Stonehedge Farm and Fiber Mill
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Debbie McDermott, Owner and Operator |
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| Carding Services | Spinning Services | Yarn Shop | Kits and Patterns |
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| Needle Felting | Classes | Shipping Instructions | Fiber Evaluation |
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It's our 9th anniversary this year of opening the mill! See below for the special we're running through February 29th to celebrate. Stonehedge is a 150 year old working farm that has recently added another dimension to the farm operation. In addition to our fiber shop is our custom fiber processing mill, which opened February 1st, 1999. I have been working with fiber and fiber animals for over 18 years. I am a shepherd, spinner, and fiber artist. In addition to processing, I am offering roving or batts processed from my own spinners flock of eight breeds of sheep, angora goats, as well as yarn and finished items from our animals and quality fiber we buy. We also now offer custom spinning to our customers. If you might be interested in opening your own cottage fiber mill, we have created a line of equipment that we use here at Stonehedge, and which is being installed in other mills across the country. Please visit the equipment website, www.fibermillingequipment.com for information about the equipment and help in planning your business venture. | |
A website with some of the History of Stonehedge is http://www.online-isp.com/~maggie/antrim/pesek.htm. |
Waiting for a Christmas Feast, 2004 |
Stonehedge Fiber Mill ServicesNews and UpdatesIf you'd like to see pictures of what to not send for processing, check out our Fiber Evaluation page. We're adding some great photos that explain what won't process well--keep checking back to see more! I'm pleased to announce that my daughter, Jodi Riddle, model on our felting page, joined the management team of Stonehedge Fiber Mill in the spring of 2007, having worked here from the beginning doing every possible job. If you call with questions, please be assured Jodi can answer them as well as I can. If you manage to stump her, she can pass your call to me. You wouldn't believe how much time Jodi saves me to do jobs only I can do! Don't forget to check out our new yarn, Shepherd's Wool, on our Yarn Store page. We've also added felted wool pieces you can cut, sew, and embellish! Coming soon will be a page of kits and patterns featuring Shepherd's Wool in knitting and felting. Effective Immediately:We have had to apply a skirting fee of $15 per hour after the first 30 minutes of skirting a fleece, at our discretion. Please remember, skirting gets out what you don't want in your finished roving and yarn! See our Fiber Evaluation page for more information--and soon, pictures of fleece too contaminated with vegetable matter (VM) to be processed. If your fiber is too full with VM, or moths, sand, and other contaminants, to process, we will simply throw it away. Save yourself money, time, and frustration by thoroughly skirting your fleece before you send it to us. Check our spinning services page for information on the following changes on those services: Minimum weight per spinning order, fiber length, double coated fiber, and policies regarding fiber that can't be spun. Please remember that I get hundreds of emails a day, and just don't have the time to answer them all. If you send an email and don't hear back, just call 231 536 2779. It's easier for us to take phone calls than to find the right email among hundreds. New for your convenience! An order form for carding and spinning services. Custom Dyeing is no longer available, until further notice.
Stonehedge Fiber Mill ServicesCarding PricesPrices are subject to change without notice. Please call (231) 536-2779 to be sure of current rates, or email deb@stonehedgefibermill.com. Please make sure the subject line says something like "fiber processing question" so it won't look like spam and be deleted by accident. Note: An old-fashioned phone call is still the easiest and surest way to reach me, particularly if you're in a hurry. I receive so many emails that it's impossible to answer them all in as timely a manner as I would like. Processing charges are on incoming weight of fiber. No minimum, although under one pound of fiber in a batch will be charged as one pound. We can process a wide range of fiber lengths, both in carding and spinning, on our machinery. Call 231 536 2779 and talk to me if you have any questions about the suitability of your fiber for processing.
Rewashing woolSometimes wool comes in already washed. I must check the wool to make sure it is completely grease-free. If it isn't free of grease, I must rewash the entire fleece. Otherwise the lanolin coats the teeth of the carding cloth and inhibits the fiber from being carded properly Our carding prices are based on "incoming weight". If you send us 10 pounds of raw wool you're charged on that amount, but after washing there's probably only around 1/2 to 2/3 that weight to pick and card. If you send us 10 pounds of washed wool and we have to rewash it, the cost and time is the same for washing, but now we are picking and carding nearly the whole 10 pounds. If we didn't charge extra for re-washing, we would be picking and carding as much as twice the amount of fiber for no extra charge. I hope this explanation clarifies the additional charge for re-washing. Hair conditioner or fabric softenersWhen sending washed fiber, do not rinse in hair conditioner or fabric softener. They only coat the fiber and leave perfumes that I am allergic to. I will "condition" the fiber before processing with the best conditioner of all, good old water, mixed 10 to 1 with a water soluable anti-static oil. Clean fiber without oily residues processes the best. If you feel the need to cut the soap, use a little vinegar in the final rinse. I raise animals also, and expect some vegetable matter (VM) in the fiber, but fiber with "a lot" of VM will be an additional $1.00 per pound to help cover the cost of reclothing the carding machine prematurely. Fiber with excessive amounts of VM will be refused. How to send fiber to be processed
Send to:Stonehedge Fiber Mill
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| Phone - 231-536-2779 | Email - deb@stonehedgefibermill.com |
An order form for carding and spinning services.
Please print and fill out one form for every batch of fiber you send to be processed together.
| Carding Services | Spinning Services | Yarn Shop | Kits and Patterns |
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| Needle Felting | Classes | Shipping Instructions | Fiber Evaluation |
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Directions to Stonehedge:
We're in northern lower Michigan. Take exit 282 from I75 and
go 25 miles west on M32 to Pesek Road (the Antrim/Charlevoix County line) or take M32 from East Jordan, and go 5 miles southeast to Pesek Road. Look for State Adopt-a-Highway signs
that say Stonehedge Petting Farm, from either direction.
Use these directions or call for directions. Do not use Map Quest directions unless you want to do the scenic two-track route.
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Craft ebooks, magazines and links to crafters of excellence from Rob Hopcott Blue Moon Ranch Alpacas |
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Easy Knitting Patterns: A great new way to knit with our -Knit to Fit- Patterns Learn to Knit: Illustrations teach basic stitches for right and left hand knitting. Knitting abbreviations and terms: Knitting site with instructions, tips and history Spinning and Knitting: Learn about knitting and spinning your own yarn Free Knitting Pattern: Free knitting patterns and stitches. |
| Carding Services | Spinning Services | Yarn Shop | Kits and Patterns |
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| Needle Felting | Classes | Shipping Instructions | Fiber Evaluation |
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If you have any questions, please e-mail:
deb@stonehedgefibermill.com
Please make sure the subject line says something like "fiber processing question"
so it won't look like spam and be deleted by accident.
Last updated December 2007