The artists and artisans of the fiber world come to you in The Long Thread Podcast. Each episode features interviews with your favorite spinners, weavers, needleworkers, and fiber artists from across the globe. Get the inspiration, practical advice, and personal stories of experts as we follow the long thread.

Embrace the potential of your phone’s camera, choose indirect lighting (not a flash) to show texture, and get your knits off the ground—these are just a few pieces of Gale Zucker’s advice for how to take knitting photos you love. Whether she’s shooting in a studio or a barnyard, Gale uses her camera to bring her subjects to life.
Gale grew up in a family where everyone learned to knit, and the craft has been a constant since childhood. With a love for the storytelling potential of photography, she studied photojournalism, becoming a stringer for The New York Times and shooting for national publications. Her subjects ranged from intensely serious, even grim, to lighthearted and quirky.  
Occasionally she found herself on the sheep beat, sent to farms to photograph stories for lifestyle publications. During the knitting-blog boom, she started a website and called it “She Shoots Sheep Shots,” all while continuing her photojournalism and commercial photography work. Invited to propose an idea for a book, she surprised her agent by suggesting a series of photos and profiles of fiber farms across the country, which became the book Shear Spirit. Her work has grown to include more knitting and fiber projects—subjects in which she shares her knowledge in this episode.  
Although she still photographs a range of commercial and lifestyle projects, Gale finds  her lifelong love of knitting thoroughly intertwined with her professional work. And when she’s lucky, she still gets to shoot sheep shots.
Links
Gale Zucker website (https://www.gzucker.com/)  
She Shoots Sheep Shots (https://www.gzucker.com/she-shoots-sheep-shots)  
This episode is brought to you by:
Treenway Silks
Treenway Silks is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com (https://www.treenwaysilks.com/). You’ll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway's array of wild silks provide choices beyond white. 
If you love silk, you’ll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed.
Yarn Barn of Kansas
Learning how to weave but need the right shuttle? Hooked on knitting and in search of a lofty yarn? Yarn Barn of Kansas has been your partner in fiber since 1971. Whether you are around the corner from the Yarn Barn of Kansas, or around the country, they are truly your "local yarn store" with an experienced staff to answer all your fiber questions. Visit yarnbarn-ks.com (https://www.yarnbarn-ks.com/) to shop, learn, and explore. 
Shaniko Wool Company 
Sustainability and regenerative ranching have been a way of life for the ranches of Shaniko Wool Company for decades. They are the first “farm group” in the U.S. to achieve certification to the rigorous international Responsible Wool Standard and NATIVA Regenerative. Shaniko ranches raise Merino/Rambouillet sheep in the Western United States, delivering a fully traceable wool supply that gives back to the Earth and its ecosystems. To learn more, and discover Shaniko’s yarn partners, visit ShanikoWoolCompany.com. (https://www.shanikowoolcompany.com/) 
Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival
The Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival is the perfect way to spend a weekend surrounded by over 150 craft vendors in Greenwich, New York. Discover a curated group of vendors featuring the best of wool and artisan crafters. Throughout the weekend enjoy workshops, free horse drawn wagon rides, free kids’ crafts, a fiber sheep show, and a sanctioned cashmere goat show. Join us September 21 & 22, 2024, and every fall! For more information visit adkwoolandarts.com. (https://www.adkwoolandarts.com/)

