Coming soon - Tuesday evenings, 7 - 9 p.m., September 11 - October 16, 2007, at Esoterica in historic downtown Leesburg, VA.

Finally, we have a convenient location for a group class!

Learn the basics of handspinning wool yarns using hand spindles and spinning wheels. The 6 week series will provide a hands-on introduction to handspinning techniques, fiber characteristics, and the basics of fiber preparation. Students will make a basic hand spindle (yours to keep) and use instructor-provided spinning wheels in class. Spindle materials, fiber for class practice and “homework” are included. Additional fiber and gorgeous hand-turned drop spindles by Bill Hardy will be available for purchase at Esoterica.

Full course registration is $80, or $15 per class for drop-in students.

Register through Esoterica via web or phone.

Class Syllabus:

Tuesday, September 11, 2007 – Intro to Handspinning: Basics of yarn and how spinning works, basic spinning terminology, make personal hand spindle, and “give it a whorl.”

Tuesday, September 18, 2007 –Woolen vs. worsted yarns: fiber preparation methods and drafting techniques. Drafting and controlling twist. More hands-on spinning.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007 – Types of hand spindles, selecting hand spindles for specific yarns. Hands-on spinning.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007 – Wheel basics. Wheel types, anatomy of a spinning wheel, hands-on introduction to spinning on a wheel. More hands-on spinning with hand spindle.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007 – To ply or not to ply, “S” and “Z” twist. Plying. Hands-on spinning with wheel and hand spindles.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007 – Fiber selection and preparation. Intro to exotic fibers. More wheel spinning and hand spindle spinning.

"Retail" style packages of our lamb are finally available for our Washington, D.C. metro area (and some far 'burbs) customers!

As of June 9, 2007, we have 3 styles of our lamb sausage available: Sweet Italian, Hot Italian, and Classic Sage (the flavor you remember from the traditional American breakfast sausage). All are made with no MSG and no preservatives - just our natural Eco-ganic lamb and herbs and spices.

What is Eco-ganic? A neighboring farmer friend coined this term to describe their farm products, and has graciously allowed us to "lift" it: Eco-ganic is organic in all but government paperwork, certifications, and fees. We walk the organic walk, and prefer to invite you come out to see for yourself how we operate our farm and build a relationship with us (if you wish), rather than spending our time and your money for the government to issue a certification. So, we are able to offer our premium product to you without a mark-up for the certification costs.

Now you can finally purchase small quatities of lamb from us, instead of the whole lamb. You've been asking, and we've been working on this for a long time. We found a great processor who can prepare lamb cuts for retail sale! Our lambs are still pastured on pesticide-free and chemical fertilizer-free grass pastures augmented with feed supplements of hormone and antibiotic-free grain and grass feeds to balance their nutrition. Most of our hay for winter feeding is locally produced right next door, and we do our best to ensure chemical-free hay for winter feed. We take great pride in producing "clean" Eco-ganic meat for your well being, as well as for Planet Earth's future.

Our standard cuts include: rib chops, rib rack roasts, loin chops, whole legs, shoulder chops, arm chops, neck slices, riblets, ground lamb, and several varieties of lamb sausage - Sweet Italian, Hot Italian, and Breakfast links in mild, medium, or hot. If you want something specially butchered, you may either purchase a freezer lamb, or request a special cut that we will include in our next available processing reservation.

Just contact us for current availability of specific cuts and current market prices.