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Our Harvest — Part 2

Taa-daa!  All done!  The weather was a bit nicer than last Saturday and with fewer sheep to shear, it was a shorter day.  After we were done, there were 8 of us around the table.  What a nice day!

Skirting this way is fun and fast.

Skirting this way is fun and fast.

rolling up the fleece

Skirting is done. The fleece is rolled and wrapped in a sheet.

The group shot: Heather, me, Jody (hiding), Jim, Nina, Emily, Annalise, Leon. b

Here we are with the last fleece about to be rolled: Heather, me, Jody (hiding), Jim, Nina, Emily, Annalise, Leon with baby Noah. Where's Greg?

Bandita comes forward to speak on behalf of the group. The message is, "Got hay?"

Bandita comes forward to speak on behalf of the group. The message is, "Got hay?"

Our Harvest – Part 1

We had a wonderful shearing day with our fibery friends and neighbors who came to help us harvest our fleeces.  One of our CSA members drove over 2 hours to be with us and a good time was had by all!  Maybe the sheep feel a little differently about it but I do believe they’re happy to have the fleeces gone when they start to get this big.  I’m so happy with the quality of the fleeces this year.  These Coopworths are amazing fleece makers and never cease to amaze me…

Emily got started by shearing all the white sheep first.

Emily got started by shearing all the white sheep first.

Penelope jumped right in with the broom and did a terrific job keeping the shearing floor clean as a whistle.

Penelope jumped right in with the broom and did a terrific job keeping the shearing floor clean as a whistle.

She then moved on to the colored fleeces.

Emily then moved on to the colored fleeces.

With many hands, the skirting went quickly! We were a mixed group of experienced and new fibery folks.

With many hands, the skirting went quickly! We were a mixed group of experienced and new fibery folks.

This sheep left a little poopy gift under the fleece so Penelope & I did a quick cleanup before taking the fleece to the skirting table.

This sheep left a little poopy gift under the fleece so Penelope & I did a quick cleanup before taking the fleece to the skirting table.

Emily needed a few minutes with her babe so we took a short break for tea, coffee & Nina's homemade cheese w/crackers.

Emily needed a few minutes with her babe so we took a short break for tea, coffee & Nina's homemade cheese w/crackers.

Almost all of us made it into this shot. Nina

Our crew: Brian, Kelly, me, Jocelyn, Kali, Sandi (hiding behind Kali) Penelope with her trusty broom & Emily. Ina Mae has just given up her fleece & is resting on the floor. Nina is in the pen catching the next candidate & Jim is taking the photo.

Thanks to all, this shearing day has been care free and the fleeces are in great shape!  We all headed to the warm house for some good food and chat time…a fun day! 

CSA Fair

here I am at the CSA fair

here I am at the CSA fair

This was a really cool statewide event that was organized with the help of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. There were venues spotted around all over the state and when I saw that there was going to be one very close by, I leaped at the chance to get involved. I packed up a bunch of roving & yarns and our CSA brochure and off I went for the afternoon. It was fun! There were bunches of people shopping for CSA’s and a number of CSA’s that were a little different — one producer of farmed fish, one offering prepared foods (made w/organic, local ingredients), one offering a CSA where the buyer does a majority of the veggie washing/cleaning in order to keep costs down and then there was me. I can honestly say that nobody came running over to me gushing “Oh, Gosh! I’ve been looking all over the place for a fiber CSA!”  But most everyone who stopped by my table thought the Fiber CSA was a cool idea and took info for a knitting/spinning friend or their knitting group or themselves.  So I’d have to say it was a few hours well spent.

Taking a Peek

big fleece in a small coat

big fleece in a small coat

Pardon me, ladies — you won’t mind if I take a peek under those coats, will you!? Sometimes that works, sometimes not. Some of the girls are starting to look like 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound sack so I need to make sure everything is OK.  If the coats get too tight, the fleece can felt underneath. Normally, we would be shearing in another week or two so I wouldn’t be too concerned. This year, we’re shearing later so some of the sheep may need another coat change before then. Looks like so far, they’re OK.

Sorting Fleeces

There are still some fleeces that haven’t been sent off from fall shearing and they need to go! It’s been too cold to stay in the barn for any length of time and the fleeces are impossible to unroll so I’ve brought some into the studio to warm up. We did a very good job of skirting them at shearing so there isn’t too much to do — just a quick look through — before packing them up. I always get hung up on what exactly to do with them…to blend or not to, to make yarn or just roving. The problem is that I love it all!!  We have some CSA members!