Author: Andrea

Since the late 1990's I've run a small NJ farm producing 100% USA made, one of a kind fiber products. I was a chemist and technical librarian for nearly 30 years running my fiber farm part time. As of March 2013 I was able to become a full time fiber farmer! Most of my animals are rescues or seniors living full happy lives on the farm with funding from product sales. I raise Angora goats and Shetland sheep as well as endangered chicken breeds (Ameraucana, Australorp, Delaware, Dominique). All products are made using fiber from my animals or combined with fiber purchased from other small USA farmers. Hand made products are made in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA while machine processed yarn and roving are made at small mills in the USA. Most people are so far removed from farm production that I consider it a special mission to inform and educate on what is involved. My blog provides inspiration, heartache and learnings from what happens here on the farm. To learn more about natural fibers please take a look at my "Fiber Facts" brochure.

Fiber Farm Market at the Sheep Shed – Pittstown NJ

Posted on 2024-09-26 by Andrea

Join us at the Windswept Acres Sheep Shed in Pittstown NJ for a fiber fix. We’re open 2nd Saturdays, plus Small Business Saturday November 23,10AM to 3PM all dates. We’ll also be doing informal demos/ talks on different fiber topics.

October 12
November 9
November 23 is Small Business Saturday 2024. Come help us celebrate small businesses!
December 14

Cornerstone farms vending and organizing guests, demos and classes are:

Windswept Acres – fleeces, roving, yarn & sheepskins from Sue’s flock of natural colored and white Romney and Dorset sheep and NJ Blankets. Plus meet the sheep!

Dancing Waters Farm – natural colored and hand dyed mohair/ wool roving, tops & yarn from Andrea’s Angora goats and sheep, plus catnip and NJ Blankets.

Other NJ Fibershed members vending include:

Willow Pond Farm – Sue’s raw natural colored and white fleeces (Gotland, Jacob)

Plus other local products (farm and artisans):

G.P.K Woodcrafts & Restorations – Gregg’s locally made cutting and charcuterie boards, wooden vases and bird houses (all made from locally sourced hard woods – maple, ash, walnut)

Glass artist – Bonnie’s handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pressed glass sun-catchers

Honey – Mountain Valley

____________________________________________________________________________________

Guests, demos and classes will be announced via Instagram (@windsweptsheep) and on Dancing Waters Farm website (https://www.mohair-fiber.com) as they are scheduled.

Please stop by and talk fiber! Our goal for opening the Sheep Shed is to connect local to local.
Address: 173 Whitebridge Road, Pittstown, NJ 08867

#localfibernj #localfiberarts #localfiberfarms #windsweptsheep #dancingwatersfarm

2023 Year in Pictures

Gallery

1st Snowfall Jan 25, 2023 2 inches

Wet Snowfall – Ice on Trees

Light Snow at the Pond

Wet Snowfall – Mom and Pop in Marsh

Sun Beam in the Forest

Black Eyed Susans and Echinacea in Front Garden

Beauty Berry, Frost Aster, Joe Pye, Goldenrod on Path to Barn

Territorial Bear Fight Around Pond and Barn

Monarch Butterflies

Giant Swallowtail

Painted Lady

Racoon Family Relaxing on Hot Summer Day

Virginia Creeper on Tree Trunk

Tulip Poplar Raining Fall Leaves

Variegated Fritillary Chrysalis Forming on Pineapple Sage

Highlights

Birds seen on the farm during 2023: 126 species; Last Hummingbird Oct. 2

July/Aug. had 3 weeks with 4 close encounters with black bears

Lilacs re-bloomed at the end of October

Butterflies seen:

New:
- Eastern Giant Swallowtail,
- Variegated Fritillary (brought in chrysalis, released after it emerged late Sep. – host plant passionfruit! vs violets preferred by other fritillaries),
- American Lady,
- Painted Lady,
- Mourning Cloak,
- Viceroy
Monarch: very few early but found caterpillars on some of the milkweed plants, no chrysalis though; more in Sep./ Oct. but still sparse

Canada Geese:

7 pairs attempted to nest multiple times but only the New Island Family (NIF) hatched eggs this year. Fox and mink destroyed all the eggs in the other nests, and the NIF nest was hit once but 2 of the eggs survived to hatching. In 2022 none of the geese successfully hatched any of their eggs.
Waterfall Family (WFF) update – April 2nd was the last day Scooby (3 year old) was seen. Prince Charming (PC = her mate) returned in June, stayed with Mom & Pop (WF2=parents) til molting completed and left with them. Scooby didn’t return in the Fall, so fears confirmed she was lost trying to nest for the 1st time this Spring. WF2 nested in 3 locations and all the eggs were destroyed.

