Farm Visit: Spirit Walk Farms

Sheep aren't known for their ability to follow directions. These cuddly, sweet-faced creatures are determined to surge in the exact opposite direction you've asked them to follow. Not surprisingly, sheering day tends to be a whirlwind of stress, dust and fleece.

Knowing all this didn't dampen my excitement when Marg Quarrie of Spirit Walk Farm invited me to join for their fall sheering this past Thanksgiving. Marg's herd of 42 ewes combines the softness of Romney and Dorset fleece with the hardiness of the Rideau Arcott (a hardiness needed to survive the Grey County winter). Having worked with Spirit Walk yarns in the past, I was excited to see the animals that produced these natural and rustic fibers.

The stable was abuzz with activity when I arrived. Hopping over partitions and around the sheerer, I was admittedly a tad over-whelmed. But amongst the bleating sheep and buzz of the clippers, was Marg - a soft-spoken farmer with an obvious affection for her "girls".

Marg at the Skirting Table.

Marg and her husband Gord established Spirit Walk Farm 18 years ago after deciding to exit urban living in Cambridge. In Marg's words they moved north and "never looked back". Spirit Walk is an intentionally small mixed operation focused on maintaining a intimate connection with the land and animals. Housed in an old bank barn, the farm includes their ewes, milking goats, 3 angoras and laying hens for the house. 

Fleece laid out on the Skirting Table.

Marg waved me over to the skirting table, a framed metal screen set up on trestles, where the freshly shorn fleece is spread out and evaluated. As we chatted Marg showed me how to pick out the burrs and chaff, where to find the "poopy" sections to be removed and what to look for when assessing a fleece. She moved fast but thoughtfully, sorting the fleeces into boxes according to their grade.

As the ewes were encouraged into the sheering bay, Marg spoke softly to her girls, convincing them to move toward the sheerer even as they swirled around her.   She commented on each ewe entering the sheering bay, noting the ewe's history and evolution of her fleece. When a deep chocolate Romney entered the bay, Marg's skilled eye already knew that "this will be a beautiful fleece" far before it was spread out on the skirting table.

Working at the skirting table brings your attention to the subtly of colour and texture that each staple of fleece contains. Moving around the table, picking out bits and looking for matting, reveals how the colour of a fleece changes from darker to lighter as it grows away from the ewe's body. On that chilly morning I could feel the warmth of the ewe still held in the fleece. It was easy to imagine the potential coziness of a sweater knit up from Spirit Walk yarns.

Marg's utility fleeces (those not suitable for roving or yarn) are sent to MacAuslan's in PEI where they are made into blankets (I purchased a MacAuslan Blanket during an East Coast trip a few years ago - a very wise investment for camping in Cape Breton). The finer fleeces are milled at Wellington Fibers in Elora and returned to Marg as rovings and yarns. Spirit Walk fibers are refreshingly simple in their natural colours. Their rustic textures conjure up memories of apple cider, warm sweaters and wood smoke.

Spirit Walk Roving

As Marg and I went through the roving she had assembled for me to bring back to the city, she named each ewe, discussing the nuances of their fibers and their personalities. Like Kaitlyn at Applegarth Alpaca Farm, the connection between Marg and her girls was clear. Even amongst the chaos of sheering, Marg relished the fibers grown by these remarkable animals.

Spirit Walk Yarn

I left Spirit Walk Farm confidant in my decision to apply Craftivism to my fiber arts. It feels great knowing that my designs support farmers like Marg who are dedicated to producing sustainable, high quality fibers from sheep to needle. Who knew that knitting could create positive social change in our local economies and communities?





Spirit Walk Farm Fibers and Yarns can be purchased at:





Peace Flag House Fiber Arts
568 Jane Street,
Toronto, ON
By Appointment
647-478-3173
peaceflaghouse@gmail.com





  

Spirit Walk Farm
Marg & Gord Quarrie
519-923-5378
gredqee@gmail.com
327104 Conc. Rd. 3,
Maxwell
N0C 1J0

Flesherton Farmer's Market

Flesherton Arena Parking Lot
Saturdays, 8am - 1pm
Victoria Day Weekend, May to
Thanksgiving Weekend, October

Farm Visit: Applegarth Studio and Yarn

I let the coffee warm me up as I sat in a rocking chair at The Bakery and watched the village of Flesherton go by on a cold, wet weekend in October. Glancing down at the windowsill there were a jumble of magazines, flyers and brochures.  Three alpacas named Daisy, Ember and Evita stared up at me under the title Applegarth Studio and Yarn: A Destination of its Own.
Tucked along Sideroad 4A just outside of Markdale, amongst rolling forests, streams and solar panels, is Kaitlyn Brodie's Applegarth Studio and Yarn.  At 22, Kaitlyn is building her alpaca herd, producing her own fibers and developing one of Grey County's must-see fiber destinations.    

