Post Helene Help for Asheville area artists

The Big Fiber Giveaway was a gift of unmeasurable love and selflessness started by folks in Rhinebeck, NY and New England to support the artists of Local Cloth Inc. and other artists of Western North Carolina whose work was decimated by water, wind, and flooding by the hurricane Helene. The Local Cloth studio with store, resident artists, teaching center, and dye studio was wiped out.  If you haven't seen the pictures on national and international news, then check out our Instagram, Facebook, and blog postings.

BEFORE THE event

Mary Jeanne Packer of Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill kicked off what was to become the Big Fiber Giveaway at the Folk Art Center in Asheville by gathering donations from all over New England, including at Rhinebeck, NY.  Rhinebeck is the location of the Annual Sheep and Wool Festival in October. 

The NY group collected eight pallets of fiber, fabric, unfinished objects/projects (UFOs), and tools.  Donna Farrow and her husband (former owner of BM Yarn Shop) attracted and brought yarn from former customers, friends and vendors and brought an RV + Trailer full of donations.   

Local fiber artists brought yarn, fleece, equipment and tools they no longer needed to give away. And 2 friends of Judi Jetson drove here from Colorado to deliver a loom and spinning wheel.

Above: the fiber truck.  Below: Peggy Newell the main driver of the Big Fiber Giveaway effort by Local Cloth and Jerry the driver of the big truck that brought it down to the Folk Art Center.

Volunteers unloaded the truck, what a job! Lucky it was a beautiful day even though it was November.

An estimated 5,000 pounds of yarn and fabric which included were donated including an estimated 10,000 skeins of yarn. There were 32 feet of tables containing fabric, cone yarn, tools, sewing machines and weaving tools.  Volunteers from Local Cloth numbered 58 during the entire set up to break down and clean up at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  

during the event

About 500 people came over 3 days to find replacement for their lost treasures and they went away joyful. There was top quality yarn!  Those who received items at the Big Fiber Giveaway went away amazed, heartened, and ready to create new works. Local Cloth collected and re-distributed spinning wheels, looms, drum carders, scissors, sewing machines, warping tools embroidery hoops and thread.

AFTer the event

Only 10 boxes of yarn and knitting needles were left at the end of the day on Sunday.  Monday these materials were delivered to the River Arts District (RAD) where they are being given to artists whose studios were damaged.

Happy Results

Many artists and vendors received materials to boost their recovery and replacement of items lost in the flood and Donations from the Big Fiber Giveaway totaled nearly $6,000!  

Local Cloth, Inc, a non-profit to promote the local fiber economy in areas surrounding Asheville, NC.

Resilience in the Asheville Fiber Arts Community:  A Journey Beyond Loss, by Nina Sutton

The day before Hurricane Helene hit with all of its devastation, Local Cloth had been named as the Best Boutique In Asheville.  Two days later our beautiful store was filled with 11 feet of mud and water.  Our beloved store, once filled with vibrant yarns, artisanal clothes and décor, and the buzz of creativity was reduced to debris and memories.  Even our newest members felt the trauma of this terrible terrible loss. Local Cloth was not just a store, but a gathering place where friendships were forged, skills were honed, creativity was paramount, and dreams were woven into reality.  For many of us, it feels as if a piece of our identity has been swept away.  Yet, from this deep loss, a remarkable story of resilience is unfolding within the fiber arts community whose unwavering spirit shines brightly. 

As fiber artists, we are renowned for our creativity and ingenuity. We have already begun to connect in new and innovative ways. Online classes, forums and meetings are springing to life, transforming grief into a shared commitment to rebuild. Workshops and virtual meet-ups  are our lifelines, where members exchange resources, ideas, and encouragement. Each message of support serves as a reminder that the essence of our community extends far beyond the walls of a store.

