A Brief Peek at a Farm Tour...part 1

Good Wednesday Morning!  I'm late with this week's blog!  BUT....for a very good reason....we hosted a farm tour on Monday and what a GREAT time! 

While the weather was iffy at first, it turned out to be a wonderful day.  We had our sun shelters up, there was tea and coffee when things were a bit dreary to warm you up and of course a good selection of cold drinks.

We were able to shear a Llama and Snowflake was very happy to oblige and have her huge "blanket" removed....much cooler now!  She even had a pedicure!


Llama Fibre

Patrick and Lucy along with all the other sheep and goats entertained the crowd and Patrick was very insistent on getting his head petted.  Timo was our Alpaca ambassador and he came out to give kiss and smell everyone's hair!  He's a cutie.


Lucy and her son Jerry

Elmer gave an explanation of the various kinds of Sheep, Goats, Alpacas and Llamas and even showed the chickens and turkeys and ducks of various shapes and sizes and farm fresh eggs were greatly in demand!

"Scrappy"

Then it was on to the REAL purpose of this farm, the fibre....how fibre is processed....Lee took everyone through a full demonstration, the raw fibre...shearing, picking, combing, carting and spinning!   She makes everything look so easy! 

The store offers a great variety of fibre, alpaca, wool, mohair, blends of each and beautiful vibrant colours!  The solar dyed yarns were a real hit!

Store fibres

I will be posting pictures on Monday going through the steps.  Our group arrived at 10:30am and left at 3pm.  While we provided the drinks they brought their own lunch.

If you think you might be interested in having a group tour of the farm and the store just let us know.  Reach us at 705-778-2070 or email elmleaalpacas@gmail.com.  The cost is $20.00 per person.  We can slightly tailor the even to your needs...but keep in mind that we are NOT a petting farm and while Patrick and some others love the attention, most of the animals are farm animals.  Another point of interest is being a FIBRE farm means we are NOT eating these goats and sheep...or Alpacas!  The purpose of our farm is to use the fibre from these animals is various ways whether through creating yarns for knitting and crocheting or for using the fibre in felting.

BUT our farm store does sell lamb, goat, and beef (supplied by local farms)along with chicken, turkey and eggs.  If you are looking for your Thanksgiving Turkey you need to order it soon! 

Store is open Thursday thru Sunday 10 am to 5 pm!  Come say "Hi"!

Solar Dyeing...Let the Summer Heat Do the Work!

Looking for an interesting way to dye yarn?   This is an easy "Do It Yourself" way to dye using the heat of the sun.  Each skein will be unique, the colours will vary in each batch, and the colour will sometimes be solid or more variegated, this is not a precise colour method of dyeing.

First here is what you need:
black plastic garbage bags
large mason jars (also gallon freezer ziploc bags will work but it’s not quite as easy to fill)
citric acid or white vinegar
acid dyes
protein fibre(wool, locks, silk)

Mason Jars

large measuring cup for pouring water into jars
plastic spoon or measuring spoon for dye
wooden skewers


Once you have everything ready....start with filling a couple large dye pots with water and a few tablespoons of citric acid then bring to a boil.  Measure out your fibre, usually 2-4 oz bundles is a good size(to fit in a mason jar) and soak these bundles in water.

Dyes

Next add dye to your  mason jars and then add your 2-4 oz. bundle of either wool or locks...again amount will depend on the thickness of the fibre you are using, i.e. you could put more silk in a jar than wool.  Adjust your dye to the "bulk" of your fibre.

Dyes with Jars

Once the jar is filled with fibre pour the boiling water into the jars.  Using a measuring cup adds in your accuracy of getting the liquid into the jars.  Fill the jar about a 3/4 of the way (it will depend on how much fibre you have in the jar...so a bit more or less).  Once that has been done...push the bundle down using a skewer, if there is room at the top add more of your citric acid solution.

