The Check's in the Mail

Thanks everyone for loving our yarn, and buying it! We've shipped out about 1/3 of it, but the rest is languishing on our dining room table, waiting for ransom checks to set it free. :-)

So if you attached your name to a skein or two, here's what you owe. Please please please send us a check by Dec. 10. If there are extenuating circumstances (having surgery, kidnapped by aliens,  etc), let us know. Otherwise we'll make the skeins available again. (I don't have the energy to bug people for money. Yuck. Hate it.)

If I've totally mucked your order up, please email me directly at info@risingmoonfarm.com.
 
Please send ransom check to Rising Moon Farm, Box 21, Zumbrota, MN 55992.
 
Amber $22 (Pink moon) $22 (tangled blue) $6 ship = $50 

Amanda $22 (seaglass) $22 (s. sherbert) $6 ship = $50


Beth G  $20 (woodland rose), $44 (Gonew/Wind) = $64 plus $7 = $71

Colleen  $44 (2 Indian Summer) $44 (2 summer sherbert) $8 shipping = $96

CosmoDK  $20 (s. sherbert) $6 ship = $26


goodbobo (sue) $40 (2 tie dye) $6 ship = $46


Gracey is Not My Name $22 (MN leopard) $6 ship = $28 

Jamie  $20 (napping) $6 = $26

Janet  $22 (seaglass) $6 ship = $28


Jilly47  $44 (2 northern lights) $6 ship = $50


Karol S.  $44 (2 gone w/wind) $6 shipping = $50

KNITMA $22 (napping) $24 (northern lights) $6 ship = $52


Marian T. Librarian  $22 (Forest floor) $6 ship = $28

Robyn $44 (2 winter skyline) $6 ship = $50


Ruthie J  $24 (Great balls of fire) $6 ship = $30 

Sara  $22 (Driftwood) plus $6 shipping =  $28

twinsetjan $46 (2 endless sea)  $6 ship = $52

Beef customers (pay when pick up beef):
Peggy $44
Sarah M $22
Joanne S. $46
Sherry A  $22
Maggie M  $42
Jan G. $42




THANKS, EVERYONE. Happy knitting or crocheting....


Catherine and Melissa

YARN for SALE!

Finally! Our yarn spent 10 months at the fiber mill (they had many business and personal problems, some tragic.) Then it took me a few months to dye the skeins with London Nelson. Then it took another few weeks to reskein the skeins (got tangled because they weren't tied well at the troubled mill) with Kathy's help, and twinsetellen's swifts. (Thanks to both of you!) We tied them with pink yarn, which is why you'll see pink in surprising places in the photos. Here's the reskeining project:

But now I think we're ready.  Should I call it "Hit by a Farm Yarn"?  :-)

Here's what you need to know---

---yarn from a farm: We haven't yet purchased coats for our sheep, so there will be a little vegetative matter in the yarn. Not much. Just enough to remind you this isn't commercially produced yarn. :-) Also, this yarn is 100% wool, and is not treated as 'superwash,' so hand wash only.


---hand-dyed yarn: It's amazing how differently each skein of yarn absorbs the dye. If there are 4-5 skeins in a pot, some will be brighter, others more muted. Some will absorb more or less of one color. I've been told that if you're doing a project that requires more than one skein, you should trade off skeins every 2-3 rows to better incorporate the differences in dye.


---the skeins: The yarn is mostly worsted weight---but a few skeins look a little thinner---sport? And the weight per skein differs as well. I must say that I'm disappointed in the fiber mill, and I can see that consistency is going to be a problem. But what's spun, is spun.


Ha. Sorry.

The skeins will be enough for socks or mittens or a hat or a scarf. I'd asked the mill to put them in skeins of 250 yards, but it didn't happen---most range from 200-220 yards. If you want larger socks, you might have to make the toe from a coordinating yarn. Here are the socks I knit with a 3.6 ounce skein of Ice Palace:

---skein price:  based on weight: 2.5-2.9 oz --$20
                                                      3-3.8 oz --- $22
                                                      3.9-4.8 oz--$24

Shipping is $6.

---ordering: NO RESTRICTIONS on number of skeins.  First, skim the comments, then comment with the yarn name and skein number you'd like to purchase. I'll update the blog regularly so you'll know what's gone and what's left. When everyone has had a chance to order and there are still skeins left, the sky's the limit. :-)  If you can't comment, email me at info@risingmoonfarm.com


---payment: Send a check made out to Rising Moon Farm (for yarn and $6 shipping) to Box 21, Zumbrota, MN 55992


---shipping: Please be patient. It's just me filling these orders, since Melissa is still making the world safe by locating underground utility lines. :-)  And the dogs are not helpful at all.

