Cheese School inspiration

Last night, I finished my last loose end from a lovely Cheese School, waxing a couple of farmhouse cheddars we smoked Sunday evening. I decided to relocate my cheese cave (read: dorm fridge turned all the way down) and discovered a cheddar from last year’s Cheese School!  There was a little hole in the wax, so I trimmed and rewaxed it, and took the opportunity to sample a bit. Although I’ve been incredibly lazy in tending it (witnessed by my surprise at its very existence), it was delicious! Hooray cheese!

I’m determined that next year’s Überlist will include trying my hand at a fancy new cheese, either a blue, an alpine, or a mold-ripened. In the meantime, I’m going to take advantage of the dreamy local milk this summer and practice my basic skills. If all goes well, maybe next year I’ll have TWO dorm fridges in the pantry….

A few pictures from Cheese School…

Cheese Plate

Register now for Cheese School 2014!

Cheese School, April 3-6, 2014 at The Harveyville Project!

Registration is now open for this year’s Cheese School.

We held our very first Cheese School last spring and it was a marvelous time! Two full days of hands-on home cheesemaking, capped off with a fascinating (and delectable) presentation by Sarah Hoffman of the award-winning Green Dirt Farm.

We loved it so much, we’re making it an annual event. Charlene will lead the home cheesemaking intensive, and Sarah will join us again for the artisian demo and tasting. It’s a really wonderful way to dive into the nitty-gritty of home cheesemaking, and also get the benefit of a fantastic professional perspective. Plus, of course, lots and lots of cheese, nom nom nom.

All the details and registration here!

Yarn School Registration opens mid-January

If you want a heads up when registration is a go, sign up for our mailing list:

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Yarn School Goodies time!

(photo by moonrat42 aka Natalia :))

Hand dyers, fiber farmers, yarn shops, etc! Advertise your fibery goodness for free in the Yarn School goody bags!

Get your wares in the hands of eager fiber enthusiasts. Send 30 pcs of fiber samples, patterns, notions, yarn–whatever you specialize in–to arrive here by Wednesday 10/2 (we can probably squeeze it in if they come Thursday, but shoot for Wednesday). In exchange, you’ll get great advertising and a free banner for the next 6 mos on thriftyknitter.com and yarnschool.com. Make sure anything you send is well labeled so customers can find you.

(Last spring’s contributors: it’s not too late to send those banners & I’ll put them up with this round.)

We also love door prizes!

Email nikol@harvyevilleproject.com if you’re sending stuff.

Send to:

Nikol Lohr
13149 Harveyville Rd
Harveyville KS 66431

785-589-2714

Dye Lab spots available tonight

I’m releasing most of the fall Fiber School Dye Lab spots tonight. Folks already registered will get first crack at them. I’ll add any remaining spots to general registration on Sunday.

FALL FIBER SCHOOL REGISTRATION OPENS MONDAY 6/17 @10am

Fall is usually a lot more relaxed, but after the mad dash this spring, I’m announcing the time in advance.

YARN SCHOOL: 10/3 – 10/6 (Thurs pm – Sunday afternoon) – EXTRA DYE LAB: 10/6 (Sun pm + overnight) – FELT SCHOOL: 10/7 – 10/8 (Mon/Tues + overnight)

Registration will be here at 10am, assuming I set it up properly. Until then, it will give an error message. In the meantime:

YARN SCHOOL INFO

FELT SCHOOL INFO

HELPERS

 

Getting ready for Cheese School

We’ve been busy getting ready for Cheese School. A few weeks ago, Charlene ran through all of the cheeses we’ll be making, getting accustomed to our stove and layout. I got to sample all of them, lucky me!

Charlene making a stirred-curd cheddar

Charlene making a stirred-curd cheddar

Squeak, squeak!

Giant Cheddar

Feta Brining

Feta Draining

We also smoked some homemade mozzarella, along with some store-bought cheeses.

Smoked Cheeses!

I’ve been working on a design for a DIY cheese press, with ample help from the Internet. Fingers crossed it will work as planned. Most of my “brilliant ideas” are rather expensive disasters, so I’m hoping this is the exception. I’ll know by Wednesday…