enjoy our conversation - I would love to have Max back on the show. If you have any questions you'd like to ask him, please post them below so that I can address them next time he appears!
Wool n' Spinning Radio (previous episodes) here
Wool n’ Spinning Radio Collection (Patreon) here
Remember to leave a review of the audio podcast wherever you catch your podcasts - it really helps the show be seen and heard by others looking for similar content! Thank you from the bottom of my toes!
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month is the follow-up to last month's episode with Melissa Goulet of MellyKnits. We refer back to that episode a few times so be sure to follow the links below to listen to that episode as well.
Episode 107 | Putting Wool back in the Limelight with MellyKnits here
I hope you enjoy our dive into wool, getting started with first-time drum carding and beginning to delve into sheep breeds. For those new to spinning wool, remember that there are roughly four classifications of sheep breeds, including the fine wools, medium wools, longwools, downs and down-like breeds, and primitives. Fine to medium wools are often classed together, rather than separately. Think of them as being on a continuum from one another. We use the term ‘micron count’ several times throughout our conversation but never define the term for those who haven’t heard it previously.
Think of how wool is classified as being on a continuum. At one end, we have the Fine Wools with much crimp and bounce. At the other end, we have the long, lustrous curling crimp structure of the Long Wools. In between are the Medium Wools who, depending on their micron count, fit closer to the Fine Wool versus Long Wool end. Micron count uses computer imaging to assess the diameter of a fibre. The lower the number, the finer the fibre and conversely, the higher the number, the coarser the fibre. Within one fleece, micron count might vary significantly and as hand spinners, we use the averages to help us communicate with one another roughly how fine or coarse a fibre is.
If you have questions about what we discussed in today’s episode, please post them below. Of course, we would love to welcome you to our community. The Join button is also on the landing page here on Patreon for those wishing to learn more.
I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Warmly,
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
This episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio has been a long time coming - Melissa and I have been trying to connect for a while, seeing each other at our local Knots & Hops each month, bumping into each other at Knit City and Fibres West throughout the years and so much more. It was a pleasure to sit down with her and chat about her business and love of wool - her enthusiasm is unbelievably infectious. You can't help but feel sucked in by her love of the process from her favourite part of the process, washing, to picking and carding.
Melissa's video on Picking Wool here
Thank you to Melissa for sharing her journey to date and I look forward to chatting with her again this summer to record a Part II. After we stopped the recording, she came up with topics for Part III, as well, so stay tuned!
Find Melissa:
If you would like to be featured on Wool n' Spinning Radio, have a story to tell or want to discuss your making, please reach out to Rachel. You can leave a comment below or message her privately!
Until next time,
Happy Processing!
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Today on the Radio show, Rebecca and I sat down to talk about the sheep and breeds that she came across at Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival recently. We chat a little bit about getting fibre preparation done, some of the road blocks to getting things started and more.
Patreon Post here
This was a stream-of-consciousness at 6am Pacific time - I hope you enjoy this off-the-cuff episode!
For more on Spinning Sheep Breeds and getting further down the rabbit hole of various classifications of wool, check out my workshop on the School of SweetGeorgia here.
We have explored washing sheep fleece in previous posts, specifically here. Within this post contains a list of posts that go through the classification of sheep breeds, including Fine & Medium, Longwools, Down & Down-like, and Double-Coated in multiple parts.
I also chronicle (through photos) a Farm-to-Yarn-to-Sweater prep, spin, dye and knit that I made several years ago, right after my dad died. It was a meditative project that offered a ton of quiet while I processed what had happened in such a short period of time. This sweater still holds an incredibly special place in my heart.
Comment below if there's a topic you'd like us to discuss & explore!
If you would like to be featured on Wool n' Spinning Radio, have a story to tell or want to discuss your making, please reach out to Rachel. You can leave a comment below or message her privately!
Until next time,
Keep Spinning!
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, on Wool n' Spinning Radio, Rebecca answered a bunch of questions from myself about preparing for a long trip. As many of you know, Rebecca and her family will be on Sabbatical from their work in Nunavut for 5 months. I wanted to understand more about how she prepared for the making she would be doing while away!
Patreon Link here
Here are the rough questions I asked Rebecca about her preparations to travel:
1. What were you thinking about when you were first preparing for your trip? What were some of the projects you thought about initially? Did that change in your preparations?
2. What kind of preparation did you do? Carding? Combing? Etc.
3. How do you envision travelling with your projects? IE. Do you see yourself crafting while you are actually travelling (planes, trains, etc) or are you prepping more for when you are actually staying in places?
4. Do you have any plans to pick up projects along the way? Purchasing while travelling? Any ideas about where you would like to go? Anything you are particularly excited about?
Thank you for tuning in today!
If you have a story to tell about how you got started on your handspinning journey, a project you're working on that you think others would be interested in or anything else, please reach out! We'd love to have you as a guest.
Be sure to check out last month's episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio here.
Until next time,
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, Rebecca and I sat down to discuss a slightly different topic that we don't often explore, which is about our journey to intentional spinning. Rebecca asked some incredibly thoughtful questions to ground our discussion and I would love to hear some of your thoughts - please leave your comments here!
Link to Patreon post here
The Journey of Intentional Spinning:
1. Can you describe your journey toward becoming an intentional spinner? What was your spinning like when you started? What drove you to become more intentional? Who were your teachers/resources? What practices helped you the most? Do you remember a breakthrough yarn or project?
2. Now that you’ve been an intentional spinner for a long time, what has changed? What is easier or harder now? How is your perspective different than you thought it would be? What practices have you held onto or let go of?
3. As a podcaster and spinning teacher, how does that impact your intentionality? How do you spin differently when you are teaching or producing “content” vs not?
4. What are some areas you'd like to continue to grow as an intentional spinner? Have you ever plateaued in your spinning - are there more advanced skills you'd still like to work on?
A few of the resources that Rachel discussed throughout the conversation:
Yarn-i-tec-ture: A Knitter's Guide to Spinning by Jillian Moreno here
The Essentials of Handspinning by Mabel Ross here
If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio and share your story, please get in touch, either on Patreon through direct message or email (rachel (@) welfordpurls (dot) com).
Do you have any practices in your spinning that revolutionized your yarns? We'd love to hear about it - please share in the comments here.
Be sure to share this podcast episode with friends and family, like and subscribe, and leave a review if you are able - it helps to increase the podcast's visibility when searching for new things to listen to!
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Warmly,
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month we are joined by Suzanne Reyes, a long-time member of our community who had the opportunity to work on a year-long project called The Importance of Every Day Creativity. We had a wonderful conversation about the depth and breadth of creativity in our every day lives. She has presented this to faculty, students and now shared her story here! Enjoy!
More is available on Patreon here
Thank you to Suzanne for taking time today to chat with us about her project - it was very inspiring!
Definitions:
Generativity - a concern for establishing and guiding the next generation, originally coined by psychoanalyst Erik Erikson; the ability to transcend personal interests to provide care and concern for younger and older generations
Fibonacci - a sequence in which each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc ...)
Suzanne mentions many books throughout the podcast & I have linked to many of them below:
A Fine Fleece: Knitting with Handspun Yarns by Lisa Lloyd
A Craftsman's Legacy: Why Working with Our Hands Gives Us Meaning by Eric Gorges
Craft in America (YouTube)
Great Barrier Reef Crochet Project here
Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
The Quilts of Gee's Bend by Susan Goldman Rubin
Crafted Lives: Stories and Studies of African American Quilters by Patricia A. Turner
Embroidered Stories: Interpreting Women's Domestic Needlework from the Italian Diaspora by Edvige Giunta & Josepf Sciorra
The Fabric of Civilization by Virginia Postrel
The Knitting Brigades of WWI by Holly Korda
The Secret Lives of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger
Connect with Suzanne for more information about her project:
Slack ID: @Suzanne_Reyes
Email: vsreyes4490 {at} yahoo {dot} com
Leave further questions about the project below, or this subject in general, and we will discuss them in a follow-up episode!
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Dear Spinning Circle,
Another month of Wool n' Spinning radio! I can't believe we are really into 2024 now! This is the second part (Part I here) of Rebecca and my conversation about our goals and thoughts about 2024. We recorded towards to the end of January so we have some initial reflections about the year, how it started and momentuum on projects.
Patreon Post here
Please take a moment to share with us your thoughts on one or all of the questions we were contemplating ourselves in this episode - we'd love to hear from you!
Specific to Our Making in 2024:
If there is someone or something you'd like to hear on future episodes of Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out! If you have a making story to share, we'd love to feature you on the show - get in touch be messaging Rachel directly on Patreon, Slack or leaving a comment below!
Until next time,
Happy Spinning & Making!
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome 2024! I hope this finds you happy, healthy & excited for the new year. I know here in my home, we have had a very quiet week, watching a couple of movies, soccer games & attending a hockey game (very Canadian of us). The kids had never been to a hockey game before so that was fun sharing that joy with them!
Today, Rebecca and I sat down to chat about the upcoming year here at Wool n' Spinning. The overarching theme of the next two years will be Sarah Anderson's The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs. We will be tackling the book in regular increments - see the syllabus here - with regular releases of content (Spinning Purls) from myself that touch on key points from within the book.
For a comprehensive overview of the options involved to engage in our 2-year book study - check out this post here. It is also available on the blog here.
