Meet some of our friends on the farm...

Skirted Fleece Farm

• New Calf

  Sunday, May 31st, 2015

  This week Dawa gave birth to her second calf.  This munchkin is tall!  All legs.  We're not sure what it is yet, but we're happy that mom and baby are both healthy.
  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

• Bees!

  Saturday, April 25th, 2015

  Today we got to get our bees!  This is a project we've been talking about for years, so it's really exciting to have it finally happen.  I got Adam a beginner's beekeeping kit for Christmas, which had a starter hive and some tools to get going.  We assembled it a week or so ago, and the bees were ordered sometime in February.  We were very lucky that there's a company warehouse and storefront in Wilkes-Barre, as asking our post office to deliver a box of bees and another of baby chickens in the same week might be a bit much.
  
  This morning we headed down to Wilkes-Barre and got in line with quite a few other people there to pick up bees.  I can't say enough good things about Mann Lake; they were really helpful and the shop has a mind blowing selection of supplies.  It was very exciting but also very nerve wracking because that's a lot of stinging insects, all at once.  And we were expecting a box.  The kind with solid sides and maybe some tape.   Or a lot of tape.   A secure bee containment facility.  And then Adam was handed this:
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

  That is some very thin pine wood and window screen holding in three pounds of bees.  That is also the face of a man who is both thrilled and a little bit terrified to be holding three pounds of bees.  

  
  

  We got them home ok, although that was one of the scariest drives ever.  While no one ever wants to be rear ended, you really, really, really don't want to be rear ended with a box of bees in the back of the SUV.  

  
  

  We were really lucky that a coworker of Adam's sister had raised bees with her husband, so he came over to give us a hand and help get them settled into the hive.  Being able to get some lessons from someone with firsthand experience was priceless.

  

  First they got into protective gear.  (You'll notice Niobe watching from the hill the whole time.  Yaks are a nosy and judgy audience.)

  
  

  

  The the box was opened and the queen was removed and carefully placed inside.  

  
  

  

  The bees were dumped into the hive.  Really.  Dumped.  It's a very concerning process to watch, even from far away, but our mentor did it like it was no big thing.  Pro.

  
  

  

  The bees are brushed down into the hive so that the next layer and the food can be placed on.  Because they're starting from scratch, we have to make sure they have enough food and water to get established.

  
  

  

  And then the lid goes on.  

  
  

  There were quite a few bees still outside the hive when the lid went on, and we were convinced that they would never find the small opening in the front that they use as a door.  Our mentor kept reassuring us that they had the scent of their queen and would find their way in and sure enough, within twenty minutes everyone had gotten inside.  It's pretty incredible to watch them.  They were actually amazingly calm during the process.  Adam didn't get stung once!  

  
  

• Field of (Pie) Dreams

  Tuesday, April 21st, 2015

  It's finally really spring.  Not so much based on calendar date which hits sometime in heartbreakingly cold March, or temperatures- which are notoriously fickle.  It's spring in the sense that we saw our first red winged blackbird.  I know most people believe robins are the harbingers of all things warm and sunny and I did too, until I moved up here.  My husband firmly believes that robins are lying bastards.  They'll stand in three feet of snow, with more coming down, and chirp merrily to you about spring.  Lying.  Bastards.  Red winged blackbirds are a lot more reliable, at least in these parts.  So seeing one is always exciting, because it means that we start to believe that winter is finally behind us.
  
  One of the big projects this year was putting in more fruit trees.  We have a big open space on one side of the driveway and it needed filled with something more useful than grass for the deer.  Adam has dreams about a "Field of Pie", so we added 14 new apple and peach trees, taking the space from this:
  

  

  
  

  To this:

  
  

  

  
  

  We had a little help from Schnicklefritz:

  
  

  

  
  

  We also got two blueberry bushes planted, so it's a good start for pie.  And the tomato plants are going crazy, although I'm having much less luck with my peppers.  I'm not sure that it's warm enough, even with a grow light and heating mat.  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Sausage

  Tuesday, March 24th, 2015

  Adam and I discovered that we have a lot of meat in the freezer.  A LOT of meat.  We've been trying to cook through most of it this winter, but there's only two of us.  Compounding that is the fact that most of the chicken and turkey we have is from birds that were butchered when they were way too mature, so they're really only good for soups that cook for a day and a half.  Or sausage.
  

