Wool n' Spinning Radio

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 https://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 https://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!

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 https://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 https://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!

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. We sat down togeher towards the end of Tour de Fleece to recap how the tour had gone, plans for finshing strong and looking forward to Tour de Fleece Femmes. Wool n' Spinning has fielded a Wildcard Team for Tour de Fleece, which runs through the same dates with Challenge and Rest days, with Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes. We're wondering how the Tour has gone for you? Many of us set goals for ourselves through the Tour. Did you accomplish those goals? And finally, do you have plans for how to attack the Tour next year?

I hope you enjoy our conversation and of course, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to the show - it really helps the Radio show be discovered! Thank you.

Patreon Post here (with photos)

Patreon Radio Collection 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. 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.

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

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. We wanted to welcome Ève from Knitting with Ève on YouTube for quite a long time, and Dionne, Rebecca and I were able to sit down with her and have an absolutely lovely conversation earlier this spring. Thank you to Ève for being so forthcoming, for sharing her spinning journey and for being here with us today. We chatted about her being a relatively new spinner, her explorations and her deep dive into understanding wool, as well as the Longway Homestead breed study. I hope you guys enjoy our conversation. As always, you are most welcome here.

I hope you enjoy our conversation and of course, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to the show - it really helps the Radio show be discovered! Thank you.

Shownotes here

START HERE GUIDE --> here

To find Ève, you can follow her on Instagram @knittingwitheve

YouTube: Knitting with Ève

Ève mentioned her fleece --> finished sweater spin, specifically the Mabel Meadow Cardigan. You can find her Ravelry Project Page here and the sweater design here. There is also a vest version of the pattern, which I know many of us love.

***

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. 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.

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

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. Dionne, Rebecca and I sat down to chat about Summer Spinning and Knitting. We wanted to clarify terms and discuss what we mean when we talk about summer knits, particularly when we're talking about blends and add-ins. Depending on where in the world you are listening to this, it might not apply at this time! But for those of us who are looking for some lighter garments, whether from warm bodies or warm temperatures, this is the episode for you! Dionne talks specifically about a bin that she created to keep track of all her fibres she wants to spin into garments for lightweight wear and Rebecca, living in the North of Canada finds she is often reaching for the same thing day-after-day. Rachel is somewhere in between the two - finding the warmth of her current environment affecting her knitwear choices and looking for ways to use her yarns in weaving. Whether you are looking to learn to spin alternative-to-wool fibres or wanting some lighter knitwear, reach out if you are struggling and need a helping hand. We are here to help!

Contribute to the Summer Knits to Spin For Bundle on our Ravelry group here.

More shownotes with photos on Patreon here

Links to help you navigate some of the topics discussed in the epsiode:

• Basque Spindle Etsy Shop here
• Walnut Farm Designs Etsy Shop here
• Rebecca's Shakerag Top here
• Melanie of @alookbehindtheseams here & specific video comparing different rayons here

Previous Discussions about Blending & Porosity:

• Wool Porosity Intro here (skip to ~ 45 mins into the episode)
• Wool Porosity with MellyKnits 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. 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.

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

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On WnS Radio. This is Part II of Rebecca and my conversation with sat down to chat Aaron Goulet, discussing his experience to date with learning to shear. Aaron talked a lot in our conversation about working with the animals, empathy and visiting smaller farms where the animals are treated more like pets, rather than large farming operations that we often think of when agriculture conversations come up. He discussed visiting the farmers who are learning themselves, fielding questions about their animals and coming home with gems from his shearing jobs.

Because we had a longer conversation with Aaron, we broke the interview into parts - last month, we heard about how Aaron came to shearing, his initial experience and wanting to quite. This month, hear all about injury prevention, ticks and more!

Full shownotes & to learn more about the podcast, check here.

Find Aaron on Instragram @agoulz

For Aaron in action, in Vlogmas 2025, I included some videos that Melissa, Aaron's wife, had shared with me for Hands in the Wool, episode 2, here.

I hope you enjoy our conversation and of course, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to the show - it really helps the Radio show be discovered! Thank you.

***

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. 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.

