Support a Wool Mill in California

November 26, 2013 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

I try to keep an eye out for interesting fiber-related projects on the crowdfunding sites, and I just recently saw this one from Mendocino Wool & Fiber on Indiegogo. It’s a great one if you have the means to support it.

They’re trying to open a wool mill that will enable the production of 100 percent locally sourced and processed yarn in California. There are no local mills in Northern California, and shipping fiber across the country or overseas is cost prohibitive for small producers, time intensive and harmful to the planet.

The idea is to use contacts they — being sheep shearer Matt Gilbert and knitter wife Sarah — already have in the fiber animal community to get their raw material and to use this funding to get the equipment that will be needed to produce the yarn. They hope to be able to offer certified organic as well as non-organic yarn that is still produced to high standards of sustainability (for farmers who have high standards themselves but are not certified).

They’re looking to raise $20,000 and are already well on their way. You can pledge as little as one dollar and as much as $900, which gets you a tour of the mill and dinner with the family. This sounds like an amazing project and just what the country needs more of — local production that uses available fiber in a sustainable way that’s good for those who raise animals, for knitters and for the planet. I hope you’ll check it out!

[Photo via Indiegogo.]

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Christmas Sock Knitting Patterns

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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