I was not this awesome when I was 22.

Kaitlyn's fiber adventures started 2 years ago when she picked up the needles for the first time. Knitting quickly moved on to spinning and then to dying and felting. Finishing up her degree in forestry, Kaitlyn began to dream of the fiber arts as a way of life. Demonstrating incredible hutzpah, Kaitlyn set about creating Applegarth Studio and Yarn at her family's off-the-grid Toad Hall Farm on Sideroad 4A. Today Applegarth is home to a small herd of Yucaya alpacas, known for their versatile, light weight and warm fibers. 

Evita, Tansy and Daisy came home to Applegarth in the fall of 2012.  June saw Applegarth's first on-farm birth. Little Samara was born premature and was given little hope of survival. Undaunted, Kaitlyn tucked the tiny cria into her own bed for that first night to keep her warm. It took Kaitlyn more three days of sleeping in the barn to make sure baby Samara and mama Daisy bonded.

Kaitlin and Samara

Those three long days ultimately united Kaitlyn with the little herd. Alpaca's are known for being timid and somewhat uninterested in humyns. But Kaitlyn's herd is different.  Standing in the paddock with her it's clear that these alpaca's are excited to see her, skipping in and around for kisses and rubs. Today, Samara is strong and healthy and has been joined by Ember, the latest addition to the herd. Obviously Kaitlyn's dedication to Samara's survival not only strengthened the bonds between baby and mama, but between humyn and herd.

Buttons by Dano Harris.

Inside the Applegarth Studio Kaitlyn proudly displays her yarns. The combinations of colours and textures in alpaca and alpaca/wool blends are sumptuous and I can't help but touch. Kaitlyn explains her conscious investment in the local fiber economy and her decision to have her fibers milled at Wellington Fibers in Elora, Ontario. She also carries popular Canadian yarns by Fleece Artist and Handmaiden, as well as the works of other local artisans including art yarns by The Married Spinsters and handmade knitting needles and buttons by Dano Harris.  

Inside Applegarth Studio.

Thursdays are Applegarth's Fiber Social Day, when Kaitlyn welcomes fiber enthusiasts to the farm, encouraging participants to bring their current project and share their craft with other artisans. Snugged up in the Studio with its wood stove and beautiful view I certainly look forward to attending my first Social Day this winter.

Applegarth is a beautiful fiber destination that is undoubtedly worth the drive down the narrow dirt road of Sideroad 4A. For me, however, Applegarth's biggest attraction is the connection between Kaitlin and her alpacas. In the same way that local, sustainable ingredients make for delicious meals, I believe that local, well cared for animals create beautiful fibers. The Applegarth fibers I've brought back to the city are the product of animals that are clearly loved and respected. It feels right to create my original hand knits from a high quality yarn that reflects my respect for sustainable farming practices and my investment in local economies.  



Applegarth yarns can be purchased at:

Peace Flag House Fiber Arts
568 Jane Street,
Toronto, ON
By Appointment
647-478-3173
peaceflaghouse@gmail.com

Applegarth Studio and Yarn
Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm,
or By Appointment.
226-668-1305
applegarthstudio@gmail.com
545413 Sideroad 4A, Box 23
Markdale, ON
N0C 1H0





 

I am a recovering Yarn Zombie

A little peek at the Peace Flag House stash.

I have an obsession with yarn.  I knit on the subway, on the beach, in class (I'm the teacher), in the car, on airplanes.  The last time I was in a movie theater I took my knitting.  Spinning wheels make me drool.  Looms are one of the most beautiful inventions of humynkind.  I adore sheep, alpacas, yak and any other animal growing a coat that could be made into a knittable, spinnable, weavable fiber.