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

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On WnS Radio. Rebecca and I sat down to chat with Aaron Goulet to discuss his experience to date with learning to shear. Aaron saw a demonstration of sheep shearing a couple of years ago, leading him to begin looking into learning the trade himself and enrolled in a shearing school in California. Following that experience, Aaron began working and gaining experience. He has since completed three more weeks of formal training, both at the school in California and in the prairie province of Saskatchewan, and continues to learn as he takes on jobs throughout British Columbia. Already in two short years, Aaron has learned a ton about the sheep, people and farms he visits.

Because we had a longer conversation with Aaron, we broke the interview into parts - this month, enjoy the initial part of our conversation and next month, hear all about injury prevention, ticks and more!

Full shownotes & to learn more about the podcast, check here.

Find Aaron on Instragram @agoulz

For Aaron in action, in Vlogmas 2025, I included some videos that Melissa, Aaron's wife, had shared with me for Hands in the Wool, episode 2, here.

I hope you enjoy our conversation and of course, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to the show - it really helps the Radio show be discovered! Thank you.

***

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. 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.

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

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Today. On WnS Radio. Dionne, Rebecca and I had the opportunity to sit down with Crystal Hesser, @spin_up_girl on Instagram, once again. We always love having Crystal on the show! Today, we talked about her process and background in design, what she wants to create and say through her textured yarns, and finally, as Rebecca finishes up tail spinning through the month of February, some tips and tricks for tail spinning.

Find Crystal on Instagram @spin_up_girl

I hope you enjoy our conversation and of course, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to the show.

***

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 https://youtube.com/c/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.

Episode shownotes & pictures available here.

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

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Today. On WnS Radio. Dionne, Rebecca and I were feeling very punchy after the holiday season in Early January. We brainstormed some silly questions to ask each other, and they didn’t disappoint in this packed episode! This episode is all about celebrating our absurd, relatable and delightfully nerdy questions that hand spinners (and any fibre people listening along) will instantly recognize.

For the list of questions we were working from, please use the link in the down bar to access the show notes on Patreon. 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.

Patreon Show Notes here

I hope you enjoy our conversation and of course, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to the show.

***

I hope you enjoyed our conversation. 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/c/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 to Rachel [at] welfordpurls [dot] com.

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

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 https://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 https://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!

Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Rebecca, Dionne and Rachel sat down to discuss how the year went. We reflected on some end-of-the-year maker questions, spending some time looking back on the year. Because I didn’t want to get too mired down in only looking backward, we included some discussions about what we want more of in our making in the coming year and what we are each consciously wanting to let go of. It was a fun conversation and I hope you enjoy it.

Show notes are available here.

***

Buy Migraineur softcover book on Amazon.ca (also available in other Amazon marketplaces)

If you want a complimentaryebook with your purchase of a physical book, forward your receipt to osbornfiber@gmail.com with your ravelry name. Offer good untill December 31.

Buy Migraineur ebook on Ravelry If buying ebook only, use code WOOLNSPINNING to receive 30% off until December 31st.

If you want the ebook but do not use ravelry, contact me at osbornfiber@gmail.com for more information.

For more details, photos, and inspiration for each pattern, visit my blog: http://osbornfiber.com/

***

I hope you enjoyed our conversation. 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/c/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 to Rachel [at] welfordpurls [dot] com.

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

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 https://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 https://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!

Today. On WnS Radio. Dionne, Rebecca and I got together with Crystal hesser of @spin_up_girl to discuss all things art and textured yarns. Crystal spins a myriad of art yarns that she often sells in her booths at various fibre events around her area. A prolific spinner, Crystal has written for PLY magazine, as well as other publications, and she teaches how to make these yarns to eager students.

Some of the topics we got into today around art and textured yarns are nuanced, multi factorial and affect so much of our creative lives. We discussed why textured yarns are still so mysterious, even with all the information about them out there. Crystal shares with us some tricks and tips to dealing with excess twist, as well as, who comes into her booths looking specifically for these yarns. And lastly, we got into a conversation about swatching. Unlike our conventional yarns, which we talk a lot about using in this community, often textured and art yarns are the end product. When we want to showcase them, it can sometimes feel a bit intimidating, so we started to delve into what this process might look like.

