Satin Angora in the Old Days

Satin Angora was accepted in 1987 at the ARBA convention in Portland.  That was also the first ARBA convention that I attended.   The presenter was Mrs. L. P. Meyer, see:

Northern California Angora Guild: Remember When: Satin Angora Creator Mrs. L. P. Meyer (ncag.blogspot.com)

Polly Holmes was one of the early breeder and exhibitor of the Satin Angora.  She tirelessly promoted the Satin Angora by writing articles, doing fiber work and even taking out a COD to present the broken Satin Angora.  This photo was taken in the 1995 ARBA convention at Louisville, KY (yes, there were several ARBA conventions at Louisville: 1995, 1999, 2008, 2021 and the coming 2023.)  The Satin Angora was not as wooly nor as dense as the Satin Angora today but the color was more intense and the sheen was more evident.  There is a trade-off between density and texture/sheen/color in Satin Angora. The underwool supports density but the underwool has less sheen, less color; mixing more underwool with guard hairs will cause the color to be less intense and sheen less evident.  On the bright side, having more underwool means more density and more wool production.  

Here is a feature article published in the Spin Off magazine in 1994.   Spin Off was and still is the premier magazine for fiber artists.   This photo shows that the Satin Angora wool is spun very fine and the color is very intense.  

To have an article published in Spin Off is a major achievement for a fiber artist.  This article was authored by Polly.   If you wish to read it, you can click the photo and you'll get an enlarged version.