From Riverviews
September/October 1997
By Michele Fabiano

A career in fiber farming and clothing production began with
"I can do that"

Erika Rosenberg’s farm is different. "It’s the only one in this area that has a vertical operation – where I start from the breeding, raising, and shearing to knitting the product, "Rosenberg said about her fiber farm."
        "Other knitters have to buy their fiber. Most larger cities have fiber stores where you can buy the processed fiber, but I’m the only one in this area who does the entire operation," she added.
        Alpacas, several sheep, angora rabbits and angora goats are raised on her 32-acre farm. "I spin the yarn and have a knitter make the clothing that I sell," she said.
        The way she makes a sweater involves working every day of the year. "Every day I have to do some aspect of fiber production, which begins with the pasture and basic upkeep of animals," she said.
        "The process is very labor intensive. The first step begins with the fertilization of the pasture and daily animal maintenance – daily feeding, lambing, doctoring at birth and when sick, and administering appropriate vaccinations," said Rosenberg, who does most of the doctoring herself. She said her former career as an intensive-care nurse helps in her work.
        "The animals are on a rigid worming schedule and need to be checked for other parasites," she added.
        "Internal parasites are a problem with just about any type of livestock. If a rabbit shows signs of mites they need to be treated. Goats and sheep constantly need their hooves trimmed and checked for foot rot caused from the inability to keep feet dry in wet pastures."
        Next is the shearing or actual shaving the coats of the animals, done by Trudy Skelton of Florence. "There is nothing romantic about shearing but it’s necessary if you are going to have goats, sheep and animals with long hair," Skelton said. She learned to shear to take care of her own flock of goats.
        Skelton has been shearing part time for 12 years and describes it as "a hard way to make a living – it’s very physical and demanding on the body, especially the back and leg muscles. It’s also dirty. The goats and sheep have lice and when you’re done shearing, you have lice crawling all over you."
        Rosenberg agrees, "This is one of the most difficult aspects of the business. It is not only physically demanding but the animals can be uncooperative.
        "The sheep and goats are well-mannered but the alpacas are real wild. They are a handful," Skelton said with a laugh as she recalled the first time she sheared the feisty beasts. Rosenberg said she is constructing a special shearing stall to control the bucking and rearing and to make shearing easier.
        The demands of shearing are further influenced by the climate. "The rabbits are sheared every three months or four times a year, the goats every six months or twice a year and the alpacas and sheep once a year, " Rosenberg said. "In Colorado, I only had to shear the alpacas once every two years – in Alabama you have to get the fiber off before it gets sun-burned and the animals get too hot. The actual sunlight damages the fur, making the fiber weaker."
        After shearing, the fiber is sent to various parts of the United States with instructions for processing and blending. "The wool from the Hampshire sheep is processed in Michigan and used for making comforters, while the angora requires a softer spinning mix and goes to Oregon. You have to know who has the appropriate processing equipment and is going to send the fiber back in a form that is best for the fiber. Some processors don’t have the right equipment," said Rosenberg.
        "At the processor the fiber is also blended with other fiber types, depending on what I want back and what type of garment I will be making. The angora rabbit is really the Cadillac of fibers. It’s very soft so I blend my angora with just about everything," Rosenberg explained as she held up sweaters made from a combination of fibers. Rosenberg spins the raw fiber into yarn on a Schacht spinning wheel.
        Taking a sample of alpaca fiber, she demonstrates how it becomes yarn. She sits at the spinning wheel, operating it with her foot as she explains: "People often get spinning and weaving confused. Spinning is the process of making the yarn that you can weave or knit with."
        She transfers the yarn to a skein winder, a circular device that helps form a circular loop of yarn. "The yarn is washed in hot water and weighted to set the twist. Yarn is formed by twisting the fibers, which I did in the first step – if you don’t set it with heat and water it will fall apart, " she explains.
        Next, Rosenberg transfers the large loop of yarn or skein to a swift, a machine that helps stretch the shrunken yarn. Finally, a ball winder rolls the yarn into a usable ball for the knitter. The process seems long, but Rosenberg moves swiftly among the machines
        "Tina Craig of Sheffield does all my knitting, " said Rosenberg. Craig started knitting nine years ago after receiving a knitted sweater for her daughter.
        "I said to myself, "I could do that," and bought the book "Teach Yourself to Knit," Craig said. "I had a natural talent for it and quickly progressed to the most intricate patterns."
        Rosenberg added, "It’s hard to get that kind of quality hand knit."
        "Knitting is not easy," Craig said. "It’s hard to find good yarn in this area and Erika does a great job."
