Yesterday was Fiber Tuesday – my monthly day off the farm with my fiber friends! It was a beautiful day and we were able to sit on the deck  for lunch and ‘show and tell’. This is always the interesting part of the meeting where you get to see the projects that people have been working on and come away with ideas you might want to try. These ladies are multi talented and so very willing to share their ideas. I was particularly interested in the Fair Isle knitting that Janet and Leslie have been working on. For several years now they have attended Shetland Wool Week in the Shetland Isles in Scotland in September. This is a festival of the importance of wool and textiles in the life of the islands. There are classes, visits to museums and other places connected to the wool and textile industries. My friends are expert knitters but are always eager to learn new techniques. Since their return from last year’s event, they have been concentrating on hats and they brought an interesting collection with them. Leslie is even creating her own patterns! I always enjoy sharing their experiences and all things Scottish!

The go to wool for Fair Isle patterns is usually Shetland wool and particularly the wool from Shetland itself. One of the hats however, was made from alpaca, in lace weight. A mixture of natural and dyed colors, it worked well with the Fair Isle pattern. While Shetland wool is soft there was no comparison between that and the alpaca. I have managed to create quite a few alpaca fans in the group and one of them bought the hat almost immediately! I came home from the meeting feeling energized and with lots of ideas on promoting the alpaca Shetland connection.