fashion

Woolspiration: Miss Wool of America

June 12, 2015

It’s been far too long since I’ve posted a Woolspiration video, but the good news is that I’ve been stock piling them so these posts which have been a favorite in the past, will now be more regular.

Miss Wool of America…did you know this even existed?! Well it did from 1952-1972. How amazing would it be if something like this existed today. It’s absence is another sign of the American wool industry’s decline and production moving overseas. While I’m really not a fan of beauty pageants per se, I think the fact that the vibrancy of the wool industry at one point demanded one is pretty fantastic.

If there were a “Miss Wool” of America today, what and who would she be? A farmer? A designer? A knitter? A model? A shepherdess?

There is such a strong pulse in the fiber community and industry right now, I can feel a revival coming on. It may be a long and arduous process, but I do believe one day we will see the wool industry grow again in America and although it will most likely be far different than it was before, how awesome is it that we get to be a part of this movement.

So back to the video…

The Miss Wool of America Pageant took place annually from 1952-1972 in San Angelo to celebrate its strong sheep and wool industry — San Angelo’s Producers’ Livestock Auction is the nation’s largest for sheep and lambs, and the city was once known as the Inland Wool Capital of the World. Sponsored by the National Wool Growers Association, the American Sheep Producers Council, and the Wool Bureau, Inc., the highlight of the national pageant, which brought together the Miss Wools of each state for a competition of poise and beauty, was the modeling of wool fashions for the upcoming season. The winner represented the wool industry nationally for the following year, touring the country in all the latest woolen fashions. -Texas Archive

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Knitting Making Podcast Woolful Podcast

Episode 7: Caroline Kaufman & Michele Wang – Knitting in fashion, color, working for yourself and gauge and tension

January 13, 2015

I’m very excited to share the seventh episode of the Woolful podcast. Today we get to meet two exciting and colorful fiber folk that come from different places within the fiber industry, but both hail from New York, Caroline Kaufman and Michele Wang.

Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Fancy Tiger Crafts, a beautiful yarn shop based out of Denver, Colorado, who recently launched their online shop, fancytigercrafts.com. They have an amazing selection of fabrics and yarns, including their own Heirloom Romney Yarn, which is grown, milled and dyed here in the US. Make sure to visit Fancy Tiger Crafts in person when in Denver and online at fancytigercrafts.com.

Fiber folk 1: Caroline is a up and coming fashion designer, color enthusiast and fiber junky. You can find her at carolinerosekaufman.com and on Instagram @crosekauf.

Man on the street: For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked a handful of fiber enthusiasts to answer the following question, “Describe your fiber comfort zone?” We had some amazing replies from Andrea @dreareneeknits, Nikki @woolenviolet, Sonja @atreebytheriver, Andi My Sister’s Knitter, Jennifer @jaykay_knits, Maria @ninja.chickens, Rhea @hedgerowcottage

Fiber folk 2: Our next guest is someone I’ve come to admire as both a designer and spinner, but even more so as an entrepreneurial go getter. Michele is an incredible knitwear designer as well as the creator of Gauge + Tension, a shop in Brooklyn featuring hard to find yarns. You can find her at mishi2x.com and on Instagram @mishi2x.

January 24th and 25th, Gauge + Tension is hosting their final pop-up shop at it’s Meserole Avenue location, featuring two special events with the Plucky Knitter and Miss Babs fibers and yarns. Beginning in February, you’ll find Gauge + Tension at it’s new home, a shared location with Brooklyn Craft Company in Greenpoint Brooklyn.

Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway is… @liseydear! Congratulations, you’ve one the Trewlawney Mitt Project Kit.

The giveaway this week is a special one, our second guest Michele’s Paffuto hat pattern along with one skein of Quince and Company’s Puffin. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below on this blog post.

Next week Michele has a brand new pattern coming out designed in Woolfolk’s Far yarn. A long cardigan, featuring pockets, deep ribbing and a stockinette stitch pattern. A great selfish knit for deep Winter. Michele is offering a special Ravelry coupon to you fiber fans. Starting next week and available through February 15th, use the code “woolful15” for 10% off of this beautiful new pattern.

Music by Jónsi.

Transcription coming shortly!

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Natural Living

Organic in 2014

April 10, 2014

A few months ago I decided I would try something new in 2014 and only buy organic clothing for myself. My rule was, it had to be made of at least 50% organic materials. Over the past several years we’ve slowly made the transition to buy organic when and wherever possible. From our food, to Coltrane’s clothing, to essentials oils and so on. I had suspicions that sticking to only organic clothing would be a challenge, but I didn’t really grasp the difficulty until I got started. If I could wear yoga pants and t-shirts all day, it would be far easier. However, I work full time in a fashion conscious (though casual) industry and some standards must be met. I’ll spare you the details of my endless hours scouring online while nursing my little guy to sleep, but I will share the few gems I’ve discovered and will continue to do so as I come across them.

Monkee Genes -I bought a couple pairs and LOVE them. The organic cotton sateen is really amazing.

Earth Kind Originals (EKO) -I bought a couple dresses and really love the cuts. The work well with a pair of black leggings and boots.

Eileen Fisher -I’ve found many things I love here. Great organic pieces that go beyond the jersey knit. A little pricey, but haven’t found a comparable store when it comes to the styles and being organic.

Chinti and Parker -Their organic selection goes in waves, but often they have some very nice loose cotton tees and tanks. Perfect with a pair of boyfriend jeans, oxfords and hand knit sweater.