Access to the Ravelry thread here
Access previous Wool n' Spinning Radio Episodes here
We also talked a little bit about the coming year. We began with tackling some overarching goals we both have for 2024, including a discussion of the following questions:
I hope you enjoyed our conversation! We have a few more questions we ran out of time to discuss today so we will pick up the thread of the conversation next month - see you then!
Have a wonderful holiday season - Happy New Year once again! Comment below with questions as they come up - if you're wondering, so are others!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Rebecca and I sat down to reflect on the year, 2023. We started with a reflection on the highlights and standouts from the year. We talk about unexpected challenges, namely for Rachel throughout the year. Next, we talk about the community. There were some memorable interactions that really resonated with us as we interacted with you guys throughout the year.
Patreon here
Rebecca asked about some behind-the-scenes insights about how Rachel manages the Live Stream and some lessons they’ve learned throughout the year. We talk about how we’ve grown during the year and how we’ve changed our views and perspectives on certain things.
Looking forward, we talk about some of our goals and aspirations for the coming year, as well as talk about some of the things we have coming. More on that coming soon!
I hope you enjoy our conversation. Have a wonderful month!
Warmly,
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome to another episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio - I am so pleased to be able to produce these episodes with Rebecca (@rebbiejaye). Rebecca took the lead on this month's episode, which was really fun for me as I was able to sit back and participate in a different way than I normally do - what a pleasure!
To learn more, please head to the original Patreon post here
To help ground the conversation, here are some of the 'primer' questions that Rebecca asked us to think about to prepare for recording. If it speaks to you, particularly if you are a journaller yourself, I would encourage you to write these down or use them as prompts to help you in your journey:
1. Some background: can you talk about how you feel generally about the October/November season? How has this year in particular been affecting your energy levels?
2. This year I think what’s different for me is that I’m really expecting the change. Not dreading it, just trying to be really aware. How has this year met/not met your expectations? Surprised you?
3. Sometimes our hobbies help us, and sometimes they get the better of us! Have you experienced crafting overwhelm this fall? Or have you been able to lay it aside when you need to?
4. How does your making change when you get tired or sick? Are there things that happen differently? Does being tired or sick feed your creativity in any way?
These questions really helped to guide our conversation around fatigue, making and energy. We also talk about Polyvagal Theory, which is the concept that the vagus nerve has a role to play in regulating our emotions, social connection and fear responses. There is much research still to be done on the subject and much has not been substantiated by neuroscience. The basic tenent is the following:
I hope this is helpful to ground the conversation when Rebecca asks me to elaborate on Polyvagal Theory; and remember that it is a theory, something to think about, and there is much to learn/read about if you are curious to do so!
You can access the back-catalogue of Radio episodes here, if you would like to listen to more episodes like this one. As well, taking a moment to like, subscribe & rate/review the Radio show helps get it out there to other potential listeners!
Share your thoughts below, especially if you'd like to share some of your own journal responses, or in #podcastchat on Slack for community members.
If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, you can reach out to Rachel {at} welfordpurls {dot} com.
Until next month, I hope you are able to carve out some self-love. Tell us what you are going to do to LOVE YOURSELF this month - comment below.
Rachel & Rebecca
“Corespinning creates an amazing yarn that can replace a conventional spun yarn.“ -Crystal Hesser
For full shownotes with photos, please visit here
To share your spinning, we have a couple of places to share:
Slack Channel: #texturedyarn
Ravelry Group: CoreSpin Along here
We have talked about corespinning in the community previously:
Tips to Get Started:
MUSIC //
Glow & Yellow by Scott Buckley (@ScottBuckley) – released under CC-BY 4.0. scottbuckley.com.au
I hope you enjoy this ALONG with us - even if you just spin a little bit to give the technique a try, I encourage you to do so!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Rebecca and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Rebecca’s mom, Linda Jennings, the dyer and curator of Color Storms. She is based in Maryland, USA, and created a small dye studio in her home. Specializing in natural dyeing, Linda creates amazing gradient sets, plays with various dye stuffs that she is able to harvest locally, while also using some extract powders to be able to dye the variety of colours available to us in nature. Her enthusiasm for natural dyeing, natural fibres and creativity is infectious. It was a pleasure to talk with her, hearing about her journey and enjoying some time together. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Find the original show notes here, along with photographs of Linda's fleece packs spun up.
The Fleece Packs that Rebecca and I have been spinning for the Year of Colour 2023, are all showcased here in the web shop.
Find ColorStorms here
ColorStorms Web Shop here
Find Linda on Instragram here
To listen to previous episodes of Wool n' Spinning Radio, have a look through the Index here.
Remember to subscribe and leave a review on all your favourite podcast collectors to help Wool n' Spinning Radio get out there to others!
Until next month,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. Crystal Hesser is a well-known face around Wool n' Spinning but there are some who haven't had the absolute pleasure in meeting her, so I wanted to spend some time today introducing her to you. Throughout Tour de Fleece, she has been posting daily photos of her yarns as she spins them on her wheel, supported spindles and shares her ideas along the way.
Crystal shares her inspiration process, why spinning textured yarns is so important, and how to she started with supported spindles. Join me in welcoming Crystal to the show.
Because Crystal's yarns are both beautiful and inspirational, I have posted photos of the ones we talked about in this episode here
Where to Find Crystal:
Thank you to Crystal for joining me today - I felt so inspired afterwards, wanting to pull my wheel out right away and starting playing again.
Until next time,
Keep Spinning!
Warmly,
Rachel
Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Rebecca and I sit down to check in with one another as the half-way point of our Year of Colour is reached. We discuss how the two tracks, namely Spinning Purls and The Wool Circle, has been to facilitate, as well as our own growth in our understanding of colour. We start to talk about Rebecca’s Deyapalooza that is coming this summer and even into next year.
I’ve included some of the photos of the Colour Wheel experiments that we have been working on. You can see those images at Patreon.com/woolnspinning. While you are looking, consider a 7-day free trial of Wool n’ Spinning and give yourself a chance to explore all the content there, along with others, specifically for handspinners looking to share with others their passion for handspun yarn.
An Index of all the previous Wool n' Spinning Radio episodes can be found here.
Dear Spinning Circle,
Today, on Wool n' Spinning Radio, Rebecca & Rachel sit down to further explore our individual and ever-evolving clothing philosophies.
Exploring Clothing Philosophies (Part I) here
Rebecca and I started off by picking up where we left off in Part I of our conversation with Rebecca sharing what’s changed with her daily clothing evolution. For images of Rachel's clothing that she discussed, please check them out here.
Thank you for joining us today. Please consider leaving a review and subscribing wherever you download all of your podcasts and episodes.
As always, thank you for listening and spending the time in this place. It was a pleasure to continue this conversation with you all.
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Thank you for joining us in another episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio. I welcome onto the show today, Ahn Wilson, who is two spirit Atikamekw and French on her mother's side and German on her father's side. Ahn is the visionary behind a very ambitious project, The Loving Blanket Project, to commemorate and share the collective weight of grief that all people experience as more and more graves are unearthed at the residential schools throughout Canada. In Ahn's words,
When the first 215 were returned home, I felt the collective weight of grief through the nations. In my grief I shaved my head. No amount of time on the water (my medicine) would soothe it. More keep being found and it's been hard being alone. I've been trying to find a way to hold and collectively share in this grief in a meaningful way. Covid has made it hard for folx to gather in Ceremony. Or hold one another. Thus, after many months of thinking, by way of dream, came to me the idea to make a blanket. A very large blanket. One square to represent each child. One person to make one square. 'You may cut my hair, but the medicint is in the roots" (song by Digging Roots). We are the roots. We are the medicine. By each person stitching a square, we stitch outselves together in strength. We metamorpically hold one another and share the weight of collective grief.
Have a listen to our converation and I hope you feel pulled to make a square, mailing it off to Ahn when you are done. You can send you work here:
C/O Ahn Wilson
PO Box 936
Nelson PO Main, BC
Canada V1L 5P9
There are some things you need to know when you go to make your blanket - I have uploaded two PDFs that I have scanned from Ahn. Please download these before you start and read them through. There is increbibly important information in both of them, including problematic wording or imagery that would be important to leave OUT of the squares, alongside WELCOMING imagery and powerful words that one can place in your square(s).
It might be helpful to make a square that you might dedicate to an individual child, group of children and place they lived. Think about how resilient those children are, what it might look like to welcome them home in celebration and warmth, and how you would wrap them in a blanket, feed them and love them. This might help you to get started. Gather your family, friends or maybe just yourself! '[Create] your square [to] have a connection to it; keep in mind your heritage and culture ... these squares are meant to bring a sense of joy with them, an energy of warmth and welcoming' (Ahn Wilson). Think about Ahn's comments from the episode about a party!
Please leave your comments below so that I can help to clarify anything - if I'm not sure, I will reach out to Ahn.
As always, thank you for listening and spending the time in this place. It was a pleasure to welcome Ahn onto the show.
Until next time,
Rachel
Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Rebecca and I sat down to begin discussing our respective clothing philosophies. If you haven’t heard of clothing philosophies before, it is characterized as a way of expressing an inner truth or belief about an idea, oneself or the world through the medium of clothing. Some believe that all aspects of a garment can speak to a person’s personal philosophy about the world, themselves, or anything else (Scenes Media, 2022). This might be attention paid to texture, drape, colours, cut and style and many other aspects of clothing and fabric that help us to shape messaging, whether about ourselves or the world around us (Scenes Media).
