We went through her mill and she walked me through each of the steps that she takes to process animal fibers. First, she scours the fleece to clean it and lets it sit out to dry. Here’s a photo of some Suri fleece after being scoured:
Then, the wool is place in the picking machine which straightens out the fibers and loosens them up.
Next, the wool is placed in the carding machine to separate and straighten the fibers. After carding, the wool is sent through the drafting machine to turn the wool into a continuous line of fiber.
Wool after going through the drafting machine:
Finally, the wool is placed on the spinner to be spun onto spools then spun together to ply it. And here’s what the finished two-ply yarn looked like:
Having the opportunity to talk to Lynn about her views on sustainability and locality was pretty eye-opening. She described her business as “cottage-esque,” meaning that it is a family-run business operating from home, but it still utilizes modern day technology when proven to fit in with her idea of sustainability. Lynne explained that she believes strongly in having family businesses that fill the role of specific tasks that a community needs done – her place is to process both her own fiber and that from others. At the end of the tour, she even let me know that she is looking for interns in the summer and would be happy to have an Evergreen student! This is just one example of the incredible community that supports Evergreen and its students and the vast amount of opportunities that are available to you as a student in any given field.