2022 Year in Pictures

Gallery

Geese in Marsh After Ice Storm 2022-02-25

Starlight Getting a Neck Rub (Pic Courtesy Beth Meriwether)

Geese in Snow

Bullfrog (Pic Courtesy Beth Meriwether)

Morning Rush Hour

Martha and Mortimer

Great Spangled Fritillary on Queen Anne’s Lace and Black Eyed Susans

Geese in Pond Behind New Wildflower Garden

Geese in Marshland Path

Dainty Sulfurs

Chicken in the Woods Mushroom on Dead Ash

Fall Leaves

Vending Booth at NJ Fibershed Fall Sale (Pic Courtesy Laura Chandler, Smiling Dog Farm)

Waterfall Family (Momma, Poppa, Scooby) Resting Before 2nd Sunset Take Off Attempt

Livestock Veterinary Good News – Acupuncture and a NJ Vet School at Last

Posted on 2022-06-17 by Andrea

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is making it’s way into the tool set of livestock veterinarians! It’s especially useful for chronic conditions such as arthritis, disc disease, back pain and musculoskeletal injuries, gastrointestinal disorders, neurological problems, and respiratory issues. Check out the details in this May 2022 Lancaster Farming article.

Source: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/livestock/animal-acupuncture-needles-its-way-into-veterinary-favor/article_b8b575f2-0613-5656-9288-5c221e8b147e.html

At Last a NJ Vet School

It’s gotten increasingly difficult to find livestock veterinary services throughout NJ, so it was great to hear that Rowan University has announced the planned opening of the first school of Veterinary Medicine in NJ! It will be located in Sewell, NJ and plans an inaugural class of 60 students in Fall 2025 (pending approval by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education). Today there are only 33 USA accredited vet schools of which 5 are on the East Coast. With the addition of the new school, Rowan will become one of two universities in the nation to offer doctor of veterinary medicine, doctor of medicine and doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees. More details available in the January 2022 article listed below.

Source: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/news/main_edition/new-jersey-addresses-shortage-of-veterinarians/article_f2d83860-e77c-51a0-8a68-111a86cf6cb9.html

NJ Fibershed Blanket Project – Blankets For Sale

Posted on 2022-06-16 by Andrea

The background story below – to purchase go to my online store.

The NJ Fibershed Blanket Project is a cooperative project between small farms raising fiber animals for their fleeces. This is one of their major initiatives to bring NJ fiber farmers together, and to highlight locally produced fiber products.Using wool collected from farms located within the NJ Fibershed region, the program provides a way for small-scale fiber producers to sell their fiber. Their wool was processed and made into items that can be marketed to customers seeking local products and who want to support small-scale, sustainable farms. This is a one of a kind product, made entirely with NJ wool and manufactured in the USA. You won’t find an equivalent anywhere else.

Over 400 lbs of wool was collected and sorted to meet criteria for quality to ensure a final product that is beautiful, warm, and enjoyable to own.

The wool was washed in New Hampshire, spun in Maine, and handwoven by ComfortCloth Weaving in upstate New York.

Featuring a unique and modern design with three solid color sections representing the three regions of New Jersey: North, Central, and South Jersey. The gradual transition between color blocks is a playful nod to the fundamental New Jersey debate of where, exactly Central Jersey starts and ends. The nine lines in the transition represent the nine farms who contributed wool to the project. Two versions were woven – the one with a white background is sold out but the one with a grey background is still available (this is my favorite of the two).

The NJ Fibershed Blanket measures 78″ x 58″ (2m x 1.47 m) and weighs 2.5 lb (1.13 kg). The blanket price is $325. Purchase in my online shop.

Page Updated: Sep. 30, 2024

Rainbow Fiber Co-op

Posted on 2021-11-15 by Andrea

This fantastic group in their own words:

“is a Diné-led agricultural co-operative established to improve the financial sustainability and equitable market outcomes for the largest flocks of Dibé dits’ozí (Navajo-Churro sheep) remaining on the Navajo Nation. Our mission is to close the gap between rural Diné shepherds and an e-commerce driven marketplace for their wool. We are thrilled to announce that we have officially launched our online yarn shop!

Thanks to many generous donors we executed our first wool buy on the Navajo Nation in July 2021. We purchased approximately 3,200 pounds of Navajo-Churro wool from our shepherds. We paid a stipend for shearing help and a fair price for their wool by the pound. After skirting and sorting by color we transported the wool to Mora Valley Spinning Mill, a nonprofit community-based wool mill located in Mora, New Mexico, to produce an assortment of Navajo-style weaving yarns. In November of 2021 we began offering Diné-grown Navajo-Churro weaving yarns for sale online direct-to-customer. Sales dollars generated will be used to help fund the wool buy project again in 2022.