As we navigate our collective heartbreak, as artists who prize creativity, we are finding strength in collaboration. We will participate in pop-up markets and community events across the Carolinas showcasing handmade creations that celebrate resilience. Every piece crafted is a statement of defiance against the storm, a symbol of hope and determination. We will continue to have classes and workshops. Together, we will organize fundraisers, including a Go Fund Me page, pooling our talents to support one another and to give back to the community that has supported us.

The spirit of creativity will flourish in unexpected ways. Artists will experiment with new materials and techniques, channeling their emotions into their work. Each stitch and every fiber will speak of survival, courage, and the unyielding bond we share. We hope to transform our loss into a movement, creating art that not only heals our hearts but also inspires others facing their own challenges.

Through this journey, the fiber arts community of Asheville will prove that resilience is woven into the very fabric of who we are. The loss of our studio has become a catalyst for innovation, collaboration, and renewed purpose. In every new project, in every shared story, we are redefining what it means to be a community—one that could adapt, thrive, and inspire, no matter the obstacles.

The legacy of our beautiful studio endures, not in bricks and mortar, but in the hearts of those who gathered there. Together, we are crafting a narrative of resilience that will continue to resonate, reminding us all that even in the face of unimaginable loss, creativity can flourish and community can thrive.

Nina Sutton

Some letters sent in to Local Cloth...

October 2, 2024

“My Beloved Asheville” by Judy Levine

The only thing good about this disaster [Helene] is that by losing power, I cannot see the pictures of the devastation in my beloved community. I am writing from a city that I love.

As a close friend said, I have been lucky to find my tribe. Like a lot of folks here, I am a transplant. I took it gradually. I was born in NYC and lived there until 1996 - a town of 10 million people. I moved to Charlotte for a job transfer - a town of 1 million people, and then, finally, to my beloved Asheville - a town of 100k.

What I have found about Asheville is that everyone I meet I want to get to know better. No one cares about what you did for a living. It’s just all about “who are you”, “what moves you?”. Aside from the people I want to get to know, the generosity is outstanding. Almost everyone I know volunteers. The city is overflowing with non-profits started by inspired young people wanting to make our city better. Many older adults volunteer. And everyone generously supports the non-profit organizations. It is humbling to be a part of it.

Then there are the mountains! They are all around us and we see them everywhere we go. Simply put, it is gorgeous. Someone told me when I first moved here 12 years ago that if you drop a rock from the sky over Asheville you will hit either a therapist or a Subaru and if you are lucky, you will hit “a therapist in a Subaru”!

Being a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, it is glorious to live in a town that values the arts and the artists.

One day I was walking with a friend in the 125-years-old Riverside Cemetery at Montford (a neighborhood in Asheville). It reminded me, I was the only person I knew who was taking 2 dying classes at the same time. I was taking a class called “A Year to Live” by Stephen Levine, the Buddhist teacher. At the same time I was taking a silk dyeing class! I purchased my cemetery lot on a block where some “not-yet deceased” folks will reside. They cordon off the block once a year and throw a picnic. I thought to myself, “Yeah, that’s where I want to be!”

I also adore the city motto “Keep Asheville Weird”! I like to say Asheville is like NYC in the 60’s - free love . . . only without the sex part.

So, as Helene left town last Friday, my hubby and I decided, (without even talking about it) that we’re going to stay in our home with or without running water. No laundry for a month? (As if anyone I know could run out of clean clothes in a month). Good news is we’ll be able to change our sheets once at mid-October and we can keep holding hands in the dark each night!

We have already established a routine of scraping together a dinner from whatever food we have left, taking a walk in the neighborhood and chatting with neighbors we meet along the way, then sitting on the porch and reading in the remaining daylight. And when it is too dark we switch to battery operated reading lights. Then we move into the pitch black living room, light up two tea lights, hold hands and listen to my husband’s ancient transistor radio hearing the day’s news from around Asheville.

