?? fiber farms, arts, and festivals





explore minnesota | minnesota explorer | wool you look at this | rainbow colored yarn in rows [ [link removed] ]





by erica wacker

From alpaca farms to yarn shops, Minnesota has one of the country's most tight-knit fiber networks. Close to 30 *community leaders [ [link removed] ]* are spread as far south as Blue Earth and as far north as Duluth. They raise alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats, angora rabbits and even yaks for their fiber, which can be purchased raw, partially processed (called roving), as yarn, or as finished products ranging from knitted finger puppets to woven area rugs.






Camera Roll series: Baby alpaca at a family farm, person fiber processing by carding, finished grey angora yarn on display in a store [ [link removed] ]





fiber farms

White, brown, and black alpacas on a family farm in Northfield [ [link removed] ]

 

For small, independent operations like *Fossum Family Farm [ [link removed] ]*, turning raw fiber into yarn or felt is a manual, labor-intensive process that can take several days. After the animal is sheared, the fiber undergoes multiple steps of cleaning, hand-washing, air drying and several other processes before it can be spun into yarn or loomed into felt.

 

It’s fascinating to watch, and will give even casual observers a deeper appreciation for this ancient and beautiful practice. Many fiber farms are open to the public on select days — by appointment and for special events. In the spring, look for shearing days at farms like Fossum, *Frosty Acres Alpacas [ [link removed] ]* in Bricelyn, and *Sibley Farm [ [link removed] ]* in Mankato.

 

Look out for *National Alpaca Farm Days [ [link removed] ]* the last weekend of every September, too. The annual event encourages farms throughout North America to host open house activities like free entertainment, food trucks, family-oriented programming, and fiber demonstrations.






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working with fiber doesn’t end with sweaters and scarves.
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fiber arts

Green and blue embroidered fiber stones by an artist on the Weaving Waters Fiber Arts Trail in Brainerd [ [link removed] ]

 

Working with fiber doesn’t end with sweaters and scarves. “It’s multidisciplinary,” says Dawn Malcolm of Minneapolis, a ceramic artist who recently made “fur” out of fiber for her sculpture of a baboon.

 

Fiber arts are big in Minnesota, with the nation’s only center for fiber arts (the *Textile Center [ [link removed] ]*) located in Minneapolis.

 

Minnesota is also home to two “fiber arts trails” where galleries, shops and cultural centers open their doors to the public. (Hours vary by location; be sure to call ahead.) In central Minnesota, the *Weaving Waters Fiber Arts Trail [ [link removed] ]* stretches from *Great River Arts [ [link removed] ]* in Little Falls through Brainerd and on to the *New York Mills Cultural Center [ [link removed] ]*, with a dozen stops in between. Further northwest, you’ll find the *Pine to Prairie Fiber Arts Trail [ [link removed] ]* in and around Bemidji. 






*WEAVE MORE INTO YOUR EXPLORE* [ [link removed] ]











Author Portrait of Erica Wacker [ [link removed] ]



*Erica Wacker* is a Midwesterner through and through, growing up in Illinois, going to college in Wisconsin, and settling down in Minnesota. She loves to run, travel with her family, and go to concerts to relive her youth.











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"from top to bottom: Northfield Yarn in Northfield, photo by Melanie Graves  |  Alpaca in Northfield, photo by Melanie Graves  |  Carding in Northfield, photo by Melanie Graves  |  "Northfield Yarn in Northfield, photo by Melanie Graves  |  Alpacas in Northfield, photo by Melanie Graves  |  Fiber art in Brainerd, photo by Lisa Jordan  |  "Erica Wacker author portrait"






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