There are giants in the isolated Sierra Nevada mountains of California—ancient red giants, the last of their kind. Although they were known for centuries by Native Americans, it wasn’t 41 the 1830s that the most-massive trees in the world, the giant sequoias, were “discovered” by white hunters. It took another 20 years for their existence to 42 the consciousness of the general public, and roads were soon erected to make access easier. One of the first trees to gain fame, the massive “Discovery Tree,” was felled just one year after it was identified. It took five men 22 days to 43 through its 1,300-year-old trunk, and its stump was used as a dance floor. Although it was soon apparent that the lumber of these enormous organisms was inferior 44 other softwoods (the wood often would shatter when the heavy tree hit the ground), a number of old-growth trees were felled just to prove their existence, and samples were sold to museums around the world. Additionally, many loggers could not 45 the allure and prestige of felling such massive trees, and the groves began to diminish.

   Today, when we want new clothes, we can go to a clothing store and buy whatever you like. But for people two or three hundred years ago, getting new clothes was not so easy. Not only did they make their own clothing, but sometimes people wove their own cloth at home. And if they owed their own sheep, they even spun the wool into yarn themselves. 

    Wool cannot just be taken from the sheep and spun. First, it must be cleaned and then carded. In a large family, carding was usually the children’s job, because it is easy but tiresome. Carding is done with two wide combs that have rows of steel teeth. The person carding puts a piece of wool on one comb, then pulls the other comb across the wool again and again. This combing makes the wool fibers straight and smooth so they can be spun. 

   Finally, the mother or older sister of the family could use the wool for spinning. Spinning just means twisting and stretching the fibers into yarn. You have spun yarn if you have ever pulled and twisted a cotton ball into a long string. Usually, though, a spinning wheel helps make the pulling and twisting easier. The spinner holds the wool in her hands and twists one end unto the yarn already on the spindle, or long winding stick. The spinning wheel turns the spindle, pulling the wool into yarn and winding it onto the spindle at the same time. Finally, the yarn is ready for weaving. 

   Today, machines can spin yarn much faster than people can. But in some places, people still make their own yarn because they love the old art of spinning.