My heart hurts thinking about what I will see at some point. Tears are overflowing as I write this. It’s always “other people” caught in storms, never us, until now it’s us! As one of my favorite Buddhist teachers, Joseph Goldstein says, “…anything can happen at any time”.

Judy Levine (shortened and lightly edited by S. Shiver)

From  a donor on GoFundMe and why she donated:

~October 14, 2024

"I am a weaver and fiber artist, and I saw social media posts about a tapestry show that was to have been held at your gallery. Then I heard about your organization from a Fibershed post. I have been devastated by the damage from Helene, and felt helpless and unsure about where to even start helping. Then there was a photo of a spinning wheel in the mud, and that opened my heart and I knew I needed to help fiber folks. I know fiber people are strong and resilient, and I just hope that my small cash donation also brings mojo for getting through the long, painful recovery process."

Part 1, more to come in the next blog posts.

"Wish the safe had floated away…"

Mary

"I love that safe Mary! Symbol of strength and perseverance and history! No it is immovable and unshakable!

Elizabeth 

Below: The vault at Local Cloth.  

My short story: No cellular, no electricity, no internet when we got home Saturday after leaving Tybee Island.  Helene hit Tybee Island Thursday evening. We drove north noting the aftermath of downed trees. At home, we were very lucky because we had a house generator hooked directly to propane. All our food was saved and we did have power and thus water from our well. Our neighborhood all came together sharing resources and information and showers and water. Our main contributions were keeping our neighbors and friends clean and creating art with the neighborhood kids!.  Susette Shiver

Local Cloth was not so lucky in the aftermath.

Local Cloth at 408 Depot Street, Asheville, NC after Helene came through.

Every artist vendor lost most or all of their pieces, including me. We are a non-profit and the value lost directly to the artist vendors was estimated at $110,000: merchandise and little pieces of our hearts. The resident artists lost their studios. The dye studio lost its equipment and containers full of donated reactive and acid dyes for cotton and wool/silk that washed away. The tables and chairs are gone. The magnetic induction hot plates and big pots are gone too. They might be someplace downriver by now.  The water burst in knocking the windows and the door in and formed a turbulent rotating pool of water, mud, artwork, and furniture.

It was heartbreaking to miss the initial chance to grab and wash (at your own health risk, no immunocompromised folks allowed); at 1/8 tank of gas, we stayed put, others did wade in (!!!****!). Then the mold set it. Opportunity gone. Grieving artists.

Below: About a week after Helene. Items at a distance look salvagable, but mold had set in.

My lost favorites included my linen, hand dyed and silkscreened napkins. I think of Melanie Wildman’s navy and ivory finely woven cloths that I appreciate more fully now that I am learning to weave (luckily I bought several before the storm).  I loved the beautiful handwoven jackets by Joan Berner.  I took a felting workshop from her and made a piece that I treasure and that now carries even more memories, the before-the-storm time. Volunteering in the shop, I often appreciated the gorgeously hand sewn and naturally dyed linen tops by Melli Lonneman. I lusted after one top that was displayed with a silk scarf from another vendor; the top was not my size. We all love the  gorgeous silk and cotton hand dyed scarves, and so much more.

Other loses were the Handwork Circle’s collaborative pieces which were especially meaningful. These pieces had been made over the course of several years. The Handwork Circle began just before covid and went almost immediately to a virtual, zoom meeting, the "V-Handwork Circle". In recent years, we alternate virtual with in-person meetings at the Local Cloth studio. Many more interest groups were subsequently founded. The Handwork Circle will be virtual every week in October (join us), and then perhaps in November and December we will meet every other week in alternative places until a new Local Cloth Studio rises in the ashes of the Phoenix.

Below: Collaborative project #1 created by members of the Handwork Circle in 2023.

Below: Collaborative project #2 created by members of the Handwork Circle. in 2024.

The whole studio and shop, buried in toxic, bacterial-ridden silt and mud: so many beautiful things.

