Wind Powered Fiber Mill

After all the rushing and traveling for the out-of-state baby shower, I finally found time to catch up on my magazine reading. I am a poor traveler and could not focus while in the plane. (Read – not in control of my bus while flying). So, I picked up my copy of [tag]Vogue Knitting[/tag] [tag]Knit 1[/tag] and started to read the [tag]Green Issue[/tag].

I wonder how many people noticed the sidebar article on Hope Spinnery? From the Home page “Hope Spinnery is a wind-powered fiber processing mill nestled in the hills a few miles inland from the coast of Maine.

Our fiber comes from local farms, we are committed to chemical-free processing methods and use only natural dyes to create our beautiful and striking yarn, knit wear, and other products.“

How unusual, a single 80-foot tower standing atop a hill harnessing enough energy to power all the machinery to produce yarn with sometime additional power available to handle machinery in other parts of the building!

The article mentions that the yarn mill provides hope for the future of viable alternative energies. The owner started as a school teacher and now is into fiber arts. The mill started processing raw fibers, but also now manufactures its own yarn.

In keeping with ecology in mind the business is run with the same ethics that are applied to the owners life. Earth friendly soap is used for scouring, natural dyes (Indigo, Madder, Cochineal, Osage Orange, Native Flowers, etc.) for dying yarns and there is Low-Waste — the by-products of the processing is used for other purposes.

Hope yarn can be purchased at a few yarn shops in Maine, as well as from [tag]Hope Spinnery[/tag].