How to grow a coat

​As my husband always says, you start with a field of grass…..
Add a flock of Shetland sheep in a lovely variety of colors.  Enjoy the rollicking baby games of the new lambs and watch them grow.  We shear with hand clippers, which allows me to get a wonderful close up feel of each fleece as I shear.  I feel like a kid in a candy store, not knowing which lovely fleece to spin first!
 
I spun  6 pounds of 2-ply yarn, at 890 yards/pound (plyed), from a variety of fleeces, all in their natural colors.  After carefully creating the coat pattern with muslin, and determining how much fabric would be required, the loom was warped at 10 epi, in a random color pattern, and woven the same way.  It turned out to be more of a challenge that I anticipated to keep choosing colors at random, and not get into a pattern as I wove!  Off the loom, I had 8 yards of cloth, which was reduced to 6 yards after fulling. 
 
I have been an active  member of the Butler Spinners and Weavers Guild in western PA  for a number of years, after learning to spin and weave on my own 20 years ago.  Being part of a guild has inspired me to learn many skills and techniques I would never have tried without these wonderful people as mentors and friends.   Even more importantly, we have many opportunities to share our love of fiber with the public through many outreach demonstrations and classes throughout the year.
 
Karen Parsons
Stoney Lane Farm
Pittsburgh, PA