Fleece to Fulling

We're only a quarter of the way through Fleece to Fulling, but the first week was a doozie! Between Monday and Friday our participants learned how to spin on great wheels using pencil roving, helped with shearing, skirted and scoured eight fleeces, and learned how to pick, card, and spin their hand carded rolls. By learned, we mean learned—by Friday they had each spun over 3,600 yards of yarn! Their two-panel blankets will require just over 10,000 yards of yarn total and they're right on track to meet that goal.

If you're asking yourself, "Wouldn't it be easier to make a smaller blanket?" you're not alone. We're sure no one has asked that question more than the participants themselves! While it certainly would be easier, there is something unique to be learned through quantity and scale. Paraphrasing a quote from a participant in an ALHFAM plowing workshop, one can't appreciate work until it stops being fun. It's at that moment that the true depth of our craft begins to reveal itself, and depth is what Fleece to Fulling is all about.

The scale of the project may push beyond the realm of "fun," but morale is high as we cheer each other on and delight in one of spring's greatest pleasures, lambs! Enjoy this series of photos from shearing day at Burroughs Farm in Newbury, when Mary Lake introduced us to her work as a shearer and the greater world of shepherding in Vermont. See the day in action in a video here.

Above: Mary deftly maneuvers the sheep and shears while performing a series of motions with dance-like fluidity. The entire operation is one that requires both sheep and shearer to work together in one mesmerizing act.

Below: Mary takes the shorn fleece and in a single motion tosses it up onto the skirting table where it opens up exactly as it was on the sheep. The neck is up to the right near Mary, the britch is down to the left near Justin. This makes for quick and efficient skirting as we remove wool that's too soiled to spin. It also clearly defines the different grades of wool within the same fleece to be separated for individual processing if we were working with it in that way. The chicken wire surface allows any second cuts to fall away from the shorn underside of the fleece.

Above: The lambs patiently wait while their dams are penned awaiting their turn on the shearing board. We took every opportunity to get in our own quality time with the little fuzz-balls.

Below: Mary talks us through the year of this ram's life through his fleece. With lock in hand she pointed out how different stressors may reveal themselves as the fleece grows. Happily for sheep and spinner alike, this guy had a pretty low-stress year and his fleece is in great shape.

Above: After dinner (that's midday for our non-farm readers), it was on to scouring the fleeces. Fires were stoked, kettles were filled, and the grease and dirt was washed away.

Below: All eight fleeces were scoured and drying by day's end, ready for the month ahead!

Above: The participants then ran the fleece through our late-19th century "Challenge Picker" to begin opening up the locks followed by hand picking. Next came hand carding into rolls (no drum carders here!) and spinning. Look at those "smokey" rolls!

Below: Catch the wheels in motion on Monday when our participants were coming to grips with the great wheel for the first time. Would you believe that none of them had any prior spinning experience, and by end of day one had 800 yards of their warps completed?!

Looking Ahead

We have a jam-packed season ahead of us with new programs and perennial favorites. Coming up in the next two months:

• Foundations
• and our new Weekend Sessions
• Shades of Red
• Weaving, Interrupted
• and our first Spinning Frolic!

We would love to see you here for these activities and hope you can join us!

A Strategic Plan for the Future

In case you missed it, we have our first ever five-year strategic plan! While your gut response to "strategic plan" might involve a big yawn, we hope you'll take a few minutes to give it a look. In this document we have articulated what the school is, who the school is, and set challenging, but attainable goals for the near future. We are very proud and excited to take this next step towards a vibrant, sustainable future as we embark on our next fifty years, and invite you to build that future with us.

Read the whole plan here.

As always, we can only do what we do with your generous support. Gifts of all sizes make a tremendous impact. Thank you.