Blog - Flying Goat Farm

Posted on April 10, 2020May 10, 2020 by Lisa Check — Leave a comment

question answered: how did I get myself into this

I was asked this question on Instagram and I promised to answer it. So here goes… I’m not from a farming family at all. But really my maternal grandfather was a citrus rancher around the time of the Depression. And my paternal grandfather was a subsistence farmer in N. Carolina. And my Bill’s maternal grandparents were farmers in the Poconos and he has lots of great memories about growing up harvesting and canning vegetables. So maybe our farming roots really do run deep.

I grew up in S. California and worked in healthcare and travel and loan origination and apartment owner until I met Bill in the early 90’s. Also during that time, I learned how to weave and dye and began my creative journey in the textile world.

We moved from California to Oregon and then on to Maryland. And when we came here, I told Bill that I would love to have a little farm with goats and chickens. Little did I know that he had always wanted to have a small farm as well. So we did just that.

So remember I’m a weaver, spinner, dyer and cat owner. I didn’t know anything about goats. But I liked how Angoras looked. So one day at the Howard County Fair I found a set of goat for sale. Our thinking was that we would just get 2 and we would see how we liked having them. We got a small Amish building that served as a barn and fenced in our large lawn for them. I thought that I would just have some fiber to spin and I could weave with it.

Soon we were buried under lots of pounds of fleeces and I realized that there was no way I could keep up. I had to send them out to be made into roving and yarn. And from there the business of making farm yarns and dyeing them and commercial yarns has grown and grown.

Our first two sheep: BFL named Puck and Cormo named Viola

Thanks Kyle for asking the question. Do you have a question? Add it to the comments and I promise to answer them in the future.

Just the beginning of the FGF yarn business

Posted on April 8, 2020May 10, 2020 by Lisa Check — Leave a comment

books I’m reading: True Colors

I don’t really know how I found this book. I bought it for myself and added it to the mastery books I plan to read this year.

This book is fun to dip into. You don’t need to read from front to back. Each “chapter” is devoted to a master dyer. There are indigo dyers and cochineal dyers. There are dyers from every continent, except Antarctica, of course. There is a loose organization by dye type, for example there are several dyers profiled who work with Indigo in various parts of the world. I’m enjoying reading about how these dyers learned their craft. The stories of family and of place.

The photographs are wonderful. It truly is a coffee table book. And it is well written and interesting.

This book has made me think about mastery. Some like those dyers in the story learned their skills and mastered them within the confines of their cultures and families. My journey to mastery has been much different. My expertise has developed through years and years of practice. Lots of great results and also heartbreaking failures as well.

As you know I’m working on some online ecourses to help you on your way to learn dyeing techniques so that you can get the yarn that you dream of. You can be first to be able to enroll if you are on the Learn with Lisa email list. Click here to sign up.

Posted on April 3, 2020April 3, 2020 by Lisa Check — 1 Comment

working on new online dye workshop

Hey, due to these stay at home orders, I’m taking my really popular dye workshop into the cybersphere. I’m working on a 4 week workshop that will lead you to dyeing the yarn that you envision. We’ll go from inspiration to finished product.

Are you interested in being the first to know about it? Join this email list and I’ll keep you in the loop as I work through the lessons and figure out how to get the supplies to you.

Posted on April 1, 2020May 10, 2020 by Lisa Check — Leave a comment

WIP Wednesday

Well, I think we all have a lot of time to knit. Even if you are working from home, you can now knit through those meetings because they are conference calls and no one can see you. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been changing from night pajamas to day pajamas. It’s hard to actually put on real go out in public clothes, right?

So my WIP today is a new shawl that I’m working on. I’m using my Chinook yarn which is a blend of Superwash merino , cashmere and nylon. It is soft and has a great drape to it.

A while back, I asked my Instagram followers to pick the set of skeins for this shawl. These grey, green and purples edged out the blues and the pinks.

