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Spinning a Simpler Life
by Tammy Lipke
What could be more treasured than memories of times past? The thoughts of how people lived and worked and the things they made. One of the most nostalgic and powerful images to me: a woman at the spinning wheel, creating material to make clothes for her family. I have a dear friend who spins as a hobby, and recently we sat down together to talk about it: the materials, the process, and the finished products.
Pre-washed, pre-carded fleece
ready to spin
When I asked Sally Koch about how she spun, the very first thing I wanted to know was... what kinds of hair can be used? We all know about wool, in fact, most of us have that old wool sweater, knitted by a relative, handed down to our own children.
A spinning wheel threaded and ready to go
But what else is out there? I was amazed by the long list of hair: samoyed, keeshond (both breeds of dog), English sheepdog, angora rabbit, angora goat (also known as mohair), alpaca, llama, cashmere, and muskox were the most common ones listed to me aside from sheep's wool.

The "raw" or completely unprepared hair comes to the spinner, often right from the animal.

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