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Members of our Ringarooma Textiles Group host an annual day of laughter, sharing and learning over the Kings Birthday Weekend (Sunday 9th June 2024, Sunday 8th June 2025). Up to 40 Tassie fibre enthusiasts from the West Coast, Huon, Geeveston, Launceston, Tamar Valley, Devonport, and Scottsdale have attended our two events.
**We plan to host another event in 2026 (June long weekend). So please stay in touch!
The day is very organic - sort of a semi-organised chaos! But we (the hosts) are very pleased to see our guests mingling and chatting. One of our Ringarooma Textiles group commented that the event was relaxed and homely. It certainly is our aim to make everyone feel welcomed.
In fact, this lovely group of people made the day into a sucess for everyone!
The members of the ringarooma Textiles group were the perfect hosts at Tin Dragon Farm's Alpaca Day'.
Their beautifully appointed Barn provided an ideal venue, complete with a fully equipped kitchen, toilet (complete with a spinning wheel for quirky fibre-themed charm), a comfortable lounge, and a welcoming dining area.
The Drop Spindle workshop with Helen Jessop proved to be a real highlight, attracting an enthusiastic crowd. Some attendees found the technique so addictive that they couldn't put their spindles down, eager to keep practicing and mastering this craft.
One of the day's joys was the chance to meet and spend time with the alpacas themselves - a real highlight. Their gentle nature and curious personalities brought a special connection to the beautiful fibre many of us enjoy spinning.
I found listening to Paul Hercott fascinating and educational as he expertly skirted alpaca fleeces that participants had brought along. His deep knowledge was shared freely, and no question was too simple.
The skirted fleeces were then processed through the picker (opening machine). Watching the fluffy fibre travel through a long overhead tube and emerge as soft clouds into a collection cage was pure magic. The resulting fibre could be spun immediately or further prepared using hand carders or a drum carder.
Next year, I will plan ahead and make sure to stay for the entire day--it was such a rewarding and inspiring event! (by Sue Hastie, 2025)
Paul Hercott with some help from his daughter and Graham gave our alpacas their annual vaccinations and pedicure. Some of our guest participants stayed overnight and joined us on the Monday for this session. Then we shared a cup of coffee and cake (so much left over from Sunday)--and more conversation!
From Sallie:
Many thanks for a great day today. It was so good to visit your property and mingle with a friendly bunch of yarn enthusiasts. I learnt so much about alpacas and their fleece including preparation. I didn’t know there was such variation in colour!!! Or that it required so much preparation. Now I can’t wait to open up the bag of fleece I was given to see what it contains.
I’m sure most of us who attended the day have returned home full of inspiration and renewed purpose.
So once again - a big thankyou to you and your group for a lovely day.
From Cradle Winds Farm:
...thank you to the Ringarooma Group for the fantastic Alpaca Fibre Processing Field Day yesterday. It was so much fun and so interesting to see the alpaca fibre processed. Great to meet the alpacas in person too. The colours of the alpaca fibre were rich and beautiful.
I think we can say that every person, and their dog thoroughly enjoyed themselves!
Please let us know if you would like us to host this event again - or if you have any ideas for us to host another event!