National Nonprofit day is August 17, 2024. This year we wanted to celebrate by sharing more about Local Cloth’s impact on the community! Our vision is “A regional fiber system that is healthy, abundant and sustainable, where farmers, designers and artists make a living wage.”

Let’s breakdown the impact by the numbers! 

In 2023:

105 - the number of new members who joined Local Cloth.

443 - the total number of active members.

13 - the number of new vendors who joined the retail shop.

59 - the total number of active vendors in the retail shop.

$135,115 - the total number of sales from the retail shop.

70% - the percentage of each sale that goes directly back to our local fiber artists and farmers. 

89 - the number of workshops taught.

631 - the number of workshop attendees.

103 - the number of Interest Groups.

14 - the number of fiber artists and farmers who participating in our Spring Artisan Market.

26 - the number of artists who participated in the inaugural Twelve-by-Twelve Textile Show.

$1,200 - the amount raised by the first silent auction at the closing celebration of the Twelve-by-Twelve Textile Show.

6 - the number of supporting groups who contributed to the mission of Local Cloth: ArtsAVL, Buncombe County Government, the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Fibershed, WNC Communities and The Community Foundation of WNC.

Our community at Local Cloth has continued to grow each year, and that growth puts resources back directly into our local fiber economy. If you want to be part of our community, become a member. If you want to support our work, donate now! 

by Glyn and Will Melnyk,  Chattanooga 

This past June we fulfilled a dream and spent two weeks in the Shetland Islands visiting sites sacred to all fiber artists. We loved Uradale and Silly Sheep crofts, Jamison & Smith, and the Shetland Textile Museum. We decided to cap off that experience by attending Judi Jetson's recent fleece preparation workshop at Local Cloth's studio at 408 Depot St, Asheville, NC. We were inspired by Judi to build our own skirting table and to process the fleeces we received during her workshop.

Like many fiber artists, we only process a few fleeces a year, so we wanted something simple and easy to store. So here is a simple homemade skirting table for the occasional fleece processor, with material available from most hardware stores. The good news is that the frame and the folded sawhorses store flat against the wall!

The complete instructions are found below.

Tools:

• Small Hand Saw
• Electric Drill
• Philips Head Screwdriver
• Heavy Duty  Staple Gun

Materials:

• 2 ea boards  72" x 3" x 1"
• 3 ea boards   36" x 3" x 1"
• Roll of 36" wide chicken wire
• 12 ea 2" Philips Head screws
• Table legs ordered on line were a pair of light weight sawhorses.

Process:

• Cut lumber and chicken wire to size.
• Connect lumber as shown with two screws at each joint.
• Stretch chicken wire over the frame and attach with heavy duty staples.

Ready to skirt our first fleece.

Thanks, Judi, for your inspiration!

 "I have been working for years to find folks from the Navajo nation willing to travel to the mountains of western NC to teach at the John C. Campbell Folkschool. This year is a banner year for me because it is going to happen twice! " Martha Owen

The distinguished teacher:

TahNibaa Naataanii  tahnibaanavajoweavings.artspan.com 

From her bio:

As a young girl my paternal grandmother gave me my Navajo name of: TahNibaa Atlo'iigii, which means "TahNibaa the Weaver". I believe it was her hope that I may continue the tradition of weaving in our family. After high school, I joined the U.S. Navy and my weaving ceased momentarily. As a weaver today, I am exploring with color and design elements. I am also a rancher, I raise the heritage breed sheep, the Navajo Churro. As a full time weaver, a mother, a daughter, a soon to be grandmother I am honored to walk a similar path my grandparents did." 

Felt and Embellishment: Experiments in Wool and Culture

Date and Class description: May 12-12, 2024

Instructor: TahNibaa Naataanii 

Skill Level: All levels

Explore hand and needle felting techniques to create bead-embellished wearable art or jewelry, bags, wall hangings, and more. Work with wool from the instructor’s heritage breed Navajo Churro sheep that grow beautiful shades of brown, gray, black, white, and tan, and combine it with merino in many dyed colors. See what happens and how these different kinds of wool behave in different combinations: Churro on Churro, merino on merino, and on! All levels welcome; some physical stamina required.

