Green Options

I came across Ethical Twist quite randomly while flipping through a knitting magazine. After that, the rest was history. I became charmed by their yarn and easy way of explaining their eco-practices; right down to the farmers that raise the sheep and right back up to their packaging.

They offer a 70/30 blend of organic wool and alpaca that comes in a natural range of colors. No dye is used and the fleece is what dictates the color outcome. While there is no color modification, that doesn’t mean the colors suffer. Natural, Oatmeal, Camel, Slate and Mink are quite lovely and rich.

They also offer a line perfect for knitting up baby wear. It is 85% organic wool and 15% baby alpaca. It only comes in cream, but the baby alpaca helps make it all the more hugable.

A video has been flying around the Russian blogosphere of two people dumping about 20 dead and dying sheep onto the streets to oppose what the media have called an anti-government rally.

The sheep were dressed in blue T-shirts and hats reading “Solidarity” and most had their legs broken. The sheep that were still alive were vomiting blood and had syringes sticking out of their necks, clearly from being drugged.

The rally was being held by a variety of political parties who were joining together in opposition of the current government. While over 100 protesters involved in the rally were arrested, police were late to arrive at the scene of the sheep dumping and no one was apprehended.

If you’ve ever wondered what Churro wool was, then look no further than Tierra Wools. Complete with a full history of the breed of sheep, Tierra Wools also offers all of their Churro yarn and other wools as certified organic.

For the curious amongst you, Churro sheep were introduced to the New World because of their hardiness and adaptability to the new climate. They are an old breed dating back to the 1500’s. They were adopted by the Navajo and Pueblo Indian Tribes, soon after their journey.

Their fiber is similar to that of merino, but was eventually found to be secondary to other breeds and their stock was rapidly diminished. Today, it is rare to find pure bred Churros because they had been pushed to the brink of extinction, for many reasons. Largely found in the Southwestern part of the U.S. their fiber carries a luster not found in other wools. It has less lanolin then other wools as well and popular among spinners because of this.

If you live in a city (or even the ‘burbs) and are touched with a fiber obsession, the thought of packing it up and moving to a farm to raise your own sheep is not too often in the back of your mind. It sounds so romantic doesn’t it? Tending your own flock, shearing and preparing the fiber for spinning. Spinning, then dying the yarn, then knitting with your creation, knowing everything that went into the process.

Has reality set in yet? Kids, job, partner, just doesn’t equal farm bliss. Well listen up and take heed. You can now, partially, live out your dream of running away to tend sheep with a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share from Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm.

With a share in the Farm you buy into the Farm and have a stake in its success. The goal is to have yarn or bats for spinning at the end of the process, but you get so much more. You have access to Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm’s blog, where there are updates on the farm’s goings on. A weekly email update, invites to shearing parties and a chance to visit the farm and help out. This is after all, part your farm!

Aw, c’mon, pull my finger!

You’ve probably had that one pulled (pardon the pun) on you at least once in your life, and the old guy got a good laugh out of your response. It’s ok, old guys do strange things, I know.

Well, this isn’t about old guys, but sheep, cattle, deer and goats, the premier emitters of methane gas in the world. In this case, nature is “pulling the finger.”

Officials in Turin, Italy have decided to replace city lawnmowers with 700 sheep, saving thousands of dollars in fuel costs and equipment repairs. The sheep graze in city parks, fatten up and then are sold at the end of the season.

Drivers aren’t happy as sheep are herded across roads to new grazing lands, and locals who enjoyed sitting on the grass are finding it nearly impossible, since no one is cleaning up after the [...]

People often refer to non-dairy milks, such as soy and rice, as "alternatives to" or "substitutes for" cow’s milk, and the dairy industry scathingly calls them "imitation milks." By definition, the words "alternative" and "substitute" imply that the thing they are being measured against is the superior choice; that is, you choose the "substitute" when you can’t get the real thing, and so on.

However, I don’t like the use of these terms

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