DISPLAY

Caroline Williford, with the support of Judi Jetson, has been working hard to display and promote the blankets locally and in surrounding areas of WNC.  Voting for favorite blankets is an important part of these displays as it gives insight into which blankets should be part of larger production runs.  

Marketing coupled with well-placed displays will establish wholesale and retail interest in blanket sales.  It will also instill a desire to buy in individuals who pass by.  A combination of the attraction of beautiful craftsmanship, the desire to acquire local, handmade products, and the motivation to support local fiber farmers, dyers, weavers and small mills will drive sales of Blue Ridge Blankets. These factors have already worked on me and others at Local Cloth.  All of us are anxious to buy blankets for home.  At some point, probably after other blankets are produced, the display blankets may be auctioned to raise money for further development of the Blue Ridge Blanket project.

Displays:

• Blankets with voting from Autumn 2022 at the Local Cloth studio, 408 Depot St., Asheville, NC. Now that the blankets have moved to other sites, the Blue Ridge Blanket display at the LC studio has been changed.  Please come on down and take a look; browse and shop while you are there.

• The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands on October 13-16, 2022, and Blue Ridge blankets & Craft Corner at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival (SAFF) Oct 21-23, 2022, with voting.

• I-26 West NC Welcome Center Blanket Display is now open and will be on display for 6 months (Jan-Jun, 2023).  Directions from Asheville: North on I-26, exit at Wolf Laurel, come back south toward Weaverville and the Welcome Center is on the right. 

• Opening Jan 26, 2023,two blankets will be on display at the Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies at Mars Hill University as part of a larger show.  

• February 17-19, 2023, the Blue Ridge Blankets will be on display at the Grovewood Gallery during the Arts + Crafts Conference. Following the conference, a few of the blankets will remain on display at the gallery.

Yarn ready to be shipped from the Green Mountain Spinnery. 

I-26 West NC Welcome Center Blanket Display

Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies at Mars Hill University

PRODUCTION

In order to scale up production of the blankets and get the process out of the hands of volunteers and into the hands of small businesses as the process is developed, LC obtained estimates from dyers to dye the processed yarn. Melanie Wilder, of Warren Wilson College, has been selected as the lead dyer.  Once the first batch of yarn is dyed it will be shipped to Peggy Hart of Bedfellows Blankets who will be doing the weaving of the first full production run of blankets.  The second round of yarn will be dyed later in the spring, and the weaving completed by independent weavers in our Fibershed.

DEVELOPMENTAL SUPPORT

A microgrant, recently obtained from Fibershed provides funds for a secondary project:  Blue Ridge Blankets: Mapping and Expanding Value Added Opportunities for Fiber Animal Farmers in WNC.  With this project, we will create an updated map and database of fiber farmers and fiber processors in our region, bring fiber farmers together to discuss their assets and identify challenges to developing a more robust entrepreneurial environment, and create systems, based on our findings, to support fiber farmers in expanding value-added operations on their farms, and as a result, reinvigorate our region’s fiber economy.  We will hold three meetings with Farmers in late February / early March, in three different regions of our fibershed.  Stay tuned for details.

Sharon Burns, Whittier, NC 
Member since October 2021

What is the lineage of your craft?

My mother could barely sew on a button. When I was 12 or 13 years old I fell in love with textiles, took a sewing class in high school, a quilting workshop in college, and haven’t stopped since. I’ve been quilting with hand appliqué for 30 years. 

When I worked, I’d wake up with all kinds of ideas for quilts, but never had time to commit. I’m recently retired and committed to 2-3 hours a day to my craft and find myself shifting into an art quilting phase.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I love architecture and am considering a zip code/social justice series based on the idea that the zip code where you grow up can determine your life-long economic status. (I’m an economist by training)

I have a book of Holy Cards by my bed and although I’m not aligned to a particular religion, the author highlights people who were thought to have lived saintly lives. I wonder how I might portray that in my art? For instance, I’m working on a whimsical piece, using very bright colors, of a friend who wears a halo of dominoes (she is the champ of dominoes in my circle).

I believe in the saintliness of nature!

What new techniques are you in search of? 

I work mostly with commercial fabric, and probably won’t get into printing my own fabric for time considerations but this technique sounds fun. I’m currently learning about edge piecing and portrait work in art quilting. 

What’s the last artists’ date you took yourself on? 

