Sharon Koecher sits at her spinning wheel and shows off her wares during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Sharon Koecher sits at her spinning wheel and shows off her wares during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Spin City

Fireweed FiberFest comes to Soldotna

by Brian Mazurek
Monday, September 30, 2019 10:21pm
News

See photos from this year’s Fireweed FiberFest.

Visitors to the Fireweed FiberFest can be seen here at the Soldotna Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Visitors to the Fireweed FiberFest can be seen here at the Soldotna Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Alrene Haines, left instructs Donna Jones, right on how to use a spinning wheel during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Alrene Haines, left instructs Donna Jones, right on how to use a spinning wheel during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Sharon Koecher shows off a skirt made by her daughter Farrah Weinert during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Sharon Koecher shows off a skirt made by her daughter Farrah Weinert during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Farrah Weinert shows off some of her wares during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Farrah Weinert shows off some of her wares during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Cole Harmon shows off his great wheel – also known as a muckle wheel – during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. Harmon spins with qiviut, which is the inner wool of the musk ox and is harvested by Alaska Native elders in Nome. Harmon discovered recently that his wheel was built in the 1750s out of salvaged shipwreck wood by Quakers on the east coast. The wood itself is about 900 years old and was originally harvested in Scotland.

Cole Harmon shows off his great wheel – also known as a muckle wheel – during the Fireweed FiberFest at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Sept. 28, 2019. Harmon spins with qiviut, which is the inner wool of the musk ox and is harvested by Alaska Native elders in Nome. Harmon discovered recently that his wheel was built in the 1750s out of salvaged shipwreck wood by Quakers on the east coast. The wood itself is about 900 years old and was originally harvested in Scotland.

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