When traveling I look for the fibers and textiles local to the area.  This summer I found linens in Belgium, cottons in Greece and wools in Iceland.  Last summer I found Gaspereau Valley Fibers in the Annapolis Valley,  Briggs and Little in New Brunswick and Green Mountain Spinnery in Vermont.
Returning home to Peace Flag House I started to wonder about our local fibers.  Shop after shop, I asked for yarns and fibers local to Ontario.  Time after time, shopkeepers told me they didn't carry any local fibers or yarns and what's more, they didn't know of any producers.

What?!
When did knitting become a Walmart-ized hobby?  Did I miss the memo?  Had fiber production joined the growing list of Ontario's extinct local economies?
 
Full of fear, this fall I started paying closer attention to Ontario's rural areas like Grey County, looking for signs of small-scale, local fiber production.  I visited farmer's markets, explored dirt roads and stopped at farm gates with homemade signs.  Thankfully, the more I asked around, the more I discovered not only local producers but local fiber mills, handmade knitting needles, angora goat herds, off-the grid organic farms and alpacas making therapy visits to senior's homes.  While knitting is certainly part of the fiber-industrial complex, Ontario seems to have a small contingent of local fiber producers raising diverse animals and making beautiful yarns and rovings.

Despite my dedication to shopping Main Street over Big Box, this urban fiber freak was woefully ignorant of the treasures in our backyard.  Why was I so unaware?  When it comes to food I am a mindful consumer, carefully purchasing the foods for Peace Flag House based on locality, quality and growing practices.  But when it comes to yarn...

I turn into a Yarn Zombie.  When I want to knit a sweater ethical purchasing slides off me like dead skin and I become a consumption-driven yarn zombie, snarling 'local-schmocal' as I tear into sale racks of pretty colours and soft textures.

Wow. That was embarrassing to admit.

I've gained some perspective this fall.  In fact, I am now a recovering Yarn Zombie.  The more I discovered and met farmers choosing to invest their time and energy in producing small-scale, quality fiber products that value the animals, the land and the art of production, the more I saw the disconnect between my values and my actions.  I felt the growing need to shift my fiber art practices away from the global-industrial model and into processes that value the local, the social and environmental.  I needed to practice some personal Craftivism.

This form of Craftivism, rather than making public yarn bombing statements, focuses on consciously investing in the development of our local communities and economies, in sustainable farming practices and in products meant to last rather than become trash. 

Some members of Peace Flag House (aka Pascal) have agreed to help me take on this Craftivism challenge.  In my recovery as a consumerist Yarn Zombie I will be consciously leaving behind the fiber-industrial complex and stepping into the living world of the small and local.  Peace Flag House will be bridging the gap between rural farmers and all of us urban artisans by sourcing yarns and fibers, visiting farms and finding local producers of all things fiber arts.  And we'll be sharing the adventure!

Over the coming months we'll be doing a 'yarn crawl' around rural Ontario, documenting discoveries and sharing connections with stories and photos from the farms, mills and artisans we visit.  We'll be bringing yarns and fibers back to the city, sharing local fiber treasures with everyone.  Most importantly, we'll be investing in our time, attention and money in local economies and sustainable communities.  The reign of the Yarn Zombie is over.

Perhaps we'll even create our own urban-style, handmade farm-gate sign.



 

How Do We Peace for Peace?

Peace Flag House: exploring how to make peace a verb.

Peace for Peace. Fabulous idea!
But...how do we do it?  If peace is a verb, what does 'peacing' look like?

Fighting and waring in the name of peace are practices we have plenty of direction on and excessive examples of: military training, history of war, embedded media, mainstream entertainment, even the nose-to-nose, screaming road rage I witnessed on my street last night.  There are textbooks on torture and schools of war where we pour our public money.  Currently the western world is debating adding another story to our long list of examples: invading, bombing or 'striking' Syria in the name of peace.

Directions on and examples of how to peace for peace appear to be an endangered species.  While I can name a handful of individuals who made peace a verb (Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Wangari Maathai), no academies, handbooks or movies come to mind on how to actively peace.  Peacing doesn't appear to be a popular topic.

I think making peace a verb lands somewhere between meditate and activate.  At Peace Flag House we're working on discovering the many different ways of peacing and I hope to explore these different avenues in up-coming posts.  Today let's talk about a peaceful practice that is bubbling around Peace Flag House this week: Craftivism and Yarn Bombing.

From the Blog LabKultur

Craftivism?
Craft + Activism = Craftivism.

Clever, eh?

