Spring's New Arrivals

On April 21st between 10am - 4pm, Wellington Fibres Mill had their annual open house and we were lucky enough to attend!  Wellington Fibres is a small business owned by Donna Hancock and she has on her farm about 30 breeding Angora goats, which produce mohair. Amazingly the goats produce enough fibre to be shorn twice a year and the mohair is processed right there in their own mill.  Not only did we get to see the new kids but we also enjoyed a tour of the mill.


First, of course, we saw the goats!



On this gorgeous Spring day, the barn was airy and bright with the light scent of straw, and animals of course.  The ladies with their 3 week old offspring were in 1 large pen, the yearlings in another, the 3 males were all separately penned and the moms with very new kids were also separate.  

Here are the moms with their 3 week old kids and above is a proud papa.




And then there were the babies!  To say everyone was enamoured with these little darlings would be an understatement!  

The wee little ones were adorable to watch.  Kids don't walk, they bounce, like grasshoppers!

Take a look at these two videos!  

And here are some pictures of them standing still... it happened occasionally!

When we had our fill of Springtime newborn joy, we headed for the mill and shop.  There, Donna gave us a tour of the operations, which were complex and required a lot of calculations, know-how and experience!  

After washing and turning the raw fibre into rovings, this machine (once set-up for the desired weight, twist, and other features beyond my understanding!) turned the rovings into thread...  

...and here the threads are combined into what you buy as yarn.

From beginning to end, the art of creating a workable product from the raw fibre was fascinating.  

While the goat barn and mill were only open for this special annual occasion, if you're a fibre enthusiast and indulge in knitting, weaving, needle-felting or other fibre arts, the shop is open year-round and you'll be treated to some of the nicest fibres on the market, locally produced!   Check their website for hours and go indulge your senses!