Food, Fiber, and Fun

The first Saturday in August is a big to-do in the woodlands east of Hayward, WI. It’s time for the Moose Lake Fest at Louie’s Landing, the Art in the Garden event at the Winter Greenhouse, and Farmstead’s annual Artist Showcase. Now in its third season, the showcase has a unique and agrarian-centric theme—Fiber Fest!
If you’ve spent time at Farmstead, you know how much we love our sheep. Lambing season becomes a spectator event while clients watch the “lamb-cam” on the wide-screen TV in rapture. “Oh look, Ann’s out there helping! There’s going to be twins!” comes the eager exclamation with pointed finger. No need for a sports channel when you have a live farm experience to watch.
Up in the Fiber Loft, knitters and crocheters alike revel in our palate of wool yarns, spun annually from the spring’s shearing. There’s sock weight and worsted weight and fingering and bulky. Balls of fluffy roving beckon to spinners and felters alike. Colors abound, as well as the natural hues of off-white, grays, and tans.
But if you are fond of sheep (or alpacas too) in any shape or form, mark your calendar for this Saturday. Not only will there be all that wonderful wool and fiber but a few real sheep from our flock to meet as well—a rare treat at Farmstead. Be sure to say hello to Sweet Pea and Kiss!
Even if you can’t have a real sheep at home, Kara’s adorable needle felted sheep will be part of my tent-sheltered display outside, along with woven, crocheted, and other felted art and gift items. I will be joined by eight additional artists on that day, including stitchers, wood-turners, weavers, spinners, glass artists, florists, quilters, and more. The event opens at 10 am and runs through 6 pm, so you have nearly all day to catch the experience.
While we often think of farms as places where foods are grown, they are also the places were fibers are grown or raised. In these northern climates, wool is still one of the best natural fibers for keeping warm or accenting the home. And just as we ask the question, “Where does this food come from?” we should also ask “Where does my fiber come from?” How much more environmentally conscious (and fun!) to source local and meet the actual artisan behind the object.And, at Fiber Fest, you can learn how some of these objects are made. With a strong focus on demonstrations, you can watch the whir of a Baby Wolf loom, try your hand a resist dying, and even play with needle felting. I’ll be the one felting—sharing basic techniques you can continue to explore on your own or with a charming songbird needle felting kit I made using wool from our own sheep.
In anticipation of the festive, fun-filled day, Kara will be stoking up the wood-fired pizza oven for an early opening (expected start time for pizzas is noon for Aug 4th). Kara’s recently completed cheesemaker’s license allowed her to create our own cheeses for many of the pizzas this year. And yes, the cheese is made with sheep’s milk! Mild and meltable, sheep’s milk cheese can often be enjoyed by folks who otherwise have trouble digesting cow’s milk products. It’s delicious too. Ask the 100-plus folks who attended last Saturday’s sold-out pizza farm event!
So, at Fiber Fest, you can meet some of our sheep, overdose on wool and fiber (wait, is that possible?), soak in works by local artists, learn more about the fiber and textile process, and enjoy the smoky pizzas under a summer sky. But wait, we picked out one more special accent to bring to the event!
Starting at 6 pm, the evening’s live music has a “Songwriter’s in the Round” theme. Featuring four singer-songwriters from the Northland (I’ll be the last in the lineup), you can savor the evening as well on the farm. Tap your toes, taste the gelato, and drink a toast to the sheep of Farmstead, all while savoring the arts and music scene of the Northwoods. It’s all part of our vision for empowering true sustainability—where food, community, and creativity are all vibrantly interconnected.
Sounds like a full day of food, fiber, and fun. That means I better get busy, so I can be ready! See you down on the farm sometime.