Cross Wind Farm

New Blog Address

2011-08-08T23:25:00.003-04:00

Remember me....my new blog address is: http://crosswindfarm.com/blog/

New Blog Address

2011-07-12T00:38:00.002-04:00

It's been a crazy few months with my annual Canada trip in the middle of things. One major change is my blog and website. I'm moving to a Word Press format. The link to my latest blog posting on the new site is: http://crosswindfarm.com/blog/

Shearing Time

2011-05-04T23:25:00.000-04:00

Almost done with shearing. I've been shearing a few sheep every night after work and a few more on the weekend. The last three rams will have to wait until we get back from Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I actually do like shearing the sheep. It gives me a chance to "bond" with each sheep and to get up close and really inspect each one...not to mention all the wool when I'm done!

Here are a few pics:

Lady Rhinebeck finally getting her thick wool blank removed.

After...she's much cooler. Her lambs (two of them) anxiously wait for her release.

Winnie. Clipped her head and neck before she moved to the stand.

The wool blank falling by the wayside. She started feeling so much better.

Winnie, slowly being striped of about 15 pounds of wool.

Mavis...the last BFL yearling ewe to be sheared. She's pretty hawky and I totally expected a wild time on the stand. It was like she was trained for a show. She didn't move a bit.

Our Bottle Boy Goes to a New Home

2011-04-18T00:24:00.000-04:00

We know that we can't keep all the lambs, but there's always a few we get real attached to. This year it was Sir Lancelot, born February 27th. "Lance" was rejected by his mom right after delivery because she had a real difficult time and did not feel well after a long hard labor. So we set up an area for him and Lance became our bottle boy.

Today our Lance went to a new home. A home with kids that want a pet and want to learn how to raise a sheep. He's a perfect fit for that type of new home. It's good to know he's going to a home where he'll be loved and given a lot of attention. We'll miss him dearly.

As with any bottle lamb that doesn't have a mom to bond with, they bond with whoever feeds them. We bonded with Lance and he followed us around like a little puppy. He chummed around with the barn cats and lived with the other lambs and ewes when he wasn't following us around.

Bye, bye baby!

Goats Just Want to Have Fun!

2011-04-03T13:57:00.001-04:00

My name is Henny. I am three weeks old.

I am just smitten with the goats. They are very funny creatures. All they want to do is play. Check this out:

Their horns are already starting to show. They are very sweet. Can't wait to get my hands on the mohair (love the "mo")!

Lambs Growing Like Weeds

2011-04-03T13:36:00.000-04:00

I think it's safe to say that we're done with lambing....well sort of. Our oldest ewe that was in with the breeding group doesn't look like she'll lamb (and that's o.k.). That means we're basically done with the BFLs, Lincolns, and Angora goats. However, we may be presented with a few more lambs in May. Ya, that's right, our 2010 ram lambs (Gusto) got through the fence and had a visit with four ewe lambs. We'll have to keep an eye on them and see who lambs in May (yikes...that's next month).

Total lambs and kids so far:

Bluefaced Leicesters (11): five ewes and six rams

Lincoln Longwools (4): one ewe and three rams

BFL/Lincoln crossbreed (2): one ewe and one ram

Angora goats (4): three does and one buck

Rosie: Lincoln purebred ewe lamb (mom is Lady Rhinebeck)

Rainier: Lincoln purebred ram lamb (mom is Lady Rhinebeck)

Rosie and Rainier: Twin Lincoln lambs from Ladey Rhinebeck

Harmony: BFL/Lincoln crossbred ewe lamb (mom is Haley)

Hansel: BFL/Lincoln crossbred ram lamb (mom is Haley)

Evita (white) and Evette (black): Our newest BFL lambs born March 18 (mom is Evy)

Lancelot: Our orphan, bottle fed lamb (mom is Lacey and didn't want him :-(

We Got Goats!

