Today on the Yarnthing Podcast with Marly Bird: Ron Miskin of the Buffalo Wool Company!
The Buffalo Wool Company (formerly Buffalo Gold) is run by Theresa and Ron Miskin. They, like many of our fellow fiber folks, fell into working in the yarn industry, in this case, with the help of the family bison ranch. Ron’s father has raised buffalo for many years. While Ron was at loose ends after leaving the restaurant business, he had a chance encounter with bison hides his father asked him to lay out and became interested in what one does with the down/fluff that the bison shed. His father had been selling the hair (it’s not actually wool) on-line and soon after they started producing bison roving which lead to spinning yarn and making accessories. Check out all their cool stuff on their website. Listen below to hear all about this great company, Buffalo Wool!
So why should you try bison yarn? For one, because this fiber is made from hair, bison yarn does not felt. The hair doesn’t have the barbs that make sheep wool felt. This means that it is a naturally machine washable fiber! It is also durable, making it a great long wearing and hearty fiber. Bison fiber is also very soft, just as soft as cashmere, lightweight, and very warm. And if that wasn’t enough, it is hypoallergenic so even people with wool allergies can use it!
In addition to their pure bison yarn, Earth, Buffalo Wool does blends bison with other fibers such as wool and silk. These yarns come in a great array of colors so check them out to see them all! Wool and silk weren’t the only things they blended their bison with, earlier this year they produced a limited run of Buffalo Gold yarn. This luxury yarn blended bison fiber with actual gold filament. Special this week, use the coupon code Marly for 20% off any yarn from Buffalo Wool!!
Check out the patterns that Marly has done with Buffalo Wool yarn on Ravelry. These are great patterns (like Larissa at the left)!
Be on the lookout for their upcoming self-published book, Cowgirl Up! This e-book features 7 knitting patterns and 1 crochet pattern inspired by the women who tamed the wild west. As an added bonus, you also get a short story by Jeannie Eilerts and their Bison Chili recipe.
You can find Buffalo Wool Company: on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Ravelry.
And the GIVEAWAY for this podcast, leave a comment below with Ron’s keyword for your chance to win a copy of the Cowgirl Up! e-book!
Don’t forget the discount code, get 15% off All Needles and Yarn Bowls with the coupon code MBirdYarnT, for Indian Lake Artisans!
Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos
Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch
