Today I have a new essay for you on Substack, I trust my hands, with an ode to my hands whose superpower is to shape my thoughts in lines squiggly enough for me to understand them.
“I have filled page after page of handwriting, because now I trust my hands to craft my mind in squiggly lines, just as I trust those same hands to read the wool. I know now that my sensibility is always one step ahead of my sense.”
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
This week my husband Dan took the last two photos for my upcoming book, Listen to the wool. Two days later I finished the last of the 20 chapters in the book. There is still lots left to do, but 130+ photos and 20 chapters are pinch-me-in-the-arm real.
In a Substack essay a few weeks ago I wrote about all that lies behind a photo – the people we meet and the experiences we have. There is so much to be grateful for that will never be shared with the world, at least not in the book. Today I share some of what has been going on behind the scenes of writing and photo shoots.
Lace curtains and nectarines
We have been taking photos for the book since last October. In the beginning mostly of sheep on road trips to sheep farms, but in the summer all the other photos. We rented a log cabin for ten days and took a lot of photos there. The surroundings offer lots of different settings and backgrounds. I was set on taking all the photos outdoors, and we succeded. Apart from one motif that was and should be indoors.
We went on six trips to take photos of different sheep breeds. Here Åsen and Brännö sheep. Look at that spotted ear!
The light in the Swedish summer is magical, even though the weather can be quite challenging sometimes. Dan prefers to take his photos in overcast weather – the contrast between light and shadow can get too sharp in the sun. So, on sunny days I have shielded the photo objects with cardboards, blankets and lace curtains. Wind may be a challenge too, the same curtains have been used as wind protection too. It takes some imagination to find these solutions at home and even more in rented cabins.
We took the car Ferry to the Roslag archipelago to take pictures of Brännö sheep.
We took some photos in a nearby national park where we like to hike. I wanted a photo of spinning and preparing wool on a rock in the forest and Dan was up for it. I saved an empty plastic trough for nectarines from the recycling bin, it was perfect for transporting prepared wool without squishing it in my backpack!
Backgrounds, clothes and hair
To have some variation in the photos we looked for different backgrounds. Trees, fields, barns and wooden floors worked perfect. Sometimes Dan wasn’t happy with a fence or a tree that would annoy in the picture, so we worked a lot with placing the photo objects higher. I have sat on a folding chair on top of a lounge chair and we have raised tables onto yoga blocks. I have carried spinning wheels around the photo locations a lot!
Photo by Dan WaltinPhoto by Dan WaltinI carried spinning wheels right and left, by castles and store houses (literally). The great wheel was surprisingly light.
I also wanted different clothes in the pictures I was in. Not out of vanity, but rather for the variation in the photos. Also in case Dan wasn’t satisfied with the contrast between the yarn and my top. I walked around with different sets of clothes and a few options of hair pins and scrunchies in my pockets to be able to quickly change. Anything for the arts!
Photo by Dan WaltinTrees and Fields are lovely backgrounds, and pins essential when wool meets wind.
At home we took a lot of photos on our balcony. It is large and convenient when it comes to carrying props around. We have a foldable photo studio that we have used a lot. It worked surprisingly well. In it we could angle the objects for a comfortable position for Dan and pin them up on various props for a variety of backgrounds.
Photo by Dan WaltinYoga blocks, bricks, tables, umbrellas and chairs – anything that will lead to a better picture.
Pins! I wanted to cut fabric for a sewing project at the cabin, so I brought the necessary fabrics and tools from home. And I am so grateful for the pins. Lots of wool has been pinned onto log cabin walls, cushions, fabrics and blankets to avoid wind disasters and cranky backs and knees.
Planning
I kept an image chart where I noted what images I wanted for the book and what the point of each image was. I had ideas of how I wanted the pictures to look. Mostly it worked, sometimes we found a better solution together, in some cases we ended up with an unplanned photo instead of the one I had prepared for. We abandoned only one of my ideas, since it would require a camera Dan didn’t have a access to, but the one we chose instead was an unplanned one, and a lot better.
