Navajo Churro sheep are considered the first U.S. sheep, and have a deep-seated history. With origins dating back to the 16th century when they were first introduced by Spain to the southwestern US, to their cultural interconnection within the Navajo nation, and their near extinction due to governmental environmental concerns, Navajo Churro sheep populations are growing…
Tag: fibershed
Exploring Alpaca Fiber Quality
Last month I had the great opportunity to volunteer during the annual Alpaca Owner’s Association National Fleece Conference in Arlington Virginia. On Day 1 I took the Basic Fiber Sorting & Grading Class with Wini Labrecque of Star Weaver Farm and SWF Fiber Innovations. She has over 20 years of experience adding value to alpaca fibers with hand-spinning,…
Tour de Fleece 2016
This was my second year participating in the annual Tour de Fleece (July 2 to 24). As bicyclists in France spun their bicycle wheels, hand-spinners spun fibers on drop spindles, and spinning wheels throughout the world! It was all captured on Ravelry through various groups such as the ‘Rookies,’ ‘Sprinters,’ and ‘Climbers.’ There were also several independent…
New York Wool Socks!
My first One Year One Outfit pieces for 2016 are hand-knit socks! I’ve wanted to learn how to knit socks for several years, and am excited that I was finally able to take a sock knitting class using the Rose City Rollers pattern. I made several mistakes on my first set, but felt a lot more confident on my second set. It was…
Who Grows our Clothes? Focus on Alpacas
A lot of people are asking “Who Made My Clothes?” based on the influence of Fashion Revolution. I am taking cue from Fibershed’s proposal of asking “Who Grew our Clothes?” This question draws attention to both the farmer and fiber producing animals. Since my focus is on animal fibers in New York, I’m asking “How are fiber animals being…
New York Fiber Podcasts
I’m going to post podcasts that focus on the New York fiber community here. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting several of the interviewees throughout my time in New York, so I’m really excited to share these! I’ll update this post as I find more, or if anyone knows of any others let me know!!! WAMC Northeast Public…
Honeycomb Knits with Alpaca Fibers
I’ve been spinning with alpaca fibers lately and I’m in love with all of the different color combination possibilities! I ordered 1 pound of brown and black alpaca roving from A+ Fiber Mill earlier this year. I’ve been spinning the fibers on my drop spindle, and am surprised that I spun all of the brown roving already! I…
Inspiration from Fibershed Wool & Fine Fiber Book
I recently borrowed the Fibershed Wool & Fine Fiber Book that presents a variety of fibers available in Northern California. There are several types of wool that highlight the unique sheep breeds in the region, such as California Red, Santa Cruz, Navajo-Churro, Merino, and Ouessant sheep to name a few. There are also suri and huacaya alpacas, angora goats,…
Fiber Concoction
I started to knit my mohair, wool, and curly horse hair yarn that I spun last summer during the Tour de Fleece. I’ve been waiting to use it, and thought it would be perfect as textile art that I can appreciate forever! I am very intrigued by the honeycomb design and made it a core part…
Part IV: New York Fiberscape Dress Complete!
The New York Fiberscape Dress is finally complete! This was my first time making a garment entirely out of my hand-spun yarns, and it took a lot of determination and patience. I was motivated to work on it even though it was very labor intensive (over 800 yards of yarn plus hand-knitting!) because I was able…
New York Lincoln Longwool Sheep! Spinning, Natural Dyeing & Knitting
I recently began to spin and dye with longwool from the Orchard View Lincoln Longwool farm in New York. I love the length and luster of the fibers! Below are some of my knitted natural dye samples. I am currently taking a Natural Dye class and was able to dip my hand-spun yarns into indigo, hopi sunflower,…
Wool Day in Ithaca!
Today I was happy to celebrate Wool Day in Ithaca! There was a small festival where I got wool, mohair, and alpaca roving from the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm, thanks Lisa! I plan to use the fibers in an upcoming natural dye student exhibit and show fibers from animals raised on the same farmland and in Ithaca….
Season for Fibers – Fingerlakes Fiber Festival!
The Fingerlakes Fiber Festival was my first festival of the fiber season. I got to see a lot of familiar faces and I stocked up on a variety of wools from unique sheep breeds including Hog Island Sheep, Icelandic Sheep, and Blue Face Leicester Sheep. Thanks Fingerlakes Woolen Mill, Trinity Farm, and High Bid Farm! I am…
Tour De Fleece 2015
Over the past month, I’ve been spinning along with the #spindlers Ravelry group during the Tour de Fleece (July 4 to July 26). The Tour de Fleece is a nod to the bicyclists in the Tour de France. As they spun their bicycle wheels, fiber spinners around the world spun their wheels, or spindles. It was…
Part I: New York Fiberscape Dress
Over the past few weeks I have been hand-spinning with fibers collected during the Washington County Fiber Tour, and fibers in my stash. In total I spun 449 yards of yarn. My goal is to create enough hand-spun yarns for a New York Fiberscape Dress. The Dress is meant to draw attention to the variety of natural…
HELEN TREJO 