There is still time to apply for a scholarship. 

check here:  https://www.folkschool.org/find-a-class/felt-making/ 

Simply go to the Folk School website, look for- "Find a class", then "Felt Making", then "View Upcoming Classes" and scroll down! Click here for registering for this class. 

Martha Owen, a member and participant in Local Cloth activities sends this year re-cap to all!

Dec 23, 2023

Dear Wooly Colorful Friends, 

Today is one of the shortest days of the year and I feel like it is time for me to stop a minute and send you the season's greetings! I used to send out a physical annual greeting but now with the luxury of a computer to use, I send you Good Cheer!  Yeah, like everywhere all at once.  We all had a big year one way and another and I meant to send a few follow up notes for each class and adventure I was part of in 2023. Today is the day to start/finish!

Let see, sheep and wool and conversation, and laughter and stories, that is what it is always about for me.  But also a pile of odd Martha Owen things for your interest. Find below information  I meant to send along all through the year.  If you have something to add and or ask again then send me a hello!  Here in North Carolina at the moment it is bright and cold. What is cold you say?  Well, 1-2 sweater weather plus sometimes a scarf and a hat and sometimes all that and gloves and wooly blanket to wrap up in!  Oh, and big barn boots and wind breaker!  

The list of interesting facts from last year and our time together starts with that flash of excitement, honest labor, the frustration of learning, the stress of travel and hoped for and looked for satisfying outcomes.  And as we all know, it was and is good to be together.  

Here are some of the odd bits I promised someone some time to send along.  Read what you wish to read and pass along to anyone who might be interested. I am a student of every living thing.  My personal policy is to give, to give, to give!  So here you go if you are interested. You have been a great gift to me and don’t you forget it.  ( Oh, but remind me when and where we met! So many lucky lovely friends now.) 

I have been writing reminders on my lined pad, let's see:

• Appelya is a Shetland Fire Festival which started waaay back with the Vikings.  You can see some of the idea portrayed in Shetland, the TV series which brought Ann Cleeves' novels to life. 

• Pencil roving sources:  Zeilingers …zwool.com ( in Frankenmuth Michigan) medium fine wool so, soft, Icelandic lopi The Wooly Thistle ( thewoolythistle.com) comes in many colors, combines outer and underwool. Long, strong and a bit hairy.  2 sizes/thicknesses

• Books to look into about spinning, thinking of kids When I went off to college the first time my greatest desire was to be a great children’s story writer.  Instead, I became a teller of stories to children but have still continued to collect many around the spinning and sheep and wool ideas.  

• Dedication of the Cory Brown Memorial Dye Garden. While this was an emotional event  for Donna Brown and family and me, Cory Brown Memorial Dye Garden Dedication This small act emphasizes the importance of many things. Like a garden that you can visit for starters.  A place of contemplation and of gathering dye and food stuffs.  Grow it, see it, use it and repeat.  That is the best!  (folkschool.org/stories)  

• Melissa Weaver Dunning (melissaweaves.blogspot.com) and I taught together and sung together in this year.  We met up at MAFA (mafa.org) The Mid Atlantic Fiber Arts Conference. There we did something we titled “Worsted, Woolen, Woven” which is a shorter version of “Sing ‘Till the Works all Done” at the Folkschool. We tried to bring  different fleece types and their gifts, dyeing, spinning and WEAVING together.  And we all know I need my dear friend to help on the weaving side.  I mean it's her name!  What else could she do!   We are on to do this again at the Folkschool fall 2024.

