Camp Mimi Trip to Jacob's Reward Farm

Ms. Cindy has one chicken you can pet.  Z, C, S and S got to feel the texture of feathers of Ms. Rachel, the hen.  Chickens are just part of the animal component of Jacob Rewards Farm, a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) venture.  We drove a short 30 minutes out to Parker, Texas to check out this sweet farm.

The alpaca, below was a gorgeous model.  Great head shots from him.

We ended up in the air-conditioned little Red Barn to try out drop spindle spinning.  Zoe let Sophie have a turn, as she had already gotten the hang of it in another session with Ms. Cindy.

Mary Elizabeth, the lone ewe sheep, was taking in the shade as we drove out the drive and headed back to the HOT big city.

Matisse art roving does alpaca roving & more

Last spring I subscribed to an Art Roving club at Taossunflower Too.  Finally a year later I spun up the "Matisse at Notre Dame" Falkland roving as finely as I could.   I'm still working on my fine yarn spinning.  Anyway.  It turns out I had dyed an alpaca roving with approximately the same colorway.  Total serendipity, for sure.   Short story is I plied them together to get this yarn.  The alpaca softens up the Falkland nicely.  Think I will list it in the shop. I ended up with almost 400 yards.

Remember this?  I think this "Mermaid" "spinning with locks yarn" might be gorgeous in a project with the Matisse.  I have a theory that your taste prevails when you are picking color, and it will co-ordinate with what one already has. What do you think?

Testing New Photos of Hand-carded Batts

What do you think? Does this tempt you more than this?




How about this?
over this or both?

I like this one, but...

I like this one too. Feedback, please, people. I would love it.
Check them out at the shop also. These are soft, artsy batts full of luxury fibers like merino/silk, alpaca, Wensleydale locks, sari silk, tencel, bamboo, Firestar and bits of angelina.

Jacob's Reward Farm, Texas's 1st CSA Farm

Yesterday I became a 2010 shareholder in Jacob's Reward Farm located just north of Dallas in Parker, Texas. Quoting Cindy's website, "CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, an ancient trade model that brings the community back into the middle of the farming experience. Harking to the days when folks knew where their food and fiber came from, and knew the people who produced it, CSA’s once again draw people closer to the farm experiences and products they enjoy". The farm's alpaca herd is delightful. The Jacob sheep were a little more shy. I decided to purchase a 2010 share that will mix in fibers from smaller farms who can't quite meet the CSA requirement yet. Love supporting women in this venture.

For my membership I will share in next year's fiber harvest which, judging by the bags and bags of processed 2009 fiber here will be rich. Also, fresh eggs, a spinning lesson, and a drop spindle. Best of all I get to enjoy a little farm life even though I live in the big city.

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