While we can talk about high fashion and those designing clothing, who might have well-established clothing philosophies that help them in their creative process to continue to create, just as we see in true art. A philosophy might be simple and basic or there might be heavy-duty thought behind it. Taken from Scenes Media, our call to action is to think about what you wear, how it reflects (or doesn’t reflect) the person that you are, and what that tells the world about you (Scenes Media, 2022).
To see Rebecca & Rachel's Colour Palette Generated Photos from their personal wardrobes & Ravelry Project Pages, please head to Patreon.
Thank you for listening today - please comment below on your personal Clothing Philosophy or some of the things you think about when you look at your wardrobe, the items you're planning to add, or anything else you'd like to share!
Warmly,
Rachel & Rebecca
References
Sierra, S. (2016, December 1). The Philosophy of Fashion | SCENES. SCENES Media. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://scenesmedia.com/2016/12/philosophy-fashion/
Dear Spinning Circle,
Find the episode notes and more about Wool n' Spinning here
It's the 1st of the month, so it's time for another amazing episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio! This month, Rebecca and I had the immense pleasure of welcoming Tazhiana Gordon of the Stitches & Starlight podcast on YouTube (here). Tazhi is an active and vibrant member of the Wool n' Spinning Community. It was my pleasure to welcome her onto the show - she is a whirlwind of positivity, kindness, creativity and so much more!
You can find this episode everywhere you get your podcasts - please take a moment to like and subscribe when you check out the episode (wherever you listen). It helps the show get discovered.
Once again, thank you for Tazhi for joining us - we will be recording a Part II since I didn't get to even half of my questions I wanted to ask her! I hope you will look forward to that with bated breath, as am I!
You can find Tazhi on Slack as @Tazhiana for Wool n' Spinning Community members to get in touch with her.
YouTube @ Stitches and Starlight
Instagram @tanglesandstarlight
Shop & Website @ Starlight Blends
Let her know how much you enjoyed her presence on the show by sending her a message and telling her how much she is appreciated!
Until next time,
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
Thank you for joining us here on this episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio with Rachel's mom, Janet Smith. Mom talks about her art education, quilting and art journalling, as well as getting into a discussion about pigments, saturation and value, and more!
Thank you again to my mom, Janet, for joining us on the show! It was a pleasure to host you!
The audio podcast is available on all your major podcast apps - please search, like and subscribe!
I promised some photos of my mom's work. I tried to share some of her quilts, as well as some of her paintings and journals. Please go to the Patreon post associated with this episode to see them! Patreon link here.
As always, share your findings with us, either on the Slack Channel, #general, or in the Ravelry group! Be sure to share your projects, spins and makes using #woolnspinning so that others can see your progress! And don’t hesitate to tag me and Rebecca so that we can see your stuff as well!
Until next time, happy spinning and experimenting!
Warmly,
Rachel & Rebecca
We're starting fresh with Episode 89 and will be posting the back catalogue of episodes over time.
Rebecca and I kick-start this episode with a look back at 2022 and hear from Rebecca about her year-long Sock Colour SAL that she hosted in the community. I really like the idea of having a smaller ALONG with everyone, based on a specific learning outcome around socks - about a yarn structure, colour management, fibre blend, etc. that would last a set amount of time. Let me know in the comments what you think!
For those who haven't met Rebecca before, find out more on The Wool Circle Index here & find Rebecca Osborn here.
From there, we talked about challenges that came up in the year and finally, we introduce our Year of Colour! We talk about remaining nimble to be able to pivot, as well as spend more time on things as we need to.
Our Year of Colour will begin with a couple of months on theory with Rachel and building our personal Colour Wheels with Rebecca. There seems to be three ways that people in our community are interacting with colour at this time:
Rachel will be putting out calls to the community each month for help with sampling and showing these different concepts in our handspun yarns - if you are interested, be sure to watch the Slack Channel (channel @spinningpurls) and Ravelry group (thread here) for more.
See you next month with an interview with Rachel's mom, Janet! We can't wait!
Things we talked about on this episode:
Music: Felicity by Scott Buckley – scottbuckley.com.au
Happy New Year!
Warmly,
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, we are joined by Emily Grace, who lives on a very small island off the coast of British Columbia. She is a long-time member of the Wool n' Spinning Community and I hope you enjoy getting to know her a bit better!
Direct YouTube Link
To find Emily Grace, you can find her on Slack as @Emily Grace
Patreon Link here
Thank you again to Emily Grace for coming onto the show!
If you would like to come onto Wool n' Spinning Radio as my guest, tell your story and let us get to know you some more, please send me a message and we will coordinate a time! You are always welcome!
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, we are joined by Rachel Richardson, who is a long-time member of Wool n' Spinning -- she's been an endless cheerleader for me and I hope you gain some knowledge, inspiration and maybe even develop your own daily practice from watching/listening to Rachel!
Direct YouTube Link.
Find Rachel on Instragram @raerich
and on the Slack channel as @Rachel Richardson
Please don't hesitate to reach out to Rachel!
Thank to Rachel for joining me this month - I will definitely seek her out again once she's finished her flax journey to talk about that -- I'm sure we are all on pins and needles wondering about that! I hope you enjoyed our conversation!
Thank you again to Rachel for coming onto the show!
Patreon Link here
If you would like to come onto Wool n' Spinning Radio as my guest, tell your story and let us get to know you some more, please send me a message and we will coordinate a time! You are always welcome!
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month we are joined by Brittany Vogt of Crux Fibres! I'm so excited to have Brittany on the show because she's a super active member of the Slack channel and if you've have a chance to follow her on Instagram, her feed is beautiful with amazing stories as well!
YouTube Link here
Follow Brittany on social media:
Crux Fibres on Instragram: @cruxfibres
YouTube channel: Crux Fibres
Website: Crux Fibres
Crux Fibres on Ravelry: @cruxfibres
And of course on the Slack Channel: @Brittany
Thank to Brittany for joining me this month! It was such a pleasure to chat with her and learn more about her journey. I hope you enjoyed our conversation!
Thank you again to Brittany for coming onto the show!
Patreon Link here
If you would like to come onto Wool n' Spinning Radio as my guest, tell your story and let us get to know you some more, please send me a message and we will coordinate a time! You are always welcome!
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
In my mind this month I had rendered this and posted it, looking forward to everyone in the community 'meeting' Jenny and hearing her story, then wondering why those who have EARLY ACCESS weren't saying anything like they normally do ... Go check Patreon ... Oh. I forgot to actually schedule the post! But here it is now!
Join me in welcoming this month to Wool n' Spinning Radio, Jenny Solvaki, which is a very active member of the Slack community. You can also find her cheerleading others in the Ravelry group. We chat about her journey and how she found spinning, then we really get into her growing flax experiments from last summer. I hope you enjoy our conversation! Jenny is a magnetic personally - warm and friendly. Don't hestitate to reach out to her in the community to ask more questions.
Direct YouTube link here.
Slack Channel: @Jenny S (redhead77)
Ravelry // Instagram: @redhead77
As with all of our guests, if you would like to hear more from them, please let me know so that I can invite them back!
Thank you again to Jenny for coming onto the show!
If you would like to come onto Wool n' Spinning Radio as my guest, tell your story and let us get to know you some more, please send me a message and we will coordinate a time! You are always welcome!
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, Dionne Carter from our very own community joined me to chat about her colour inspiration, how she got started spinning and more! Thank you to Dionne for taking the time to let us see a glimpse into her inspiration, thought process and amazing ability to combine colours.
Direct YouTube link here.
You can find Dionne on the Slack channel as @Dionne(Deej)
For more about Charan's pottery, you can check him out here.
Thank you again to Dionne for coming onto the show!
Patreon Link here
If you would like to come onto Wool n' Spinning Radio as my guest, tell your story and let us get to know you some more, please send me a message and we will coordinate a time! You are always welcome!
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
I can't believe we are here already, again! Again! Another year and another Breed & Colour Study! This one is really exciting - it will last ALL YEAR. We will be studying Radnor and the colours are as you see them below! Super exciting.
Thank you once again to Katrina for dyeing, organizing and working so incredibly hard to make these happen for us. I know we've talked about how much work goes into the back-end of these studies, but this is another opportunity for us to just remind ourselves of the effort and work. Let's take a moment to say a special thank you to Katrina!
I hope you enjoy our conversation about the study this time round, our reasons for making just the one for the year and more!
Patreon Link here
Happy Spinning & Happiest of New Years to you and yours!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Direct YouTube link here.
I am so pleased to welcome another Wool n' Spinning Community member onto the show this month: Amanda Buckley. Many of you know Amanda from both the School of SweetGeorgia and Slack community but it's wonderful to welcome her here!
To find more of Amanda, here are some places to look her up:
Slack: @amanda
Instagram & Ravelry: @mandythephilomath
Please don't hesitate to reach out to her!
Thank you again to Amanda for coming onto the show!
If you would like to come onto Wool n' Spinning Radio as my guest, tell your story and let us get to know you some more, please send me a message and we will coordinate a time! You are always welcome!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, we are joined by community member, Ange, who some of you will know from our Maker Mornings. Ange has been a part of our community for a long while and has been incredibly supportive of those spindle spinning in our #spindlespunsummer along that we've been finishing up!
Watch on YouTube here
In answer to some questions she'd fielded on her YouTube channel, she made a great video about support spindling that many within our community have watched and found incredibly helpful! It can be found here if you haven't seen it (highly recommended!).