---books? Want signed copies of Hit by a Farm or Sheepish? Let me know and I'll recalculate the shipping. Books and yarn might make a nice holiday gift... :-)


Thanks SO much for supporting Melissa and me and our farm, and being patient as I find my way through this fiber world. My goal is to keep making the yarn better with breeding and coats, and learn more about dyeing, and find a fiber mill that can be consistent.

SORRY, ONLY 12 skeins left. I'm heading for the fiber mill on Monday, however, to have more spun!


Cherry Fizz---fun range from dark to pink to pale. The camera freaks out at red.  SOLD OUT
Skein 1   $24  SOLD to Sarah E.  PD
Skein 2   $24  SOLD to Sarah E.  PD
Skein 3   $22  SOLD to Paige    PD
Skein 4   $22  SOLD to Barbara L.   PD

Driftwood  SOLD OUT
Skein 1  $22  SOLD to Sara
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Peggy  PD
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to Sarah M. PD
Skein 4  $20  SOLD to Brenda  PD

Endless Sea  SOLD OUT
Skein 1   $24  SOLD to twinsetjan
Skein 2   $22  SOLD to twinsetjan
Skein 3   $20  SOLD to MaryEllen   pd

Forest Floor: Quiet, subtle yarn of muted blues, browns, and rose.SOLD OUT
Skein 1   $22  SOLD to Jan
Skein 2   $22  SOLD to Peggy  PD
Skein 3   $22  SOLD to Marian T. Librarian   PD
Skein 4   $20  SOLD to Carol (MN bookseller!)   PD

Woodland Rose: Every skein in this batch came out looking totally different than the others. Not recommended for multiple skein projects! SOLD OUT
Skein 1   $24  SOLD to txcat girl   PD
Skein 2   $20  SOLD to txcat girl   PD
Skein 3   $20  SOLD to Mama Tea's mom  PD
Skein 4   $20  SOLD to Maggie M.   PD
Skein 5   $20  SOLD to Beth G

Gone with the Wind  SOLD OUT
Skein 1   $24  SOLD to Woolstock  pd
Skein 2   $24  SOLD to Amanda H.  pd
Skein 3   $22  SOLD to Amanda H.  pd
Skein 4   $22  SOLD to Karol S.
Skein 5   $22  SOLD to Karol S.
Skein 6   $22  SOLD to Beth G
Skein 7   $22  SOLD to Beth G

Great Balls of Fire 
Skein 1   $24  SOLD to RuthieJ   PD
Skein 2   $22  SOLD to Paige  pd
Skein 3   $22  SOLD to Cara K  PD
Skein 4   $22  SOLD to Eliz M. G.  PD
Skein 5   $20  SOLD to Cara K  PD

Ice Palace  SOLD OUT
Skein 1   $22  SOLD to Barbara L.   PD
Skein 2   $22  SOLD to Melissa M    PD

Indian Summer  SOLD OUT
Skein 1  $24  SOLD to Joanne S.
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Joanne S.
Skein 3  $22 SOLD to Molly (Miss Z)    PD
Skein 4  $22 SOLD to Colleen
Skein 5  $22  SOLD to Colleen

Lilac Blues   SOLD OUT
Skein 1  $22  SOLD to Susan    PD
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Mollykate  PD
Skein 3  $20  SOLD to Mary H.  PD
Skein 4  $20  SOLD to Mary H.   PD

Minnesota Leopard: (There really isn't a MN leopard. Just playing with you...)
Skein 1  $22  SOLD to GRACEY
Skein 2  $20  SOLD
Skein 3  $20
Skein 4  $20

Napping in the Grass   SOLD OUT
Skein 1  $22  SOLD to KNITMA
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Mary Ellen   pd
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to Mary Ellen   pd
Skein 4  $20  SOLD to Paige   pd
Skein 5  $20  SOLD to Jamie

Northern Lights  SOLD OUT
Skein 1  $24  SOLD to KNITMA
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to donateascarfforrescuedogs   PD
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to donateascarfforrescuedogs   PD
Skein 4  $22  SOLD to jilly47
Skein 5  $22  SOLD to jilly47
Skein 6  $22 SOLD to MollyKate  PD

Pink Moon   SOLD OUT
Skein 1  $22  SOLD to Molly (Miss Z)    PD
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Amber
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to Barb   PD
Skein 4  $20  SOLD to Barb   PD