The Long Thread Podcast

Gale Zucker, Photographer

Have you ever opened a book or seen a photograph and thought to yourself, “I have to learn to do that”? 
When Emily Lymm first fell in love with knitting, she wondered casually if she could turn her passion for fiber arts into a profession. Not seeing many successful pathways to a career in knitting, she continued as a graphic designer. She loved the visual problem-solving of her job, but as time went by, she wished that she could do more to live her values of conservation and environmental responsibility.  
Then one day, she picked up a copy of Rebecca Burgess’s book Fibershed and was immediately captivated with the idea of natural dyeing. She was so certain that she had found her path that she invested in dyepots and equipment, and she set out to learn the nuanced skills to create the colors of her dreams in yarn.  
She initially experimented with processing her own fiber and having it milled into yarn but quickly realized that she would need to find a millspun option. Responsibly raised non-superwash wool yarns were difficult to find in the variety of weights that she would need to rely on, so she resorted to cold-calling farms in her home state of Oregon. One of her calls reached the perfect partner: Jeanne Carver, owner of Imperial Stock Ranch, produced just the kind of wool that Emily was hoping for—and her new project, Shaniko Wool Company, was beginning to produce the first fully traceable, RWS-certified yarn in the United States. Emily could base her business on yarn that is demonstrated to sequester carbon in the soil, milled within the United States.  
The path to developing her color range has led her to develop colors using with extracts, home-grown dyestuffs, and a variety of other dye materials. She has found old methods for creating richly saturated colors that coax unexpected colors out of familiar dye materials. She has learned to use time and temperature in her dye chemistry. 
In this episode, learn how one woman has creates a hand-dyed yarn business—sustainably.
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Links
Wool & Palette’s website (https://woolandpalette.com/) and online shop (https://woolandpalette.com/collections/all-weights)  
Emily sources her non-superwash Merino/Rambouillet wool from Shaniko Wool. (https://www.shanikowoolcompany.com/) Learn more about the company from founder Jeanne Carver in her episode of the Long Thread Podcast (https://spinoffmagazine.com/long-thread-podcast-jeanne-carver-shaniko-wool/).  
Aurora Silk (https://aurorasilk.com/wp/product-category/natural-dyes/) offers natural dye supplies.  
Jenny Balfour-Paul, Dominique Cardon, and Anita Quye wrote about the Crutchfield Archive, a collection of natural-dye manuals dating to the 18th century, in Nature's Colorways. (https://shop.longthreadmedia.com/products/natures-colorways?_pos=1&_psq=natures+colorway&_ss=e&_v=1.0)  
Rebecca Burgess’s books [Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy], (https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/fibershed/) and Harvesting Color: How to Find Plants and Make Natural Dyes (https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/rebecca-burgess/harvesting-color/9781579654252/)
Color: A Natural History of the Palette (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/49699/color-by-victoria-finlay/) by Victoria Finlay (Random House, 2004)  
This episode is brought to you by:
Treenway Silks  is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com (https://www.treenwaysilks.com/). You’ll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway's array of wild silks provide choices beyond white. 
If you love silk, you’ll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed.
KnitPicks.com has been serving the knitting community for over 20 years and believes knitting is for everyone, which is why they work hard to make knitting accessible, affordable, and approachable. Knit Picks responsibly sources its fiber to create an extensive selection of affordable yarns like High Desert from Shaniko Wool Company in Oregon. Are you looking for an ethical, eco-friendly yarn to try? Look no further than Knit Picks’ Eco yarn line. Need needles? Knit Picks makes a selection for knitters right at their Vancouver, Washington headquarters. 
KnitPicks.com (https://www.knitpicks.com/)—a place for every knitter.  
The Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival is the perfect way to spend a weekend surrounded by over 150 craft vendors in Greenwich, New York. Discover a curated group of vendors featuring the best of wool and artisan crafters. Throughout the weekend enjoy workshops, free horse drawn wagon rides, free kids’ crafts, a fiber sheep show, and a sanctioned cashmere goat show. Join us September 21 & 22, 2024, and every fall! For more information visit adkwoolandarts.com. (https://www.adkwoolandarts.com/)

Emily Lymm, Wool & Palette

Tommye McClure Scanlin had a choice. To make the images she wanted to create with weaving, she could either pursue complex forms of weaving that rely on dobby, jacquard, and draw-loom technology—or she could go the other way and place every color and pick by hand using tapestry techniques and a very simple loom. Preferring a drawing pencil to a calculator, she made the choice that now seems inevitable and dove headlong into tapestry.  
She speaks of herself modestly as a “picture-maker,” but Tommye’s imagery reveals the richness of her surroundings. She has lived most of her life in the Southern Appalachian region of North Georgia, and her artwork delves deeply into the natural world that surrounds her. Her woven work comprises many leaves and plants as well as feathers, seeds, and stones. The restrained subject matter is all the better to play with a variety of styles and perspectives.  
In addition to her main artistic works, Tommye explores creativity through formal restrictions: using the roll of a die to direct her next color, or challenging herself to add an installment each day in a woven diary. The woven diary project has developed into not only a series of beautiful records spanning more than a decade but also her latest book. Marking Time with Fabric and Thread : Calendars, Diaries, and Journals within Your Fiber Craft describes the daily textile practice of not only weavers but also quilters, embroiderers, and other fiber artists.  
Tommye’s first steps in fiber art came as an art teacher, and she went on to establish the fiber arts program at the University of North Georgia. Now retired from her academic career, she has taught at programs such as the John C. Campbell Folk School, Arrowmont, and Penland. Besides teaching in person, she writes articles and books on tapestry techniques and design principles.
Links
Tommye McClure Scanlin’s website (https://www.scanlintapestry.com/)  
Gallery of Tommye’s daily tapestry diaries (https://www.scanlintapestry.com/tapestrydiary)     
The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver (https://www.scanlintapestry.com/new-page)   
Tapestry Design Basics and Beyond (https://www.scanlintapestry.com/new-page-3)  
Tommye’s latest book is Marking Time with Fabric and Thread : Calendars, Diaries, and Journals within Your Fiber Craft (https://schifferbooks.com/products/marking-time-with-fabric-and-thread?_pos=2&_sid=ce1eb2a0e&_ss=r), available October 2024  
Read Tommye’s articles for Little Looms (https://littlelooms.com/author/tommye-mcclure-scanlin) and Handwoven (https://handwovenmagazine.com/author/tommye-mcclure-scanlin)
This episode is brought to you by:
Treenway Silks is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com (https://www.treenwaysilks.com/). You’ll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway's array of wild silks provide choices beyond white. 
If you love silk, you’ll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed.
You’re ready to start a new project but don’t have the right yarn. Or you have the yarn but not the right tool. Yarn Barn of Kansas can help! They stock a wide range of materials and equipment for knitting, weaving, spinning, and crochet. They ship all over the country, usually within a day or two of receiving the order.  
Plan your project this week, start working on it next week! See yarnbarn-ks.com (https://www.yarnbarn-ks.com/) to get started.
Sustainability and regenerative ranching have been a way of life for the ranches of Shaniko Wool Company for decades. They are the first “farm group” in the U.S. to achieve certification to the rigorous international Responsible Wool Standard and NATIVA Regenerative. Shaniko ranches raise Merino/Rambouillet sheep in the Western United States, delivering a fully traceable wool supply that gives back to the Earth and its ecosystems. To learn more, and discover Shaniko’s yarn partners, visit ShanikoWoolCompany.com. (https://www.shanikowoolcompany.com/)

