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…
Tag: yarn
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…
Worth of Crochet
Crochet is a wonderful hand-craft that allows extensive creativity. Each inch of fabric is created with intention and care. The process of crochet generates no waste since only the fabric necessary to complete the design is created. Additionally, once the crochet clothes reach the “end of life” stage, the fabric can be un-crochet and re-used…
Value Farmers give to their Sheep, Alpaca, and Goats
Intellectual capital is defined as: knowledge, innovation, creativity, imagination that fosters the creation of new knowledge and discoveries -Yellow Wood Associates People who own farms with sheep, alpaca, goats, and other fiber animals have extensive knowledge about their animals. Farmers give value to these animals beyond just the fibers they produce for yarns and clothes….
Loving Alpacas while Gaining Ecological Knowledge
I was very excited to visit the Alpaca Cass Farm in Davis CA. It will be interesting to compare the information I learned here with information I will learn from a visit to an Alpaca farm in NY in a few weeks. When I first entered their area, the Guard Llama, shown in the photo…
Sheep Farm!
I visited the Cornell sheep farm in Dryden NY on the Shearing School weekend March 2-3. Several local farmers came out to learn techniques about shearing sheep. The class was taught by one of the top shearers in the US, world renown Doug Rathke who obtained training from New Zealand Wool. Surrounding the farm, there…
Bridging Branches with Crochet
When I look up, I see branches that fill the sky and see changes in the background of the branches. It is amazing to imagine that everyday we are exposed to these changes. Even as I stand watching the branches, blue sky, and clouds, I see nuanced changes as the wind causes the clouds to…
Snow inspires creativity
This is another fashion illustration that represents how I feel in the snow: playful, in anticipation, and feeling like someone should be with me in case I need help getting up after falling. This again ties into “tabula rasa” and seeing the snow as a blank slate for imagination and creativity.Drawing these illustrations has led…
Knitting local!
I created my first hand-knitted seamless sweater as another approach to zero-waste fashion design! I learned how to knit when I was 18 from a book, how to do purl, stockinette, and ribbing stitches while I was at UC Davis, but I only knew how to do simple scarves. I considered myself a beginner knitter…
Local discoveries for sustainable fashion design
In conducting preliminary research for my Masters thesis in Apparel Design, I was excited to find that there are several local fiber farms in Tompkins county. I found farms in Ithaca, Groton, and Prattsburg NY that produce yarns from the soft, fluffy hairs of sheep, goats, and alpaca (ie “exotic” animals). Learning about these local…
HELEN TREJO 