| PINE NEEDLE FARM CASHMERES |
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The cashmere dehairing machine, formerly at Going to the Sun Fiber Mill, is now here at Pine Needle Farm.
It is a Large Fiber Separator from Belfast Mini Mills. I can now process your raw cashmere into a beautiful
cloud, ready for spinning. I am working in conjunction with Going to the Sun Fiber Mill to be able to process
your raw cashmere into yarn.
If your fiber is at GTTS now, I will be dehairing it soon.
If your cashmere is not at GTTS now, you can send your raw cashmere to me for dehairing, then I will take it
to GTTS for further processing into rovings and/or yarn, or send it back to you in bags of cloud. I will note
the total incoming weight, which is what you will be billed for, then the weight on each bag of finished cloud.
Since I am focusing exclusively on dehairing cashmere, and I raise cashmere goats myself, I feel I
can do a very professional and thorough job of dehairing your cashmere. I also am a handspinner, so I know
what the finished product needs to look and feel like.
I am passionate about everything to do with cashmere, so I will treat your fiber with the utmost respect and
care that it deserves. Quality over quantity.
It is a Large Fiber Separator from Belfast Mini Mills. I can now process your raw cashmere into a beautiful
cloud, ready for spinning. I am working in conjunction with Going to the Sun Fiber Mill to be able to process
your raw cashmere into yarn.
If your fiber is at GTTS now, I will be dehairing it soon.
If your cashmere is not at GTTS now, you can send your raw cashmere to me for dehairing, then I will take it
to GTTS for further processing into rovings and/or yarn, or send it back to you in bags of cloud. I will note
the total incoming weight, which is what you will be billed for, then the weight on each bag of finished cloud.
Since I am focusing exclusively on dehairing cashmere, and I raise cashmere goats myself, I feel I
can do a very professional and thorough job of dehairing your cashmere. I also am a handspinner, so I know
what the finished product needs to look and feel like.
I am passionate about everything to do with cashmere, so I will treat your fiber with the utmost respect and
care that it deserves. Quality over quantity.
Pricing, based on incoming weight
For any fiber that is at GTTS before October 19, 2010, I will honor their price of $25.00lb. I will bill you for the
dehairing before I take it back to GTTS for further processing.
Any cashmere received after that date, the price will be $35.00lb washed and dehaired, whether combed or
shorn.
If you wash the fleece yourself, the price will be $30.00lb for dehairing. Just make sure you get all the
soap out of the fleece! Tacky, or sticky feeling fleece will need to be washed again, or it will stick to the
machine and not dehair properly. I will contact you if I feel it needs to be re-washed before I wash it.
If you have 5 or fewer fleeces that you would like done individually, that price will be $25.00 a
fleece, washed and dehaired. $20 a fleece if you wash it. So if you have a special award winning fleece
that you would like to keep separate, I will gladly process it for you.
If you only want your fleece partially dehaired just to get the majority of guard hairs out, that will be
$10 lb per pass, with you saying how many passes you want.
If you have more than one color, I don't charge extra to separate the colors. You are charged on the
total incoming weight, not by color. There is no minimum as long as it's an entire fleece off of one goat. So,
for example, if you have one cream/cream goat, and five black/cream goats, I'll keep the one cream/cream
separate, since the shade of cream will be a bit different. I'm operating on quality, not quantity.
Since I am also operating on a tight budget, I request a deposit included with the shipment of your cashmere.
Please also include in each bag of cashmere a paper with specific instructions on how you want your
cashmere processed -- cloud, roving, yarn, etc.
I am focusing exclusively on cashmere, and dehairing is the only process I do, so your fiber will be processed
in a timely manner, cutting the waiting time from months to weeks.
Please call or email before you send me your fiber. That way I can let you know how long the wait will be.
Payment can be made through PayPal, or with a personal check. The deposit check must clear the bank
before I start processing. Any further checks must clear the bank before I send the finished product on.
Thank-you.
