Going Local

A while ago, I decided that I want to study two fibery things:
1. Alpaca
2. Local* fiber sources

And yes, there are many sources of local alpaca. Look, here’s some:

This handspun is from some roving I got from Rivianna River Farm that was processed at the Central VA fiber mill (and bought at the Mill’s booth at the Fall Fiber Festival). It was lovely to spin. I was only even looking at it because of my study-project. At first, it appeared to be pale, dull green--the kind of color I’m trying to train myself to buy. (I always want to buy bright, high contrast yarns and spinning fiber, but actually like to wear muted colors and knit complicated designs suited for a solids/semi-solids.) As I studied it in the booth, it got hit by a shaft of sunlight---its got some recycled sari silk and firestar. Normally, I am not a sparkle girl, but I had just been trying to convince myself it wasn’t too bland. So, I bought two bags and got to chat with the shepherd herd who had processed this herself as she also works at the mill. This is a two-ply somewhere in between true lace and fingering weight. I’m planning to knit a lace tunic out of it.

Next up is Solitude Yarns. They have some neat stuff and specialize not only in local fiber, but also yarns from different breeds. I tried their Suffolk/Dorset boot sock yarn and knit these:

This is a sport weight sock yarn, so they are thicker than I normally knit. They’re soft, but, I think, durable and I love the color. While they’re thicker than my normal, they are also not too thick. I can wear them with my boots and clogs--they’re not strictly restricted to “slipper” wearing. The tomatillo green seemed too bright in the skien, but is perfect with jeans. The only problem I had is that the dog is also in love with them, too. I had to be careful to zip them in my project bag and I have to make sure that they are put away in a shut drawer when not being worn. I’m thinking of knitting another pair for my sister-in-law who has taken up goat farming and cheese making in northern CA.

Next, I sampled some yarn from Mt. Airy Farm. This is california variegated mutant with angora--so soft. I knit the Yarn Harlot’s Encompass using a carry along yarn to give it a little added color. Almost all her yarns were the natural color which looks dull especially as she was next to booths like Spirit Trail and Wild Fibers. It does have a nice texture, and drape. I think it’d be lovely for a sweater like Brooklyn Tweed’s Seneca just as it is and I’d only need 4 skeins. The natural soft brown would be so wearable and classic. I got the scarf washed and blocked just before the super cold weather front hit us, and it was great. The angora content gave it a delicious warm softness, and it stayed in the yarn without jumping all over my clothes (at least as far as I could tell since I have 2 cats and dog). Sorry for the focus--it was cold! LOL, I didn’t realize until I downloaded that the camera liked the trees better, and I’m not going back out there!


That’s it for now.

*I’m defining “local” as VA/WV/MD. There are some amazingly close sources of fiber considering that I live in what I consider to be an inner-suburb of D.C.