#animalfiber

[monsters0and0angels-blog]

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A post shared by 🌟Hannah🌟 (@monsters_and_angels)

HELP #help #alpacawigs #angora #wigs #paintbrushes #glue #watercolor #watercolorpencils #carandacheaquarelle #lyrarembrandt #modpodge #monsterandangels #Walkercolours #MonsterHigh #EverAfterHigh #fibers #art #artist #colours #dolllove #$ #followme #giveaway1000 #gamora #honeyswamp #bfd #rerootedhair #rocking #rainbow #pride #motivationalquotes #treatpeopleasuwanttobetreated #panpastels #colorfin #animalfiber #fiber #dollstagram #rerooted #nylon #kiwihair #makeup #wakeup #customeverafterhigh #cutomized #ooakdoll #ooakmonsterhigh #ooakwigs #ooakdollrepaint #faceup #ooakmonsterandangel #lovedolls #loveprince #moding #epoxyresin #epoxyscupt #modifications #beautiful #DCdolls #Marveldolls #guardiansofthegalaxy #Galaxy

[theamazingpoppingeyes]

Doris Salcedo at the Pérez Art Museum Miami #dorissalcedo #salcedo #art #artist #contemporaryart #installation #sculpture #wallsculpture #atrabiliarios #worn #woman #shoes #drywall #paint #wood #animalfiber #surgical #thread #social #injustice #violence #female #victims #identification #missing #poetic #emotional #history #perezartmuseum #pamm @pamm

[pashminastudio]

Happy Valentine's Day from cashmere goats . These are the tough animals where you get all the love and warm behind your cashmere products. . . . . . . #happyvalentinesday #happyvalentines #cashmeregoat #cashmere #slowfashion #cold #february #february14 #sustainablefashion #pashmina #love #nepal #mongolia #kashmir #himalaya #textile #animalfiber #fashionrevolution #whomadeyourclothes #whomadeyourfiber #goat2fashion (at Kathmandu, Nepal) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt37C5oAvTd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ox995cbtw5pm

[aprilcornwall]

Just blocked a guy who started following me who was an avid deer hunter and posted disgusting pictures of him looking happy after shooting a beautiful stag. Disgusting. #banhuntingforsport #banhunting #againsthunting so I thought I'd put a little bit about my company and the things that are important to me- (I will usually block anyone that promotes violence, hate speech, sexism, animal cruelty etc its not about how many followers its about the right kind if followers!) #abitaboutme #myshop #ethicalbusiness #crueltyfreebrushes Buying brushed that do not contain #animalfibers is very important to me- just google #howtheymakemakeupbrushes and you will see why I am #againstanimaltesting as much as I can be but many fx products do not have #crueltyfree alternatives unfortunately :'( #recycling #upcycle I hate waste in all forms and will always try to recycle and #reuse as much as I can #buylocal #buyglobal #fairtrade #vegan #vegetarian

[thatveganwhiterose]

While veganism itself can be hard in all walks of life, I can find it most challenging within cosplay and the cosplay community. While there are tons of aspects that I love about costuming, there are many I don't. It's hard to watch so many other disregard the materials they use to make costumes, like fur, leather, feathers and animal tested cosmetics (among others). The putrid smell of food trucks pumping the air with nauseating fumes of dead animals when I walk to the con from the parking lot. And the worst: other con-goers or cosplayers who not only blind themselves to these horrors but avidly mock or ridicule these very important issues. I keep a distance from the community, as much as I enjoy cosplay and for all of the wonderful people I have met. I still feel like that bullied, beaten up kid standing up for the rights of the ignored. #vegan #govegan #veganism #animalrights #costuming #cosplay #cosplaycommunity #leather #fur #feathers #wool #makeup #cosmetics #animals #animalfibers #thatvegancosplayer #cosplaygirl

[jill-knits]

Yarn Fiber Processing: The Basics https://www.jillwolcottknits.com/yarn-fiber-processing-basics/ Another quick look at the inputs for your yarn and how they might factor into your yarn choices for every project. Make every project the best it can be! I’ve been busy today—solving tech and other problems. #jillwolcottknits #yarn #yarnfiber #fiberprocessing #yarnaddict #knittingproject #knittinglove #knittersgonnaknit #knitwhatyoulove #naturalfibers #woolfiber #cottonfiber #animalfiber #flax

