Build your experience

FAQs

June 17, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

– You are welcome to purchase multiple half fleeces!

– If your chosen barn to yarn fleece is going to be dyed here and won’t be dry in time to take advantage of other parts of the experience, such as the spinning lesson, I can provide prepped fleeces for lessons and / or purchase, or we can split your experience into two days, at no extra cost. Just let me know in advance!

– If you want to make it into a vacation, I can do airport pickup from Chattanooga. There is a Days Inn in Trenton, GA, beautiful B&B in Bryant, or if you want to bring an RV / Camper there is Cloudland Canyon just a 20 minute drive away. There is also a brand new Airbnb right down the road. I will do transport to and from the farm if you need. If you want an extra day, I’m happy to run you into Chattanooga for the day. It’s a great city with a lot to offer.

– A light lunch is included! If you have special dietary needs, let me know in advance.

– Want something I haven’t mentioned here? Let me know! If I can make it work, I will!

PM via Facebook, or text / call 706-280-7807.

Pricing

June 17, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

Day packages are now easy to plan and purchase! Prices valid through the end of 2017.

A one day course, running from 10-3pm, is $250 per person. We will cover shearing a fiber animal of your choice (sheep, alpaca or angora goat), skirting and washing the fleece.

Then choose from either dyeing the fleece you sheared, or taking a spinning lesson on a previously prepared fleece. One pound of fiber is included in the cost, as is lunch and all materials. Additional fleece and blending materials are available for purchase. I will need to know your choice of dyeing or spinning ahead of time to ensure fleeces are available.
A two day course, second day running from 12-3, where we cover spinning of a previously dyed fleece which has been dried, is $345.

Spinning lessons are available, running from 12-3, with 8oz of roving provided, for $95 per person.

Dye lessons, running from 12-3, with 1lb of a variety of fibers provided, are $150 per person.

$40 non-refundable deposit for the day, per person; groups of three or more $30 per person will reserve your day.

Additional fleece prices:

All wool (sheep) $15 per pound, raw. Fleeces must be purchased either by the full or half fleece. Weights will vary. $25 per pound for washed, prepared fleece for blending.

Alpaca: $25 per pound, raw. Fleeces must be purchased either by the full or half fleece. Weights will vary. Cria fleeces $35 per pound.

Mohair / Pygmy-Angora (Now known as MyGora!): Staple over 6” – price will vary.

Staple 3”-6” $45-$70 per pound, depending on fleece.

The price of custom dyeing and / or spinning will vary according to the type of fleece and the type of yarn required.

Spinning

June 17, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

Spinning lessons are taught either on my handmade Louet-inspired single treadle wheel, or my Ashford Country Spinner 2.

If you have a finished project in mind to knit, crochet, or weave, feel free to bring along a pattern and we can make sure that the yarn is suitable.

Depending on your experience level, in your class we can cover the basics of spinning, setting up your wheel, spinning worsted vs woolen, spinning singles and plyed yarn, and lockspinning and tailspinning. Sometimes a certain type of yarn suits a specific way of spinning, and we can discuss this too. There are many different types of yarns dotted around my studio, so you can decide if there’s a new technique you’d like to try or if a certain type of yarn catches your eye.

alpaca silk merino afghan yarn — Natural alpaca and hand dyed silk/merino blend, spun as a 2-ply chunky afghan yarn

Three hand dyed mohair yarns, all lockspun.

A single ply, hand dyed lockspun mohair yarn.

hand spun yarn — A fractal spun silk, polwarth and merino yarn.

2-ply yarn — A 2-ply cheviot and alpaca blend spun on my hand made wheel.

Dyeing

June 16, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

For me, dyeing is the process of taking a beautiful fleece and personalizing it. It becomes art, yet this is still just one more step along the journey of turning your fiber into the finished piece, whatever that may be.

I trained with Natalie Redding from Namaste Farms for over a year to become a certified Master Dyer and teacher and her techniques are inspiring.

In a dye lesson, which is taught either one-on-one or with your small group, we will cover the basics of dyeing, the chemistry, and the tenets of the Redding Method philosophy. We will dye your fiber in the colorway of your choice, either kettle dyeing or oven dyeing.

If you would prefer to learn to dye finished yarn instead of loose fiber, we can move the dye lesson around to accommodate that. If you would like to learn to dye milled yarn, please let me know in advance, along with your weight preference, and I will order some in for you.

The cost of the lesson covers the shampoo, dyes and tuition.

Beyond this initial lesson, further dye classes are available to cover other techniques, troubleshooting and colorways.

