LYS Day is one week from today, Saturday, April 25th. Appreciate your LYS next weekend. Pop-in, say hi, and see what’s new at your nearest shop. Or in our area, all the nearest shops. There are 6 Austin area shops! They all have a different vibe and have different yarns and notions. There’s a fun little local yarn hunt that 5 of the shops are participating in. Find all the details for the Lost Skein of Austin in the previous blog post below.
Fiber Fate will have two Trunk Shows for LYS Day weekend. Both are local small businesses. Rachel Matyastik is launching her brand new business, Oracle Made – handmade project bags and knitting organizers. I am so excited to be a part of Rachel’s first show. She’s got some really great bags and organizers. An Austin favorite, indie hand-dyed yarn by Yarn Matter will also be featured at Fiber Fate to celebrate LYS Day. Erin’s Homegrown Sock and Homegrown DK bases will be available at the show. Use the links below to connect and see more of who they are and what they do.
The trunk shows will run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Fiber Fate will be opened 11-4:30 all three days. Rachel will be at the shop to assist you Friday and Saturday. I, me, Angela, will be manning the Fiber Fate booth at Yellow Rose Fiber Fiesta. If you’re feeling particularly giddy and energized to fit in as much yarn and fiber as possible next weekend, drive to Seguin for the fiber festival too (find info in the Events tab). I will be back at the shop Sunday. I’m thinking I’m see you soon one way or another.
Trunk Shows for LYS Day:
One: Oracle Made – Austin Maker Debut!
Oracle Made, where we like to ‘om’ like you mean it. Handcrafted project bags and knitting tool organizers in playful, vibrant prints to keep your craft portable, organized, and inspired. Designed to protect your WIPs and spark joy, so you can unleash your creativity—wherever you stitch. Created by Rachel Matyastik, a knitter, sewist, and craft enthusiast based in Austin, TX. Follow Rachel on IG
Two: Yarn Matter – More Wonderful Yarn from Austin Indie Dyer, Erin Battle. Featuring Erin’s Homegrown base in both sock and DK. Homegrown is U.S. grown 100% Shaniko wool. It’s a lofty squishy yarn made from U.S. grown wool. Like all Erin’s bases, it’s soft and lovely to work with. Naturally dyed on non-superwash wool. More about Yarn Matter
All things wool!! All things wool!! If only I had the courage (and time) to go around chanting this in public. Can you imagine me downtown, in front of the congress building, holding up a sign, chanting for change among all the other special topics of the times. Haha, someday… There are many issues to grapple with and figure out. I tend to focus a lot on environmental health. Environmental health directly relates to everything – the health of our animals, our food, a healthy textile industry – it all leads back to our personal well being. I’ve always been a fan of natural. Keeping things simple and as close to natural as possible. It seems almost silly to say out loud. It seems like an obvious choice. But if you take a good look around, it can be quite complicated. I will not attempt to dive into particulars with this simple post. There is much to ponder and much to learn.
As I do my daily work of spinning, washing and hand processing raw fleece, and small making projects, I wonder about being mindful of the things we need and hold off on the things we are told we need. I think of ways to cut back on synthetics of all sorts, especially everyday fabrics and plastics. I wonder if we can grow the culture of making essential clothing and other necessities with our own hands. I wonder how much change could happen if many more of us take a tiny bit more time to seek out natural products made by-hand from small businesses (local or otherwise). I wonder if we could ever grow forward by embracing handmade items for everyday use (not just that one special thing). I wonder, if we do all that (or even some of it), would we guide the way the textile (and food) industry functions, especially in areas like sourcing and waste.
I’m not attempting to make any political statements or start a war on industry. Haha, no, that’s not me. I am but one simple wool loving person. I’ll do my part and maybe a little more given the nature of my small business. I advocate for small change over time. Reverse the process (a lot or a little) of how we got to this point of waste in the world. It is possible to find balance. I’ll start with balance in daily life. I’ll keep working (mostly silently) on wool projects in my “wool office”. Spinning provides me with balance and purpose. What I do, is small, no doubt, but it’s small initiatives, work, joy, appreciation, support that lead to impacting others directly and so many times, indirectly and unexpectedly.