Have you ever considered living in the country and raising your own fiber animals? Shear Spirit is a must read! On the other hand, if you are already living the dream some of us hold dear, you may learn some alternative approaches or additional processes to enhance your current scheme. Beginning on the coast of Maine with a colored flock's fiber and the particular saline of the local water determining the resulting colors of yarns for that year, to an organic working farm that includes vegetables in addition to fibers, this book covers a spectrum of possible fiber farm focuses. A lovely mix of sheep breeds, shepherding dogs, owner backgrounds, and farming philosophy make Shear Spirit a delightful read. In addition, each location sports several lovely patterns that compliment the yarns produced.
For those of us who day dream about such an enterprise, Joan Tapper, author, and Gale Zucker, photographer, of Shear Spirit offer a great variety of backgrounds among the fiber producing farm owners. By doing so, it seems less important whether they were born to the life and far more important that they evolved into the life. From a Navajo sheep rancher - Jay Begay, Jr. of Lazy J Diamond Ranch in Ricky Ridge, Arizona – who grew up knowing he wanted to remain a fiber producing fiber artist, to a couple who grew up on the South Side of Chicago - Ken and Carol Weisner of Victory Ranch, Mora, New Mexico – who chiefly just enjoy raising alpacas now, the visions of the protagonists in this tale are as diverse as the fibers they nurture.
Some of the topics covered include sustainable farming, natural dyeing, both wool and camelid producing animals, rare breeds, organic farming, shepherding dogs, and natural fibers. In addition, some very enticing patterns are provided to conclude each well-written chapter. Yes, there are a couple of misnamed fiber equipment parts within the narrative, but, this stalls the reader only momentarily and the intended part is easily derived from the context. OK now…which will I make first…the Wolf Pack Hat or the cashmere socks?