  

  (Turkey with marjoram, white wine, sage, and garlic)

  
  
  We have quite a few sausage books and a lot of recipes that we've been meaning to get around to "someday," so this weekend we broke out the grinder and got to work making some freezer space.
  
  

  

    We used the Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment for part of the batches.  We discovered that we did not have the sausage stuffer attachment that we thought we had, but luckily Adam's parents had an electric grinder/stuffer and we were able to finish using that.  I have to say that while the Kitchenaid attachments do a lot of things really really well- sausage grinding is not one of their finer things.  The electric grinder/stuffer did a much better and faster job than the Kitchenaid did.  It would probably work just fine if you're only breaking it out once in awhile, but if you have any intention of making sausages on a semi-regular basis, a grinder/stuffer that is designed solely for that purpose is probably the way to go.
  
  

  

  
  

  We found natural sausage casings at Weis, which was really lucky.  Adam had a LOT of fun playing with intestines, probably more fun than any person should have.  But he did a pretty amazing job of stuffing for his first time- hardly any air bubbles.  

  
  

  

  Southwestern Turkey with jalapeno, chipotle pepper, and cumin.  This one was our favorite!

  
  

  Up next we're also going to do an Italian turkey and a Roman chicken sausage with peppers and Romano cheese.

  
  

  
  

• Too much cute

  Thursday, March 19th, 2015

  I just had to share this picture of one of my favorite signs of spring: lambs!

  
  

  

  
  

  This gorgeous little Romney girl isn't ours but belongs to Adam's parents' farm, Wolle Bulle Romneys.  That fuzzy face!  Those ears!  It almost makes you believe spring really is on the way, rather than another 5 inches of snow.  Winter just couldn't leave without getting in a parting shot.

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Garden, Day 20

  Wednesday, March 18th, 2015

  We've got tiny plants!

  
  

  

  
  

  Now, to be fair, a lot of them are weeds.  Adam used some very composted dirt from the barn floor and there were hay seeds in it, among other things.  The front tray is Romanian peppers, leeks and herbs, and we know at least the right two rows are weeded properly.  The far left we're waiting to see what else pops up before we start yanking out seedlings.  The back tray is completely peppers, but we're being cautious before we start weeding that one.

  
  

    

  

  The back tray is about 32 tomatoes, with the same weed issue as the other flats.  Adam was worried that we might have issues with them (and also that 32 wouldn't be enough tomatoes) so the storage bin turned impromptu greenhouse has an additional 45 that we planted today in plain potting soil.  We should be good on tomatoes!  Also present are an annoyed Thora and Maddie, wondering why I'm playing with the dirt and they're not allowed to.

• A splash of color

  Saturday, March 7th, 2015

  The weather keeps promising to warm up and then chickening out at the last second.  We got snow again today, hopefully for the last time for a bit.  But after snow storm after snow storm, the outside is looking a little... bland.  So inside the mill we started dyeing some of our new, skinnier sock yarns.
  
  

  

  
  

  Daybreak and Rainbow Connection

  
  

  

  The always popular Sea Glass

  
  

  
  

  We've also been working on these guys:

  

  
  

  It's really a joint project, and it's been something nice to work on during the bitterly cold days when we're struggling to get the mill's humidity high enough to keep the machines working.  Adam makes the felt out of the cleanout from both the dehairer and the carder.  I sew the bears together and he helps joint the arms and legs.  It helps keep the excess fluff out the mill, so that we have bearly any waste. We're hoping to have a bunch for the festivals this year, which seem to be approaching really fast!

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Garden, Day 1

  Friday, February 27th, 2015

  
  

  

  
  
  I just got some of the seeds to start our garden today!  Adam is doing some bigger raised beds in the yard for vegetables so all the planters on the deck belong to my peppers.  Which is why most of those labels are for things that ought to be lethal.  I don't even like hot peppers, but I love making salsa and giving away pickled peppers.  So this year we're going with the hottest of the hots: Ghosts, Scorpions and Carolina Reapers.  There are also a lot of herbs used in Roman cooking because we're in an SCA household with friends and I want to recreate some Roman sausage recipes for Pennsic this year.  And chickpeas and purple tomatoes and black corn, which supposedly will make blue cornmeal.
  
  The next step is to wrap each type of pepper's seeds in a damp paper towel and then let them germinate in a ziploc bag at about 85 degrees for at least the next ten days.  Then we'll be ready to start planting in the seedling starter.  The other plants, including a ton of (non purple) tomato seeds, will be planted at the same time.

