The Wool Wire | August 21, 2024

News snippets from the wool world

Hello, my wool friends!

We begin this week's Wool Wire with some exciting news for fans of Clara Yarn and anyone who enjoys using yarn from distinct sheep breeds. My three-ply, worsted-spun, fingering-weight Debouillet yarn base has been patiently waiting for the right partner to bring it into the world—and I've found that right partner in Lisa Chamoff, the wool-loving visionary behind Indie Untangled.

Lisa runs the Indie Untangled Heritage Wool Collective Hand-Dyed Yarn Subscription, a bi-monthly subscription that combines breed-specific wool yarns with the magic of hand-dyed color. And her next installment, which will ship in October, will feature my Debouillet dyed by Robin of Birch Hollow Fibers. If you really want to geek out, you can even get a signed copy of Vanishing Fleece. All the details are here.

Cherishing the Cowichan

One of the most popular yarn reviews I ever wrote was about White Buffalo Unspun, a plush, wooly wool that shipped in cakes that could double as travel pillows. The yarn was primarily intended for Cowichan-style sweaters, which originated with the Cowichan, a group of Coast Salish peoples who live in the Cowichan Valley region on Vancouver Island.

Years after that yarn was discontinued, emails continued to roll in asking for alternatives. Even now, interest in Cowichan sweaters—finding the right yarn for them, finding suitable patterns, learning their history—is greater than ever.

In fact, there's a new documentary out called "The Cowichan Sweater: Our Knitted Legacy." It's just been nominated for the Best Documentary Program award at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards.

Here's a great article about the documentary that goes into the cultural legacy of the sweater, as well as issues of wool and wool processing.

If you're in Canada (or comfortable using a VPN set to Canada), you can also create a free CBC account and watch the documentary for free.

The Canadian chain gets a new link

There's good news from the Western Manitoba village of Austin, where a brand new custom wool-processing facility came online in May. The Austin Woollen Mill uses Belfast Mini Mills equipment and represents a valuable new link in the supply chain.

Transforming Armenia's wool industry one rugged sheep at a time

Canada isn't the only country seeing a renewed interest in wool. In Armenia, a new initiative is underway to upgrade the country's entire wool value chain—starting in the village of Darik, whose population includes 3 humans and approximately 1600 sheep.

[The] initiative also seeks to use wool to bolster local cultural heritage and economies, as wool plays an integral role in Armenia’s centuries-old rug-weaving tradition. That is why representatives of local carpet companies have also visited Darik, to see how the planned wool upgrades could help their mission of reviving Armenia’s ancient rug-making tradition. 

“We never want to use imported wool, so projects like this are really important to ensure that we can source high-quality wool that’s sourced locally, hand-spun locally, and dyed locally using natural materials”, explained Kyle Khandikian, founder of The Rug Code, a new online store designing hand-woven Armenian carpets.

This article goes into much greater detail about the initiative, the legacy, and how they're even bringing blockchain into the equation.

Bask in Basque Storytelling

The tradition of Basque sheepherding in the American West is rapidly disappearing. If you have a spare 15 minutes, treat yourself to this beautiful documentary that follows the story of one Nevada family honoring their legacy and fighting to keep it alive.

And on that note, I'll let you go.

Thanks as always for your readership and your support!

Until next time,

Clara