The Dawning of HeartFelt Fleece & Fiber

It has been a while since I have written on this blog and decided that I've missed it. I had hosted a morning radio talk show for a year, and had participated in the NaNoWriMo writing challenge, and I think my words were simply all used up!

The retail portion of the mill

But, now I am back and I have so much to share. In January 2015, I opened a small wool processing facility and fiber studio in the heart of the bluegrass region of Kentucky. I had heard that my favorite, large and wonderful wool mill in Ohio was going out of business, and that would leave me and many shepherds without a place to process their fleeces. I began to brainstorm and daydream of opening my own facility.

Just about the time when the business plan had been accepted and a facility had been found, I got word that the mill in Ohio was going to stay open. While this was wonderful for the wool industry, my dream was squelched. But, in all that turmoil, I realized that I really did want to open a wool mill and work with fiber every day! I began to look at the prospect of opening a mini-mill with all the equipment necessary to process wool and fiber, but on a smaller scale. I called small mills across our country, spoke with owners, and learned from them what was and was not working.  Bit by bit, pieces began to fall into place and I was on my way to opening a fiber processing facility.

Wool arrived in large burlap bags

In February 2015, as I began to order processing equipment, I was contacted by the Kentucky Cloth project, a project that was trying to blend hemp with wool to create a viable fabric. They were hoping that my mill would be functioning by the time shearing season came. They asked me if I'd process KY sheep wool so that it would stay Kentucky Proud. I agreed and weeks later, before anything else was in the building, the wool arrived.

The first thing into the mill was a washing machine and I began washing the fleeces. I will talk about that in another post, but it was a long and arduous task. Ha! I also got a dehumidifier and ran that around the clock to take out as much water as the wet wool around the facility was putting into the air!

More equipment began to arrive, painting was done to the wall, new flooring, and so much more. The mill began to take shape and all that wool was getting closer and closer to being ready to send off to where it was going to be combined with the hemp.

Some of the wool after washed, but not yet picked!

I will tell you that the mill opened in the summer of 2015, and we have been growing stronger each month.

The next several blogs that I write will be taking you on the first year's journey with HeartFelt Fleece & Fiber.  If you'd like to jump ahead and see what we're up to you can go to:  www.heartfeltfleeceandfiber.com and check out our website. Or you may stop by the shop in Cynthiana, KY and visit us!

But, I do hope you'll stay tuned and check back to see the next post.

Thanks for stopping by,
~Pat

A Spinning "Yarn"

                I wanted to share a bit of a spinning “yarn” (story) with you.  

The sheep roving coming onto the spinning wheel
and loading onto the bobbin.

Winter is my season for spinning and quilting.  All summer long I am outside working on the farm every available moment. Fields to mow, jams to make, fields to mow, pickles to make, fields to mow, gardens to weed, fields to mow, fences to paint, fields to mow…..you get the message! 

Lazy Kate with bobbins.
Middle one is new, the other two are left over from previous plying.
(Note various thicknesses)
When I add another full bobbin, I will ply them.
Holds bobbins for 2-ply or 3-ply yarns.

But, during the winter, with its shorter days, I find myself able to get caught up with many inside projects while my fields “hibernate”. So, now instead of the noise of my mower, I get to listen to the whorl of the spinning wheel, the beating of the loom, and the hum of my sewing machine.  Maybe I ought to wear earplugs in the winter, too!  J

Light Brown, Grey, Brown- Llama
Whites- Sheep
Note the comparison of thicknesses between light brown and dark brown.

I recently evaluated my wool “stash”, and realized I had a problem. I have POUNDS of wool that I have to do SOMETHING with before spring and the next shearing! So, I began hauling out the bags of clean and processed wool, and put them in the spinning room.  I suddenly felt like the miller’s daughter with a huge spinning task ahead of me!

Icelandic Sheep
Note comparison of thicknesses.
This is an example of "spinning for the project you are making"
These were NOT used for same project.

