Springtime is a busy time on the farm. Planting the garden, preparing to bale hay, hatching chicks in the incubator, robbing bees for honey, taking special care of the lambs as they grow and trying to take time to enjoy the blooms that the springtime brings all are part of the season. We still have our Knit/Spin/Crochet In Craft day on the third Saturday of each month. May 20th is the Fiber day this month, from 10 til 3 at the Red Barn Studio on our farm. We are excited to see what everyone is creating with their fiber. See you then!

Hoping you had a happy Passover and Easter ( a little late on that, sorry). April has many happy events taking place.

Lambing finished last month. The sheep are sheared, cleaned, have had their pedicures and their vaccines for the year. We have weaned most of the moms and lambs from the early deliveries. As always it is a busy time in the Spring of the year.

The farmer has been working in the garden planting for this year, repairing fences and buildings.

We are recovered from Carolina FiberFest, which was great. The planning for next years’ event is underway.

Our website will be updated this week so if you have not seen our new rovings or yarns check it out.

Join the fiberlicious fun at our Spin/Knit/Crochet/Craft time on Saturday April 15th from 10 til 3 at the Red Barn Studio. Show off your creations and share fiber love with others at our monthly event.

Carolina FiberFest was a fabulous event. Thanks to everyone who came to shop, volunteers, vendors, guilds, speakers. You all made CFF wonderful!

Our Knit/Spin/Crochet In craft day at the Red Barn Studio on our farm is this Saturday the 18th from 10 til 3. Come relax and enjoy with other fiber lovers. See you then.

The wild weather has been an interesting start to March. We noticed that the apple trees did not believe it was quite time to bud but the peach and apricot trees went for it and were in full bloom. The bees also have not swarmed yet. The lambs are growing. It is almost time for weaning. Spring is such an exciting time. Wishing your Spring is wonderful as well.

Lambing is finished. Is is a good year for our sheep. We will have some of our beautiful sheep for sale if you are looking for a spinning flock or even a breeding flock. Make an appointment with us to visit and see for yourself.

Carolina FiberFest is the premier fiber event in Eastern North Carolina in its’ 17th year. CFF will be held at the Expo building on the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, N.C. on March 10 and 11. It is free and open to the public from 9 am until 6 pm each day. There is so much happening: Workshops, Spinning competition, Fleece to fabric competition, Skein and garment competition, Fleece show and sale, Used equipment sale, Fiber demonstrations, Speakers, A free recycling class on making rugs from scratch, Vendors with every type of fiber and accessories and don’t forget to purchase your CFF t shirts, hats, aprons and hoodies. See you there! The website is www.carolinafiberfest.org for complete information.

While winter may seem like a time of rest, the farm stays busy year round. Lambing has begun. Moms and lambs are getting acquainted. The fields are resting during lambing so the grass will be fresh for spring and summer. The farmer is busy planning his garden for this year. We use the sheep mulch on the garden for fertilizer so that will need spread on it soon.

Our Spring begins with Carolina FiberFest March 10 and 11 at the NC State fairgrounds in the Expo Building. The website has all the info for workshops, vendors, competitions, demos, speakers, fleece sale and used equipment sale. www.carolinafiberfest.org. Check it out and plan your fiber adventure. Join the fun and relax with other fiber lovers. See you there!

Welcome to the new year. It is almost time for lambing to begin. Our ladies are getting ready for this special time of the year. The lambing area of the barn is getting special attention right now so that the sheep and their lambs will have a comfortable, safe, space. Their first few days we keep watch to make sure mom is recovered from delivery and the lambs are accepted and are nursing well before putting them outside. It is an exciting time.

All this and Carolina FiberFest ,too! Our premier North Carolina event is March 10 and 11 at the NC State Fairgrounds in the Expo Building. Classes are open for sign up now. Check out the website for more details. There is so much happening this year. We are so excited. Join our Fiber Adventure! Free admission. www.carolinafiberfest.org.

How about our Heelside Farms website! Shopping made easy with beautiful wool products from our gorgeous sheep. Give your creations that special touch with Heelside Farms yarn and roving. Add warmth to your life with our wool socks. Carry it all in our new Heelside Farms Tote bags. Purchase one or get one free with a $100.00 order.

We wish everyone a wonderful, peaceful, enjoyable New Year!

Our December Knit/Spin/Crochet In will be held in the Red Barn Studio on our farm, Saturday the 17th from 10 til 3. Join the Fiber fun and share your creative works. For this month’s event we will be having a fibery grab bag exchange. If you wish to participate bring a grab bag. If you do not wish to participate that is okay too. We hope this will give us all a relaxing break during the holidays. See you there.

Wishing everyone a joyous holiday season. Whatever you are celebrating may it be wonderful!

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, a birth celebrated for 2000 years. Sending you hope, peace and love for the new year. We are remembering to be grateful for all that has been sent to us. (Sometimes what is sent is in the form of work, but that is okay ,too.)

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Joy to the World! Happy Hanukkah!

Thanksgiving and Christmas are special times of the year for family and friends. We are sending all of you our best wishes for the season. Whatever your cultural background we wish you wonderful times. Peace and joy sometimes seem far away. May both find you this year.

