If you are one of the few who earn a living from doing something you love, if you actually have something you are passionate about, you are truly blessed!
We live in a time where most normal people must do whatever work has crossed their path, just to make ends meet… And for various reasons, many people may never discover what truly makes their hearts beat faster! And with that, I mean it in a good way!
Think about it, the average man or women gets up early every day to head off to work, so they can earn a salary to afford paying for that house in which they sleep (be it to the bank or just paying rent), because they don’t have much time other than those evening hours and their sleeping hours to spend at home.
They must work hard to afford that house, in which they need to sleep to be able to go to work, rested and ready to raise the hard-earned money they need to pay for that house. And then added to that, is the car or transport with which they have to travel to get to work, and what’s more, there’s the clothes they need to be able to go to work in a presentable state, oh and don’t forget the fuel needed to drive that vehicle or the bus or taxi fare to get to work to earn enough money to pay for the house. And the power to keep the lights on inside that house…
And the latest gadgets, TV’s, telephones, and tablets, and obviously airtime and internet for Wi-Fi, so they can stay up to date with the latest mainstream news, or just to be linked into the neurological social network, where all those who do not fit into the ‘social circle’ can be guided in the ‘right direction’, accepting and ‘trusting’ the latest ‘science’…
And then there’s the taxes and interests to still be deducted from that pay, because let’s face it, there are a whole lot of people who make a rich and comfortable living of the average Joe Soap’s sweat and tears, raking in profits, interests and taxes while doing nothing at all…
How did it ever get to this point in time?
Ever since the depression days, now nearly a century ago, when the banksters took over the printing of money, and gold was no longer used to back money, fake money could be printed at will by those with the license to forge, they started manipulating the markets, Moms and Dads had to go to work as mentioned above. Farmers were kicked off their farms because the banks took over when the farmers could no longer pay the exorbitant interests fixed by those very same banksters who knew exactly what the outcome would be, and Mom and Dad had to start working, doing anything available to them at the time, and little Johny and Jill had to go to government-controlled schools in the cities, where they were taught from a very tender young age that the government was there to look after them, and they need a good job to earn a good salary and get a good credit score, so they can ‘do the right thing’ and pay enough taxes, and so they can take out loans to buy a good house, a car and all the trimmings, so they can pay the bankers their interests…
In South Africa there was yet another darker angle to that, after the Boer War, at the turn of the previous century, the farms were burnt to the ground, and the people had to move to the cities in droves, fathers had to go and work in the mines, ironically the reason for the war, because the fat-cat bankers backed the war so they could get their grubby paws on the gold in the Witwatersrand, and then there were the diamonds in Cullinan, so conveniently finding their way to London, the most famous one, the Cullinan diamond, nestling proudly in the monarch’s crown… Anyone who knows how to follow the money, have long since reached the right conclusions…
Anyway, Moms and Dads had to slave away, otherwise how on earth will the fat cats in the government and Corporations be able to rake in those riches… I mean, SOMEONE has to do the work, and it aint gonna be the politicians promising you a miraculously efficient government, or the corporations rattling off all kinds of promises in their false advertisements to get you to spend all your hard-earned cents on buying their rubbish inventions you never needed anyway, all so you will never have enough money, and will always need more bank loans, and thus pay more interest…
And yes, there are the Bankers, who happens to own the politicians and governments and corporations, who made sure their manipulated inflation would forever run away from the people who would never be able to buy cars and houses for cash as long as the bankers’ system would remain in place – and as far as the bankers were concerned, that would be, well, forever…
You did know the Reserve Bank is a privately owned institution, and not run by the Government, didn’t you? And that applies to every single country in the Western World.
Back to Good Citizen teachings 101, remember, you must pay taxes to the government because the government looks after you… How they do that, is not for you to worry, and better still, don’t think about all their flagrant failures, just ‘do it’… Otherwise you might just snap out of it and discover you are living in a manipulated fake world, created by the media and all the other ‘official’ naratives, incidentally all owned and controlled by the same people… You might just take off your rosy glasses and see the real world for what it is… That you are carrying a useless government on your shoulders, like Atlas, even though your legs are buckling underneath you, while they keep on snapping that whip… Giddy up, sheeple!