• Then there was a quick run down to Piney Woods Farm, La Grange Georgia, where we did a too quick series of workshops and met a whole new boat load of friends.  This time I was teaching with Emolyn Liden, my own daughter! Facebook Emolyn Knits.@rovingknitter instagram. We did a day of dyeing, spinning and knitting.  Piney Woods Farm https://pineywoods.farm How proud am I. So much fun to have someone in my own family that speaks my language .https://youtu.be/ZPpL8ZeqamE?si=uzP8snsGi1LJReH8. Here we were as the first morning song after the shutdown in the pandemic era! I do cry.  

• West coast friend Zoe McDonell @WildcraftdDyeing made this video of her time teaching at the Folkschool for her first time. https://youtu.be/oMB2AJbLmZI?si=u8sOHkXP1mMKPJ-0

• At SAFF (saffsite.org)  we worked on our hand carding and long draw and how to tune up and spin on a high/great/walking wheel.  There are wheels around for those looking and several have been offered to me this year.  Finally, here you go!  There are more I know but not sure where I wrote it down!  If you are looking please remind me.
• Hazel Tindall - on-line fastest knitter entry Shetland style knitting learned before learning to read and write.  Hazel will be here Fall 2024. Martha traveled all the way to Shetland to learn this knitting style about 28 years ago and I am glad to show/teach you!  I am doing a class called Seven Ways to Knit and a Dye Pot on the side in March 2024 at the Folkschool! I will show you then.  

• 'How to knit perfect fingers' - a free video tutorial with Elizabeth Johnston.(This is the tutorial video that Cherie in Michigan watched many times which prompted her to go find Elizaebth and to invite her and then me to Michigan in November!)  If you don’t want to do any fingers you can simply listen to her sweet Shetland voice. She IS speaking so we can understand her on you tube!  Spinning/yarn design (From Shakers to Shetlanders: gifts and Purpose Nov 2023 FS!)  was great fun and took us in many directions.  Great.  

• Travel notes for those who want to see my ideas the last time I traveled to Shetland, Aug 22.Travel Tips

• Indigo tips:  Indigo dyeing is like alchemy This document is a handout. I am not sure if I handed it out! BUT here are the things I am looking to see if I am doing 1,2,3 Vats which I learned from Michel Garcia, Catharie Ellis and Melanie Wilder or Lye or Washing soda and, Thiourea Dioxide vat which I learned from Jim Liles and Carla Owen.  I am always trying to see if the “vat is in order.”  There are a few things I am always muttering about:  1 there should be a unique aroma.  2 the vat should be amber or yellow green 3 on the surface there should be speckles that look like mica chips 4 if the vat is too blue it needs more reducing agent, if too yellow it needs to be paddle to add air.  

• I went to see my guy, mentor and loved one, Norman Kennedy, in early May and to help with the first week of a one month class called From Fleece to Fulling Marshfield School of Weaving Follow all the links and prompts and you will see the physical structure where Norman started the school many years ago. It was reopened by Kate and now continues on with Justin in the lead.  Norman reached 90 years last August.  My sweet dear friend.

• In 2024 we have some new Navajo Friends traveling to western North Carolina! Look for Tahnibaa Naataani  May 12-17 and  Felt and Embellishment:Experiments in Wool and Culture followed by a hip Spindle Weekend, The Sheep Told Me .  And in October 2024 Gloria and Ken Begay offer Navajo Traditions from Fleece to Rug.  There are many others to tell you about but the search for these new friends took place over long years and facilitating communication has been the most work of this year!  

• There is still room for a new format for me. You can sign up to do one week or both.  There is time in between to practice and be ready for the next class!

