Hear Ye! HEAR YE! Open for Business!

Over the last several months I have been busy doing the background work to open Blueball Mountan Spindle and Needleworks formally to the world. The front room of the farm house is ready and hours set. The cottage which will be used for lessons and as my personal studio are almost done. I have researched many suppliers of wool products and equipment to add to my own hand raised Shetland fleeces, rovings and handspun yarns.

I have decided to start by carrying the fiber equipment that I know and love the most. Ashford and Schacht Wheels and Looms and Carders and all manner of accessories for the new and serious fiber workers among us. Models of the complete line of Ashford products are set up and on display. The Traveler, Joy, and Country Spinner are on the floor and a replacement Traditional (sold the first one in one day) is on the way along with a rigid heddle loom and stand, drum and hand carders, a gorgeous charka, various drop spindles and takli turkish spindle. Of course, Ashford's full line of looms and fiber are also available and will be on display as space permits.

And there's more! The Schacht floor models will be here soon! More on those soon. I am also looking into dealer arrangements with several other major wheel and loom supplier's so stay tuned for updates as deals are finalized.

Next up: Fiber! Fiber! and more Fiber!

Life is Good

Well, here I am. It feels lie a long time since I've checked in here. it has been a very busy year so far. After a year an a half my legal battle with my ex has come to settlement and have returned to a place of peace in my life. It has been quite a journey to where I am now. As many of you know, I left a very comfortable NJ suburban life to live my dream life on the farm. My goal of living sustainably through what I can produce and is ever closeer as i begin the fiber business in earnest...beginning NOW. I am thankful to friends and family who stood by me and those new friends who have sustained me along the way. Thank you especially to dear sweet Alan who is The Best Man on Earth and to my sons, Will and David, who are my greatest and dearest creation. I am so proud of them and who they are becoming. Their love and support has been a blessing.

The Event at Greencastle

After some delays due to travelling to NJ (again and again), things are starting to come together.

The 4oz drum carded blended batts are tied into bundles with a pretty brown ribbon and stacked in my big green vintage basket. More of these are coming in lots of colorways. I will be adding silk noil, angora, angelina, bamboo and mohair to a variety of natural Shetland colors and other base fibers as I get them in.




Two groups of roving so far have been labelled and sorted by colorway. Jewel toned Shetland is a contemporary color group



and Country Colors Shetland is a more muted colorway. The darker natural colors overdyed with diluted dyes creates a soft, more natural effect. I did use acid dyes on these using vinegar only.


I've also started experimenting with hand painting on the roving to create a range of color patterns that seems endless. This group is my own Shetland roving, acid dyed in random color patterns.



This week I will be hand painting merino top in long blended repeats and continuing experimenting with creating more artisan yarns from my Shetland and othr fibers. I am just having a blast here and hope that all y'all will come to Greencastle on April 10 and 11 to see it all. There will be so many other great fiber related vendors as well as workshops.
Check out the website for all the details at: http://www.thefiberevent.com/

Next time: More yarns both handspun and hand painted.