What becomes abundantly clear along the conveyor belt drive towards preparing for a ‘good job and a good house’, is there is not much time for anyone to embrace their natural instincts and interests, hobbies are no longer something seen as a natural extension of every human being, their natural talents are drowned out by the latest craze, where even 2-year-olds are given an iPad or similar device to become the ‘childminder’, so mom and dad can enjoy a well-deserved rest after the day’s slaving away to earn their income to pay their overheads and taxes, so they can drop down on the couch before the TV to forget about their worries and that horrific and insidious thing called inflation, which eats away at their money faster than they can ever earn enough money…
And little 2-year-olds never learn to get their fingers and toes dirty in the mud, discovering the beauty of a graceful butterfly sitting on a perfectly formed flower, catching tiny fish in a crystal clear mountain stream, or seeing lambs darting and prancing over real pastures, they never learn to appreciate the fresh fragrance of an early misty morning out on the pasture chatting with the lambs, or collecting eggs, even just stopping to stare at a little frog playing hide-and-seek in the plants… Because they are taught from a young age that playing games on their smartphones or laptops will keep their minds occupied… So they don’t need to get bored… WHAT!?! Rephrase that, so they don’t start to THINK!
They have been removed from nature, they are quite literally UNPLUGGED from real life, they don’t know what it is to walk around barefoot on the grass, breathing in fresh air… Enjoying the wonderful, sweet smell of the veld grass after a highveld summer storm. How to actually, really exist, be real, there in that moment! Because they are stuck on a couch, staring at a square screen, their attention span less than that of a goldfish, even grown-ups can no longer focus on anything longer than the average tick-tock short, and that needs to be up-beat and quick, before they get bored. All that while they are breathing in stale air in a house that’s usually locked up all day, waiting for the ‘corporate slaves’ to return from work and school… Minds no longer get a chance to actually ponder their own thoughts!
And so, they lose their individuality, their inspiration, and most of all, their creativity… Because children are no longer taught real crafts at school. I’m not talking about just dabbling with paint and clay, although even that’s pushed aside for ‘virtual learning’. I’m talking about home economics where girls are taught cooking, baking, childcare, sewing, knitting, crochet, spinning and weaving, and technical training where boys are taught about mechanics, electrics, technical drawing and such in school. In short, life skills, the way we were taught back in the seventies and early eighties…
No, these days kids are taught how to go for a sex change, that paedophiles are nice people who are just ‘minor-attracted people’, and drag queens must be idolized… And if their parents don’t tow the line, accepting their rights to mutilate themselves, they should report them as bad parents…
Luckily, that latter part seems to be one of the key points where more and more people have started to snap out of their slumber – the ones who have looked up from their tablets long enough to notice what’s really going on, that is… Because whether you are straight or gay, right is right and wrong is wrong!
So, what happens to the small group of people who do not fit into those square boxes, or who have outgrown the box, looked beyond it or maybe never ended up in that box for starters…?
Once again, South Africa seems to have been lagging behind the US, Europe, and the UK as well as Australia and New Zealand for at least 10 years. The biggest wake-up call seems to have been in the US, and that was even before the Sippy-cup Biden era. Agricultural shows abound in every state where various sheep breeds and their fibre in all its glory are calling on people to come and take a closer look. Spinners and weavers and fibre artists are displaying their arts and crafts so people who may not have known about the existence of certain crafts, are introduced to their first skein of lusciousness, ready to try out something new.
There is one other thing in which we here in South Africa lags behind, and that’s spinning wheel and weaving loom agencies. There are basically just two agencies that I am aware of, and both are Ashford agencies. That really needs to change, so more people can be introduced to the delights of the many different types of spinning wheels and looms out there… Besides, competition is healthy, and the lack thereof is stifling! Luckily we do have some beautiful antique looms still popping up from time to time.
Believe me, once bitten by that bug, you’re hooked for life! Besides slaving away at their day-time job, people absolutely MUST let out that creative urge within them… And this is how they start!
Now on the the fibres needed for most crafts. Unfortunately, here in South Africa, we don’t have a large variety of fibre breeds, it’s basically just merino and mohair, and those breeds are held under a tight rein by BKB. Then there are a variety of meat sheep breeds and that’s it. And corporations rule the roost. There is a desperate need for ‘fresh minds’ when it comes to wool breeds and fibre inspiration, but since BKB runs the show and they don’t need anything more, nothing else will see the light of day anytime soon… Not unless ‘industry’ changes…
The same goes for coloured fleeces in sheep. The breeding regulations of most of the breeds, definitely the fibre breeds, stipulate white fleece, and white fleece only. So be it. But I am hoping somewhere along the lines, some kindred spirits will share my dreams, and a group of great minds can devise a plan to import or at least establish a few more of the rarebreed sheep races, bringing in more colour. And that we can then quite literally ‘change industry’ – to a more balanced, smaller scale, but more spread-out small-business cottage-craft system. The way things used to be, before greed and corporate interests took over.
