The GLOBAL World of Knitting

I just tracked the journey of my latest project, around the globe, and it made me think about local versus global trade.

Fiber from Alpacas raised in SOUTH AMERICA sent to MASSACHUSETTS to be transformed into hanks of hand knitting yarn, then shipped to the UK who sold it online to me, a knitter in VIRGINIA, who knit a cardigan for someone who lives in SOUTH AMERICA.  So the yarn traveled around the world and ended up where it began.

I think of the time, effort and cost of such a journey.  And I also think of the local sheep and alpaca farms and woolen mills along the East Coast of the US who do it all.  Yes, we live in a global market, but is it always better?  Sometimes, yes.  But sometimes it's a great feeling to walk down the lane wearing a sweater you made from sheep on the farm just over the ridge.