Local

November 30, 2015 By Lee 1 Comment

Evergreening Our Fiber

On our first day in the Seattle area, we visited Evergreen Fleece Processing LLC mill which has been processing our fiber in batts for more than three years. We had never visited Evergreen mill before, although we have spent time with owners Chuck and Lynn Armstrong at several FeltLOOM gatherings. In addition to owning and operating equipment that can do the batts we require, Chuck and Lynn are expert operators of the FeltLOOM. They know what we are trying to do and how fiber processing can make or break our operation.

Chuck and Lynn and their alpaca herd are transplants from the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest. And they run a pretty lean and mean fiber business from their ranch in Woodinville, WA.

We talked about things we want to do at Whispirit and ways wed can cooperate on some ventures. One area of exploration will be adding recycled green bottle fibers like those being used in other sewing materials, to our batts. We at Whispirit are following others in the greening of the fashion world and looking for opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, and help battle the waste in the fashion world. Take a particular look at Themis and Threads and O Ecotextiles, two companies that have really impressed us.

We have tried recycled materials in one of our garments. This garment was created in late 2012. Intriguing but we realize we needed to play with the percentage as it changed the feel of the fabric.

It is great to have partners like Chuck and Lynn Armstrong!

‘Til later, Sandy

September 1, 2015 By Lee Leave a Comment

Labor Day – Celebrating Everyone Who Makes It Happen

Shearing day, 2015. Photo courtesy Neala McCarten.

Labor Day, the first Monday of September, is a celebration of the American worker. Although the holiday is often associated with organized labor, to me it is a time to recognize those individuals who roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty making things happen in unison with others.

Yep, Labor Day is another of those days that cause me to reflect. Sandy and I have been getting ready for our biggest show of the year, the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Sept., 10-13, 2015. As well as a selling opportunity, WDC is an event where many varieties of creativity are celebrated and recognized. As we inventory our fabric creations and apparel, we talk about all the individuals whose hard work makes the finished product possible. Individual labor in unison with others for the greater good.

For us, it all starts with the alpacas and the annual clip that makes all this possible. We could not run both businesses (Whispering Spirit Alpacas and Whispirit) without Danita Coulter, who provides the daily loving care to the alpacas. Peter Connelly of Shorn is the professional shearer who arrives annually in May. All of our friends and neighbors who volunteer to the shearing process (Stella & Harold Evensen, Kris & Bob Staten, Cathy & Chuck McManus, Kelly Koepke, Gretchen Doyle and Heather, Chris & Emily Briggs) help us gather our harvest.

After harvesting, the clip is sent to mills who work with our specifications to create the batts from which we create our fabrics. Fiber milling is dark and lonely work. These are small mom & pop, plus maybe a couple of other workers, operations. Thank you Chuck Armstrong of Evergreen Fiber Mill, Sally & Jay Brandon of The Shepard’s Fiber Mill, Terri Stramba of Stramba Farm Mill and Lyn Riffel of Wild West Fiber Mill.

Our fabric creations are born on the FeltLOOM. Thank you Don Bowles & Lanette Freitag for inventing that wonderful machine. This machine was the missing link in Sandy’s envisioning of making drapeable fabric out our alpaca; we use it every day and it is a mule.

The garment construction and finish sewing is completed by Heather Briggs, an independent seamstress, or Sara Tafoya of Sew Whateva. Many other have played roles in helping us learn to construct garments, too numerous to name.

We have not named the numerous people who help us with bringing these creative items to market. That will be its own blog. But, you know who you are and know we appreciate your labors on our behalf especially on this Labor Day.

Sandy and I hope that each of you will find enormous pride in your individual labor and creativity that is a unique and an integral part of our finished product.

Happy Labor Day to all ……… until next week …………. Lee

July 28, 2015 By Lee 2 Comments

The Alpaca Batt Channel

So I imagine you have been waiting to hear what happens next after Sandy is done skirting… Once we have separated good from unusable fleece (at least for our purposes), we bag, box and ship the fleece to one of the mills we use for processing. Because we require the processing to be done in particular ways necessary to make the drapy smooth felt in our garments, only a handful of the mills that process alpaca fibers are able to perform our work.

WIN_20150728_120700 — Evergreen’s brown and white batt

Processing for us means the mill washes, dries and then cards the alpaca fiber to remove coarser fibers and get the fleece fibers all running in the same direction. We have learned that 100% alpaca is not best for our garments and accessories, so the mills blend 25% merino with 75% alpaca during the carding process. What comes off of the carding machine is called a batt. Our batts are extremely thin, usually under 3 ounces; reminds me of a spider web it is so light. For us, the milling process stops there and the batts are returned. Pictured to the left is a gorgeous batt made for us by Evergreen Fleece Processing.

