A Day on the Farm in Carnation
Keeley Richardson
Founder and Chief Fiber officer
Some days it just feels like you are living your best fiber life! That was how it felt last Saturday when I headed out to Carnation Farms to host a knitting workshop with a group of the loveliest fellow fiber adventurers. We spent a busy four hours exploring color work techniques, beginning work on a beanie that I designed for the occasion, and learning more about the farm’s flock of sheep from the amazingly generous and knowledgeable Head of Livestock, Alex Hagiepetros. Here’s how we spent our day on the farm.
This day was a long time in the making. I first met Alex back in May of 2024 when I launched The Woolpack. We share a common bond – a love of all things fiber, and we immediately became friends. With the help of Olivia, the wonderful Carnation Farms Community Outreach Manager, we began to work on a plan to share a part of the farm with other fiber lovers and Woolpack readers. Our goal was to give workshop attendees the opportunity to connect with the land of the Snoqualmie Valley, and to create something beautiful to take home whilst developing their skills. Thus, the idea of the knitting workshop began to shape.
Our day began with an introduction to Carnation Farms, its sheep and Fat Sheep Fiber from Alex, and then we got down to the business of knitting with this lovely yarn. I designed the Misty Valley Hat with Carnation Farms in mind. I have visited the farm in all seasons, firstly as a visitor to the farmstand where I first came across their yarn, and then to meet Alex and her flock on several occasions. There is a calming serenity in the valley, and I wanted to reflect this in the design of the hat – a relaxing project for knitters of all levels of experience. The kits that we created for the event would make two hats, reversing the main and contrast colors for each. Everyone who joined us fell in love with this beautiful worsted weight yarn that has a truly local pedigree – it’s grown on the farm and milled at Skagit Woolen Works in Mount Vernon.
After a dive into the world of color work knitting theory, tips and tricks, we took a break for lunch. We drove down to the farmstand on the farm shuttle bus and treated ourselves to fried chicken sandwiches from the farm “pop-up” kitchen – naughty, but totally delicious and highly recommended! The farmstand often has pop-up culinary treats at the weekend, so it is definitely worth keeping an eye on the farm’s social media to see what is on the menu.
As fiber enthusiasts we rarely get to directly meet, greet and appreciate the animals that our yarn came from, but this was our after lunch treat on Saturday. It was back onto the shuttle bus once more, and Olivia drove us to the upper pasture where the flock were grazing. Alex’s flock are some of the most chilled out sheep that I have ever seen. She knows all of the farm born sheep by name, and they are raised in an idyllic setting with the utmost care. Getting up close to these gorgeous creatures was a real joy. Making this connection with the animals gave a whole new meaning to the yarn we were knitting with and the hats we were creating – an affinity to the land we stood on. It was an afternoon to remember for sure.
No article about Carnation Farms and its sheep would be complete without a mention of Ronald the Turkish Guardian Dog, noble trustee of the flock in Alex’s absence. It’s fair to say that we all fell in love with this brave gentleman who spends his life with the sheep protecting them from unwanted predators. It was touching to see how playful he became once Alex approached, and we all adored making a fuss of him.
After another hour of relaxing knitting back at the farm view kitchen, our time on the farm drew to a close. We all left with happy hearts and projects to complete in time for Holiday gifting. I am happy to let you know that we are already planning the next Woolpack/Carnation Farm collaboration, so if this sounds like your idea of a grand day out, then keep an eye on socials early next year.
In the meantime, if you would like to get creative with Fat Sheep Fiber head to the Carnation Farm website, or visit the farm’s Holiday Market on Saturday December 13th.
