Sponsor: Old Homestead Alpacas is a beautiful homestead built in the 1870’s, located in Walla Walla Washington and now owned and operated by Elaine Vandiver and her husband. They’re creating a wonderful and welcoming place, with visions to live off the land and share their goods with their local community and beyond, including their gorgeous alpaca fiber and yarn. But their dreams go much deeper, and their story even deeper still. Elaine is an Iraq War vet and her husband a soldier in the National Guard, and as members of the Farmer Veterans Coalition, they are hopeful that this year they will be able to partner with their local VA hospital to start a program to bring returning combat vets suffering from PTSD and other service related trauma to the farm, sharing with them the incredible opportunity and purpose a career in farming can bring…something they themselves have found to be positively life changing. I encourage you to visit Old Homestead Alpacas on Facebook at Facebook.com/oldhomesteadalpacas, on Instagram @oldhomesteadalpacas and their lovely shop full of alpaca goodness at etsy.com/shop/oldhomesteadalpacas
Fiber folk: Max Bainbridge and Abigail Booth have built a life and business together in East London. Max is a woodworker and Abigail a natural dyer and quilter, and despite their individual practices seeming very different – their roots in traditional craft and the natural environment make them a perfect combo. It’s been a pleasure to follow their journey this past year as they’ve built their business and explored the different facets of making. You can find them at forest-and-found.com and on Instagram @forestandfound. And with that, here’s Max and Abigail…
Sponsor: 6 Bits Storybooks, is a digital quarterly publication for knitters who love to immerse themselves deeply in their knitting experience…from the mouths of story tellers: knitters, photographers, writers, designers, friends & nature. These storybooks incorporate designs, imagery, location, words, learning and tools to create an deeply engaging experience, taking readers on a journey. 6 Bits was created by two incredibly passionate and inspiring folks within this community, Melissa and Melody, and this week they’re releasing their second issue Dwell, a beautiful digital editorial magazine, featuring articles from international knitters and dyers, where you hear the ‘whole’ story behind the designs and modeled in beautiful environment tied to the issues theme. So make sure to visit 6 Bits Storybooks at 6bitsstorybooks.com to subscribe to this stunning new publication and experience the newest issue Dwell and follow along on Instagram @6.bits.storybooks.
Giveaway: The winner of last week’s giveaway is, Erica Garris. You’ve won a skein of the beautiful Pamiri yarn from Kismet Fiber Works. Congratulations!
This week’s giveaway is sponsored by Old Homestead Alpacas and they’re giving away a skein of their small farm Suri Alpaca yarn, homegrown in Walla Walla Washington. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on today’s episode’s blog post at woolful.com.
Music by Jónsi.