Author: Andrea

Since the late 1990's I've run a small NJ farm producing 100% USA made, one of a kind fiber products. I was a chemist and technical librarian for nearly 30 years running my fiber farm part time. As of March 2013 I was able to become a full time fiber farmer! Most of my animals are rescues or seniors living full happy lives on the farm with funding from product sales. I raise Angora goats and Shetland sheep as well as endangered chicken breeds (Ameraucana, Australorp, Delaware, Dominique). All products are made using fiber from my animals or combined with fiber purchased from other small USA farmers. Hand made products are made in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA while machine processed yarn and roving are made at small mills in the USA. Most people are so far removed from farm production that I consider it a special mission to inform and educate on what is involved. My blog provides inspiration, heartache and learnings from what happens here on the farm. To learn more about natural fibers please take a look at my "Fiber Facts" brochure.

Fiber Farm Market at the Sheep Shack – First Saturdays 10AM to 3PM – Pittstown NJ

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Join us at the Windswept Acres Sheep Shack in Pittstown for your fiber fix.  Monthly 1st Saturday of the month through the end of the year 10AM to 3PM. We’re doing demos/ talks which walk you through the fiber creation process from shearing to final products. 

-August was shearing (Sue’s son Chris flew in from Montana to shear 4 sheep and explain the process as he worked, to the delight of visitors of all ages).
-September was skirting (the fleeces shorn in August) and washing. 
-October will be more skirting (by popular demand!) as well as hand carding and combing.  Demos/ talks at 11AM and 1PM.

  • Cornerstone farms vending and organizing guests, demos and classes are:

Windswept Acres – fleeces, roving, yarn & sheepskins from Sue’s flock of natural colored and white Romney and Dorset sheep, plus NJ Blankets.  And meet the sheep!

Windswept Acres Sheep Shack Vendors

Dancing Waters Farm – natural colored and hand dyed mohair/ wool roving, tops & yarn from Andrea’s Angora goats and sheep, plus catnip and NJ Blankets.

  • Other NJ Fibershed members vending include:

G.P.K Woodcrafts & Restorations – Gregg’s locally made cutting and charcutier boards as well as wooden vases (made from locally sourced hard woods -maple, ash, walnut)

Willow Pond Farm – Sue’s raw natural colored and white fleeces (Gotland, Jacob)

  • Plus other local products (farm and artisans):
    • Glass artist – Bonnie’s handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pressed glass sun-catchers

    • Honey
    • Used fiber equipment for sale
      • Louet Nilus Loom

 

Guests, demos and classes will be announced via Instagram (@windsweptsheep) and on Dancing Waters Farm website (https://mohair-fiber.com) as they are scheduled.

Please stop by and come talk fiber! Our goal for opening the Sheep Shed is to connect local to local.
Address: 173 Whitebridge Road, Pittstown, NJ 08876
#localfibernj #localfiberarts #localfiberfarms

2022 Year in Pictures

Gallery

Geese in Marsh After Ice Storm 2022-02-25

 

Starlight Getting a Neck Rub (Pic Courtesy Beth Meriwether)

 

Geese in Snow

 

Bullfrog (Pic Courtesy Beth Meriwether)

 

Morning Rush Hour

 

Martha and Mortimer

 

Great Spangled Fritillary on Queen Anne’s Lace and Black Eyed Susans

 

Geese in Pond Behind New Wildflower Garden

 

Geese in Marshland Path

 

Dainty Sulfurs

 

Chicken in the Woods Mushroom on Dead Ash

 

Fall Leaves

 

Vending Booth at NJ Fibershed Fall Sale (Pic Courtesy Laura Chandler, Smiling Dog Farm)

 

Waterfall Family (Momma, Poppa, Scooby) Resting Before 2nd Sunset Take Off Attempt

 

Livestock Veterinary Good News – Acupuncture and a NJ Vet School at Last

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Acupuncture

Acupuncture is making it’s way into the tool set of livestock veterinarians!  It’s especially useful for chronic conditions such as arthritis, disc disease, back pain and musculoskeletal injuries, gastrointestinal disorders, neurological problems, and respiratory issues.  Check out the details in this May 2022 Lancaster Farming article.

Source:  https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/livestock/animal-acupuncture-needles-its-way-into-veterinary-favor/article_b8b575f2-0613-5656-9288-5c221e8b147e.html

 

At Last a NJ Vet School

It’s gotten increasingly difficult to find livestock veterinary services throughout NJ, so it was great to hear that Rowan University has announced the planned opening of the first school of Veterinary Medicine in NJ!  It will be located in Sewell, NJ and plans an inaugural class of 60 students in Fall 2025 (pending approval by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education).  Today there are only 33 USA accredited vet schools of which 5 are on the East Coast.  With the addition of the new school, Rowan will become one of two universities in the nation to offer doctor of veterinary medicine, doctor of medicine and doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees.  More details available in the January 2022 article listed below.