• The farm side of the mill

  Thursday, February 26th, 2015

  It's just about the second anniversary of the fiber mill's open house.  It feels like yesterday.  In these two years, Adam went from part time at home to finally coming home full time last August.  It makes the mill's production schedule much easier, but it also affords us a bit more time to focus on the farm, which was the reason we did all this in the first place.
  
  It's hard to think of sunshine and gardens when it was -28 the other day.  No lie.  -28 with the windchill.  Our furnace couldn't keep up so the house was really chilly.  Even the newfoundland didn't want to lay on the tile, the floor was so cold.  But we're trying to start planning all the things we want to do on the farm now.  Unfortunately, with Adam not being home full time until mid-August, we missed all of last spring and summer.  This year, we're starting early.  So I'm hoping to finally start updating the blog with some interesting farm-y stuff (and cute pictures of yaks, because there's some new ones out there!)  And some knitting and mill stuff too, as the new yarns for the summer festivals start coming out.
  
  So the first farm project update is...bees!  We ordered our package of bees yesterday.  They'll be picked up in Wilkes-Barre in mid-April.  Apparently, this is a thing that people do- drive in a car with a box of bees.  It seems a little terrifying, but I haven't heard of a lot of box-of-bees induced car wrecks on the news, so I'm assuming it goes better than it sounds.  For Christmas I got Adam a complete beginners kit that had everything he needs to get started, except the bees.  Probably for the best; I'm not sure how I'd wrap the bees.  We've been home brewing mead for a long time, and beekeeping seemed like a natural next step.  This is a project he's been talking about for years, so we're really excited to finally get started on this adventure.

• Second Generation

  Monday, November 4th, 2013

  This morning the youngest grunties were down by the driveway, so I was able to get some pictures.  While the herd hangs out together at night, they do separate by generations quite a bit during the day.  Maybe the old folks don't want to hang out with the young hooligans.
  
  
  

  

  Nagu (left side), Kaba (top right) and Dawa (bottom right)

  
  

  

  Dawa

  
  

  

  Loony

  
  

  

  Little Boy 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

• Under the wire

  Friday, October 18th, 2013

  It's Rhinebeck Eve!  

  
  

  Ok, for everyone else in the world, it's a regular Friday but for fiber people, it's a pretty awesome holiday.  Better than Christmas and Halloween and Easter and all the other things where you might get presents and/or chocolate all rolled into one.  Mostly because Rhinebeck involves yarn and fiber and apple cider doughnuts and sheep and border collies and goats and music and garlicky artichokes and people with amazing sweaters that don't look at you like you're a nutter when you ask what pattern/yarn they used.  People who understand that all the best wooly clothes can't be bought in a store.  

  
  

  We got our job finished, just under the wire (we're happy with it and they seemed to be too, which is always a wonderful thing) so we're excited to hit up the fleece sales.  We're even bringing a second pair of hands to haul wool this year, someone who understands when you text her screaming RHINEBECK!! and is more than willing to dig through bags of fleece to find the perfect stuff to become the perfect sock yarn.  She's the perfect shop assistant.

  
  

  And my sweater is down to half a sleeve.  So that too might come in just under the wire.  Only three more decreases and a cuff left to go.  

  
  

  So Happy Rhinebeck Eve, everybody.  Hopefully we'll get to see some of you at the festival tomorrow.  

  
  

  Just... you know... don't stand between us and the fleece sales.  

• Start Finishing

  Monday, October 7th, 2013

  So we're having one of those weeks in the mill.  One of those weeks where you start to question fate, and why she seems to have it out for you even though you don't remember doing anything to her, and when this current streak will end.
  
  We are this close to finishing a job.  A big one.  A job we desperately need to finish to get paid so that we can buy wool at Rhinebeck (our land only holds so many sheep and yak; we have to supplement) so that we can stock up the shop and hopefully have an awesome Christmas open house.
  
  This job was huge, and we're down to the very last bit, which is the rug yarn.  The easiest bit.  It just goes through the picker and then the carder and wraps around a cotton cord and voila!  Rug yarn.
  
