Summer 2010
Road Trip Find: Snacks, Ice and Wool
Villa Grove Trade is my kind of general store. I knew as soon as I stepped inside and saw a big bag of Karakul roving, along with the softdrinks, snacks and ice one expects at a roadside store out in the country. I won’t use the cliché “middle of nowhere” because Villa Grove Trade is definitely somewhere. It is in the hamlet of Villa Grove, Colorado, in the San Luis Valley and the shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Beautiful country.
I spied the store on our way to a hike in said mountains as we sped down Highway 285. We’d been camped near Poncha Springs and we were looking forward to a nice hike through pinyon juniper woodlands up to a spring. It was an enjoyable outing, complete with a packed lunch. On our way back to our camp, we stopped at Villa Grove Trade.
Besides having roving, they sold lovely jewelry, and art objects along with the chips, soft drinks and ice one associates with little stores. The best was in the back—a restaurant complete with homemade pies! We bought a couple of slices of their apple pie and it was delicious. The buffalo chili smelled good too, but we’d already had lunch. The restaurant also offers live music and dinner specials on the second and fourth Sunday of each month and you can learn about this at their website http://www.villagrovetrade.com/ They also rent western style rooms and we are thinking of checking in the next time we pass through.
I had a nice chat with Amber Shook, a spinner and weaver, who owns the business with husband Jeff. The roving I purchased come from her own Karakul/Rambouillet sheep, which are naturally raised nearby. At first I was just going to buy a little, but you know how it is! My eye caught site of firt the light brown and then the lovely gray shown above. Despite all my stash busting resolutions, I couldn’t resist. I hope to be spinning it soon.
Karakul is a primitive breed with a double coat with kemp blended in with the finer fiber. When I purchased two pounds of grey roving and about a half pound of the light brown, I was kind of thinking of a sweater, but now I’m thinking weaving. I have some chocolate brown Navajo Churro in my stash and that would be a great complimentary color with the other shades. I don’t know for sure yet, but I’m really glad I found this fiber. Once I clear out my current projects, I’ll be spinning it.
Unfortunately, I took no pictures of this cool little restored Western store, but my husband did buy the T-shirt, which is what I’m using to give you an idea of what it looks like. It is a nice place and definitely worth a stop for lunch and a little shopping if you are vacationing that way. They also have espresso, if you just need a perk up on your road trip.
August, 2009
Spinner in Fiberland: A Visit to Elihu Farm
 Fleece stacked to the ceiling, lambs resting on sweet straw, a skirting table covered with fresh fleece—what could be more idyllic? I was fortunate enough to visit Elihu Farm in Valley Falls, N.Y., this week to purchase some fleece for my latest rug project. I had very specific tones of naturally colored fleece in mind and I knew that Bob & Mary Pratt with their herd of nearly 200 ewes would have what I needed. The Pratt farm is in a picturesque setting nestled in the rolling foothills south of the Adirondacks and west of the Green Mountains. The farm gets its name from the original owner who settled the land nearly 200 years ago.
I’ve been visiting Elihu Farm for more than 15 years, every since my husband and I first came across it during one of the first Washington County Sheep Tours. We have family nearby, so the farm is in the neighborhood. I’ve purchased some of my best fleeces from Mary’s broad selection of fleece types and have not been disappointed. Mary can have anything from fine rambouillet (that’s my favorite fleece Champ) to lustrous Romneys and many kinds of fleeces in between that are exceptionally pleasant to process, spin and knit. I was after Romney today for the rug project—and we had to dig through the giant stack (shown above) to find some of the coarser fleeces more suitable for rugs. I couldn’t pass by one fine one though, a lovely creamy moorit which will make a wonderful next-to-the-skin soft sweater someday soon.
Visiting the farm is something I really look forward to. It’s like going to a fleece fair but without the crowds—and the Elihu Barn is better than the Rhinebeck fleece barn. Above, you can see a picture of just one small section of the fleece area—she has them stacked up to the ceiling. She’s already sold quite a few from this year’s clip but remember, she has a LOT of sheep. If you are lucky enough to live in the Northeast, you’ll be able to find Elihu Farm fleece for sale at one of the many fiber festivals. In the next picture are some of her ewes. The one mugging for the camera produced the gorgeous fine fleece which I already purchased for a future knitting project. The little lamb shown was adorable and liked being scratched behind the ears.
Now that I’m weaving, I go through fleeces a lot faster, so I bought quite a few for that purpose--the two rugs I just finished represent six fleeces. As it turns out, I ended out walking out with six more (five for the upcoming rug weaving project). Yep, I will be busy.