Looking at the Shetland Islands turnaround, where fair isle knitting has quite literally turned the tides for the sheep and the locals, it should become quite clear that this is not an impossible dream! https://youtu.be/vTL6TiokxeA?si=hbgK3nV_Qo14RLMR
My biggest dream is to establish a Rare Breed Fibre Society with the intention of facilitating the establishment of a few rare breed sheep and goat races right here in South Africa – who knows, maybe the right people will read this blog one day, and we can kickstart a new beginning.
The Alpaca breeders started in 2001 when the first animals were imported, but we were barely hanging on by our fingernails fibre-wise, because we do not have enough small mills to get anywhere in processing our smaller quantities of fibre, and setting up more mills is going to require a huge financial outlay. Distance between the various groups is also a huge problem. BKB also ensures it imposes its monopolistic control, paying a pittance for valuable fibre, with people waiting forever to get paid. So they certainly are NOT an option!
Setting up a mini mill is on our bucket list, but since we refuse to go the bankster way, that’s waiting on the back burner for the time being… Gotta get rid of those ticks first, not feeding them…
But all of those stumbling blocks were actually a good thing, because that’s what’s needed to get people geared up and going back to ‘normal’. And in South Africa, we have a saying, “‘n Boer Maak ‘n Plan”. And that’s exactly what it takes!
Sidestepping the big corporations, it’s time for small-scale cottage industries to shine, in South Africa too…! And it doesn’t have to stay small, it just needs to stay manageable and in the hands of people who care! We all have to start somewhere!
Some inspiration… https://youtu.be/BSGp1e4FTls?si=brWlMLcI859gRfON
More and more people have woken up, and felt the urge to do what they love to do! They are turning their backs on the slavery-system, hopping off the hamster wheel. Not to mention those people who have lost their businesses and their income in the last few years. But I have seen so often, when a door is shut in your face, there is another one opening to show the way! If there is one good thing that came out of the lock-downs, it is the fact that people were suddenly presented with idle time, and itchy fingers… And many discovered handcrafts again!
Many were lucky enough to realise that the empty feeling that didn’t want to ease up, was the need to find their JUICE in life, that passion which makes life WORTH LIVING! If you have never experienced that feeling of accomplishment when you have made something beautiful with your own hands, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE MISSING! You haven’t met INSPIRATION!
That talent can be farming, gardening, weaving, wood work, metal work, mechanics, fixing cars, installing solar systems, building, cooking and baking, sculpting, soap making, sewing, knitting, quilting, crochet, lace making, even doll-making… The list goes on and on – it’s that urge you get to DO WHAT YOU WERE BORN TO DO!!!!! To be creative! We are here to make the world a better place, for everyone!
God intended us to CREATE, not to become mindless zombies, acting on orders so our keepers can constantly become richer, raking in more profits, earning more interest and taxes… When people bury their talents, when they have no outlet to release their creativity in a positive way, it has a way of breaking through to the surface, emerging as all kinds of illnesses, nervous breakdowns and syndromes, infidelity, alcoholism and drug abuse.
Now we get to the creative side and the natural outcome of finding your juice in life. Real physical hand-made products, works of art, items into which people have poured their love, their dreams, their creativity, their souls… It’s a tangible outcome of a God-given talent. And guess what, when you surround yourself with hand-made items, you change the environment around you, the vibrations are different! You quite literally step into a differend world, almost an alternate universe…
You really DO become MUCH HAPPIER!
When you visit a craft fair or farmer’s market, one where people sell real handmade, and homegrown produce, you can feel the difference in vibrations, and it’s not just ‘whoo-hoo’… When you eat real fresh organically grown veggies and fruit, healthy pasture raised meat, you feel better, you are healthier, your skin glows, and there is a new bounce in your steps, no matter your age! Flu bugs don’t bowl you over!
Because suddenly you are ingesting real potent vitamins, trace minerals, living plant matter, you are ingesting that very real life-force! The real stuff real human bodies need! Not stale dead produce that has started their putrefaction weeks and sometimes even months ago when they were harvested and locked up under a chemically induced climate controlled stasis so it can reach you when the markets deemed it the most profitable time to sell.
