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New Classes Added: Indigo Shibori Classes

Come to the farm and learn how to prepare your cotton napkins in the Japanese Shibori way. You will dip and dye in the indigo pot for truly unique cloth napkins for your own table or for your very best friend. You will leave with a set of 4 indigo dyed napkins that you made yourself. You will go from a blank canvas to beautiful napkins for your table or for a gift.

This class starts at 1:30pm and ends 3:30-4pm

Want to book an indigo party? Just gather 2-4 friends and we’ll pick a date that works for you. You can make it a birthday party, a retirement party or just a great day at the farm with your friends.

There is a 2 student minimum for this class.  If the 2 person minimum is not met, you will receive a refund through Paypal.  Cancellations with refund will be accepted  to 14 days prior to the class and are non-refundable after that date.

Instructor Bio:

Lisa has been dyeing for over 30 years. She started her dye explorations by dyeing warps for ikat weavings. She taught these techniques all over Los Angeles. After moving to Maryland and buying the farm, she has concentrated on dyeing yarn and spinning fiber for sale. Her expertise in dyeing shows in her colorways and expertise in all systems of dyeing.

Click here to enroll

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Last Podcast of Season 4

In this podcast, Lisa talks about the clothing challenges sponsored around the nation and the world by Fibershed affiliates. There are small challenges that focus on just one type of garment, such as gloves or a pair of socks. There are others that expect a 3 piece outfit made by one person or a team.

Chesapeake Fibershed decided to make their challenge as inclusive as possible. So we broadened the concept to include home textiles such as quilts and rugs and pillows. And you can participate whether you make a huge project, an outfit or even a hat. We also have 3 “streams” of participation depending on what your raw materials are.

You can read about it here. And if you live within 150 miles of the DC-Baltimore Metro area, you can join our challenge by completing the form here.

Would you rather watch the podcast? You can find it here.

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Answers to your Natural Dye Questions

In this episode of the Flying Goat Farm podcast, I talk about the benefits and pitfalls of natural dyes. I also help you with questions about how to use these yarns effectively in a pattern. And once you’ve invested in naturally dyed yarn, fabric or clothing, how should you take care of them so they are part of your wardrobe for the longest time.

You can listen to the episode here. Or you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Prefer to watch? You can tune in here on YouTube.

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A Fibershed Conversation with Marian Bruno

A new episode dropped today. It’s my Fibershed Conversation with Marian Bruno. We talk about our creative journeys and we talk about how to move from fast fashion to slow, local fashion in a mindful way. We talk a lot about some influential books as well. You can find the podcast here. Or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Would you rather watch us? You can find that here on YouTube. You can find the book list here.

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A Conversation with Roan Farnum

In my continuing series about Fibershed, I talk with Roan Farnum about their creative journey and how Fibershed plays a role in those creative endeavors. It was fun to talk about how they are taking a raw fleece and developing it into a sweater.

You can listen to it here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts

If you would rather watch, click here to go to the video of our conversation.

to go to the video of our conversation.

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A Conversation with Ellen Hoch

Ellen is a vibrant member of the Chesapeake Fibershed so I thought it would be fun to talk about the Fibershed movement. We also get into the difficulties there are with getting local yarn and fabrics, simply because our infrastructure is gone. There are some new ideas out on the horizon, so there is lots to be hopeful about. We also talk about the status of our local wardrobes and what we are working on right now. You can listen to the podcast here or anywhere you listen to podcasts. If you would prefer to watch, you can find it here on my You Tube.

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My Creative Journey into Slow Fashion

I’m answering the questions I had for my guests in upcoming episodes. I’ve been making since I was a kid. I was taught to embroider and sew clothing early on. It was a valued skill in my family. As a young adult I picked up needlepoint and even started to paint my own canvases. I was mesmerized by the wall of color in the needlepoint store. I learned to weave and dye and spin on my journey as well. And when I needed to have a smaller footprint in creative endeavors I went back to sewing and began to quilt. This has led me to wanting to creative more slow fashion for myself. But the reality of fast fashion and its environmental problems has made my goal of a local slow wardrobe more tangible and has become a passion project.

Listen here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Would you rather watch the powerpoint? You can see it here on You Tube.

Watch the powerpoint here.
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The American Textile Industry

I took a trip to the Carolinas last week. I was able to see how fleeces go to yarn and fabric in the large industrial process. It was fascinating, especially since I know all of those processes on my own small scale. You can listen to my podcast here or watch on You Tube here.

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Fast Fashion and Climate Change

In the new podcast episode, I teach you about how our clothing choices affect climate change around the world. Each time we purchase textiles that are made by big centralized industries in countries far, far away, that decision adds to the greenhouse gases that are responsible for climate change.

It’s not a coincidence that this month we have seen the hottest temperatures in our country for the longest period of time. We have more flooding and more severe storms. There are wild fires around the world as well.

We can make choices that will make a change for the better. Will it be easy? No! Will it be quick? No! But it will be something.

Listen to the podcast here. OR watch on Vimeo or You Tube