Going on a hike in the mountains, or paddling in the kayak, I always come home with a picture of “that would be cool” to portray; such as holes in the base of trees (not for keebler elves) as inspiration for a frame for a quilt. I visited Petra in Jordan a few years back and have kept the image in my mind of various entrances to tombs as a possible framing style for a quilt. 

What is a recent food pleasure?

I made an apple crisp, “gotta” have apples with a crunch, oatmeal crunch topping and added caramel sauce for that extra touch of sweetness.

What does “handmade with love” mean to you?

It’s not just what I portray, or what I want to create, rather, I put thought into what the recipient would appreciate even more than what I like.

Here is the full writeup by interviewer Colleen Troy.

New!  Vendor spotlights are coming in the mid-month LC Newsletter by email in which a condensed version of an interview appears.  

Here is the full writeup by interviewer Colleen Troy.

Betsy Skinner, South Asheville

Local Cloth Retail Store Volunteer Coordinator

Seller with Local Cloth

 

   

Interview:

What’s the lineage of your craft?

I’ve always been interested in fiber in some manner. I learned to sew at a very young age. My family was poor and we couldn’t afford to buy clothes, so I learned to sew my own clothes (with my mothers’ tutelage). Sewing felt more like I “had to.”

Twenty or so years ago I became interested in knitting; then I got into spinning. My sister spun wool and she also raised sheep and encouraged me to spin. 

(Betsy laughs exuberantly) “I love wool; being surrounded by all the textures and color of wool.” 

How did you find Local Cloth?

When I retired I turned my attention to taking spinning and felting (wet, nuno, needle felting) and eco-printing classes. I love learning something new. I'm a craft dabbler and not an expert. I enjoy the process of learning how to do things just as much as the finished project. 

Before I moved here 3 years ago from California, I took a beginning fiddle class at John C Campbell folk school and returned for a few other classes. I drove through Asheville and fell in love with the place; the vibrant arts and craft environment, along with the music and natural scenery. I’ve never lived east of the Mississippi; and swore I’d never live in the south.

I had been caring for my Mom and when she passed away, I asked myself what do I want to do next? Impulsively I decided to move to Asheville and joined the vibrant Local Cloth fiber community here.  

Where do you draw inspiration from?

From all the artists at Local Cloth and their creative endeavors. I look around the store and say “I could do that” and “yeah I want to try that”.  I didn’t get many Christmas gifts made so I shopped for my gifts at the Local Cloth shop.

Do you have a studio at home? 

I have a great place in the country with plenty of room and space to work; a studio in a spare bedroom and a basement where I do felting and dyeing. I’m surrounded by wool — bins and more bins. Every time I go to SAFF, I can’t resist (more exuberant laughter!)

Next project for you?

I just finished a vest with eco-printing on wool and sewed a lining in it. Now I’ll work on the various items I see at Local Cloth.

In the shop I offer knitted and then felted hats, wet felted hats with needle felted birds, wet felted baby booties, and wet felted dryer balls. I have sold my fiber items before at various craft markets. I enjoy having other people enjoy my items enough to buy them, but I am not really into being in production mode.

What’s so special about crafting local that you want others to know about??

I love using local yarns and roving as much as I can to support the farmers; getting to know those who raise the animals is special. I love the idea we are supporting the local community within the WNC fibershed. Back in California I took some workshops with Rebecca Burgess, the leader in the community organized fibershed movement. It’s so important for an artist to continue to make their art; make a living and become known while using locally sourced materials. 

Do you have a “next destination” you wish to explore? 

The North Carolina coast. I haven’t seen much of NC because of the pandemic. In spring of 2020, I committed to explore NC but then everything shut down. I especially want to visit all the waterfalls.

Interview by Colleen Troy

Voting on Blue Ridge Blend and Shetland wool blankets will continue at future venues, most importantly next week end at SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival).  If you haven't voted on your favorite 3 blankets, go to SAFF, check out the Local Cloth Booth and activities, and look at and touch the blankets!  Grab a ballot.  The more voting, the more LC can target future blanket production to capture the local blanket market!!  Sheep to product, locally.  

