Susan Cook, Blue Ribbon Accoyo Alpacas

1. What is your website? and email?
www.marylandalpacas.com
info@marylandalpacas.com

3. Where are you located?
Gaithersburg, Maryland

4. What do you make?
Alpaca yarn and rovings (all fiber is from my alpacas, but other than my raw, skirted fiber, the yarn and rovings are mill processed)



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
Farming is a full time job, but I also work part time at a church.

6. How did you get into making stuff?
Alpacas are wonderful animals that provide a warm and extremely soft fiber, so it was only natural to take the fiber from the yearly shearings and process it into beautiful yarn and rovings for others to enjoy.

7. How long have you been doing this?
I’ve been in the alpaca breeding business for 10 years, and began selling yarn and rovings about 5 years ago.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in the alpacas. They have such a calm demeanor that each day spent working with them is like meditating.

Dalis Davidson, Dancing Leaf Farm

1. What is your website?
www.dancingleaffarm.com
etsy: dancingleaffarm
e-mail: dalis@dancingleaffarm.com

2. Your ravelry.com username?
dancingleaf

3. Where are you located?
Barnesville, Md

4. What do you make?
I hand dye yarn and roving, spin wool from my sheep, make fused glass buttons and jewelry, felt paintings and felt jewelry, stitch markers, knitting patterns.



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
Yes

7. How long have you been doing this?
22 years

8. Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in my gardens, in the landscape around me as I live on a farm surrounded by fields with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background, and in the flora and fauna here on my farm and on my travels afar.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
I'm part of a cottage studio tour 3 times a year (countrysideartisans.com). I have two golden retrievers that greet the customers, escorting them to the studio. They wear bright red handkerchiefs and signs that read, "Need Yarn?" and "Need Jewelry?".

Melissa Yoder Ricks, Wild Hare Fiber Studio LLC

1. What is your website? and email?
www.wildhare.etsy.com and www.wildharefiber.com
blog: www.wildharedaily.wordpress.com
email: info@wildharefiber.com

2. Your Ravelry.com username?
wildharefiber

3. Where are you located?
Front Royal, Virginia (off I-66 about an hour west of DC)

4. What do you make?
I'm a knitter and handspinner who also dyes, crochets, felts, and experiments with fiber. My product line includes handspun and hand-dyed yarns and roving as well as finished knitted and crocheted items, felted soap, handmade knitting needles, fiber-themed badges and magnets. My pattern for the "Arabesque Tote Bag" was published in the Winter 2008 issue of Knitter's magazine. I'm also a distributor for both Nancy's Knit Knacks and Spinolution as well as two local fiber farmers and will have their products at my booth as well.



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
Very close to full time, and moving more and more in that direction. I'm also a work-from-home Realtor.

6. How did you get into making stuff?
I was making things as a preschooler, thanks to the very patient and creative great-grandmother who kept me while my mother worked. It's part of me and who I am. I have a BA in Fine Art/Design and also paint, but fiber arts are my first love and abiding passion.

7. How long have you been doing this?
I've been creating things with yarn, needles and fiber since I was three years old. However, my business was officially established in 2008.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
The colors and shapes of nature are most inspirational, though I also have learned a lot about color by studying fine art and painting.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
I've always wanted to create, and to make my living pursuing the things I love to do, but it has only been in recent years, after a painful divorce, that I've realized that I CAN follow my dreams, rather than the dreams and expectations that others have for me. I approach my fiber business with great enthusiasm and love, and a desire to share with others the peace and joy that these creative pursuits bring me.



At my booth I plan to be assisted by Debbie White of Forevermore Farm, whose wool rovings I distribute and use in much of my dyeing.

Cosette Cornelius-Bates, Cosymakes

1. What is your website?
blog: http://cosymakes.com
etsy shops: cosyknitsliterally.etsy.com and cosymakes.etsy.com

2. Your Ravelry.com username?
cosymakes

3. Where are you located?
pittsburgh, pa

4. What do you make?
handspun yarn, roving, knit goods (which i will not be bringing to the yarn party), patterns.



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
i do! i teach, knit, dye, spin, recycle sweaters, and design patterns full time.

