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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Fibery Goodness

I had such a wonderful day on Monday! I visited with Abi at High Prairie Fibers to learn all about wool processing and to take some fleeces that I had purchased from someone who owns a vineyard but they don't do anything with their fleece. At first, I was just going to take a little of it, but after I started looking through the colors they had, it was just too tempting, so I bought it all - crazy madwoman that I am!

To give you an idea of the amount of fleece, here is a picture of a normal paper towel roll sitting on top of the bag of fleece. We had already opened the main bag and taken some out, so the white bags are also garbage bags all full of fleece. I'm telling you, this was a LOT of fleece!

I am so glad I did buy it all, because there were some delightful fleeces in there! Some light oatmeal color with crimpy bits!

Some dark fleeces with sun-bleached tips!

Some grey or salt-and-pepper fleeces too!

There were a few that were not as good, but they can be used for felting fiber.

One of the best things about my trip was that Corinne from Crosswinds Farm was there on the same day! It was so much fun to meet another blogger whose blog I read often. She has lovely Shetland sheep. I got to feel all the fleece she brought, and see all the different qualities on her sheep's fleece too, so it was even more education for me! Corinne and Abi were so friendly and helpful and made me feel like I wasn't a crazy madwoman after all because they were just like me! We sat around feeling fleece, testing crimp to see if it went "ping" and whispering about the loveliness of certain fleeces (it's a rule, you have to whisper, otherwise you might disturb the fleece).

All this made me even more anxious for our own shearing day to arrive. We will have 9 sheep's fleeces, 6 llama fleeces and 4 angora goat fleeces! Wow, a folly of fleece!

Oh, by the way, Corinne is trying to convince me to acquire a Shetland sheep, or two. It's working!

Abi and her husband also run the Iowa Parrot Rescue! We had a simply wonderful visit with the parrots. They have a beautiful facility and the parrots get a lot of love and attention. I was lucky enough to have a macaw sit on my shoulder! It was quite remarkable.

Isobelle the angora goat says:
"Oh please, you can shear me anytime, it's getting warm out!"

17 comments:

Unknown said...

What a delightful day you had!!! And tomorrow you and Diane get to meet - be sure to lay out some of that new fleece for her to walk on with her new title as Queen of Mayberry.

I want lots of photos. Wish I could be there to hug Luna!

Mare said...

WoW Claire! You hit the Motherload! Gorgeous colors too! That ought to keep you busy spinning and knitting for a while!

Unknown said...

Seriously, you need to tell me how you balance all your time, your still doing the graduate stuff right? I missed commenting on your last posts because I have been living on batteries w/my laptop. I loved the post w/the new haircut:) I so enjoy reading all your stuff!!!

Christy said...

Ohhh... Jealous here! I need to find some fleeces. Or get some sheep. Or both.

Nancy K. said...

..." made me feel like I wasn't a crazy madwoman after all because they were just like me!"

Oh, my Dear Claire. I am so sorry to tell you this but being just like Corinne not only does NOT mean that you're not crazy...it's definite proof that you are CERTIFIABLE!!!

:-)


Yes, I do realize that this is being said by the woman who got lost on her way home from work last night....

Christy said...

Ohhh... Jealous here! I need to find some fleeces. Or get some sheep. Or both.

Barb said...

Another thing I want to learn more about. Thanks for sharing your buy!

Jen and Rich Johnson said...

Wow! That is a lot of fiber!! I got goosebumps! What beautiful fleeces!

Jennifer said...

I am so fascinated by all of this and interested in learning more. I can't wait to hear about the fleece you get from your goats, sheep and llamas! Are your llamas hard to handle when it comes time to deworm them or trim hooves, etc? We had one years ago but he harassed our goats and was so difficult to handle we sold him. Yours sure look well behaved!

girlwithasword said...

Oh Claire, how fun!!! So tell me, how are you havnig all that fleece processed? Arent't abi and micheal the best?! :)

Crosswinds Farm said...

I had sooo much fun too! Nancy is right though, be careful comparing yourself to me, it's pretty obvious that the cheese has fallen off my cracker : ).

Sheba said...

No needs to shear over here... I think animal would die of heatstroke here with a beautiful angora coat like that!

Greetings from West Africa,
Esther

PS: I see I'm using Sheba's account today, lol! What a kind dog she is to allow me to access her profile between all her chatting and facebooking with her fellow canine blogger friends :-D

diane said...

i see her teeth. LOL.

angie said...

ohhhh... I have fiber envy.

Lola Nova said...

Wow! It's like me and fabric, I just can't have enough! Very impressive haul, can't wait to see what you do with it!

SweetMissDaisy (Anna Wight) said...

HOLY FLEECE, GIRL! You're sure to do wonderful things with it!!

PS: http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/sassy_sweet_notes/2009/03/tagged-and-memory-lane-.html

=)

Unknown said...

Claire, have you checked to make sure Luna is still there? I think Diane went back to the farm after dark and kidnapped her!!!

Nancy