Most of the Navajo-Churro wool products available for sale online are from non-Diné shepherds. Diné shepherds are often told their wool is worthless or paid pennies per pound at mass wool buy events. Despite these challenges many shepherds create a market for themselves through hand spinning, weaving, and teaching weaving classes. This is difficult to do at scale and an unreliable source of income. In 2020 the pandemic brought marketing activities like farm visits, classes, art shows, and fiber events to a standstill. Several medium- to large-scale wool buys were completely canceled. These impacts have continued into 2021. We saw an opportunity to step up and do something to support these important flocks.”

Fibershed.org is helping them raise money to get their idea off the ground and their first run of yarn is now available on their website!

For more info: https://rainbowfibercoop.org/

2020 Year in Pictures

Gallery

2020 was a crazy year by any standards. A farm is a great place to be during a pandemic as there’s always lots to do, the scenery is great, and isolation is built in. Because of a more inward focus perhaps, there were far more wildlife encounters/ sightings than usual. Here are snapshots in time that capture the essence of 2020.

Highlights included: I lost James (15 year old Angora goat) to heart issues and gained a lot of Canada Goose friends (learned a lot about them – subject of another blog entry wip!). Re-did the pasture fences to fence out the areas now too wet for ruminants (meningeal worm) and began returning the soggy areas to wetland habitat for wildlife. Lots of fox, skunk family, and baby racoon interactions this year. Ghost (hen) got nabbed by a grey fox while out in the grass but I ran to the rescue and she put up a good fight. Once I found a specialty bandage she couldn’t pull off she healed up quickly and is no worse for wear!

Sanguinaria canadensis (Bloodroot)	Violets and Spring Beauties	Toad Lilies
Dogwoods in Bloom	Goslings Playing in Rain Puddles	Tater in Lawn
Fence Replacement Project – James at Log Pile	Fence replacement project in progress	Snapping Turtle Digging Under the Fence
Who let a fawn on our property?	Fawn Standing on Island	Fawn looking for grey fox that keeps chasing it
OZ spots an airplane while hanging with his best bud the water dish (Temporarily orphaned)	Rowboat Family Looking for Snacks	Doo – Special Needs Goose (Missing Over Half His Bill)
Morning glories Take Over the Garden Fence	Tiny spiders on Queen Anne’s Lace	Butterflies on Joe Pye Weed
Fog on Fall Foliage	Evening fall fog looking back at pond	Fall Foliage Near Creek on East Side of Pasture
Red Fox passing through, no squirrels!	And then there was the time the red fox ran off with my mitten when I was standing less than 15 feet away!	Red Fox near bird feeders stalking squirrels
Pine Siskins and female Evening Grosbeak	Pine Siskins and Evening Grosbeaks are rarely seen in this region. They only show up here when there is a food shortage in their native region. First time I’ve seen Evening Grosbeaks here (23 years). There were crowds of both for a short time.	Pine Siskins
Rowboat Family	Snow at Pond – Deer on Hill	Water Fall Family – Doo closest
Doo	Hoar Frost on Plants	Water Fall Family ex Doo (Poppa closest, Momma left, Scooby back right) Chilling on Top of Snow Bank

Antique Amish Yarn Swift

Posted on 2020-01-08 by Andrea

I recently bought an antique Amish swift from my artist and fellow fiber friend Linda Czech. Sadly she is backing out of fiber pursuits because her cats are fixated on destroying anything fiber she creates.

I took it “for a spin” to skein a bobbin of 2 ply Jacob wool handspun I’d done for the Woolverton Inn. The swift works perfectly to wind directly from my spinning wheel without my having to lean over or stretch up and it also counts the yardage as it goes. Not to mention that it just looks really great sitting in the living room!

2019 Year in Pictures

Gallery

Monarch Migration

Posted on 2019-09-22 by Andrea

The Farm has always supported butterflies by keeping butterfly preferred flowers in the gardens and in particular looking out for Monarchs by raising them from caterpillars when their numbers are low. 2019 was the best Summer for Monarchs in quite a few years so I decided to start listing results for on-going comparison of years. But first a few pics….

Nearly Ready To Go!
Healthy Male Monarch With Wings Still Drying

15 caterpillars total

2 accidental deaths

0 disease issues

0 unexplained death

7 healthy males

6 healthy females

87% survival rate

Which far surpasses the 0% observed surviving in the garden.

Chrysalis Accidents

2 fell – one was crushed while cleaning the cage as it wasn’t seen on the bottom after it had fallen. The other fell just after the chrysalis formed and it was still too wet to survive the fall. This was the last caterpillar raised (9/18/19) and it seemed to have a bad destiny from the start. It wanted to j on the test tube rack for holding the milkweed leaves, when relocated to the top then picked the zipper of the cage, etc.

Cornerstone farms vending and organizing guests, demos and classes are:

Other NJ Fibershed members vending include:

Plus other local products (farm and artisans):

Highlights

Acupuncture

At Last a NJ Vet School

Dancing Waters Farm Through the Seasons of 2019

Chrysalis Accidents