WHETHER YOU ENJOY the cozy comfort of a wool hat or the rich colors of a traditional Navajo rug, New Mexico’s history of fiber arts starts with sheep. Visitors can learn that origin story inside the Junior Livestock Pavilion, where Las Arañas Spinners and Weavers Guild presents a demonstration that begins at the source and ends in finished products.
Attendees first see sheep being sheared, then the wool is trimmed to remove any debris and soaked in water that becomes—as spinners call it—sheep soup. The wool is washed with dish soap and vinegar to remove the oily lanolin and leave the locks ready for carding, a process where all the fibers are lined up in the same direction. From there, the fibers are spun into yarn on a drop spindle or the more traditional spinning wheel.
Then it’s ready for dyeing. “If you come on the days that we’re dyeing with yellow and red onions, it smells like hamburgers,” says Marsha Julian, a member of the guild and longtime fair exhibitor.
Once dyed and dried, it’s ready for knitting, weaving, or fabric making. “From shearing to a garment, [it] can take about a month,” Julian says. But visitors can see the steps occurring simultaneously and can even take home a weaving kit or finished product.