According to Betty Greer, author of Knitting for Good and the blog Craftivism, "Craftivism is a way of looking at life where voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper & your quest for justice more infinite."

Oh, delicious.

I see craftivism as a creative re-framing of our collective spaces that uses the handicrafts our grandmothers have taught us.  It is a collective process, a dialogue about the world we have and the world we want.  It combines the mediation of handicrafts with the action of street art.  It challenges our status quo ideas with new avenues of conceptualization; we are asked by craftivism to envision how our shared space and shared world could change for the positive.  It is peace in action.


Craftivism takes various forms, depending on the message, materials and space.  My personal favourite, because I'm a fiber geek and knitting fiend, is yarn bombing.  Yarn bombing essentially adds cozies to items in public spaces.  Think tea cozy but for things like tanks, buses, street lights, trees or bicycles.

Rainbow Tree Cozy

Bus Cozy

Utility Pole Cozy

The "Holy Roller" in London, Ontario.

The tank cosy meme is a wonderful example of how craftivism in general and yarn bombing in particular challenges how we understand the cultural meaning of an item and our acceptance of that meaning.  The tank is a weapon, tool of war and often a public monument, like the "Holy Roller" in Victoria Park, London, Ontario.  It symbolizes war, death, fear and strength, as well as valour, patriotism and glory.  Unstated and often nearly unconscious, all of these concepts are neatly represented by an armoured machine created to kill.

Now wrap all those nearly unconscious of ideas violence and valour in a giant knitted cozy.

 Kristina Kromer, Barbara Niklas, and 60 volunteers, 2013.

Marianne Jorgensen, 2006

Marianne Jorgensen

Marianne Jorgensen

Marianne Jorgensen

I remember seeing a tank cozy for the first time.  Was the tank more clearly a killing machine because the handmade stitches were so incongruous?  Or did the softened edges and vibrant colours suggest an alternative meaning was possible?  Could the tank be re-imagined as something other than a killing machine?  Marianne Jorgensen, creator of the 2006 pink tank cozy protesting the invasion of Iraq, says that "When [the tank] is covered in pink, it becomes completely unarmed and looses its authority".  Can we undermine authority with knits and purls?  Can we lend authority to the values we wish to see in the world, those of peace and inclusion, with yarn and needles?

Hell yeah.

Rainbow yarn bomb on Jane Street.

This week at Peace Flag House, as we gear up for the Neighbours United for Inclusion Community BBQ, I have called upon the help of neighbours, friends and the crafty community at Wise Daughters Craft Market to do some yarn bombing with me.  We are stitching up rainbow cozies for utility poles and trees along Jane Street.

Wise Daughters Yarn Bomb on Jane Street.

Our rainbow yarn bombs are talking back to the hate crimes and stories of violence targeted at the LGBTQ community with the peaceful stitching of rainbows.  We are asking the neighbourhood to rethink how we perceive and create our community.  Rather than simply accepting the status quo, we are adding authority to the values of inclusion and peace by altering our public space.

We are peacing for peace.

The Joy Jar

Winter is long. Long, long, long.

All the coats and hats and mitts and boots and long underwear and warm socks.
It's all so heavy.

How do I lighten the feeling of slush and ice?
The Joy Jar.

I saw this idea flash by on Facebook before Christmas. At that time of year all the Northen Hemisphere'ers are still in love with the snow and its sparkly magic. No need for a Joy Jar. Three months and lots of snow shovelling later and a few reminders of joy are useful.

The Joy Jar is a collecting place for all the moments, happenings, words, acts of kindness, wonderful experiences, and good news that brings you joy.  A quick note of that joy is jotted down and tossed in the jar.

 Joy Note #1: We are travelling to Greece this summer. Hurrah!

I am quickly finding that the joy starts to compound upon itself as the jar fills up.  All those wee bits of paper connect to moments of joy that were lived and experienced.  I get to taste that joy all over again and be reminded of how wonderfully fortunate Pascal and I are.  Just looking at the Joy Jar has started to bring me joy.

Joy Note #2: We are eating from Mama Earth Organic's Veggie Box every week. Yummy.

The idea I read about suggested collecting your joy for a full year and then opening the jar on New Year's Eve to review all the joy experienced over the last year. This is a beautiful idea that we plan on building into our celebrations at Peace Flag House. 

Joy Note #3: Pascal won the Dean's Teaching Award! Congratulations!