Lot of news at the farm. Last week was filled with lots of fiber and farm work. The blue blend I made in May is all but gone, so the dye kitchen was filled with endless dye pots of  blues, purple and a bit of yellow.  I hope this one turns out as beautiful as the last one.  I got a great box of spindles from Elizabeth Daily at Green Sleeve Spindles.  The Damsel Monique's  and Mjilnor's are especially stunning in this batch,and I am once again amazed by how these spindles love to make yarn.
     

 
              I spent part of the week getting ready for the natural dye retreat on August 24th and 25th.  I spent time at the grocery sorting through onion displays to get nice big bags of red and yellow onion skins.  I started soaking the avocado skins and am already seeing the color in the gallon jar sitting on the window sill. I harvested the Aronia berries and saved a big bag back for dyeing. The two small jars in this picture are both Aronia berries, one has a bit of vinegar and one has a tiny spit of ammonia. This should one again be a fun weekend at the farm. We will pick from the dye garden and watch the magic of indigo. We have a nice group for the class but  I could squeeze two more people in,so be sure to call if you want to join us for a weekend of  natural dyeing.

        The leeks are weeded and I will put on another nice thick layer of mulch this week.They are looking great, nice and big with long tall blue green leaves. My big bales of straw got delivered on Thursday so I am feeling good with mulch security for next year.
                   The big news at the farm is I am buying two alpacas! It seems the time is right for an addition to the fiber flock.   Two boys will be delivered on Saturday. They are coming from over west of Des Moines. One is white and one is chestnut brown.  I am getting their last fleeces with them and can't wait to add them to my blends. I am heading out later today to work on a bit of fencing, so they can  have their own pasture for the first few days, as they adjust to a new life here on the farm.