April 7, 2009
Spring Fiber Jubilee at Tall Grass Farm, Delavan, Wisc.
Farm gathering offers local yarns and fiber in perfect setting
Local, sustainable and artisan quality are all words that can describe the twice-a-year fiber event at Tall Grass Farm.
Gathering at a picturesque angora goat farm in Southern Wisconsin, these fiber producers have beautiful lines of fiber and yarns to please any yarnie, as well as some lovely crafted objects like handmade baskets and felted scarves. The Spring Fiber Jubilee is also a fun event for the whole family, with Tall Grass Farm demonstrating shearing of their fiber animals. Plus, if drooling over lovely yarns and fibers perks up your appetite, there is some tasty chili cooked up fresh by chefs at the Richmond Methodist Church.
I wandered around looking at all the offerings. Tall Grass Farm has a lovely collection of yarns made with their own mohair fibers—yarns so beautiful and lustrous they glow (photos upper right). You can see some of their hand painted yarns and an example of something made with the yarn. Don’t you love how the colors work? There are also excellent solid colored yarns. Also selling in the main building was Black Oak Baskets which offered beautifully crafted and affordable baskets, including some that are perfect for knitting projects. Stone Crest Llamas had really soft fiber and yarn in all kinds of natural colors, and Thomsen Merinos had colorful merino yarns spun from their own animals.
Across the way in the barn was Coed Mawr Woolen Mill. I can vouch for her processing because she has carded a number of my fleeces and the roving spins beautifully. On the right, you can see some of her offerings—bags and bags of ready to spin fibers in all kinds of colors as seen in the photo to the left. She also had  some intriguing “mystery bats.” Across the way from her was Studio Fiber Arts, which had colorful and textured selection of yarns and knitting and spinning books for sale.
The shearing was also going on in the barn, and it is always fun to watch. Angora goats are handsome creatures. And so is there fleece. Tall Grass Farm offers raw and washed lustrous mohair in all kinds of natural colors. I am fortunate to have some in my own stash.
In the center there is another little building which housed White Dove Farm’s booth. This vendor not only grows excellent Corriedale fleece, but she is also a talented felter. You can see her handywork in the picture at the lower right. She also had some lovely one-of-a-kind scarves for sale, each one a unique creation. The picture I took didn’t do them justice so I didn’t post it. You really have to see them in person to appreciate them, so keep this picture of her booth in mind if you visit Tall Grass Farm in fall to do some Christmas shopping. Sharing the building was Sunnyfield Farm which has Wisconsin raised honey.
 Spring Fiber Jubilee is a great way to brush off the cobwebs and enjoy an early spring day. As usual, the weather was sunny and pleasant (how do they do that?), and my husband and I paired several hours at the picturesque farm with a nice walk in the nearby Moraine State Park. Once we worked up our “second appetite” (after the chili) we stopped into the little organic sandwich shop in La Grange (this is attached to a bicycle store). They had a smoked trout sandwich (made from trout grown right up the road) that was the perfect cap to a nice day in the country.
Yarn, Fiber and More
Shown from top right is Tall Grass Farm's handpainted mohair yarn along with an item made from it, Coed Mawr Woolen Mill's colorful ready-to-spin fiber and White Dove Farm's booth which shows a sample of her felting.
March 28, 2009
Wool Warp & Wheel, Richmond, Illinois:
Be submerged in fiber
Stepping into Wool, Warp and Wheel is to submerge oneself in a world of fiber. Skeins of yarn hang everywhere, from the ceiling, from hooks, peek out from shelves and where there isn’t wool, there are wheels and looms and knitting needles and all the other things we use to turn roving or yarn into something special. My friend Beth and I stopped in to have a look around.
Wool Warp and Wheel is creatively packed with an enticing variety of wool to explore and touch. We lingered over Briar Rose yarns whose delicate changing hues kept us entertained, before we walked over to the gorgeous hanks of alpaca and then browsed over the seemingly endless choice of colors offered by Harrisville yarns. And there were lovely spinning fibers too, for those of us who like to make our own yarn—including multicolored hanks of Targhee roving by Mountain Colors which I know I’ll be back for. After much looking and debating, I purchased some buttery soft angora fiber to blend and Beth purchased a gorgeous blue green and purple silk blend yarn. There is also an excellent selection of knitting patterns and books.
The store has a cozy feel that invites you to linger. I think we must have spent more than an hour just looking. I know our husbands eventually went for a walk around Richmond and mine claims they walked through a couple of antique stores, so maybe Beth and I were in there for more than two hours. And we didn’t even do any sitting around the woodstove in the back, which the proprietors keep going so people will stay to knit and chat.For more information and directions, please go to my "links" page for the website. |
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