When you sleep under a handspun, handmade blanket, whether it’s woven, knitted or crochet, it doesn’t matter, made of natural fibres, of a plant or animal source, NOT processed with tons of harmful chemicals, you will enjoy an entirely different experience than when you sleep under a synthetic machine-made fabric that was created by soulless chunks of noisy grinding metals and grease, made of materials that were a toxic goo bathed in a stinking chemical mess, to then be called fabric. https://youtu.be/0pJwJCwvYiI?si=YTm52jp71v9Cr3DE
And some more… https://youtu.be/4qYigRK8Rj0?si=nR56d1qASKGx4fVF
Mothers of new-born babies will see the difference, because let’s face it, they know EVERYTHING about the sleeping quality of their little bundle of joy – or the lack of their sleep…
This writer cannot wear synthetic fabrics AT ALL, my skin is unable to breathe, and I don’t have to look at a label to know I am currently robed in rubbish, or trimmed in trash! It doesn’t take long to discard the offending piece of clothing or decor either… The same goes for a room filled with ‘plastic’… https://youtu.be/zJVYTnFjiFg?si=M9ZaQdKTV44R-Nuo
I won’t go into it much deeper, those who have experienced what I am talking about here, knows exactly what I am refering too, and let’s face it, I am not trying to get through to those who can’t see it, because they can’t hear either… And neither would they have continued reading this far! Their attention span wouldn’t have lasted this long. This post is aimed at reaching those who have ears to hear…
Now here’s another secret – if you are at all up to date with real happenings and news of what is happening around the world these days, and in South Africa too, you may have come to the natural conclusion that there is a definite drive against independent thinkers, farmers and homesteaders – by the corporate gobblers that wants to suck up everything so only they can produce their GMO grossness they call food, to thus keep the masses obediently in check, because no crickets for you if you don’t tow the line…
To counter that, we actually need more of the salt-of-the-earth farmers and homesteaders, the ones who are in touch with the earth, who farm because it’s their passion, and who usually come from a long lineage of like-minded souls! That is where you also find the greatest collection of people who are still in touch with reality, with their love of the earth, with their CREATIVITY! And with CRAFTING! Those are the people who are resilient enough to stand on their own two feet and take care of themselves.
But, there are a lot of people still caught up in the cities, who have since woken up and who have heard that call to freedom, who want to set their creative spirit free, so it can soar freely and start MAKING! And those are the people who are now looking for a way to make a living out of what they love to do. They too want to get away from the corporate control system.
This entire website is dedicated to those who have discovered the creators within them, who want to be free to make their dreams come true, every tiny step of the way, every handful of fluff, every strand of fibre spun into yarn, yarn that will ultimately become a new blanket or scarf, a beany or mittens, socks or whatever their creativity dictates! Creations that may eventually become heirlooms, treasured by future generations to come.
And thus, I have finally come to handspinning…
I could have picked any one of the crafts I so love, weaving, making lace, knitting, crochet, soap making, sewing, woodwork, gardening, the list just goes on… But to be honest, spinning holds a very special place in my heart, it lets my soul soar, my mind wander every which way, and I can plan my next projects, or just think happy thoughts…
And let’s face it, taking a hand full of fibre, and spinning it into a thread, then using that thread to create fabric, and that fabric to create clothing or a blanket that will keep you warm when winter gives you a cold shoulder… It’s almost magical, because that’s when you realise you can do almost anything, as long as you have a plan, you just need to begin somewhere, you just need some fibre, and inspiration… And perseverance, of course… Because spinning isn’t fast!
And this is also where I now get the chance to discuss the one thing that has grieved me for far too long…
The price people are forced to ask for their handspun yarns. This is probably one of the reasons more people haven’t learned to spin yet, because other than that, it is such a magical craft… The scarcity and also the price of a spinning wheel can also be quite a stumbling block, but there too, there is quite litteraly, A MAGIC WAND!
Support spindles
The ‘Magic Wand’ for those new to spinning. Support spindles, also known as Russian spindles, https://youtu.be/LEJjcq8r-SI?si=drXizmpEskQNIa8r and there are other versions where a small weight is slipped around the bottom of a thin wooden spindle, known and used for thousands of years!
Little rock and even lead whorls have been picked up at archaeological sites all over the world, dating back as far as 7000 years ago! https://youtu.be/n6TGuypgXms?si=nXCFDOlzTsPWb6KR
We will be adding starter fibre kits with support spindles in store for those who want to give it a try!
