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wool

Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 18: Nan Bray – Active shepherding, drought, superfine Merino and reflections.

April 14, 2015

I’m very excited to share the eighteenth episode of the Woolful podcast. Today we get to meet an incredibly inspiring sheep farmer and shepherdess from Tasmania, Nan Bray of White Gum Wool.

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Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Yarn, a charming online and local yarn shop based in Eureka, California. Yarn was created by Sunni Schrivner who has a dedication for natural fibers and supporting local yarns. Make sure to visit Yarn in person when on the coast in hum bolt county and online at yarn-fun.com.

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Fiber folk: Nan Bray first came on my fiber radar when a listener sent me an email sharing a bit about what Nan was up to and encouraging me to reach out and learn more. I’m so glad I did. Nan’s journey as a scientist to fiber farmer and shepherdess touches on a lot of interesting challenges and her approach to farming wool has evolved into something quite special, both personally and as a business. You can find Nan at Whitegumwool.com.au

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Man on the street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked a handful of fiber enthusiasts to answer the following question, shared by Susan in the Woolful Ravelry group. “Desert island scenario: What knitting book or project or yarn would you bring along and why?” We had a great reply from Nikki (@woolenviolets).

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway is…Samantha Symon! Congratulations, you’ve won a set of 5 bento bags from Ambatalia.

This giveaway this week is sponsored by White Gum Wool, and we’re giving away two skeins of Nan’s 8-ply Superfine Merino Wool in Flax Lily. To enter, leave a comment on this blog post.

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Music by Jónsi.

 

Transcription coming soon!

Knitting Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 9: Karen Templer & Felicia Semple – Handmade wardrobes, Intentional making, Stashes and Talent

January 27, 2015

I’m very excited to share the 9th episode of the Woolful podcast, I really am this excited every week, trust me ;). Today we get to meet two women whom I’ve come to greatly admire, each from opposite sides of the world. Both Karen Templer of Fringe Association and Felicia Semple of The Craft Sessions, focus on intentional making and creating a handmade wardrobe, and that doing so doesn’t take talent, but a willingness to learn.

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Sponsor: This week’s episode is sponsored by StashBot. Buy yarn smarter with Hannah Fettig’s new iOS app StashBot. If you find a yarn you can’t live without, StashBot will help you determine how much you should buy. It will pay for itself again and again as it saves you from purchasing more skeins of yarn than you need. Just as importantly it will keep your stash useful as you will be sure to have enough yarn to knit the projects you would like.  StashBot will soon be available for Android and is also available in print.  For more information head to www.knitbot.com/stashbot.

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Fiber folk 1: Karen joins us to share her journey from designer to proprietress and her passion for a handmade wardrobe made of things created with intention. You can find her at both fringeassociation.com and fringesupplyco.com as well as on Instagram at @karentempler and @fringesupplyco.

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Man on the Street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked a handful of fiber enthusiasts to answer the following question, “Share a little about your stash and the goals you have for it this year…”. We had some amazing replies from, Andrea @dreareneeknits,  Jennifer @jaykay_knits, and Maria @ninja.chickens.

Fiber folk 2: I was first introduced to our next guest via Instagram through a friend nearly two years ago and I remember being amazed by her thoughtfulness in what she made for herself and her family, as well as for a community she was building in Australia, The Craft Sessions. Felicia has been on incredible journey, one that has led her to some amazing discoveries in mindful making. You can find her at thecraftsessions.com and on Instagram @thecraftsessions.

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Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway, is @dawnincali! You’ve won a skein of both Moeke Yarns Elena and Stela. Congratulations!

This week we’re giving away a $25 gift certificate to our first guests shop, Fringe Supply Co. Karen has put together such a beautiful collection of tools and supplies, that I can only imagine it will be hard to pick just what to get! To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below.

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Next week we’ll be starting our February Woolful knit-along, the Little Woolens Prairie Grass Hat. You can find kits that include both the knit along pattern and Cormo yarn at woolfulmercantile.com, or you are always welcome to use your own favorite yarn and grab the pattern on Ravelry. You can find more information on this knit along in our Woolful Ravelry group.

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Music by Jónsi.

Transcription coming shortly!

Natural Living Woolspiration

Woolspiration: A Color Odyssey

January 15, 2015
natural dye club

For the Christmas holiday we spent a couple weeks at our ranch in Idaho. As some of you know, we converted the old milk parlor into our dye studio and this was our first time really settling into the space and soaking up the atmosphere. We had a big project on our hands, the first Natural Dye Club and the experience was amazing.

When we initially came up with the idea, a seasonal quarterly club sounded great, getting to experiment with all the seasonal plants and wonderful fibers from small farms we’ve come to know and others we have yet to discover. As much fun as it was, I’ll be honest and say I’m looking forward to a little warmer weather the next go around. Sub zero temperatures created for a “cool” challenge, lots of layers and plenty of hot coffee with egg nog. However, nothing beats the surreal walk from the cabin to the dye studio with the silence of a snow covered pasture and fresh flakes falling. It was yet another thing in life that’s made me truly thankful for the warmth of this thing we call wool.

I really wish you all could have been there and soaked up every moment as we did our best to do. So we created this little film, A Color Odyssey, to give you a small glimpse into part of our journey and the inspiration behind and within what we do, in hopes it will also inspire you, to experiment, take on challenges and dreams, and to find joy in the beauty that surrounds you.