2nd Annual UMA Fall Fiber Festival November 6th, 2010, in Hopkins, Minnesota

2nd Annual UMA Fall Fiber Festival

November 6th, 2010, 9:00am to 4:00pm
Eisenhower Community Center
Conference and Event Facility
1001 Highway 7 Hopkins, MN 55305

Website - http://www.uppermidwestalpacas.com/FiberFest.aspx

The UMA, Upper Midwest Alpacas, is the sponsoring organization. It is all North American fibers and fiber products. The website has sign up for classes and a vendor list.

MFC Fiber Farm Feature: Hollyhock Farm Alpacas in Becker Minnesota

Teresa & Darryl Kukowski
Hollyhock Farm Alpacas
Becker, MN 55308

Email: teredarl[at!]sherbtel.net
Web-site: hollyhockalpacas.com



Other places online: Blog, new online store (coming soon), Facebook, Etsy-Holly Hock Alpacas, & Etsy-Alpaca Felting Kits.

About the farm...
My husband and I brought our first alpacas home in 2002 - 2 pregnant females. Since then we have had many babies (called crias) born on our little farm in central Minnesota. We own un-related males, but all our other alpacas are the offspring of those first 2 females. You can see our alpaca family tree on our website.


In 2006, I left the corporate world to work full time in the alpaca business. Besides breeding and raising the animals, I work with their wonderful fiber. We shear the alpacas every spring - even in Minnesota, they would be way too hot in the summer if they were not shorn annually.


I enjoy spinning yarn for sale and for knitting. With the yarn, I knit and weave. I make hats, mittens, scarves, wrist warmers, shawls, baby blankets, socks and hats. I felt the fiber into cat toys, around handmade soap and felt hats and mittens for extra warmth. I also dye much of the white yarn myself using natural dyestuff. I grow my own indigo, I gather black walnut husks, goldenrod , marigold flowers and more for dyeing. Nature provides a wonderful variety of plants that will dye yarn in beautiful hues. The art and science of dyeing is very fascinating and satisfying to me. The completed items are very warm, beautiful, itch resistant, and will last many years.

We try to create a small carbon footprint by using a local mini-mill, purchasing extra fiber locally, and picking or growing my own dye plants. We have a large veggie garden that we fertilize with the manure from the alpacas. Very little goes to waste on our little farm. I've even put together nesting material for birds from alpaca fiber and alpaca yarn leftovers.

South Minneapolis Wild Wool Market 2010 on May 29th at the Susan Hensel Gallery

South Minneapolis Wild Wool Market
Saturday, May 29th, 10am-4pm
Susan Hensel Gallery
3441 Cedar Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Web-site: www.susanhenselgallery.blogspot.com

Demonstrations! Refreshments! Yarn! Fiber! Roving! Batt Your Own Wild Batt!
This new experiment will start Memorial Day Weekend...When you are out shopping yard sales, stop by and shop with us! You will find great values in materials and finished textile products from local artisans.

Upper Midwest Alpacas Fall Fiber Festival 2010 November 6 at Hopkins Minnesota

Upper Midwest Alpacas Fall Fiber Festival
November 6, 2010
Hopkins, Minnesota

Organization Affiliation: Upper Midwest Alpacas

Web-site: www.uppermidwestalpacas.com

Join a spinning or knitting circle & try alpaca. Learn how the fleece gets from the alpaca's back to a sweater on your back.

Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival 2010 May 8 - 9 at Lake Elmo Minnesota

Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival
May 8-9, 2010
Lake Elmo, Minnesota

Web-site: www.shepherdsharvestfestival.org

Classes, vendors, wool show, alpaca fleece show, fashion show, herd dogs, alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats, rabbits - EVERYTHING related to fiber!