Fantasy Fibers |
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With winter about half way through we can all look forward to the weather getting warmer and sunny…er? I’m running a little late on this newsletter. I’ve really been putting off sitting down and writing…not that I don’t like to write to all of you, just don’t have much to write about these days. Will tell what has been going on around the shop and hope that entertains people!!! I’ve been asked my more than one customer to give them any suggestions as to how to improve the fleeces they bring in. So, hopefully these suggestions will help many people. First of all, skirt your fleeces well. Any dung or short leg wool should be discarded. If you’re shipping the fleece here, you’ll be paying shipping on “that stuff”. Also, if I’m to wash the fiber, you’re charged the washing fee on the incoming weight…which would include the “stuff”. Now how many want to pay for me to wash that stuff??? Believe me, if I find it before the washing, it will not hit the water, but the trash can. Secondly, watch what and how you feed your animals. Consider the hay you buy for them. If you don’t coat your sheep, any seed heads that are in the hay will tend to find their way into your wool, you know. I’ve been dealing with many fleeces lately (from |
several different customers) that are loaded with Timothy heads…into the carder goes the head…out comes the spine and a million little pieces! What a mess. Any hay can get caught in your fleece, but some are worse than others. Also do not feed your animals at a level where they will drop hay or grain on one another. Sometimes this is difficult as you may have several different animals of differing heights. Guess that’s enough for now. If I’m not careful, I’ll have to invest in a soap box! Ha! We continue to have the Northwest Regional Spinners Association area 6030 meetings here at the shop. We meet the 3rd Wednesday of the month. February and March’s meetings will be on the 19th. All members or wannabe members are welcome to join us. We do tend to get a little rowdy at times, but have a great time. We have a few classes scheduled for February and March.
Here’s the list and a little about each class. |
yarn…you’ll need several different colors…about 3-4oz. each. March 1st will be the beginning soap making class. Not only is this class fun, but you end up going home with soap you helped make. In six weeks you’ll enjoy this wonderful soap…and not be satisfied with store bought soap again…believe me! The fee for this class is $15.00 with a $10.00 material fee. This one is filling up fast, so sign up soon. You will need rubber gloves (the cleaning type), goggles, an old long sleeve shirt a cardboard box about 12”x12”x12” and some old towels. March 22nd and 29th we have a basket making class. This is a nice sturdy hand basket/tote to use. It has a wooden bottom and leather handles. It is big enough to fill up with all your needlework supplies or magazines. The class will teach you the basics of basket making with a wooden base. The baskets go together easy and are fun to make. All the materials you need are provided in the supply fee. There are some tools that you will need to bring but nothing that you probably can't find around the house or at the hardware store. $20.00 (non-refundable) will register you for both days and $25.00 is the cost of the supply kit. Come join us for the fun. All the classes will begin at 10:00 and go until about 2:00. Please bring a sack lunch as (if you’ve ever been to the shop) we don’t have many restaurants around here!!! Ha! Our usual 2 week turn around for carding has been disrupted by quite a bit. We’re running about a month out right now. We normally have a lull from about the middle of December to the first part of February…well, we’re still waiting to see it. I think that taking on the dehairing and starting up washing of fleeces this past fall/winter has greatly increased our business. I guess that’s good, hey? I keep telling myself that being busy is good…but it sure wears me out! Ha! Note that our |
spinning turn around time is still at about two months. I have a rather delicate thing to write about. Most of you already know that we don’t lock the shop up during shop hours. This gives people the chance to drop off or pick up their fiber even if I’m not here. Well last month I had someone come to pick up fiber while I was getting our dog from the groomer. He wasn’t aware of the way we handle things here. He searched the shop for someone and then went into town to try to get the police to come out to check and see if something was wrong. Well, we’re too far out for the city of Canby and the county seat was further to travel than he wanted to, so came out to the shop again and I was here. He was pretty shook up over the whole thing. I felt so sorry for him. I’m considering locking up the shop when I’m gone. The big porch on the front of the shop will still be a dry place to drop off fiber if you just happen by. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to pick up fleeces anymore. Please call and let us know you’ll be coming by. I’ll more than likely be here, but I do need to go to the Post Office and grocery store occasionally. Thanks for understanding. That’s all for now. Take care & God bless— |
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