The Big Picture--Being a Shepherd's Friend

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my business and the art I produce for spinners, knitter and fiber artists. Bear with me as I delve into the how's and why's of my business, Inspiration Fibers.

As a "mission statement", my shop has a purpose of educating fiber artists about the different characteristics of breeds of sheep while using a method that supports small farming in America.

All across the nation, there has been a snow-balling movement to focus on "local", or at least American. There are groups of thought ranging from buying only American-made products to buying only products made/grown within 100 miles of where you live.

"Sparkles" from Whispering Pines Shetland Farm. Her fleece will be featured in October!

As a business owner, I decided I needed to find my place within this movement to base my shop on. And, as a soon-to-be shepherd, it only makes sense for me to support small farming in America. I think spinners and knitters want to support these small farms, as evidenced by the huge turn-out at fiber festivals over the past few years, but not all are up for the labor-intensive wool washing process or have the equipment for carding large quantities.

When I originally began my Etsy shop, I purchased wholesale roving and yarn from a large wholesaler that imports from England. I was able to provide high-quality wool at reasonable prices. Great business model, but I found I was excluding myself from a group of artists and consumers that were more focused on the big picture. And I wanted to be a part of that group! These are things I truly believe in and needed my lifestyle and art to reflect those beliefs.

Romney batts from "Honey Bear" of Long Meadow Farm

Now I purchase, at retail price, fleeces from small farms that focus on a single breed of sheep. Beyond supporting the shepherds, by focusing on a single breed, I can provide a monthly breed study for spinners and knitters. All my "Sherpherds' Friend" products come with information about the farm (and sometimes the actual sheep) and the breed. I wash, dye, pick and card all the wool myself. Every lock of wool had passed through my hands at least four times, and sometimes it's hard for me to let go of the finished batts!

All Shepherds' Friend products come with educational and informational material

Feel free to click around my blog to learn more about the Shepherds' Friend program, and see the first month's pages dedicated to Corriedale sheep, Argvarden and their sheep, Elsa. Romney from Long Meadow Farm will be up soon.

My Creations in the World

I love getting to see what people do with the yarn and fiber I've created. I plan, I make, I admire, then I send it off into the world to be loved by someone else. Sometimes it's hard!

One of my best friends brought over a neck warmer she's knitting for a friend, and, being the good friend that I am, I ooohed and aaaahed over it. It really was beautiful--she'd spun the yarn herself and then knit the warmer in an Entrelac pattern.

She smirked at me and said, "It's your BFL."

Oh. Don't I feel sheepish? It was a Color Blending Kit of BFL that I'd dyed more than a year ago and she bought from me. The woman she's knitting for had bought the finished yarn from her and then gave it back to have it knitted as well.

I was so pleased with myself. Especially after finding out that the woman who owns the yarn, and will soon own the neck warmer, loved the yarn so much that she took it with her to hold during her meditation sessions. That just warms my heart! Of course, the beautiful spinning  and knitting done by my friend is what makes it soft, loveable and squishy, but I'm pretty happy with my role in the finished product, too!

On top of that, I had a past customer send me a link to her Ravelry picture of her finished yarn with another of my Color Blending Kits!! It was called purple pansy and included a roving of brown and a roving of purples to be plied together.

Heiress21's Purple Pansy Hand Spun YarnThis was only her second hand spun yarn! Can you believe it? Just beautiful. AND she spins on a drop spindle. I know that's how most of us learn, but I'm still amazed at the patience you need to finish a whole skein of yarn on it. I really take my wheel for granted!

Really, I love seeing the Color Blending Kits most of all. I plan two colors to be either drafted together or plied together, and even though I base them on color theory, I really don't know what they'll be like once spun up. It's hard for me to turn some of them lose without spinning them myself. They're little mysteries that are just too tempting!

Thank you to all my past and future customers for creating such beautiful and inspiring work with my supplies!

Fiber Arts Friday -- Fiber Harvest

Yesterday was a connection-making day. I'm new to blogging as all of you know :), and I'm just beginning to navigate this crazy web we bloggers weave.

So I stumbled upon CreatingTheHive.com - Arts & Crafts Community and then I found Wisdom Begins in Wonder, Andrea Morrison's blog about her alpaca farm. And she is a part of a Fiber Arts Friday group where I noticed knit with snot for you, a blog by Holly Bee that I was already following! Whew! I feel like I've come full-circle AND want to jump in. So here it goes, my very own Fiber Arts Friday post.

 Wednesday was dyeing day in the studio. When my husband called from work and asked what I was up to, as always on dyeing day, I answered "dyeing." He laughs every time. When will he get over it?

Anyway, yesterday was drying day, and today will be carding day. BUT, I caught a few quick pics of the yummy Romney fiber before it was carded.

Romney locks ready for Autumn.

A glamor shot.These locks were from a Romney ram named Honey Bear from my friend Sandy Long's farm: Long Meadow Farm. I would throw her link in here, but she doesn't have a web site. I need to help her with that!

My hands are itching to blend these together and get them up in my shop. They'll be part of the Shepherds' Friend program where you can support small farming in America and learn about different breeds.

Tomorrow I actually have a knitting FO to share, but I have to wait, because it's my mom's birthday present and she doesn't get it until tomorrow!!

Fiber Crazy Yesterday! and New Tutorial!

Oh yesterday was a good day. I washed half a Shetland fleece, I dyed two pounds of Romney in beautiful fall colors, and I finally got around to writing up the dyeing with kids tutorial! Busy day!

Here's the tutorial: Dyeing with Kids

Results from Dyeing with Hannah! Ooohh . . . Aaaahh

I'll have pictures up soon of my new colors to play with. But right now I have to get ready for a spinning play date!

Little Project Notes

I know I promised a tutorial on kid-friendly dyeing, but I just needed to get these pics out there. The tutorial will be posted later today. Check back!

I'm working on a project for my new blog and Etsy banners. I want to have roving flow into yarn and that flow into some knitting. All with my soon-to-be-revealed new logo over it.

In preparation for this, I've started working on some blends of green and natural corriedale wool. Here's a glamor shot of a finished ball of yarn:

Hand spun Corriedale yarnAnd I loved this setting for the picture so much that I think I may change over most of my pictures on Etsy. I re-did my handspun already:

Hand spun "Corriedale Expresso"Maybe not as professional as a light box, but I love the warm feeling it gives. The wooden stand it's on is my antique yarn skeiner that my in-laws got me for my birthday. Awesome, isn't it?! I may pull out my antique washboard as well for some pics.

I've also been working to change all my inventory over to farm-friendly stock. All new wool that comes into my shop will be from small farms across America that I've hand scoured, hand dyed, hand picked and hand carded. My hands are tired! Stay tuned for info on the fleeces I process and the resulting items that go into my shop.