wool dyeing party
yesterday a bunch of us drove 45 minutes west of the twin cities, to join my friend birdie for a wool dyeing party. as i mentioned in an earlier post, birdie has 8 sheep purely for their wool, and she has plenty of wool to share!
around lunch time, jackie, my sis, heather, anna, anna’s mom june, anna’s sister ellie, kathryn, kristen and i all gathered at birdie & ed’s hobby farm on a sunny but breezy day. first birdie taught us how to card the wool:
we all had the chance to card. we went through a whole pillowcase of wool, which birdie says represents only 1/10 of the fleece from one sheep. it really is amazing how much wool they carry around.
birdie and her husband ed had the fire started before everyone arrived, so it was nice and hot when we started mixing the dyes. everyone had a chance to help weigh the wool and measure dye ingredients:
once the dyes were mixed and the wool was added, the jars and pots were placed over the fire to set:
while the dye was setting we ate salads, fruit, and yummy cheese toast. birdie also made us rhubarb cobbler, with rhubarb from her garden. she told us she burned it, but don’t believe her — it was sooo good.
after about an hour over the fire, the dyed wool is rinsed and laid out in the sun to dry (the orange/rust/terra cotta dye is my favorite):
at the end of the day, we got to meet the sheep! they’re a bit timid, but definitely have personalities. they raced into the barn and then peeked out at us through the barn window…
outside on a sunny day, in the company of wonderful and talented women, eating good food, learning how to dye wool… the makings of a fabulous day. and we got to take some roving home! thank you so much, birdie!
May 19th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Sounds like a great day!
May 19th, 2008 at 9:24 am
It was a perfect day! I don’t mean to gush, but really it couldn’t have been better. And burnt? I loved the crispy, carmalized topping on that rhubarb dish.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Oooooo.. so sorry I missed it. Sounds like a great time. The sheep are so cute.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:26 am
what a purrrfect day for spending on the farm – and although the whole sheep/wool thing was great, i don’t think i’ll ever forget birdie’s rhubarb cobbler!
May 19th, 2008 at 11:19 am
What a great idea for a party!
May 19th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
fish – any chance birdie would share that cobbler recipe?
May 19th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
OH WOW— THIS IS SO FUN!!!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Was so wonderful to have such a great group of women visiting and playing with wool. Jen, you have awesome friends. Come again soon.
May 19th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
birdie just sent me the cobbler recipe!
Rhubarb Cobbler
Combine the following five ingredients as you would for a pie crust
21/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
2 egg yolks + milk to = 2/3 cup (save the whites)
Pat 1/2 of the mixture into the bottom of a 9X13 pan. It’s very sticky and hard to deal with, you just have to do the best you can.
Combine the following four ingredients and pour over the bottom crust.
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
6 cup rhubarb cut in 1/2 inch slices
3 beaten eggs
( you can add a few drops of almond extract if you like, I usually do)
Top with the other half of the crust. It’s even harder now, you have to sort of make patties between you hands and lay it on the filling patching holes as you go. (I once tried rolling it out like pie crust but it wasn’t near as good) Beat the two egg whites ’til foamy and spread it over the top. Sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
May 19th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
how fun! wish i could have joined you.
May 19th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
ohh,how much fun. wish my sunday was more exciting….
May 19th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Yay! That is SO cool! I absolutely LOVE this post. Made me happy and truly made my day.
Wonderful pictures and words to share such a wonderful experience.
May 20th, 2008 at 1:03 am
i can’t possibly thank you enough jen. it was wonderful! and it was great to finally meet you.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:00 am
What fun, and I’m so glad you shared pictures from the day! Obviously the cobbler was eaten too quickly for a photo. The wool turned out so beautifully!
May 21st, 2008 at 2:03 pm
sounds like you ladies had a wonderful time. wish i was closer because i would have made you take me too.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
[...] a more detailed description of our fine day see Jen’s post or Kristin’s. A big thank you to Jen for organizing the event and to Birdie for being a [...]
May 25th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Jen it sounds like you all had an amazing day – what fun!! And I agree, those sheep are too cute
February 24th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
your fleece dying party is very elucitative.
im doing a project proposing a wool farm school for the faroe islands and your article helped me a lot.
THANK YOU…
ALL THE BEST!