Flocking Together
bySeveral weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall, Swannanoa resident Melanie Wilder was sitting outside when she noticed geese flying overhead. “I started to wonder…
Fiber
“Neighbors Helping Neighbors”
byHenderson County painter Cynthia Wilson was out of town when Hurricane Helene unleashed her fury. Four days later, when she and her husband finally…
An Inside Look at How Fabric Feels
byEarly on, Elizabeth Ivey liked to doodle and draw, and was encouraged to do so. Unlike most kids, though, she made her debut early,…
Another Kind of Networking
byWhen Alyssa Sacora was growing up in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, nature was an ally and not something to be held at bay. At a…
A Deep-Seated Passion
byAs a Brasstown native, Emolyn Liden spent her childhood at the John C. Campbell Folk School, where she learned to appreciate the mountain makers…
Cultivating New Passions
byIn 1894, the Women’s Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church founded the Asheville Farm School on 420 acres in the Swannanoa Valley….
Craft Chronicles
bySure, rhododendron leaves may look verdant and waxy. But when boiled in an iron kettle, the leaves dye wool a steely shade of gray….
Weaving the Fabric of a Homesteader’s Lifestyle
byIn farming years, five years can be a flash in the pan. But Courtney LaCaria, who started working her homestead with her husband five…
Lungwort in the Cauldron and Other Sustainable Concepts
byLynne Noble agrees that Lobaria pulmonaria (aka tree lungwort) is a tad homely. A species of lichen usually found in humid old-growth forests, this…
She Felt Her Way into Fiber Art
byArtist Tracey McCracken Palmer, who grew up in Western North Carolina, has drawn and painted for as long as she can remember. But, she…