Fiber Gathering , livre ebook

Fiber
Gathering

Fiber Gathering: Knit, Crochet, Spin and Dye more than 25 Projects Inspired by America’s Festivals
Copyright © 2009 by Joanne Seiff. All rights reserved.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Seiff, Joanne, 1973-
Fiber gathering : knit, crochet, spin and dye more than 25 projects inspired by America’s festivals / by Joanne Seiff.
    p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978–0-470–28935-8
ISBN-10: 0–470-28935-X
1. Textile crafts. 2. Craft festivals. I. Title.
TT699.S42 2009
746—dc22
2008046703
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Book production by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Composition Services
Credits
Acquisitions Editor
Roxane Cerda
Project Editor
Suzanne Snyder
Editorial Manager
Christina Stambaugh
Publisher
Cindy Kitchel
Vice President and Executive Publisher
Kathy Nebenhaus
Interior Design
Elizabeth Brooks
Cover Design
José Almaguer
Photography
Jeff Marcus
About the Author

J oanne Seiff enjoys making things from scratch; her mother taught her to knit when she was five and she learned to spin at 12. Her spinning wheel and knitting needles accompanied her to college and beyond. Joanne earned her undergraduate degree in Comparative Literature and Near Eastern Studies from Cornell University. She holds a Master’s degree in Education from the George Washington University and a Master’s degree in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Joanne is a writer, knitwear designer and educator. Her fiction and non-fiction writing appears in a variety of print and online publications, with a focus on fiber arts, food, the environment, and religious issues. Her fiber art and handspun have been featured in several galleries, including ones in New York City and Berea, Kentucky. She’s proud to be the recipient of a Kentucky Foundation for Women grant and the Kentucky Art Council’s 2007 Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship for her non-fiction.
Joanne has taught summer camp, religious school, high school, college, workshops and adult education courses. Her pupils range from four year olds to adults. She loves to learn and explore, whatever the topic: spinning, knitting, writing, music, religious studies or cooking. Her past fiber arts experience includes teaching introductory hand spinning classes at Duke University, as well as teaching about textile traditions on the frontier at the Kentucky Museum. She’s even taught a cooking workshop on boiling spaghetti for Duke undergraduates!
When she’s not spinning, knitting or cooking, Joanne often spends time outdoors with her absent-minded biology professor husband, Jeff. Dr. Jeff Marcus studies butterfly genetics when he’s not shooting photos of sheep for her books and articles. Gardening and reading are some of her other pleasures, along with walking her bird dogs, Harry and Sally. (Harry is a setter mix, and Harry’s pet, Sally, is a pointer mix.)
Read her work or see more of her designs at her Web site, www.joanneseiff.com and follow her daily adventures on her blog, Yarn Spinner, at www.joanneseiff.blogspot.com .
Acknowledgments
A n undertaking like this one requires lots of help, and for that, I am indebted. Many thanks to the designers who contributed to this book; creativity lends so much to our enjoyment of every festival. Also, all thanks to my models, who are regular (beautiful) folk who smiled for everyone to see: Tim Shehan, Bonnie Reed and Truman Reed, Jessica Dunnegan, Bridget Sutton, Remy Attig, Tia Hughes and Laura Sinise. For suggestions, support, contacts and clever ideas, I am grateful to, in no particular order: Gregory Kompes, Deb Robson, Deborah Balmuth, Linda Roghaar, Melanie Falick, Cat Bordhi, Shannon Okey, Ilana Marcus and the many other luminaries who offered me advice. Thank you to Kate Nachman’s parents, for putting us up on short notice in New Hampshire and to my family and my husband’s, who put us up in Virginia and New York, visited with us at festivals and supported us along the way. Harry and Sally, the dogs, wish to thank Rachel Barber, dog sitter extraordinaire, as well as Greystone Animal Hospital and Dogs Day Out for taking good care of us while our owners cavorted with sheep and llamas. (Thanks for giving us our duck and potato kibble!)
I was the lucky recipient of the 2007 Kentucky Arts Council’s Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship, funded by both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the National Endowment of the Arts. This financial support kept me eating and travelling to festivals— a great nation deserves great art , and great art includes spinning and knitting! Please consult the resource guide to support all the businesses who donated their yarn and other wares. Thank you to all these kind companies who contributed to make these rich designs possible.
It was my great good fortune to work with Roxane Cerda, my editor at Wiley, and with Suzanne Snyder; thank you is hardly enough for the support I've received from my publisher. Donna Druchunas, my faithful tech editor, deserves a medal for her patience and attention to detail! Many wonderful people smiled at us and offered valuable information at every festival; these countless exchanges made this book’s research a delight. Finally, to my husband, Jeffrey Marcus, who supported and enabled me to make this adventure possible, many thanks. My professor was such a great travel companion … going to twelve (or more?) events in 2007 and encouraging me to buy all that yarn and those extra fleeces, just in case I might need it later. Jeff burned the candle at both ends to fulfill his obligations as both a biology professor AND to take all the photos for this book. Wonder why all those animal photos have so much personality? It helps to have a professional along—maybe his Ph.D. in Zoology helped!
Table of Contents
Introduction

Northeast
Chapter 1: Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
The Food
Sheep Dog Demonstrations
Mary Jane Socks
Spirited Entrelac Polo
Learning to Hand Dye Multicolored Yarn
Chapter 2: New York State Sheep and Wool Festival
New York Wine and Cheese
Festive Fingerless Mitts
Deep V
The Curious Ewe
Chapter 3: New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival
What’s NEAOBA?
Apple Crisp Recipe
Unmistakably Warm Cowl
Natural Alpaca Ruana

South
Chapter 4: Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair
Asheville
Quick Felted Sweater Bag
Blossom
Chapter 5: The Tennessee State Fair: A Spinning Competition and Fleece Auction
How to Wash Fleece: A General Guide
Spinning for Speed

Midwest
Chapter 6: Michigan Fiber Festival
Kumihimo
Inexpensive Tools for Spinning: A Drop Spindle
Inexpensive Tools for Knitting: Knitting Needles
Creating a Skein
Chapter 7: Heart of America Sheep Show and Fiber Fest
The New U.S. Lamb Market
Sit Upon: A Crocheted Wool Roving Seat Pad
Icelandic Winter Cap
Chapter 8: Shearing Day
Preparing for and Helping at a Sheep Shearing
Skirting a Fleece

West
Chapter 9: Black Sheep Gathering
The Woolen Mill
Fishtail Vest
Evergreen
Chapter 10: Estes Park Wool Market
Lamb’s for Lunch
Mountain Ripple Socks
Men’s Crochet Mock Cable Sweater
Chapter 11: The Wool Festival at Taos
New Mexico Weaving Traditions
Navajo-Churro Sheep
A Trio of Southwestern-Style Pillows
Chapter 12: Conclusions: Building Your Own Fiber Gathering
Thick & Thin Baby Coat & Cap
Classy Aran