on As part of her own ongoing need for clear yarn labelling, Louise has been thinking about how the information on a band of wool can lead to a fuller understanding of the whole journey from sheep to finished knitted object. I’ve written here before, and more regularly write and talk at KnitBritish, about the importance of… Continue Reading WOOLNESS AND LABELS – a little peace of mind
on Today’s post from the Wovember archives is from last year and Kylie Gusset, creator of the awesome Ton of Wool project which is very appropriate project in terms of thinking global and acting local. Here she speaks about sourcing ethical wool and several issues for us to better understand as consumers of WOOL. How Climate Change… Continue Reading From the Wovember Archives: Kylie Gusset on Sourcing Ethical Wool
on For this evening’s post we have Rachel Atkinson here for a Q&A session on labelling. Many of you may know Rachel from following Wovember last year, or through knitting with her 100% British Daughter of a Shepherd yarn. Having looked at the labelling of wool from a legislative EU position and from two people within… Continue Reading Daughter of a Shepherd labels by Rachel Atkinson
on For today’s stop on the Wovember Words EU tour we are in Germany where the word for sheep is Schaf and the word for wool is Wolle. We’ve had some help from our friends with this post; Nadine who is managing the Wovember online pattern swap in the Wovember Ravelry group sent us some amazing… Continue Reading Schaf und Wolle in Germany
on This evening we’re thrilled to bring you a post by John Arbon who runs a wool mill in North Devon. As well as producing textile products – socks, fibres, hand-knitting yarns – John Arbon creates custom spun yarns for customers like Rachel Atkinson with her wondrous Daughter of a Shepherd Yarn. He’s also developed textile… Continue Reading Wool Labelling: Deciphering EU Legislation
on For Wovember Words today we are in Estonia! When team Wovember member Felix traveled there in 2012 for a residency, she discovered the wondrous organisation Hea Villa Selts (Facebook link) which translates loosely as The Good Wool Society. This is a coalition of shepherds and wool-workers working to understand and teach the best ways to… Continue Reading Estonian Native Sheep
on Starting tomorrow, this weekend in London sees Yarn in the City hosting their Yarnporium. The tutor and vendor lists for this event include many designers and small businesses whose work maximises the potential of wool. Every year we are approached by small businesses doing really special things with wool and looking for ways to more… Continue Reading Connecting wool work with Wovember, featuring Yarn in the City
on Continuing our tour of Europe for Wovember words, today we are in Bulgaria, discovering the endangered Karakachan sheep. In Bulgarian the word for sheep is овца, or – for non-Cyrillic readers – ovca. This breed of sheep – along with the Karakachan horse and the Karakachan dog – is a focus for The Bulgarian Biodiversity… Continue Reading Bulgaria’s endangered Karakachanska ovca
on Nancy MacMillan is an avid knitter with an interest in Rare Breeds and working with wool straight from the source. Pam Heath is a Shepherdess whom Nancy first met at the Ottawa Knitting Guild some years ago. Pam is a wonderful resource for all things Rare Breeds, and she and Elwood Quinn kindly agreed to do… Continue Reading Q&A with Rare Breeds of Canada Shepherds: working at the (literal) grassroots to maintain rare breeds
on We are delighted that Jo Milmine is here today with her top tips which will help close the gap between small producers and wool consumers. A podcaster, a yarn entrepreneur and a business consultant, Jo works closely with independent dyers, designers and small producers, sharing her business and yarn expertise and supporting them to achieve their goals. Provenance is a factor… Continue Reading Five Straightforward Things Small Producers Can Do Today To Bring Them Closer To Their Customers