Like a giant patchwork of shifting shapes and patterns, the 2015 Craft and Quilt Fair spreads through the Budawang Hall at the Exhibition Park in Canberra.
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Among the colourful displays and assorted activities is the stall of Lee Scott and Stephanie Hamilton.
The mother and daughter, both knitters, offer crafters a choice of yarns and accessories that are as beneficial to the planet as they are beautiful.
"We've always had an ethical standpoint with our purchases," Miss Hamilton said.
The idea for the conscience-driven venture emerged when they discovered the entire wool production chain was not happening in Australia.
"It's where we come from, grown on the sheep's back," Miss Hamilton said. "We used to live on a wool-growing property in northern New South Wales in the 90s."
An ever-increasing awareness of working conditions and horror stories like the Bangladesh factory disaster made Ms Scott and Miss Hamilton rethink the source of the products they were using.
The pair decided to find an alternative approach, in keeping with the universal trend toward a more organic and sustainable lifestyle, and Alt Yarn was born.
"We do our research and make sure the product fits our criteria," Miss Hamilton said, and added that they favoured small family enterprises and initiatives that empowered and helped women.
Among the latter is the Rocking Yak community project, which aims to alleviate poverty in Tibet's rural villages while allowing people to live in a traditional way.
Instead of shearing the animals that their families rear, the women gather loose tufts of wool by hand before spinning the yarn.
Ms Hamilton described the thick wool as "like a down", and added that it "feels a bit rough" but was very soft and warm once knitted.
The colours are the natural shades of the animals, which she appreciates.
Appropriately, the Alt Yarn storeroom is a yurt in the backyard of the home Ms Scott and Miss Hamilton share.
Knitting is something of a family tradition, with the skills being passed down through the generations.
Ms Scott learnt from her grandmother, who died when she was 9.
"I was well and truly knitting by then," she said.
Ms Scott teaches several short courses for CIT Solutions while Miss Hamilton makes trauma teddies and pouches for joeys, smaller items that use up scraps as a form of recycling.
Miss Hamilton said Alt Yarn was about "keeping it in the family" – their own and those of the workers they supported.
