Foxtail and Flax

The last hours of 2025 are ticking down and I like taking some time at the end of each year or the beginning of the next to reflect on the year that past and think about what the year ahead could hold. Its a nice time to set goals and think about things that Id like to change. And even though change can happen any day of the year, I do love the symbolism of the New Year.

I thought I would take a moment to reflect on my fiber adventures in 2025 and set some goals for 2026. I hope this inspires you to do the same.

This year was the first year that I hosted a flax harvest on my farm. It was an overwhelming success and I had so much fun doing it! I also really appreciated having a purpose for my flax growing project. While it is something I enjoy doing I realized that perhaps the project is not worth my valuable time if it does not have a specific purpose.

I was able to wash and rewash several fleeces in late Summer that that been sitting in my stash for too long.

I spent some time getting to know a breed of sheep that I hadn’t been familiar with before. The Babydoll Southdown fleeces that I washed in late Winter and finished up in Summer were interesting to work with and I’d like to find some fleeces from the Down Family that aren’t so old and full of VM to work with and see what I can do with.

I decided not to go to any of the fiber festivals around me this year. I knew if I went I would come home with more fleeces and I didn’t have enough room to store them. So I skipped a year to focus on what I had. And my bank account did not mind!

I didn’t do much spinning at all this past year. I haven’t pulled my wheel out once since my season ended. That is something I would like to change in 2026.

I also haven’t done any weaving this past year and I have some cool ideas that I want to get on the loom. I’d like to try to weave more in 2026. After all is is the thing that started me off on this fiber adventure.

What else do I have planned for 2026?

I have some exciting plans for growing flax. My small plot will hopefully be used as part of a grant put forth by Midwest Linen Revival to test harvest equipment. More on this later if they receive the grant money and can proceed. I will also be growing seed for the same organization to help them build their seed stock faster. I have access to more land and am excited to help out their seed breeding trials this summer.

As for flax harvest I will likely have another flax harvest event but this time in a much more casual sense. I found that it was much faster and more fun with many hands to make the work lighter. I’ve also discussed plans with the fibershed I help lead to host a flax processing event later in the year, something many attendees from the Flax Harvest event told us they would like to take part in.

As for protein fibers, I’d like to get a handful of fleeces to wash over the summer. I would like to try to wash a fleece per month June-September (or until I run out of fleeces). Summer is such a nice time to wash because the fleece dries so quickly outside in the Summer sunshine. That being said, Summer is also my busy season so this particular goal might be a big stretch. But I would rather set the goal and fall short then not set a goal at all.

Now with all these raw fleeces being turned into ready to spin wool, I really need to consider spinning. I’d like to spend January and February spinning the wool I’ve got washed from previous years so I can get my stash turned over. I have two projects in mind for two separate fleeces: one is the Hope Blanket which I’ve talked about a couple times. Its a 3-ply woolen spun yarn. The next is an upcoming project that I am really looking forward to. I’ll be making it out of a beautiful Corriedale lamb fleece that is absolutely stunning and very squooshy! More to come on this later…

I don’t really do much spinning in Summer because it’s my busy season and it’s hot, so I don’t really want to work with wool. However, I have always wanted to participate in the Tour de Fleece so this year I’m going to try my best to spin after work during the Tour in July. It’ll be a casual competition between me, myself and I rather than formally joining a team. Cross your fingers for me…

I would like to make it to at least one of the fiber festivals in my area this year: Shepard’s Harvest and Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. They are very fun, very informative and I just love to be able to nerd out with my friends.

Overall, I think my goal is to keep pushing the skills I have forward; getting better at the things I do, learning more, improving what I’ve got rather than adding more to it. And of course this is all supposed to be fun! And that’s really why we’re here isn’t it?

Happy New Year’s!!