So, I decided to mark each bag of wool with the project I wanted it to be used for.  Now I have bags for spinning, felting, weaving.  Problem is:  I still have POUNDS of wool that I have to do SOMETHING with before spring and the next shearing!!

Lt. Brown- llama
White- Icelandic Sheep
Note the comparison of thicknesses.
All are excellent for what they will be used for.
I use the light brown for the string hanger
on my felted Christmas ornaments.

I am going to take one large bag of wool and use it as batting for a quilt that I’ve recently finished piecing the top together. The batting will be between the top and bottom and then I will quilt the whole thing.  Wool is excellent as batting, because it breathes.  So it is cool in the summer, cozy in the winter, and if that’s not enough, it’s flame retardant as a bonus!

Batting being made for the quilt.
There is nothing quite like the feel and comfort of a wool batt quilt.

Well, that’s one bag down…..good! But, I still have POUNDS of wool…… (Say it with me this time!)….that I have to do SOMETHING with before spring and the next shearing!

Black on the left is adult llama.
Black on the right is Shetland sheep lamb fleece.
I spun the llama very thinly for one project and
spun the sheep average to thick for another project.
Of each yarn, I had spun over 300 yds.

So, I’ve begun to spin, and SPIN, and SPIN and SPIN!  My fingers needed a break, so I decided to type my blog instead!  J  (ouch!)

Scarf knitted from spun Icelandic lamb fleece.
Incredibly pristine, warm, and comforting!

I shouldn’t complain.  I really do love all that I’ve made in the last few weeks.  I’ve made a few quilt tops, several skeins of yarn, and I about to start an interesting project on the loom (wimpy, but interesting).

Tri-colored yarn. (3-ply)
Used white (llama), dark teal (alpaca), and purple (sheep), all of which I'd spun
very, very thinly. Not a lot of crimp because of llama and alpaca, but very soft.

I still get plenty of outside time….there is morning and evening feedings on the farm, plus water troughs to fill, paddocks to muck, and believe it or not…..I mowed earlier this week! CRAZY! Even crazier is the fact that the Clematis is blooming again, as well as Hydrangea, Weigela, and a few dandylions.  Plus, the Dahlias and Cannas haven’t stopped! I am counting each day like this past week as a reprieve from the winter forecast that I am dreading.

Dahlias just keep blooming.
So pretty to see each day.....!

Spinning is fairly simple. For one thing, even if you don’t spin well, the yarn should be able to be used for something!  But, to make it easier and more enjoyable for you, start with good wool. Half the battle should NOT be trying to make something lovely out of a “difficult to spin” wool or fiber. 

First attempt at spinning.
It was llama fiber and is incredibly soft!
There is some variance in size of yarn throughout,
by no means perfect.

I learned on llama and alpaca fiber. I found it to be SO much simpler than some wool that I'd been originally given. The yarn that I spun as my first project is fairly uniform (by beginner's standard only) and I attribute that to the fact that the fiber was easy to work with. I remember learning to gauge my drafting (pulling the wool) differently when I began to spin sheep wool.  I still enjoy both and would not pick one over the other.  

Spinning Wheel with a few bags
of clean wool waiting to be spun.

I will say that I used to overspin (making it too tight, not as soft as it could be). A friend who is a very talented spinner and knitter would critique my work and send me back to the spinning wheel to fix it.  L   

Yarn beginning to go on bobbin.
The color underneath is the lead thread.
You can see the drive band coming up to meet the whorl.

But, I will say that I learned and am happy with that.  There’s always something to learn and I am nowhere near where I’d like to be talent-wise, but for the time that I can spend on it, I’m content with my skill level (for now).

Red and Green 2-ply yarn that I'd spun for a Christmas project - 2006
Made knitted table mats (wished they'd been woven).
Definitely NOT fancy, but it was my first attempt at
completing a project with yarn that I'd spun.

                       I will share the projects that I do this winter on other posts.

Certified, "Kentucky Proud"!