Tangled up in Blue   SOLD OUT
Skein 1 $22  SOLD to Maggie  PD
Skein 2 $22  SOLD to Mama Pea  PD
Skein 3 $22  SOLD to Mama Tea  PD
Skein 4 $22  SOLD to Amber

Tie Dye   SOLD OUT
Skein 1  $22  SOLD to Bobbie M  PD
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Bobbie M  PD
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to auntietoast   PD
Skein 4  $22  SOLD to auntietoast   PD
Skein 5  $20  SOLD to goodbobo (sue)  PD
Skein 6  $20  SOLD to goodbobo (sue)PD

Sea Glass 
Skein 1  $24  SOLD to Brenda  PD
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Amanda  PD
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to Andrea   PD
Skein 4  $22  SOLD to Andrea   PD
Skein 5  $22   SOLD to Janet  PD

Summer Sherbert 
Skein 1  $22  SOLD to Amanda   PD
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Colleen
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to Colleen
Skein 4  $20  SOLD to Melissa M   PD
Skein 5  $20  SOLD to Cosmo DK
Skein 6  $20  SOLD to Eliz. M. G.  PD

Winter Skyline
Skein 1  $20 (3 knots.)  SOLD to JAN
Skein 2  $22  SOLD to Sherry A.  PD
Skein 3  $22  SOLD to Robyn  PD
Skein 4  $22  SOLD to Robyn  PD
Skein 5  $22  SOLD to Jan

That's it. Hope you found something you like. 

Comment to claim your skeins. In the event two people claim the same skeins, there will be a sheep-off (a written test on the information in Sheepish!)


Kidding. Enjoy!

Beef Anyone?

It's time! We're once again offering packages of great-tasting, humanely-raised beef for those readers who live in Minnesota.

(NOTE ADDED 11/19. We've almost sold all the packages. Lordy, that was fast. I need to take inventory tomorrow for a better estimate of the number of packages we actually have. If we still have some left, I'll delete this note!)

Here are the details:

The farm: We make sure the steers have 18 months of natural living---outside, with shelter available in the winter, and shade during the heat of the summer.

The steers:  They were bottle-fed as calves, with a bit of grain. Then it was nothing but grass all summer and fall. Then they ate hay during the winter, with a small amount of grain for energy during the cold. Since May of this year, all they ate was fresh grass. No growth hormones given. No non-theraputic antibiotics.

The beef: Tender and great-tasting. You'll find it hard to go back to the beef you buy in stores.

The package: We sell the beef in 25-pound packages. Half of the package is roasts and steaks, the other half is ground beef. Additional ground beef will be available for purchase. 
 

The price: The package is $125, plus a $25 processing fee, for a total of $150. (We spread 1/2 of the processing fee among our customers; we pay the other half.)

Ordering:  Call to place your order, or respond by email. Let us know when you're available to come pick up your meat, and we'll set something up--weekdays or weekends---it's up to you! The farm is 60 miles SE of the Twin Cities, on the way to Rochester. (Sorry--we don't ship meat. Just too expensive.)

Feel free to contact us with any questions! Email us at info@risingmoonfarm.com

---Catherine and Melissa

From White to Wonderful---Dyeing yarn!

So how does a color-obsessed writer/farmer turn her yarn into explosions of color? Come with me to London's house, the woman who's been holding my hand throughout this process. She's fearless. "Let's try this!" "That might work!" "Sounds good!" If I were doing this on my own, I'd overthink everything. I'd lay out swatches and analyze the color combinations. I'd bug my friends---"Should I use the royal blue or the navy blue? Bright Yellow or Yellow Ochre?"

But not London. She loves experimenting, so that's what we did.

Here's the yarn, undyed:

Then we soaked the yarn in vinegar water:

We dyed the yarn using three different methods. The first was painting. We stretched out the yarn and squeezed/poured dye onto it, then worked the dye in with our fingers. (By the way, London's lovely counter top is protected by a clear plastic shower curtain!)

We flipped the yarn over, did the other side if needed, then rolled the skeins up like caramel rolls in plastic wrap and cooked them on the stove for awhile. (This is how the color sets.)

The second method was to put dye in the bottom of a pot, add the skeins, then squirt/pour more dye over the top.

A third method was to put dye in glass containers:

...add the skeins and more dye. At this stage the yarn doesn't look that great, but the final yarn is the very last photo in this blog---big difference. We then cooked these containers in the microwave!
 

Whether in the microwave or on the stove, when the water in the pot is clear, all the dye has been absorbed and we're done.


The final steps are to rinse...

Fling out the extra water...

And admire....

Now I must prepare the skeins, make labels, and then I'll post the yarn for sale on this blog.... soon!