Dyeing Wool Fleece

 

   Dyeing the wool right after it has been washed can make for some interesting effects. It kind of has a mottled look when several colors are used and then subsequently blended in the water as they simmer.
     This makes for my favorite felting affects because the colors are naturally blended really well. Every time, the end product is unique!

      The supplies are simple and familiar.

• food coloring
• vinegar
• pot and water
•  washed fleece (about as much that can comfortably fit in your pot without being compressed.)

  

 First soak your wool in warm water for about 20 minutes to an hour.

  Then put about three parts water to one part vinegar in your pot. Add your wool.

   Turn your stove on to medium so as to bring the pot to a slow simmer.

    Now comes the fun! Drop in your dye and allow the colors to blend by themselves. This is a good place to experiment with colors and shades until you get the desired effects. If the wool does not sink and submerge the dye, simply push the wool down gently with a fork. Simmer for 45 minutes.

           Once done, rinse in warm water without felting it. (No friction. Just run it under the water and squeeze it gently dry.) Then let it dry on rack or somewhere it can drain.

            Another fun technique is to make stipes in white roving. Presoak the part of the wool you will be dying and then simmer that part in the dye on the stove.

     Take it off the stove to cool and squeeze out the excess water in the roving.  Then repeat the procedure with the next color.

             In this case, I am going to repeat the procedure one more time. When my roving is completely dyed I will rinse it off in warm water to take off any extra dye and then let it dry!

                                                      

         Food coloring is safe to work with and easy to use. It won't stand up to soap and washing or soaking in hot water. So, it is best to use these beautiful colors on things that won't require washing. We use these bright colors in needle felting cute ornaments or doo-dads. 

         Here we have two snowmen faces started! Needle felting is fun and easy and so portable! We should dig into what its like some of these days.

Maid-N-Meadows: Fall 2022 Update

         

     "We have come a long way, baby!", but somehow this year felt particularly challenging. Lol, I guess adding an expensive pasteurizer, a flock of sheep, more chores, more cheese, new recipe development and a first employee, probably has something to do with it. There was more fighting this year, fewer family suppers, and just over all exhaustion. I think when energies run low and there feels like no reprieve, tempers running short shouldn't be a surprise. The oldest children really held things together this year. They were the rock and foundation.

        That sounds crazy, to me because I never wanted or expected my children to be the foundation of our business operations. I wanted them to help, sure! But I wanted them to have a life of their own and seek out their own opportunities. Both Karson (17) and Jaden (15) pulled weight no one expected and well beyond expectations, while also holding a strict boundary of Sundays off. 

     They did the work they knew how to do and did it well, in a predictable fashion. And this is what held everything together this year! While Daniel and I burned out regularly, became unpredictable, and erratic in our function as we burned the candle at both ends, they were the turtles that just kept on marching toward the goal. They worked when they needed to and rested when they should have....and just basically showed up the adults in common sense when it comes to work life balance.

       Jaden brought home another blue ribbon for her cheddar to top it all off!

      Remember that pasteurizer?! Well, its 100 gallons bigger than we first intended! It arrived in July but the probes for the temperature recorder didn't arrive until October! So, we have yet to use it in a full run yet. But that has to happen fast now as we only had a year to complete the project, per the USDA grant. Its a bit overwhelming! But think of the fun stuff we can do with it! I can't wait for fresh mozzarella and cheese spreads galore!We can finally up our output too! 500 gallons of milk can be processed in a day!

       A few sheep are lambing and there is fencing to do. There are so many repairs on barns and fence posts....the garden fence needs repair. Our spring house roof is literally falling off! 😂 Laugh with us so we don't cry! This winter isn't going to prove much of a rest. But we have put our foot down, and the family is eating together again. Family movies are happening again. And life is just more cooperative and together in general. I guess we just needed a season of strife to remind us how much value we have in the slower pace. Karson will finally be moving in his own direction this summer. The younger boys are going to move up in responsibility, and somehow, we adults need to rebalance how we handle it all. Throw us some pointers if ya got any! Winter is a good time to chew on things like that.

The girls....chewing in the barn!

Family Get Aways Are Family Memories

            

      It has really been a crazy year on the farm. Lots of ups and downs but mostly lots of work. I wanted the family to get out and camp this year, but spring chores can be up to 8 hours a day. It just isn't feasible to leave under those conditions, especially when most of the chores revolve around caring for vulnerable, young animals. It's so easy to miss when they start heading down hill! It's just not responsible to leave them in someone else's care for more than a day, unless one is lucky enough to have an experienced animal care giver.

       So we worked hard this year but didn't really get a chance to build any good memories as a family. Lucky for us, the campgrounds clear out in the fall. Since we homeschool year-round, we have a lot of flexibility when it comes to school vacations. So, we booked a family getaway with Homegrown Hideaways! We rented the teepee for one-night, late fall, with the plan to hike Anglin Falls the next day.

        Let me tell you about the glories of Homegrown Hideaways! It's owned by a family, just like us! It's situated on a small farm in the back country of Berea, Kentucky. If you love alternative buildings, this place has all kinds....treehouses, yurts, strawbale experimental, and simple wood shacks. LOL, and of course the tee pee! They have some outhouses, but also toilets with running water and showers. There is a community building where you can cook and eat if you are too tired to cook over an open fire, or if you need a place to escape the mosquitos in July!