  There's 98 pounds of fiber total that needs to be made into rug yarn.  Adam got the white fiber washed before realizing that he couldn't wash anything else because our septic tank was full.  So we called the guys to come do that.  They couldn't make it out until after the weekend, so we had to wait on washing.  Then we had a carder snafu that took an hour and a half to fix.  Then he discovered that we're going to run out of cord before we finish the job.  And the place we have to order from isn't open on Saturdays or Mondays so we have to wait until tomorrow.  And now the washer is giving him fits.
  
  It's one of those weeks.  We just want to finish what we started.
  
  I'm having a week like that with knitting too.  I went stash diving a week or so ago (to find yarn to cast on yet another project, if I were to be honest) and came across a sweater I started in 2011.  That was a bit cringe worthy.  It's a beautiful sweater, in beautiful yarn and it's an easy pattern, so I'm not sure what the trouble was- other than miles of stockinette in fingering weight yarn.  I've been chugging away at this sweater in hopes it'll be my Rhinebeck sweater and made some great progress.  Got the body finished.  Got to picking up the sleeves.  Got to the point of looking for my size 6 16" circulars and...found one tip.  The other one has disappeared into the ether.  And when I asked Adam to bring home a circular for me, I got a size 10 24".  With all respect to him though, even husbands of knitters who own fiber mills can't be expected to know that there's a difference between size 6 and 6.00mm.  I don't even get why we have two measurements.
  
  So now it's languishing on the windowsill waiting for sleeves and I'm waiting for the local yarn store to open tomorrow and wondering if I can get away with casting on some sparkly socks to beat some rainy day blahs.
  Or, you know, finish something.
  
  
  In other news, we will be at Rhinebeck on Saturday.  As shoppers, not as vendors.  However- we do have our application in for Maryland 2104, so keep your fingers crossed for us.  Also, got fleece?  Want us to process it? Got an overflowing stash closet full of roving or fiber that you need made into yarn?  Send an email to info@skirtedfleecemill.com and I'll get you our cell numbers so we can do a meet and pick up to save you some shipping costs.

• Re-start

  Friday, August 9th, 2013

  So the farm is still standing.  Really.  I promise.  Come out and see us even, we'll prove it.
  
  But here's what happened.  The mill took off.  A lot.  We had some really great tours come through and clean us out a bit.  We got an article in the local newspaper and the local farmers took notice.  And between trying to process orders and keep things on the shelves and keep the sheep from escaping their fences and keep the garden alive and the animals fed and us fed and the lawn mowed and the house from collapsing into madness and dust bunnies and unwashed socks... we sort of lost track of the last three or four months.  Has anyone seen June?  I'm sure it was here just a minute ago.
  
  However, the one thing that the last few months really showed us is that Adam needed to be home.  A successful mini mill can be run with two people.  However, it helps if those two people are both able-bodied and, you know, actually in the mill at the same time. For the last few months it's pretty much been me, by myself, during the day.  And then Adam would get home from his full time job after a 45 minute commute, take care of the animals, shovel some food into himself and head out to the mill to try to get some more work done.  We sort of nodded at each other in passing.  Which is not a great way to live and not a great way to have a farm.  Clearly, we needed to make a change.
  
  This week Adam quit his full time job to be home.  He actually picked up something local part time in the mornings, but as he's home by 10:30, it really feels like he's home all day.  We're so excited about being able to be together more, and especially about the fact that the mill is busy enough to need him to be home more. So thank you to everyone who helped us make that happen!
  
  But I know that what you're really here for is cute pictures of fluffy animals.  And maybe some fluffy fiber? Let's get to the good stuff!
  
  

  

  Our yak munchkins aren't so little anymore!  Some of the girls are getting as big as their moms.  And see that white and black puffball in the back?

  
  

  

  That would be Loony.  At the end of May, I was on my way out to the mill and noticed a little white lump in the field next to Gaia.  (In other news, Adam has said that I am no longer allowed to call his cell phone and scream "Oh my god" in his ear as soon as he answers.  Even if it is because of a royal yak baby.)  Adam actually gave her a very long and beautiful Mongolian name, but it ends in -lune so I just call her Loony.  

  
  

  
  

  

  Niobe

  
  

  
  

  

  Nimbus and Nova

  
  

  
  

  

  Sailor

  
  

  
  

  

  Shop shelves

  
  

  
  

  

  Cormo and Tussah Silk Yarn

  
  

  
  

  

  Sparkle Batts!  These were a riot to make.  By the way, the one on the right is self striping!

