Martha Owen
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Using inspirations from antiquity and nature I individually design yarns and custom made knit wear of wool and angora from my own managed flock of sheep. All colors are from the sheep or the natural/vegetable dye pot. A sheep is sheared, the wool washed, dyed, picked, and carded.
Each thread is spun one at at time on a spinning wheel, and is then hand knitted into custom made garments. Some fleece is sent to a mill that guarantees my wool back to me in a simple yarn that I often dye. Related products such as roving, blankets and sheep skins are sometimes available. There is nothing like wool to show comfort and connection to a sustainable and healthy environment.
Martha Owen is the resident artist in spinning, knitting, felt making, dyeing and surface design at the John C Campbell Folkschool (folkschool.org) in Brasstown, NC. Her own adventure in spinning and natural dyeing began at the school in 1978 and she has taught there since 1984. (The first spinning class of thirteen had a one month old nursling in a wind up swing as her assistant. That baby is now 36! ) Martha is a wool farmer, custom designing yarns and knit wear from hand spun and mill spun sheep colors and natural dyes. Since 1980 her extended family has included a smorgasbord flock of sheep, angora rabbits, Border collies and Great Pyrenees. A banjo player known to tell a story or two, Martha's interest in sheep and wool and music and dance has carried her literally and joyfully around the world. Some say she is a wool nerd but her sheep say she is out-standing in her field! She became a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild in 1988.Find her online @marthaowenwoolens.