To pay with PayPal, click the link, then go to the "send Money" tab under the
PayPal logo and follow the directions. My email is ann@pnfcashmeres.com. Thank-you!
For any fiber that is at GTTS before October 19, 2010, I will honor their price of $25.00lb. I will bill you for the
dehairing before I take it back to GTTS for further processing.
Any cashmere received after that date, the price will be $35.00lb washed and dehaired, whether combed or
shorn.
If you wash the fleece yourself, the price will be $30.00lb for dehairing. Just make sure you get all the
soap out of the fleece! Tacky, or sticky feeling fleece will need to be washed again, or it will stick to the
machine and not dehair properly. I will contact you if I feel it needs to be re-washed before I wash it.
If you have 5 or fewer fleeces that you would like done individually, that price will be $25.00 a
fleece, washed and dehaired. $20 a fleece if you wash it. So if you have a special award winning fleece
that you would like to keep separate, I will gladly process it for you.
If you only want your fleece partially dehaired just to get the majority of guard hairs out, that will be
$10 lb per pass, with you saying how many passes you want.
If you have more than one color, I don't charge extra to separate the colors. You are charged on the
total incoming weight, not by color. There is no minimum as long as it's an entire fleece off of one goat. So,
for example, if you have one cream/cream goat, and five black/cream goats, I'll keep the one cream/cream
separate, since the shade of cream will be a bit different. I'm operating on quality, not quantity.
Since I am also operating on a tight budget, I request a deposit included with the shipment of your cashmere.
Please also include in each bag of cashmere a paper with specific instructions on how you want your
cashmere processed -- cloud, roving, yarn, etc.
I am focusing exclusively on cashmere, and dehairing is the only process I do, so your fiber will be processed
in a timely manner, cutting the waiting time from months to weeks.
Please call or email before you send me your fiber. That way I can let you know how long the wait will be.
Payment can be made through PayPal, or with a personal check. The deposit check must clear the bank
before I start processing. Any further checks must clear the bank before I send the finished product on.
Thank-you.
To pay with PayPal, click the link, then go to the "send Money" tab under the
PayPal logo and follow the directions. My email is ann@pnfcashmeres.com. Thank-you!
Cashmere Dehairing
General Guidelines for quality processing
I raise Cashmere goats. Like you, I feel that every hair on the goat is valuable. The dehairing
machine however, does not! The cleaner the fleece going into the machine, the cleaner the cloud will
be coming out.
I have found that any vegetative matter that is in the fleece will get spread throughout the whole batch
by the time it gets through, effectively messing up the whole lot. So please, pretty please, make sure
you only send in well-skirted fleece. If there is a patch of fleece with a clump of fine bits of hay or
dander, even though the cashmere looks good in it, please just grit your teeth and throw it away. That
little bit will get spread throughout the whole fleece and really make a mess. Not worth it in the long
run.
The machine also does not like goat berries, sticks and burrs, etc. They do not go through it, causing
a jam and a huge problem. The clearance between the drums is so small that only fleece can go
through. If I have to take the time to pick through the fiber as I'm loading it into the machine, that slows
the processing down for everyone, and this process is already slow enough as it is.
So please take the time to properly skirt your fleece. The cleaner the raw fleece, the cleaner the
cloud. Remember, you are paying on incoming weight, not washed weight.
I raise Cashmere goats. Like you, I feel that every hair on the goat is valuable. The dehairing
machine however, does not! The cleaner the fleece going into the machine, the cleaner the cloud will
be coming out.
I have found that any vegetative matter that is in the fleece will get spread throughout the whole batch
by the time it gets through, effectively messing up the whole lot. So please, pretty please, make sure
you only send in well-skirted fleece. If there is a patch of fleece with a clump of fine bits of hay or
dander, even though the cashmere looks good in it, please just grit your teeth and throw it away. That
little bit will get spread throughout the whole fleece and really make a mess. Not worth it in the long
run.
