February 2023 WAFA Show Program

MEET THE TEAM

Withoutourteam,noneofthis wouldbepossible!

FounderEllen Zawada; OwnerofWoolandFiberArtsLLC

Vendor Team - Heather Campbell, Lorna Violet (Mentor Program), Jean Story, Danielle Lefor Wallace, Candice Smith

Customer Team -(anything that happens publicly in WAFA) - Erika Lindgren, Heather Campbell, Molly Richter (craft-along), MAry Dillon, Katelyn Dunn, Candice Smith, Jessica Holt Pack, Amy Olshewski Bowling

Marketing Team - Raven Reynolds (social Media) Ellen Zawada, Tedi Jansen

Inclusivity Team - Liza Q Wirtz, Alaura Pittman, TeDi Jansen, Vidya Gopalakrishna Travis, Maddy McLendon

Education TeamTeDi Jansen, Alanna Wilcox

Wool and Fiber Arts Show Program

Editor in Chief

Graphic Design

Ellen Zawada

Tedi Jansen

Vendor Schedule

Pages 4-9

Teeswater Sheep

Page 12-13

An Interview with Audra Otto

Page 18-19

Taking Your Pets for a Spin

Page 26-27

Palette of the Month

Pages 3&32

Vendor Guide

Page 34-40

AB Farm and Garden

Palette of the Month

Dunn Spunn

Photo by Kat Bierkens of Terra Mia Farm

JessieJavete Fiber Arts

Greenwood Fiberworks

Zephyr Creek Farm

's 24th 24th

FIBER FESTIVAL

Marge Sundholm Designs

Forget my Knot Fibers

Lair of The Llama

True Creations Woodturning

Sheepishly Made & MCS Livestock

Ewe2me2u

Stephinostitches

Whirlwind Ranch, Inc

Yarn By Kate

Lucky Silver Fiber Arts

Wild Hair Studio

Hidden Pastures Luxury Fiber Farm

The Spinner’s Stash

Windy Acres Fiber Mill

TLD Design Center

24th 24th

Stitched By Mama Witch

Copia Cove

Knitspin

Rusty Spur Ranch and Creations

FIBER FESTIVAL

Mulch

Z

Gritty Knits

Spinaway Farm

Cedar

Forever Growing Jubilee

Merino y Vino

Annie Morton Designs

Fiber Ops Ranch

Melissa's Yarn Barn

Susan's Fiber Shop

3L&S Farms

Create Yarnworks

25th 25th

Dunn

Exquisite E Yarns and Rovings

Wine and Wooly Design

SpinGlitz

Chadwick Sheep Company

Fresh Lotus Design

JessieJavete Fiber Arts

Sherwood

Leaf

Alpaca

Wool-E Farm

Four

Clear Sky Fiber Arts

Flannel Cake

Faith Hope Love Studio

White Fireweed Farm

Macedo's Mini Acre

Esther's Place

YarnTravel

Liongate Farm

Romney Fiber Friends @3L&S Farm's Offer some Spectacular Fleece and Color

Shepherdess, Penny Swearingen will provide warm colorful farm raise raw fleece, natural Romney roving, COLOR!! Surprise awaits as along with all the Romneys is Daisy Mae, a Teeswater whose locks just might show up in some of the color! Plus a surprise gift!

www.3lsfarms.com

TheTeeswaterSheep

by Lizette Hopkins of SpinGlitz

This long wool breed hails from Teesdale, England and named for the river Tees. Bred in northern England for about 200 years primarily for meat, the numbers dwindled making the breed rare by the 1920’s. At that time, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust put this breed on its “at risk” list. There has been a resurgence since The Teeswater Sheep Breeders’ Association was formed in 1949. The aim was to encourage and improve the breeding of Teeswater Sheep.

