Happy Valentine’s Day! Introducing new “Be Mine” Roving. You can find it on Etsy @ https://www.etsy.com/shop/parsonsprairie. It is 55% Alpaca/40% Wool/5% Nylon. Perfect for sock yarn or any of your projects where you want the softness of alpaca, the memory of wool and the strength of nylon. The alpaca comes from Sgt. Pepper.
It has been a busy couple of years at Parsons’ Prairie Farm. So busy in fact, that I have not found the time to do a lot of the fiber dyeing that I had hoped to do. And since I have requested an April shearing date again this year, I will soon have another annual harvest to add to my stock pile. So what better way to make room for the 2016 clip than to have a Winter White Sale and offer to you some fabulous undyed fiber at discount prices. This sale will last through March 15, 2016 or until supplies last. I have listed some beautiful yarns, rovings and craft felt on my Etsy Farm Store at 40% off the regular price. This fiber takes dye beautifully and is so much fun to work with. And for those of you that prefer your fiber natural color, you will find some beautiful white, beige, light fawn and light brown yarn and roving to choose from.
The link to Parsons’ Prairie Farm Etsy Shop is https://etsy.com/shop/ParsonsPrairie
Enjoy!
Get ready for the next batch of blended roving…….Pink Pandemonium. This is a blend of 70% alpaca (a natural beige) and 30% bamboo (dyed a shocking red/pink color).
The roving is already up on the website at http://www.naturalfiberfarm.com and comes in 4 ounce bundles.
The alpaca fiber came from Ringo who has soft, fine fiber with beautiful crimp. Ringo is one of our shy males and can always be counted on as a good & safe buddy when we move the male weanlings over to the “big boy” pasture.
So…..do you know who your roving comes from?
We just received the 2014 processed fiber back from Shepherd’s Mill and it has been like Christmas around our place! We have some of the most beautiful 100% alpaca and amazing alpaca/bamboo and alpaca/merino blends to offer this year. I can’t wait to get it all marked and checked in and out on the farm store shelves. I am working very hard to get it all ready to go in time for our upcoming fall shows, but I want to give you a first look and first chance to purchase all this beautiful 2014 fiber. Once I introduce the new fiber here, it will also be ready for purchase on the farm website at http://www.naturalfiberfarm.com. If you see something you want, place your order as quickly as possible. I think this fiber will go very quickly once we start our fall show tours.
I will start by introducing Timna Valley, a beautiful 60% alpaca/40% bamboo blended roving. The alpaca fiber is light fawn and comes from our alpaca Imagine. Imagine’s fiber has been blended with bamboo, dyed a beautiful malachite color. The roving comes in 4 oz. bundles and is $26.00 per bundle.
As you can see, we have plenty of bundles right now, but I think that will change very quickly, particularly as shoppers get their hands on this incredible fiber.
Imagine is one of our beautiful males……..fine fleece with a nice long staple length. And that color…….gorgeous!
So…..do you know who your roving comes from?
I’m often asked “What do you do with the fiber?” So when I looked at the 2012 Clip, pound by pound, I came up with:
8% or 8.8 lbs. – Went toward yarn processing of cria fleece
5% or 5.6 lbs. – Was used for miscellaneous processing, rovings and yarns
25% or 27.85 lbs. – was processed into felt for a special top secret project I have planned
15% or 16.4 lbs. – went toward the 2012 Fiber CSA
23% or 25.0 lbs. – was sent off to the Natural Fiber Coop for processing into product
24% or 26.35 lbs – is considered our rug fiber. It is still sitting in my garage waiting for the funds to send off for processing.
All in all, we got 110 lbs from our 28 alpacas and we are proud that all of it (with the exception of the rug fiber) has been processed into product.
Please join us at Parsons’ Prairie Farm
for a Holiday Open Farm
Sunday, December 2nd
1:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m.
Dress for the weather and get to know the alpacas us close. Come inside to browse a selection of alpaca products, yarns and rovings. Relax, wander about and enjoy learning about our fiber farm.
For directions or more information about the Holiday Open Farm, contact us at ppf@parsonsprairie.com or check out our fiber farm blog at parsonsprairiefarm.com
Parsons’ Prairie Farm
Jeff & Kim Overbey
15908 Cameron Road
Kearney, MO 64060
We are so excited to invite you to our farm. Just a few things to note:
If you are interested in meeting the alpacas, come dressed for the weather. I’m afraid it is going to be a cold day! We have assigned our 5 yearling boys, Revolution, Ringo, Sgt. Pepper, Imagine and Jeff (alpaca Jeff that is) to be the official greeters for the day. They have been working diligently the past 2 weeks on their alpaca manners to be ready for the big day.
The farm store will be inside where it is nice and warm. Rhonda Butler with R&B Alpacas will be here with alpaca products as well. Between the two of us, I think you will find a nice selection of natural fiber products.
The farm address is 15908 Cameron Road, Kearney, MO 64060. Often times, a GPS will send you down our neighbor’s driveway. Keep in mind that you will need to enter between the white vinyl fencing on the west side of the road. Also, we have a very long asphalt driveway. If you turn onto a gravel driveway you are at the wrong place.
The farm will be open between 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. You do not need to let us know that you are coming, just feel free to come spend as much time as you would like. We would love to see you!
Parsons’ Prairie Farm Shop on Etsy is back!
Last year was both a challenging and exciting one for us. Our son graduated high school and headed off to college and our daughter began her senior year of high school. We purchased our farm and got all our alpacas settled in. In addition, Jeff and I both have busy full-time jobs and it seems like time is really limited.
So, I have to admit, I have let my Etsy shop be put on the back burner the last 6 months or so and it feels great to have it updated and full of fiber again. I have just added some of my most popular roving colorways, the vibrant Canyon Spirit and New England Autumn; soft and natural Woodland Wander and my most popular colorway….Country Carousel. These rovings are all 100% alpaca and come from our beautiful boys; Montana, Wrigley, Frisco & Weston. These boys have extremely fine fiber (micron counts of 18 – 22 microns) and produce a fine and lofty roving that is a dream to spin.
So check it out at www.parsonsprairie.etsy.com and let me know if you see something you like.
Kim
Parsons' Prairie Farm 