Last week I was excited to share my find of the Martha’s Vineyard CSA (Community-supported Agriculture), a program in which you invest in “shares” of the farms flock in return for a percentage of the fiber harvest.

As I was browsing my post about the Local Harvest website (yes, I browse my own blog) I came across a second fiber CSA, Willow Ridge Farms located in Iowa. Not only can you purchase many fiber related products from their Local Harvest store, but you can also buy into their CSA program.

Willow Ridge Farms offers four levels of investing, Full Yarn Share, Half Yarn Share, Full Roving Share and Half Roving Share. Full and half shares are delivered every six to eight weeks and will contain three pounds of roving or up to 1,800 yards of handspun yarn from their flock of Shetland Sheep. What’s really cool is that prior to each shipment you will receive an email with color choices ranging from hand painted or dyed to natural shades.

I’m really starting to dig these fiber CSA programs. I hope more farms get on board.

I just received my e-newsletter from One Planet Yarn and Fiber and they have three incredible January special offers. You can choose from one of the following coupon codes and they are valid until January 31, 2009.

1. 10% off all orders over $48.00 (this includes anything on the site except for “LaLana Kits”). Coupon Code: Jan10

2. Free shipping on all orders over $48.00. Coupon Code: JanShip

Or (the best of all as far as I’m concerned)

3. Inventory Clearance. Take 20% off all items in the “On Sale Now” section. Coupon Code: JANSALE

Why am I so excited about the third option? Because there are some awesome deals available. These are some of the same bargains that I list in my Weekly Bargains posts and now slash an additional 20% off!

Example: There is some very cool Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed available for $7.70 that is regularly priced at $8.95. Pop in the Coupon Code and BAM! $6.16 baby.

After I discovered that there are yarns out there other than acrylic, it was a natural evolutionary step to wonder about eco-friendly yarns. Not that I think my little acrylic yarn stash was in any way responsible for global warming, I just couldn’t help wanting to grow-up a little in this age of environmental-responsibility awareness. So I went forth on a quest to find yarn stores and manufacturers that were themselves environmentally aware or at least offered eco-friendly alternatives. What I found was so much more.

As I compiled my list of online eco-friendly resources and stumbled (as much as one can stumble on the Internet) across Hanna Breetz and her site The Green Knitter¹. This site is a wildlife preserve in the fiber forest. The Green Knitter is packed with valuable information on the world for organic and eco-friendly yarns.

While exploring The Green Knitter you will find detailed explanations of each green buzz word (e.g. Sustainable, Natural, Organic, etc.). She then explains our fiber options (Animal and Plant) and the manufacturing process for each one. Her thoughts on bamboo gave me a new perspective on eco-friendly.

What I applaud her for is her Yarn Chart. An invaluable resource for anyone wanted to know what yarn options are available and plenty of information to make informed choices. It lists yarn manufacturers, brand name, fiber and processes used on those yarns. You can even find which yarns are considered vegan. Amazing!

If I had an award to give for being eco-awesome Hanna would get it hands down.

Not to let my own research go to waste, I’ve created an Eco-Friendly Resources page in the navigation section listing online companies that offer organic and eco-friendly yarn and crochet/knit resources.

1. I know. I know. Knitters rule the fiber world. I get it.