When I drove up the long driveway of Barb's beautiful property, the first thing I noticed was the 15 women sitting on her porch with spinning wheels or drop spindles in front of them, and baskets full of fibre at their feet. It was Barb’s turn to host the Third Saturday spinners group, a meet up of Manitoba folks who spin together once a month. This picturesque introduction to her farm highlights Barb’s roots as a fibre farmer and her connection to the growing local community of spinners.
Prairie’s Edge Wool Farm is on 40 acres near Kleefeld in southern Manitoba. Barb, a retired entomologist, moved to the country in 2003. She had recently learned to spin and was inspired to raise her own sheep for fibre. There weren’t many people raising fibre animals in Manitoba then, so her first challenge was to determine which breeds were available and suited to this location. She chose Shetland sheep because of the beautiful variety in their fibre, and because she could find stock fairly close by. Her first ewes came from a breeder in Neepawa. A ram was found in a Saskatchewan flock.
That original flock of 5 has now grown to 28 animals with fleeces in a wide range of natural colours. A few years ago Barb added Angora goats, which produce luxurious mohair fibre. The goats are shorn twice a year and the sheep are shorn each spring.
Barb processes the fleece by hand, producing wonderful batts that highlight the colours and beauty of her animals. Her guiding principle is to create high quality products that people will enjoy using. "I just love working with fleece" she said, with her hands sunk into a sample of unprocessed raw wool. This dedication has earned an enthusiastic following among handspinners and felters who seek out Prairie’s Edge fibre batts as well as raw fibre, washed fleece and angora locks, and rovings of various fibre blends (wool, mohair, alpaca). Barb sells her items at fibre festivals and through private sales, enjoying the steady increase in the market for locally produced fibre.
The biggest challenge now, Barb says, “is maintaining a healthy, high quality fibre flock that is economically sustainable in light of feed costs, parasites, diseases, predators, burrs ... and my seeming inability to cull.”
To purchase fibre from Prairie’s Edge Wool farm, or to follow on social media contact Barb:
email: b.mulock@live.ca
Instagram: @prairesedgewoolfarm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Prairies-Edge-Wool-Farm