A Felted Wreath from Wool
shorn from my sheep and llamas.
~created on my farm~

Last Friday, HeartFelt Baskets & Gifts received its certification from Kentucky Department of Agriculture to be considered Kentucky Proud! This isn’t a complicated or difficult process, but it was exciting to receive nevertheless.

Felted Wool bag
(shorn, felted, and sewn)
~created on my farm~

I had filled electronically earlier this summer, but something must have gone haywire and they didn’t have the application. 

Hand Spun Yarn from Voyager,
one of the male llamas
~created on my farm~

When I hadn’t heard back from them, I decided to send another electronically and follow up with a hardcopy application.  

Wet Felted Eyeglass Cases
~created on my farm~

That did the trick and just a few weeks later I was thrilled to find the approved packet in my mailbox.

Hand Spun Yarn from Serendipity,
one of our female llamas
~created on my farm~

All the items that HeartFelt Baskets & Gifts sells are grown, harvested, processed, and created  right here on the farm.

Strawberry Jam
My brother loves to say, "It's the best in the world!"
~created on my farm~

Wheatweaving
Simple ornaments created from braided wheat
~created on my farm~

This won’t be a long blog, but wanted to make this status public.  Help spread the word.

Felted Hearts
Shorn Wool and dyed
~created on my farm~

Going Green in the Bluegrass!   

I will display the Kentucky Proud logo!

HeartFelt Beginning

Purple Felted Heart

Long before I was ever officially “HeartFelt”, I was giving felted hearts (that I made from sheep’s wool, which I purchased!) attached to the gifts I made to give at holidays and other special times for friends and family. I loved working with the wool and could definitely tell the difference between certain fleeces.

When I finally “adopted” my own flock of sheep and herd of llamas, I continued the tradition, but happily, the wool I used was from my own farm.

The inside of the HeartFelt tags.

Several years ago when I was trying to come up with a name for my small sideline business, my youngest daughter suggested HeartFelt because of the felted hearts that I made.  And it has remained a tradition that I include one of my felted hearts with every order that I fill.

Farm fresh strawberry jam
is absolutely wonderful!

When I first began, my focus had been on food gift baskets because of the jams and jellies that we made on the farm each spring through fall. Consequently, I set my website up using that jam/jelly color palette. Ahhh, there is nothing quite like homemade jams/jellies.  I have some family members who ask for a “case” of my assorted jams each year for Christmas!

Tray of "brown and white" assorted cookies.
Yes, that's what they ordered.

Recently, my focus has turned away from the gift basket idea of food, which was always a bit more difficult to have everything “fresh at the same time” for shipping.

We have baked so many pies, both large and mini!
Our farm's apples are usually wonderful for this!

 And now, I focus primarily on wool and woolen products. And by wool, I mean llama fiber, too.

Felted llama fiber pair of pillows

My website is www.heartfeltbasketsandgifts.com    click here for website       It is already under "reconstruction", so don't judge too harshly while I am working on it.....thanks!

They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words. So, it’s pretty important to make those 1,000 words be the right ones. It’s like choosing the right outfit---ha!---haven’t thought of that for a long time. But, it’s true…you want to send the right message; convey the right mood. How do you decide what your website is supposed to look like, knowing that a complete stranger may look at it for a fleeting moment and will decide if your product is “good enough”---STRESS!!

Scottish Thistle Shortbread

I’ll be leaving the colors of the current website behind and will be choosing colors similar to the blog; at least, that’s my plan!

Celtic Knot Shortbread

In the meantime, I am continuing to receive food orders.  I don’t know who is happier with that: me; the customer; or, the recipient!?  I love knowing that my customer chose my creation to give as a gift. But, I also know that they are giving a quality product that they should feel pleased and confident to give. And, of course, the recipient is receiving something that is both delicious and beautiful at the same time.

Twice dipped Strawberries

                                          And, that my friend, is what HeartFelt is all about! 

HeartFelt

"Woolly Wordless Wednesday"

We Bid Ye Welcome!!

Dolly Llama and Serendipity in new field

Mate'  likes fooood!

Strauna

J-J-J-Jenna! I am precious and lovable!

