The Sandpiper in Bridgman Michigan

My friend, Lizz (she’s a buddy from the Duneland Weaver’s Guild) met me at the local library and we made the 40 minute drive into southwest Michigan Friday afternoon. I had planned for us to arrive early so we could check out the Sandpiper, which is the retail space connected to Hoof-to-Hanger. The Sandpiper is a sweet space, full of unique, handmade items – and yarn! Let’s not forget the yarn! I picked up a gorgeous olive green yarn that felt just like mohair, but was an acrylic that was really well done. (Let’s take a beat to appreciate how far acrylic yarn has come in my lifetime! I remember Grandma making me a sweater with some Red Heart acrylic yarn in the late 70’s. Wow! Not great. Not great at all!) Lizz found an adorable llama magnet while we were there – so cute!

Rick giving a tour at Hoof-to-Hanger

We met Rick, Anna, and Suzy (all three owners) and Rick was the one to take us through the tour. Now, I should give you a little history here. I used to live in South Carolina in the mid-late 80’s and the fiber mills in the area had just finished shutting down. They were these enormous, brick buildings that sat dormant while so many of the fiber processing plants moved overseas. The vision in my head of a typical mill is of these gigantic fiber mills I grew up around. It never occurred to me that it could be a small, intimate operation, like Rick’s space at the Hoof-to-Hanger.

Hoof-to-Hanger Fiber Mill

One of the side stories that Rick told us was about his connection to the building. He said his family used to own a Ben Franklin in the location where the Sandpiper is today. So cool! Ben Franklin was one of my favorites – I miss them.

Hoof-to-Hanger is in an attached building on the back of the Sandpiper. It’s not a very big room, but they already have plans to expand to keep up with demand. When I first walked in, I got the impression of a bright, airy space that was surprisingly clean, considering they are dealing in floaty fibers all day long.

Huge equipment!

Rick talked about working with various clients and I could tell he spends a lot of time asking questions in order to determine exactly how the mill can best process the fiber to get a good result. Not everyone needs the fiber to end up as dyed yarn. Matter of fact, some don’t even need the fiber to end up as yarn at all. I was really impressed with the level of dedication to producing the right result for each client. But that’s something you can do more easily if you aren’t a gigantic mill, right?

This is my friend, Lizz, who would roll around in the loose fiber, if you let her!

Lizz and I got to see all the various equipment used to magically transform fiber right off a sheep or alpaca or goat or rabbit into something usable. It was amazing to go through the process step-by-step with Rick, giving us a visual storyboard for a fiber’s journey. I have definitely known spinners and dyers that have walked me through their process. But it was wildly impressive to see it in this setting!

We were able to peek into a few boxes of finished yarn on its way out to Chicago. And they had many other projects in the queue. It was simply fascinating! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the yarn-making process. Hoof-to-Hanger does tours at the end of the day and there is a small fee for the experience. Give them a call to book your tour today! You will love it!

Round and round she goes!

Have you done a tour of some kind of production facility before? What was the most amazing part for you? That’s a warp wrap on this week! Happy weaving, everyone!

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We’re at the farm!

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon on a farm in Allegan, Michigan. The purpose of the excursion was to visit the Natural Cycles Farm, owned by Lori and Pete. They are members of a group called the Great Lakes Fibershed, which I joined about 6 months ago when I met the fabulous natural dyeing ladies from Color Wheel Michigan. Amanda, Lauren, and Michelle are the women who make up Color Wheel Michigan, and are also the contact people for the Great Lakes Fibershed. (You know, a diagram or chart of some kind may have been the better way to go here. I didn’t mean for the explanation to be so convoluted! Basically, Amanda from Color Wheel invited me to go to a farm and I went! Ta-da!!)

The Great Lakes Fibershed’s mission is to bring together all the folks involved in the fiber process (producers, mills, dyers, artisans, and enthusiasts) in an effort to, “unify local resources and promote environmentally sustainable practices”. The Great Lakes branch covers 250 miles in any direction from Detroit (I barely squeezed in!). So Sunday was a planned outing for the western members, graciously sponsored by Lori & Pete at the farm.

Lori, the owner, is in the denim shirt. I’m sure she was answering sheep-related questions here!

It was a perfect fall day for it! 60 degrees, the colorful leaves, blue sky – an A+ day for a road trip! The farm sits on about 36 acres not too far from Kalamazoo and boy, it is some beautiful land! It has that lush rolling hill backdrop that a lot of Michigan is known for. Lori & Pete haven’t been here long, but have thoughtfully set up the farm with natural materials and processes in place. It was fascinating to hear them talk about how they intentionally move the sheep around with the purpose of keeping both the sheep and the land healthy. Apparently, the farmers who owned the acreage before them didn’t use a lot of chemicals. So they inherited land that was in pretty good shape to start.

What is better than a barn? A barn with cool vines growing all over it, no doubt!

(I’m diverting from the plan here – total non-fiber sidebar! Lori & Pete have gardens on the farm and while I was there, I tried a new berry (new for me) – it’s called a serviceberry! Have you every heard of this? It tastes like a cross between a blueberry and a cranberry. It’s ready in early spring and apparently it’s a humdinger to harvest! There are a lot of critters that enjoy them and they aren’t the easiest to get off the tree. But, I tried them in a pie and they were delicious! Who knew? And now, back to fiber-related stuff!)

Not only did we get to see many animals (many of them wool-producing – yay!), we also had the opportunity to interact with each other. We were a small bunch – about 8 of us. Most folks drove at least an hour to attend. And it was such a fabulously diverse group! For instance, I spent some time getting to know Rick from Hoof-To-Hanger in Bridgman, Michigan. Bridgman is only 45 minutes from my house and Hoof-To-Hanger is a working fiber mill! How awesome is that? He talked about the fiber mill business, the significance of the building they are in (it’s an old Ben Franklin that his family owned!), and what sets them apart from other fiber processing experiences (fabulous customer service is the answer here!). So interesting!

Check out the sheep!!

I also got to chat more with Amanda and Michelle from Color Wheel. I first met the ladies through POST in Detroit last spring and we’ve connected a few times since then. But because Detroit and Chesterton, IN aren’t exactly neighbors, I haven’t had a lot of one-on-one time thus far. So it was very cool to hear them talk about the natural dyeing process, what plants and materials can be used, as well as a lot of very technical talk which I quickly lost track of. It is quite fascinating to listen to (2) dyers talk shop! And I thought weaving sounded like a foreign language! Wow!

Mary was another member who joined us. She was well-versed in a variety of different techniques, including dyeing, spinning and knitting. So she did a much better job of keeping up with the dyeing conversation than I did! (p.s. Mary said she has a box of neckties I can use for my next project, so she’s instantly my new best friend! Thanks, Mary!)

Michelle was loving the sheep!

The entire experience was a fabulous reminder of the fiber basics, combined with thoughtful conversation about how we proceed as amazing fiber people while still being kind to the earth and the animals who provide for us! On any given day, I don’t typically give a lot of thought to how the yarn got to be in my shuttle. But, I can honestly say that after this adventure, I will definitely be more aware of the entire process from Natural Cycles Farm, to Hoof-to-Hanger Mill, to Color Wheel Michigan, to my loom!

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