Old Sturbridge Village | Activities & Events | Events: Wool Days

Old Sturbridge Village Activities & Events Events: Wool Days

Three days of fiber fun at OSV at the end of May. Can you stand it?!

Plain View Farm -- #25 on the 2011 Fiber Map -- CORRECTION!

Our sincerest apologies to the Tetreaults at Plain View Farm. We spelled their name wrong! So, their email address should be: ktetreault@charter.net , NOT as it is listed on the map with no "e" after the "r".

First Spring Sheep Festival this Weekend

Spinners will be off to the CT Sheep & Wool Festival in Tolland CT this Saturday -- April 30th. It's the 102nd annual event, and such a great way to usher in the spring, and a year full of fiber fun. Just about an hour south of Worcester, the Tolland fairgrounds are right off Route 84 and include barns and fields of vendors, demonstrations, workshops, a fleece sale (!), sheep dog trials, and lots of good info. Hope we'll see some photos come back with spinners, along with great show-and-tell discoveries.



A used, 20+ year old Louet S-10 spinning wheel, a typical find at a sheep & wool festival in New England.



New species at Orchid Patch/Andes Alive in Southbridge

Good news from member Ellen Zepp:

"Thought you might like a glimse of our BFL 'babies'.

Amazing animals - serene, friendly, gentle, and soooooooo luscious."

Congratulations to Ellen and Mike!

Woad

Indigo and Kileen

Sheep Herding Dog

The 2011 Fiber Map is here!

A very big THANK YOU to Alyson Lee for her expert graphic design work on this year's map, to Elaine Swee for updating our Google Maps version, and to Betsy Alspach for organizing and conducting the outreach to map participants old and new. With a count of 30 destinations, we certainly have lots of fiber in Worcester County. Please patronize these farms, stores, and learning centers. They have much to teach us.

Such a Find for Local Grown Yarns

http://www.stitchuary.com/pages/About-Us.html

Dyeing Events in NH this spring . . . . dreamy

http://www.longridgefarm.com/events.asp

Updating the Fiber Map

Betsy has spearheaded the process of updating our Worcester County Fiber Map for 2011. What a great job of organizing and following up with current map participants, and new prospects. Elaine has agreed again to update the Google Map version, and Alyson will help us with the print one. Stay tuned for the pending launch of Fiber Map 2011!

Snow Dyeing?

Apparently so!

Thanks to Betsy, here are the details. Let us know if you try it out!
http://www.prochemical.com/directions/MX%20PDF/Snow%20Dyeing.pdf

Betsy Gets Published, Again!

Check out the February 2011 NOFA/Mass enewsletter at http://www.nofamass.org/news/pdfs/newsletter02_2011.pdf for a good read by Betsy on the joys of playing with wool. She certainly has a knack for putting our shared passion to words.

Wayland Winter Farmers' Market Hosts Wool Days

Wool Days @ the Wayland Winter Farmers' Market

January 22, 2011 @ 10:00 AM

Russell's Garden Center

397 Boston Post Rd. (Rt. 20)

Wayland, Massachusetts

The Wayland Winter Farmers’ Market runs weekly on Saturdays (through March 12) from 10 AM to 2 PM in the greenhouses of Russell’s Garden Center (397 Boston Post Road, Wayland - 508-358-2283), featuring over 30 farm and specialty food vendors (http://www.russellsgardencenter.com/ to see vendor list) There are many breakfast and lunch options and seating is available in the warm, plant-filled greenhouse!

Last year we had a “Wool Day” at the Winter Market and invited New England farmers who produce wool from animals that they raise. That day was so successful, that we have decided to do it twice this season! You will find hand spun and hand dyed yarn, roving, top, raw and washed fleece in addition to wool products, including Massachusetts own “Baaay State Blanket”.

“Wool Days” are January 22nd and February 12th during market hours. This event will appeal to those who knit, crochet, weave and enjoy fiber arts. Our farm vendor list includes Bally Duff Farm (Harmony, RI) Foxhill Farm (Lee, MA), North Brook Alpaca Farm (Berlin, MA), Rag Hill Farm (Colrain, MA), Tintagel Farm (Brookfield, MA), Windy Hamlet Farm (W. Brookfield) Windy Hill Farm (Lakeville, MA) and Winterberry Farm (Leverett, MA). Additional yarns will be available from our weekly vendors, Springdell Farm and West River Creamery/Iceberg Farm.

Katie Helke Dokshina from Knit for Boston (http://www.knitforboston.org/) will be on hand to talk about the knitting projects they are involved with and how you can donate. Contact Peg: pegmallett@comcast.net

event editors: pegmal

Old Sturbridge Village | Activities & Events | Events: Wool Days

Something to look forward to at the end of May . . .

Old Sturbridge Village Activities & Events Events: Wool Days

More to learn

This month's agenda at The Stitchery Academy in Worcester includes several fiber-related workshops. How to fit it all in?

January 22nd Visit with the Shepherds at Orchid Patch/Andes Alive

Ellen and Mike Zepp invited the Guild to come to their homestead. They have llamas, alpacas, Peruvian Hairless Dogs, exotic birds, and a tropical greenhouse. It was a wonderful escape into their warm South American world in southern Worcester County. Delicious refreshments, a toasty wood stove, and good conversation while spinning about llama and alpaca fiber, festivals, shlepping camelids to NYC for photo shoots with Susan Sarandon, and more made for a memorable afternoon. Visiting with the the fiber animals in their respective pastures on the sunny day did much to chase away the cold. Ellen informed us that BFL are due in the springtime, much to our pleasure. As the Guild grows, so do the experiences and inspirations. Thank you to our hosts, and see you again soon when the snow melts and you welcome new arrivals.