In the book I describe the main breeds whose wool is used for spinning. I wanted to have all of these represented in at least one photo – of the breed itself or as wool in one of the steps from fleece to textiles. I had it all noted in my image chart. When I realized I had succeeded I was so pleased. Until someone mentioned a particular breed and I realized I had missed it. I contacted an owned of the breed and she quickly sent me a tuft of wool so I could include it in a photo.
Working together
We have had so much fun together! Dan is such a star when it comes to taking photos of my spinning and he knows what I want. I am the client and he the artist, while at the same time I am the artist too, and object in some of the shots. During the more still life style motifs (things not moving) I am his assistant and advisor while he lets me know what is possible.
“Are we working in the studio today, Darling?”. Photo by Dan Waltin
We have played a lot with angles, props, backgrounds and contrasts and always found the best solution together. I may have an idea of a picture and Dan know what is possible technically and artistically from his perspective and with the equipment and skills he has.
After the photo sessions we have sat down together to look through the images, narrow them down and pick a favourite for each shot. I tell Dan what is most important to focus on in each picture and he tells me what he wants to convey artistically. Just talking through the choices helps me a lot in deepening my understanding of what needs to be clear in the pictures.
Writing
Ever since I wrote my book proposal I have been writing before work on the 2–3 days a week I worked from home, plus on weekends. I took an extra long vacation this summer and have been writing between two and three hours every morning. In seven weeks I have written the last six chapters.
I have written a lot at home, but also out and about.
Some writing sessions have been smooth and exhilarating, others more towards exhausting. Words have flowed, got stuck, I have danced, meditated and walked through blocks and conundrums. The chapter summaries I wrote for my book proposal have been the backbone of the whole project. Every time I have finished a chapter, a sweet summary has been waiting for me with lots of links, ideas and stuff to elaborate. This has been, and is still, a beatiful ride.
Not everything worked smoothly all the time. Photo by Dan Waltin
I will keep editing and tweaking until my deadline on October 1st. After that I will hand my book baby to my publisher with trembling hands and await their verdict. I have no idea what will happen next, but I believe I am in good hands. I am very proud of this book!
Happy spinning!
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Today I have a new post for you on Substack: Unwritten, unread. This week I was in the archipelago with my husband for a photo shoot of Brännö sheep. It struck me that all the words that lie behind a book but never are written, carry the words that are. Read the whole post on Substack.
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Today I offer you another essay-style text on Substack: I want to believe. It was sparked by a conversation I had with a student a few years ago at a spinning course, and led me deep into the forest.
For the past seven weeks I have taken a writing course for Beth Kempton, River of words. We started at the source of the river and week by week wrote ourselves out to the sea. I have taken several of Beth’s courses and she always delivers the juciest courses. This one has been spectacular. Through the meanderings of the course I have grown as a writer and found a writing voice outside of my comfort zone that I really like. I will keep exploring writing on my Substack and you are welcome to join me there. I will keep writing on this blog, but I will alternate between the platforms.
My book Listen to the wool is coming along fine, I finished Chapter 14 (out of 20) just this week. I’m going to Sätergläntan to teach next week and I hope to get some writing inspiration from teaching and from my students. I can’t wait!
Today’s Substack post is the final invitation from the course and I am now ready to let the words take me to the sea.
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
I have a new piece for you today on Substack: The river spirit. Here is a sneak peek:
I am the gushing flood after hibernation, stretching my limbs across the banks, taking them by force. I am the nursery of tadpoles and fry, I poke pebbles awake with sun rays, and paint a thousand mirrors on spawning trout. I take tea with the clouds on days of grey. I mutter in trickles under icy covers.
The Substack account is something I have started recently and that I use to dive deep into writing for the sake of writing, regardless of the subject. I share whatever I like to share whenever I like and with no expectations from myself other than to share to those who enjoy what I write.
I got an email from a reader the other day. She was concerned that she may have to start a substack account to be able to read and comment. There is no need for that unless you want to. There is no cost, I don’t sell anything, I just share my writing for those who want to read. If you subscribe (with or without having an account) to my substack page you will get an email with the whole text every time I post something and you don’t even have to go to the Substack page. If you want to comment you can do it on the substack page (and create an account) or just as a reply to the email.