Yarn Solar Dyeing

Mason Jars filled with Yarn Solar Dyeing

Now put the lids on the jars and put the jars outside to set, do this when the sun is strongest!.  Put the jars in an area that gets the most direct sunlight.  If I need to “force” some extra heat, put a black plastic bag under the jars or if it isn't as hot as it was predicted that day you can put the jars IN a black plastic bag, and tie the top.. this will create some extra heat.
For Solar Dyeing to work you must reach at least 185 degrees F.  for at least 30 minutes...longer is better (3-4 hours). During this time the dye is adhering to the protein in the fibre.
When the dyes are set, the water-which was at first the color of your dye- will be clear, and your fiber will be dyed. Remember this technique creates a variance in colour in each skein and jar.    A way to create a tye dye look is to put your dry fibre in first then add the dye colour then more fibre more dye colour and repeat and at the end add your citric water.  The water will then filter down.

Solar Dyed Yarns

Solar Dyed Yarns Drying 

I was really pleased with how my yarns turned out!  The colours are great and it was quite simple!  I hope you find the instructions and pictures easy to follow.  I found the original article on Jazzturtle's How to Do it.

Felting, Fibre, Turkeys and Eggs

Another rainy day on the farm!  Which is good and bad....good for the gardens...bad for haying!

Rovings for spinning or felting

Today is just an update day....we have been shearing, shearing and shearing...and are almost done.  We did something a little different this time,  I kept some Alpaca fibre separate for those of you that enjoy felting.  It is something that I am quite enjoying.  You can felt in many different ways, such as Nuno felting...adding layers of fibre such as merino to silk to create a wearable items, i.e. a scarf, Needle felting, where you can create free standing objects ..animals are very common..."statues" you would almost say, Wet felting where you take wool and create sheets of felt and Resist felting where you use cardboard or plastic to create a form.  So as you see fibre doesn't just have to be made into a yarn for knitting and crocheting but it can be used in it's raw state as well to create other items.  I have both yarns and fibres.  We have Alpaca, Llama, Mohair, Merino, Wool, and Cashgora here for sale plus a few other specialty bits and pieces.

Turkeys from 2013

In other news the baby turkeys have arrived and we have more coming this week.  And although it is only June we do start to take orders for Thanksgiving as much as we don't want to rush the seasons, if you want a turkey you need to book early.  Last year we couldn't meet the demand!  Something else I want to mention and for those of you who have been here you know our turkeys when old enough get to be outside in a secure area in the sun and locked away at night.  It's a good turkey life!

We also have farm fresh eggs!  Nothing compares to farm fresh eggs!  The colour is brighter and the taste richer...enhanced.

We still have kids for sale...the boys have been wethered now.  We have a Nigora, Jake who is all black, and two Pygora/Nigerian Dwarf crosses, Louie and Jerry as well as Mick our Olde English Babydoll.

As always the store is open Thursday thru Sunday 10-5 pm or by appointment.

And don't forget if you are interested in booking a farm tour...give me a call at 705-778-2070

Saint Patrick's Day

felted sheep picture

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

Beautiful sunny day today!  Cold but....I have just the thing for that...or should I say few things for that!  Today I am featuring all things "green" or at least with some green.  

I have attached a small sampling of what we have available in our store: we have rovings, made of many fibres, Mohair, Wool or a combination.  

Also I have yarns, 100% Alpaca, 2 ply hand dyed or 70/30 Mohair, Wool 3 ply for sale.  There is still time to get caught up and a few knitted projects before Spring!!  Drop by and see the other fabulous colours we offer!

Yarns, shawls, roving

A lovely selection of scaves and shawls and something I haven't posted in a while a 100% Alpaca felted rug!  Talk about nice and cosy.

100% Alpaca Felted Rug

Hand knit, woven shawls and scarves

Remember in the winter it is best to call us first at 705-778-2070.  Please look at our website,  www.elmleafarm.com and see the Alpacas that we have for sale.  Or why not follow us on FACEBOOK!


Have an enjoyable St. Paddy's day!

Til next time....