By LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent GREENCASTLE, Ind. — For thousands of natural fiber enthusiasts across Indiana and the Midwest, there’s something special about the second Saturday of April. That’s when they descend upon the small Indiana town of Greencastle to attend the Fiber Event, a huge annual showcase of everything from angora rabbits and sheep shearing, to raw wool fleeces and exquisite alpaca ponchos.
“The Fiber Event is one of the finest and biggest shows in Indiana and it is very well received by the public,” said Lisa Gilman, a full-time fiber farmer primarily focusing on alpacas. “It’s such a mainstay for Indiana. The vendors are exceptional and there’s a wonderful range of vendors.”
Organizers estimated that some 4,000-5,000 visitors would browse the 100-plus vendor booths at Putnam County Fairgrounds during the two-day show. Not bad – for an event that started in somebody’s backyard in the mid-1990s.
“There’s a huge interest in natural fibers right now. We’ve been doing this for 12 years and it’s been growing each year,” said Mary Ann Cripe, who raises Shetland sheep and is a member of the Fiber Event Board.
Originally known as the Fleece Fair, the Fiber Event started as a way for small farmers to get together and market their goods. It grew by word of mouth and today it boasts hobbyists as well as several larger vendors who make a living by traveling to shows all over the country.
With 40 sheep, each producing an average of 3.5-4 pounds of fiber per year, Cripe and her husband, Bernie, fall into the small farmer category and only have limited quantities to sell.
“You’re not going to get rich at this,” said Bernie, “so you’ve got to enjoy it to do it.”
Wool – whether raw, washed, dyed, spun into yarn or crafted into hats, gloves, sweaters, rug hookings and more – was prevalent at the show, closely followed by alpaca fiber. Alpacas have grown in popularity in the United States the past few years, but in the past more farmers have been interested in raising breeding stock than in producing high-quality fiber.
That’s beginning to change, according to Gilman, who runs Frontier Fiber Farm in Atwood, Ind. On the fiber production side, there’s plenty of room to grow.
“In order to have a viable cottage industry, we have to have the quantity to produce consistent quality and colors,” she said. “The more fiber there is, the more ways we’ll have to present it to the public.”
Apparel made from alpaca fiber may have seeped into the American mainstream, but knits made by buffalo fiber are harder to come by. “There’s hardly anyone doing it,” said Bonnie Demoss of White Pigeon, Mich., about her handspun buffalo crafts.
Buffalo shed their coats once a year, during calving season in the spring, and the soft down is collected from the animals’ pastures.
Demoss buys the fiber raw, washes it, dyes it and spins it. She then blends some with other fibers, such as alpaca, mohair, silk and wool, before turning it into colorful shawls, sweaters and other garments.
“The garments are very lightweight for their size and they are extremely warm. Buffalo fiber also sheds water and dries fast. It’s amazing,” she said. “It’s the only native American fiber. We’d all be wearing it if we hadn’t killed them all (the buffalo).”
A retired hairdresser, Demoss now spends her time traveling to fiber shows across Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Aside from selling buffalo yarn and crafts, she is on a mission to educate people about the history of the animal and the little-known qualities of the fiber.
“Just bringing it before the public is an incredible thing,” she said. “Most people have not felt it before or experienced its softness. It’s not available to regular Americans, so for me, coming (to the Fiber Event) is mainly an educational thing.
Hopefully more people will use it.”
This farm news was published in the April 16, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
