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We are back with Member Monday after a brief hiatu

We are back with Member Monday after a brief hiatus. Please meet @meadowridgealpacas! Danielle and the gang live by the Green County - Lafayette County border in Wisconsin. She focuses on selling gorgeous fiber products to help others to enjoy the beauty, comfort, warmth, and durability alpaca fiber has to offer. Danielle sells natural and hand dyed yarn plus socks, hats, gloves, scarves, mittens, and more in a variety of natural colors. Please give Danielle's site a gander for holiday gifts that support our Fibershed and small businesses! Link in bio. All images belong to Meadow Ridge Alpacas. #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalFiber #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt #GreenCountyWI #LafayetteCountyWI #LocalFiber #LocalYarn #AlpacaFiber #AlpacaYarn

It's a lot harder than you'd think to get a pictur

It's a lot harder than you'd think to get a picture of a herd of running alpacas. Today while driving around the northernmost part of our fibershed, I encountered a herd of alpacas running into their barn at the end of day. It was a no traffic country road and I was already parked on the shoulder, so I grabbed my phone to try to get a picture to share with y'all since it was such a picturesque scene. You will have to imagine the classic barn and stave silo with alpacas running in the foreground because they were so darn quick that I was only able to capture this pair still in the pasture. 😄 #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinAlpacas #WisconsinFiber #WisconsinFiberArt #WisconsinFiberArtists #VernonCountyWI #ChaseburgWi #WisconsinFiber

Reposted from @thesowsearcafe You may have noticed

Reposted from @thesowsearcafe You may have noticed that our front cafe walls are now showcasing beautiful quilted pieces! We love to feature local artisans and we like sharing their talent with you! The artwork is for sale and can be purchased at the registers. Please ask for it to be taken down by an associate. We hope you enjoy our evolving decor and that you find it as inspiring as we do!

It's Member Monday! Today, we'd like you meet @dri

It's Member Monday! Today, we'd like you meet @driftlesstraditionaltannery. Driftless Traditional Tannery is a woman owned company that works to ensure that animals in our Fibershed are respected even after they must be harvested. Using natural and traditional techniques, Bethany, Brandi, and Danielle tan hides responsibly, without the use of heavy metals or harsh chemicals. The large scale commercial tanning process can be damaging to the environment and water. Small, traditional tanneries operate in more respectful ways while ensuring hides do not end up in the waste stream. Dtiftless Traditional Tannery offers both retail sales and custom work for farmers who prefer to keep their hides or sell themselves. They also have offered hide drum making and other workshops. Photos courtesy of @driftlesstraditionaltannery and @kriss4wi #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalFiber #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt #GreenCountyWI #DriftlessTraditionalTannery #LocalSheepskin

It's WIP Wednesday again. What a difference a week

It's WIP Wednesday again. What a difference a week has made for me. It doesn't look like much in this pic, but my project for the Farm to Fashion Challenge has grown by leaps and bounds this week. Are you working on something for the Challenge? We'd love to share it. Tag us! #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalYarn #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt #WisconsinKnitters #IllinoisFiberArtist #IllinoisFiberArt #IllinoisKnitter #FarmToFashionChallenge

Sustainability in fiber arts has many facets. Avoi

Sustainability in fiber arts has many facets. Avoiding waste is an important part of making your craft more sustainable. Reposted from @pnw_knitdesign What do you do with your yarn scraps?
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As a low-waste knitter, I can never bring myself to throw away perfectly good scraps. But what to do with them when they pile up?
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1. Use longer lengths (+10g) for colorwork projects so you don’t need to break into a new skein
2. Use medium lengths for provisional cast ons and waste yarn in other projects
3. Use short lengths as stuffing for a knit toy or holiday ornament
4. Use tiny pieces as colorful decor in a glass lamp or vase
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You can also recycle scraps into new yarn with @hedgehogfibres or @labienaimee - and it makes AMAZING yarn!
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What do you do with scraps?
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#yarnscraps #stashbuster #knit #knitting #colorwork #yarnstash

Reposted from @ctfibershed Fibershed’s annual sy

Reposted from @ctfibershed Fibershed’s annual symposium that is taking place virtually on November 13. This year's theme is “Weaving Voices Between People, Land, and Water” Learn from a range of experts sharing their experiences from the textile, local economy, wool and fine fiber world. Click on the LINK IN @fibershed_ ‘s BIO to register! #fibershed #localfiber #localsuppplychain #ctfibershed #wool #localwool

This #WIPWednesday, I'm starting my entry for the

This #WIPWednesday, I'm starting my entry for the Farm to Fashion Challenge. The skeins of local wool are caked and ready to cast on. Do you knit, weave, sew, crochet, felt, or enjoy some other fiber craft/art? Is there a dye you’ve produced? Or do you spin your own yarn? We would love to see what you create and share it to inspire others. Please enter our 2021 Farm-to-Fashion Challenge featuring materials grown within our Heartland Threads Fibershed region. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Entries (as many as you want) must be primarily created from materials sourced within our local fibershed although exceptions are accepted when local materials are not available. By using materials produced within our fibershed, you will be supporting local growers, local communities & local culture. Entries will be accepted from November 1, 2021 – January 1, 2022. Entry forms will be in our website, link in bio. #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalYarn #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt #WisconsinKnitters #IllinoisFiberArtist #IllinoisFiberArt #IllinoisKnitter