YarnNYarns YouTube channel here
RainbowAnge on Instagram here
Things we talked about:
Soulful Spinning YouTube channel here
Enid Ashcroft spindles here
Woodland Handcrafts spindles here
The Spindle Shop here
Pattern via Ravelry: Aurealis by Jennifer Stiengass
Pattern via Ravelry: Bluebird of Happiness by Sara Elizabeth Kellner
Pattern via Ravelry: Hellik by Stephen West
Thank you so much to Ange for spending the time with me today & for sharing her journey!
I hope you will tune in again next month as I chat with more fibre people about their love of all things spinning, making & more!
If you would like to come onto Wool n' Spinning Radio as my guest, tell your story and let us get to know you some more, please send me a message and we will coordinate a time! You are always welcome!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome to a new month and a new fibre! We have never explored Pygora together and this is the month to do that! What fun!
Direct YouTube Link here.
Autumn has been working with Pygora for a while now and came to it organically as she was looking for cashmere fibre locally. Thank you for spending some time with me on the podcast today, Autumn! I truly appreciate your time and expertise!
There are links that need to be uploaded to this post but I will do that in the next few days so please check back soon!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, we have a very special episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio with my friend and shepardess extradinaire, Rebecca Lamperd. Remember that the Radio show is most often available as video so click the link below!
Direct YouTube Link here.
To find her website, please have a look here.
Rebecca is also a member of the Slack community, so please take a moment to say hello - she is @Rebecca Lamperd.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Rebecca!
If you have an interesting journey and would like to tell your story from within our community, please reach out to me on Patreon, Slack or through email: rachel @ welfordpurls [dot] com
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Direct YouTube link here.
This month on Wool n' Spinning Radio, Katrina is joining me again for our introduction to Breed & Colour, as well as the breed reveal -- which I am SO EXCITED about!
For FAQs, please check the #breed-and-colour-faq channel on Slack. Katrina will be watching that channel.
Ordering will be on Monday, July 12th @ 9am PDT. There will be a password to access the link closer to for patrons with DISCOUNT and after the first hour, the listing will be open for all but no discount.
Patreon Link here
Super exciting! Welcome to those who are new to Breed & Colour Study!
Warmly,
Rachel & Katrina
Dear Spinning Circle,
Direct YouTube link here.
This month, we are chatting with Katrina of Crafty Jaks Boutique - our colour creator and dyer behind our bi-annual Breed & Colour Studies. As many of you know, we chat about the studies at the beginning and end to ground the colours, breed and more. It's good to connect with Katrina, hear her story about the study since her unique perspective is unlike ours in the community and hear about the process!
Thank you to those who participated in the study this time round, regardless of whether you ordered or not - it is wonderful to see these studies grow!
Patreon Link here
Information for our next study on carded fibre in coming in early July 2021. Please stay tuned!
Until next time,
Rachel & Katrina
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome to Heidi Lucey of Mad Caper Farms onto Wool n' Spinning Radio! I've known Heidi through Slack and Ravelry for a while now and her family runs their farm with Cheviots about 2-3 hrs from myself! While on the other side of the border in Washington, we share many things in common from weather to rain to sunny, happy summers. I hope you enjoy our conversation!
YouTube Direct Link here.
You can find Heidi in the following places:
Instagram: @MadCaperFarms
Facebook: @MadCaperFarms
Ravelry: @MadCaper
Slack: @MadCaper
More on Fiber Fusion here
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Thank you for joining us this month! I am so pleased to be chatting with Erica this month about weaving with handspun yarns.
Direct YouTube Link here.
Erica can be found on the Slack channel as @jahanara and Instagram as @weavemage
She also has a podcast, called Fiber at the Speed of Life.
Erica shares some of her learnings about weaving with handspun, sampling and organizing. We will be getting together to run you through some tutorials about weavolution.com (Patreon here) and organizing your yarns on there - stay tuned!
Sarah Lamb's video here. Spin to Weave book here.
In the meantime, please post any questions below you have that we can address next time we chat!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Thank you for joining me this month with Greta Lyn! She is an active member of our community and can be found in the Ravelry group and Slack as @thewarmestrows -- as in the knitting rows of our garments (genius!). Please say hi to her as you get to know her on this fibery path to wonderful handspun!
If you would like to watch the interview, versus listening (or both), you can find our chat on YouTube here.
Patreon Link here
Thank you for watching and thank you to Greta Lyn for chatting with me after her full morning, weaving!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
For those wishing to watch instead of listen, the Direct YouTube link here.
I have a real treat for you this month with Rebecca (@rebbiejaye) and Alide joining me on this episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio! They were able to join me to chat about harvesting and spinning Qiviut, some thoughts about Arctic life and Alide's experiences with Qivuit.
It was a lovely way to pass an evening and I want to say a special thank you to both of them for allowing me the time and space so that I could release this episode to you! If you choose to watch this month, Alide shares an actual Muskox hide with us and shows how she combs out the downy undercoat to be able to harvest the qiviut fibres.
Enjoy listening and/or watching!
Patreon Link here
Happy Spinning your luxury fibres this month!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Direct YouTube link here.
Those who are active on the Slack channel or Queries & Explorations will know Liz well -- she is the owner and operator of Kingdom Fleece & Fiberworks in Vermont! She has an aamzing story that I hope you enjoy hearing!
To get in touch with Liz or to find out more about the mill, the produces she carries and more, check it out here.
She is @kingdom_fleece_and_fiberworks on the Slack channel - say hello!
Patreon Link here
Thank you again to Liz for the time to record and chat!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Direct YouTube link here.
This month, I had the immense pleasure of sitting down and chatting with active community member, Kelly of Kelly G. Knits, in Edmonton, Canada. Kelly is a very active member of our community. She is always lifting others up with encouragement, knowledge and kindness.
You can find Kelly on social in the following places:
Her Ravelry profile (go friend her!) is here and her designs are here.
Instagram is here.
Say hello on Slack - she is simply @kelly
Patreon Link here
Thank you again Kelly for joining me this month to chat - it was a lovely way to spend a morning!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Direct YouTube link here.
I have a real treat for you! Marce, Grace & Mina kindly joined me on Zoom to record a (very long) conversation about all things #flufftostuff2021! If you haven't heard about this really fun year-long make-along, please watch or listen on!
To find out more about these amazing ladies, please check out their respective YouTube channels and give them a follow:
Mina of The Knitting Expat Podcast
Grace of Babbles Traveling Yarns Podcast
Marce of Hey BrownBerry Knitting Podcast
Thank you all for joining me and taking the time to chat!
The Linktree of all the links for Fluff to Stuff is here.
Enjoy this conversation - and I hope you will follow along with their journies, maybe participating yourself! I will be a guest on their Monthly Zoom Meetings in September so if you're interested in attending, be sure to buy a ticket & mark the date on your calendar when it is available. Links in the Tree!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, I have a really special guest to share with you! Sasha joined me to talk about The Flock, Spinning School and Breed Studies, and much more.
This month's podcast episode is also available in video format for those wanting to watch the episode! That is available here.
Thank you to Sasha for joining me - it was a pleasure to chat!
For more from Sasha, please visit sheepspot.com!
Patreon Link here
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Katrina and I were able to connect and discuss the newest Breed & Colour Study! I am excited to announce that we will be spinning Shetland this time round. We will also be studying natural shades, as well as an interesting mix of colour - including yellows, peach and oranges, against black and blue.
The natural shades for the bases include creamy-white, warm oatmeal grey and moorit. All are interesting in their own way, changing the handle of the colours. How will you spin yours?!
As always, I'm excited to be starting another study. Purchasing fibre is not necessary -- anyone can join us! Katrina and I just provide the option for you! You can source your own and dye it yourself ... the sky's the limit!
Patreon Link here
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome! I had an opportunity to sit down at the end of November 2020 to chat with Megan and Rebecca to discuss their study of 51 Yarns over the past 2 years! Group A started their study in January 2019 and worked through the book over 24 months. It was a marathon of yarns but amazing as well!
Group B is continuing their study for one more year and will be finishing in December 2021. Thank you for your continued participation in this marathon study!
This month's conversation is available as both an audio pocast AND videocast - the link for the videocast is here. Enjoy!
Direct YouTube Link here.
Patreon Link here
Until next month,
Happy Spinning!
Dear Spinning Circle,
Note: This episode has been updated to include a ~15 minute conversation - please check it out and listen from ~27 minutes in!
Can you believe that we are at the end of another Breed & Colour Study?!
We started Breed & Colour Study in July 2016. The evolution of the study has grown and changed over the years but the overall goals are the same - learn, study, reflect and grow!
This study was challenging for a few reasons:
1. Staples are short (1.5 - 2.5 inches),
2. Might be many second cuts since these are not sheep kept for fleece (shearing is utilitarian - it's a means to an ends - ie. get the fleece off), and
3. Matte, lack-lustre striking of the dye on this wool leaving almost chalk-like colour
It's actually too bad that these sheep are mainly meat-centric because, although the fleece is short stapled, in a woollen preparation with woollen-style spinning, it is a finer wool and spins easily. It is fine to medium in quality but I think it has tremendous potential and certainly pushes us out of our often limited focus on certain wools. This is where and how we grow as spinners -- to spin other breeds and fibres!
