Sponsor: In 2013, Anna Dianich opened Tolt Yarn and Wool. a local yarn shop in the beautiful Pacific Northwest town of Carnation, Washington. A couple weeks back we celebrated Tolt’s second anniversary, with the release of a very special book, Farm to Needle: Stories of Wool. When we pick up our needles and cast-on the first stitch, we become part of something much bigger than the project at hand. Farmers, shearers, spinners and dyers are working hard not only to produce the yarn we love, but to preserve a way of life that is at real risk of being lost. Farm to Needle invites you to join a journey; to peek behind the scenes of some of our favorite producers and gain a deeper understanding of the people, places, and animals at work. Discover Aspen Hollow Farm, Green Mountain Spinnery, Imperial Stock Ranch, Thirteen Mile Farm, YOTH, Saco River Dye House, and Twirl through patterns by Dianna Walla, Tif Fussell, Veronika Jobe, Karen Templer, Andrea Rangel, Annie Rowden and myself. This book was beautifully captured by a hardworking team, lead by Anna and Kathy Cadigan. You can find Farm to Needle at toltyarnandwool.com
Fiber folk: Today marks the 1yr birthday of the Woolful podcast, and you can only celebrate such things with angels, like today’s guest Tif Fussell or as many of you know her, Dottie Angel. Every single one of the past 42 episodes have been so important to me, however today’s holds special meaning. For any of you who know Tif, you know the treasure she is. Her story goes beyond fiber or textiles, motherhood or marriage…it’s a story of a woman finding her strength and healing, and her creative journey. You can find Tif in her Pacific Northwest mossy shed and on Instagram @dottieangel.
Sponsor: I just want to take a moment to say thank you again to Tolt Yarn and Wool, today’s episode sponsor. I hope you take some time to get to know Tolt better. If you’ve had the privilege of visiting Tolt in person, you know how truly amazing this place is. It’s evident the heart and soul Anna and her incredible team put into creating an experience that feels like home with your fiber family. What a special place to have in this fiber community of ours. Make sure to visit Tolt in Carnation and online at Toltyarnandwool.com for a very special collection of fibers, notion and books.
Man on the Street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked the question, “What does Woolful mean to you?”. Thank you Emmaline , Sonja @treebytheriver, Amy @urban_farm_wife, Jessie @thebonvivant, Hope @hopehawley, Amber @dapperewe, Leanne @leannecoppola, Barb @stixandstring
52 Weeks of Wool: I have an exciting new project starting in January, 52 weeks of wool. Each week I’ll be hand spinning a new wool breed from a fiber flock from here in the US or abroad, and sharing my experience through photos, on the podcast and in a blog post. My goal for this project is to handle as many different types of wool as possible, and share a bit about each farm and flock that the wool comes from, helping bring light to many sheep breeds and producers. If you have a flock, fiber farm or know someone who does, I hope you’ll consider joining me on this project by sending me a small tuft of fleece to spin. If you’re interested, shoot me an email at hello@woolful.com.
Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaways are, Doreen, you’ve won a copy of Tolt Yarn and Wool’s new book Farm to Needle and theslowcatwalk, you’ve won two skeins of Vermont Organic worsted yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery. Congratulations!
This week we’ve got a couple of special giveaways. The Dottie Angel Frock pattern from simplicity, two skeins of Moeke Transylvania Merino, and a copy of our recently released Woolful Sheep Breed Calendar. To be one of the winners of this week’s giveaways, leave a comment this blog post.
Music by Jónsi.