So many volunteers and local resources have made this possible.  The project officially began with a  Natural and Cultural Resources grant from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (funding Oct1, 2021-Dec 30, 2022). Further details on the start and progress on the Blue Ridge Blanket Project can be found  at Blue Ridge Blankets and in previous blogposts:

• Blue Ridge Mountain Blanket Project at Local Cloth March 2022
• Blue Ridge Blanket Project at Local Cloth June 2022
• Blue Ridge Blanket Project at Local Cloth June 25, 2022
• Vote! Favorite Blue Ridge Blanket Designs September 2022

A Shetland on Julie Wilson's Jehovah Raah Farm in Fines Creek, NC whose fleece is in some of the samples, and the blanket is one of the samples woven at Warren Wilson College

Thanks to the volunteers who have worked so hard this year in so many roles!!

Who did I miss?  Send me corrections or if you would like to get in touch with any of these players! What did they do? They did many things, from skirting the fleeces, to dyeing the yarn post mill processing, designing the weave patterns and colors, weaving, carting things to and fro, organizing, planning, interfacing with farmers and mills, adjusting to delays in processing, phone calls and more phone calls and emails.  

Name	Affiliation
Ann Hord Heatherly	Farmer/Vendor
Anthony Cole	Farmer
Beth Sellars	Leadership
Bo/Martha Branden	Vendor
Caroline Williford	Staff
Chad Alice Hagen	Leadership
Debbi and Craig	Farmer
Denise Acuri	Dyer / Leadership
Donna Edwards	Weaver
Donna Trunk
Elizabeth Bell	Leadership
Erin Greene	Farmer
Gina Wicker	Consultant
Heather K Powers	Designer
Joan Berner
JoAnn Stanley	Dyer / Leadership
Josephine Brewer	Spinner
Joyce Tromba	Dyer / Leadership
Judi Jetson	Staff
Julie Wilson	Farmer
Kristin Artz	Leadership
Mamie Fain	Staff
Marcia Kummerle	Farmer
Marilyn Haas	Leadership
Mary Bell	Farmer
Mary Euler	Leadership
Melanie Wilder	Weaver
Natalie Gerardot	Farmer
Paula Entin
Peggy Newell	Leadership
Rachel Haas	Weaver
Rose Brinkmann
Ruth Ann Goss	Farmer / Mill
Sebette Hamill	Farmer
Sharon and Seth Dubuc	Farmer
Starr Cash	Farmer
Susan Proctor	Farmer / Leadership
Susette Shiver	Leadership
Terri Godleski	Farmer
Tina LaCroix
Trey Warner	Farmer
Trish Golay	Farmer

A photo gallery of volunteers working and the products follows.

Many local fiber folks have been involved in the Blue Ridge Blanket Project, providing hands-on, organizational, and teaching contributions.  Now we invite everyone in the community to participate in the first round of blanket popularity contests.

Come down to Local Cloth, touch, and see the new blankets.  Then, vote on your three favorite Blue Ridge Blankets!  You don't have to be a member of Local Cloth. The voting will determine which designs and colors we put into production in 2023.

The first series of samples woven from the Blue Ridge Mountain Blend (wool, mohair, alpaca blend) has been dyed using natural dyes, the design weaves generated, and the samples woven  (see previous BRBP blogs). They are now on display at Local Cloth, 408 Depot St. Asheville, NC.  Come in the door and continue towards the back and you will see them on the right.

You will also get a sneak peak at the second wave of sample blankets woven from Shetland wool, although these are not included in the first voting sessions for the best Blue Ridge Blend blankets.

To decide which colors and design weaves should move forward into projection next year, the blankets from the first test blankets (Blue Ridge Blend fiber) are on display with area appropriate names (you'll see!).  

Please come on down and vote!  This is the ballot that you will find:

This is the table on which they sit:

There is also a bag into which your finished ballot can be placed:

Our next phase is to take the sample blankets "on the road," with more voting.  If you can suggest venues for display, contact judi@judijetson.com. Here are some events for display that have been lined up so far:

• October 13-16 at the Southern Highlands Craft Guild Fall Fair (probably a selection - not all of them)
• October 21-23 at the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF)
• December  2022 & January 2023 at the I-26 welcome center located north of Mars Hill
• February 16 - 20, 2023 at the Grovewood Gallery - in conjunction with the National Arts & Crafts conference

Below is a picture gallery of a some of the blankets:

Weaverville

Vale

Black Mountain

Barnardsville

Swannanoa

Mills River

#localclothinc #BlueRidgeBlanketProject #fiberfarmer #spinning #weaving

Here is the latest on the Blue Ridge Blanket Project.