To learn about my study on the Charollais, please check out these links:
How I Spin Transcript - Part I
How I Spin Vlog - Part I
How I Spin Transcript - Part II
How I Spin Vlog - Part II
How I Spin Transcript & Vlog - Part III (bonus content, public links)
Community Participation
Sherri's finished yarn here
Megan's pillowcases here
Maggie's waffle shawl here
References
Ekarius, C. & Robson, D. (2011). The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. Storey Publishing: North Adams, MA.
Dear Spinning Circle,
Rebecca (@rebbiejaye) and I were able to connect back at the end of August. As always, I so enjoyed our time together and we inevitably got talking about luxury fibres. Rebecca lives in a part of the world where coming across qivuit is not rare and we chatted about making some luxury blends from the amazing fibre.
This marks the beginning of our How I Spin study on Luxury Fibres for the next number of months - I'm not sure how long we will remain in this place of studying 'luxury' but I hope you will comment below about what constitutes a luxury to you.
Thank you for listening!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month on Wool n' Spinning Radio, Marce (@heybrownberry) and I sat down to have a knit and a chat! Marce is enthusiastic, kind, creative and mindful. It is a pleasure to chat with her, hear about her projects and listen to some of her ideas about the greater making community. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
As with previous months, Wool n' Spinning Radio is also available in video format. Please check it out here.
If you would be interested in joining me on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out!
All photos featured in the videocast & thumbnail are copyright Marceline Smith 2020.
Some of the things we talked about:
Tarheelbilly Farm's website here (American Tunis)
Cat & Sparrow Fibers here
John Arbon Textiles here
Ankestrick JUist 2.0 Sweater here
Shave 'em to Save 'em - rarewool.org
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome to another month of Wool n' Spinning Radio!
This month, the episode is available on video and audio! For the videocast this month, please head here.
Direct YouTube Link here.
Catherine and I talk about lots of things. Here are some of the links and the ways to get in touch with Catherine:
Small Bird Workshop on Etsy here
Small Bird Workshop website here
Small Bird Workshop Instagram here
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Dear Spinning Circle,
Thank you for tuning into Wool n' Spinning Radio this month! I am pleased to welcome my friend, Leah Churchley, to the podcast. I have worked with Leah on the video editing for SweetGeorgia Yarns for my classes but have known Leah for longer. She has a very interesting story to tell in relation to her making and I hope you enjoy our conversation. Please share in the comments your thoughts about chronic illness & making - I am curious about your journey. If you'd like a chance to tell your story, please reach out: rachel @ welfordpurls [dot] com.
To watch the video production of this month's Wool n' Spinning Radio episode, please check it out here.
Direct YouTube Link here.
To follow Leah's journey (and her cats), you can find her on Instagram @thecraftycolon
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Happy Spinning & Making!
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month I was able to catch up with Lauraline, a new spinner who's made an amazing jump in spinning skill due to some really useful tips that helped her make quick progress. She shares what she's done and her reflections in this episode - I hope you find it helpful! Be sure to reach out to her and let her know also!
Find Lauraline on IG & Ravelry as @LauTricote
Slack ID @Lauraline
Patreon Link here
Until next time - happy sample spinning!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome to August 2020! Eve & Katrina and I were able to get on a call together and chat about how we find time to restore and relax. The conversation takes a meandering path and I hope you enjoy our thoughtful conversation.
Some links to things we chat about:
CBC Radio - The Current "Gen X Mid-Life Crisis Women" here
Disabled Makers in Instagram here
Patreon Link here
Thank you for joining us this month!
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
I am so excited to finally announce our latest Breed & Colour Study for us to explore together! This time round, we are looking at carded fibre, which we always do in the second half of the year. Our breed this time? Charollais!
Charollais originate in eastern central France and their fleece usually weighs between 2 and 2.5 kg (4.4 and 5.5 lb) and has a staple length of 4 to 6 cm (1.6 to 2.4 in). The wool is medium grade and measures 56 to 60 on the Bradford count, with a diameter of 29 to 30.5 microns.
Dates to note: July 15th @ 9am PDT
Links for the Patreon post with purchasing links coming soon!
Patreon Link here
We hope you are as excited as we are to start this next study and get into our next exploration together!
Warmly,
Rachel & Katrina
Dear Spinning Circle,
I wanted to publish a thank you episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio because today is my birthday and since it has been such a whirlwind year for many, many people, I thought a wonderful way to share my gratitude would be to release an episode! We will also be Live Streaming later today so I look forward to "seeing" everyone then!
This BONUS episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio is a little supplement of the conversation that we had in the Queries &Explorations group session in May 2020. We chatted about many different things during the time together. I thought this part of the session would be particularly helpful for those who are working to improve their spinning and learning to push the boundaries of the yarns they've been spinning.
Let me know how your experiments go!
Patreon Link here
Happy Spinning,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Gratitude quote:
At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has a cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
- Albert Schweitzer -
Some of the links that Katrina and I talked about:
Crafty Jaks Giving Back here
Katrina's colourway, Ann-mazing Nebula here
Made with Love Along thread here
I hope you enjoy the show!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Thank you for joining us this month! I have the absolute pleasure of introducing you to Diane, @kniterested on Slack, this month. I am so pleased to share this chat with you - Diane is a very gentle, kind soul who has made our community infinitely richer for her contributions.
I hope you enjoy our conversation - it was such a pleasure to learn more about her & their life in rural Oregon!
Shave 'em to Save 'em link here.
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Please note, there is a couple of times when Zoom dropped our call and there are pauses - I'm sorry! I think it only happens twice!
This month's Wool n' Spinning Radio is a conversation with my friend, Becca (@bethy40), of our Patreon community! Becca is a thoughtful, reflective person who loves all things spindle spinning. I remember when she joined the community and said she'd probably never own a wheel -- but she's the proud owner of a Schacht Flatiron and again, spins beautiful yarns on all of her tools.
I hope you enjoy our conversation about how the global social distancing is affecting everyone - their community in particular. Please share your thoughts in the comments about your own coping at this time!
First Wool n' Spinning Radio episode with Becca here.
Patreon link here
I hope you enjoy the show!
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
While Rebecca was here and visiting, we were able to record an episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio to reflect upon the time that she spent here with me! We sat quietly and spoke about the event cancellation, some of our activities and thoughts about the week overall.
We are quite quiet during our chat, reserved and both deep in thought about our own reflections. Throughout our conversation, we were spinning on my wheels: The Majacraft and Lendrum so you will hear them starting and stopping in the background. Also, the kids were playing outside, coming and going from the house and you will hear them in the background a few times. Real life! I hope you don't mind!
Thank you for tuning into this quiet, thoughtful episode. We are experiencing a difficult time as a global community and as our community weathers this, please know that you are welcome on the Slack channel (Spinning Circle tier) to check in with one another, we've had an additional Live Stream and podcast release, and there will be more upcoming.
Our Made with Love - ALONG had begun - for more, please check out Rebecca's blog post and our post on the Ravelry group.
Westcoast Colour website (Lynne Anderson)
Crafty Jaks Boutique website (Katrina Stewart)
Kelly G. Knits Ravelry Store & A Sign of Spring (Crafty Jaks' Shawl Sample)
Rebecca's contact information: @rebbiejaye (Revelry, Slack) - OsbornFiber.com & A Preist Crafts Podcast
Patreon Link here
Stay healthy, enjoy your making & I hope you are connecting through alternative means with family and friends,
Rachel & Rebecca
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month on Wool n' Spinning Radio, Katrina and Sera sat down with me to chat about their experiences this time round of the Breed & Colour Study we are just winding down and completing. What fun to chat with both about their process, inspiration and thoughts for the future. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it!
Thank you also to Sera, @Sera on Slack and @SeraSonja on Ravelry, for taking the time to chat with us - it was an absolute pleasure!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month's bonus episode is brought to you by our Attentive Spinner tier here on Patreon. These amazing people have an opportunity to come on Wool n' Spinning Radio, sharing some of their story with us, and building friendships across the globe. Pretty cool!
This month, Erica (@Jahanara on Slack) and Eve (@ollycob) joined me for a Word Prompt episode. We've recorded these in the past but for those new to these episodes, I use a random word generator to spark our discussion. This month, we got 'reflect' which is pretty great for this time of year!
There were some sound issues with there is a truck-type sound every so often. I was also very soft in the recorded audio. Mike and I fixed this as much as possible but I appreciate your understanding - sometimes these things happen!
If you are part of the Attentive Spinner tier, please watch for more Doodles to be posted in February with opportunities to record episodes of Wool n' Spinning Radio with me!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome to a new episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio! This month, Katrina and I get on the phone and chat about the push and pull of wanting to hibernate at this time of year versus getting after our goals. We discuss this tug, as well as some goal setting that Katrina has been working on lately.
Lululemon 10-year Worksheets here
Patreon Link here
I hope you enjoy our conversation!
Until next time,
Rachel
Happy New Year, Spinning Circle!
As we welcome the new year, Katrina and I sat down to continue our conversation from last month about reflecting on where we've been and where we are going. In a totally organic way, we began discussing how we cultivate happiness and contentedness in this world that we live in. We chat about finding our tribe and fostering face-to-face interactions after connecting online.
One of the milestones we are working on within our community is meeting in person, through retreats around the world. To make these things happen, please spread the work and get our 'people' on board to join the community. As we build a thriving community, we have the opportunity to grow, learn and inspire one another!
Here's to learning together, gathering in friendship & sharing our passion - Enjoy the episode!