6. How did you get into making stuff?
i had just gotten into knitting when my husband and i moved to vancouver, bc. the wool shop that i liked best and that was nearest my house was literally a wool shop. they had a small amount of yarn, a lot of processed roving for spinners, and other forms of wool for quilters etc. the front of the shop was tiny and there were spinning wheels everywhere. i noticed they had spinning lessons so my friends sarah and i signed up, next thing you knew we also signed up for dyeing, i found 2 spinning wheels at a thrift store and voila! a fiber artist in the making.

7. How long have you been doing this?
knitting 6 years. spinning and dyeing 3.5 years. full time? i just started being full full time in january 2009. yikes!

8. Where do you find inspiration?
from everything. experiences, memories, creation, other people...

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
my first full size adult sweater was knit for a movie - to be worn by the actor viggo mortensen

Sue Ann Wilms, Brookmere Alpacas

1. What is your website?
www.brookmere.com

3. Where are you located?
Woodsboro, MD

4. What do you make?
rovings, fleeces, yarn, knitted items.



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
yes, mostly

6. How did you get into making stuff?
Brookmere has had creative crafty talents for many years. Some for fun, some for necessity, enjoys staying busy and productive!

7. How long have you been doing this?
over 10 years.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere!



Brookmere Alpacas will be sharing a booth with Cedar Wool Farm.

Leslie Selby, Cedar Wool Farm

1. What is your website?
cedarwool.googlepages.com

2. Your ravelry.com username?
willowwinds

3. Where are you located?
Taneytown, MD

4. What do you make?
fleeces, batts, handspun yarns



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
yes, mostly

6. How did you get into making stuff?
grew up raising sheep. Natural progression, from meat breed to fiber breeds, and voila!

7. How long have you been doing this?
way over 10 years

8. Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere!

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
Oh golly, I'm sure there are funny stories. I can't think of any at the moment. What I can say is tat I'm happy and blessed to be doing the things I love and that bring me so much joy!



Cedar Wool Farm will be sharing a booth with Brookmere Alpacas

Linda Minnick, Mid Valley Fibers

1. What is your website?
www.midvalleyfibers.com

2. Your Ravelry.com username?
linspins

3. Where are you located?
Middletown, Maryland

4. What do you make?
handspun yarns with wool, alpaca and blends; handknit Christmas Stockings, hats, lace shawls and scarves



7. How long have you been doing this?
I have been knitting since I was 9 (a very long time) and spinning for the last 20 years.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
I love working with fiber. My newest passion is alpaca and I've spent alot of time (and money) acquiring information about the animals and their fiber and have quite a number of fleeces. Each fleece is a learning experience. I love taking the raw fleece to finished yarn and then creating a handknit item -- from their back to mine (or yours). After a hiatus of several years I have begun to dye again and I'm quite excited about adding bright colors to the array of natural colors of the alpaca. Blending batts and creating one of kind alpaca yarns is becoming quite a passion. I also have yarn created from rovings out of the dyepots of other fiber artists.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
I donate a portion of the proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My fiber career took on new meaning 6 years ago when my first grandchild, Noah, was diagnosed with CF. I quit my outside jobs to become his daytime caretaker and found that knitting while he was napping was a natural mix. Having so much completed, I decided to create a company to offer these items to others and give back to CF research at the same time. Now that Noah is in school, I have the time and opportunity to drag out the dyepots once again and create the colorways that have been swimming around my noggin for quite a while. Every turn of the carder, treadle of the spinning wheel and stitch off the needles is done with Noah in mind. His sister Rachel is a carrier of the CF gene, but thankfully doesn't have the disease. Offering my yarns and knits gives me the opportunity to tell everyone about CF and how important your dollars are to research for a cure.