Video of Crystal using a Spindle to manage twist in textured yarns here

We will have Crystal back on the show in the new year to continue this conversation because we clearly ran out of time today! I hope you enjoy our conversation and of course, don't forget to like and subscribe wherever you listen to the show.

***

I hope you enjoyed our conversation. 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 https://youtube.com/c/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 https://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!

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Dionne, Rebecca and Rachel were joined by Melissa Goulet of MellyKnits to discuss the nuances of wool processing and blending. There is an idea out there that if we blend and blend and blend, that fibres will just go together and combine. It’s not widely discussed that some fibres just won’t blend together, no matter what we do with them and no matter how many times we put them through a carder or comb on combs. Often fibres like silk and alpaca blend well with wool of any kind – it’s some of the fibres that are less common that we have trouble with.

• Porosity of Human Hair here

Thank you for joining us in another episode!

***

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!

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. Dionne sat Rebecca & Rachel down to quiz them about Knit City Vancouver 2025. Rebecca & Rachel had spent the weekend exploring the marketplace, meeting with everyone in our community & of course, shopping. We share some of the trends we noticed emerge this year, including maching knitting, crochet (yay!) and more. Lots of fleece talk this month - we fell into a bit of a rabbit hole at the end of the show about a property of wool that Melissa (MellyKnits) and Rachel have been exploring with increasing interest, along with Dionne and her fibre blending experiments, called porosity (skip to ~45 minutes to listen to just this discussion). The definition of porosity is the quality or degree of having minute spaces or holes through which liquid or air may pass. Melissa has described this phenomenon to me in the past as fleece, that when felt, has 'holes' or 'spaces' that she can 'fill' with something like cotton, possum, and other fibres. Silk, alpaca and llama seem to go into most fleece without problems. Dionne was the first in our community to put a word to the attributes of these fleeces that are able to blend with these sometimes difficult to card fibres. I hope you enjoy our conversation!

Photos of Rachel & Rebecca at Knit City in their matching Jethro Cardigans, along with photos of their hauls and Rachel's tea towels inspired by her SweetGeorgia colourway (woven by Kathy Cunha) available on the Patreon post here.

***

• Knit Social here
• SweetGeorgia Yarns here
• All Wound Up Knitting & Sheep Fleeces here (reach out to Megan for information about her fleeces & shipping)
• Mawdsley Fibre Arts here (look for Helen's hollow whorl spindles)
• MellyKnits here
• Caliope Fibres here
• Coniagas Textiles here
• Fireweed Fibre Co here
• Crafty Jaks Boutique here

***

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!

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio, Dionne, Rebecca and Rachel attempted to sow dissent and debate the merits of calling those handspun yarns that are not conventionally spun as 'novelty', 'art' or 'textured'. Increasingly, we are seeing people describe their textured or art yarns as what they actually are, be it 'corespun' or 'supercoils' or any other number of yarn structures that we know and celebrate on a regular basis. It's important to celebrate those in our wider handspinning community who have really helped to make these yarns household names by sharing their own practice around them, as well as, teaching others and fostering an environment of learning, exploration and joy around learning these various techniques. Calling our yarns by the structure really helps others to understand what was done to create that yarn since, as others' increase their knowledge, they will be able to recreate their own yarn, using those same techniques and thus, sharing with others.

For photos containing examples of textured or art yarns, look at the Patreon post here.

This episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio is to celebrate the beginning of our last part of study for our 2-year book study of Sarah Anderson's Book of Yarn Designs. Part IV is dedicated to the chapters in Sarah's book that come under the heading 'Novelty Yarns'. Much of Rebecca's work on The Wool Circle, which is one of the podcasts available when you subscribe on Patreon, will be centred around these yarns beginning now, September 2025 until the end of the year. The syllabus is linked here.