Please remember to fill out the Doodle calendar so that you can get on Wool n' Spinning Radio and have your voice heard! Follow the links here. This is a special invitation to those Attentive Spinners in this tier. Want to be a regular participant on Wool n' Spinning Radio? All you have to do is join - scroll down and look at the Attentive Spinner tier!
Patreon Link here
As well, Candy is our winner from last month -- I will be connecting with you Candy to get your mailing address and sending you some fibre!
Warmly,
Rachel & Katrina
Dear Spinning Circle ~
This month, I was so pleased to be able to get on the phone with Sarah of Sarah Elizabeth Fibre Works from Rossland, BC. Sarah is increbibly passionate about her business, building it and loving it, as well as her making and role as a parent. I really enjoyed listening to her ideas, thoughts and reflections. She's a pleasure to chat with and I hope you enjoy our conversation!
To find more about Sarah, please check out her website here and her Instagram feed here.
Music used as part of the Creative Commons Licensing; Scott Holmes, "Storybook"
Patreon Link here
Thank you for listening!
Happy Spinning!
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, Katrina and I take a deep dive into looking back on the year, as well as looking forward. We chat about what it means to look after ourselves and fill our own buckets so that we can fill others, as well as how we see our making unfolding in the new year. Katrina has a very specific goal she wants to fulfill, which she shares and I wish her all the best as she embarks on this next step in her personal making! It will be so exciting to see her learn, grow and achieve new things!
In the introduction to the podcast, I announce a prompt for this episode so please take a moment to comment below - it will be a pleasure to see what you are all hoping to achieve as well!
Music used as part of the Creative Commons Licensing; Scott Holmes, "Storybook"
Patreon Link here
As always, happy spinning,
Rachel & Katrina
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month we have a special episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio! There have been several requests to bring back Word Prompt episodes on the podcast so I decided to delve back in to these awesome episodes with Becca and Kelly this month. We used a random word generator and were lucky enough to get the word, "favour". For those who have listened to these episodes before, you will remember that we allow the conversation to go wherever it goes -- I hope you enjoy following along with us!
Becca can be found on Ravelry as Bethy40 and Instagram as twistanddraw
Kelly can be found on Ravelry as tomatl and Instagram as DominionFleece
Don't hesitate to say hello to both!! Thank you to both for spending the time with me -- I appreciate your time and energy!
Music used as part of the Creative Commons Licensing; Scott Holmes, "Storybook"
Thank you so much for joining us this month! Please share you ideas in the comments below around getting together, spending time face-to-face and continuing to grow this community!
Patreon Link here
Until next month,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome! This month on Wool n' Spinning Radio, Katrina and I chat about our most recent festival that was hosted here in Vancouver, BC, namely Knit City. It is a large knit-centric event that many of us look forward to throughout the year.
This year, Rachel was able to attend as a patron and she reflects on that experience, while Katrina was vending and she shares how the weekend unfolded for her. Together, we reflect on what festivals are for, the marathon of the weekend and general thoughts about community.
For last months episode on video, please have a look here.
Patreon Link here
As always, we look forward to hearing your reflections and thoughts. Please comment below on what struck you as you listened!
Until next month,
Rachel & Katrina
Dear Spinning Circle,
Welcome to another bonus episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio!
I was going to hold this episode back for November or December but I just felt so inspired by Emonie's enthusiasm and process that I couldn't not share this episode with you sooner! Her joy for the fibre arts is infectious and I hope you learn as much as I did -- as well as want to get onto your wheel or loom ASAP after listening! Thank you to Emonie for taking the time to chat - I really appreciate everyone's time when they spend it with me.
If you want to follow Emonie on social media, please check out her Instagram, Ravelry and blog.
Enjoy this bonus episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio and don't forget to tell your friends about the audio podcast that they will have access to once they pledge on Patreon to Wool n' Spinning!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Get spinning and weaving with those textured yarns!
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle,
This month, Katrina and I decided to mix things up for you and I am so pleased with the results - so much in fact, that I am excited to share this with our entire Patreon community a little bit early! Katrina and I got together to record our regular Wool n' Spinning Radio episode and I surprised her by asking if she'd be willing to 'sit under the lights' with the camera on. She is such a good sport and said, yes. If you would prefer to watch the episode, rather than listen, please head over to this post instead! And please, let us know what you think!
As many of you know, we are launching our next study this month. Please stay tuned for links in a separate post for everyone. For a reflection of our previous studies, please head here to the blog.
For those new to breed and colour studies, it really is an opportunity for you to push yourself outside your comfort zone. There has been an incredible diversity in participation and that was what I had hoped for when we started out with Breed & Colour Studies because everyone’s wants and needs are different. Katrina and I can offer one avenue, while the remainder of the study is a series of Choose You Own Adventure-type choices: How you want to spin your fibre, manage the colour in you fibre, or what you’d like to learn from that particular study. Those are questions only you are able to answer and therein lies the interest of a study like these.
I hope you enjoy listening/watching this month's episode! Let us know what you think of the alternate format!
Patreon Link here
Happy Spinning,
Rachel & Katrina
Thank you for joining us this month as Becca, Katrina and I reflect on this most recent Breed & Colour Study. We studied Dorset Horn and I personally loved this spin, as I reflected upon in both the How I Spin Vlogs and PDFs throughout the past few months.
Becca chose to spin her Dorset in 3-ply yarns, which can be seen here. They are beautiful. And the inspiration photo is shown above that was submitted by Charlette (@carlotta). Thank you both and to everyone who participated in this study!
Please comment below about your personal experiences with Breed & Colour Studies and how these studies have changed your own spinning or purchasing habits. I'm very curious about this, which came up in our conversation.
Patreon Link here
As always, happy spinning!
Rachel, Katrina & Becca
Dear Spinning Circle -
Thank you for listening in to Wool n' Spinning Radio this month! I am really excited about this episode because we are being joined by Erica Jones of Weavolution. Erica has been instrumental in my own new weaving journey, offering knowledge and kindness throughout my early learning process. We first got talking when she helped me understand the differences between 'harness' and 'shaft' looms, how to refer to them and got me really thinking about weaving in general.
On this episode, we talk about weaving with our handspun and Erica helps to dispel some myths that have become common in weaving today. We talk about rigid heddle weaving and why one might move to a table or floor loom. We discuss some of the differences between commercial weaving yarns and handspun - at one point, we get into quite a technical conversation about sett. If you aren't sure what we mean, please know we will be having more of these conversations in coming months in the community.
Erica mentions the resource that is Sara Lamb's blog and website, which can be found here.
Erica can be found in the following places:
Thank you for listening! Enjoy the episode.
Patreon Link here
Thank you for joining Katrina and I in the second part of our discussion that started last month while we were signing books. We had begun to move into a conversation about discomfort in our making. We thought we'd keep the microphone on (which was my phone so that sound quality is not what it normally is), continue talking and share it with you!
It is not an easy conversation sometimes and we get pretty deep and personal about some of the things we've been thinking about in our making, as well as our lives in general. I hope you enjoy this conversation and next month, I'll be welcoming a very special guest onto the show! Can't wait!
Patreon Link here
Until then, happy spinning!
Rachel
This month, we have some really exciting news: The books are finished, printed and ready to be shipped! We talked about doing a Live Stream while we were signing the books but logistically, it just wasn't going to work. Instead, we bring you along for a stream-of-consciousness episode that we recorded on the last day of April (yesterday for some of you) while we signed and packaged the books. There's no real topic of conversation but we share a lot about how the last couple of weeks unfolded, explain some of the delays in getting the book out, and discuss the mental and emotional toll of working on a project of this size.
I hope you enjoy the slightly hap-hazard episode and know that from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for you support and enthusiasm about this project!
Patreon Link here
Warmly,
Rachel & Katrina
Dear Spinning Circle ~
This month, Katrina and I got on the phone to discuss the newest Breed & Colour Study - full disclosure: I am really excited about this one!! These are totally my colours!
Patreon Link here
Warmly,
Rachel
Dear Spinning Circle ~
BIG NEWS! I am so pleased to be writing this post and welcoming you to another episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio because we have finished the book!
If you have't heard, Katrina and I have been working on a book in the background for the past couple of years. We have sent it to the publisher and have the proof-in-hand. If you are local, we will have it at Fibres West with us!
In order to order the copies and ensure an adequate number of copies for everyone, we will begin taking pre-orders THIS WEEKEND. We appreciate your support and help in getting this into print.
To order your copy, please link over here anytime after Friday, March 22nd @ 9am PST. The books in this pre-order will be signed by both Katrina and myself. We will be ordering on Monday, March 25th so please ensure you order sometime over the weekend to ensure you are part of this run!
E-Books will be available as well - that is in progress at the moment so if you prefer paperless, please stay tuned over the next couple of weeks.
Thank you for you support and encouragement of the project - we both are so amazed, humbled and encouraged by your ongoing enthusiasm and kindness about this project.
Warmly,
Rachel & Katrina
It's hard to believe that another Breed & Colour Study has come to an end! This month marks the wrapping up of this amazing study. Continue to post and chat about your yarns, projects and learning in both the Ravelry group and Slack channel.
Ravelry group ongoing chatter thread
Ravelry group Finished Objects thread (chatter-free)
Usually, I feel bittersweet when these studies conclude. On one hand, I am excited by the yarns I have made, the learning I have done and the reflections I have had a chance to share with you. But on the other hand, I am sad to be finished with another amazing fibre and to be moving onto something new. There is something powerful in being able to move onto "The New" but it is important to remember where we have been and what we have learned to be able to build upon that strong foundation.
