A Visit to Island Fibers

Loving fibers of every kind, visiting Island Fibers yesterday was enthralling.  I needed to exchange a skein of wool for something softer - and found some lovely alpaca.  But the joy was watching my husband (well, okay, and myself) become mesmerized by the owner's enthusiasm and passion as she described and shared every phase of her work, from carding, combing, spinning, weaving, dyeing, hand-painting, knitting, felting and design work.

We explored the wool, camel, yak, bison, goat (cashmere!!), silk, cotton, rayon, blends - you name it, we fondled it as roving. We got totally lost in the experience and her wealth of knowledge.  Holding a cotton plant and seeing how the fibers grow around a seed was new to me.  And I had never seen a carding machine before. We talked about different spinning wheels. I saw some lovely patterns I want to try when my knitting is better.  And the handspun yarns are to die (dye?) for. Just standing there surrounded by all the amazing colors was heavenly. 

What a wonderful adventure.  Here. On our little island. An unexpected gift. Not at all what you get when you wander into a commercial craft store on the mainland. Lucky us!

http://www.islandfibers.com/