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,…
Tag: yarn
(dis)order with New York Fibers
This textile is made of a variety of animal fibers in New York. I was surprised by the variety that I ended up including such as wool, curly horse hair, alpaca, angora rabbit, and mohair. The fiber that I was most intrigued by was the curly horse hair, which I blended with mohair, and is integrated…
Little York Fiber Festival in NY!
It was great to visit the Little York Fiber Festival at the Cortland Repertory Theatre today. There were a variety of artisan, fiber farm, and mill entrepreneur vendors with a diversity of fibers from sheep, alpacas, llamas, and angora rabbits. Special thanks to Linda Schwab for introducing me to Margaret Flowers, fiber artisan and fiber farmer at Trinity Farm with…
Hand Spun Wool
These are photos of my ongoing hand-spinning work. I did most of the spinning on my drop spindle throughout the summer. It is my first 6-ply wool yarn and I am excited about its texture, and its soft, airy feel. My anticipated project is a cowl scarf to get ready for Winter 2015 in Ithaca….
Soil to Skin Rebecca Burgess’ 150 Mile Wardrobe
The Fibershed project in Northern California has been extremely motivational for me, especially since it has inspired my Master’s thesis. I have explored fiber farm and mill resources in New York, and received consumer feedback about NY “fibershed” knitwear. (An official “fibershed” has not been established in NY, but it definitely has the resources.) It is amazing to see…
Personality Characteristics of Hand-Knit Sweaters
I was excited to make this word cloud that represents personality descriptions of hand-knit sweaters (cashmere, alpaca, wool). It is based on responses from 200 women in New York. It is great to consider the different words people use to describe a sweater as it if were a real human being with a personality. It’s not something we usually consider…
Fiber Artisanry with Local Fibers
I’m excited to show one of the first knit and crochet accessories I made from 100% hand spun yarns. I previously wrote about the NY fleece origins here and about my process of learning to spin here. I’m glad I had the opportunity to learn how to make my own yarns at Knitting Etc. because I can expand my creativity…
Fiber Farm Community Supported Ag
I recently became a virtual farmer in support of Sweet Tree Hill Farm in Virginia. The farm has Shetland sheep, angora rabbits, and cashmere goats. I was excited to learn where the the funds I provided would go. They helped pay for 1 month’s worth of hay for the fiber animals. I’m glad I can contribute in…
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…
Support Aspiring Knitwear designer/ Master’s Student to show in NY Fashion Week!
Jasmine Gonzalez is currently a Master’s Student in the Academy of Arts University in San Francisco CA. She hopes to show a 6-piece collection during NY Fashion week in February 2014, and is raising funds to cover costs of yarns and knitting machinery to create hand-knit and machine made garments and accessories. Please see full…
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…
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…
Re-Visiting Laughing Goat Fiber Farm
I previously visited the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm in January when it was snowy. Visiting in Summer is beautiful and it was great to see and interact with the fiber animals again. I’m currently hand-knitting a cashmere sweater from cashmere fibers of this farm. The cashmere is grey, a mix of black and white fibers from…
HELEN TREJO 