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
I have a new piece for you today on Substack: I write the rain. Here is a sneak peek of it:
When I think the front has brushed by, they come – rain drops the size of marbles, determined to splash to the ground as fast and dramatically as they can, turning the surge into a boiling pot, raging unapologetically before me. Sea gulls flying just above the waves, smooth bellies brushing their sharp edges.
Welcome to my Substack! Don’t worry, I will still blog here too.
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
Today I’m at the fulling mill, but I still have a poem for you over on Substack. I call it The fern inkwell. Welcome!
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write weekly posts, mainly about spinning. Do subscribe!
I share essay-style writing on Substack. Come and have a look!
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons are an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
In looking forward to and reflecting 2024 I have created three intentions for myself. These will help me focus for the year ahead and in clearing off things that do not serve me.
Back in January last year I filled in a perfectly imperfect 2023 planner, by Beth Kempton. I had never done that before, but I challenged myself to do it. At the time I had just started to explore my own writing process, allowing myself to write wilder and more unrestrained. I had come to the conclusion that all writing is good and all writing leads to deeper writing. In my planer wrote that I wanted to focus on developing and exploring my writing during 2023. I listed three intentions for the year:
getting started on writing my book
create an online short lecture, and possibly a course
finish my knit sleeve jacket.
During the year I did create a short online lecture, Pick your fleece, plus the five-day challenge Flow. I also published an online course, Spindle spinning for beginners. I also finished the knit sleeve jacket I had worked on since 2019. But when it comes to the first bullet on the list, so much morse than I could ever imagine happened – I got myself a literary agent and a book deal with a U.S. publisher for my book Listen to the wool. You can read more about that here.
Intentions for 2024
Since I managed to fulfill my intentions for last year, and then some, I decided to repeat the challenge for 2024. These are my intentions for 2024:
Write, write and write some more
Follow a textile
Connect with fibery people.
Write
Since 2023 was so dramatic in terms of real-life adult things with deadlines and expectations regarding my book, I need to keep deadlines in 2024 too. I need to submit my manuscript on October 1st. So, naturally, writing will be one of my intentions for 2024. It would be anyway, though.
My upcoming book Listen to the wool is a high priority this year.
I have spent every morning since Christmas in my writing cave. Just the other day I finished one of the longest and most research heavy chapters. When I get back to work again on January 8th there will of course be less time to write, but I will still be able to write a few times a week.
My morning ritual, that includes a writing practice, will still be an important part of my day. I need a space for wild writing and for welcoming whatever wants to be written onto the page, not just the structure of my book. I do this with a pen and a journal. Writing on a computer has its charm, but crafting my words with my hand allows me to write less restrained and from a deeper place in my heart.
A solo writing retreat
Beth Kempton offers a virtual writing retreat that I have been curious about. I enrolled in the retreat and booked myself four nights at an Airbnb tiny house in a town just a three hour train ride from my home. The tiny house has large windows with a spectacular view over a lake. Those were actually my requirements when I browsed for accommodation – a tiny house, a spectacular view from my writing space and just steps away from a dip. I will have my retreat in the end of March, and the hosts promised to keep a hole in the ice open for me and my daily dips when I arrive. I am so looking forward to this and where it may lead me.
Write some more
I also enrolled in a live 7-week writing course in May and June. At the moment I have no idea if I can carve out the time to do it live, but if I don’t, I will just do it later, when the book manuscript has settled.
Follow a textile
I have lots of exciting fleeces in my fleece stash at the moment. As I have picked them I have got ideas of how they may want to be spun and with what kind of textile I want to make them shine. Some ideas involve knitting yarns for different sweater projects, others involve loose weaves to full in a fulling mill with my wool traveling club in May.
I’m weaving (with stashed commercial yarn in this picture) to full in a fulling mill.
I also have four meters of a seriously yummy linen/wool twill fabric for which I have an idea for a larger project.
Connect
As I read through the planner I had filled in for 2024, I saw that almost all of it were solo things – writing, enrolling in online courses, spinning and sewing. I am very much of an introvert, but all the more reason for me not to hide in a cave. I need to connect with people to stay connected to the world. And by connecting with people I mean one at a time with deep conversations in a nerdy subject.
Dan photographing a gute ram for the book on one of our sheep farm excursions.
