Fancy fiber

New business produces exotic yarns that are anything but run-of-the-mill

There's a certain amount of intuition, a "feel" if you will, that goes into making yarn from yak and bison hair and other exotic fiber-bearing animals.

No one knows that better than Scott and Diana Blair, who own and operate the new Going to the Sun Fiber Mill on Farm to Market Road near Kalispell.

"You have to have an eye for what looks good," explained Diana Blair, a knitter and crocheter since childhood who's been spinning yarn for the past 15 years. "Knitters are 'feel' people. We go by touch. If you don't have an eye for it, all you can do is run machinery by rote."

The Blairs' fiber mill is the end result of a lot of networking and loans from the state Department of Agriculture's "Growth Through Agriculture" program and the Small Business Administration.

Their project is the kind of unique value-added venture the Growth Through Agriculture program looks for, program manager Justin Hager said.

"Innovation is a requirement, and their work with the more exotic fibers makes it unique in that aspect," Hager said.

The mill processes fiber from throughout the United States, including alpaca from the Blairs' own herd. They get llama fiber from Virginia, bison from Oklahoma, and in the Flathead Valley, cashmere comes from Kila and yak from

Ronan. Traditional sheep's wool also is processed at the mill.

It's the only such mill in Montana with a de-hairing machine. Through special processing the Blairs can de-hair dual-coated livestock by separating the outer hair from the downey undercoat.

Each batch of fiber is run through the de-hairer five times to create luxuriously soft "clouds" of fiber ready to be processed into "ropes" and then finished yarn.

Yak, bison, cashmere and alpaca are among the kinds of fiber that begin the journey through the mill as big balls of hair and wind up as luxury yarn. The Blairs would like to experiment with musk ox, and Diana has hand-spun Samoyed dog hair.

"The staple length is so short [on dog hair] that it's almost impossible to do it by machine," she said.

Her angora rabbits produce fiber that can be combed or cut off the animals with scissors. It's used to mix with other fiber.

FIBER MILLS are few and far between in Montana. There are four of them, in Broadus, Hall (near Philipsburg), Belgrade and now Kalispell. One other mill has a spinning machine, but not as big as the industrial-sized 24-head spinner the Blairs purchased with other mill equipment that came from Pennsylvania.

"I keep in touch with all three mills," Diana said. "One of our big goals is to help livestock producers. We'll take their finished product to fairs and help sell it. It helps them recoup their investment."

The Blairs make the rounds at regional fiber festivals, selling the exotic yarn and educating the public about fiber processing.

Networking is helpful for both the Blairs and fiber producers.

Valerie Hogan, who operates an animal sanctuary in Eureka, supplies the Kalispell mill with a variety of fiber.

"We'll process it for her. Then when I go to fiber fests, I sell it and it helps her feed the animals," Diana said. "She brings in fibers we can learn on. Some are curly and crimpy; some are slick and straight."

They've also been working with Ruth Huffman of American Buffalo Designs in Blanchard, Okla., a pioneer in developing bison yarn. Judith McKenzie of Augusta, a prominent Montana spinner and bison advocate, is another of their clients.

In addition to finished yarn, the Blairs have equipment to produce fiber battings used in products such as quilts and felting that can be used for blankets or garments.

They offer hand-spinning, dyeing of cleaned fiber or yarn and blending of several different fibers or colors.

"IT TOOK us a little over a year to get the information together about how many fiber-bearing animals there are in Montana," Diana said. "We had to show a need that helps promote agriculture. We're the middle link between the breeder and the public."

In addition to the Growth Through Agriculture program, the couple received help from Lad Barney of the local Small Business Development Center, Ron Hurd of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and Flathead Bank of Bigfork Senior Vice President Jerry Bygren, who worked with the SBA to get the Blairs the financial assistance they needed to complete the mill.

The Blairs spent the winter getting the mill up and running. Their skills mesh nicely for the mill's operation. Scott, a lumber grader for Plum Creek, has both the artistic and mechanical expertise needed to operate the equipment; Diana has owned other businesses and knows marketing inside and out.

The mill is an integral part of the renaissance of the fiber arts that's swept the country in recent years.

"About eight to 10 years ago, knitting and crochet were almost lost" as art forms, Diana said. "I think people realized it was dying and they didn't want to lose that part of our American heritage. Now, it's come back again, and one of the big things to bring it back has been the introduction of luxury yarn."

For more information about Going to the Sun Fiber Mill, go online to www.gttsfibermill.com

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com