Reposted from @madisonknittersguild Our virtual gu

Reposted from @madisonknittersguild Our virtual guild meeting is on Monday, 11/08 at 6:30pm. The featured speaker, Jillian Moreno @jillianmoreno author of the best-selling spinning book Yarnitecture: A Knitter’s Guide to Spinning: Building Exactly the Yarn You Want, will join us on Zoom to help us all become yarn detectives in order to decode our yarn for better knitting. Would you like to show off some Finished Objects? Submit them to socialmedia@madisonknittersguild.com by Friday. #MadisonKnittersGuild
#KnittersOfInstagram

@botanica_yarnfest is coming up in less than two w

@botanica_yarnfest is coming up in less than two weeks. Botanica Yarnfest is a global celebration of natural yarns taking place November 13th and 14th. Botanica this year features IG lives, shop exhibits, demos, prizes and more. Check the link in our bio for full details.

Member Monday - today we are featuring Suzy Beggin

Member Monday - today we are featuring Suzy Beggin aka Suzy the Shepherdess. Suzy delves deeply into both fiber and history. She is incredibly knowledgeable about historically accurate fibers, techniques, and patterns. She raises her sheep in a way that is very similar to the life they would have had two hundred years ago. Suzy is often at living history event in Northern Illinois, demonstrating various fiber and sheep raising skills. Suzy does sell her yarn, finished woolen goods, and patterns online, at events, and at a few local yarn stores. I've bumped into her yarn even over in a Galena at @thestitchinghourgalena. The wool from her sheep is spun in our Fibershed at Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill. Check our link in bio for a link to Suzy's website, and look for Suzy at historical events and the Stephenson County Fiber Arts Fair next spring. #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalYarn #Fibershed #IllinoisFiberArtist #IllinoisFiberArt #IllinoisKnitter

Have y'all seen @radiclethreads? The inaugural iss

Have y'all seen @radiclethreads? The inaugural issue of this magazine created by a group of three BBIMP was a joy to read. It features articles, tutorials for crafts other than crochet and knitting, a booklist, recipes, and patterns by dyers and designers from historically marginalized communities. @thesowsearyarn in Verona recently posted that they have issues in stock if you missed the pre-order and would like to check this out yourself. I'm personally already planning to create one of the knit patterns, and there are crochet patterns as well. Pre-orders for issues two and three are opening in November.

This #WIPWednesday, we are contemplating sustainab

This #WIPWednesday, we are contemplating sustainability as the work in progress that it is for most of us. Sustainability in our fiber arts practice is a spectrum. Some people are just starting to consider the impact of their fiber arts and considering for the first time how to make their work more sustainable. Other have been walking this path for a long time and use primarily local fiber dyed naturally. Many of us are somewhere in between. There are many ways to increase the sustainability of your fiber arts, and one of those ways is using up fiber in your stash and vintage materials instead of buying new. This collection of vintage mohair entered the yarn stash of one of our members almost two years ago, part of a very large stash of vintage yarn from a stranger. Fiber arts connect people who never knew each other in life sometimes. The member searched a few of the store names on the price tags and realized some of the yarn was sold before she was born. Considering she's close to 50, she found that surprising. She's done her best to use up the majority of the inherited stash, but this mohair and mohair blend yarn have been staring at her. She doesn't do much with mohair, but she didn't want to waste this material. As part of #WIPWednesday, she would love to share this yarn with anyone who could use it. It appears to be light bulky/heavy aran, worsted, and dk weight. Some is pure mohair, some is mohair and wool, and some is mohair and nylon. DM or comment so we can connect you to these vintage gems. #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt #WisconsinKnitters #ShareYourStash #VintageYarn #UseYourStash #SustainableFiberArts #SustainableCrafting #SustainableFashion

Reposted from @faunafibers Tomorrow evening in Mad

Reposted from @faunafibers Tomorrow evening in Madison Wisconsin! 4-6 pm come on down to the Lansing Food Forest for some locally made goods! I’ll have warm knit hats and yarn 🙂
Bring an umbrella just in case 😊

Member Monday! Today, please meet Orange Kitten Ya

Member Monday! Today, please meet Orange Kitten Yarns. This year, Orange Kitten Yarns and owner Jocelyn Kline celebrated their tenth anniversary in the Monroe, WI downtown. Jocelyn keeps her selection of local fiber hyperlocal, featuring fiber specifically from Green County where she located. She has fiber from Sanctuary Wool, Red House Farm, Yarn From the Barn, Rainbow Fleece Fiber Farm, Homestead Wool, and more. I didn't even know all these local producers until browsing Orange Kitten, and I've lived in Green County for over twenty years. I'm now eying some gorgeous Wensleydale after taking these pictures on Saturday. Jocelyn also offers needles, notions, finished woolens, local soap, some spinning or felting fiber, and a variety of commercial yarn brands. She's always happy to chat or help with a project. Orange Kitten Yarns keeps it old school, so she doesn't have a website. Jocelyn is happy to ship, though, and does have a Facebook page, link in bio. Give her a visit when you are touring around our Fibershed region or give her a call when you need something for your next project. #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalYarn #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt #WisconsinKnitters #LocalYarnShop #MonroeWI #GreenCountyWI #WisconsinFiber