From the batts we design our fabrics. Depending on what we are going to make, the batts of fiber are placed on top of a scrim or stabilizer of different grades of silk, cotton or burlap. We have named each of our fabrics: Silpaca, Silcotton. Also at this point we add whatever accents Sandy’s design calls for.

All the fiber, accents and stabilizer are now run through the FeltLOOM. The intended use of the fabric and the feel and effect we are trying to create will dictate how many times we run the fabric through the loom. Typically this takes 12 or more runs through the machine.

And then, as they say in France, “voila!” Our fabric is ready. And, in case you hadn’t noticed, you can buy this fabric and others in the Whispirit shop. Right now we are offering our hand-dyed and felted Raspberry Silpaca at a special price.

Have a great week…………. Lee

July 20, 2015 By Lee Leave a Comment

Dog Days of Summer

Thank you. We are humbled and flattered by the increasing numbers reading our blog and appreciate those of you sending us questions. We are passionate about our alpaca, their fleece and our fabrics. So don’t hesitate sending your inquires, we love to answer them.

Last week several of you wanted to know if things are slow on the ranch during the dog days of summer. There is NEVER a dull moment around the ranch. Seems like there is always a “wheel” falling off or an exciting project (like our new website), looking for time.

Spring always means shearing. We’ve always sheared the herd, including all the dogs, in the middle of May. But, not the cats. Definitely NOT the cats.

WIN_20150720_121257 — Sandy at the skirting table

Our dark and lonely work really begins once the shearers and volunteers leave. “Bringing in the harvest” means long hours of skirting. This is the first step in processing the fiber and the only part of the milling process we do here on the ranch. Skirting is not the most enjoyable step in the process. You stand at a wire mesh table, lay out the raw fleece and go over each section removing vegetation, coarse or short fibers and “stuff.” It’s dirty, time consuming and boring. But, has to be done before sending the year’s harvest off to the mill.

It is truly a family affair as alpacas and llamas peek in, Atticus sits under the skirting table as sentry, and the cats – gosh our barn is full of cats – love to roll in fiber.

Our spring and early summer production switches from warmer coats, jackets, hats and vests to our summer-weight vests, shawls and scarves. Sandy loves this part of the production because she dyes all the fabric. Sandy loves dying the fabrics. Most summer days our kitchen is hot and steamy from the dye pot.

For those of you sitting in air-conditioned offices, or enjoying the summer breezes at the Santa Fe Opera or any of the multitude of festivals around New Mexico, you may enjoy the Spring Fling Vest. No summer ensemble should be considered complete without a silky alpaca wrap like our Endearing Shawl to catch that delightful breeze.

See what I mean about Sandy loving the dying?

Until next week……. keep enjoying your summer. Can you believe it is half gone?

Lee

July 6, 2015 By Lee Leave a Comment

4th of July Inspiration

We hope everyone had a terrific and safe Fourth of July. This is my favorite holiday. It’s a time to honor these United States, our history, warts and all. For me it is a time to reflect and find inspiration from how far we have come and our hopes and dreams for tomorrow, as individuals and as a country.

Sandy and I spent the holiday in Taos, NM. We spoke with a Vietnamese family that had immigrated to this country just before the fall of Saigon. As naturalized citizens they celebrate the 4th every year to honor a country that took them in with nothing but the shirts on their backs and gave them the opportunity to create a life for themselves.

We went to the local farmers market and purchased fresh vegetables and baked breads. Stopped in to see our friends Cathy and Wayne Book who own Mooncat Fiber, where they carry our hats & bags. Like us, they left careers in the East to pursue passions inspired by the Land of Enchantment. Cathy’s into yarns and fabrics and Wayne is an amazing silversmith.

On to the arts and crafts fair in Kit Carson Park to see the variety of handcrafted talent. Purchased a couple of pieces of impressive and practical pottery from a very interesting potter, Andy Sanders, an Englishman by birth, whose studio is in Santa Fe.

We lunched in the beautiful gardens at the Farmhouse Cafe, where all foods offered are from the small farms in or near Taos. Many restaurants in New Mexico are joining that “buy local – support the small farm” movement.

Filled with the inspiration of handcrafts, local talent and small farm operations we returned to Whispering Spirit Alpacas and our passion of creating the needle felted garments of Whispirit.

Thanks……… Until next week…… Lee