From the moment I got the directions “just past the big red barn”, I was delighted with this farm visit. Mom and I piled into the car and took off towards Asheville for a day of fun: Rammings Farm for a few fleeces, downtown Asheville for Jamaican food, EarthGuild for dyes and The Chocolate Lounge.
We got a bit turned about on the way to the farm, but the visit was worth it. Jennifer and her family live in a restored farmhouse and “for fun” they keep a flock of heritage breeds of turkeys, chickens and various fiber-y animals.
The fiber-y animals include very friendly angora goats (they make mohair),
a bold cashmere goat,
and some shy Jacob and Romney sheep.
The Jacobs are the smaller guys with horns, while the Romneys have black faces (Angora goats are in the foreground).
All of the animals are protected by this sweet dog (I completely forgot his name) who prefers the Angoras to the sheep – he’ll let the Angoras eat first and only when they’ve had their fill will he allow the sheep to come close to the food!
Jennifer keeps a small flock which she doesn’t breed and raises them as naturally as possible. When her stash of fleeces and roving began to overwhelm her, I was happy to visit and take some of it off her hands!
I picked out a Jacob fleece, an Angora fleece, 8 oz of mill-carded roving that’s a mix of her Romney and a neighbor’s alpaca and 4 oz of cashmere roving. If you’re part of the LocalSpun Club (currently closed) you’ll have received either yarn or fiber from the Jacob fleece. Tomorrow I’ll show you what I’ve made with the cashmere!
