Duluth, then Shepherd's Harvest

I’ll be hitting the road next month.  First I will be headed to Duluth, MN.  I’ll be visiting my friend, Judy McL.  While there, I’ll be giving a few beginning spinning lessons to a new spinner and friend of Judy.  I look forward to it!  Even more, I look forward to visiting Marie Glaesemann and her sheep.  Every year for the past several years, I have purchased a fleece or two from her very-well-cared-for sheep.  Each fleece has been wonderful.

My favorite, of course, is Lucy (see my blog entry March 30, 2010  and my blog entry January 23, 2011).  I think this is the fifth year in a row that I’ve purchased Lucy’s fleece.  In addition to Lucy’s fleece, I’m also getting Baby’s fleece.  Baby is a Romney/Corriedale X Coopworth/Romney cross.  White wool, with a lovely, even crimp.  And I’ll be picking up some of Marie’s fleeces for local fiber friends.  Those fleeces include:  Choco, Clara, and Puff.  If you’re counting, that’s 5 fleeces I’ll have in my car.

But my trip doesn’t end in Duluth.  From there, I’m driving to Lake Elmo, MN for the Shepherd’s Harvest Sheep & Wool Festival, May 12-13, 2012.  This will be my first time at this festival.  I’ll be teaching two workshops.

On Saturday, I’m teaching “Creating the Yarn You Want”.  Here’s the workshop description:

This workshop is designed for the spinner who wants to gain greater control over the final characteristics of the yarn she or he spins.  We will practice methods for controlling the thickness and twist of yarns.  We will cover practical techniques for creating yarns that are consistent from bobbin to bobbin, and that match already existing yarns, either hand spun or commercial.  We will also touch on techniques for plying a “balanced yarn”.

I’ve been teaching this workshop for many years, and I love it.  Here are a few pictures to represent the workshop:

On Sunday, May 13, I’m teaching “Diversity of Wool”.  Another of my favorite workshops.  Hey, aren’t they all?  Yes.  Here’s its description:

The wool from different breeds of sheep can vary substantially in softness, elasticity, luster, and feltability.  Through hands-on examination of fiber, yarns, and knitted swatches, we will cover these widely varying characteristics of wool.  In addition to sheep breed, other factors will be addressed that influence the characteristics of the final fiber project, such as fiber preparation and spinning techniques.  We will practice spinning wool from sheep breeds that span the spectrum from fine wool to medium wool to long, luster wool.  In addition, we will practice spinning wools that have been prepared in various ways.

Who doesn’t love wool and all its amazing properties?  I have loads of samples for this workshop and participants get to analyze all of them.  And they get to spin a variety of wools.  Some pictures to entice:

There is still space in both of these workshops.  Come!  Join the fun!