Sunday, March 29, 2015

WONDERFUL WOOLLIES 2015

It’s that time again! We are busily preparing for the upcoming Wonderful Woollies Fleece & Fiber Sale, April 11, 2015, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. here at our farm. The sheep are sheared (all except Bliss & Raoul, who were sheared late last year), the fleeces are skirted and I’m in the process of weighing & bagging them up for the sale.
We got wool back from our two favorite processors - Snow Peak Fiber Mill in Lebanon, Oregon - (previously Creekside Fiber Mill) and Evergreen Fleece Processing in Woodinville, Washington - Both are very capable of working with our fine, soft wool. We also recommend Zeilinger Wool Company in Frankenmuth, Michigan - They are excellent and very experienced.
Kathy and her staff at Snow Peak made some gorgeous bumps of roving, in a pale variegated moorit - think light “cafĂ© au lait”, and some gorgeous gray CVM/alpaca blend. Kathy also made some yarn for us. We have white 3-ply worsted weight yarn which knits up like a dream, and sport weight 2-ply in white and moorit brown, great for knitting and weaving. So if you think of your non-spinning, knitting/weaving friends, these might be good gifty things. :-) Chuck at Evergreen Fleece made some creamy white roving for us, from our ewe, Bliss and her friends. This was the first time we have had fleece processed by Chuck, and he did a wonderful job. It’s so nice to have a good processor nearby. As you know, we invite several other farms to participate in our sale. We love being able to offer a variety of fibers from our local farms. With us this year are: Dawn Deshmane - Romeldale/CVM & crosses, Joanne Martinis’ Windy Hill Farm Gotlands, JNK Llamas, Kathy Green’s Ferndale Fibers & Romney crosses, Rocky Long’s Romeldale/CVMs from Little Orchard Farm, Margaret Magic’s Magic Batts, John Park’s Shetlands from Marietta Shetlands, Nancy Giordano’s Shetlands and crosses from Nancy’s Farm, Janet Maricle’s dorsets from River Glen Farm, Rhonda Wregglesworth’s mohair from River Ranch Angora Goats, Allen Berry - the Spindle Smith’s hand carved treasures, and Tina Thomsen-Park’s handspun yarns 
& crochets. We’re keeping fingers crossed for good weather, and thank all of you for venturing out (even in the snow, a couple of years back)! Directions: From Interstate 5, take exit #255 and head east on Sunset Drive. Continue about a mile to the Woburn/Hannegan intersection and turn left (north) onto Hannegan. Continue north on Hannegan, go past Smith Road intersection (light), and at the next main turn, go right onto Axton Rd. It’s 1.1 mile to Mertz Rd, which turns only left (north). We’re the first barn on the right. Address is 5740 Mertz Rd., Bellingham WA 98226. If you get lost, my cell # is 360 770 6044.