Dyed Wensleydale locks in “Once Upon A Time” colorway

Border Leicester fleece in “Electric Unicorn” colorway

Border Leicester fleece in “Electric Unicorn”

Mohair locks dyed loose and then lockspun into yarn

Lockspun mohair dyed in “Fiesta” colorway

Sheep and wool

June 16, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

Whether you have a favorite kind of wool you just can’t get enough of, or you want to try something different, I’ve got you covered here.

On the farm, you will find Jacob, Navajo Churro, Icelandic, Icelandic x Border Leicester, Jacob x Churro, Icelandic x Jacob, Border Leicester, mini Cheviot and Tunis sheep.

Each wool has its own unique characteristics, and a purpose for which it is just perfect. Try one, try them all. Put a face to the fiber, bury your hands in the fleece, and see which one appeals to you!

Fiber processing

May 23, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

Once you have chosen your fleece, we will barn skirt it as we shear, and I’ll explain my process for shearing and bagging, along with the various parts of the fleece and how they differ. Then, we will lay the whole fleece out and skirt again, leaving us with the prime areas, which will become our yarn.

Often, fleeces will benefit from being tumbled, to remove second cuts, some vm and dust.

If you are planning on dyeing your fleece, it is likely that we will split your experience into two days, as the fleece will need time to dry. In this case, the carding process will come after the dyeing.

Carding is where we brush the fibers into some kind of order in preparation for spinning; a either a batt made on the drum carder, or rolags made on the hand carders. Some fibers can be spun from the cloud with minimal preparation, and we can discuss how this affects spinning techniques and look at some sample yarns.

At this stage we can also blend your fleece with some other kind of natural fiber such as wool, mohair or silk, or with some sparkle, such as angelina or firestar. I’m a huge believer in letting a fiber speak for itself, and not processing the character out of it, which is why I avoid milled fibers wherever possible, but I also believe there’s few things in the world can’t be made even better with a little sparkle.

Hand dyed mohair rolags prepared on the hand carders.

A lock of Navajo Churro fleece sitting on top of a carded batt.

Blending wool and alpaca on the drum carder

Preparing Navajo Churro x Jacob rolags on the hand carders.

alpaca on drum carder — Carding 100% grey alpaca on the drum carder

Angora goats and mohair

May 23, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

Mohair is the holy grail of fibers, in my opinion. There is nothing that takes dye the way quality mohair does, and the luster, handle and shine are breathtaking.

Angoras were the first fiber animals to join the flock, back in 2010. I still have my first three, Pearl, SuzieQ and Tipp. Tipp is now an old, stinky buck with some antisocial habits, but I love him anyway.

These three are the foundation of my mohair herd, and were later joined by Cilla, my first MyGora (Pygmy x Angora). My herd is now usually between 25-30 goats, all carefully selected for the quality of their fiber, their parasite resistance and their general hardiness.

Angora goats are easy to handle, easy to shear and their fiber is so versatile. Longer locks are sometimes used for doll hair, such as the ones used by Lunart Dolls by Desi.

When brushed out and prepared, the locks become works of art. These locks below were prepared by a wonderfully talented lady who purchased fiber from SuzieQ.

mohair doll hair

Mohair can either be carded, or spun directly from the lock, known as ‘lockspinning’. The image on the left shows kid mohair dyed and lockspun with minimal preparation, while the picture on the right shows punis, or mini-rolags, which is moahir that was washed, dyed and carded on hand carders before being rolled ready for spinning.

There’s so many wonderful ways to experiment with mohair – I’d love to help you find the way that fuels your imagination!

Twin bucks, Brownie’s babies from 2017. I can’t wait to see how the fiber color on these two develops.

Long locks! 10-12″ locks, carefully harvested from one of my home grown angora bucks. This was his 2016 kid clip.

My sweet Sarin, home grown MyGora buck and his kid clip from 2015.

Sarin in full fleece. He just glows in the sun!

Alpacas

May 23, 2017 by Poppy Creek Farmer Mama

The huacaya alpacas on the farm come in every natural color under the sun, including white, ivory, tan, mid brown, chocolate brown, and true black. In suri, I have three whites.

While alpaca fiber does take dye well, there’s something about a natural blend of the colors that I just love.

Alpaca blends well with wool, to give it some ‘memory’, with silk for a cannot-be-matched softness, or it is lovely to spin on its own.

Occasionally there will be cria fleeces available, or a two-year fleece that I have allowed to grow for extra staple length. If you are interested in one of these, let me know.