[knitlikegranny]

One of the softest animal fibers on the market. I share some interesting facts about bison yarn in my guide. https://knitlikegranny.com/bison-yarn/ #bisonyarn #animalfibers #yarns #luxuryyarns — view on Instagram https://scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.2885-15/312495109_823058362276514_6468642170940696995_n.jpg?_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8ae9d6&_nc_ohc=4dVNYpBL4ykAX9BEhKF&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&oh=00_AT_A-o_S0TB0hZFbWJ6MqQ5dSk1gWem0LySVhMSpMn8DZQ&oe=6357F783

[luckyfibers-blog]

Why I Go to SAFF

If you’re a stitcher situated anywhere near Western North Carolina, you’ve probably heard of the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, or  SAFF, and if you’re anything like me, you wish it would just hurry up and get here already (October 30-November 1, 2015).

Even if you’re not a yarn enthusiast, but have found yourself motoring through Asheville, chances are you’ve seen the billboards advertising the annual event along with Friends & Fiberworks on I-26 and I-40.

It’s kind of a big deal, and this year, it’s going to be even bigger.

Event insiders say they’re excited to offer an extended list of vendors, classes, and shows in 2015. They’re eager to spread the news about expanded parking. They’re happy to say that this year, there will be food trucks and more snacking options than ever before at the three-day extravaganza.

In addition to the SAFF pages on the web and Facebook, there are plenty of websites and pamphlets and brochures and blogs that will tell you why you should go to SAFF this year, especially now that the festival will span the entire fairgrounds at the WNC Ag Center instead of just the McGough Arena.

But I’m here to share the top five reasons that I go to SAFF each year.

1. Yarn. Duh. Blog-post over.

Even though I work at an enormous, yarn-stuffed shop that feels like the enchanted nexus of the fiber universe, SAFF presents a showcase of every yarn and stitch tradition and trend from coast-to-coast and border-to-border in a way that no single yarn shop ever could in one place at one time.

The sales arena at SAFF is like a massive, mythical, living, breathing, traveling yarn stash, and since everything there has a price, it’s the perfect excuse for an annual yarn-glut. It’s yarn porn of Larry Flynt proportions.

Browsing the booths always introduces me to gorgeous hand-spun/indie-dyed skeins, as well as commercial yarns, that I have never seen, touched, or imagined before.

It was at SAFF that I purchased my first bundle of local alpaca, and it was at SAFF that I fondled my first skeins of bison and yak yarns. To non-yarnies, these might not seem like monumental moments, but I think of them as my own personal moon-landings. I could spend the rest of the day naming other knitters who have reached their own milestones by way of SAFF, so I know I’m not alone out here.

2. Quintessence

I first moved to Asheville over twelve years ago, and while the longevity of my stay earns me a measured amount of respect among the native-born locals, it inspires awe, envy, and general mountain cred in the crowd of new arrivals (especially when they find out that I lived just off of Haywood Road when there were still more hookers than hipsters over there). Nevertheless, people still consistently ask me with unbridled incredulity: “What made you move here from New York City?”

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or in New York City), let me tell you a little secret: there is a whole entire world outside of New York City, and contrary to what our parents instilled in us from birth, we New Yorkers are welcome to test the waters out here in the Great Beyond.

The world outside of New York City is where fresh air, peace, and quiet come from; it’s where beautiful mountains and big skies live; it’s where wildlife thrives and dogs can play far away from the wheels of a taxicab; it’s where life can be lived at a livable pace and in colors other than gray and black; it’s where neighbors exchange recipes instead of nervous glances. And guess what: there’s even running water, electricity, and wi-fi on the other side of the Hudson River.

What does any of this have to do with why I go to SAFF? Well, only everything.

SAFF represents nearly everything I love about Western North Carolina: it’s a congregation of hardworking people and animals gathered to celebrate color, coziness, and creativity; a friendly marketplace of ideas, collaboration, education, and friendly competition; a hallmark of our wholesome mountain culture from folk traditions to future trends.