Lisa Westra, Feederbrook Farm

1. What is your website? and email?
www.feederbrook.com
sheepfarming@feederbrook.com

2. Your Ravelry.com username?
Feederbrook

3. Where are you located?
Feederbrook Farm is in Freeland, Maryland, 3miles from Pa line

4. What do you make?
Feederbrook Farm offers hand spun/ hand dyed Shetland yarn (Plyed and singles) with silk alpaca and llama blends, hand crafted wooden drop spindles, hand dyed and hand painted roving, sheep skins, finished goods (large triangular shawls, baby and toddler hats, ponchos and mittens)

5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
YES From my own animals (Shetland sheep, llamas and goats)

6. How did you get into making stuff?
Farm tenants up and left their cats and sheep and we did not want to sell them so we just kept taking care of the sheep year after year and we had all of their fleeces and didn’t have the heart to through it away so my mom got me a spinning wheel for Christmas and that is where the trouble began.

7. How long have you been doing this?
11 years raising sheep and spinning, 7 knitting, and 3 weaving

8. Where do you find inspiration?
From the animals on the farm ( sheep llamas and peacocks), in the peace of the morning feeding rounds and the seasons as they pass. ( sorry to sound so sappy)

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
Feederbrook Farm is focusing on educational programs and field day opportunities for individuals and schools alike. We aim to educate people on the importance of fiber and it’s origins. We offer classes in animal husbandry, spinning, hand painting, knitting and weaving. This year we are excited to offer opportunities to learn about natural dyes and gardening as we are going to grow plants, harvest them and use them to dye fiber using different mordants. In addition this is our first year for the Feederbrook Farm Fiber Project. A year long educational seminar that takes you from the sheep to the finished product. Participants get to choose a sheep from the flock that is their critter for the year. Feederbrook Farm is offering new/unique approaches to fiber and hands on educational opportunities.



Feederbrook Farm and Potosi Farm will be sharing a booth.

Kathy Davidson, Potosi Sheep Farm

1. What is your website? and email?
www.potosisheepfarm.com

2. Your ravelry.com username? (If you are on Ravelry)
Potosti Sheep Farm is still on the waiting list.

3. Where are you located?
Potosti Sheep Farm is in Glen Rock, PA, 7 miles from MD line

4. What do you make?
Potosti Sheep Farm makes hand dyed and hand painted BFL yarn and hand spun natural colored Shetland yarn, hand dyed roving, sheep skins, finished goods ( hats, lap blankets) and fleeces.

5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
YES From my own BFL and Shetland sheep

6. How did you get into making stuff?
23 years ago I learned to spin. started with 3 sheep just for spinning fleeces and the rest is history. I think I have had almost every breed...mostly given to me. The BFl are my true love. Sheep are an addiction. I have judged at PA farm show and NYS Wool Festival sheep to shawl competitions. volunteer for 4H shows every year and love to work with 4H kids.

7. How long have you been doing this?
20+ years

8. Where do you find inspiration?
On the farm and from the wonderful sheep I care for.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
Feederbrook Farm and Potosi Farm are two farms that are both one women operations that have partnered up to make a coop. We work together on a number of different levels ( Fiber, Sales, Breeding stock and education).

Jennifer Heverly, Spirit Trail Fiberworks

1. What is your website?
website: www.spirit-trail.net
email: info@spirit-trail.net

2. Your Ravelry.com username?
SpiritTrail

3. Where are you located?
Located just outside of Sperryville, VA, near the Shenandoah National Park, about 1-1/2 hours southwest of Washington, DC.

4. What do you make?
I make lots of different handpainted yarns, handpainted combed top in a variety of fiber blends, and natural and dyed roving from rare and endangered sheep breeds from around the world.



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
I work pretty much full-time (as much as possible along with raising our 11 and 9 year olds and doing some accounting work for my husband's business).

6. How did you get into making stuff?
I've been knitting since I was 15 years old, and started spinning about 6 years ago. In college I majored in ceramics and fine arts for a while (before finally graduating with a degree in English Literature with a Concentration in the Romantic Poets ... very practical!) and had been wanting for a long time to do something more creative as a profession, rather than the commercial real estate I had been doing for over 10 years. I took several dye workshops in late 2002, and it was like a lightbulb (or an explosion) went off in my head: this was what I knew I wanted to do. And so I did. In the process of becoming a spinning addict, I started researching different types of fiber and found so many different sheep breeds, many rare or significantly endangered, that I decided to make rare and endangered breeds the focus of the fiber portion of my business. I especially love getting a hold of fleece from an endangered breed that I've had a hard time finding ... most recently, I was able to get some Arapawa from New Zealand, and Hog Island from here in Virginia. Very cool!

