The Wool Wire | September 18, 2024
Knitting in Iceland, celebrating Sarah Swett, knitting democracy together, plus using wool to insulate our houses, horses, and trees
News snippets from the wool world
Greetings and hello!
A very warm welcome to those of you who found me by way of Sarah Swett's most excellent newsletter, The Gusset. Sarah has been a creative beacon and icon in the textiles world since before I began writing about yarn.
She is a gifted writer and storyteller who uses fiber as her medium. She also uses charming drawings to add a graphic element to her stories, which you'll see peppered throughout her newsletter. If you haven't yet, please go check out The Gusset right now.
Sarah C Swett
Say What?
With her 30 years of lived experience, Sarah Swett represents one end of the seasoned textiles storytelling spectrum. A recent article in The New York Times Travel section represents the other end. (Here's a gift link if you want to read the article.)
Accompanied by gorgeous photographs, the article explores the joys of visiting Iceland as a knitter. And it was written by an equally skilled storyteller who hadn't knit a stitch in her life before she landed in Iceland to write the piece.
Fans of Knitlandia will recognize Ragga Jóhannsdóttir, who the author enlisted in a quick "get me up and running" knitting lesson when she arrived in Reykjavik. Hélène Magnusson also gets a shout-out. The author didn't plan her visit to coincide with any of Hélène's tours, so she got Hélène to tell her where to go and what to do.
Maybe the editors thought the article might be more relatable if someone with no prior knitting experience wrote it? Sort of a "through the eyes of a stranger" thing? But the article has me thinking. If experience is no longer a requisite for niche travel pieces, I'm fully prepared to pitch travel articles about golfing in Scotland, fly fishing in Tierra del Fuego, and learning judo in Japan, none of which I've ever done. Care to join me?
Virtual Sheep Reality
Knitting isn't a dying art, but one skill that is facing a shortage is sheep shearing—and a new online platform has been rolled out in Ireland to bridge the gap. It uses virtual reality technology to provide schoolchildren with an immersive experience in sheep shearing and preparing wool on the farm.
You can try out the tool for free yourself on the WoolinSchool.com website.
Celebrating Civics Through Stitching
Yesterday was National Voter Registration Day here in the United States. (If you haven't yet done so, you can register, check your registration status, see what's on your ballot, vote by mail, and get reminders here.)
As much as I'd like to say that wool exists beyond the scope of politics, this has never been the case—not now, and not thousands of years ago when those in power first realized that wool had commercial value they could tap into with taxes. So why not use it as a tool for civic engagement and connection?
Former Assistant Attorney General of Vermont Eve Jacobs Carnahan is doing just that. Eve has created Knit Democracy Together maker circles that she describes as "modern day interpretations of historical knitting bees." They help foster camaraderie, craft pieces of sculpture, and empower participants with knowledge about civics in this country.
Have You Any Havelock?
I've sung the praises of wool insulation here for years—specifically, the products from our country's leading wool insulation maker, Reno-based Havelock Wool. But I confess I didn't know the company's background until I watched this great news piece from local news affiliate KOLO TV. You also get to see how the insulation is made and learn where the name Havelock originated.
Noah Bond
Back in the Saddle (Blanket) Again
Meanwhile, our friends at Mountain Meadow Wool in Wyoming are making a wool saddle blanket with a twist—it is made entirely from closed-loop, zero-waste wool yarns.
These saddle blankets are knit from our RENewe fingering...yarn created from remaining bits of fiber from customer orders, wool fiber that doesn't meet our Mountain Merino micron standard, or wool fiber remnants. We keep it all and when we have sufficient quantity, we run it through the carder and on to the spinner. Help us close the loop in material conservation with these beautiful saddle blankets and liners.
How cool (or warm) is that?
Taking Tree-Hugger to a Whole New Level
Finally, I love this news out of the UK. A company by the name of NexGen is making tree shelters, shrub shelters, hedging guards, and vole guards from a mix of British wool, ethically sourced natural materials and resins, and an innovative custom polymer. They're guaranteed to last for five years, after which they completely biodegrade without leaving any toxic or hazardous materials behind in the soil.
We shelter ourselves with wool sweaters and socks and blankets and insulation, why shouldn't our trees get to enjoy similar treatment?
On that note, I'll let you go.
Thanks, as always, for your readership and your support.
Until next time,
Clara