        Our children were so excited to try out the tee pee! When we arrived, we set to work finding downed wood and building a fire. The tee pee easily holds 10 people. It has a gravel floor but there is a vinyl mat that fits most sleeping bags. I would recommend a few more mats if you are bringing more than 4 children. 

         Anyway, with a fire under way we cooked frozen pizza, chicken soup, and sausage over the open fire. Solar string lights come on at around 7/7:30 and give light inside until 9. We had a glorious time! The children declared the fire cooked pizza the best they had ever eaten.

         The next day we made our way to Anglin Falls. The owners of Homegrown Hideaways highly recommended it and it did not disappoint. It was the perfect hike for a family with so many skill levels. The toddlers were able to transverse the entire hike without being carried, while the big boys moved ahead with walkie talkies.

        The falls were not running due to this year's low rainfall, but the rocks at the end are just perfect. Not too dangerous for rambunctious boys, but enough adventure to get them excited about the outdoors. We climbed around and enjoyed the view for a bit and still made it back to the car without carrying toddlers, for the most part. The weather was beautiful, and it wasn't too busy. My kind of nature experience!

         Then we headed home! For a family of our size, it was a fast and cheap getaway. I think we spent around $150 for the food we cooked, lodging, and gas. The best part was we didn't have to put up a tent and take it down and lug it around. I love tent camping, don't get me wrong! But for a one-night stay, it just takes too much time to set up and take down, pack and unpack. I think we could have saved $40 bucks if we had brought it, instead of staying in the teepee, but I think the tradeoff was worth it.

    And hooray for time off with the family! Time is so short! While we get a lot of time together on the farm, its these little memories that give us a break and allow us to reframe, rethink, and redream about what life can be together. :-)

Maid-N-Meadows: Spring 2022 Update

               Wow! Its been a minute, hasn't it!?  The last time I posted was in March of 2021, just before we slid into the rollercoaster summer ride with a 2 year old and a 1 year old. I have the drawings on the walls, a vast array of cups with missing lids and the 3 shoes whose mates are probably halfway to the ocean by now, having been lost in the creek, to show for it. We made cheese three times a week last year and needless to say, Daniel and I both had a melt down in July. It just wasn't sustainable, but I think the heat was the last straw. We dropped to milking once a day and finished the year strong.....and being the gluttons for punishment that we are, we applied for some brand new equipment with the USDA!

         You may have heard, but one of the highlights for us last year was being awarded first place in two categories at the State Fair. We won in the cheddar category and flavored cheeses category. Can I just say I cried my eyes out when Daniel picked up our ribbons and plaques? We have made our share of really bad cheese, fed a lot to pigs, and re-evaluated all along the way....to finally see that work recognized! It just made all the times we made cheese at 3 A.M., all the hours of driving to our rented facility, sleeping on the ground or in cars, weeks of sandwiches and coffee pot macaroni and cheese.....just all felt like it took us somewhere and was worth it somehow. So many tears of relief and joy and more relief! So many times I wondered if we were crazy to pursue a craft we knew so little about, while also putting our lives in such a crazy, helter skelter position. Everything was on the line.  This was the moment we felt our faith had rewarded us.

    Also this year, I learned to take time for an endeavor uniquely my own. With a flock of sheep on the farm and no outlet for the milk, I came up with the idea of utilizing the milk and wool in soap production. I enjoy dyeing wool and mixing up essential oil fragrances. It has been a creative outlet for me after many years of supporting, and nourishing the goals of my children and husband. Plus the sheep are so cute and look so majestic grazing in the field at sunset.

      We milk these East Friesians and hand wash/pick their wool, for a unique and homegrown product. Each one is its own work of art.

     A lot of things are the same on the farm and of course a lot of things continue to change. Jacob finished school last spring and started out pursuing his own adventures. The next oldest, Karson, is likely finishing out his last summer on the farm, this year. The years of raising a large family are coming to a close as every other year, the farm crew diminishes by one. It is a bittersweet experience, to be sure. But I am so proud of them and know they have everything they need to be successful.

      Daniel and I took some much needed time to step back from the farm and consider the big picture, last fall. What direction do we need to take this family and business? In the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains we tried to reconnect to one another and to our personal visions for the future. How to fit the puzzle back together after such a tumultuous summer?

      It was then we decided to apply for a grant for value-added farms, like ourselves, and create a new line of cheeses that enabled us to utilize the help of other farms' milk. And guess what!? It was awarded! A new PASTEURIZER and several more new surprises is coming up! 

      As we pondered our future, camped through a rainstorm, and hiked into the sunshine, a rainbow appeared. It was in that moment that we were reminded that after the storm comes new hope, a new day, a new chapter. While we are still in the thick of "weedy terrain" with small children and hours of chores, we still see a vision of the future taking shape where the farm can be of service to the community and a home to our family. So here's  to a hopeful future and the faith it takes to plod on! And wishing you all a beautiful and rejuvenating summer!!! Thanks for being with us, every step of the way.