Press release:
Fiber craft enthusiasts can go straight to the source to buy fleeces and processed fibers from the region’s local sheep, goat and alpaca farmers at Local Cloth’s Fiber Feel Day 2017, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, June 3, at the WNC Farmer’s Market. Then they can attend special workshops at Local Cloth’s Dye Studio and Classroom June 6, 7 and 8 to learn ways to use that fiber.
The fifth annual Fiber Feel Day, presented by Local Cloth Inc. and sponsored in part by WNC Communities, will be in the NC Farmers Only Shed (Shed One) at the Farmer’s Market, 570 Brevard Road in Asheville. The objective of the fiber tailgate market is to support the economic sustainability of the region’s textile farmers by connecting local producers and consumers. Admission is free.
In addition to getting a feel for fleeces, shoppers will find processed fiber, yarn, dyestuffs, finished goods and other farm products to supply their fiber art passions. Farmers and makers will answer questions and offer guidance, while demonstrations of fiber processing and textile art techniques are intended to inspire knitters, spinners, felt makers and weavers to incorporate local fiber into their work.
To keep that encouragement going, Local Cloth is holding two workshops the following week at its dye studio and classroom inside The Refinery Creator Space, 207 S. Coxe, on Asheville’s South Slope.
Fear Not the Dyepot!, taught by Judi Jetson on June 6 from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m., will teach participants how to handpaint their own roving with acid dyes, using a steamer to set the color. On June 7 and 8, from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., Vicki Bennett will teach The New Landscape of Three-Dimensional Felt, in which participants will learn to create felt vessels and sculptures with portals, pathways and pop-ups.
Learn more about Fiber Feel Day and register for workshops at localcloth.org.
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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