When I design a shawl, I have to make it something that I can knit. And I’m not the most skilled knitter. So this shawl is great TV knitting so far. It is mostly garter stitch with some eyelets thrown in for some spice. I do plan on adding some lace bits, but they will also be something that I can handle. And not too difficult for people. Because the yarn is so pretty, I want it to do the work.

What are you working on? Add a comment to let me know.

Posted on March 30, 2020March 30, 2020 by Lisa Check — Leave a comment

reinventing: pivot to distancing

So we are starting week 3 of self quarantine/social distancing and it is weird. It has turned our home upside down. While I spend my time at home, working in my studio. Having DH home all the time changes my way of life. I now have to make more meals. I feel like I have to be a better listener. The dogs have also been changing. We had our rhythm. The knew when they would get to go outside. They knew when they could expect a treat and when they should just lay down and fall asleep. All that is different with both of us at home, ALL THE TIME.

And I know if you have children, your world has changed even more than mine. This week starts distance learning at the schools in Maryland. If you have grandchildren, your universe is also probably changed. Maybe you don’t get to hug them. Maybe you have to see them over FaceTime and not face to face.

A big part of my Winter and Summer months is in-person workshops here at the farm. And I think I need to pivot those as well. We had some great winter workshops dyeing yarn and roving. I have one workshop slated to go April 18th. It is a shibori-Indigo workshop. I’m not sure if it will go or not. I have limited this workshop to 3 students, so social distancing can be accomplished. And if you need to get out of the house and do something creative, click here to grab one of the 2 remaining spaces.

I am currently working on distance eclasses for you. I will be converting my popular yarn and roving dye workshops into a series of 3-4 sessions. Are you interested in eclasses like that? If so, enroll in my Learn with Lisa email list. Members of that list will be the first to hear about the new eclasses. You can enroll here. You can also see my current array of workshop here.

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Lisa Check — Leave a comment

FO Friday–Shawl Edition

So here is a snapshot of the shawls that I have knit in the last few years. I know it’s not a lot. But you also know that I’m the slowest knitter in the world and maybe in the universe.

Shawls that I’ve actually knit in the last couple of years.

All of these are available on Ravelry. Front left to right: Striche, Shard, Camau, Raddiant, Conflagration and Maryland, my Maryland. Some of these are available as kits in our webstore: Strisce, Camau, Raddiant and Conflagration. You can find them here.

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Lisa Check — Leave a comment

favorite podcasts for a good listen

Today I wanted to give you some of my favorite podcasts. In this time, when we should probably be turning off the TV and the news in particular. You may really like to hear some fun conversations. The first one is with my shearer, Emily Chamelin. It is a great discussion about shearing, shepherding, raising children and I really loved it.

Episode 78: Emily Chamelin-Hickman – Shearing life, Wool business, Controversy and Targeted grazing

In this episode, Deb Robson talks about what it took to write her seminal work: The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook. And along the way we hear about this wonderful teacher’s life and how she got started on her journey into wool.

Episode 71: Deborah Robson – Weaving, Editing, Heritage Conservation and the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook

The Lady Farmer is a local mom and daughter. They ran a slow life challenge recently and there are 4 podcasts that talk about slow living: slow clothing, slow cooking, creating spaces and taking time in your life. Again, these 4 podcasts are really relatable in this day and age. Their podcast is called The Good Dirt.

Creating Spaces for Well-Being and Healing in Your Life with Joy Hoffman

Levar Burton Reads is a great podcast. He reads short stories that are mostly sci-fi. It’s like Reading Rainbow for kids. Two of my favorites are “The Cell Phones” and “Playing Nice with God’s Bowling Ball”.

Sometimes I just want a quickie…I’m not willing to put 40 minutes or an hour into a podcast. And those times I really like Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark. I particularly liked her take on a Vietnamese Caramel Salmon and the one about Harissa Chicken sheet pan dinner. I’ve made both of these recipes and they were easy and really, really good.

Enjoy! And take some time to relax, slow down and release!