As Dan and I have started taking photos for the book we have visited a number of sheep owners and their flocks to take pictures of Swedish sheep breeds. These trips have been so valuable, and Dan and I have talked a lot about how deeply the visits touched us and how much we learned. These meetings, I have realized, are such important parts of the book and of my understanding of wool and spinning. I want more of these connections, for myself as well as for the crispiness of the book.
I have said no to new course inquiries before the manuscript deadline, but I will be teaching my five-day course at Sätergläntan as I have for the past years. That is also a lovely opportunity to connect to fibery friends.
A commitment
In the winter writing retreat I am enrolled in, I got the assignment to make a commitment for the year to come. This is what I came up with:
Dear Writing,
thank you for being a solid rock in my life
for encouraging me to make space for words.
Thank you for making moving my pen so beautiful,
for giving me that tingling in my hands to shape lines into letters and words,
all the way back to when I was twelve
and wanted to style me p:s and r:s in the same
bobbin-lace shapes
as my dear aunt Harriet’s.
Thank you for opening the door to exploring inwards
where there is no limit beyond the sky.
Thank you for offering me a writer’s eye
who can see the stars in a piece of moss on a sunlit rock.
Thank you for serving me a soup of hot and nutrutious imagination
about things I could actually never have imagined
without your gentle support.
I will return your generosity by writing,
every day,
to writing wildly, softly,
sparkling and whispering.
I will commit to you
by reading others’ words to fill my writing belly,
by exploring my crafting process
with wool flowing through my hands and mind,
and by moving my body,
because I believe that moving the body helps moving the mind
out of stagnation and into new worlds and possibilities.
I will peek out from my writing cave once and again
by connecting to other spinners and wool people
to fill my crafting belly,
to being curious about those around me
and seeing others’ views than my own.
I will keep choosing writing,
listening to what wants to be written
and being kind to my writing life.
I am a writer and I will keep myself nourished
with words.
In that, my friends, you are my most important critics and I thank you for reading my words.
Happy spinning!
You. can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
A couple of weeks ago I published a blog post where I played with the idea that three of my fleeces had taken over the blog and wrote their little wooly hearts out. It turns out that the journey of words and wool can be adventurous.
The title of the blog post was Pick me and refered – in my mind at least – to the picking of a fleece, as in picking out staple by staple from the fleece mass. As I wrote it (yes, it was me and not the fleeces) I listened to Japanese taiko drums, and when I do that the piece tends to get rather free and wild.
The wild spilling of words
This time was no exception. I love writing this way, just allowing the words to spill uncensored onto the page and letting them have their way with me. The writing process can get very intense and fizzy. Some of my best pieces are written in this spirit. One example is One more beat, which I wrote on a train on the way to teaching a spinning class.
Weaving, writing, traveling and listening to taiko drums. A true journey of words and wool (or linen).
The process is very much alive as I write, the music and the words blend together into a dance, a rhythm that fills my mind with a pulsating vibe. They make the decisions, I just follow along and jot them down, entering a space where I am just the vessel of the words.
Landing
When the words land on the page they transform. They are no longer part of my writing process. Instead, a new process begins the second I share the post – the process of the reader. I have no say in this either, it is a private matter between the reader and the words. The piece takes a new shape in the mind of the reader. I am usually quite curious about what kind of mischief the text is up to in its brand new process.
The process is in my mind and my body. As soon as it comes out in one form or another, it is a a project that holds the memories and connotations of the process.
When I had published the Pick me post I got a few very sweet comments from readers, all about how the post had struck something in them – laughter, recognition or appreciation of the process of creating yarn. But they were also all about a different interpretation of picking than the one I had had in my mind as I wrote it.
A new journey
All the comments indicated that the readers had interpreted “pick me” as in “choose me” (over the others) rather than “pick my staples out of the fleece mass”. This gave the post a whole new dimension – suddenly the presentation of the fleeces looked more like Tinder profiles to swipe left or right rather than the plead to start processing them that was in my mind as the stories presented themselves to me.
I’m picking my gute fleece.
This is quite fascinating to me, how the process, that has been so tangible in my mind for the vastness of a moment, starts a new journey the second they land on the page – the journey in the mind of the reader, equally fleeting.
