Gun Barrel Canyon Farm in the Nanaimo area was started in 1984 when Mark and Deb moved onto a bare piece of clear-cut land. They started with horses, slowly adding alpacas and finally sheep (and several “livestock guardian” dachshunds!) The…
Earlier in the year, I was approached by Deb of Gun Barrel Canyon Farm (Nanaimo) with a request to weave a bed blanket using wool from her animals. Deb has several breeds of sheep on her farm and has been…
The Alberni Valley Fibre Guild launched our “100-km Wardrobe Challenge” in the spring of 2025. We are one year into the two-year challenge, and it has been a busy year! The Challenge brings together 21 makers from the Alberni Valley,…
Sorting Table for Skirting Fleeces Once the shearer finishes shearing, the fleece is gathered together and taken to the sorting table (also known as a skirting table). Often, the fleece is thrown onto the table such…
We are happy to have been featured in an article in the January 2026 CV Collective magazine: Three Bags Full: Friends don’t let Friends’ Fleeces go to waste, written by Marie Maccagno.
Many sheep on the Island are raised primarily for meat but that doesn’t mean that their fleeces don’t have value! Healthy sheep produce good wool. The Vancouver Island Fibreshed Shearing Support Program assists farmers, helping to improve their revenue streams…
We have many different breeds of sheep here in our Fibreshed and their wool characteristics differ. Jill studied 10 different local breeds to try to see which would make the best socks – a garment we all need. Suitability of…
The Gabriola Arts and Heritage Centre was abuzz the weekend of November 6-8 as the Gabriola Island Fibreshed Working Group hosted the second iteration of Refugia, a multidisciplinary event exploring fibre, music, and storytelling. Ursula LeGuin’s essay on the Carrier…
What makes a good yarn for weaving rugs? Bobbie has been exploring different breeds of wool in her rug making. Sometimes she processes and spins her own rug yarns but it’s always nice when she can find a commercial product…
Local fibres, local dyes, local labour. The fibres we choose for our projects are important. But so are the dyes! And colour can tell such stories – of who we are, of where we live. Here, a member of the…