Tommye McClure Scanlin, Tapestry Artist

Indigo is a unique dyestuff, no less so for being found in so many different plants. Coaxing the blue hue out of green leaves and onto yarn or cloth requires a combination of chemistry and skill that has arisen across the globe.  
Rowland and Chinami Ricketts each found their own way to indigo in Tokushima, Japan: Rowland was looking for a sustainable artistic medium after learning that the darkroom chemicals in his photography were making their way into local streams where he was teaching English. Chinami was seeking a colorful lifelong practice working with her hands, and it made sense to pursue the specialty of her region. Tokushima is celebrated as one of the leading centers for indigo cultivation, and both Rowland and Chinami took on an apprenticeship in traditional Japanese methods of working with indigo. 
Rowland and Chinami are now located in Bloomington, Indiana, where Rowland is a Professor in Indiana University’s Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. Though thousands of miles from where they first learned to grow indigo, Indiana also has a temperate climate that suits Persecaria tinctoria plants. Following the cycles of planting, harvesting, and processing, they cultivate a crop of indigo for their own work and to support other artists each year. 
Rowland’s earlier indigo works included noren, a form of decorative home textile that often screens a door, and geometric paste-resist wall hangings. In recent years, he has taken on more large-scale installations that play with light, volume, and even sound; these works have occupied interior and exterior spaces on several continents.
Chinami chose to pursue the difficult kasuri technique, a bind-dye-weave method akin to ikat. Chinami creates warp and weft kasuri in patterns that require great skill and precision to dye and weave. Her primary format is narrow-width woven cloth intended for kimono and obi, though recently she has transformed that cloth into wall-mounted artwork. 
In addition to their separate work, Rowland and Chinami collaborated on Zurashi/Slipped, a large yarn-based work created for the Seattle Art Museum exhibition Ikat. We also spoke about Rowland’s explorations of the traditional American coverlet in a few multicolored works. 
Whether you’re drawn to fiber art, traditional textile methods, or the magic of indigo, you’ll love this interview.
This episode is available in two formats, a full version that includes portions in Japanese and English (available in the Handwoven Library (https://handwovenmagazine.com/library/ESyBfuxJRaCn6bLimw1SXw)) and a voice-over version in English only (available through the regular podcast feed). 
Links
Ricketts Indigo (https://rickettsindigo.com/) 
Watch Rowland discuss the recent piece Bow as part of Project Atrium (https://youtu.be/NOgNt1XhRvM) at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, Florida. 
See photos of Chinami (https://rickettsindigo.com/kasuri/) as she plans, dyes, and completes a project in kasuri.
See Zurashi/Slipped on exhibit at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art (https://fwmoa.org/exhibition/rowlandricketts/) until September 1, 2024. 
The Fort Wayne Museum of Art exhibit also includes a number of pieces from Rowland’s series Unbound (https://rickettsindigo.com/unbound/), which uses historical American coverlet patterns in a meditation on the colonial globalism of the triangle trade. 
This episode is brought to you by:
Treenway Silks is where weavers, spinners, knitters and stitchers find the silk they love. Select from the largest variety of silk spinning fibers, silk yarn, and silk threads & ribbons at TreenwaySilks.com (https://www.treenwaysilks.com/). You’ll discover a rainbow of colors, thoughtfully hand-dyed in Colorado. Love natural? Treenway’s array of wild silks provide choices beyond white. 
If you love silk, you’ll love Treenway Silks, where superior quality and customer service are guaranteed.  
At Stewart Heritage Farm in New Market, Tennessee, farm to fiber and yarn has been a part of their story for 20 years. Home to a small herd of alpacas, Stewart Heritage produces small-batch roving, yarn, and finished goods available in 100-percent alpaca and natural blends in natural tones and brilliant hand-dyed colors. Discover the fine quality, long-lasting comfort, and soft luxury of alpaca to wear and enjoy in your home. Explore and shop alpaca at stewartheritagefarm.com (https://stewartheritagefarm.com/).
The Adirondack Wool and Arts Festival is the perfect way to spend a weekend surrounded by over 150 craft vendors in Greenwich, New York. Discover a curated group of vendors featuring the best of wool and artisan crafters. Throughout the weekend enjoy workshops, free horse drawn wagon rides, free kids’ crafts, a fiber sheep show, and a sanctioned cashmere goat show. Join us September 21 & 22, 2024, and every fall! For more information visit adkwoolandarts.com.

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