Our Smoky Mountain community might not be as cultured, sophisticated, or savvy as the Upper West Side, the Lower East Side, or even Sunnyside, but it’s unpretentious, unaffected, and real, and apart from a misguided few, SAFF is a perfect reflection of our ideal. Take that, Madison Avenue.

3. My Goodies

In addition to the shitload of yarn available at SAFF, there’s an abundance of tools, toys, trinkets, gadgets, notions, and other goodies that perennially tempt me.

Anything and everything needed to participate in any and every step of the way through virtually all fiber arts is on display.

So, if I decide I want to farm fiber animals, I can choose from a variety of sheep, alpacas, and goats…oh my!

Don’t laugh: while caught up in the fiber frenzy few years back, I came this close to taking home a cage of angora rabbits.

If, however, I’m feeling a bit less outdoorsy than all that (and I usually am), I can try my hand at spinning since there are wheels, drop spindles, and roving of every kind available along with all other devices and materials necessary for turning fleece and fur into yarn.

Perhaps the spirits will move me to return to my dying, weaving, or other stitchy roots. Who knows? If they do, I know I’ll be in the right place to make all of that happen.

Maybe my library shelves will feel a bit bare in a few weeks, or I will realize my copy of Cast On, Bind Off by Leslie Ann Bestor has bounded out of sight. No worries. Practically every fiber book known to humankind will be right at my fingertips.

And of course, if I want to support another stitchin’ sister (or brother) and save myself a few weeks of stitching, I can browse and buy from the selection of high-quality finished garments for sale.

Siiiiigh…what a magical place, SAFF is.

4. Inspiration

The ecstasy of such a sensory experience as SAFF–the sights, sounds, smells, colors, and textures galore–is downright intoxicating to a knit-nerd like me, but it can, of course, come with the sobering agony of budget limitations.

So, where my funds fail to satiate my yen for yarn, I absorb the sweetness of inspiration offered in every corner of the show, and yarns, patterns, apparatuses, animals, and creations are only part of it.

The sheer energy of the crowd–comprised as it is of people of all ages, genders, creeds, and crafts–is moving. People sock money away all year long just to spend at SAFF. Great journeys are planned and taken in the name of SAFF. Meaningful introductions and reunions take place at SAFF that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

Last year, my guest at SAFF–an ex-Marine and Army sniper without a single crafty proclivity to his credit–found himself swept up in the majesty of SAFF-fever and had to fight temptations to cast on and try to knit himself a pair of gloves.

Simply put, there is unmistakable magic in the air when so many fiber folks converge upon the fairgrounds, and as long as you can afford the three bucks at the gate, limitless inspiration comes at no extra charge.

5. Surprises

Was there any way to anticipate the spectacle of my first SAFF? Did I know I’d come home with a handsome handmade stetson last year? Who knows what surprises await me at this year’s SAFF spectacular?

Join us!

If you’re still not as excited as I am about SAFF 2015, I suggest you check your pulse to make sure you’re still alive. 

If you’re going, I hope to see you there!

But if you already have plans to dress as a slutty nurse, a sexy minion, or some other thing this Halloween weekend and simply can’t find a way to join in, how about following me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Ravelry to experience the joy vicariously through me?

[moadmod]

Columbus Ga. FIBER FESTIVAL #KADU #KADUCOLORGARDEN #kidsalldressedup#fiberfestival#fiberart#fiberartproject#animalfiber (at Columbus, Georgia Convention & Trade Center)

[theamazingpoppingeyes]

Doris Salcedo at the Pérez Art Museum Miami #dorissalcedo #salcedo #art #artist #contemporaryart #installation #sculpture #wallsculpture #atrabiliarios #worn #woman #shoes #drywall #paint #wood #animalfiber #surgical #thread #social #injustice #violence #female #victims #identification #missing #poetic #emotional #history #perezartmuseum #pamm @pamm

[theamazingpoppingeyes]

Doris Salcedo at the Pérez Art Museum Miami #dorissalcedo #salcedo #art #artist #contemporaryart #installation #sculpture #wallsculpture #atrabiliarios #worn #woman #shoes #drywall #paint #wood #animalfiber #surgical #thread #social #injustice #violence #female #victims #identification #missing #poetic #emotional #history #perezartmuseum #pamm @pamm