“It keeps you warm even when it’s wet, and it doesn’t get stinky and smelly.”
If you’re not sold on wool as the ultimate fiber with those two simple facts, Cindy Ruprecht will be happy to give you plenty more. From within the confines of Fiber, her cozy yarn shop in Bigfork, Cindy serves as an unofficial ambassador of the fiber arts in Montana — and she especially supports the use of local wool. “Everything on this table is grown in Montana, all local farms,” she says while waving her hands across an expanse of wool in her shop. Fiber is an official Grown in Montana retailer, “so we source stuff from all around the state,” she says.
Montana wool sparks Cindy’s passion for a variety of reasons, but its environmental impact — or lack thereof — is a key one. Cindy has fallen in love with Montana pretty hard, so impact on the land is something she takes pretty seriously as well. As a result, Montana-grown wool gets her stamp of approval.
“It's renewable. It's great for rotational grazing. Sheep are really low impact on the land, so you can move them around quite a bit.”
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What comes from Montana eventually returns. The circle of life, some would say. A wool sweater is part of the circle. “If you took it off when you were done with it and threw it on the ground, it would disappear and just go right back to the earth,” Cindy says.
Roaming around Fiber, you’ll find much to capture your attention — whether you’re an active fiber artist or an aspiring one. There are not only yarns in a spectrum of colors and textures, but kits and books for all levels. Cindy makes sure if there is anyone even remotely interested, they will find the stepping stone to help unlock the pleasures of their chosen craft, like the satisfaction of making something with your own hands — an act we grow less -and less connected to in our technology-filled lives. Then there’s the added joy of making something with a practical use: a hat, scarf or socks.
What clicked for Cindy was the appeal of learning primitive techniques. “I'm really into traditional skills. I like a lot of the old ways of doing things. I have my first wool that I ever spun with a drop spindle hanging up over there. A drop spindle is a really ancient form of taking fibers and turning them into clothing.”
Learning these old techniques is more than a simple novelty. It can be the ultimate form of independence. Starting with nothing more than a fuzzy clump of wool, spinning it into yarn and then knitting it into a hat that keeps your head warm on a cold Montana morning is empowering, making you feel you can conquer whatever the world might throw your way. Nothing more Montana than that.
Montana is a place where independence is mandatory. But as is often the case here, irony enters the picture. Independence may be mandatory, but community is fundamental. That was something that drew Ruprecht to the area. Originally from a very small rural town in Washington state, she came to Bigfork because it had more potential to build that community of craftspeople she envisioned — and she could still be in the mountains.
And it is certainly paying off. “Every Thursday, we have an open knit group where you can come work on whatever you're working on at home, but get out of the house, meet some other fiber folks.”
Turns out Fiber finds itself part of an even bigger community, one in which Cindy is always excited about meeting new fiber artists, exchanging ideas and sharing her passion with others.
