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Thursday, September 30, 2004

Store Picks Up Good Fibrations

Telegraph Staff Report
    People who spin, weave, knit or crochet clearly were more than ready for Good Fibrations— the newest enterprise to open its doors in Edgewood.
    "We had such a great grand opening, I'm going to have to reorder soon," said store owner Bethe Orrell.
    Good Fibrations, located on Old Route 66 at George Court, opened Aug. 25. Since then, Orrell said, plenty of people have discovered the store and classes have started.
    Although Orrell said she comes by her love of yarn and fiber naturally— her mother owned a knit shop when Orrell was a child and her grandmother took in sewing and mending— she believes anyone who has the desire can learn to knit and weave well.
    Consequently, much of the store's activity focuses on classes, she said.
    Starting in October, Good Fibrations will offer:
   

Beginning Knitting, for adults or adult/child pairs;
   

Beginning Weaving, also called Yes You Can Weave. Space for this class is limited by the number of available looms;
   

Making Japanese Temari Balls— balls of ornamental needlework;
   

Colonial Penny Rugs, a decorating or gift project with felt; and
   

Rug Hooking.
    Classes starting in January include Beginning Crochet, Lace Knitting, Weaving With Silk and Spin to Knit a Hat, Orrell said.
    Class times vary, she said, with some offered during the day and others available weekends and evenings.
    Given Orrell's long history with weaving and fiber, it's hard to believe the new store is her first.
    Prior to opening the store, she worked as the director of continuing education at New Mexico State University in Carlsbad. But she's lived all over rural New Mexico, she said, weaving, selling and showing her work in galleries.
    She chose Edgewood as her store location, she said, because it still lacks city-type entertainments like movie theaters and galleries and people largely entertain themselves.
    "There's just not a lot to do like you do in the city," she said. "People make their own fun."
    In making their own fun, "women knit and tat and sew," she said.
    If Good Fibrations' first few weeks are any indication, Orrell's business sense may soon have her spinning fiber into gold.
    Orrell, however, may be too busy to notice. She will participate in the New Mexico Women in the Arts Wearable Art Charity Benefit event in Santa Fe in November; The Taos Wool Festival in October; and the Albuquerque Fiber Fiesta in May.
    She's also a member of the East Mountain Fiber Fanatics, which will hold its second annual Fiber, Farm and Studio Tour in the spring.
    Store hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.