2011-03-14T00:04:00.001-04:00

Saturday was the day to get the two goat does sheared and put in the barn where they would comfortably wait out the rest of their pregnancy...about two weeks (in my estimation). Before I even got bundled up to spend most of the day outside, my DH heard the high pitch cries of baby goats coming from the hut in the pasture. I was outside in no time. Our doe, Hope, delivered twin doe-lings.

By the end of the day, the second doe, Red, was in labor and delivered a set of twins about 8:00 p.m.-- a doe and a buck. Red had a tougher time in that the first kid had a leg tucked back and the other leg folded under. I did go in and find the legs and brought them forward and then worked with the doe and during her contractions and pushing helped bring the little girl into the world. Then her buck came feet first, but very easily. Both kids are fine and Red was tired. Here are a couple of video clips and pics of the goats:

Twin Angora goat does -- Harley and Henny, mom is Hope.

Twin Angora goats, a doe and buck -- Rhoda and Ranger, mom is Red.

So much for my estimation of their due dates. Next year I won't cut it so close.

More Lambs in Stalls

2011-03-06T00:09:00.001-05:00

Since my last post lambs have been added to the roster, seven of those were this week. All lambs are vibrant, full of spunk, and oh so cute.

Twin Lincoln ram lambs born 2/12/11. Growing like weeds!

First two BFLs born 2/3/11. Growth spurts galore!

BFL ewe lamb born 2/15/11. Petite and pretty!

Then one of our ewes had difficult birth (minor prolapse) and the lamb was cold shortly after he hit the ground. After being taken away and warmed out, the ewe didn't want him and everything we tried didn't change her mind. So we have our first (and only so far) orphan lamb.

Orphan lamb, Lancelot has a small area set up in the creep area.

The other lambs can congregate near Lancelot's stall.

Then our first BFL/Lincoln cross lambs (our Blincolns)were born. We're pretty excited because it's the first time we crossed the two breeds. After talking to some people about using our BFL ram on our Lincoln ewe, it's apparent that some think it's a waste of a breeding season to cross. Being the inquisitive soul that I am, I wanted to see what the cross would produce. The one thing I noticed right away was how the lambs got up and started nursing in no time. I mean no time! I'm also excited to see what the wool will look like when it starts growing. Right now they have BFL looking wool, sort of BFL ears although the ears set differently then the BFL.

Ewe and ram BFL/Lincoln cross bred lambs. I like them.

Our boy Blincoln.

A few hours after the Blincolns were born our very large BFL ewe delivered three beautiful natural color BFLs (two 11 pounders and one 12 pounder). They are all nursing well and growing already.

Gretta and her triplets.

And then yesterday one of our ewes who I thought would have a single delivered a set of twin ram lambs. I don't know where those lambs hide in-utero I don't have a pic of them yet.

All of the BFL lambs were sired by our newest ram, Clyde, who came from Pitchfork Ranch.

Numbers so far: BFLs = 3 ewes, 6 rams. Lincolns = 1 ewe, 3 rams. Blincoln = 1 ewe, 1 ram.

Few More Lambs

2011-02-16T00:12:00.000-05:00

Willard and Watson. Our Lincoln ram lambs. Born Feb 12.

Curious boy.

Ready to nap after their meal.

Edelweiss. Born Feb 3.

Eduardo. Born Feb 3.

New Lambs and Waiting for More

2011-02-14T23:58:00.000-05:00

The day after the big storm our first BFL ewe broke the waiting game and produced two 10 pound lambs....a ram and a ewe. Here are a few pics along with some other pics:

Ewe lamb. Layered up the coats...it was pretty frigid for a week or so after they were born.

Blossom peeking around the corner to get a look at the lambs.

Bear cat overseeing the work outside.

The other barn with the lambing stalls for the Lincolns.

New BFL lambs.

One of the next ewes to go. She's big.

Uncle Puzzle (the guard llama) hanging with the young ewes.

Blossom, looking all cute!

