Tuesday, January 28, 2014

It has been way to long since I blogged. I  am just now catching my breath from last summer and fall. We are having the coldest winter in years.  I finish up my seed orders and garden plans last week on a cold and sunny day.
 
          So far all the animals are doing well. The fiber flock all have their own warm coats and are  getting extra hay and grain every day. The last few days even the sheep have been returning to the barns after their breakfast.  Cheyenne the alpaca who joined the flock last fall seems to not feel the cold at all. All the sheep have beautify fleeces. Milo and Ebony's fleeces are extra nice and once again remind me of the wisdom of keeping the best weathers on the farm.
           The hens are even laying very well inspire of this weather. I take then out a warm high protein meal on the coldest days. This is a great way to clean out the freezer and keep them healthy.  All those out of date things hiding in the corners of the freezer are coming out, going in the crock pot,  being chopped up and mixed with warm powdered milk for hot meals for the hens. They rush to meet me every afternoon.
    This weather is great for chucking wood in the stove, spinning and weaving. I have been having fun working on a Ashford ridged heddle loom I recently added to my fleet of looms.  This loom is part of my summer plan to attend  the Iowa City Farmers Market with my weaving,  herbal body products,  natural dyed silk scarves and woolie babies.  I just ordered a pound of cochineal bugs for  wonderful pinks and reds this  year.  I spent part of yesterday spinning up some  designer yarn in hemp and cotton  that will go in one of my next projects.
There are a couple of classes coming up at the farm I wanted to list here. I hope to have  more classes listed soon so keep checking.         Beginning Drop Spindle Class
 $15.00  Sunday February  9th  1:00 to 4:00
In this class I will guide student  trough the basics of creating your own yarn on a drop spindle.  spindles and fiber will be available for purchase after the class.   This class has only one or two slots left so call Janette to register. 
                            319-643-5873
  



                  Spinning for Lace 
  Gail McPike from Davenport will share her passion for lace as she teaches this class at Fae Ridge Farm.
In this class students will learn how to set up a wheel for
spinning a fine lace weight yarn and different techniques
that will produce the results we want. This class is for students with  a good amount of spinning experience. Students will be
supplied with a variety of fibers and fiber preparations to experience the diversity of lace we can make. We will also learn how to “wrap” lace weight singles with silk thread in the Orenburg tradition. Spinning for lace is easy when you know the tricks!

MARCH 30th  FROM 9:00 TO 4:00  in the Fae Ridge Farm Studio STUDENTS BRING: Students should bring a spinning wheel in good working order.   (Let me know at registration what wheel you will be bringing to the class. Gail needs to prepare and study adjusting all the student wheels.)
CLASS FEE: $60.00
Material fee $10.00
*Note* Material Fees are in addition to Class Fee and are to be paid to instructor at time of class
Instructor Biography
Gail McPike, Davenport, IA
Last summer Gail won Best of Show in Knitting at the Iowa State Fair with her hand combed, handspun, Cormo Estonian Lace Shawl. In September, her work was judged Best of Show at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool; this time for a hand combed, home spun lace weight Cormo skein. She has developed a passion for combing wool to spin for lace and is currently working on spinning wool for projects in the Estonian, Shetland, and Orenburg lace traditions.