woolens and winter

Today was our second day of Monday Homeschool Classes- our homeschooling co-op with nearly 40 families participating this term. It is really exciting to see all of these children together each week learning, playing, sharing and using their lungs and limbs to experience life to the fullest.

Sophia has been enjoying a class called Sheep to Scarves where she is able to participate in the entire process of shearing a sheep all the way to making that spun yarn into a scarf. It is really thrilling to watch her experience the process at its various stages- see it, feel it and smell it. I had no idea that skirting the fleece was such a smelly and dirty job!

So today the children washed the wool and began the carding process. What enormously difficult work. It would take a great deal of patience and vision for me to be able to see this process through to completion even though I am a wanna-be farmer at heart.

There is certainly fiber in the air over here and I am deciding just what I want to do with it. Should I learn to knit? Crochet? Just be a support to Sophia while she learns?

We shall see. But in the meantime. I am just dreaming about knitting a soft, warm blanket with wool that we have sheared, skirted, washed, carded, dyed, spun and woven ourselves.