Tiny Textiles
Robin Lynde of Meridian Jacobs Farm
This past Saturday my neighbor and I ditched our usual weekend routine and headed off to beautiful Point Reyes Station to attend the third annual Fibershed Wool & Fine Fiber Symposium. Held in a dance palace adjoining a church, a large number of us wool lovers gathered to learn about all things fiber. It was pretty fantastic for a knitting addict like me, but it wasn’t just about wool and yarn. I am guessing you might want to know what one would learn at a wool symposium, as I honestly wanted to know when I first heard of the event.
Fibershed, who puts this event on, is a foundation that is working towards educating people about local fiber. As you well know, local food has thankfully gained a tremendous amount of popularity over the years. Fibershed is trying to bring to consciousness similar questions about where your shirt came from as where your apple came from. Who grew the fiber? Where was it grown? Did they use pesticides? Was this shipped from a foreign country or was this made in America? How many resources were used to produce that shirt?
This day, their annual Symposium day, brings together local growers and producers of wool to discuss such topics. We heard from a range of speakers including local sheep ranchers, sheep & alpaca sheers, agricultural land trust stewards, holisitic pasture managers, pollination experts, predator-friendly ranchers. We talked about all the wool that is produced in California and how to get a wool mill up and running. We learned about carbon farming, about different types and breeds of sheep. There was so much that was discussed.
And then there was the shopping, the demonstrations, and don’t get me started on just how beautifully everyone was dressed, in their handmade garb. Inspirational.
What was priceless for me was getting out of my bubble. My small little bubble that includes this house and my daily work and my three children. To leave this all behind and sit amongst experts discussing an issue bigger than myself was blissful and inspirational. I took away so much besides just the physical (oh yes, I sure did shop!).
A few resources if you are so inspired to learn more:
- Learn more about Fibershed
- Ramblers Way – a place to buy USA grown, dyed and sewn wool products (which I felt and are SO soft!)
- Beautiful electric spinner (photo above – if you don’t have room for a large wheel)
- Tiny Textiles – a super inspiring to me textural knitter – photo above
- Videos from last years symposium
Coming away from this all has given me a lot to think about. In terms of how we might someday add some four legged creatures to our property and which kind they may be. It’s made me think more about my clothes. About where they come from, what I can do to make them come from a local source, and even more fun, how to wear them more creatively, as the symposium participants taught me. Lastly, I came away from the symposium with a drop spindle in hand and a renewed mindset to let spinning local wool become a new obsession.
That sounds like an amazing event! I will have to flag that up for future reference.
Have you ever made it to the CA State Fiber Festival in Boonville in September? Lovely but less educational I think.
No I haven’t made it up there, but I’ll have to look into it next year. I still have to check to see if they need more scarves…thanks for asking last week!!
Wonderful write-up! And thanks so much for the Rambler’s Way link, I couldn’t remember the name for the life of me. I still can’t get over all those wonderful clothes -from the “I can’t believe that’s wool” all the way to the intricate and artsy. Such an inspiring day, thanks for the needed push to go, it was so worth it!
I’m so glad we could go together Michelle! Despite hearing that they are ‘naughty’ I still want Shetland. Between that and your Ouessant, the Jacobs & East Fresians we already have on the street, we should have a splendid wool emporium on our hands!
Wow, those pictures of that warm and wonderful looking wool made me dream of soft, warm, snugly, sweaters and blankets on a cold Midwestern night…..and then I remembered that I’m allergic to wool and end up with hives wherever it comes in contact with my skin…:>(
Maybe there’s an alpaca out there that wouldn’t make me itch? :>D I can hope, right??
I’m so sorry to hear that you are allergic to wool Julie. Yes, maybe there is an anti itch alpaca out there. I’ll keep up the hope with you!
I think there is a local spinning and weaving guild in your area..check it out through CNCH online
Thank you Judith!
Beautiful yarns, wonderfully sourced; great reminder to be more conscious of where all our goods come from. If you haven’t done so, you must visit Valley Ford Mercantile, in northwest Marin – the store features wool, rugs, blankets, and apparel from local sheep (and it’s right across the street from Rocker Oysterfeller’s, the wonderful hotel and restaurant)!
Oh yes, we’ve been there thislittleplot. It’s where we got our pillows as a matter of fact!
I was there, too! I actually learned about Fibershed through your blog, so I’m glad that you were able to make it. Such a fun event, and such beautiful clothing.