Launching

The Skirted Fleece Mill website is now officially up and running! 

You can find updates on what we're making in the mill, our service price list and directions at

Skirted Fleece Mill

New Arrivals

So we've finally had some good happening around the farm.  For starters, our brochures for the open house were printed up and came in the mail, so we get to start distributing them around town.  The website should be up and running by the end of the week for everyone who wants directions for the open house and the price list for the mill services. 

We've been hard at work finishing a new batch of sock yarns:

I really really hope people like sock yarn, because we have about 60 skeins of it that I've been working on getting dyed up.  It's 100% Corriedale that we got from a small farm in New York and it's soft but sturdy.  I've knit my share of socks and it always bugged me to not know how much yarn I had left for the second sock or to have to drag out a scale to measure while I wound.  We're preventing that problem by selling the yarn packaged in two 200 yard skeins so that it's the perfect amount for each foot.  No guessing required!


The other (slightly cuter) new addition is Miss Maddie Ross.

 

Maddie came to us from Sweet Border Collie Rescue.  We had put in an application, assuming it would take a couple months to get a placement because Adam wanted a puppy and most rescues have older dogs.  But as luck would have it, Maddie and her siblings came to the rescue from a shelter at about the same time our application hit, and the rescue thought we would be a good home for her.  She's half Border Collie and half Blue Heeler cattle dog and all energy.  While no one could possibly replace Cisco, Maddie has helped to make the house feel less empty.  She's good company for Thora and has bonded like glue to Adam.  She follows him everywhere, helps out with the farm chores, and curls up in his lap for snuggles.

 

 

She's also a help in the mill...

 

 

I never have to worry about the fiber wandering off. 

 

 

Maddie is on top of it.





And now for something completely different

Adam and I both approach things the same way.  When the going gets tough, we think we can just put our heads down and bulldoze through it.  Sometimes this works, especially if it's both of us pushing forward together.  Sometimes it's just exhausting.  Last week was one of those.  But in an effort to move toward a more positive direction...


We are announcing the Grand Opening of the Skirted Fleece Mill and Mill Store!



The mill will open on March 23, from 10 am to 6pm.  Everyone is invited, so spread the word!  We'd love to see as many people as can make it.  We'll be giving tours of the mill and answering questions and I'm hoping to have some nifty door prizes to raffle off.  If the weather is cooperative we'll also be able to show off the yak herd and the sheep and bunnies. 



We have a lot to do, but we're really excited to be able to finally open for business and we can't wait to get started. 

Second Verse

Same as the first.  A little bit louder and a little bit worse.

So last week was...horrific.

On Tuesday we lost Cisco.

On Wednesday Maiden gave birth to a little ewe lamb.  All day that lamb was running about, yelling it's head off, seemed to be happy and healthy.

On Thursday morning the lamb was stone cold and not moving.  A friend and I spent the entire day trying to get warm milk and electrolytes into her and getting her warmed up and moving. By dinner time she was starting to stand and walk on her own.  Adam went to bed at 10 pm and when he got up for the 1 am feeding, she had died.

Saturday night a teenager wrecked her truck on a patch of black ice on the road in front of the neighbor's house and was thrown from the vehicle.  To the best of our knowledge, she is thankfully going to be ok.  But...

On Sunday afternoon, we lost one of our yaks, Eirene.  Adam thinks that the commotion from the fire trucks and ambulance spooked the herd and she got hurt when they bolted.  The only small blessing is that Dawa is now over 8 months old and pretty well weaned.  But that's about it.


I don't know if we maybe need to call in a young priest and an old priest, or perhaps walk widdershins around the farm burning sage or what, but this is ridiculous.  And exhausting.  Emotionally, physically, everything.  We're just kind of... eish.  Here's hoping this week goes better.

Cisco

This is one of the hardest posts to write, because it's been a pretty hard week here on the farm.  Earlier this week our Border Collie, Cisco, was hit and killed by a car.

He was constantly happy and full of life and love.  His loss has really been a blow to Adam and I and he will be incredibly missed.

