Update from the Farm! Basic Course 3, Farm Wool + Voting update, Book Share + A farm sharing!

Hello everyone,

I have a bit of a lengthy update as we end this first week of November with much to share,

I hope it will be of some interest to you. :)

Thank you for your enthusiasm for my farm wool launch and for your support of my work here on the farm. It means so much to me.

I wanted to share the specs for the wool in anticipation of the launch, for those of you that have inquired. I hope to have it launched tomorrow, but I might wait until my special celebration on Sunday. We shall see! :)

I always feel like waiting, because in my heart, I was born to be a shepherd and my farm wool is the best evidence of that truth!

This is my Yellow Year, small batch of farm wool, which I designed using the

Old Selbu milling approach at the Selbu Spinneri.

My little flock of Grå Trøndersau is a rare, protected, heritage breed of sheep which originated from my region of Norway - Trøndelag. We raise our flock, free range, here on the mountain and along the forest path - year round. It is a 2 ply, hand reared and sheared, virgin wool.

It is warm, soft, elastic. It has a beautiful luster and slight halo.

(You can see some photos of the milled wool on my previous farm post update.)

100% historic, heritage Norwegian Wool

100 gram nøste (or balls of wool) = 315 meters

Gauge 26 = 10 cm on 3.0 mm

Needle size range: 2.0 mm to 2.5 mm

I am offering my own blend of dark gray + the light gray from my mentor group of co-op shepherds.

Both share the same details above, except that the co-op wool comes in 50 gram nøste.

Together they represent the first wool and traditional colours from the original Selbuvotter of 1857. That historic wool was also raised in this very landscape, which I now call home.

As you will see, the gauge this year is quite similar to the traditional Finull from the Rauma mill, which makes it versatile and perfect for pairing with finullgarn, if you so choose.

Basic Kofte Course 3+

Within the upcoming Kofte Course 3+, we will leave the historic, pattern restorations of the Kofteboken and apply traditional Norwegian knitting techniques to modern designs with a new design collaboration.

The basic pattern which I will present within the course is the Agnes Kofte

I will also present a Kofte from the NEW book: Wiola Strikk og Bruk

I am currently negotiating a discounted price for this basic pattern + book from the publisher.

As you can see this book is out on book shelves now, in Norway it is approximately 50 US dollars.

It is only available in Norwegian, but I will guide you to use this book to knit many of the beautiful items within it. I have three specific pieces in mind, which is why this course is a

+ course.

More on the final discounted price soon!

This past Wednesday, I presented a book share within our course quick, check in, but I will present it again sometime soon.

This course will welcome new traditional knitters and offer a "repeat" of traditional skill basics for those of you that want to continue to improve and refine your skills. It will also offer advanced knitters an opportunity to have guidance as you work toward independence.

Did I mention....there are few pieces we will weave traditional bands for?

Yes! I am already digging and matching! :)

This special course will run along side my Advanced Winter Kofter Course.

A perfect selection of pieces to have on the go, and get into flow with, along side a more technical piece from the advanced course.

Speaking of which, voting continues!

We have four clear choices so far running neck and neck, I look forward to sharing the results soon!

If you are interested and eligible to participate in the course, please do make sure you contribute your vote!

Spring Course

We will continue the theme of moving away from the historic, restorations within the spring, using a "choose your own path format" with the two Helle Siggerud Books as our course guide.

If you are interested in getting on the list for those books, email me directly.

We have a minimum number we must reach, to receive the discount and re-order.

I will update the summer genser course sometime later! But that course is a "go"....

The knitting + the weaving part! :) Going back to our historic roots! :)

A sharing from the farm!

Thank you for your interest in my other passions, which are living on a sustainable, zero waste, plant based farm.

Today I would like to share with you the "HOW" of creating your own apple cider vinegar, after many asked for my recipe.

I do think that many over complicate this process, but it is so easy and the health benefits are simply too many to list here.

I encourage you to do a personal inquiry and get a batch started right away before apple season is over. Farm apples are the most nutrient dense!

To begin with, you need a large, clean jar. I use a 2 liter jar.

Heat up your tea kettle and pour the water into the jar to sterilize it.

While it is cooling, chop up 6 apples, or however many apples you need to fill up to the shoulder of the jar. For me it takes 6 apples, depending on the size. I usually have 8 ready to go, to be sure.

You want to leave on the apple peel, but core the apple, discard the seeds and chop the apple up into small wedges.

Pop those apples into the sterilized jar.

Place 1/4 cup of cane sugar over the apples.

If you have a smaller jar, you can adjust this slightly, but not a huge worry.

This sugar is only there to feed the fermentation process and is not present in the finished vinegar.

Fill the jar up to the shoulder with filtered water. Do not fill it all the way up.

If you do, the fermentation process will overflow.

Most of the apples will be submerged, but some will be sticking up out of the water, as apples float.

If you have a fermentation press, you can pop that in.

I do not have this tool....so no worries.

This is the reason that we stir the apples each day, rotating them within the jar.

Doing so, prevents any problems.

Place a coffer filter over the top of the jar or a piece of thin muslin.

Then secure the filter with a rubber band.

We are activating wild yeast within this process and the filter or muslin catches this yeast within the air, into the jar.

Place the jar onto your kitchen cabinet, out of direct sunlight and not too warm.

Each day you will stir the jar....I try to do it at the same time each day.

Use the stick of a wooden spoon...never use metal!

Using the spoon part of the wooden spoon is messy...you can also use a wooden chop stick.

You want to just move the apples around in the jar....pressing down, over and over sending the apples on top to the bottom.

Do this once each day.

You will notice bubbles forming and the "mother" forming....just keep stirring each day.

It will take 3 to 4 weeks.

Toward the end of a month (3 to 4 week period), you will notice the bubbles at the top have stopped and the apples begin to drop to the bottom of the jar.

This is a sign that the fermentation process is coming to an end.

Now it starts to smell like alcohol or vinegar.

But do not worry, you will not smell this outside of the jar in your kitchen.

Just have a little sniff in the jar, late in the month.

After 4 weeks, use a wire strainer, to strain the liquid off of the apples into another sterilized jar, this time with a tight lid. You will let this strained liquid sit in a dark place for a couple more weeks and then your apple cider vinegar is ready to use.

Do not worry about any sediment on the bottom of the jar....that is the "mother"....the most healthy part of your apple cider vinegar.

Now, this mother is not going to look like the kombucha mother...this mother looks more like sediment. But it is just as important.

I always keep two jars going at a time....when I make a new jar, I add about 1/4 of a cup of the most recent batch into the new batch...this adds a bit of the healthy "mother" into the new batch and keeps the fermentation process going along.

If you get yours going and have any wonders about it just email me!

My best tip....just relax making it. All you need to do is stir it once a day and leave it to do its thing.

The colour of the vinegar will vary from batch to batch. This is all based on the type of apples that you use. I love seeing the different colours reveal themselves.

You'll want to have homemade apple cider vinegar on hand for baking + medicinal and health purposes + to make natural cleaners for your home.

Enjoy with interest!

x

God helg alle sammen! Vi ses!

Warmest regards from the farm,

Patricia x