New Stuff:

1. Wool has been obtained from Black Thorn Farm & Kitchen in Sandy Mush. These farmers maintain a herd of about 124 sheep, mostly for meat. They are a mix of Tunis, Finn, Texel, and Southdown.  100 lbs. of fiber including wool, alpaca and mohair (for blending) will be delivered to The Green Mountain Spinnery after volunteers finish skirting and cleaning up the fiber.  I brought home a small amount of the wool from the farm to card and spin as a knitting sample.  I will add photos in the next blogpost!

2. 50 lbs of Shetland was delivered to Two Roots Alpaca and Fiber Mill some time ago for processing into yarn.  The finish date has been pushed back now to mid or late July this year, 2022. 

Above: Two Roots Alpaca and Fiber Farm / Photo by Caroline Williford

Because of various unaccountable delays in processing the fiber, it looks like our one year of development will stretch into the second year.  Thus, our timeline for development and marketing the product in time for Christmas retail is unrealistic.  After fiber is processed into yarn (at uncertain time frames, the earliest being Feb 2023), the samples will also require 3 months for natural dyeing and 3 months for weaving to be finished.  Christmas 2023 is our new target!

This new timeline generated a considerable amount of discussion at our leadership team meeting this month. In the meantime, we will continue to identify retail locations to market our finished products.  We are living and learning and still working hard.    

Above: Josephine and Tina skirting wool just behind the Local Cloth studio.  In the background Judi and Beth recently painted a nice, sheep-filled hills with blue sky background to dress up the mostly concrete covered space.  Photo by Judi Jetson.

SUMMARY TO DATE:

To catch you up, here are the links to previous blogposts about the 1st phase of our project. 

• March 11, 2022 
• June 11, 2022

And, links to blogposts from the Spinning Interest  and Natural Dye Interest groups that are directly relevant to this project.  

• Spinning Interest Group February 2022

June 21st we had a Leadership Team meeting. For those who do not know, this consists of the elected board members plus a few others.  Each month we receive an update from Caroline Williford.  She also oversees the Blue Ridge Blanket Project website page. 

It would be worthwhile to make a list of the various wools that have been collected and to say that Local Cloth is always on the alert from local farmers who could provide skirted, fine wool with staple about 3-3.5" long and containing some crimp.  

1. Blue Ridge Mountains Blend #1, 

• 30% Montadale, 25% Shetland, 25% Alpaca, 20% Mohair from local fiber farmers
• Yarn was spun at Two Roots Alpaca and Fiber Mill and dyed by our Natural Dye Interest Group at Local Cloth
  
• Will be woven by students at Warren Wilson College (Heather K.  Powers on-line weaving workshop and Melanie Wilder involved)

Photos above (by Caroline Williford):

Top, Melanie Wilder and Eileen Hallman at a Weaving Design workshop

Bottom, Melanie and a participant examining "cakes" (wound yarn) and bobbins of the naturally dyed wool.

See recent Newsletter for more detail.

Above: Weaving/photo of Naturally Dyed Blue Ridge Blend #1 by Melanie Wilder

Above: Weaving/photo of Naturally Dyed Blue Ridge Blend #1 by Miles, WWC student

Above: Weaving/photo of Naturally Dyed Blue Ridge Blend #1 by Miles, WWC student.

2. Shetland from local farmers

• Yarn will be spun at Two Roots Alpaca and Fiber Mill (possibly by end of July 2022
• Will be dyed by Natural Dye Interest Group
• Will be woven by Haywood Community College students who attended a weaving design workshop at Local Cloth.

3. Polled Dorset 

• Waiting for samples of dorset/bamboo blend yarn from Echoview Fiber Mill.   NOTE: Sad news, Echoview Fiber Mill just announced it will be closing (6/29/22).
• Perhaps sock yarn and Natural Dye Interest Group to dye it.

4. Rescued Cotswold X Tunis

• Volunteers are skirting fleece in Mills River.  
• This pretty Cotswold X Tunis herd was stored in a barn for years, and we rescued it from the landfill.
• Will explore best uses.

