ILR Show Division Fiber Committee Minutes - January 12, 2009
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ILR Show Division


FLEECE COMMITTEE Minutes
January 12, 2009
 

Conference Call Meeting – January 12, 2009, 7 pm EST

ILR Board Member -   Mary Jo Miller

Committee Members -  Val Carmichael, Lynda Carothers, Betty Moe, Fran Soukup, Pamela Tait

Board member Mary Jo opened the conference call meeting asking each member to introduce themselves and tell the committee about their personal interests in fiber and what expectations they had for the fiber committee.

From the members’ comments, the following seemed to be a common theme: 

1.  Interest in the education of the llama community and public on llama fiber

2.  Marketing of llama fiber and fiber products

3.  Resources - need for a listing of fiber mills, shearers and outlets for fiber

4.  Make fiber exciting

5.  Fiber Classes

6.  Consider amount of production of fiber as well as quality in shorn judging

Fran Soukup was elected chair unanimously, and Pamela Tait was elected committee secretary, again unanimously. 

The Fiber Committee had received several suggestions and input from Members that were acknowledged and discussed.

Val suggested forming a yahoo group for committee discussions other than during conference calls.  Val to check out the how-to and to make sure it would be secure.  Mary Jo checking with ILR board to make sure this is appropriate. 

Discussed possible fleece divisions.  5 divisions suggested:

1.  Classic/light wool/double coat or dual coat

2.  Double coat or dual coat

3.  Single coat with crimp

4.  Single coat without crimp/Silky

5.  Suri

Mary Jo made a motion, seconded by Betty to have the same 5 above divisions for both shorn and fleece on the llama classes.   Motion passed unanimously.

It was suggested that we use the terms ccara, tapada, lanuda and suri for our fleece division since those terms already exist.  Terms may be combined until members become familiar with them.  Committee to research these terms and definitions, and discuss whether they are appropriate to use.

Fiber committee will be making a list of classes that superintendants can choose from.  It was agreed that conformational classes and fleece judging classes should be kept separate in order to keep conformation from going by the wayside in favor of fleece production. 

Committee suggested changing name of “Walking Fiber” to “Fleece-on-Llama” and keeping “Shorn Fleece”.

Age divisions need to be determined.  There was much discussion about age divisions, including 5 – 12 mo., under 24 mo, 24 mo to 60 mo, and over 60 mo being more distinct age differences in fineness of fleece production.  Committee decided to see what the Halter Committee does with their age divisions so that we can take that into consideration and to see what input members may have.

Currently fleece judges are being grandfathered in.  There have been a few fleece judges already who have submitted their names for consideration.  Judges wishing to be considered should follow-up to make sure that the Judges Committee has their names.

It was suggested that the Fiber Division include not only Shorn Fleece and Fleece-On, but also add a division for Yarns and Finished Goods or Llama Fiber Products

Also suggested was having high-point fiber animal awards at shows.   

Also suggested was having an awards program to recognize Fiber Artists. 

Also suggested was the idea of shows offering finished llama fiber products as awards. Betty suggested that we could get a list of names of fiber artists who would be interested in providing such awards to superintendants. 

Classes suggested for Finished Goods Division:

1.    Handspun Yarns

2.    Knit Items

3.    Crocheted Items

4.    Woven Items

5.    Machine-knit Items

6.    Felted Items

7.    Locker-hook Items

8.    Misc/Specialty (Lead ropes, Bolos, etc, etc)

9.    Authentic Llama Fiber Costumes

10.   Natural or Dyed  

It was agreed that the above classes would be offered in Youth and Adult.  It was agreed that the above classes would be offered in 100% Llama Fiber and 50%+ Llama Fiber Blends.

2009 is the “International Year of Natural Fibers”.  There are groups and guilds that are doing educational displays on natural fibers around the country.  One such group has put together a “Fiber Study book” that has samples of natural fibers in it for people to see and feel.  There might be a possibility of this kind of study book being a marketable item, as it relates to llama fiber.

The Fiber Committee is interested in putting together some displays for superintendants who want to have better fiber displays at their venues for not only exhibitors but the public as well.  Promotional material and pictures for superintendants to download and print out on their end would be helpful.

At this point, Mary Jo suggested that our committee may need to form into some sub-committees as we have a lot of ideas and could use the help of those fiber people who volunteered for the committee.  Fiber Education could be one such sub-committee, Marketing, etc.

It was discussed that both the Fiber Committee and the Judges Committee will need to work together to come up with the guidelines for ILR Fleece Judges.

The next conference call of the Fiber Committee will be Monday, January 26, 2009, at 7 pm EST. 

In the meantime, Fran will email the Halter Committee about the age divisions.  Fran will work on developing scorecards for the Shorn Fleece and Fleece-On divisions.  Betty & Linda will work on Finished Goods scorecards. The group is to contact local llama folks for their input and feedback on the above thoughts related to fleece judging.

Committee members will work together via email right now.

Agenda items for the next meeting will include finishing rules, identifying sub-committees, year-end awards, and life-achievement awards. 

Meeting adjourned 9:10 pm EST.

Minutes submitted by Pamela Tait, Fiber Committee Secretary