Looking for that something special for yourself or a gift? Wool products from our beautiful sheep, socks and fiber tools are available on our website. We are having an online sale beginning this Friday the 25th, through the end of November the 30th. We are offering a 10% discount storewide. When you order put in the coupon code heelsideblackfriday to receive your discount.

If there are any issues please email heelsidefarms@hotmail.com to let us know. Please put “yarn” in the subject line.

The farm store will not be open November 26th.

We welcome you to call or email to set up a separate time to shop.

Wool is the go to choice for warmth. It is a renewable resource. Release your creativity with wool yarn, roving or felting ideas. Our sheep are growing beautiful wool which is sheared regularly to keep them comfortable and to provide a wonderful source for our farm products. Check out our products on this website for all your fiber needs. Email us at heelsidefarms@hotmail.com with questions.

We enjoyed seeing everyone at SAFF this year. Many online shoppers came to the booth and introduced themselves. Great to put a face with those online orders.

Our Spin/Knit/Crochet In at the Red Barn Studio on our farm will be held, as usual, on the third Saturday, November 19th this month, from 10 til 3. Join the fiber fun. Bring your projects to share or shop for a new one at the studio. See you there!

So much of our fiber creating is solitary. It is good to join in the fun with a fiber group and also to knit, spin and crochet in public. Working on fiber projects in public shows the world that creativity is alive and well.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! It is good to take time to count our blessings. Many people fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy today. Give thanks for them as well.

We just baled the last cutting of hay for the season. It is under cover. The equipment is being cleaned and repaired for storage until next summer.

Our young hens were added to the chicken pen where everyone is getting acquainted. We raised our own chickens this year. The farmer hatched our eggs in the incubator. The hens’ nests are all clean and refreshed with new hay.

The beekeeper has worked with our hives to prepare them for winter. The honey he processes from our bees always sells out early. We love the beekeeping and encourage others to take up the hobby.

The sheep were sheared in July so we are ready for the Fall and Winter. Some of the sheep need to be sheared twice a year and some once a year depending on the breed. Our beautiful sheep provide wool for the yarn, roving, socks, hats( newly added to the shop), felting fiber and wool top that our customers love so much. Our wool products are locally grown, dyed on the farm, processed in America (much of it in North Carolina) and ready for our customers to enjoy. We are continually adding new colors to our wide variety of products. We invite you to shop on our website and we will ship directly to your home or visit our Red Barn Studio to shop in person. Call for an appointment to set up a special time for you.

We have a Spin/Knit/Crochet In at the Red Barn Studio on the third Saturday of each month from 10 til 3 for a fiber sharing time. Come and relax with other fiber lovers. Shop our beautiful products and fiber tools. October 15th, November 19th and December 17th are the next scheduled events. Thank you for supporting our local business. It is a joy to share our love of fiber and farming with so many people.

September 17th from 10-3 in the Red Barn Studio we welcome guests for our monthly Knit/Spin/Crochet In. Bring your projects to share with others. Relax and enjoy fiber time with like minded fiberistas. Shop our beautiful home grown yarns, rovings, socks, and fiber tools. Our sheep ….Your wool! Loving the sheep.

Our Red Barn Studio is the venue for a Fiber event on the third Saturday of each month. Fiber enthusiasts are invited to join the fun, share ideas, show off their work, and relax from the work a day world. From 10 til 3 on July 16th ( this Saturday) we will host a Spin/Knit/Crochet In and be open for shopping as well! See you then!

Helping our animals stay comfortable in this weather has been a challenge. Electrolytes in the water help their systems, fans keep the air moving in their pens, plenty of shade is a must and making sure there is plenty of fresh water for everyone is a priority in our farm life right now. Our lambs are growing and their wool is so lovely. We have our Spin/Knit/Crochet In events on the third Saturday of each month. Joining the fiber fun will help you relax and de-stress. We look forward to seeing you at the Red Barn Studio soon. If you would like to shop without other visitors call or email for a time of your own. See you soon.

We will be updating our website shopping with new rovings and yarns very soon. Beautiful colors and soft, squishy yarn will be there for you to order. You can come visit the Red Barn Studio to shop as well. You can call, text or email to set up a shopping time just for you. On the third Saturday of each month we have a Spin/Knit/Crochet In from 10 til 3. In June the Spin In is on the 18th.

Our wool comes from our lovely sheep who are growing the wool for us. We have been raising sheep for about 20 years. We began with a few and now have a large herd. We have several breeds of sheep. Finnsheep make up the majority of our flock with Cormo and Icelandic rounding it out. The journey has been interesting and adventurous taking us down many trails. We have some cattle as well as chickens, guineas and honey bees. There is something happening all of the year. Farms are busy places.

Our lambing is in progress with about half of our ladies having lambed. We are looking for the rest of the lambs to arrive soon.

The Knit/Spin/Crochet In was wonderful this past Saturday. Enjoyed the fiber Fun. Our next one will be on April 16th which is Easter weekend. We will not change the date as that confuses people. We hope you can join us. It will be from 10-3 in the Red Barn Studio on our farm.

Enjoy the Spring weather and don’t forget to stop and enjoy all the blooms out there. It is so lovely right now.