Support spindles are also usually available in the online store. We are still trying to source a reliable supply of drop spindles and turkish spindles. And just so I don’t lose this little gem of a video, I will post it here too! If you like turkish spindles, this is a must learn technique!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M42IQgiUmc
People seem to feel guilty to ask a fair price for the effort that has gone into their beautiful creations, just because they compare it to the price of mass-produced machine made stuff available freely on every shopping shelf, at a fraction of what they can ever do it for, spun in record time by soulless machines and usually made of synthethic blends. And when they do have natural fibers added, it is still processed in factories, at such volumes and at such speed, it can never be compared to hand spun yarns… And all that processing, besides stripping the fibre of its natural character, also adds chemicals that you would be better off without.
So spinners bite their tongues and barely charge more than the cost of the fibre, because most of them at some stage along the way, fell victim to those thoughtless tongue lashings, where mindles fools were telling them they should be ashamed of themselves for charging so much for ‘mere hand spun yarn’…
Usually these thoughtless people are the very same ones who would expect to be paid a pretty penny for their own time, for whatever they intend making with their purchased handspun yarn, because they imagine their own time worth so much more than the spinners’ time…
This post is intended to get people THINKING…
It is intended as backing for all the handcrafters out there! You do not have to feel ashamed of charging what your items are worth. But be fair, charge what it is REALLY worth, and in time, people will learn to do things FAIR, not ‘corporately correct’! Don’t go and look at what the ‘others’ are charging, because they are also just looking at someone else’s prices, look at what your raw materials cost, and if it’s your own sheep or alpacca, how much did you spend to keep them healthy, to shear them, consider it all. When you have too much stock, or you need money urgently, don’t flood the market with ridiculously low prices, offer a discount, but keep a balance for later.
Otherwise some people may look at your low ’emergency’ price and think that’s what they need to charge too, and everyone, including the entire small cottage-craft industry, will fall apart. Let’s all build something lasting, You don’t want to play ping-pong with prices, we have enough of that on the share markets. And don’t try and kill your competitors either, everyone deserve the light of day. Remember, ultimately it is in everyone’s best interest to build a thriving cottage-craft industry. What goes around, comes around…
And for would-be buyers of homespun yarns, next time you ponder buying that skein of hand-spun yarn, remember this… It was spun by an inspired being, who poured love, creativity and their soul into that skein, it is surrounded by a higher vibration because it wasn’t created in a soul-less noisy mechanical environment, every twist in that yarn was added by real flesh and blood hands manipulating those strands, real feet were treadling the spinning wheel or wrists were flicking a support or drop spindle, and depending on the strands, it may have passed through the same hands 3, 4, 5 and even more times, as the various strands were spun and then plied together, to yet again be skeined up. And those hands were proud of what they created! They did it with love, but their time was valuable to them too! The same applies for weaving, knitted and crochet garments and decor items.
Compare apples with apples, and appreciate the true value of craftsmanship!
Don’t fall into the trap of being just another consumer, shopping like a consumer, buying with a slave mentality, having to settle for second best because mass-produced factory products are all that’s affordable to the masses…
Whenever possible, buy real handmade, handprocessed, good quality, and take special care of your precious handmade clothes and items, let go of that consumer mentality where people think they can wear something once and then discard it, getting the next newer model or latest fashion, just because the quality was horrible, and it wasn’t intended to last anyway…
Go for timeless, because QUALITY IS TIMELESS!
When you buy handspun yarns, especially wool, silk and alpaca, you intend making heirloom items, something your children and grand-children will be proud to wear! You may be paying more initially, but your cardigan or coat, blanket or beanie, mittens or scarf will likely outlast you…!
You get what you pay for!
Fast doen’t mean better, and slow doesn’t mean bad… Good things come to those with the patience to wait…
And by the way, there is a reason royalty only wears handcrafted clothes made of natural fibres! And funny, they can wait for good things… But crafters no longer need to accept a pittance just because royalty (or corporate elites) rule! Knowledge after all is power! If you know the true value of things, you can insist on keeping things fair!
And while we are on that subject, did you know that ‘royalty’ and the ‘elites’ have another peculiarity when it comes to clothing…? They will NEVER wear shoes that doesn’t have NATURAL soles, be it cork or leather, natural rubber or even wood, because they know the value to their health of staying GROUNDED…
Now, how many of you have ever tried to source affordable shoes with 100% natural soles, I’m not talking about just uppers or insoles…? Good luck with your search…! And do some homework on being grounded/earthed, you may just discover how to become a whole lot healthier…
And while we’re on that subject, did you know alpaca fibre was called the fibre of the gods for centuries…? And only royalty was allowed to wear it according to Inca tradition…? Ever heard of the Anunaki?
Yes, there are very good reasons why alpaca is quite expensive as fibre goes, but thats a story for another day…
Till next time, happy crafting!