This amazing long wool breed is in the process of being established here in the United States and Canada and is renowned for its unique long lustrous curls and distinct facial markings. The head is of medium length with large ears and purled locks growing between the ears. Teeswater wool should be fine, long stapled with a high sheen and each lock hanging free with no tendency to felt and uniform in texture over the whole body. The Teeswater sheep is intelligent and alert, yet among the most docile of breeds. The fleece should be uniform in texture with no dark fibers. The Teeswater produces a kemp free fleece, a characteristic it passes on. The wool is soft and supple to handle. It retains its curl and luster after washing and the luster remains after spinning giving the finished product a pearly sheen.

History:

1997, Dr. Gourley imported the first Teeswater and Wensleydale semen into the United States.

1998, The First 50 percent Teeswater lambs born in the United States and the Teeswater Registry was started. They registered almost 200 sheep before 2007 when the American Teeswater Sheep Association was organized. At the beginning of 2014 over 1000 Teeswater sheep have been registered in the United States.

Photo from Susan McFarland

The Teeswater Sheep Society of North America has been developed to p support for the breed and breeders, the founding members have done the hard work and fought the battles with government red tape and starting from scratch. They state: While all North American Teeswaters have the possibility of creating a colored Teeswater. We will embrace those sheep as fortunate events and not a slight to the breed. Colored sheep have appeared in totally white flocks forever and have been given value through many of the established sheep associations, just as they are valued here. TSSNA also provides a gathering place for the breeders and fiber artists who create masterpieces with the beautiful fiber grown by these outstanding sheep!

Lakeland Majestic was the first Teeswater ram collected, and shortly after that the U.K. went through a bout of Foot and Mouth disease which halted the collection of any more rams for four years. With the restrictions finally lifted six more rams were collected over the years and have made the trip to the United States.

Currently, we are back to waiting for restrictions to clear the way for new genetics to be allowed to come in from the U.K.

The rams were bred with Wensleydale to create the Masham (pronounced Massam) as well as other hill sheep breeds. Here in the U.S.,Teeswater is being crossed with Merino and other breeds.

Statistics

Average Mature Weight: Rams: 250 - 300 lbs. Ewes: 150 - 250 lbs

Average Prolificacy: Yearling ewes - 200%, mature ewes 250%.

Birth Weight & Growth Rate: Lambs will average 10 - 13 lbs at birth with a growth rate that enables a lamb to reach 100 - 160 lbs at five months of age. Average lamb weight at eight weeks: Singles 50 - 57 lbs. Twins 40-48 lbs.

Micron Count: 30 - 35

Staple Length: 8 - 12 inches.

Yearling Fleece Weight: 10 - 15 lbs.

Photo by Zephyr Creek Farm

Zephyr Creek Farm

Saturday at 10:30 am eastern

Shaniko Wool

with Audra Otto February Vendor Interview

of Blackberry Blossom Farm

by TeDi Jansen

HOWDIDYOURBUSINESS GETSTARTED?

I got 3 Nigerian dwarf goats for my 9th birthday and fell in love with goats. After discovering fiber and learning to spin from a friend and mentor, I bought my first registered Pygora goat in 2018. Since then, through retaining babies and bringing in other registered Pygoras, my herdhasgrownto14.Mymomandsister decided to start a shetland sheep herd 2 yearsago,andboughtastarterflockof4 sweet sheep from good friends of ours. Theshetlandflocknowconsistsof9ewes and 2 rams. (That's me showing In the yellowshirt)

WHATISYOURBUSINESS'SGOAL

I want to be able to provide luxury and unique fibers to people in all situations, and with that, promote rare breeds of animals and advocate for homegrown and sustainable fiber and other goods. My goal is to provide our animals with the best of treatment and process their giftoffiberwiththeutmostcare.

TELLUSABOUTYOURANIMALS

We have Pygora goats, Shetland sheep, Nigerian Dwarf goats, chickens, horses, cats and dogs. I love all of the animals, but I have a soft spot for the goats becauseoftheirbigpersonalities.

WASTHERESOMEONEWHO INSPIREDYOUINYOURFIBERARTS JOURNEY?