5. Wool from Black Thorn Farm & Kitchen will be delivered to  The Green Mountain Spinnery after skirting is finished.

6.  Gathering more mohair, alpaca and fine wool from farms across the region, including those in Barnardsville, Leicester, Tryon, Mills River, Vale, and Rutherfordton

Today's blog really is a gathering of information from various sources including:

• Judi Jetson, President of Local Cloth; 
• Local Cloth Instagram; 
• Local Cloth Newsletter (Caroline Williford, Editor)
• and various emails and impromptu discussions.  

First and foremost, the Blue Ridge Blanket Project (BRBP) is not a one-off project!

The goal is that it will become self-supporting after a couple of years so that the seed money we received from WNC Community Foundation is an investment in the production of blankets from local fiber. Forever.

This first year is our research & development year (2021-2022).

To catch you up, here is a link to a blogpost about the 1st phase of our project. 

Updates from March to present:

• Our first batch of samples (a blend of fine wool, mohair, and alpaca, Blue Ridge Mountain Blend) is now being woven into blankets at Warren Wilson College. The yarn was spun at Two Roots Alpaca and Fiber Mill and dyed by our Natural Dye Interest Group at Local Cloth. The weaving students attended an online design workshop taught by Heather K. Powers, who used to be a blanket designer for Churchill Weavers and is a grad of the MA in Craft program at Warren Wilson. Weaver Melanie Wilder has been intimately involved.

• We're waiting for the wool for the 2nd batch of samples (Shetland) to arrive from the Two Roots Mill. It will be in 4 natural colors. Samples will be woven by Haywood Community College students, who also attended the design workshop.

• We are also waiting for samples of a Dorset-bamboo blend of yarn from Echoview (3rd batch of samples). The wool was donated by Anthony Cole. The idea here is to see if we can use wool from meat sheep, and I've learned (from leaders of other fibersheds in MD & PA) that it makes good blankets & socks. We're going to find someone to spin sock yarn, and then will probably dye it. See blog from the Spinning Interest Group session when we were skirting and spinning Dorset and Blue Ridge Mountain Blend fibers.

• We are buying fine wool, mohair and alpaca right now for a larger production run & will use out-of-state mills to weave these because local mills have a 1-year backup and we're hoping to have blankets to sell this coming winter. Fiber must be between 3-1/2 and 5 inches long and skirted. If you know anyone who would like to participate, please have them contact Judi Jetson or Caroline Williford.

• Skirting fleece in Mills River April 27, 2022 for use in our Blue Ridge Blanket project. This pretty Cotswold X Tunis herd was stored in a barn for years, and we rescued it from the landfill.

• We are in the final stages of gathering fiber for our next run of blankets.  Pictured here at Good Fibrations with Marcia Kummerle, one of her lovely goats, and Judi running mohair through a tumbler.  We are gathering mohair, alpaca and fine wool from farms across the region, including Barnardsville, Leicester, Tryon, Mills River, Vale and Rutherfordton.

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Blanket Project! First things first.  Below I list where else to find information on this project and how to get involved.

__ 

• Donate to Local Cloth to support the Blue Ridge Blanket Project (LC-BRBP).  Find out details and how to donate here.
• Get involved!  Are you a fiber farmer or fiber artist and want to get involved?  Contact us
• Volunteer to participate in this project, there are many different aspects from skirting fleeces to weaving; business and marketing; and research.

More Information on the Blue Ridge Blanket Project:  

• Go to the Local Cloth website Blue Ridge Blanket Project;
• Follow Local Cloth on Facebook or Instagram
• Read Local Cloth Blogs for various topics such as the involvement of the Spinning Interest Group and the Natural Dye Interest Group;
• Check out the bimonthly Local Cloth Newsletter archive;
• Join Local Cloth.  Local Cloth members receive the Newsletter and other benefits.
• Sign up to receive current newsletters by contacting the Newsletter editor.

___________________ 

Local Cloth, a non-profit in Asheville, is undertaking a challenging and multifaceted project that springs directly from our mission statement.

“Local Cloth is dedicated to growing and supporting the fiber economy in Western North Carolina through education, inclusive programming, and services which add value to local products. We advocate for our regional community of farmers, artists, makers and designers.”

The first segment of this project named The Blue Ridge Blanket Project (BRBP), is now funded by a Natural and Cultural Resources grant from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina with a funding period of Oct1, 2021-Dec 30, 2022.

