Let’s do a Hat KAL during the Olympic Games!! The rules for the Ravellenic Games are to start and finish a project during the Olympics. So starting Feb. 4th and finishing Feb 20th. I will have 3 hat kits for sale.
Cabla Hat using our worsted weight LiViLy
Correlation Hat using our Synergy yarn (sport or worsted)
Rhinebeck Hat (wooly wormheads design) made with our worsted weight LiVily or Synergy.
I’ll post a link to the sales page when they are up for sale. In the meantime, reply here to tell me if you are IN!!
You can also come by Saturday (1/15) to pick out a kit for yourself.
This is the last part (at least for now) of the series about raising creative kids. I loved this conversation with Kerstin Zurbrigg. We talked about how to make room in your daily life for creativity. And you know what? This applies to fostering creativity in the children in your life as well as your own creativity. And of course, there is a new creative exercise.
After two roller coaster years, I have great hopes for 2022. Well, I have to admit, I am an optimist. I always have high hopes for the new year and the new month and even the new week.
I love new beginnings. I love dreaming about new projects and new writing and new podcasts. I know that many of you have that same love of beginnings. I know because it is so exciting to pick out yarn and a pattern and casting on that new project. I know that feeling of great expectations at the start of a project.
These winter months are usually pretty quiet around here. These are times that I can take a new class and learn some new skills. If you are like me and want to learn new dyeing skills, if you’ve always wanted to try dyeing. I have 2 great classes available to you online. You can learn to dye yarn specifically dyeing for self striping socks here. OR you can learn to dye roving for spinning or felting here. Each class is a 4 week, entirely self guided class. You can watch the videos at your leisure. There are 4 modules that you have up to 1 year to complete.
There are just a few days left until 2022. It’s been quite a year. I keep thinking how each time we think that “normal” life is right around the corner, we find out that the goal line has been moved.
Each year, I select a word or words that reflect my aspirations for the year. My words for 2021 were Resiliency and Choose Health. And so each time a choice came up, I would decide my direction based on these words. And for sure, I was resilient. Flying Goat Farm was resilient. We pivoted to provide better online access for customers. We had zoom meetings for groups of friends and knitting groups. We even took our in person classes and put them online. Each time there was a surge, we chose health by asking customers to mask up and to socially distance. It was important to us to provide a safe place for ourselves and for our customers.
My words for 2022? Well my word is Create. This means that I will continue to create beautiful yarn and roving. I will continue to create educational content, like these blogs, my podcast, my FaceBook LIVE Thursdays and classes that are in person and online. I promise to make that content relevant to you whether you are a knitter, crocheter, spinner or even any other crafter.
Do you have a word for 2022? I’d love to hear about it!!
I’ve just added a beautiful wool farm yarn. It’s called Fingal. Well it’s not really new, but I just realized that I still have a lot of this lovely yarn. This yarn is made from BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) wool from our farm and Grindstone Ridge Farm. I had this in the back of other yarn and I forgot about it.
Let me tell you about this yarn. It’s oh-so soft! It has a lot of luster from the BFL. This is a 2 ply worsted weight yarn. Each skein has 200 yards. And there are so many wonderful color choices right now. More colors to come as well.
This yarn will make lovely hats, mittens, cowls, and sweaters.
in this part 2 of the mini-series on raising creative kids, Lisa talks with Annie Marshall, owner and founder of Veggie Annie, a catering company. We talk about developmental stages, cooking with kids and talking to children about what they have made (or not)!
Click here to listen OR subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Here is a repost of a blog that I wrote over 6 years ago. It still is an important part of your creativity and your enjoyment of your craft.
What kind of collector are you? Whether you use yarn, fabric, beads or paper, your art requires supplies. How do you handle your collection?
Type 1—You only buy materials for your current project so you don’t have a stash or any UFO’s (unfinished objects)?
Type 2—You try to only buy for a current project but look forward to your next project while you’re working on your current one? So you have a limited collection and only 1 or 2 UFO’s.
Type 3—You only buy materials for current and future projects? You like to get the supplies and pattern together then you know you have everything for the pattern. You have a small to medium collection, some UFO’s. All your materials are matched with a pattern for easy access to the next project.
Type 4—You buy the materials you like and don’t worry about which pattern it will go with? You know that eventually a project will emerge for the supplies. You have a medium to large collection and some UFO’s that you work on industriously to complete.
Type 5— You buy anything and everything that calls to you? The yarn or cloth speaks to you and you listen. You have a large collection that you sometimes feel guilty about. But you also get a lot of creative satisfaction when you visit and pet your yarns, beads, and textiles.
Slave to Art
I am a Type 4. I do have a medium stash of beads, quilting fabric AND yarn. I try to just buy for projects but I also buy materials that call my name. Since I’ve founded Flying Goat Farm, I have only been to 1 quilting store. I have just recently gotten back into my sewing room. I have finished 4 quilting projects. I also designed and completed another quilt project. I have lots of ideas rolling around my head for more paper, fabric and weaving project to complete in the coming year.
Leave a comment here or on Facebook to tell me what stash you collect and what type of collector you are!!
When fall turns to winter, it’s time to get out your wheel and do some maintenance. If fact at each change of seasons you should do some care and feeding of your equipment.
The count-down to Christmas in on!! Our economy is getting better and the supply chain issues are getting better. And that’s all good news.
Remember that when you buy local and small and woman owned your dollars are staying within our local economy as well. The Flying Goat Farm supply chain is fully functional. The sheep and goats are out in the fields eating grass and hay. Their fleeces are growing every single day. We take our fleeces to local business to be processed into yarn and roving. My fiber isn’t sitting on a ship or in a plane or in customs waiting to be processed. It is all right here.
We have wonderful yarn and roving. We have household textiles, such as hand dyed shibori napkins and tea towels and hand made dryer balls. We have kits for shawls and cowls and scarves and hats. We also have knit items like hats, fingerless mitts, some sweaters and shawls. I also have beautiful silk scarves. I think I can safely say that we have something for just about everyone you would be buying a gift for.
And what do you want for yourself? You can give a “Santa” letter to your family OR you can suggest that they buy you a gift card so that you can pick out your own gifts in the near future.
This season is all about Creativity. As I was planning this season, I really wanted to include some conversations about raising creative kids. As a public school teacher, I’ve seen kids with lots of creative energy and some who would avoid any creative task. So I asked some friends to talk to me about raising their creative kids.
In this conversation with Dalis of Dancing Leaf Dyeworks, Lisa and Dalis talk about raising creative boys, being part of a creative family and as usual there is a fun exercise for you and your family can try to build your creative muscle.
You can listen here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Where to find us
We are located in Frederick MD. You can stop by during our open studios. Or buy online and stop by to pick up…I’ll run your purchases out to you in your car.
Open by Appointment!!
Monday through Friday 11-3
Closed Saturday and Sunday (Except Open Studio days)
Open Studios with Fiber Art Studio Tour
November 30…. Small Business Saturday open 11-4pm
December 6-8….. Along with CountrySide Artisans… open 10-5pm