The beauty of creating
This is the beauty of creating, what goes on in the mind of the creator during the process of creating. The creation, whether words on the page or yarn on the spindle, is just a reminder of that process. When I spin I feel the spinning in my mind, in my hands, between my hands and in the cooperation between them. The rhythm keeps me in the moment, breathing the process in and out between hands and mind.
New memories
The yarn that comes out is something new, the memories of the process, where I was and what was happening around me. When I pick up a spinning or knitting project, my mind instantly throws me back to what I was sensing the last time I spun or knit. When I put on a handspun and hand knit hat to go out, my head is wrapped in the memories the hat holds between the stitches. Sometimes when I pick up a knitting project I hear the audio book/lecture/podcast or sense the train ride/landscape or whatever was present when I knit the last time.
The reciprocity of gifts
The difference between the words on the page and the spinning or knitting is that the words travel to someone else and are reshaped through their memories and connotations, while the handspun yarn or knit garment sparks new memories and associations in my own mind since I create them mostly for myself.
Write whatever wants to be written, spin whatever wants to be spun.
Spilling words from deep in my soul onto the page is something personal and corageous. They are gifts to you and I wish you joy as you recreate them in your personal reading process. As you connect back to me about your reading experience I feel the gift returned.
Happy spinning!
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to miss anything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
I run an online spinning school, welcome to join a course! You can also check out my course page for courses in Sweden or to book me for a lecture.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
I am writing a book! In the later half of 2025 Listen to the wool: A why-to guide for mindful spinning will be available. Read more about the book here.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
I write every single day. For myself, in my day job and in my business. I also write for you. I can’t not write, just as I can’t not craft. It’s like I need to shape my thoughts into words and craft them into a deeper understanding.
I have been writing since I learned how to read and write. Actually even before that. My mother kept a notepad by the telephone. I had no idea what the notes said, but I knew the words and numbers were hers and that they were somehow keys to information. She wrote only the important things, no scribbling or doodling. I used to fill in all the words, following the curls that were unique to her. I knew the exact shape of her letters by heart and the connections between them.
Later, when I could write myself I had numerous penpals (does anyone have that these days?), practicing the shapes of my own words with them. I can quite easily identify handwriting by country – at least British, American, German and Austrian. I love the way many Austrians write numbers, especially the ones, with a strong and confident kickstand, reaching all the way from or even from beneath the baseline.
Dear Aunt Harriet
When I was around ten or twelve one of my favourite pen pals was my aunt Harriet. She worked as a teacher in Swedish, German and French through her entire adult life and had the most exquisite handwriting. Graceful but not extravagant. Just as was appropriate for a woman of her time and social class. She was born in 1930 and schooled in the art of cursive. She was my handwriting role model. I could sit for hours practicing a single letter or connection to make it just like hers, filling out every corner of the paper with J-s, P-s and O-s, not to mention my own signature. Very few people in my generation can read my handwriting, it’s way too old-fashioned for most people.
One of numerous sweet birthday cards from my aunt Harriet.
But it wasn’t just her handwriting. She wrote the sweetest letters and and cards. Personal, curious and kind. Up until her death this summer hers were the Christmas and birthday cards I looked forward to the most. One of the first things I did when she had died was to read the cards she had sent me in the last couple of years. My heart sang a silent song of joy for her life.
Freewriting
I used to keep a diary when I grew up and off and on since then. For the last couple of years, though, I have kept a beautiful leather notebook with handmade paper for my morning reflections. I’m actually on my sixth now. Every morning, after yoga and some reading, I write two pages. About anything that strikes my fancy really – the shape of the waves on the lake, the way the moon reflects in the water, the feeling of starting the day with yoga asana, how wool going through my hands makes my heart sing. Sometimes about something I have just read, sometimes as a practice before a blog post topic.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
I start writing without a plan and go where my mind and hand lead me. On my morning reflections I do not judge, I just breathe the words that come. I need to write, I need to shape my thoughts with words, play with them and dress my reflections and experiences with the beauty they deserve. Writing is to me like any other craft – with my hands and my mind I craft the text and make words and paragraphs beautiful to the reader.