Reposted from @sylvanmeadowsfarm Totally unprecede

Reposted from @sylvanmeadowsfarm Totally unprecedented *sale*
Purchase 2 lovely Gotland sheepskins and we will give you a third sheepskin for *free*
Visit our booth at the Dane County Farmer's Market, downtown Madison, this Saturday #danecountyfarmersmarket
If you have been thinking about making one of these your own & for gift giving for a special someone, this is a great time to do it!
We can mail order these, too!
#sylvanmeadowsfarm #gotlandsheepskin #gotlandsheep #madisonwi #FarmersMarket #driftlesswisconsin #wisconsingoodness #cabinlife #Madison #viroqua

Reposted from @abuelitafibercompany Call for squar

Reposted from @abuelitafibercompany Call for squares! Inspired by @mender.maker who is organizing a friendship quilt for an Afghan refugee family, let’s make a friendship blanket for another family! Looking for: • 7x7 inch squares (worsted/DK/fingering weight preferred)
• Knit or crochet squares welcome!
• Acrylic or machine washable fiber preferred
• Any color and pattern
• Make more than one if you like
• DM for details on where to send squares This is a perfect stash buster or beginning knitter/crocheter project! I’ve been working with two families here in Virginia to get settled into their new homes. You can see story highlights for more details about the families or how you can help Afghan resettlement in other ways. If you’d like to make a square for this blanket, DM me! #squaresforafghans

It's Member Monday! Meet @brendaccr Hi, that's a

It's Member Monday! Meet @brendaccr Hi, that's actually me. I thought y'all might like to know which board member does most of the IG for our fibershed 😁, plus we also want to feature maker members, not just producers and sellers of fiber. Knitting has my primary fiber art for almost 19 years now, and here is a sample of some of the projects that have come off my needles this year. I'm also starting to play with natural, local dyes now that 3/4 of my kids have become adults and left the house. I'm currently planning what to create with some of my locally sourced, hand dyed yarn for our Farm to Fashion Challenge! (Check out website for details, link in bio) I look forward to featuring other maker members in upcoming weeks in addition to our business members. Please give us a shout if you'd like to be featured in the future! I'll link to the pattern designers in a comment. #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalYarn #Fibershed #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt #WisconsinKnitters

Look at these gorgeous natural colors member @lind

Look at these gorgeous natural colors member @lindadeederrickson achieved with locally available fungi! Reposted from @lindadeederrickson Never too old to learn new tricks. I learned how to dye with mushrooms and lichens at this 2 day workshop, Mycelium Mysteries, put on by the Midwest Womens Herbal Conference earlier this month. Who knew that such wonderful colors could result from foraging what Mother Nature provides?
Our ancestors around the planet knew how to get colors from these wild fungi as well as all sorts of natural materials—nuts, spices, leaves, bugs, snails, flowers, clay, rocks, fruits and more. It’s almost a lost art, replaced by toxic synthetics. Yes, my dear Instagram friends—if you’re surrounding yourself with plastic (polyester, nylon, acrylic, etc) with the added hazard of synthetic dyes, you are compromising your health. Auto-immune diseases, cancers, infertility are just some of the fallout from our addiction to the plastic textiles and textile dyes in our homes and on our bodies.
Let’s get back to the healthy organic ways of our ancestors—wear natural wool, leather, cotton, silk, linen, hemp—and if you like color, dye it with nature’s bounty of choices. #naturaldyes #dyeingwithplants #dyeingwithmushrooms #dyeingwithlichens #wearplantsnotplastic #stopwearingplastic #syntheticdyesaretoxic #myceliummysteries #midwestwomensherbalconference #dyeingyarn #naturaldyeing #agooddaytodye #seewhatididthere #seewhatilearned

@motherofpurll1 is doing a talk on sustainability

@motherofpurll1 is doing a talk on sustainability in the fiber arts through @indieuntangled at 3 pm central today. Lauren is a former board member of Heartland Threads and a fabulously talented fiber artist and designer in our fibershed region Tickets for the online version of Indie Untangled are only $7 and still available. Tickets provide online access to the live stream events and special online shopping access to the vendors from Oct 15 until Oct 24. #HeartlandThreadsFibershed #LocalFiber #LocalYarn #Fibershed #IndieUntangled #SustainableCrafting #SustainableCraft #SustainableFashion #SustainableFiberArts #MotherOfPurl #DriftlessRegion #WisconsinFiberArtists #WisconsinFiberArt

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