The machine also does not like goat berries, sticks and burrs, etc. They do not go through it, causing
a jam and a huge problem. The clearance between the drums is so small that only fleece can go
through. If I have to take the time to pick through the fiber as I'm loading it into the machine, that slows
the processing down for everyone, and this process is already slow enough as it is.
So please take the time to properly skirt your fleece. The cleaner the raw fleece, the cleaner the
cloud. Remember, you are paying on incoming weight, not washed weight.
To contact me, please email me at ann@pnfcashmeres.com Put Cashmere in the subject
line. Or phone 406-253-3990.
I check my emails in the evenings. If you get the answering machine when you call, please leave a
message, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I am spending most of my time at the dehairing
machine, so I can't hear the phone.
Shipping addresses for sending the fleeces:
USPS UPS
Pine Needle Farm/Ann Keenan Pine Needle Farm/ Ann Keenan
P.O. Box 216 100 Dusty Trail
Kila, MT 59920 Kila, MT 59920
line. Or phone 406-253-3990.
I check my emails in the evenings. If you get the answering machine when you call, please leave a
message, and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I am spending most of my time at the dehairing
machine, so I can't hear the phone.
Shipping addresses for sending the fleeces:
USPS UPS
Pine Needle Farm/Ann Keenan Pine Needle Farm/ Ann Keenan
P.O. Box 216 100 Dusty Trail
Kila, MT 59920 Kila, MT 59920
Progress Update: January 14th, 2011~ I am still working my way through the cashmere that is at
Going to the Sun Mill. This is going to take a while! The dehairing of cashmere is an extremely slow
process.
Instead of shoving the fleece through the machine as fast as it will go, I am taking the time to open
each clump of fiber going into the machine so only the guard hair falls out on the first couple of
passes. It is taking a good two hours, at least, per pound for one pass through the machine! The first
couple of passes take the longest, then it gets a tiny bit faster with the rest. It's taking 4 to 5 passes
for the majority of fleece, so far. Obviously, I'm not in this to get rich. I just love cashmere!
It is also winter here, with lots of snow and cold. We are off-grid, powered by the Sun, so I am limited
in the amount of time I can use the machine right now. The Indians call the Flathead Valley "The
Valley of Darkness" because of the lack of sun in the winter. They weren't kidding! I'm out there 4 to 6
hours a day just about every single day. One day a week I go to town and do my errands, then I come
home and do at least one pass on the machine. Start thinking sunshine! So please have patience,
and I will get your fleece dehaired as quickly as I can and still do an excellent job. As the days get
longer and the sun shines more, I will be spending more hours out at the dehairing machine. I am
thoroughly enjoying working with the cashmere, it is so incredibly soft! It is really neat to watch a clump
of cashmere go into the machine and come out the other end, a nice soft cloud. I have lots of time to
think, too. (smile)
Going to the Sun Mill. This is going to take a while! The dehairing of cashmere is an extremely slow
process.
Instead of shoving the fleece through the machine as fast as it will go, I am taking the time to open
each clump of fiber going into the machine so only the guard hair falls out on the first couple of
passes. It is taking a good two hours, at least, per pound for one pass through the machine! The first
couple of passes take the longest, then it gets a tiny bit faster with the rest. It's taking 4 to 5 passes
for the majority of fleece, so far. Obviously, I'm not in this to get rich. I just love cashmere!
It is also winter here, with lots of snow and cold. We are off-grid, powered by the Sun, so I am limited
in the amount of time I can use the machine right now. The Indians call the Flathead Valley "The
Valley of Darkness" because of the lack of sun in the winter. They weren't kidding! I'm out there 4 to 6
hours a day just about every single day. One day a week I go to town and do my errands, then I come
home and do at least one pass on the machine. Start thinking sunshine! So please have patience,
and I will get your fleece dehaired as quickly as I can and still do an excellent job. As the days get
longer and the sun shines more, I will be spending more hours out at the dehairing machine. I am
thoroughly enjoying working with the cashmere, it is so incredibly soft! It is really neat to watch a clump
of cashmere go into the machine and come out the other end, a nice soft cloud. I have lots of time to
think, too. (smile)