I hope you enjoyed this study as much as Katrina and I enjoyed creating it.
There will be news at the beginning of April about how the next study will proceed so please await my post on how that will roll out. It will be slightly different from how we've done it in the past.
Please leave your comments, thoughts and reflections in the comments below to continue this conversation on using your handspun versus stashing it, treating the things we make as 'precious' and the finishing of another study.
Patreon Link herehttps://www.patreon.com/posts/24958537
Until next time,
Rachel
Thank you for joining us this month! I was so pleased to finally be able to sit down with my friend, Diana, and chat with her about her process, teaching workshops in fibre arts, our experimental learning and more.
Thank you to Diana for taking time out of her day to chat with me!
Some links to find Diana on the interwebs:
1. Her blog is here,
2. Instagram is here, and
3. Find her on Ravelry here.
Patreon Link here
Thank you again!
Until next time,
-r.
Happy New Year, Spinning Circle! I hope you have begun to ring in the new year with enthusiasm and excitement for the year ahead. The big question is have you made some resolutions and if so, care to share in the comments?
Katrina and I continue chatting from last month but switch directions to discuss our fitness and health journeys respectively. I had an injury in Crossfit back in August, which has really changed my view about how I want to proceed. Katrina has made some amazing changes in the past year and shares about how she hopes to continue in the new year.
I hope you have some ideas about how you'd like to shape 2019 - as I mentioned, please post below!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Rachel & Katrina
We decided to get together for another conversation since we had so many topics we left in our last conversation! This is Part II of my conversation with Kai and Becca, two very active members of our Patreon community. If you missed Part I, please check it out here.
This time, we chatted about slow cloth, slow living and railing against our fast-paced world to remember to value how things are made, the true cost of items that surround us in our everyday world and moving forward mindful of these concepts.
Becca mentions a podcast that she listens to and quotes in the episode. It can be found here.
I hope you enjoy the conversation! If you'd like to be on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please send me a message through Patreon and I will work it into the schedule - I love getting to know the community. We all have so much value to offer one another and wisdom so let's share!
Patreon Link here
Until next time, Happy Spinning!
Rachel
Thank you for joining us this month! Katrina and I sat down in my kitchen to spend some time together, knitting and chatting about the current breed and colour studies. We discussed the colours, the inspiration and Katrina's process.
Thank you to everyone who participated this time round in the study - we really appreciated it. It was an amazing experience and while completely overwhelming, energizing at the same time. Now, it's time to start spinning!
Patreon Link here
Happy Holidays,
Rachel
This month, I wanted to post a bonus episode that would take the form of some of our previous episodes with a random word generator but at the last moment, I decided to explore some key topics instead. We talked about men in spinning, transitioning from spindles to wheels and back again, spinning in the world at the moment and other ideas. We wanted to get to some other topics as well but ran out of time! We hope to record a follow-up conversation soon.
I hope you enjoy the conversation! If you'd like to be on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please send me a message through Patreon and I will work it into the schedule - I love getting to know the community. We all have so much value to offer one another and wisdom so let's share!
Patreon Link here
Until next time, Happy Spinning!
Rachel
Welcome to Wool n' Spinning Radio! This month, Katrina and I chat about our long-term spinning aspirations. We get into a discussion about spinning thicker yarn, a concept of learning to spin across a continuum, and how to continue to seek out those who support your improvement as a spinner. We discuss future plans, our hopes and dreams, and what we would like to accomplish.
Please comment below if you have any thoughts, ideas or questions about anything we talked about this month. If you have anything you'd like to hear us talk about in the future, please leave a comment or PM me directly!
For the Wool n' Spinning Radio Chatter thread over on Ravelry, please head over here.
Until next month,
Happy Spinning!
Rachel & Katrina
Hi Spinning Circle,
It's that time again -- are you as excited as I am to have something on the horizon to challenge you? Push you out of your comfort zone? Just spin, spin, spin away at your wheel as the weather changes? Me too.
Because this episode is more of an announcement episode, and we really need action as quickly as possible so that Katrina can start dyeing, I'm releasing this episode to everyone rather than the usual early release. I hope the excitement of freshly dyed fibre makes up for the early release this month!
Katrina and I chat this month about this next installment of the breed & colour study. The study will run from October to March, per usual. We introduce the theme for the photo thread on Ravelry (link here), as well, we ask you to take a poll that I created to decided on the number of colourways we will be studying this time round - please head over here for that!
I hope you are as excited about this study as we are - I think this one is really going to stretch us.
How's that for a good teaser?
Patreon Link here
Enjoy!
Rachel & Katrina
This month's Wool n' Spinning Radio is a conversation between Katrina, Becca and myself about the most recent breed and colour study that we have been engaging in as a community. This study comes to an end this month - I hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have!
This study was meant to push people outside of their comfort zones as much as possible. While the colours may not have appealed to you, the goal of this study was to step outside of our individual 'typical' colour palates to create something that would offer a lot of learning. Our conversation includes the inspiration for this study, sheep breeds and wool, decisions we made when starting to spin, and thoughts for the future.
Here is a link to Becca's project that she spun with her gradient Targhee set she mentions in the show, as well as her Breed & Colour Study project page. And here is my project page for this study.
I hope you enjoy our (slightly longer that usual) conversation!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/21160811
Happy Spinning!
Rachel, Katrina & Becca
Welcome to Wool n' Spinning Radio this month! Katrina and I continue our conversation from last month but shift to creative-life balance and what that means to both of us. We chat about trying to be more active, getting in more steps and our sedentary life when we are creative.
I hope you enjoy our conversation! Remember to enter below for the giveaway this month!
Happy Spinning,
Rachel
Welcome to Wool n' Spinning Radio this month! I was so pleased to have Katrina over for coffee one morning and chat everything fibre, colour studies, work-life balance, creativity and much more. This is Part I of our conversation and the second part will be released in August.
Some of the things we chatted about were in relation to the Breed & Colour Study. If you are looking for something in particular, please comment below. Otherwise, here are a few of the things we mentioned:
- Katrina's project page of woollen spun, chain-plied yarn
- Plying from a centre-pull ball/ bracelet plying (if you don't have a ball winder - the principles are the same) tutorial on YouTube
If there is anything else, please comment below!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/wool-n-spinning-19967146
Until next time,
Rachel
Thank you for joining me this month. I'm super excited to share this month's guest with you! Let me introduce you to my friend, Laurie, who moved from near me and now resides in the Interior of BC with sheep, goats and dogs. She is a powerhouse of information and I hope you enjoy our conversation!
One word about the quality of the conversation. I try to keep the telephone or Skype quality of my conversations as high as possible but Laurie is quite isolated on her farm! We recorded the conversation over mobile phone so, while you can hear what we talk about, there is a certain fuzziness to the conversation. I hope this doesn't deter you from our chat -- she has so much to share with us!
Disdero Ranch Instagram account
Please enter below for the giveaway announced in the show!
Laurie mentions in the show that they were anticipating flooding - they did indeed flood but they are all well and good. She enjoyed some skirting of fleeces to send away while the water rose and the animals were all okay!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/wool-n-spinning-19008992
Happy Spinning!
-r.
Thank you to Eve and Rebecca for joining me this month in our bonus episode! We had another word prompt episode and I hope you enjoy our conversation. We get into some more personal things towards the end of the show about Charlie, his prognosis and treatment options, as well as some other topics. I hope you enjoy the more personal snap shot of some of our community member's lives, as well as my own.
Happy Spinning,
Rachel, Eve & Rebecca
We are welcoming Heidi of Vegan Yarn back onto the show to delve into our current theme even more: Plant-based fibres.
Vegan Yarn official website here.
Vegan Yarn Ravelry group here.
We chatted about a few different things: plant-based fibres and approaches to spinning them, micro-plastics (oil-based plastics) and living plant-based. Heidi comes to these topics in an open and non-judgmental way and I hope you find her approach gentle. If you have any questions or would like more information, please comment below and I will connect with Heidi (if I can't answer it myself) for her thoughts!
As always, happy spinning!
Rachel
Welcome to the next installment of Breed & Colour Studies! I'm really excited about this study because we will be back to carded prep with a twist! Start thinking about your photos you would like to see in a colourway and get ready to post them in the Ravelry thread, open now!
Any questions, please comment below or in the Ravelry thread.
Until next time -- keep spinning!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/17496327
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Also known as my dad's birthday! I hope you are drinking green beer somewhere and I had to celebrate by including a bonus episode of something this month ... weeeellll ....
Welcome to a bonus episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio this month! I'm so pleased to be able to introduce you to more community members this month: Candi and Mairi. Mairi made an appearance on the show back in January but this time, it's just the three of us so you get to know her a little better!
This is another word prompt episode and for those who aren't familiar with these, the premise is this: I grab a word from random word generator and we chat about it in relation to spinning. It's fun because you can't prepare and we can go in any direction we want! The only rule is that I can only refresh the word ONCE. But this month, we get a little off track ... and for more, listen to the last 1-2 minutes for the outtakes. What fun! Outtakes!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/wool-n-spinning-17298735
In the meantime, enjoy the show!