The overarching goal of this project for Local Cloth, it members and volunteers, is to identify and develop the materials, methods, and networks to build future for-profit endeavors for fiber artists, farmers, and companies. Thus, Local Cloth will participate directly in re-booting the Western North Carolina fiber industry. 

The location of Local Cloth in Asheville’s River Arts District, in the center of a region supporting numerous fiber artists, fiber farmers, and a strong tourist market will help support the development of the fiber market.  Local Cloth, individual fiber artists, and the regional colleges and universities such as Haywood Community and Warren Wilson Colleges, offer excellent education in various aspects of fiber arts for the aspiring fiber artist/craftsperson.

Specifically, the first aspect of this project is to work with local farmers and local fiber mills to produce yarns for weaving blankets. Weavers will be engaged to weave sample scarves and blankets (about 40” by  60”). Possible threading and treadling examples have been made by Melanie Wilder of Local Cloth and a teacher at Warren Wilson College.  A fiber was selected that is similar to a blend developed at Local Cloth called Blue Ridge Mountain Blend (wool/mohair/alpaca). 

  

In preparation for making a small scale run, volunteers at Local Cloth skirted alpaca and angora goat fleeces (mohair). Ruth Ann Goss and Louise Nuttle at Two Roots Fiber Mill blended a Rambouillet x Romney, a fine wool from a farm outside of Franklin, NC. with Alpaca and Mohair after cleaning the fleeces.  2 ply yarn was spun by Two Roots Fiber Mill. 

 

 

The Natural Dye Interest group is in the process of dyeing about half of the yarn, with the remaining yarn to be left undyed. From the Natural Dye Interest Group:

"We've dyed with Indigo, Madder and Walnut thus far.  Next up: Weld!  Our Weld is sourced locally, from Warren Wilson College.  We will dye with Weld on its own for a brilliant yellow and over dye light blue Indigo with Weld for a green.  We also plan to dye with Lichen for a purple hue, and possibly some more Madder. "

 

 

The next two small runs will be with local Shetland wool and from a large donation of Polled Dorset wool.  See a previous blog describing the Polled Dorset story.

 

With samples in hand, the market for blankets (and perhaps scarves) will then be explored and developed to best address a successful commercial context.

In this blog, which will be regularly updated, you will periodically get to read about and see photos of behind-the-scenes work. I know I have many questions to ask and I hope you the readers do as well.  Please leave questions on the blog, contact Local Cloth, or email me and I will add the answers!

The in-person and virtual handwork circle participants have so many interesting projects.  For those of you not present or only present on the Zoom handwork circle, photos of past and present projects are wonderful to archive and look back upon later.

QUILTING

Joanne D’Andrea, for example, is an expert quilter.  She and her friends had a great idea to make squares for quilts in collaboration with each other.  Each person made a center square establishing their “look”, especially their colors that would define the quilt.  Then, the squares are exchanged with another for the next series of additions in the log cabin pattern, and so on, until the quilt top is completed. In the end, each person ends up with a quilt top to finish. Here is what they look like now (some are detail photos; the overall views are labeled with the quilter’s name):

ICE DYEING INCIDENTALS

Have you ever felt that fiber reactive dyes are wasteful?  Unlike acid dyeing wool where all the dye is taken up, fiber reactive dyes are quite inefficient. Joanna has taken paper and placed it below fabric being ice dyed and achieved some beautiful results.  What I find exciting is that they are not one big blur of color but have white undyed spaces in places.  Joanna then sat about doodling with a pen to create something entirely new.  I have to say it reminds me of Nancy Gamon and her ice dyeing and noodling around over pictures. Check out her YouTube videos. 

Here are some of Joanna's pieces from her ice dyeing experiments:

starting pieces:

with drawings superimposed:

INVENTING A BASKET:

Camille Daunno has made an unusual basket with fiber and rings. Beautiful colors! First the rings with crochet and then assembled:

Spinning Samples.

Last week, the Spinning Interest Group at Local Cloth worked with two samples brought by Judi Jetson, the leader of this interest group.  The first was some washed Blue Ridge Mountain Blend (wool, mohair, and alpaca).  We have explored an earlier version last year during one of our interest group meetings (blog link here; Blue Ridge Mountains Blend #1, 30% Montadale, 25% Shetland, 25% Alpaca, 20% Mohair).  The second sample we explored this month was some washed Polled Dorset.  