I am Yerba and I am mighty!!

Voyager- He's "outstanding in his field"   lol!!

Song checking out the new field.

Silver Waiting for Dinner Bell!

Fancy Face checking out the yard

Imax alerting me that "The Horses are Coming, The Horses are Coming!"

Help! I'm Spinning and Can't Stop!

Spinning Wheel next to Loom

Whether it’s Rumpelstiltskin or Sleeping Beauty, a fairy tale of some sort usually comes to mind if someone mentions a spinning wheel.  Almost 20 years ago, in the Old Spanish Quarters of St Augustine, Florida, I watched in amazement as a woman sat and spun flax on a traditional looking spinning wheel. As minutes passed and the whirl of the wheel relaxed and soothed the mood of everyone in the room, I remember thinking that I wish I could learn to spin. At that time in my life I didn’t even know that people other than time period actors still spun and that spinning wheels are constantly being updated!

Fast forward 10 years, and place me in a small, rural Kentucky town managing an 1865 Opera House.  I was directing children’s theatre productions and the current title had been, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.   Now, I know this doesn’t usually portray a spinning wheel in the story; however, I wanted to teach audiences each night that textile production at one time had been very time consuming. First, you had to grow the fiber (either plant or animal), then harvest and clean it, then spin the fiber into thread/yarn, then weave into cloth, then measure, cut, and finally sew.  This could take several months-not the 5 minute trip into Wal-mart that happens now-a-days!

A Bobbin of Single-Ply Llama Fiber

It was around this same timeframe that I attended The Kentucky Wool Festival in Falmouth, KY and saw for the first time modern spinners! One whole large exhibition tent was filled with many women (and men) spinning, weaving, knitting, felting, and just about anything I could have imagined using sheep wool or llama/alpaca fiber. It was so fascinating! Through talking with many of the fiber artists that day and then doing some research of my own, I purchased my first spinning wheel just a few weeks later. Incidentally, I featured that spinning wheel during the performances of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” and had my older daughter stationed on a                                                                              small stage in the audience spinning llama fiber into yarn.

Lamb Fleece that was Spun and Knitted into Scarf

I don’t know how many of you have tried spinning before, but the initial coordination takes some time. At least for me it did! However, once I got that figured out, my yarn looked very good (I was told) early on. I guess I was consistent in the amount of fiber/wool that I was drafting (allowing to be pulled onto the wheel) and with the speed I was pumping (foot motion of the pedal that turns the wheel).  Still, it is only with practice, practice, practice that you can become better (as with so many things in life).  Those first few years, I spun some, but it seemed like an awful lot of work to get a skein of yarn that didn’t quite knit the way I needed it to.  Then a good friend of mine gave me a tip, I guess she’d assumed that I knew, but it forever changed the way I did things!  She said, “Choose what you want to make, then spin the yarn to fit that need.”  Such a simple concept, but what a difference it made!  I had been randomly spinning yarn of assorted thicknesses and then trying to figure out what I could make with it. Draping evening shawls do not look good with a thick yarn, etc., so I would have beautiful skeins that I couldn’t think of a project for. Or even worse, not enough yardage to finish a project.  Now, if I am short yardage, I can spin some more from the same fleece and know it will match.

My younger daughter is the knitter in the house.  She makes some beautiful things that she enjoys wearing on campus and loves when someone asks her, “Where did you get that?”  I guess her response, “From the Dolly Llama”, conjures up different visuals to different people (one of our llamas that has gorgeous red/brown fiber is named Dolly)!

For me, spinning will always be a learning process.  Recently a friend had given me some mohair from a goat.  I told her I’d try to find time to mess with it this winter and spin it into some yarn that she could try knitting with.  In the process, I’d be learning how mohair handles on the wheel.

Stella Ready for the Early Fall Shearing

One thing about fiber or wool……it is a renewable resource!  Each year, in both the spring and fall and whether or not I’m ready for it, I get several pounds of new resources to work with…… as soon as the SHEARING is done!!