My mom is vet, and when I was little, she’d often let me ride along on farm calls. One of theclinic’sfrequentclientswasafiberfarmer who raised Pygora goats and hand processed their fiber. She was, and is, very sweet and helpful- she taught me how to spin, care for Pygoras, and sold me my first Pygoragoat.SheisstillaclosefriendandI’ve learnedsomuchfromher!

WHATISYOURFAVORITEFIBER BLEND?

Myfavoriteblendoffiberis50%Pygoracloud, 50%fineshetlandwool.Ofcoursethisblendis special as it contains homegrown fiber from the animals who are like pets to us, but the fibersalsocomplementthemselvesverywell. ThesilkysoftPygoraistheperfectbalanceto thewarmandsquishyshetland.

HOWDIDYOULEARNYOUR CRAFT?

The lady whom I bought my first Pygora from taught me to spin and card batts. My mom has encouraged me all along theway,andgiftedmemanyofthetools and resources needed to shear, wash, dehair, card, dye, spin, and knit our homegrown fiber. Lastly, I’ve learned so much from this WAFA community and been inspired to step out of my comfort zoneinnumerousways

WH AL FORYOU?

I love that this community is able and willing to support one another and is genuinely happy to see others succeed. WAFA weekend is something everyone looksforwardtoandsomanyfriendships havebeenmadethroughWAFA.

ISTHEREANYTHINGELSEYOU'D LIKETOTELLUSABOUTYOUR BUSINESS?

I love to try new things and experiment with different colors, textures, etc The beautifulsceneryandnatureofsoutheast MN is the perfect inspiration for fiber projects.

www.ariboarts.com

AriBo Arts is Iowa fiber artist Erika Lindgren. She specializes in One-of-aKind batts for spinners and felters as well as unique hand dyed apparel. In addition, she makes other hand processed fiber from small US farms, spindle kits, handspun yarn, stitch markers, fiber themed jewelry, handdyed project bags, along with knitted and woven items.

LIVE Sunday at 1:00 pm eastern

Forget me Knot Farm & Fibers is a family operation run by Amy & Brian Bowling, Madeline Krawciw & Zane Hardy. We breed, show, and raise llamas. We have alpacas and angora rabbits for fiber. The fiber part of the farm started in 2020. Since then we have started to specialize in llama products, blended batts with the softest fibers I can find, and unique combinations.

LIVE Friday February 24th 6:00 pm eastern

.While you’re with us, get the fiber for the project ewe have been dreaming about, or maybe just add to your stash. Merino/Teeswater/Cotswold/BFL/Gotland

/CVM/Finn & some unique Crossbred Fleeces

Hello from Leaf Livestock Wool

Co., a lamb and wool farm, located in Northwest Illinois. We raise beautiful Natural Colored Columbia /Rambouillet sheep, Polypays, Merinos and Columbias. I would love for everyone to enjoy the finest spinning fiber and yarn that I am privileged to grow and use for creating. They physical and emotional rewards that accompany raising sustainable lovely wool go far beyond the beauty of the final product! We will have a variety of our Illinois grown wool available during the show; see you then!

Whirlwind Ranchh

Laif of the Llama

Sheepishly Made Jehovah Jireh

Mulch and More

The Spinners Stash

Fiber Ops

VENDOR GUIDE

fiber, garments, d j l

A Virginia fiber farm raising Finnsheep, laying ducks & bees.

VENDOR GUIDE

VENDOR GUIDE

Fresh Lotus

VENDOR GUIDE

Liongate Farm

Blue Faced Leicester Sheep

Where we create a great day everyday!

VENDOR GUIDE

Rusty Spur Ranch and Creations

We are purveyors of Fine Spinning Fibers and Handdyed Yarns Raising Angora Goats since 2013.

Marge Sundholm Designs

VENDOR GUIDE

Creating handmade fiber art from the fibers humanely harvested from our animals.

White Fireweed Farm

VENDOR GUIDE

Wool-E Farm

We raise Romney sheep for the beautiful wool fiber

Raising Romeldale/ CVM and Teeswater/BFL Sheep in the Thumb