        She said spinner and knitter collaborate on the garment design. "Erika brings the yarn and gives me an idea of what she wants and then leaves it up to me to pick out designs."
        After the final product is completed, Rosenberg sells the clothing from her home. "I had planned to sell right out of a boutique but every time I think I’m getting caught up, someone places an order. I already have four sweaters, a blanket, and two hats to complete for Christmas – and I’m already behind." She laughs and adds, "I also make African raffia hats, rabbit hand muffs, and wool slippers."
        She requires at least six months lead time before she will commit to a product. "It’s possible to have a finished product in two weeks, but that depends on getting the fiber back from the processor, getting it spun and it depends on the knitter’s schedule.
        "She and I both have four children and it doesn’t always get done that quickly. I also don’t want the pressure of a deadline. This is something I enjoy doing and I don’t want to make it burdensome."
        She added, "It also depends on the animals. It takes one rabbit one year to make a small child’s sweater."
        Jim and Jackie Zickler of Florence had the opportunity to see a spinning demonstration while visiting the Rosenberg family. Later Jim secretly ordered a sweater to be made for his wife for Christmas.
        "When Erika demonstrated the spinning process he really got into it, " Jackie recalled. "What’s so special about the sweater is that it came from Erika’s alpaca and rabbit – and that my husband went to all that trouble to have it made. It’s also soft and warm."
        Prices are determined by the fiber weight and type and are half the cost of what is charged in retail stores, Rosenberg said, holding an 80 percent brown alpaca and 20 percent gray angora rabbit blanket costing $500. A small child’s sweater of 100 percent angora piled with 100 percent cotton is valued at $79.
        She learned to spin and raise animals on her own. "About 12 years ago, when we were living in San Francisco, I went to a fair and there was an angora rabbit sweater selling for $800.
        "It was hand-raised and hand-spun and I said to myself, "I could do that."
        "When my husband and I moved to Louisiana, I bought a spinning wheel and taught myself how to spin. I later bought some rabbits and learned how to raise them. In Louisiana with three children and pregnant, I really couldn’t go anywhere or do anything and it seemed like the thing to do while I was home, " she said.
        "It’s been a process of learning to do all the different aspects. Over the years I acquired different machines and animals. I found I had a natural talent for spinning – it came easily and I was able to spin difficult fibers. The fibers I spin have no scales, which is why it’s so soft but so hard to spin. I just found something I was good at and it took off from there," she said.
        The dogs follow along behind to the barn to visit with the rabbits, chickens, goats and sheep. But the big, furry alpacas grazing and lounging in the pasture were the attention-getters.
        "Alpacas are a breed of camelids – they are like llamas, but smaller. Their first importation into the country was approximately 15 – 20 years ago from South America. Alpaca breeding is becoming the newest vogue, exotic animal industry," she said.
        Rosenberg laughs when asked if alpaca make good pets. "People try to pass them off as cute, friendly pets – they are not. They don’t like people and they are never going to like people. It’s like you are their servant. You leave the food and get out. Spitting is a warning, a defense mechanism. It’s how they establish their pecking order – they spit at Petey, (Great Pyranese dog) if he irritates them."
        The alpacas, goats, angora rabbits and sheep live among other non-fiber animals, including cats, dogs, meat rabbits, peacocks, chickens, ducks, horses, a rooster, boa constrictor, amazon parrot and hedgehog. Each animal is named after friends and family.
        Rosenberg’s children participate in raising the animals and have their own enterprises. "Thirteen-year-old Christian raises New Zealand short-haired meat rabbits. Jevon is not really into the animals, but takes care of the dogs and likes to weave. Ten – year-old Courtney has an egg business and Hannah, 8, has a worm farm and raises worms for bait or gardens.
        "For the children, living on a farm is not only educational, but it also teaches them responsibility," Rosenberg said. "They all have different jobs and work hard. Also, there is no reason for them not to be able to do something they can use later in life."
        Her husband, John Reinke, a cardiologist, is not active in the fiber business. But, "he does enjoy getting up and looking out and seeing all the animals in the pasture."
        There are two aspects of the farm that Rosenberg enjoys most – "I really like working with fiber. I am goal-oriented and like having a business where I can see the finished product. It started out as a hobby but I always had it in mind to be a business. I took 11 years to learn all the skills to get to the level that I’m at now. I am still barely scratching the surface with my spinning because I was self-taught, " she said.
        "Working a fiber farm is unique and like magic. It’s incredible to start with fertilizing a pasture and end up with a sweater. Seeing the final product is one of the most rewarding aspects of my business."