• There are many ideas brewing but we are not ready to talk about them all quite yet. We are looking for a few lambs in May!  And we are thinking about the session to do in Grand Marais at the North House Folkschool in April 2024. Lindsey Liden, my son, (mulheroncraft.com) is coming along this time, woodworking and wool working, yep that’s us.  Want to travel to the frozen north with us? Alrighty!  North House Folk School https://northhouse.org

• Season 1 Part 1 and Part 2 Red Bones.  Also on You tube

 https://youtu.be/QgP9LAGV8DQ?si=l5THOq_acgNGXTEwGXTEw

What the Helly Aa? (Your guide to Shetland's Up Helly Aa fire festivals)

I met Zoe last year at the International Fungi and Fiber Conference in Port Townsend Washington.  It was love at first meet up!  But she fits into this year and next  as well! We'll be welcoming her back in the Fall of 2024.  

We chatted briefly at the “Anything Fiber Sale” Local Cloth https://localcloth.wildapricot.org about some spinning wheels the Overmountain Weavers Guild was selling that had belonged to Persis Grayson. I have since noticed that you are teaching Great Wheel Care and spinning at SAFF this year.We chatted briefly at the “Anything Fiber Sale” Local Cloth https://localcloth.wildapricot.org about some spinning wheels the Overmountain Weavers Guild was selling that had belonged to Persis Grayson. I have since noticed that you are teaching Great Wheel Care and spinning at SAFF this year.

Exchange Place Living History farm, Kingsport, TN has 3-4 extra Great Wheels we are offering for sale, for $150 each. They have all their parts and need a loving spinner toExchange Place Living History farm, Kingsport, TN has 3-4 extra Great Wheels we are offering for sale, for $150 each. They have all their parts and need a loving spinner to use them. If anyone approaches you looking for a great wheel I hope you will give them my contact information. Interested parties may call and leave a message at Exchange Place, 423-288-6071 or leave a message at exchangeplace.info with the contact tab, or write to my email.

And of course I was so pleased to spend a nice long time with my pal Elizabeth Johnston.  

I really think this is enough to be going on about.  As I think I mentioned it was some year for the little shepherdess. In 2024 there are a few things coming that I am already studying on. Maybe we will meet again soon?

Always and forever I must mention my home place, the John C Campbell Folkschool ( folkschool.org). I

Online:  Lessonface and the Folkschool (folkschool.org/programs/online-classes/)

Home Grown: Fair Isle Knitting Starting with Color (Part B) with Martha Owen (Feb. 26-Mar. 1)

Home Grown: Spinning for Fair Isle Knitting (Part A) with Martha Owen 

(Feb. 12, 14 & 16)

Please send a hello.  This has been an all day visit here from this computer and as I mentioned many times, one lovely ambitious year!  I will now go looking for all your email addresses and post a series of pictures on my instagram account @marthaowenwoolens and that will jump over to my Facebook account martha owen woolens. ( My daughter Annie Fain Barralon fainhouse.org set me up!) If you do those kinds of things, please ask to join the Facebook group called Martha’s Flock which a loving student created a few years ago. I faithfully promise that I will only ever ever write about sheep and wool there. If you know me VERY VERY  well you might read something else but from here it is sheep and wool and gardens and angora rabbits and music and well it's a big life.

And too,  come see us.  The sheep say maaaaah and The John C Campbell Folk school says, Welcome aboard.  

You have been a great gift to me.

Best Wishes in all things. 

Martha Owen

******************************

On Sunday afternoon Nov 19, 2023 Local Cloth (LC) hosted a spinning party.  It was actually the regular monthly meeting time for the LC Spinners Interest group down at the studio (408 Depot St, Asheville, Western NC). 

I didn’t take a single picture at the event, so some of the photos you see are from other times.  I had the urge to snap photos you see, but my hands kept moving to the spinning wheel instead. 