A little bit of random

A couple shots of what's in the mill right now, whenever I had time and my camera handy and something caught my eye.

For starters, our sign!  I don't remember if the logo has been displayed here before, but this is the old Skirted Fleece Farm logo transformed into the new Skirted Fleece Mill logo.  It started with a pen drawing Adam made that was cleaned up and made official looking by our graphic designer.  My mom got us the sign for Christmas and Adam hung it by our shop door this week.  Pretty spiff, huh?

And now inside the door.  A tiny peek at the shop.  Adam's dad made the shelves and I can't wait to see them filled with yarn.

Who couldn't use sparkly needles to brighten up winter knitting?

The All Important Shop Dog- Thora- making sure no patch of sunshine ever goes to waste.

Three bags full?  Giant tubs of fluff are way more fun.  This is ready for the carder- and comes from a single batch of two fleeces!

A beautifully soft and squishy Merino/Corriedale blend coming out of the fiber separator.  This was part of today's project.

And this is what is waiting in the wings, ready to be washed when a drying rack opens up.  A lot of it is Corriedale, which will eventually become a line of stripey sock yarns.

I washed about four pounds of the Corrie today, to get it ready for the trainer.

The top is still in the grease, the bottom is snowy white and clean.  I can't wait to see it spun up and dyed.

Farm/Mill Update

So I didn't abandon the blog, but the holidays came and went, the world's nastiest virus came and went and a hellish cold snap came and went and the mill work is coming and going.  I want to try to post some pictures of how the shop is coming along and what we're working on but for tonight, a quick update.

Things are progressing.  Part of our issue at the moment is that there is a HUGE learning curve with the machines that takes a little while to overcome.  Even though Adam knows fiber and I've been spinning and knitting for years, there's a vast difference between how you think fiber will react and how it actually behaves once it starts going through machines.  We've learned that you can't fix bad, weak fiber- you can only put it in the felt table.  We've learned that some stuff just isn't worth touching- after we got a bag that was more burdock than wool.  We've learned that there is no substitute for properly skirting a fleece, as we've spent close to ten hours on just one machine with an otherwise lovely batch that had a million second cuts that should have been removed before it ever touched its first machine.  We've learned that beautiful fiber will only get prettier and a coated sheep makes a world of difference in quality.

So far the hardest machines to learn have been the spinners, as there are a million minor adjustments that can be made that have a huge effect on the yarn.  But luckily for us, Belfast is sending a top notch trainer who will be here Wednesday to help us sort out the kinks and get us more comfortable with the finishing machines- carder, draw frame, spinners and the rug yarn maker.  I can't wait to get hands on training on how to make a more consistent finished product.  In the meantime, we're trying to get as much stuff ready as we can so that we can spend days doing nothing but spinning up yarn.  Luckily we bought some really nice fleeces at the fiber festivals and we have some family and friends that have given us their own stuff to practice with, so we have quite a lot to learn on.

The other issue is that Adam is still working a full time job. There is a lot that I can do by myself, and we've set up the mill to be as wheelchair accessible as possible, but there will always be a few things that I will just need that extra set of hands (or another six inches of height).  We're starting an odd transition period where Adam still needs to work to full time but we need him home too.  It'll take a little bit to get adjusted and we're hopeful that we'll be able to bring him home for good sooner rather than later.

Pretty soon the Skirted Fleece Mill website will be launched and I'm really excited to show it to the world.  I think it's absolutely beautiful and it'll have all the information about classes, prices and when the store will be open.  As far as launching the mill, once we're done with training and feel more comfortable with the machines, we'll be having a grand opening for everyone to come and check things out.  We just want to put out something that our customers will love, and we want to know we can do that  before we take on business.

In farm related news, our lambs should start popping any day now.  Dutchess will probably be the first to go and she looks ready to burst.  We're keeping our fingers crossed for safe, healthy and easy deliveries.  And no bottle babies would be nice...

Also, Adam thinks that Gaia is pregnant, so we're looking forward to a new baby yak around mid-April.  I'm not sure what our current little troublemakers will do with a new playmate but I'm sure they'll find new and interesting ways to cause havoc.