I began to read the book “The Improbable Shepherd: More Stories from Sylvia’s Farm” by Sylvia Jorrin, 2013. She has a sheep and goat farm in the foothills of the Catskill mountains in NY. This is a passage I especially enjoyed: “…Other islands of dark green emerged and disappeared. Parts of the hills that surround this…
Tag: local resources
Hand-spun New York Yarns
Excited to make something from my yarns! They are predominantly wool with some alpaca and cashmere blends. They were hand-spun on a drop-spindle, and are 3-ply yarns. The roving was sourced from the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm and Spot Hollow Farm in New York. The yarns were made during the second half of 2013 and I just…
Like a Dream: Urban Lighting
Clothing is one way we distinguish ourselves from others, especially in dense settings like Los Angeles where it is easy to blend in. Chris Burden’s “Urban Lights” exhibit at LACMA stands out with a dense array of 1920s LA lamp posts. The proximity of the lamp posts alludes to the density of LA. As I…
Embracing Local Cultures of Dress- Small Exhibit
Local production of clothes has been integral to several cultures throughout time. This exhibit focused on comparing Navajo traditional, local cultures of dress and textiles, with the American Fibershed project that is creating “local” cultures of dress as part of the larger sustainable fashion movement. The Fibershed project in Northern California was established in 2011 by…
Amazing Fibershed Symposium 2013!
I went to the Fibershed Annual Wool & Fine Fiber Symposium in Point Reyes Station, CA last weekend Sat Nov 16. I was very excited to see a wide range of people from different professions including University professors to fiber farmers and artisans. Presentations can be seen here. If you are interested in agricultural sustainability, or care…
Mapping NY Fiber Farms
I’ve been creating a map of fiber farms throughout New York to contribute to discourses about regional Fibersheds. I inserted all of the addresses and identified the specific fiber animals that are one the farms. The map shows that there are extensive Alpaca farms, much more than sheep farms. This is because I was able…
Finished Cashmere Sweater and Memories
I finally finished the cashmere sweater that I mentioned in a previous post. The stitches in this sweater have so many memories and I am so happy that I can reflect back on the time I spent preparing the yarn and knitting. I began working on it in June and finished in August 2013 and it…
Worth of Wool
Visiting the Fingerlakes Woolen Mill was great, especially since I’ve had some contact with people who process their fleeces here. I learned about the steps involved in turning a fleece into yarn from washing to spinning steps. It was very interesting to see the large scale equipment. I was surprised that it takes about 2 weeks…
Hand-Spinning with Meaningful Fibers
I am very excited about this post because it contributes to my interest in New York’s Fibershed. I am taking a spinning class and am very excited to make my first yarn from Spot Hollow Farm roving, which is in Trumansburg, NY. I think it is especially charming how Shepherdess Marie comments about the sheep’s names on her Facebook page and states…
From Watershed to Fibershed
“Fibershed” is a term coined by Rebecca Burgess, it represents regional fiber resources from plants and animals such as sheep, goat, or alpaca, manufacturing mills that process raw fibers into clothing, and a local market. To understand this term, it is helpful to consider better known watersheds, bodies of water that link up to larger bodies…
Nature in LA!
These are some photos of nature in Los Angeles: And our wonderful dog Tummy! ❤
Past, Present, and Future: Salvadorean Textiles and Clothing
The claim that there are no indigenous people in El Salvador led to wonder about what makes someone “indigenous.” Census information conveys that Lenca and Nahua (Pipil) indigenous people make up about 10% of the population in El Salvador. It is assumed that the indigenous population is much larger, but underreported based on the narrow…
nature: appreciation & excitement!
The complexity of nature is compelling. Trees themselves provide rich services to our ecosystem and contribute to our livelihoods by providing oxygen. Trees also carry their own personal histories that are shaped by their specific geographic location. They each encounter distinct experiences and no tree is alike. Similar to the notion that all people are…
Revisiting Ithaca’s True Spring!
Now that Spring is in full bloom, I thought I’d post photos of Ithaca’s spring! I expected flowers to grow on thin, expanding branches of trees, but I was surprised to see flowers growing directly on the tree. It was so charming to see this because it looks like the tree is offering a small…
Ag Day! Celebration of Agriculture
Yesterday there was a wonderful event that celebrated the diversity of life in Ithaca. Animals and plants were brought to the Ag Quad on the Cornell campus and many students got the opportunity to interact with adorable animals. Lisa, a fiber farmer I visited in January was at the event and she brought three of…
HELEN TREJO 