Rotten Cotton

2011-02-02T13:47:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to work feverishly on my homework for the Master Spinner Program. Of course I wait until lambing is just around the corner. If I used my time wisely, I'd be almost done by now. Oh well, just have to forge ahead. The first section of my Level 3 homework is cotton and after finishing the section I've remained it rotten cotton. I probably shouldn't be so negative about it but it was more difficult than I thought. Being a fan of long wools, the short cotton staple was totally different than what I'm used to working with. And favoring worsted spinning over woolen, it added another "out of the box" experience. That's good, I guess.

Anyway, I got through it and am fairly pleased with the results EXCEPT the ginned cotton. I may redo that sample. Why would anyone use ginned cotton? It's like using yucky wool filled with hay chaff. I guess like everything in this world, it has a purpose. I just don't know what that is...yet!

Because I weave on a rigid heddle loom, I'll definitely spin more with cotton so that I can use it in weaving projects. And cotton does have some great qualities and blends well with other fibers. So I guess it's not really rotten cotton or will it become forgotten cotton. I just need to spin outside my comfort zone, and that's what the Master Spinner Program is all about...understanding twist and how it behaves in all kinds of fibers (plus much much more).

Here are some pics of my cotton samples:

Sample spun from natural color organic brown cotton. It is being "sized."

Sizing cotton temporarily reduces any fuzziness on the surface. Warp yarns that are fuzzy may tend to stick together. Sizing reduces this tendency, making the weaving process smoother.

Gelatin can be used to size the cotton.

The sizing is removed when the finished cloth is washed.

Sample spun with natural brown organic cotton blended with silk noils.

To "finish" cotton after it's spun, you wrap it around a perforated surface to maintain the tension (pvc pipe with holes drilled throughout the surface), then boil it for 30 minutes.

The color darkens as it boils and stays that way.

Sample spun with natural green organic cotton. Lovely color.

Sample spun with organic cotton top. Very soft.

While spinning I keep my laptop next to me with the barn cam up on the monitor so I can watch Edwina, our ewe that's ready to lamb any minute now!

Now on to spinning silk! I think I'll enjoy silk more than cotton because its staple is long...but I don't want to get ahead of myself...I'll have to wait and see.

New Barn Cam

2011-01-22T00:23:00.000-05:00

This will be our first year with the barn camera up and running. We still have a few more cameras that hopefully will be installed by next week that will point to the lambing pens. I find myself checking the computer monitor quite a bit to check on them. The camera is part of the network and we can connect to the camera from any computer with internet access. That will be nice when we're traveling.

Pic taken from the barn cam. The bred ewes staying warm.

The 2010 ewe lambs.

Jumpers

More jumping

Our three rams.

Tomorrow we're getting a truck of second cutting square bales delivered so the ewes will have some good munchies after they lamb. I'm getting pretty excited about the lambs, I just wish it would warm up a bit. Oh well, we'll deal with whatever we have to.

New Year, New Line Up

2011-01-07T22:11:00.000-05:00

Christmas present - a Cricket loom for small projects

I’m hoping we can pull off 2011 without a glitch. But with the year’s schedule, it will be a challenge. This is the 2011 line up:

Lambing and kidding will start in a month and take us through April
May is Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival (a first…very excited)
Late June/early July will be 10 days in Alberta for my Level 4 Master Spinner Program
Late July is a huge summer bash for son and future DIL’s wedding…sort of like a pre-wedding reception before the small wedding six hours away)
September is the wedding
October is vending and teaching at Fiber Expo

I didn’t factor in the Great Lakes Fiber Show, Wisconsin Sheep and Wool, or NY Sheep and Wool Festivals because those are still up in the air at this point.

The unexpected always crops up in addition to the big things planned for this year so to balance it all I plan to enjoy the small things as well like spinning, knitting, and weaving, the lambs and kids, and so many other things that happen around here that always make my day..

Few of the 2010 ewe lambs

Rams getting acquainted before being turned out to their pasture.

Keeping the rams close together for a few days helps them become friends.

Wool Blankets for Lavender Plants

2010-11-24T12:16:00.000-05:00

My six lavender plants now have their wool blankets on for the winter. It's a great way to use the yucky wool that I don't use for anything else. It's the belly and leg wool that is too short or other wool that may have too much VM or manure tags. It will protect the base of the plants against the winter winds and keep them warm and cozy until spring.

