Ottawa Valley Fiber Arts

MARCH '10 Canadian Fibre Box

Prairie fibre mill

In November (or was it October?) you met Barb from Wild Geese Fibres. We had Canadian Finn, Cotswold, and a blend called Blizzard that everyone was wild over. Barb gets her fibres prepared at the Prairie Fibre Mill, in Biggar Saskatchewan. This month, I've ordered in a big pile of fibre from them, and some of it is being shared with you through this month's fibre box. What I much appreciate is that the Prairie Fibre Mill is eco-friendly, running on its own wind and sun power, and using environmentally safe and natural products to scour the fibres they process.

I found out something funny about the Blizzard that everyone was so fond off. When we sampled this back in the Fall, it was a merino, alpaca, mohair blend. My assumption was that Blizzard was always the same. I was a little confused when I was offered to order both an alpaca/merino/mohair blend as well as Blizzard for this month. Then the Blizzard came! It seems that Blizzard is an ever changing special blend from the Mill, depending on what fibres they have on hand to blend together. This month, we have Blizzard again, only this time it is grey with purple running through it. The purple is merino, the grey is alpaca/merino/mohair and possibly a touch of Cotswold. As well, you have gorgeous Fawn coloured 1/3 each merino/alpaca/mohair.
I'll be listing at the OVFA shop more of the Blizzard, as well as a tasty multi tonal caramel fawn Blizzard and a grey 1/3 each merino/alpaca/mohair blend.

Art-Yarn-Tastic sampler

As well as the more traditional rovings this month, you have a little package of fibre for adding pizzazz to your yarn. In your treat bag, there is hand dyed icicle, a nylon that adds sparkle to your spinning while still being soft; dyed silk noil, which adds little bits of fluff; teased rambouillet locks; and some plain old dyed wool.

If you have a drumcarder, I recommend choosing a colour that would compliment the orange as a base (a nice brown or red) and carding in these fun additions intto a batt. If you don't have a drum carder, you can card bits into rolags by hand, or simply add bits of fibre as you are spinning (I often do this with dyed locks for texture). Art yarn is often, by nature, not a smooth yarn, but is full of character and increasingly popular.

For a great book, I recommend Intertwined by Lexi Boeger.OVFA has one copy left, and you might even find it at your local library!

 Buttons and stitch markers

You either have a hand made button or a stitch marker in your box, depending on whether you are new or a more seasoned subscriber. Stitch markers are by SeeJayneKnit.etsy.com; Green Ceramic Flower Buttons are by Adornyourself.etsy.com; Blue Ceramic Buttons are by Emburr.etsy.com; and the purple Polymer Clay Buttons are by yours truly, Heather of OVFA!

Share your projects

Come join us on Ravelry at the Ottawa Valley Fiber Arts group, to share your projects and ideas! If you haven't joined Ravelry yet, it's free and an amazing resource for fibre f