Preparing the Yarn

In the cool shade beside the family's looms, Soledad Gonzalez sits carding wool, A cloth spread across her lap protects her traditional, hand-embroidered smock from stray wool fuzz.

The carding, done with two flat brushes the size of ping-pong paddles with short wire bristles, removes the debris that remains in the raw wool and prepares the wool for spinning.

Her sister Minerva, cranking a spinning wheel with one hand and pulling the wool with a practiced subtle touch with the other, transforms the resulting lint-like sheets into strong yarn.

After filling several spindles with newly spun yarn, she will use the spinning wheel to un-spool the yarn, creating loose bundles ready for dying.