Sunday, October 07, 2007

Dwelling in All Things Fiber....















Where have I been? Well let's see....I started taking a spinning class last week at Earth Guild; it was great! We (all 7 of us) were brought into a room and introduced to "Moses", a Cotswold sheep fleece, laid out on the table in front of us. It was about as close to a farm as you could get without actually being there. I'm very excited about the class. We talked about types of fiber, and learned about washing and carding. We each took home 10 oz. of Moses to wash and card and get ready for the next class. I hope I can learn this!! (Warning: Graphic pics ahead!!) Here are the shots of Moses 'before' and 'after' cleaning. Wow, what a difference! There's still lots of grease and I'm getting to the point where I can card without drawing blood. (I kept hitting my knuckles...ouch!)

Today, I had the chance to go to an Alpaca Farm called Venezia Dream Farm; named so because the owner, Star, and her husband used to like to drink wine (I'm guessing Italian wine??) and dream about having an alpaca farm. As you can see, they have a pretty rough life here in Western NC. She's from CA, her hubby, Joe, is from New York. (David and I were a little closer geographically speaking, being from Phoenix and Philly!) It was great to speak with someone who is doing what we dream to someday. Sydney got right in there and made herself at home on the farm. Check out the great old tree at the edge of their farm, it's estimated to be at least 300 years old! It's days like these that I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place every day.
I've still been knitting! I'm plugging away on my Jane Crossover sweater, really enjoying the nuances of the Ottawa yarn. I'm afraid I may run out, and I'm hoping this will be a 'super ball' of yarn, you know the kind, you knit and knit and it never seems to get smaller. I'm also working on the Biking Cardigan, which I made a whoopsie and have to rip back a few rows. Have a Great Sunday!

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