I started this blog not quite a year ago in an effort to keep a bit of a journal... if somewhat public journal.... of the beginning of my hobby farm and new business. The interesting thing about blogging is that anyone can read what you write. I really have no idea of how many people read my blog. I do know that some family members and friends who do not live near by keep tabs on my family and I and all of our doings through the writing of this blog.
All along I have only had two official followers who have registered with Google, and I know them. Then suddenly I get another and she is a perfect stranger. There are other people who follow my blog who are not registered. I know this because I have friends who mention that they read this or that on my blog and seem to know as much about my life as I do. But when perfect strangers are reading your blog you really have to try to have something interesting to say.
Even the Daughters are starting to have comments made about their lives to them..... it's neat in a kind of weird way.
Anyway, it dawned on me this morning, that even though this blog is supposed to be about starting up my mill and hobby farm, I really have not said a whole lot about that. I have spoken about the animals, and they are crucial to my milling business, but I haven't spoken about the mill itself. I guess it is time to update everyone on that.
Two years ago, I started the Master Spinners program at Olds College and I figured that the next few years would be a challenge and keep me very busy. Shortly after I registered for my first year of college I got an opportunity to buy a cottage mill and picker for an excellent price. I had a dilemma. Do I carry on with the Master Spinner program or do I buy the mill and start a business, which I knew would take a terrible amount of time. I decided to do both, and Hubby encouraged me in this.
I agreed to buy the mill right away. However, I knew that paying for it in one lump sum would be a stretch. So I paid for it a little at a time. The owner was fine with this. My goal is not to overstretch and to hopefully not take on huge amounts of debt. Next, I knew I would need fibre to feed the mill. That's when the animals became a part of our life. Part of owning a mill is having enough of viable fibre to produce a good quality product. Not all wool and alpaca will work in the mill I have bought. I am trying to find sheep that will produce fibre that will work in it. I do know that my mill will not take really fine fibre and so I am crossing breeds of sheep to find the right mix. Nelly is looking like she might be a good mix. I am hoping Oscar will be good too. Palmer, who is one of the lambs is looking good too. Little Red is not and so she will be culled this fall. As will Izzy. Fanny is a little on the fine side of good fibre but I like her fibre for me so will keep her just as a good hand spun. Greigg also has decent fibre for the mill. The alpacas will be used to blend.
I also am not able to house my mill yet. The mill is still at the previous owners farm. Which is where it will stay until she sells her farm or we finish the house renovation and move everything out of our overly crowded workshop. I also knew at the time of my decision, that if I was going to continue on with the Master Spinner program the business would have to wait until I finished. So suffice it to say that I am working on being in business but am not there yet and will continue to work on that until I'm finished the Master Spinner program. These six years, are years of planning and transition. I have all the time in the world to work on this business and I want it to be the best it can and I want to have it ready when I am ready. I think these are wise business decisions and so that is why I do not write about the milling yet. I am hoping that by next summer I will be able to house the mill in a new building that will accommodate a small shop too. But I am not willing to kill myself or Hubby who helps me in every aspect of this business.
So the resultant is that I will continue to experiment with sheep and look for animals that provide the kind of fibre I want. I have four new sheep coming in the fall. One is a pure Merino which has much too fine fibre for the mill but might make a good cross breeder. I also have another Cotswold/Merino sheep coming which has lovely fibre as well. There is also a Candian Arcott/Charlais/Merino who I am hoping will produce nice fibre. I have a new white ram who hopefully will help me to get lambs that produce dye-able white fibre. (Oscar threw too many black lambs this year.)
So there my fibre business sits at this time. Ye Olde Batt is in the motions of getting started but it will be a long haul. In the meantime, I am looking for a Battmobile this winter. We need a second vehicle and will combine family use and business use in the same car. But I'm sure you will hear more about that as time moves forward as does the planing of my business.
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