Rebecca has been spinning singles in August to get ready for her sampling schedule and I know she is excited to share her plans for the yarns with you as the Fall goes on! She will be starting with corespinning and variations, including super coils. Next, boucle will be explored. From the basic structure to some variations, this is an increasingly common yarn that was previously not really discussed much by knitters and seemed to be for weavers. That trend is changing and it's exciting to see how yarns evolve. Finally, some of the complicated and often very beautiful yarns that have those show-stopping features to them will finish us off: Pigtails, beehives, cocoons, and tailspun.

For those who have been wanting to learn those techniques to create those yarns, this is the time to jump into Patreon, join The Wool Circle and begin learning alongside Rebecca.

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. We sat down together to discuss how Tour de Fleece went for each of us, what we accomplished and what went well. We each had some finished spins and Rebecca shares spinning while travelling again this summer, focusing mostly on her supported spindles. Dionne spun an incredible amount of fibre and shares her favourites. Thank you for joining us in another episode!

I hope you enjoy our conversation. If this is your first time tuning into Wool n’ Spinning Radio, welcome. This audio podcast is a spin-off from the original podcast. 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.

Photos of our finished spins can be found here.

***

Thank you for listening! If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out to Rachel [at] welfordpurls [dot] com.

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

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Rebecca and Rachel sat down with Dionne Carter, a long-time pillar of the Wool n’ Spinning Community. Dionne joined the community in 2021 and became an integral member right from the get-go. Her colour sense, experimentation and fearlessness with her spinning, and support and encouragement of others has helped innumerable people in our community feel more confident approaching their yarns, ideas and projects. Always trying something new, Dionne is happy to explain what she’s working on, offer a kind word to anyone with questions and cheer from the sidelines.

Rebecca picks Dionne’s brain about colour related to interior decorating today – namely how to choose colour, how Dionne thinks about colour and pitfalls one might fall into. 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!

I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Previous episode of Wool n' Spinning Radio with Dionne is here.

***

Thank you for listening! If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out to Rachel [at] welfordpurls [dot] com.

For complete shownotes and to join Patreon, please check here.

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

Warmly,

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n’ Spinning Radio. Debbie Held is a freelance journalist that I had the immense pleasure meeting in person in 2022, after following each other online for many years. Debbie’s love of blending boards started in 2015 when she began playing with this humble fibre preparation tool and began pushing it to its limit. While our conversation covered many topics about how Debbie began her spinning journey with a spindle from a friend in a time of need, to writing her book, The Spinner’s Blending Board Bible, to reflecting on what might be next, we really had a discussion about life. What will each of us do when the going gets tough? Truly, Debbie’s answer is that the tough get going. Her work is incredible and hope you have a look at her Instagram account, @doodler01.

***

If you would like to be a guest on Wool n' Spinning Radio, please reach out to Rachel [at] welfordpurls [dot] com.

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

Warmly,

Rachel

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

Today. On Wool n' Spinning Radio. Rebecca and I were so pleased to be able to record this episode with Lisa Schweitzer, a pillar and leader in our community. For those who haven't met Lisa yet, she is a weaver, handspinner, knitter and maker, long-time member of the Wool n' Spinning community and lives in a remote area of Iowa, USA. Lisa is an eloquant speaker and I hope you enjoy our conversation about making in remote locations. Both Rebecca and Lisa live in remote areas, without many urban amenities, guilds and makers within their immediate neighbourhoods.

We started our conversation today with sharing what we are working on and then moved into a discussion about making in isolation. Lisa touches on why she makes and continues to share her makes. Because we recognize that many in our community make in many different types of isolation - whether physical, due to disability, remote locations, and many more factors, we wanted to discuss what this means when much of our interactions occur online versus in real life. Does this affect our making and how so?

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.

Patreon Post here

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 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!

Until next time, Happy Spinning!

Rachel & Rebecca

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 https://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 https://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!

Dear Spinning Circle,

This month on Wool n' Spinning Radio, Rebecca and I sat down to 'try on' some segments that will be a regular part of the Radio show going forward: From what we're working on while recording to things we've aquired (and moved on) to events in our lives that are bringing us joy. So much to cozy up to this month: We hope you enjoy the show!

Previous Episodes are available here

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 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!

Until next time, Happy Spinning!

Rachel & Rebecca

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 https://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 https://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!