Welcome to this month's Wool n' Spinning Radio! Thank you for joining me! I'm really excited to share this month's episode with you because it was recorded just a couple of weeks ago after Becca and I finished all of our spinning for the study.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/wool-n-spinning-17020143
If you are a long time Patron subscriber, you will be familiar with how these studies happen but for those who are new, I thought I would briefly recap. In late September, Katrina and I announced our plans for this study. We really wanted to focus this round on combination spinning since both of us absolutely love combo spinning. It was timely because there’d been the craze on Instagram over combo spinning for sweater quantities of yarn, which we’d explored in the past on the show, in the community, through the blog and on Ravelry.
There are several ideas behind this colour study:
The previous Wool n' Spinning Radio episode with Felicia Lo that addressed colour management, the colour wheel and combing colours (although we got woefully off topic) is here.
I hope you enjoy listening this month!
As always, happy spinning,
-r.
Welcome to Wool n' Spinning Radio's Bonus Episode for February! I hope you enjoy my conversation with Becca and Rebecca, both from our Wool n' Spinning Community. We were all in a very reflective, thoughtful mood and the conversation went deep and contemplative very quickly. I hope you enjoy listening!
Patreon Link here
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Rachel
Welcome to Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Thank you for joining me this month! I am so excited to welcome Felicia Lo onto the show this month. She is one of my mentors, which she may not know, and the reason is because of her generosity, kindness and openness about her life, SweetGeorgia Yarns, and being a mom. Whenever we chat, we always get carried away and go off on many tangents because we have a lot in common besides fibre. We’ve transitioned to being moms at similar times in our lives and often bounce ideas, books and information off one another. Also, we both love snowboarding and running so fair warning, we chat about those things in the last 10 minutes or so of the podcast! I hope you don’t mind and I won’t be offended if you turn us off a bit early!
Originally, we had hoped to chat about colour and combination spinning those braids from our stash but like I mentioned, we often get woefully off track!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/wool-n-spinning-16562031
I hope you enjoy our conversation this month. This is a month with a bonus episode coming to you so please watch for that in the coming weeks!
Until next time,
Rachel
Happy New Year! I hope the holidays have been relaxing and kind to you. I have been travelling but am looking forward to settling back into a routine. There's something very comforting about the slog of the winter - we often get out of the city a few times to snowshoe and this year, we are going to try James on skis. We will see how it goes!
This month's show was recorded in a cabin in the woods - there's background noise from the ocean, wood-burning stove/fireplace and our spinning wheels. I hope you enjoy the ambiance! I gave the group a one-word prompt and they ran with it. There's a lot of laughter and I hope you feel like you got to come along as well.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/15637006
Until next month,
Happy Spinning!
This month on Wool n' Spinning Radio, I am so pleased to introduce to you Heidi of Vegan Yarn. She is a powerhouse of knowledge and skill with lots to share about what she does. I asked her specifically about spinning cotton and other cellulose- and plant-based fibres. She even gave pointers around finishing plant-based yarns for us!
I hope you enjoy hearing about her background, love of dyeing and spinning techniques as much as I enjoyed chatting with her.
https://www.patreon.com/posts/15637006
Enjoy!
Welcome to Wool n' Spinning Radio November's edition! I'm really excited to share this month's episode with you - I had a conversation over Skype with Becca (bethy40 & twistanddraw) and Katrina (CraftyJaks)! I gave them a one-word prompt to start the conversation and we were off!
Please note, we had a little bit of technical difficulty at the beginning but it was all sorted out and we had a great chat! Thanks for baring with the beginning - it's a bit choppy.
If you are interested in being a part of these One-Word Prompt conversations, please send me a line or comment below! I'd love to have you on the show!
Until next month,
Happy Spinning!
This month, Katrina and I get on Skype together and chat about the project we've been working on for the past year. We decided to reveal the cover page of the book this month for those who subscribe* to The Thoughtful Spinner.
*Remember that if you help support The Thoughtful Spinner, your name will be featured in the book as a Thank You for Supporting this project!
We had some technical difficulties at the beginning but I hope you can stick with us and hear what we've been working on! We are super excited to begin sharing more and more content with you on The Thoughtful Spinner in the coming months!
For more on Spinners Spotlight, please head over to my blog!
As always, happy spinning!
Rachel & Katrina
This month, I was able to chat with my friend, Margaret Sampson. She lives on a small-ish farm on the Langley/Surrey border with a bunch of Suffolk sheep and a llama. Her dog Katie joined us for the interview and you may hear her in the background.
It was a pleasure to chat with her and as I say in the episode, I have some of her Suffolk roving, which is awesome for socks, and would be more than willing to send some of it out to you with base costs (shipping, milling costs) covered!
Happy Spinning!
The time of year that we are all consumed with Tour de Fleece has come and gone ... it’s a bit sad, really that these events that unite the spinning community have to end! Seeing all the inspirational photos on Instagram will be missed – although, I have noticed there are more and more spinners out there, sharing their photos and chatting!
Regardless, they have to end at some point because otherwise, there’s be no prizes to award! This week, along with our regularly scheduled Wool n’ Spinning Radio episode for all Patreon subscribers, we have a quick recap of the Tour for myself along with prizes. Congratulations to those who won – please send me your mailing addresses and I will pop those in the mail for you ASAP!
Thank you again to Jennifer of Runyan Artware for contributing so many Rundel spindles to be able to give away – I really appreciate being able to showcase them and offer them as prizes to everyone!
To find your own Rundel spindle, please click here. Congratulations to everyone!
- rachel
This month, I chat with my friend Ann, who is local to me. She lives on a small farm with quite a few dogs, cats and sheep! She has quite the collection of wheels and she shared a lot about her CPW in particular.
There was a thunder and lightning storm during the interview and there is quite a lot of movement - it's real life!
Happy Spinning!
This month, I have the immense pleasure of sharing my conversation with Jillian Moreno. For those who aren't familiar with her work, Jillian is the editor behind KnittySpin and the author of the amazing book, Yarnitecture. She is an incredible well of information and forthcoming about her love of spinning. I hope you enjoy our conversation this month!
Happy Spinning!
Hi Everyone! Welcome to a Bonus episode of Wool n’ Spinning Radio. This podcast is brought to you on Patreon for our subscribers and is a monthly installment that provides an RSS feed to listeners for their favourite app to listen each month. This month, I am releasing an episode for everyone because I chatted with Kim of Ewethful Fibre Farm and Mill . Kim has plans to start a fibre club in July, about a month from now, and I hope you have a chance to check it out. Kim is warm, forthcoming and passionate about her work – I hope you enjoy hearing our conversation!
Thank you for listening in to this bonus episode of Wool n’ Spinning Radio. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Kim. For more content like this, please head over to Patreon.com/welfordpurls, where this podcast airs each month for Patreon subscribers.
Have a wonderful month and Happy Spinning!
This month, I chatted with Natalie Redding of Namaste Farms . She is a firecracker of information and incredibly forthcoming about what she does, her knowledge and insights, and her sheep. I want to say a special thank you for her time - it was a pleasure to chat with her.
This month, I had the chance to chat with Becca, who many of you know from Slack and the Ravelry group. She is a prolific spinner, incredible cheerleader for many of us taking on a large project and kind. It was incredibly fun to chat with her.
Thank you to Becca for taking the time to chat with me - I hope to have her on the show again in the future.
Happy Spinning!
Thank you for tuning in this month to Wool n' Spinning Radio! This month, I am so pleased to have the opportunity to chat with my friend and Wool n' Spinning community member, Nina La Fountaine.
Nina lives in Santiago, Chile, and designs under the name Fuzzy Love Knots. She chats about spinning, local wool and living in Chile.
I hope you enjoy listening - we had a blast chatting to each other.
For more about Bastidor, please contact Nina directly as I wasn't able to find the appropriate link for the site or the wool itself.
Please leave a comment here or join the conversation over on Ravelry and SLACK.
Until next month, Happy Spinning!
Thank you for listening in this month! I am continuing our theme this month about combo spinning since the craze is all over the internet - particularly Instagram. I loop Katrina in for her thoughts on the subject since she has done quite a number of combo spins now. And I use a question from a lovely Patreon subscriber, Rebecca, to anchor the conversation.
Until next month!
Welcome to Wool n' Spinning Radio's Bonus Episode for February! I hope you enjoy my conversation with Becca and Rebecca, both from our Wool n' Spinning Community. We were all in a very reflective, thoughtful mood and the conversation went deep and contemplative very quickly. I hope you enjoy listening!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/wool-n-spinning-15725779
Until next time,
Happy Spinning!
Rachel
Thank you for tuning in to the first full episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio, a monthly radio show for our Patreon subscribers of the Wool n' Spinning videocast. I truly appreciate your support and wanted to do something in the podcasting realm that would help me to explore something new. The show will be released on or around the 7th of each month.
This month marks a new year and finally the end of my lack of crafting mojo, which I reflect upon later in the show. First, though, I have a chat with my dear friend Katrina, who all of you as CraftyJAKS.
I hope you enjoy listening - as always if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or Katrina.
Links to the things you need:
Katrina's Etsy shop is here
The ongoing colour studies and information you need about that is here.
Katrina's Instagram page is here
I hope that's everything!
Remember to change your pledge levels if you are in WORKSHOPS or FIBRE CLUB to something else prior to the 20th of January as they will be deleted prior to the end of the month.
Again, thank you for your support. See you either over in Ravelry, the SLACK channel or Instagram!
I'm really excited to annouce something I have been contemplating for a while that will be coming in January 2017. Have a listen for more!
Happy New Years!
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.