Some of the lavender plants with their wool blankets. Also wrapped the indigo plant in the back with wool.

The littlest lavender plant....really hoping it survives the winter. And, yes, llama beans!

Hay hat!

Gusto, our 2010 ram lamb.

Cisco Kid, one of the goat kids. Getting sheared next week.

Can't wait to get my hands into that kid mohair.

Our newest Lincoln Longwool ewe, Lady Rhinebeck. Came from Larson Lincolns.

My Knitting Guru

2010-11-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

Knitting, spinning, life...I have a guru for each one. Wednesday I had the chance to spend time with my knitting guru, Lucy Neatby. Lucy was teaching at Your Local Yarn Shop in Battle Creek for a couple days and Ellen (sister) and I cleared our calendars and made an afternoon of it.

Lucy giving Ellen some one-on-one instruction.

Lucy demonstrating double knitting.

(L to R: Ellen, Lucy, and me)

Lucy teaching while watching a up-close video clip of the technique.

Lucy teaching more stuff about double (reversible) knitting.

Lucy's Venue sweater...a project Ellen and I are going to tackle together.

Venus sweater and a baby venus....so cute!

I met Lucy Neatby my first year that I started in the Master Spinner Program in Alberta, Canada. Lucy was the guest teacher for the week during Fibre Week. There are many fine knitting teachers out there, but Lucy Neatby is the best IMHO! It's like she's a knitting engineer or a knitting doctor; she can look at a piece of knitting and quickly figure out what's going on. And her color work is fabulous! She has helped my knitting improve over the last few years. Next August she is hosting a retreat in the Yukon, the Canadian North. Although I can't go, it will sure fill my dreams and I'll just pretend I'm there.

Speaking of gurus...I have a few more that give me great inspiration. When it comes to spinning, hands down it's Mabel Ross, an internationally noted master spinner from Scotland. Serious or not-so-serious spinners typically know of Mabel Ross and the contribution she made to spinning. Initially she worked in meteorological research and was a teacher of mathematics and music so when she wrote about spinning it was natural for her to reduce the techniques to simple calculations. Mabel Ross took a very technical, exacting approach to spinning. Some people don't like her approach but it's a great way to get repeatable results (if that's what you're aiming for).

My other guru is none other than Mohandas K. Gandhi. There's nothing that needs to be said about him, his teachings, his non violence, and his charka spinning.....he's the Mahatma!

New Addition

2010-11-08T23:42:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we brought home the latest addition to our Lincoln flock. Meet Lady Rhinebeck:

This lovely ewe came from Brian Larson of Dowling Michigan. We actually bought her at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. I know, it's sort of crazy going to New York to buy a ewe from a Michigan breeder 90 minutes from us. It just felt like the right time. Brian was kind enough to transport her back to Michigan and hang on to her until we had a chance to pick her up. She fits in very well with the other Lincolns. So expect to see more pics of Lady R.

Fiber Expo - On the News

2010-10-25T06:49:00.001-04:00

Fiber Expo Weekend was a hit! Taught a fiber blending workshop that went very well and sales in the booth were very good...better than last year. Now I have a year to get more wool processed and stock the shelves for next year.

Day 3 - Sheep and Shopping

2010-10-17T22:01:00.000-04:00

A good part of today was spent at the sheep show for the wool breeds. There are some very nice looking sheep. Take a look:

A ewe class. Pitchfork Ranch took the class.

A ewe class. Pitchfork Ranch took 2nd with their BFL.

Yep, that's my DH lending a hand in the show ring.

Just a nice looking pair.

Flock class. Larson's Lincolns took the class.

"I want to go home!"

Natural color class.

Even though it was still very crowded today it wasn't suffocatingly crowded like Saturday, so we got some shopping done, both Christmas shopping and fiber shopping. Take a look:

That's a pocket wheel and I got on the 6-month waiting list for one. It will be here next spring before I go to Canada in June. That's Jon McCoy, the wheel maker.

