[Moo] November Fleece Frolic

[Marsaili Johnston]

November Fleece Frolic at the farm

Date: Saturday & Sunday, November 7-8

Rain Date: Saturday & Sunday, November 14-15

Time: 10am-dark

Definition: Fleece is the combed, shorn or shed fibers off an animal that we spin, weave & dye to produce...well...most anything we want to, if we know how to treat it properly &, most of all, pick out a good one

Come spend two days learning what can be learned about fleece. We will NOT have live animals to shear, but we will be using both second and first quality fleeces to demonstrate how to choose a good fleece, what to look for, how to judge a fleece for what you want to do with it (i.e. felting, spinning, etc)

We will be picking apart several fleeces to see what areas of the animal (mostly wool, but might have some other fleeces to examine) are better for what duties & looking at the fleeces to determine how the animal lived over the past year's time of its life. We will also be discussing lanolin & how it affects processing & the "itchiness" that wool is notorious for

Judging the fleeces & then washing them will follow, as well as some "dyeing" (we will be using kool-aid for safety's sake, to demonstrate colors & fiber intake/absorption) and some carding (we will not be weaving, spinning, but we might felt some fibers while washing...it happens)

If the weather (even on the rain date) is just miserable, we can try to move it into the barn for some dryness. Weather might also make this one day due to its fickleness at that time of year (hopefully not)

I have put this as a two-day class; please do not feel obligated to come both days if you have something more pressing going on! Saturday will mostly be picking through fleeces, seeing them, judging, doing some pre-washing if we can progress that far. Sunday will be using the dried (we hope?) fleeces for combing, carding & dyeing

What you need to do beforehand:

Please come with the following:

-several pairs of disposable gloves (if you so choose...we will be working with fleeces, and we know that animals are not always the neatest of beings)

-clothing you will probably want to discard after Sunday (goodwill is always open for your shopping pleasure)

-rain gear if you so choose (we will be working with wet fleece, water & other liquids. A change of clothing is welcome if you so choose)

-aprons with some form of water resistance (they sell plastic ones in the store in 3-packs)

-notebook/etc

-baggies/plastic bags if you choose to take samples home

-other necessities for working outside in November with wet/damp things

We will have cold foods/platters & some liquids available, & you are welcome to bring your own to share. Please do be mindful of allergies if you are bringing something. If anyone has spare electric tea pots to keep hot water going, please let me know ahead of time. We will have an area set aside for food/liquids (this is usually an in-stone rule, no dye things near food for safety's sake, however, as we are using kool-aid for the purpose of safety, this one time we will cover the rock with some fleece & pretend the rule doesn't exist)

If this sounds like something you'd like to come & enjoy, please contact me at sca at roppel.com before hand so I have a round estimate of the number of people coming for food ordering. Donations for the materials are always accepted. Children are more than welcome (they'll be just as messy)

if this gets rained out on the 7th, or looks to be a mud-fest due to the weather, I will be sending out emails @Thursday to inform people of the change of date

Location:

3734 White Hall Road
King George, Virginia 22485
(540) 775-0348
(please remember that my schedule varies, so if you call with questions, it might be a day until I get back to you)
-Freug/Michelle