The Blue Ridge Mountain Blend, made from fibers grown by farmers in our Blue Ridge Mountain Fibershed, will be woven into blankets as a part of the Blue Ridge Blanket Project.  More on that later; a new link in the Local Cloth webpage is nearing completion and I plan to periodically blog on the progress of this newly funded initiative by Local Cloth.

Our interest group participants enjoyed spinning this fiber because it was very easy to spin, soft to the touch and fuzzy, and had a lovely sheen creating an overall beautiful result.  I spun singles from which Judi made two-ply yarn.  Below is a photo of the resulting yarn. I will test it knitted up and save a portion for weaving by others.

Blue Ridge Mountain Blend.  Z-spun singles were spun into 2-ply using the single ball, two end method.

The second sample the Spinning Interest Group explored was a small amount of hand washed Polled Dorset fleece.  We found that this portion of the fleece was sensitive to the method of washing because many noils were generated during the washing process.

An article by Kate Larson, 2018, in Spin Off Magazine describes differences between neps and noils with illustrations and ascribes them primarily to processing errors, particularly when washing very sensitive fleeces.  Fibers contained within raw fleeces can break and tangle for a number of reasons including disease.  Some fiber folk use the terms neps and noils interchangeably.

Never-the-less, during our session we tried combing, carding, and drum carding this fiber.  Everyone gave up on it finding it too hard to spin and many hated the noils that clung tightly to the fiber. We all agreed that it should be processed professionally.  I, however, driven by a stubborn streak and beingmore tolerant of noils, persisted with some hand carded fiber and got the results shown below.  I don’t mind the fluffy bits that stick to the wool as I spin!

The above two photos show the Polled Dorset sample formed by spinning z-singles and then chain plying.  The yarn was knit using #8 knitting needles.  

Skirting Polled Dorset fleeces.

Anthony Cole was the origin of the Polled Dorset fleeces.  He is a sheep shearer and 5th generation farmer living in Leicester, NC who after shearing Polled Dorset sheep didn’t want to keep the fleeces. After contacting Judi Jetson, he donated a 700 lb contractor bag filled with fleeces to Local Cloth. It still sits at the spot he deposited it because no one can move it!  

Following the decision of our spinning group and others to send the fiber to a mill for processing, a skirting event was organized for once per week over several weeks. Volunteers will complete skirting the fleece to save on cost before bringing to a mill for processing.

Joining Judi and me at the first session was Josephine Brewer, Natalie Pollard, and her daugher Rosa Lee.  Later Elizabeth joined me to finish and clean up.  Elizabeth Strub of Hobby Knob Farm is a local fiber farmer and knows more about skirting a fleece.

So my first experience of skirting taught me it is an experience in lanolin.  Lovely stuff in my opinion.  First it feels dampish on your hands and then dries a bit later. Great for cracks in your fingers in the winter! Lanolin is also called grease.  And, when spinning fiber that contains some, it is called spinning in the grease.  

On the freshly sheared fleece, lanolin is mixed with dust, dirt, and sweat from the sheep.  Throw in some bits of hay and some wood chips and you have a dirty fleece.  It depends greatly on the type of surface that sheep encounter as to how much and what kind of dirt is retained in the wool.  The neck, maybe the legs, the stomach, and the sheep’s bottom are especially dirty and bits of fleece there might be culled during skirting as too dirty or short.

Thus, skirting a fleece has nothing to do with a skirt that you wear.  This is the first observation of the complete novice.  It also is not exclusively an experience in picking out bits of dirt by hand. One must remove as much debris as possible, short cuts, weak or disease-affected fibers, and any fibers that are too short to use.  We tried for at least 3” long when stretched out.

Samples of bits of fleece from various locations and with varying qualities of fiber and dirt content.

This section of the fleece is a keeper! Note the lovely crimp. The micron count was about 25 micrometers. The yellow is probably sheep sweat.

Although we shook the fleece to remove loose dirt and debris, the top of the fleece (tips of the fibers) was facing down and the clean cut side up.  We flipped it over so that the dirty side was facing up and shook it and found that the short cuts adhering to the cut side fell out. There weren’t many.  Short cuts form when the shearer backs up the shears and cuts slightly closer to the sheep’s skin.  This results in the presence of short bits of fiber; these are too short to be processed and spun and so must be removed.

This coming week, more skirting.