The pocket wheel is made of hard wood, 18" tall, weighs 6 pounds, and easily fits into a tote bag (or under the seat on an airplane). It will be great to take my own wheel to Canada for the next three years. It spins very smooth.

It's a Golding spindle! I know! I know! It's more than awesome...and it's sitting on an ounce of Qiviut that I got at the Windy Valley Musk Ox vendor.

It's another Golding. This beauty is gorgeous!

It's called "Moon Cats". It spins like a dream.

Rhinebeck waiting to go home.

Sleepy ewe.

Monday morning starts the trek back home. Hitting the road early and hoping we don't hit any rush hour traffic, construction, or accidents.

Day 2 - Crowds and Cold

2010-10-17T06:04:00.001-04:00

Saturday at the NYS&W Fest was amazing...and exhausting! The crowds were so thick at times I could have just lifted my feet and been moved through the vendor barns that way. But I didn't want to impose, so I just elbowed my way through. One thing I don't get is how people can walk through very, very crowded buildings eating a big sugary elephant ear (huge piece of fried dough) that's hanging off of a paper plate. Their fingers are totally covered in sugar (this is adults, not kids) and the hood of someone's coat is just about resting in the whole sugary mess. Or the distance between someones hair and goo-ey sugar is WAY to close. I mean, walking around outside and munching on whatever can be sort of fun, but in tight quarters where germs and who-knows-what is flyin' around...come on! Ok, enough of my rant.

Here are some pics from Saturday:

Steve and I waiting in line to get in the gates. It was so unbelievably cold and windy I could hardly stand it. It warmed up later in the day. You can't really see them, but the Catskill Mtns are off in the distance.

Fleece sale. Mobs of people in the sale area buying the fleeces that were judged the night before.

A demo of a pendulum spinning wheel from the Civil War ear. Very neat!

My new ewe. She'll make a great addition to our growing Lincoln flock.

We named her Rhinebeck (NYS&W Fest is in Rhinebeck, NY). That way "R" will fit into our naming convention within the flock (future offspring will be named with "R" names for quick identification of lineage).

The Angora goat show. OMG very nice looking goats.

Spinning bee. Participants used either wheel or hand spindle. Timed spin. Couldn't stay to see results because there were way too many people.

We left the festival exhausted. Sunday is the sheep show for wool breeds and hopefully the crowds will have thinned out so we can get into some vendor booths.

Day 1 - Weaving and Wool

2010-10-16T06:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's activities at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival were amazing. Before we went to the festival we found a lovely diner in Red Hook, NY called An Apple A Day....awesome, awesome food. A simple, quaint place that has lots of stuff with fresh veggies, fruits, and best of all home made apple and pumpkin pie...OMG YUM! I had a garden omelette with fresh zucchini, eggplant, asparagus and other veggies. Then we went back for lunch.

I started the day by taking an Inkle weaving class. I picked up a hand made floor Inkle loom from someone in our spinners guild last year. It was a steal so I had to get it even though I didn't know how to use it. So it sat around for a year mostly holding my circular knitting needles. But when I saw the festival offered this class, I had to take it. So I found a new place for my cirs and packed the loom in the truck for the trip. Here are a few pics from yesterday's class:

Me weaving. I finally got it warped!

Not bad. I have to watch my edges.

Top view. The ideas swirling in my head are endless.

This is Michelle from our "Flock U" spinners guild. It was nice having a familiar face in the class. Her band is awesome.

After the weaving class and lunch at An Apple A Day (I had the yummy, cinnamony apple pie) I headed to the wool show. I volunteered with the fleece check in. Over 400 fleeces were entered...a handspinner's heaven! I love raw fleeces probably because it's as close to its natural state (growing on the sheep, alpaca, or goats' back) as you can get.

Then the judging was from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Three judges judged the wool fleeces, one judge for alpaca, and one judge for mohair. I was the scribe for one of the wool judges. She judged the primitive breeds and the natural colored fine wool. As a scribe you get to see the fleeces from a judges perspective, hear their comments, and learn a helluva lot. Here are a few pics from the wool show:

The hard working show organizers.

