sheep, Wool Mill, wool, canadian wool Anna Hunter sheep, Wool Mill, wool, canadian wool Anna Hunter

Holiday Gift Guide 2020

gift+guide+2020.jpg

It’s been a hard year for so many small businesses. Here in Manitoba we are heading into a code-red situation with the Coronavirus and total lockdown is upon us again. This means that any pre-holiday markets or sales will definitely not happen. I have appreciated the support of so many during the last 8 months who have chosen to support small businesses and shop ‘local’.

Here is my Gift Guide for 2020 - a curated list of my favourite items for gift giving from our farm and from other local Manitoba farmers and local wool producers! If you don't live in Manitoba, we encourage you to find out who your local farmers are. Purchasing directly from small farms makes a huge impact on our ability to do the kind of work we do! Our final delivery to Winnipeg before the holidays is December 21st.

Manitoba Regenerative Farmers that do weekly or monthly deliveries to Winnipeg, and will add some excellent food to your holiday feasting:

Fresh Roots Farm

Hearts & Roots

Luna Field Farm

*** the bottom of the gift guide lists other fantastic makers in Manitoba that focus on local, sustainable textiles and farming!

If you are interested in the Canadian Wool Industry and would like to support the work we are doing around wool education & advocacy, consider supporting or gifting a monthly support for our Patreon. We are putting the Canadian wool industry un…

If you are interested in the Canadian Wool Industry and would like to support the work we are doing around wool education & advocacy, consider supporting or gifting a monthly support for our Patreon. We are putting the Canadian wool industry under a microscope and re-imagining ways that we can build resilient, local fibre systems. you can read more about it here.

Breed Specific Yarn - Monthly Subscription Breed Specific Yarn - Monthly Subscription
Breed Specific Yarn - Monthly Subscription
CA$30.00 every month for 1 year

Climate Positive Toque

This toque was made using 100% rambouillet wool from a Manitoba sheep farm that utilizes carbon farming practices that sequester carbon from the atmosphere into the soil. The wool was spun in a low-emissions wool mill and manufactured in Eastern Manitoba. The toque was dyed using plants that were grown or foraged in Manitoba. (comes in white or light or dark grey)

Wool Pillow (one pillow only) Wool Pillow (one pillow only)
Wool Pillow (one pillow only)
CA$80.00

Wool Pillows

Check out all the reasons why a wool pillow will contribute to your sleep:
1) wool is hypoallergenic.
2) wool is temperature regulating
3) wool is a natural, renewable and sustainable product.
4) wool is comfortable.

You can purchase 1 or a set of 2 pillows.

Solar Dye Kit
Solar Dye Kit
CA$15.00

Solar Dye Kit

Our popular, natural dye solar dye kit. Includes 25 grams of dk or worsted weight wool (from our mill and locally harvested or grown natural dye materials. These kits are a simple introduction to natural dyeing and are a great option for kids as well!

This includes instructions for solar dyeing, and all the supplies. Jar not included to keep shipping costs low. Any 1 Litre glass jar will work - and a great option for reusing your old pickle jars!

This is a great gift idea for kids too!

Breed Specific Knitting Zoom Workshop

Each breed of sheep produces a distinct type of wool for knitting and crochet. Understanding the qualities and characteristics of these breeds will inform and accentuate your knitting. Texture, colourwork, cables and drape are all affected by the unique wool breeds.

This workshop will give a brief overview of some accessible single-breed wools and the variety they can offer to your knitting. We will also briefly explore the history and tradition of these single-breed wools. This workshop is an online ZOOM workshop, however samples of raw wool and finished yarn will be shipped prior to the class.

Wool Dryer Balls (set of 2) Wool Dryer Balls (set of 2)
Sold Out
Wool Dryer Balls (set of 2)
CA$15.00

Wool Dryer Balls

About our WOOL dryer balls

  • 100% wool (no synthetics), hypoallergenic

  • reduce drying time by improving air flow in the dryer

  • reduces static cling and keeps clothes soft

  • wool dryer balls should last 2-4 years

Gift Card - digital
Gift Card - digital
from CA$25.00

Gift Card

Want to give a Long Way Homestead gift to someone you love, or someone who loves Long Way Homestead? Now you can with our digital gift cards!

