Last Friday, Betty Alcock, Alex (Betty's granddaughter) and I went to Sandwich Central School for a NH Ag In The Classroom presentation for the K-2 graders. As it turns out, we had K-3 graders as our audience.
On the way to Sandwich Central School, Betty and Alex stopped by Kindred Spirit Farm to pick up a 2-week old ram lamb as part of our presentation. What a cutie!
I started the presentation by introducing myself and talking a bit about my own farm, Forrest Acres. We have 4 Shetland wethers that we are raising for fiber. Then I asked the children if any of them had sheep, and several hands went up. The next part of the presentation was reading the book "Charlie Needs A Cloak" by Tomie dePaola. The children's favorite part of the book was the illustration at the end of the story where one of Charlie's sheep started munching on the new cloak.
The best part of the presentation came next. I brought out a fleece shorn from one of my sheep in February of this year, some washed Shetland locks and my hand carders. After carding a few locks, I passed around the three stages of fiber for the children to smell and feel. Then came the spinning wheel - my Ashford Joy, a niddy noddy, umbrella swift and wool winder. After the children watched a brief spinning demonstration, I passed around my handknit shawl.
All the while, the little ram lamb meandered around the circle of children and then tinkled on the floor - the hit of the morning! "Hey, he just marked his territory," remarked one of the children.
Here is the thank you card that I received from Mrs. Petitti's students.
On the way to Sandwich Central School, Betty and Alex stopped by Kindred Spirit Farm to pick up a 2-week old ram lamb as part of our presentation. What a cutie!
I started the presentation by introducing myself and talking a bit about my own farm, Forrest Acres. We have 4 Shetland wethers that we are raising for fiber. Then I asked the children if any of them had sheep, and several hands went up. The next part of the presentation was reading the book "Charlie Needs A Cloak" by Tomie dePaola. The children's favorite part of the book was the illustration at the end of the story where one of Charlie's sheep started munching on the new cloak.
The best part of the presentation came next. I brought out a fleece shorn from one of my sheep in February of this year, some washed Shetland locks and my hand carders. After carding a few locks, I passed around the three stages of fiber for the children to smell and feel. Then came the spinning wheel - my Ashford Joy, a niddy noddy, umbrella swift and wool winder. After the children watched a brief spinning demonstration, I passed around my handknit shawl.
All the while, the little ram lamb meandered around the circle of children and then tinkled on the floor - the hit of the morning! "Hey, he just marked his territory," remarked one of the children.
Here is the thank you card that I received from Mrs. Petitti's students.
On Sunday evening, Barry and I met our son, Forrest, at the Corner House Inn for dinner. This is the vehicle we parked beside. How cool is that! We are in the SHEEP mobile.
My current project is a lamp to hang over the table in my shop. Here is a photo of the completed fabric in the process of being blocked to the mylar liner. I can't wait to see the finished project! The fabric was created with the Open Check Stitch from knit & purl using NORO Kureyon in Color #40 (available here). My next project will be a pair of socks knit from Opal Feen & Elfen sock yarn (coming to the shop soon) on Knitter's Pride Cubix double point needles (now available in the shop).
Look for the following yarns coming to the shop soon: Opal Sock Yarn from Vincent van Gogh, Bicolor and Fairies & Elves collections; and, Mountain Colors sock yarn from the Crazyfoot collection.
Well, that's all the news for now. Happy knitting (crocheting, spinning, needle felting, weaving . . .) to all!
Jen
Well, that's all the news for now. Happy knitting (crocheting, spinning, needle felting, weaving . . .) to all!
Jen
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