John Arbon Open Mill Weekend
What a joy it was to spend a few hours at the John Arbon mill earlier this summer. On arrival, the car park was full and there was a buzz of happy wool fans comparing their knits, eating cake and trying to resist the temptation of loading their cars with beautiful...
Fair Trade Yarn
During Fairtrade Fortnight in the UK I posted a different fair trade yarn on Facebook and Twitter every day. It was great doing the research into fair trade yarns and getting recommendations from other people. The research also highlighted some questions...
Plastic-Free Yarn
Reducing our plastic consumption is a hot topic on the news and social media at the moment. This is something I’ve been interested in for a long time and now, in the UK at least, it’s become a focus of general debate. Inspired by the focus on plastic, I...
Vegan Yarn
a This month is Veganuary! Every year since 2014 Veganuary, a vegan charity, has been encouraging people to go Vegan for January. Now, I’m not vegan but I am interested in the vegan yarn that is available for vegan knitters, crocheters and weavers. The Search for...
How Ethical Is Your Yarn?
When you next start on a knitting, crochet or weaving project, how can you be sure that you are buying ethical wool and yarn? When I tell people I’m researching ethical wool and yarn they usually look surprised. The assumption is that if you are knitting,...
Spinning a Good Yarn
I’m not sure if you’ve ever asked yourself the question, “When does a yarn become a yarn?” I hadn’t until I had the pleasure of visiting Laxtons as part of my quest to find out more about spinning and how yarn is produced. Laxtons - new factory for a...
Featured Yarn – Yeavering Bell
Earlier this year I met Alice Elsworth of Whistlebare at Wonderwool Wales. We talked briefly and I really liked her ethos as well as her beautiful ethical mohair. So, it was a great pleasure last week to visit Alice at her farm in Northumberland, meet her...
To dye or not to dye? That is the question!
I love colour and one of the great joys of knitting for me is seeing the colours emerge as my project grows. However, dyeing wool and yarn has an environmental impact. In my pursuit of ethical yarns I’ve started to ask: Should I be promoting un-dyed,...
How about the big brands?
In setting up the directory on Real Good Yarns I have made a decision to focus on the smaller suppliers of wool and yarn. This is primarily as I want to support the smaller, independent producers who don’t have the marketing budget, brand reputation and...
