The Fiber Artist Within

If any of you know me, you know that I am a total fiber arts fanatic.  Spinning, knitting, weaving, fiber processing...I love it all!

This last weekend we went to the annual Sheep to Shawl celebration at the Mission Mill Museum.  Two things I look forward to every year, is the Sheep to Shawl celebration in May, and the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in September.  I am in heaven walking among the sheep and touching all of the batts of wool.  I am sure my family probably gets bored following me around while I talk with every sheep farmer there!

The Mission Mill is such a neat place to visit.  It is made up of a series of buildings built in the 1800's.  There is a a main building where all of the wool was processed, woven into fabric, and then made into blankets.  There is also a church, and a couple of buildings that belonged to some Methodist missionaries who came over to minister to the Native Americans.  I am always in awe of the machinery, and everything that the wool processors did back then.

This is an old machine that was used to card the wool.  Sheep can be pretty dirty animals.  Carding gets rid of all the vegetable matter (also known as grass, hay, and poo) so you get a nice smooth batt ready to be spun.

I dream of one day living on a couple of acres where  I can raise some sheep, alpacas, llamas, goats, or any other kind of fiber animal. There is something about taking fiber from a live animal, processing the fiber, spinning it into yarn, and then making something useful out of it that is VERY satisfying to me.  I was telling Adam that it's the Proverbs 31 woman peeking through me.

But we live in the city, where you aren't allowed to have farm animals.  *sigh*  So I thought, what could I do to bring a little bit of the farm to my home in the city?  Is there a quiet fiber producing animal we could have?  Yes there is!  And that is where my new little baby comes into the picture.

This is my new baby!  She is an Angora rabbit.  In a month or so, I will be able to either pluck, brush, or shear her and spin her fiber into a soft, luscious smoky gray yarn.  Anogra's are not only quiet, but they are also cuddly soft little creatures.  I am anxious to spin her fiber! She is only 8 weeks old right now, so she has a lot of growing still to do.

[caption id="attachment_1186" align="alignleft" width="445" caption="Not from an Angora, but her yarn will be a smiliar color!"][/caption]