For a full list of all the breed specific and naturally dyed yarn we have check out our website HERE.

For a full list of all the breed specific and naturally dyed yarn we have check out our website HERE.

These are some other amazing farmers and makers in Manitoba who are focusing on local/sustainable fibre, yarn, natural dyeing, textiles! Shop local and support small businesses, farms and mills!

Ferme Fiola Farm

Sunflower Knit

Enchanted Grove Alpaca

Bear & Bunny Yarn

Hundred Fold Farm

Purl & Hank

Wolseley Wool

MWL wool mountain

Velvet Plume

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sheep, Wool Mill Anna Hunter sheep, Wool Mill Anna Hunter

Dakota Spinning Mill - A post by Anna

A few weeks ago we took a little road trip to Fargo, North Dakota to pick up our first batch of homegrown yarn! The boys were super excited, as road trips always mean pizza on the bed, hotel pools and ice machines! This kind of road-trip was equally as exciting for me because - well YARN!

 

 I had to search quite a while for a place to process my fibre,  there are no mills in Manitoba or Saskatchewan, and shipping fees to other Provinces can be quite exorbitant. Thankfully, I was able to send the fleece down south in the summer and a few months later I recieved the call that it was ready! We arrived at the  Dakota Fiber Mill and were greeted by Chris, owner of the mill and one of the greatest fibre folk I have ever met, and her 7+ foot tall camel - staring out at us around the barn!

camel2.jpg

 

I have never seen a camel this close, and we were all awe-struck. He was so gentle, and quiet, and it seemed as though his big huge eyes were all knowing. I seriously think Luke is trolling kijiji and local livestock pages for listings of camels. Chris brushes this guy once a year, and she said it takes about a week to fully brush him. She then spins his fibre with a blend of wool and/or alpaca. I bought of skein of this yarn and it's beautiful!

 

Chris has a mixed flock and herd of other fibre animals including alpacas, angora goats, jacob sheep, cotswald, and angora bunnies! All her animals are friendly and you can tell they are well taken care of and produce beautiful fibre.

 

Chris gave us a tour of her wool mill and also the small retail shop attached. It was such an informative, lovely tour, and helped me understand wool processing on a new level. Chris answered all of our questions, and indulged the boys as they asked her all about every little thing in the mill - mostly the parrot that lives in the mill and totally captivated my boys!

yarn on the spinner

yarn on the spinner

I cannot take credit for the quality of this yarn - as the fleece was grown while the sheep still lived at their first home - the farm of my good friends and shepherdess mentors Margaret and Linda.  But having this first batch of fleeces spun into yarn is giving me a good idea of what to expect with my growing little flock. We have sent some of this yarn to the Kickstarter recipients that supported our fundraiser last year, and the rest of it will become available for sale in Spring 2017.

fleece drying after being washed

fleece drying after being washed

As a long-time knitter and owner of a local yarn store for 6 years, I had never before visited a spinning mill.  I found the tour and experience invaluable to really connecting me to what is involved in the process of 'sheep to shawl' I strongly urge any of you that have not had this experience to find a local wool mill and go for a tour.

 

And for those of you who are in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and wish that you had a mill to visit, hang tight, because I am planning to open a wool mill! I wasn't going to say anything on the blog until it was officially going to happen. But I think I would love the feedback, comments, suggestions, and encouragement from all of you, as it's a huge undertaking and I need all the moral support I can get!

Long Way Yarn!

Long Way Yarn!

We are hoping that the mill will be open late 2017/early 2018, but we are still in some early planning stages.  I believe that this is such a crucial step in creating a sustainable, local and environmentally sustainable industry. So much of the fleece from Manitoba sheep farmers is shipped to other parts of the world where it is cleaned/carded/manufactured and then shipped back to canada as yarn, insulation, rugs and textiles.  How amazing would it be to change that produce our own yarn in our own community! 

 

I will share more details with all of you that are following along in the next few months, but in the meantime thanks for your excitement and support of this journey!  I'll leave you with one more camel picture - because CAMEL!

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