Source:  https://www.lancasterfarming.com/news/main_edition/new-jersey-addresses-shortage-of-veterinarians/article_f2d83860-e77c-51a0-8a68-111a86cf6cb9.html

 

NJ Fibershed Blanket Project – Blankets For Sale

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The NJ Fibershed Blanket Project is a cooperative project between small farms raising fiber animals for their fleeces. This is one of their major initiatives to bring NJ fiber farmers together, and to highlight locally produced fiber products.Using wool collected from farms located within the NJ Fibershed region, the program provides a way for small-scale fiber producers to sell their fiber.  Their wool was processed and made into items that can be marketed to customers seeking local products and who want to support small-scale, sustainable farms
Over 400 lbs of wool was collected and sorted to meet criteria for quality to ensure a final product that is beautiful, warm, and enjoyable to own.
 

The wool was washed in New Hampshire, spun in Maine, and handwoven by ComfortCloth Weaving in upstate New York.

Featuring a unique and modern design with three solid color sections representing the three regions of New Jersey: North, Central, and South Jersey. The gradual transition between color blocks is a playful nod to the fundamental New Jersey debate of where, exactly Central Jersey starts and ends. The nine lines in the transition represent the nine farms who contributed wool to the project.  Two versions will be available – one with a white background and one with a grey background.
The NJ Fibershed Blanket measures 78″ x 58″ (2m x 1.47 m) and weighs 2.5 lb (1.13 kg). The blanket price is $325.

 

Blanket Shipped to NJ Address
(includes Shipping, NJ Sales Tax):



Blanket Shipped to other than NJ Address
(includes Shipping):



Blanket Picked Up in NJ
(includes NJ Sales Tax):



 

 

Page Updated: Aug. 25, 2023

Rainbow Fiber Co-op

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This fantastic group in their own words:

“is a Diné-led agricultural co-operative established to improve the financial sustainability and equitable market outcomes for the largest flocks of Dibé dits’ozí (Navajo-Churro sheep) remaining on the Navajo Nation. Our mission is to close the gap between rural Diné shepherds and an e-commerce driven marketplace for their wool. We are thrilled to announce that we have officially launched our online yarn shop!

Thanks to many generous donors we executed our first wool buy on the Navajo Nation in July 2021. We purchased approximately 3,200 pounds of Navajo-Churro wool from our shepherds. We paid a stipend for shearing help and a fair price for their wool by the pound. After skirting and sorting by color we transported the wool to Mora Valley Spinning Mill, a nonprofit community-based wool mill located in Mora, New Mexico, to produce an assortment of Navajo-style weaving yarns. In November of 2021 we began offering Diné-grown Navajo-Churro weaving yarns for sale online direct-to-customer. Sales dollars generated will be used to help fund the wool buy project again in 2022.

Most of the Navajo-Churro wool products available for sale online are from non-Diné shepherds. Diné shepherds are often told their wool is worthless or paid pennies per pound at mass wool buy events. Despite these challenges many shepherds create a market for themselves through hand spinning, weaving, and teaching weaving classes. This is difficult to do at scale and an unreliable source of income. In 2020 the pandemic brought marketing activities like farm visits, classes, art shows, and fiber events to a standstill. Several medium- to large-scale wool buys were completely canceled. These impacts have continued into 2021. We saw an opportunity to step up and do something to support these important flocks.”

Fibershed.org is helping them raise money to get their idea off the ground and their first run of yarn is now available on their website!

For more info:   https://rainbowfibercoop.org/

2020 Year in Picures

Gallery

2020 was a crazy year by any standards.  A farm is a great place to be during a pandemic as there’s always lots to do, the scenery is great, and isolation is built in.  Because of a more inward focus perhaps, there were far more wildlife encounters/ sightings than usual.  Here are snapshots in time that capture the essence of 2020.

Highlights included: I lost James (15 year old Angora goat) to heart issues and gained a lot of Canada Goose friends (learned a lot about them – subject of another blog entry wip!).  Re-did the pasture fences to fence out the areas now too wet for ruminants (meningeal worm) and began returning the soggy areas to wetland habitat for wildlife.  Lots of fox, skunk family, and baby racoon interactions this year.  Ghost (hen) got nabbed by a grey fox while out in the grass but I ran to the rescue and she put up a good fight.  Once I found a specialty bandage she couldn’t pull off she healed up quickly and is no worse for wear!

