Local Cloth holds its annual fiber, fleece, yarn and fiber-art tailgate market (at the WNC Farmers Market) on Saturday, June 6.
Press release from organizers:
Fiber and textile art enthusiasts can plunge their hands into luscious locally raised alpaca, sheep or mohair fleeces; fondle yarns and products produced from them; and learn how to incorporate more local fibers into their knitting, spinning, weaving, felting or crocheting projects at Fiber Feel Day 2015, 9 am-2 pm, Saturday, June 6, at the WNC Farmers Market, 570 Brevard Road, Asheville, NC.
“People in our region are passionate about finding local food to put in their bodies. We want them to start thinking about finding local sources for what they put on their bodies — where those fibers were raised and processed, where the cloth was woven or knitted, and where the clothing they wear and home textiles they touch every day were made,” said Judi Jetson, chairman and CEO of Local Cloth.
The annual fiber tailgate market presented by Local Cloth Inc. will feature locally raised raw fleeces, spun and dyed yarn and some finished textile products for sale. Farmers will answer questions about the characteristics of the individual fibers and how they perform alone, or in blends with other fibers. Representatives from Echoview Fiber Mill in Weaverville will be on hand to help artisans create the yarns they want from the local fleeces they purchase at the market. And a few artisans will demonstrate fiber crafts like spinning, weaving, knitting and felting.
This event is designed to educate local fiber artisans and hobbyists, allow them to purchase local animal fibers in their raw state and provide local resources for turning that fleece into the roving, yarn or cloth they need. Fiber Feel Day is free and open to the public. Sponsors for Fiber Feel Day 2015 are Echoview Fiber Mill, WNC Communities and WNC Woman Magazine.
Local Cloth Inc. is a Western North Carolina-based, 501(c)3 non-profit created to grow the fiber economy in the southern Appalachian region within 100 miles of the project’s Asheville headquarters. It focuses on craft artists, fiber animal farmers and producers, small scale fiber mills and processing businesses. Its mission is to support and sustain the fiber and textile arts economy and professions in the Blue Ridge Mountain region through collaboration, education and innovation.
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