  
  

  
  

  

  After three years of waiting, our peach trees finally have fruit!  Adam does a happy dance whenever he passes them.  We can't wait to make pie!

  
  

  
  

  
  

  So that was our quick catch up.  Hopefully with Adam home we'll actually have a bit more free time and it won't be months and months between postings.  And we're getting ready for a lot of exciting things- we're going to be putting in our applications for the fiber festivals for next year, so keep your fingers crossed that we get accepted.  We're also planning a Christmas open house and new sock yarns and pearlized knitting needles...

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  

• Kaba

  Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

  

  
  

  Yesterday afternoon Octavia had a little calf.  Mom and baby are doing really well, although Octavia is a bit of a helicopter parent. Adam is about 99% sure it's a girl, although he hasn't been able to get close enough to confirm as the rest of the herd is being really protective.  

  
  

  

  
  

  Meet Kaba

  
  

  
  

  
  

• Thank you

  Monday, March 25th, 2013

  Saturday's opening was better than we could have hoped- and we have to say a big thank you to everyone who came out to support us.  The response from the community was so supportive and overwhelming.  HUGE thank you to Camp Umpy's Bagels who sent us two platters of bagels to help feed our customers- and our volunteers.  Because of course, the day would not have been possible without the help of our family and friends who brought us cups of coffee and tea, cookies for fortitude, helpful advice and words of encouragement, took care of the dogs throughout the day and stood guard by the door to tell us "Another car is coming!"  Everyone took some fantastic pictures, so check out the Facebook page to see them all.
  
  Now that we're open, we're excited for the next steps- restocking the shop (more sock yarn and lambs coming soon!) and starting to process for everyone who dropped wool off for us.
  
  If you missed the opening but would like to stop by, the mill shop is open on Fridays from noon to 8pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 2pm.  If you want to drop off some wool, just shoot us an email or call and I'll make sure that I'm in the mill and ready for you.
  
  
  

• Countdown

  Monday, March 18th, 2013

  We're getting ready for the grand opening on Saturday- it's coming up fast!  I'm updating the website daily with pictures from the mill, so stop in at Mill News for sneak peeks of the shop.

• Launching

  Monday, March 11th, 2013

  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

  Tuesday, March 5th, 2013

  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

  Friday, February 22nd, 2013

  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

  Monday, February 18th, 2013

  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

  Saturday, February 16th, 2013

  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

  Sunday, January 27th, 2013

  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

  Saturday, January 26th, 2013

  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.

• Day One

  Saturday, December 15th, 2012

  Today was the first day the entire mill was set up and running.  It's a huge learning curve and I think it will take a while to really get the hang of everything.  Adam already has a head start on me because he spent some time at Belfast's mill.
  
  

  

  The back bay.  This is the carder (left), drafter (right) and the spinner and plyer in the back.  The vacuum hose runs from the carder to a box that collects any loose fiber for the felting table.
  
  
  

  

  The front bay.  This is the fiber separator (left), the steamer (front right), the felting table (back right) as well as the cone and skein winders (not seen)

  
  

  
  

  

  The washing system, worktable and sink

  
  

  

  Picker and drying racks

  
  

  

  This is what fiber looks like out of the picker room.  It's opened up and very fluffy and loose.  This is some Shetland that was dyed about two weeks ago.

  
  

  

  Then it gets fed into the carder.

  
  

  

  Then through the drafter

  
  

  

  And then it gets spun, plied and steamed before being wound into skeins.  Our very first skein is tiny, about 54 yards, and is currently hanging up to dry after having the processing oils rinsed out.  

  
  

  So all in all, not a bad first day. We have a few things to tweak, but it was awesome to get in and start working on the machines.

• The Time Has Come

  Thursday, December 13th, 2012

  We got a call last night from Robert, who told us that our machines will come at 1pm today.
  
  Today.
  
  This morning we're kind of alternating between giddy, shell shocked and trying to be calm and act as if nothing out of the ordinary is going to happen.  Nothing at all.
  
  Right now the Verizon guy is installing new phone jacks in what will be our shop/office area, because upon redoing the walls we discovered that what we thought were functional phone jacks were just glued to the wall with no wires behind them.  I'm kinda glad we discovered that before I spent a few hours plugging things in and wondering why they didn't work.
  
  It's still a little hard to believe that this is all happening.  By tonight, we will have all the makings of an actual working mill.