Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. The crew sat down with Emily McIvor of New Wave Fibre, based in British Columbia, Canada, to chat about Emily's business, her growing flock of sheep and living in a relatively isolated area of the province. Emily shares how, together with her business partner, she navigates shipping to far-off mills in remote areas of Canada, furthering reminding us of the extreme distances people have to cope with in a large country with few people and fewer shipping options. Thank you to Emily for joining us on today's episode; you are welcome back anytime!

Full Shownotes on Patreon here

It was a pleasure to welcome Emily back to show. If you would like to tune into her previous appearance on the Radio show, please have a listen here

Find Emily - New Wave Fibre here:

• Etsy - NewWaveFibre here
• IG @new_wave_fibre
• email newwavefibre@gmail.com

Projects discussed in Table Setting:

• Rachel's Selkie Tank here & handspun yarn blend here
• Dionne's Mizzle & Mist by Tania Barley pattern here
• Emily's Heartwood by Tania Barley pattern here
  • Custom Woollen Mills here
• Rebecca's Swiss/Suisse wool from the most recent episode of The Wool Circle here

Previous Episodes of Wool n' Spinning Radio here.

I hope you enjoyed our conversation. Be sure to like and subscribe and leaving a review really does help the show be found by others. Share it with your friends. Think about putting a plug for the Radio show into your Guild newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to do that.

If this is your first time tuning into Wool n’ Spinning Radio, welcome. This audio podcast is a spin-off from the original podcast available on YouTube at youtube.com/RachelSmith. Rachel has been podcasting since 2014, talking about handspinning and making yarn. Her passion is working with her handspun yarns in projects, both knit and woven. Links to the website, Instagram and more are available in the show notes and at Patreon.com/woolnspinning.

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Thank you for listening! If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out below, in the comments, or send an email to rachel@welfordpurls.com.

Until next month, keep wool close and your spindles closer!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. Rachel and Rebecca sat down with Melissa Littlefield to discuss how she got into knitting, spinning, and blogging, and how online and local fiber communities have evolved. Melissa spends time explaining the origins and research behind her book, Reinventing Wool, focusing on how wool was transformed and marketed in the mid-20th century, the rise of synthetic detergents, mothproofing, Superwash, and the cultural narratives that framed wool as a problem to be “improved” by science. We talk about the global dimensions of wool production, the roles of Australia, the UK, and Germany, and parallels with other fibers like cotton. We reflect on the loss of generational knowledge, the impact of convenience and marketing, and the persistence of “natural vs. synthetic” dichotomies. Finally, we touch on the current state and future prospects of the wool industry, the importance of community and advocacy, and the value of longer-form content and grassroots knowledge sharing. Melissa recommends some further reading and resources, and shares where her book could be purchased, which is linked in the shownotes below.

To Melissa, thank you for sharing this journey with us this month. It was an absolute pleasure speaking to you about the book and your research journey. To the larger fibre arts community, this is a must-read book. There are nuggets throughout the book that we can all relate to, from a moth infested fleece to a shrunken article of clothing mistakenly thrown in the washing machine. There are some bittersweet truths about what the wool industry has become and some hope for the future. Whether you use superwash yarn for socks or hardy Down-breeds blended with silk, we are all part of a larger story about industry, science and technology, advancement and tradition. I hope you enjoy the epsiode.

Full episode shownotes available here.

To get in touch with Melissa, here are a few places to check:

Visit Melissa's website @ http://knittingthestash.com

Shop the Flock Farm Yarn Store @ http://flockfarmyarn.com

Watch the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/knittingthestash

Friend Melissa on Ravelry: knittingthestash

Send Melissa a message: knittingthestash@gmail.com

Previous Episodes of Wool n' Spinning Radio here.

I hope you enjoyed our conversation. Be sure to like and subscribe and leaving a review really does help the show be found by others. Share it with your friends. Think about putting a plug for the Radio show into your Guild newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to do that.

If this is your first time tuning into Wool n’ Spinning Radio, welcome. This audio podcast is a spin-off from the original podcast available on YouTube at youtube.com/RachelSmith. Rachel has been podcasting since 2014, talking about handspinning and making yarn. Her passion is working with her handspun yarns in projects, both knit and woven. Links to the website, Instagram and more are available in the show notes and at Patreon.com/woolnspinning.

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Thank you for listening! If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out below, in the comments, or send an email to rachel@welfordpurls.com.

Until next month, keep wool close and your spindles closer!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. Dionne, Rebecca and Rachel sat down with long-time member Rebecka Roy, known to all of us as Becca, to chat through a post-mortem of her Spinning Certicate of Achievement. Through questions and general discussion, Becca shared her experience completing a UK-based spinning certificate program, which took 5.5 years to complete.

Part of the discussion that people may find particuarly helpful was around the program's structure, which requires spinning specific fibers including wool, cotton, silk, and flax, along with blended yarns and textured techniques, culminating in a final project. The program is self-directed and while she faced some challenges, including COVID-related disruptions, life, and the need to redo some of her early work, Becca would recommend the program to others despite the difficulties.

There are always considerations when thinking about a program such as this, including balancing personal life and personal goals. There is always the need to present work to evaluators and ensure communication is clear. Through all of this, Becca remains very positive about her experience and offers some advice to others thinking about embarking on a similar journey.

Becca can be found on the WnS Slack channel as #bethy40 and IG as @twistanddraw

Extended shownotes available here.

Previous Episodes of Wool n' Spinning Radio here.

I hope you enjoyed our conversation. Be sure to like and subscribe and leaving a review really does help the show be found by others. Share it with your friends. Think about putting a plug for the Radio show into your Guild newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to do that.

If this is your first time tuning into Wool n’ Spinning Radio, welcome. This audio podcast is a spin-off from the original podcast available on YouTube at youtube.com/RachelSmith. Rachel has been podcasting since 2014, talking about handspinning and making yarn. Her passion is working with her handspun yarns in projects, both knit and woven. Links to the website, Instagram and more are available in the show notes and at Patreon.com/woolnspinning.

***

Thank you for listening! If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out below, in the comments, or send an email to rachel@welfordpurls.com.

Until next month, keep wool close and your spindles closer!