North County Fiber Fair in South Dakota

September 19-21, 2014
Watertown, South Dakota

Visit the website for more information.

Fiber in the Park in Illinois

September 20, 2014
Shabbona Park
4178 Co. Hwy. 22
La Salle County, Illinois

Visit the website for more information.

The Round Bobbin Quilting Sewing and Fiber Art Expo in Missouri

September 19-20, 2014
St. Charles Convention Center
St. Charles, Missouri

Visit the website for more information.

Happy Camper Fiber Retreat in Michigan

September 19-21, 2014
Waldenwoods Retreat and Conference Center
Hartland, Michigan

Visit the website for more information.

Fiber Daze in Southwest Missouri

September 19-20, 2014
MARC Center
Mount Vernon, Missouri

Visit the website for more information.

Scotts Bluff Valley Fiber Arts Fair in Nebraska

September 12-13, 2014
Scotts Bluff County Fairgrounds
Mitchell, Nebraska

Visit the website for more information.

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.

Weavers Guild of Greater Kansas City Meeting on June 10th

Weavers Guild of Greater Kansas City
Rose Room, Loose Park
5200 Wornall Rd., KC MO

Web-site: www.kcweaversguild.org

10:00 AM – Regular Meeting
10:30 AM – Show & Tell / Treats
11:30 AM – Program

MFC Fiber Farm Feature: Limpus Shetland Sheep Farm in Amsterdam Missouri

Limpus Shetland Sheep Farm
Mary Limpus
Amsterdam, MO 64723

Web-site: limpusshetlands.blogspot.com
Email: llimpus[at!]ckt.net

Limpus Shetland Sheep Farm Raises and sells Shetland Sheep raw and processed fiber yarns. Please visit their site link above for more information.

MFC Fiber Farm Feature: WestWind Alpacas & Fiber Mill in Amboy Illinois

Fred Boyd
WestWind Alpacas & Fiber Mill
Amboy, IL 61310
Phone: 815-719-1557
Web-site: www.alpacasonly.com

Renewable Income from your Alpacas, FIBER, & WestWind Alpaca Trailers

About the farm...
WestWind Alpacas & Fiber Mill is a full service fiber mill, serving the alpaca industry. I am a alpaca breeder as well with my current farm located in North Central IL. Moving in the near future to St. Louis Area to relocate the Fiber Mill for better expose to the general public. I also build custom alpaca trailers, you can view Alpacas, fiber mill and trailer information at the website. If you have any questions, please give me a call.

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.

Now taking submissions for Midwest Fiber Farm features!

Although there are many, many wonderful Midwest fiber events going on, it seems that I haven't come across enough to fill the MFC blog with posts every weekday. Therefore, I would like to feature some Midwest Fiber Farms between event and activity posts. If you own/operate a Midwest based fiber focused farm, please submit via email (mfc[at!]thefunkyfelter.com) the following information for consideration:

1) Farm Name
2) Brief Description (2-3 paragraphs)
3) Web-site and/or online shop
4) Other Contact Information (optional)
5) 1-2 Farm Photos (optional)

I hope to introduce MFC fiber loving readers to great Midwestern fiber farms very soon! All listings are FREE and done as a labor of love by a fellow Midwestern fiber fanatic (a.k.a. me).

(*Please note that only fiber farms located in the Midwestern United States will be accepted for posting. These states include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.)

Great Lakes Fiber Show 2010 May 29 - 30 at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Wooster Ohio

Great Lakes Fiber Show
May 29 - 30, 2010
Wayne County Fairgrounds
199 Vanover Street
Wooster, OH

Web-site: www.greatlakesfibershow.com

The 15th Annual Great Lakes Fiber Show is coming May 29 & 30! Getting bigger and better every year, the Great Lakes Fiber Show runs from 10a–5p on Saturday and 10a–4p on Sunday, bringing your favorite vendors and activities for two days of fun... Please see the link above for more information.

Alpaca Fiber Fest 2010 on May 29th in Abilene Kansas

Alpaca Fiber Fest
May 29, 2010
Abilene, Kansas

Web-site: www.kaffusa.com

KAAF (Kansas Alpaca Fiber & Farms) Alpaca Fiber Fest will be in Old Abilene Town. This year it will be on Saturday May 29th from 10am - 4pm. They will have alpaca farms set up with all types of alpaca product. Everything from raw fleece to finished items available for sale. There will be workshops and demonstrations on everything from crocheting and knitting to processing your own fiber at home. This is a free event and everyone is welcome to come. And as always, there will be alpacas on hand to see and pet.

Join the Knitting Group at CREATE in Elkhorn Nebraska for some fiber fun!

Knitting Group
at CREATE
in Elkhorn, Nebraska

CREATE
2949 N. 204th St
Elkhorn, NE 68022
Phone: 402-933-4446

Web-site: www.inspireandcreate.com

Every Tuesday evening from 6:30-8:30 PM & Friday morning from 10AM-Noon, the knitting group meets in their couch area for a relaxed, "learn at your own pace" knitting class. To add some personal challenges, they also have a monthly knit-along that can be anything from an Earth Day bag to preemie hats for Creighton University's Medical Center NICU in Omaha, Nebraska. CREATE is a retail store and workshop space that caters to crafters of various mediums. Please see the link above for more information...

Spring & Summer Fiber Classes at Tomorrow Farm near Battle Creek Michigan

Spring & Summer Fiber Classes
Tomorrow Farm
near Battle Creek, Michigan

Web-site: www.tomorrowfarm.net

Tomorrow Farm near Battle Creek, Michigan, will be teaching a variety of fiber classes beginning on May 15th and lasting throughout the Summer. Class topics include dyeing fiber, knitting, handpainting yarn, handspinning, and others. Please check their event's page link above for more information and registration details. You can also learn about their farm on their Facebook page.

Fiber Arts & Animals Festival 2010 June 12 in Marshall Michigan

Fiber Arts & Animals Festival
June 12, 2010
Marshall, MI

Web-site: www.fiberartfest.com

Free Admission - Free Parking

To provide a family friendly, educational environment to the public to have fun and learn about fiber artistry and fiber producing animals... Please see the web-site link above for more information.

6th Annual Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival 2010 June 4 - 5 at the Johnson County Fairgrounds in Franklin Indiana

6th Annual Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival
June 4 - 5, 2010
Johnson County Fairgrounds
Franklin, IN

Web-site: www.hoosierhillsfiberartsfestival.com

Admission and parking is FREE!

A celebration of all the fiberarts! This event includes classes, vendors, a sheep show, and much more. It also has a call for artists to design a new logo for the festival. Please see the web-site link above for more information.

Upper Valley Fiber Fest 2010 May 15 - 16 at the Miami County Fairgrounds in Troy Ohio

Upper Valley Fiber Fest 2010
May 15 - 16
Miami County Fairgrounds
Troy, Ohio

Web-site: www.uppervalleyfiberfest.org

The Upper Valley Fiber Fest came about three years ago when a group of fiber enthusiasts decided that the Miami Valley area needed a spring show. After much brainstorming, and with the help of the Upper Valley Fiber Guild, the Upper Valley Fiber Fest was born... Please visit the web-site link above for more information.