Handwriting
Even if handwriting takes time it can give me a closer relationship to the words. I literally (!) shape the words with my hands, giving them the same dedication, love and attention I did when I filled in my mother’s telephone notes or copied my aunt’s graceful letters. Handwriting gives me depth and quality while writing on a computer gives me time to catch up with a quick train of thought. Much like the difference between spinning with a spindle or with a spinning wheel. Together they provide qualities that none of them can give me on their own.
I write for me
When I write I create my own feedback loop. I dress my thoughts with words, read the words and understand my thoughts on a deeper level. I dress my newly found understanding with words and can understand on yet deeper levels. By writing I create my own understanding and development of a thought process.
My morning reflections are just for me. On another level they are for you too. Writing is much like any other skill – you need to practice to be good at it. Writing my morning pages helps me develop and sharpen my writing on this blog.
I write for work
In my day job I work as an administrative officer at a Swedish government authority. Every day I make and write decisions for teachers applying for a teacher license and authorization to teach in a specific subject, grade and form. One of my most important tasks is to make the decisions understandable to the receiver. I am imposed by law to inform all applicants about why they have or have not been granted an authorization. They have the legal right to know what we grant, what we reject and why.
The space where I write at work.
As a government official I also need to follow the Swedish language act that states that the language in the public sector should be cultivated, simple and comprehensible (vårdat, enkelt och begripligt). I need to not only inform the applicants why they are granted or denied authority, but to also make sure they understand the decision I make. For that I need to craft my decision document in a cultivated, simple and comprehensible way. They need to know whether an appeal can make us change our decision or not. Every time a teacher appeals I need to review my decision with focus on both my assessment of the matter and how I have crafted the motivation in my decision. Every time I write a decision I have an impact on the trust the applicants have in the government authority I work for.
I write for you
A dear friend of mine linked to an article on Lithub. Ryan Lee Wong writes in the Intersection of Writing, Meditating, and Community about how living in a monastery taught him to shift from writing for himself to writing for others. He concludes:
All my usual neuroses about whether the novel is good or not, how it will be received, what it says about me—in short, the greater share of what I worried about when I began writing it—are beside the point. The novel is simply an offering, a chant recited for others. May it be of benefit.
I know I am a decent writer, spinner and spinning teacher. It is my responsibility – and joy – to share my gifts with others. Therefore I write for you. Every week in this blog, in my videos and in occasional articles. I share what I learn so that you may benefit from it. Just as I benefit every time I write.
I write for you.
I am no where near the deep insights in the quote above, but I know I am a part of a weave of reciprocity. From your support, your questions and your knowledge I receive more than you know. Writing about my own experiences and wool adventures is one way for me to give back to you. For every word I write I learn something new for myself, deepen my understanding and find new aspects and layers to write about.
Writing for you is writing for me. And back to you. Thank you for reading. You make me a better spinner, teacher and writer.
Happy spinning!
You can find me in several social media:
This blog is my main channel. This is where I write posts about spinning, but also where I explain a bit more about videos I release. Sometimes I make videos that are on the blog only. Subscribe or make an rss feed to be sure not to miss any posts.
Myyoutube channel is where I release a lot of my videos. Subscribe to be sure not to missanything!
I have a facebook pagewhere I link to all my blog posts, you are welcome to follow me there.
On Patreon you can get early access to new videos and other Patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patreon only benefits. The contributions from my patrons is an important way to cover the costs, time and energy I put into the videos and blog posts I create. Shooting and editing a 3 minute video takes about 5 hours. Writing a blog post around 3. You can read more about my Patreon page here.
You are also welcome to make one-off donations on my Ko-fi page.
Follow me on Instagram. I announce new blog posts, share images from behind the scenes and post lots of woolliness.
Read the new book Knit (spin) Sweden!by Sara Wolf. I am a co-author and write in the fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.fleece section about how I spin yarn from Swedish sheep breeds.
In all the social media I offer, you are more than welcome to contact me. Interacting with you helps me make better content. My private Facebook page, however, will remain private.
I support Centro de textiles tradicionales del Cusco, a group of talented textile artists in Cusco, Peru who dedicate their work to the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. Please consider supporting their work by donating to their causes.
