April Meeting - Farm Visit

April’s meeting at Cross Wind Farm was sort of a “sheep-to-shawl” look at things. First we spent time in the barn looking at Carol Densmore’s flock of Bluefaced Leicester sheep including this year’s crop of new lambs. Then we got the chance to look at a half dozen fleeces that were displayed on tables out on the deck…a great way to see the different variations in fleeces from one breed. In the house was Carol’s hand spinning, dyeing, and knitting work that is almost ready to be submitted to the Master Spinner Program at Olds College in Alberta, Canada. Carol is just completing her Level 1 year (out of six years) homework and wanted to show the group what she’s been working on before she ships it up to Alberta for review.

Moving down the hall to Carol’s spinning room gave us a look at where she spends time with her collection of spinning wheels! They range from antique wheels, great wheels, modern spinning wheels, and her new Schacht-Reeves spinning wheel! One needs never to leave that room. As if that wasn’t enough, Carol took us downstairs to her “wool room” or basement where she has it set up to skirt, wash, and card wool from her sheep. Then we finally got a chance to plop down in the living room/dining area and knit, spin, and talk….ah, o.k., we were doing “some” talking along the way. Here are a few pics:

All in all, it was a wonderful day and great monthly meeting!

Happy Anniversary!

That’s right…we recently reached our one year anniversary and celebrated with a skein swap, food, friendship, fiber, and a new blog!

Over the past year we’ve covered a lot of ground. The format is generally informal, yet each month includes a business meeting and an educational demonstration. Members volunteer to give a hands-on demonstrate about spinning and/or fiber that the group can learn from.

During our first year demos included spinning with dog hair, hemp and soy, Bluefaced Leicester wool, Teeswater wool, alpaca, flax, and paper (I know!…newspaper, tissue paper, etc.). One month we also had a spinning wheel “exchange” that was great fun and gave members an excellent opportunity to spin on many different wheels. The wheels were set up in a big circle and members moved around the circle spinning at each wheel. Each member had their own fiber and added on to the bobbin on each wheel. We ended up with some interesting and colorful yarn!

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We also do a show and tell any time members want to show their stuff. The group is made up of experts and novices involved in a wide range of fiber arts, including spinning, dyeing, knitting, weaving, crocheting, and lace making. New members are always welcome!

Skein exchange on our one year anniversary meeting.