Spin-Off Spring 2020

USA ARIZONA Grandma’s Spinning Wheel6544 E. Tanque Verde #150Tucson, AZ 85715Ph 520 290-3738spinningramma@aol.comwww.grandmasspinningwheel.com CALIFORNIA The Village Spinning & Weaving425-B Alisal RdSolvang, CA 93463Ph 888 686-1192 Toll Freevillagespinweave@mac.comwww.villagespinweave.com COLORADO Bountiful211 Green Mountain DrLivermore, CO 80536Ph 970 482-7746Toll-free 877 586-9332info@bountifulspinweave.comwww.bountifulspinweave.com Blazing Star Ranch3424 S. BroadwayEnglewood, CO 80113Ph 303 514-8780blazingstarranch@gmail.comwww.blazingstarranch.com CONNECTICUT The Wheel Thing454 Wells Hill RdLakeville, CT 06039Ph 860 435-2626jlynn4540@gmail.comwww.the-wheel-thing.com IDAHO The Sheep Shed76 N. Robinson RdNampa ID 83687sheepshed@q.comPh 2084664365 ILLINOIS The Fold3316 Millstream RdMarengo, IL60152Ph 815 568-0165thefold@mc.netwww.thefoldatmc.net INDIANA The Trading Post for Fiber Arts8833 S. 5O W.Pendleton, IN 46064Ph 765 778-3642tradingpostfiber@aol.comwww.tradingpostfiber.com KENTUCKY The Woolery859 E Main St STE 1AFrankfort, KY 40601Ph 502 352-9800info@woolery.comwww.thewoolery.com LOUISIANA Weavin’ Place79434 Deluane RdFolsom, LA 70437Ph 985 796-8048cheryl@weavinplace.comwww.weavinplace.com MAINE Halcyon Yam12 School StBath, ME 04530Ph 1-800-341-0282purchasing@halcyonyarn.comwww.halcyon.com MICHIGAN Heritage Spinning & Weaving47 E. Flint StLake Orion, Ml 48362Ph…

From the beginning, I was a wool-obsessed spinner. I learned to spin and enjoy cotton, linen, and ramie, but they didn’t fascinate me like wool. As a child, I had a habit of naming special sheep in my family’s flock after vegetables, so Broccoli and Cauliflower were as close to botanical-fiber love as I came for quite some time. And then about six years ago, I purchased a book charkha. My whole spinning life changed. I learned to think, move, and react in new ways as thousands of yards of cotton singles passed from my hand to this tiny, exquisite tool. I began to recognize the life in plant fibers that I connected with so deeply in animal fibers. My charkha is made from recycled bits of metal and repurposed…

Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy By Rebecca Burgess, with Courtney White Spinners don’t need much convincing to work with their local wool, but weaver and natural dyer Rebecca Burgess’s new book will have you looking for additional ways to engage with your area’s fiber producers. Burgess urges us to reconnect with the literal clothes on our backs. Part manifesto and part guidebook, the author calls on makers to understand the impact of commercial clothing on our environment and actively help revitalize local textile resources. Within the book’s pages handspinners will find some familiar names, such as Sally Fox, but thumb to the back, and you’ll find useful resources to help you make better purchases and get involved with your own…

Take measure of your handspun and more with Katrinkles Mix and Match Mini Tools. With 21 different options to choose from, select the tools needed for your work in progress and stash them in your bag for on-the-go crafting. $8 each; set of six $40. Katrinkles, www.katrinkles.com Declare your passion for puns and fiber by sporting one (or more) of beckarahn’s Pin-Back Buttons. Becka Rahn has collected some of her favorite fun sayings and hand pressed them into buttons in honor of makers and fiber geeks everywhere. Set of four mini pins, $4; one jumbo pin, $2.50. beckarahn, www.beckarahn.etsy.com Clamp a Clemes & Clemes Lock Pop to your worktable, and the first thing you’ll notice is how sturdy and secure it feels. Designed to efficiently open locks for spinning or…

Open a package of Wound Up Fiber Arts Scrappy Sock Bundles and joyful little bumps of color spill forth. The 100% superwash Merino “scraps” spin up into a unique yarn for an unmatched pair of socks. Half the fun is in choosing which itty-bitty bump to spin next! $20/4 oz. Wound Up Fiber Arts, www.woundupfiberarts.bigcartel.com Three Waters Farm gradient-dyed 85% Superwash Merino/15% Nylon top blooms with seasonal color. And it’s a classic sock-fiber blend for a reason! Merino fiber is known for its next-to-skin softness and memory, and the nylon adds a dash of strength. Shown in Black Pansies. $26.95/4 oz. Three Waters Farm, www.threewatersfarm.com When you’re hankering to make a pair of knee-highs, why buy two braids when one will do? Blue Moon Fiber Arts Super Foot! Roving 85%…

The largest flock of registered Coopworth sheep in North America live on a farm just south of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Coopworth were developed in New Zealand during the mid-twentieth century and were based on a cross between Romney ewes and Border Leicester rams. We recently asked Hidden Valley Farm & Woolen Mill owner Carol Wagner to tell us a bit about how she and her husband, Paul, came to run their mill and why they chose to raise Coopworth. As the Wagners state on their website, “The Coopworth is more than a breed; it is a philosophy.” How did you become a spinner? I am a former high-school European history and German language teacher. From a historical perspective, I have been fascinated with the occupations and daily lives of people…