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)

Violets and Spring Beauties

Toad Lilies

Dogwoods in Bloom

Goslings Playing in Rain Puddles

Tater in Lawn

Fence Replacement Project – James at Log Pile

Fence replacement project in progress

Snapping Turtle Digging Under the Fence

Who let a fawn on our property?

Fawn Standing on Island

Fawn looking for grey fox that keeps chasing it

OZ spots an airplane while hanging with his best bud the water dish (Temporarily orphaned)

Rowboat Family Looking for Snacks

Doo – Special Needs Goose (Missing Over Half His Bill)

Morning glories Take Over the Garden Fence

Tiny spiders on Queen Anne’s Lace

Butterflies on Joe Pye Weed

Fog on Fall Foliage

Evening fall fog looking back at pond

Fall Foliage Near Creek on  East Side of Pasture

Red Fox passing through, no squirrels!

 And then there was the time the red fox ran off with my mitten when I was standing less than 15 feet away!

Red Fox near bird feeders stalking squirrels

Pine Siskins and female Evening Grosbeak

 Pine Siskins and Evening Grosbeaks are rarely seen in this region.  They only show up here when there is a food shortage in their native region.  First time I’ve seen Evening Grosbeaks here (23 years).  There were crowds of both for a short time.  

Pine Siskins

 

Rowboat Family

Snow at Pond – Deer on Hill

Water Fall Family – Doo closest

Doo

Hoar Frost on Plants

Water Fall Family ex Doo (Poppa closest, Momma left, Scooby back right) Chilling on Top of Snow Bank

Tops – Late Summer Garden – Hand Painted

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Tops Hand Dyed Late Spring Garden

Description: Combed semi-worsted fibers. Tops are the best fiber prep you can buy as the fibers are all the same length and extremely clean, no VM. Hand painted. 67% kid mohair, 33% wool. Pic shows the 4 bundles created. Color varies slightly between bundles as they are hand painted.
Color: Late Summer Garden (Blues and purples, yellow, reds)
Fiber Content: Mohair: DWF’s Rose, Jasmine, Thelma
Wool: Shetland, Phoenix Farms, WI
Type (Processor): Semi-worsted Top (Zeilinger’s, MI)
Quantity (Pounds): 3 – 2 oz. bundles (6 oz total created)
Price: $10/2 ounce bundle plus shipping
Buy:



 

Tops – Mid Summer Garden – Hand Painted

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Top Hand Painted Mid Summer Garden

Description: Combed semi-worsted fibers. Tops are the best fiber prep you can buy as the fibers are all the same length and extremely clean, no VM. Hand painted. 67% kid mohair, 33% wool. Pic shows the 4 bundles created. Color varies slightly between bundles as they are hand painted.
Color: Mid Summer Garden (Red, yellow, orange, green, blue, white)
Fiber Content: Mohair: DWF’s Rose, Jasmine, Thelma
Wool: Shetland, Phoenix Farms, WI
Type (Processor): Semi-worsted Top (Zeilinger’s, MI)
Quantity (Pounds): 4 – 2 oz. bundles (8 oz total created)
Price: $10/2 ounce bundle plus shipping
Buy:



 

Tops – Descent into the Blues – Hand Painted

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Top Hand Painted Descent Into the Blues

Description: Combed semi-worsted fibers. Tops are the best fiber prep you can buy as the fibers are all the same length and extremely clean, no VM. Hand painted. 67% kid mohair, 33% wool. Pic shows the 4 bundles created. Color varies slightly between bundles as they are hand painted.
Color: Descent into the Blues (Blues and purples, some white)
Fiber Content: Mohair: DWF’s Rose, Jasmine, Thelma
Wool: Shetland, Phoenix Farms, WI
Type (Processor): Semi-worsted Top (Zeilinger’s, MI)
Quantity (Pounds): 4 – 2 oz. bundles (8 oz total created)
Price: $10/2 ounce bundle plus shipping
Buy:



 

Tops – Hello Yellow – Hand Kettle Dyed

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Description: Combed semi-worsted fibers. Tops are the best fiber prep you can buy as the fibers are all the same length and extremely clean, no VM. Hand kettle dyed. 67% kid mohair, 33% wool. Pic shows the 8 bundles created.
Color: Hello Yellow (Bright yellow – green)
Fiber Content: Mohair: DWF’s Rose, Jasmine, Thelma
Wool: Shetland, Phoenix Farms, WI
Type (Processor): Semi-worsted Top (Zeilinger’s, MI)
Quantity (Pounds): 8 – 2 oz. bundles (1# total created)
Price: $8/2 ounce bundle plus shipping
Buy: