The Apple Creek Farm
Historically Inspired Fiber Arts
Author: Ann McCool
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The Green Man is a fascinating folk art symbol. Some sources say it is a medieval symbol of spring and rejuvenation. But most sources can only be tracked back to the 1930s, making this a modern folk art symbol. Although, soon it will be 100 years old, which doesn’t feel very modern! Usually carved or…
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In February I was busy cooking up something I had never done before: Fiber art as Fine Art! I submitted this woven piece, with a hand turned distaff and spindle, to the Arts Council of Wyoming County Fiber Fine Art Exhibit. I have long considered myself an artist, and found expression through various visual mediums…
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I’ve got my story floating around all over on this website and social media! But in a few bullet points:– I got an antique spinning wheel, which made me look up historical spinning in greater depth– I got into distaffs, which gave way to a drop spindle– I couldn’t find someone selling medieval style spindles…
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Over the Christmas break I rearranged my studio space for the umpteenth time. It’s an enclosed porch, and it’s long and narrow, so it never feels quite right – but I really like it for the moment! And then it was time to set some goals! Goal #1: Set some boundaries with the online store…
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The beginning of this month was all madness getting the Black Friday orders made and out! I really didn’t expect to have such good sales, and life as I knew it sort of stalled to a stop. It was eat, lathe, package, and sleep! Our two part European Belted Distaffs are our most expensive tool…
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Blue woven items are my biggest sellers! And luckily I also really like blue. Usually I add some brown or beige tones to my scarves to make the blue really pop, but this time I had some mint blue and greens to get woven up, so here we are! This project uses wool that was…
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2025 was our first year selling fiber arts tools online. What started with a few sales each month over the summer had ballooned into barely being able to keep up with demand come Black Friday! To say I was underprepared was a gross understatement lol. But we survived! And at the beginning of the month…
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This is our Spin Like a Viking kit It’s our best seller!And sales have averaged from between a few a week to a few a day since we started selling them Sept 2025 It started when I was asked to apply for a demonstrators spot at the 2024 WNY Fiber Arts Festival. I applied to…
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Hello! Today I want to chat about this style of spindle, which I am still playing with. It’s inspired by the photoThe Spinner by William-Adolphe BouguereauPainted in 1873 What I am learning is that by the later 1800s scenes like this were seen as traditional, and paintings of these scenes sold more because it was…
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October was a very big month! The beginning of October was all about getting ready for our last vendor market of the year. Lots of spinning and weaving heading into this last hurrah, including the Orange plaid scarf we had such fun photographing which sold that day, and the purple plaid scarf that is currently…
The Apple Creek Farm 