Spinning Interest Group at Local Cloth (June 2023). Photo by Susette Shiver

My first spinning wheel. Photo by Susette Shiver

In preparation for the event, all the long tables had been pushed back to form a rectangle.  Inside the rectangle chairs were arranged to face inwards, forming a large circle.  Twenty two spinners assembled together with all but a few bringing spinning wheels. Unbelievably, of the 19 women spinning (one couldn't because she was missing a piece of her wheel assembly, and two didn't spin because they were the guest speakers).  In all, only two of the wheels were identical: a small type of e-spinner.  About 5 participants brought e-spinners and the rest brought portable wooden floor models, all different yet similar: wheel that goes round, tension to control the spinning process, and foot treadles to generate rotation.  What is an e-spinner?  Rather than spinning wheels with one or two treadles worked with the feet to generate the spin, the e-spinners rely on electricity: plug-in or battery pack.

The fiber colors were wonderful.  Everyone had different types of batts, roving, rolags, or top to spin.  All the fiber was hand dyed. I was plying yarn using the chain ply method, Beth spun art yarn, Lorena was using a long draw.  Some folks were novice spinners, some lapsed spinners, and many were long-time spinners; everyone spun while chatting or listening.  

Hand dyed fiber for spinning. Photo by Susette Shiver.  The results of participation in the Dye Lab monthly get-together at Local Cloth.

When all were settled down, Judi Jetson introduced herself (instigator of the Spinning Interest Group, major mover of LC and longtime spinner), then everyone introduced themselves in turn. Finally, our guests spoke. Martha Owen from the John C. Campbell Folk School spoke about her teaching and roles at the Folk School and how she lives the fiber and banjo life in the country. Martha then introduced Elizabeth Johnston (shetlandhandspun on Instagram).

Elizabeth Johnston (middle) in Detroit area "wooly" gathering.  Her pattern is displayed in different colors. (Photo from Martha Owen)

Elizabeth is from Shetland and teaches at the Folk School with Martha. In between teaching they often tour together giving workshops and lectures whilst spreading information via their works. Elizabeth has many personally knitted examples of traditional Fair Isle knitting. Sometimes she is laughingly accused of being too contemporary in her pattern designs. She brought to show us an example of a hand spun, dyed, and knitted Hap, a Fair Isle Allover sweater, and one of their Shetland fleeces.  Wonderfully soft it was and full of lanolin (grease).

Click link here to see Shetland sheep and the scenery. 

Elizabeth and others feeling a Shetland fleece. Photo from Martha Owen.

Shetland Islands. Photo link here.

Elizabeth hand processes the fleece, then spins lace weight yarn and yarn for her Fair Isle sweaters, hats, haps, and dags.  She uses natural dyes to create colors, and tones of brown, grey, and white come directly from the undyed fiber.  

What are the meanings of Allover, Fair Isle, hap, and dag?  Illustrations and explanations can be found on Elizabeth's Instagram page: 

• Shetland Allover (Fair Isle knitted Shetland sweater with a pattern that is all over the sweater and not just on the yoke, for example), 
• Haps (lace Shetland blankets for babies), 
• Dags (fingerless mittens)

Martha Owen wearing an Allover, click here.

Did you know that Shetland wool from Shetland is rather much finer (the fiber diameter is smaller) and softer in general than the Shetland wool grown in the US. This is principally because of the diet, genetics, and other sheep life factors. The fleece are much cleaner because of the lack of air pollution that can stick to fleece and cause dirt to stick. There is no dirt or leafy matter there, so-to-speak, since the sheep roam on gorse and the soil is peaty. The peat bits more easily fall away during cleaning and spinning, unlike other vegetable matter that catches in the fleece. The gorse sticks mainly to the belly and neck which is separated from the rest of the fleece. On rare occasions, skirting the fleece results in a handful of thistle (ouch!). The wind is strong, trees are rare, growing only in very sheltered spots such as adjacent to a house. It is windy, cold, and wet much of the time in Shetland. Wool clothing is warm and can be manipulated to maximize retaining heat by choice of spinning and knitting techniques. Spinning Shetland wool "in the grease" keeps your hands coated in lanolin, ...nice!

Enough for now, but I want to explore the differences between Fair Isle, stranded, Intarsia, pattern, and double knitting in the future!

let's spin!

Susette Shiver