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| Mountain Meadow Woolen Mill is one of the few mills that processes wool from the raw fleece to the finished product of roving or yarn. |
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| Guild members began the mill tour by learning some of the background on how and why the mill was started ten years ago. Mountain Meadow Woolen Mill, Buffalo, WY September 16, 2017 |
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| The skirting process was explained |
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| Ben explained how the skirting process not only removes vegetable matter but also short cuts that can occur during shearing |
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| wool grease is a by-product of the scouring process. The equipment in the mill ranges in age and some machines were manufactured and/or obtained overseas. The machines often came without instruction manuals or the instructions were in Spanish or Portuguese. The mill had to be innovative to get the machinery running.
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| The pin drop machines have fine combs that separate the wool fibers. The wool is put through the process several times. |
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| The wool is guided through a pin drop machine |
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| drum carders |
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| spinning the wool onto bobbins |
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| one of the many boxes of wool being spun into yarn at the spinning machine |
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| Large bobbins filled with yarn |
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| Once the yarn is on the bobbin, it is skeined and then wrapped on cones. |
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| This machine wraps the yarn from a skein onto a cone |
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| Some of the yarn is also dyed at the mill, and the mill store has many gorgeous skeins for sale. Buyers can also purchase roving from a variety of sheep or exotic breeds. |
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| Finished wool items are also for sale (sweaters, hats, mittens, throws) in the mill shop |
The owners and founders of Mountain Meadow Wool share their story in the following video.