7. How long have you been doing this?
I started Spirit Trail Fiberworks in early 2003.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration really is everywhere! The colors of the natural world (and I'm lucky to live where I do, right near the Shenandoah National Park, in a very beautiful and rural part of Virginia) can be really inspiring. Sometimes just thinking of an image or an emotion while I'm dyeing will inspire new or different color combinations. Sometimes I just let the colors flow in a very organic and stream-of-consciousness sort of way, which is alot of fun, too. And sometimes my own mood will inspire a color combination. I also get a whole lot of inspiration from the farmers around the world who raise rare and endangered breed sheep. It is such a labor of love, and hard not to be inspired by their love and dedication to saving these breeds from extinction.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
Words of wisdom: I think Julia Child said it best: "Find something you're passionate about, and keep tremendously interested in it." Doing something which feeds your soul is so important, even if it's only part time, evenings or weekends. Finding new and different fibers, experimenting with color and texture, never cease to interest and excite me.




Jennifer was with us in 2008 too. You can read her bio here!

Help us get the word out!

We're having a contest to help promote the event. Prizes include this lovely handspun yarn, a set of Ravelry-themed stitchmarkers, and perhaps a few other goodies to be announced later.



Here's what you need to do to enter:

1. Write a post about the Homespun Yarn Party on your blog between now and March 14 at 12 PM EST.
2. Leave a comment here (on the HYP blog) with a link to your blog entry, so we know you've posted. Be sure to give us a way to contact you if you win!
3. At the event, we will draw at least two winners from among the contest entrants.

You don't need to attend to win, so even people who can't make it to the party can have fun with us!

While you're at it, if you’d like to link to the Yarn Party blog on your blog sidebar, here are some buttons you can use (right click on the image and click “save image as” to save it to your computer and then upload it to your own server space).



Please spread the word by conventional means as well - tell your friends about the event, announce it at your SnB or guild meeting, hang a poster at your school or community center, ask your LYS to request postcards.


3/16/09 UPDATE: The winners are Andrea of Spinster Yarns and Fibers, and Nora of Atomic Knit Forum! We'll be in touch this week to get you your prizes.

Win Win Win!

We've got some very cool prizes lined up for the Yarn Party this year.

Each of our vendors will be contributing something to the door prizes, and we'll be drawing new winners every 30 minutes throughout the event. We also have wonderful prize donations from several of our sponsors, including Unicorn Fibre Wash, learn to knit and crochet kits from Knitters and Crocheters Care, and much more!

The first 100 attendees will receive a goody bag of random surprises, and everyone who comes will be entered in to the door prize drawings. You do need to be present when your name is called, so plan to spend the day with us.

Can't make it to the event but still want to win something? Or just want an extra chance? Help us spread the word with our blog contest. Watch this space for details!

Pocket Meadow Farm

1. What is your website and email?
The website is http://pocketmeadowfarm.net, Email is pocketmeadowfarm@gmail.com, My blog is at http://pocketmeadowfarm.blogspot.com

2. Your Ravelry.com username?
pocketmeadowfarm

3. Where are you located?
Pocket Meadow Farm also has a physical shop, in historic Berkeley Springs, WV. 116 Peter Yost Road Berkeley Springs, WV 25411

4. What do you make?
hand dyed yarns, fibers, batts. Handspun yarn. Dyed and natural locks and fleece from my fiber flock of heritage/rare breed Leicester Longwool sheep. The shop also stocks lots of commercial roving, yarns, fibers and tools.



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
I do!

6. How did you get into making stuff?
I've knit for over 40 years, and have always been passionate about textiles in general.

7. How long have you been doing this?
The shop and farm have been going for 2 years.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
The seasons.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
Sheep and goats are a delight to be around. They have their own personalities, just like your other pets.

