Spring is here and each day seems to have a huge list of things to do. On wednesday morning I  sheared Milo and Trudy. I can't wait to for a rainy day that I can spend in my studio  working on their fleeces. They were both very cooperative about the shearing. Trudy almost fell asleep as I  had her down for her tummy cleaning. It was a mixed look as I walked them down to the pasture behind the store this morning.

Milo is on the left Trudy is on the right and Ebony and Teddy are still waiting for their spring  hair cuts. One of my task in the next few days is to set down with my calendar and pin down class dates for this summer.  I plan to do tow natural dye classes this summer and maybe even three. I have had a woman get ahold of me requesting a Nuno felting class. I would love to teach that one again, so contact me if you are interested in learning this amazing method of felting.  I am contemplating a designer yarn class too.  I have to sign off and go bag up the latest fiber blends, but I will let lots of class ideas   drift through my thoughts and post a schedule soon. 

I have two new fiber blends back from the carder. In my last blog I posted pictures of one of these blends as I worked on it. I am calling this one Kaleidoscope with all its amazing bits of color.  I have been busy spinning up samples of these two blend. Both are created from beautiful Blueface fleeces  from my sheep and a few from other Iowa  Bluefaces.  The red blend  has a bit of star fire in to add just that hint of sparkle.  I am still working on a name for the red one.

 Spring is here and it is time for spring fiber shows. The Iowa Spin in will be held on April 25th at the Kirkwood Training and Outreach Services Center in Marion Iowa. The doors open at 9 and this spin in  has some fun mini classes set up for a fun day. Everything from Beginning Spinning to Combing Fleece. It looks like lots of great vendors and fiber will be there for  folks to stock up on. 

 The next show after this one will be Shepherds Market held on My 9th at the Amana Woolen Mills. I hope  to see many of you at one or both of these spring shows.

I will be shearing the flock in the next  week or so, and can't wait to get my hands on these wonderful fleeces.       

 Once again life is just too busy to post as often as I should. It has been a good but challenging winter  here at the farm.  I am getting ready for spring fiber shows. Iowa Federation of spinners and weavers  is holding  the spring spin in in Cedar Rapids  on April 25th.   I will post info on the Fae Ridge farm Facebook page  in the next week. Shepherds Market will once again be held at the Amana Woolen Mills in main Amana on May 9th. There is  a link on the FRF Facebook page. I  am working on a new blend with some yummy icelandic and  Blue Face lamb fleeces.

 I am so blessed with an amazing studio that  has facilitates for skirting, washing, drying, dyeing, picking, and carding as well as a fleet of spinning wheels. I have desided to open my studio space to the public on the first Sunday of each month from 10:00 to 4:00. I will have tea and coffee on hand and  am asking $5.00 per hour for folks  using equipment. For more details send an email of check the FRF Facebook page.
       I have to sign off and go to the loom. Rugs are calling me.

 

Another busy week here at the farm. Last Sundays farmers market at the Johnson county fairgrounds was great. we had a nice steady turn out and everyone seemed to be in a great mood for some holiday shopping. The last two days  I have been painting skeins and working on an indigo vat.  Yesterday I dyed a bunch of Peace fleece skeins in indigo. They turned out so nice I can't  wait  to get them out to the store for knitters. I also worked on silk scarves and cotton project bags. Here is a pic of the rack in my studio with lots of  drying  blues.

 

I have made it through another year of gardening. Most of the gardens are cleaned up the last harvest is in.  We had leeks and ducks for Thanksgiving and celebrated the bounty of food on the farm.
      It is not New Years yet but  I am vowing to do more blogging. I am setting a goal of once a week.  My new motto will be blog by wednesday.  I have been  doing more posting on the Fae Ridge Farm face book page.  If you want to see  what I have been up to in the last few months go cheek it out.
       I have been busy getting the store ready for the holidays. I once again have alpaca socks in lots of sizes and  have some wonderful new cloth gift bags (pics on face book). This week  I have been spinning, painting skeins, making slippers and mittens from  felted wool sweaters.

Is Spring really here?

Today feels like spring with warm winds and lots of sun. The forecast is for more cold weather  in 48 hours. The signs of spring are all around. Gold finches are turning bright gold, the garlic has shot it's way past the winter mulch and is 4 inches tall, and the snow drops are in full bloom, so there is hope all around us.
              Life has been busy here the last few weeks. Two weeks ago the whole flock was still snug in their winter coats.

Now the studio is filled with beautiful fleeces in varying stages of processing.   After 14 years of shearing llamas I have finally come up with the perfect  way to shear these big independent critters. Last years addition of Cheyenne the alpaca lead me to lot of investigation as to how to shear  him. I came across a method on line that looked great.  this method is a simple cross tie system with an addition of a girth under their belly hooked up to the ceiling with a bit of spring to keep them from laying down.  I rigged up  a amazing system yesterday with chains from the ceiling that I hooked the heavy duty bungie straps to.  I am going to get myself a  official girth strap for my next time but the   ropes sewn together worked for  this first time.I had the smoothest shearing ever! The spring (bungie strap) system discourages them from kicking. This new system cut shearing time in half. I took a pick of Perkins  before I started and hope folks can use this one in their shearing of camelids.

 A reminder that this Saturday is the  Iowa Federation of Spinners and Weavers spring meeting in Waterloo. I will be there vending along with lot of other fiber fun. Hope lots of folks can come check it out. Here is a quick shot of the  new blend I got back last week I am calling it Mojave Tweed.

My coffee break is over I have to sign off and  go back out to  more barn cleaning.    

 

Winter is still working on us and won't seem to quit. I am thankful every day I am not having any kids or lambs this spring! My heart goes out to all  those folks who are lambing and kidding in this brutal weather. Somehow life here at the farms seem to stay busy.   I have a new blend back from the carder. It spins up like butter and is such a nice blend I am glad I created a big batch on this one.  Here is a shot of the sample I spun up today.
            I am working on felted bunnies and blue birds these days. I hope to have them in at New Pioneer soon. I have a tray of bluebirds waiting for their  white tummies and  eyes and lots of bunny parts waiting for my attention.
 We have an up coming Spinning For Lace Class  on March 30th. Gail McPike will be teaching this one.  Gail has mastered lace spinning and is now going to share her knowledge with   a few lucky students.   This class starts at 9:00Am and will  run all day in my  in home studio space. This class  is $60.00 and there is a $10.00 materials fee.  We have two slots left  in this one. If anyone is interested or has more questions call me @ 319-643-5873. I HAVE to sing off now and go do chores before the cold gets any worse.