Knitters and Crocheters Care

We are pleased to have Knitters & Crocheters Care as our charity partner for this year's Homespun Yarn Party! They will be collecting knitted and crocheted items and will lead a special blanket project at the event (watch for details).

Here is a bit more about the organization, and their contact information:

Knitters & Crocheters Care is a charitable organization started by Claire Wudowsky and Michelle Strange. It is our intention to act as a clearinghouse for everything from yarn to finished items and to bring together DC, VA and MD crafters and charities. We currently have four charity events scheduled each month and we would love to add more. If you would like to start one - we will help by providing supplies and by promoting your event on our blog and on Ravelry.

Knitters And Crocheters Care
PO Box 3036
Merrifield, VA 22116

knitters-and-crocheters-care.blogspot.com

knitters and crocheters care on Ravelry
ClaireLeah@yahoo.com
ClaireLeah on Ravelry, Facebook and Twitter.

Carissa Englert, Treadle to the Metal

1. What is your website?
www.treadletothemetal.etsy.com

2. Your Ravelry.com username?
TreadletoMetal

3. Where are you located?
Washington, DC

4. What do you make?
Handspun yarn and handknitted items



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
No, not full-time. Only on nights and weekends. For now...

6. How did you get into making stuff?
Learned how to spin 3.5 years ago and it became an instant addiction. Then when I learned how to spin, I knew it was all I wanted to do!

7. How long have you been doing this?
About three and a half years now.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
Mostly in the need to create things. To create beautiful things. And I am also inspired by other fiber artists and the talent and creativity that each of us has.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
Nothing much. Other than people are constantly amazed at the sheer mass of yarn and fiber that I have managed to accumulate in just the 3 years that I have been obsessed with my hobby! :-)



Treadle to the Metal will be sharing space with Loop!

Steph Gorin, Loop

1. What is your website?
www.loop.etsy.com

2. Your Ravelry username?
loop

3. Where are you located?
Riverdale Park, MD

4. What do you make?
I specialize in one-of-a-kind batts for art yarn spinners called "Spontaneous Spinning Batts". I also make handspun yarn.



5. Do you make fiber/yarn/etc. full-time?
Yes! :)

6. How did you get into making stuff?
I've always been "creative" but it manifested itself in my life through dance and creative writing as a kid and young adult. I'd always envied artists who made something tangible, but never seemed to find my medium. Years later, my mother-in-law tried to teach me how to knit and instead of being a good student of knitting I became obsessed with yarn. I googled spinning lessons in my area and found my spinning teacher and mentor.

7. How long have you been doing this?
I've been selling for almost three years, but started getting into spinning and carding almost four years ago.

8. Where do you find inspiration?
Making batts is like developing photos in a darkroom but it's better. As I card the different colors onto the drum, the batt appears to me slowly, like a photograph. But the real hook for me with batts is three-dimensional. I love texture and am fascinated with the variety of textures found in different animal and plant fibers. Making batts is an endless experiment in combining color and texture. I'm inspired by each discovery.

9. Any funny stories, words of wisdom, something else to share about you or your business?
My goal is to make hand-carded batts and handspun yarns that are as beautiful as the finished objects produced by those who use them. By focusing on supplies, and not on the end product, I feel like I'm able to share my affinity for fiber with many other crafters. This artistic collaboration is what drives my work. Nothing motivates me more than seeing my customers' finished projects.



Loop was with us in 2008 too! See her bio here.

Vendors announced and a free pattern

Check out the sidebar to see our list of confirmed vendors for this year's Yarn Party. We've got a great lineup of local independent yarn and fiber dyers, farms, designers, and artisans. Watch the blog for profiles of our vendors over the next few weeks.

To whet your appetite for some of the great indie dyers we'll have at the show, here's a free pattern that showcases them nicely!



This cowl calls for sock or sport weight and size US 8 or 9 needles and works with several of the yarns that will be featured at the Homespun Yarn Party.

Download the Dragonfly Fire Cowl at Knit & Play with Fire, courtesy of Mia.