Some of the fleeces. More were coming in.

Judge Elaine and me. She's an excellent judge.

Listening to and writing scores and comments.

Critiquing the fleece.

Saturday morning is the fleece sale. Picture handspinners rushing into the fleece area trying to find and secure their desired fleece. I want to get there early this morning just to watch. I don't plan to buy a fleece this time, but I do want to watch the craziness. I envision something similar to a mob of bride-zillas rushing into a bridal shop on 50% off day.

Level 2 Homework Made it to Canada

2010-10-14T00:04:00.000-04:00

After staying glued to the UPS website for the last 10 days, I see my box with my Level 2 homework made it to its destination in British Columbia today. Whew....I'm relieved. My fear was that it would get lost and I'd have to do a year's worth of homework again (OMG the thought).

The instructor will now review all my work, grade it, then send it back to me. Now on to Level 3 homework. I'm starting with my 50 hour project (I'll write more about that later). I have to stick to a pretty tight time frame in order to get this year's homework done BEFORE lambing/kidding starts! I got sidetracked last year with weaving and the purchase of a rigid heddle loom. This year I was ready to commit to a sweater project with my sister, but had to decline because it would take away time that I need to spend on my homework.

Anyway, here are a few pics from my homework book:

Master Spinner Program - Level 2 Homework

Blending Exercise

Spinning Alpaca

Spinning Mohair

Sweater Calculation Excercise

Two pages of calculations to determine how much raw wool is needed to make a sweater.

Color Blending Exercise (used three primary colors to produce nine other colors)

Braiding Exercise

Needlepoint Exercise (used BFL from my sheep)

25 Hour Project - Bag made with Lincoln Longwool

I'm Still Here....What I've Been Up To

2010-10-12T23:47:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Instead to droning on and on about what I've been doing, the pics should say it all:

Our new ram, Clyde, got his first shearing before joining the ewes.

Half done. Clyde came from Pitchfork Ranch.

Wool show at WSWF. Me (on left) shadowed wool show judge Letty Klein. Wonderful experience.

Took a self striping sock dyeing class at WSWF.

Toms from the garden. Many more out there.

Getting ready for the fall/winter.

Storing preserves and stuff in the basement.

Bye, bye bunnies. Got them sheared and to their new home...sad!

Bunnies For Sale

2010-08-30T13:41:00.000-04:00

If there were only nine days in a week and about 39 hours in a day, I would be able to devote the proper amount of time to all the creatures here, including myself and DH. HOWEVER, I do have to pick and choose and even though I'm very reluctant to let them go, the bunnies always seem to get the short end of the time stick. Probably because they're so quiet and such easy keepers. They are so sweet and that's why it's so hard. Anyway, here are some pics. They should be sheared at the end of September. If anyone takes all of them, I'll cut ya a deal on the price. Send me a private email if you're interested (densmore@crosswindfarm.com).

Saltora (Doe)/registered/Hybrid/1 year old/$40

Rumpelstiltstkin/nonregistered/Satin Angora buck/1 yr old/$40

Rumpy

Goldfinger/nonregistered/Satin Angora buck/1 yr old/$40

Goldy

Striker/registered/German Angora buck/2 yrs old/$40

Striker

Sal

I don't breed the buns so Sal has never kindled and the guys have not been used for breeding. The two Satins are from the same litter. I originally got the bunnies for their wool. And, oh, their wool is spectacular! I'd love them to go to a good place.

Michigan Fiber Fest

2010-08-22T23:07:00.000-04:00

Whew! Finally home from the MFF weekend. Nice weekend but exhausting. The sheep were very happy to get home and back to their pasture and freedom. I think the best thing that happened over the weekend was the two Lincoln Longwools got sheared and we picked up our new ram, Clyde. He's awesome with a great personality. He will make a great addition to our flock. Here are some pics:

Huck and Homer - Lincoln Longwools. Won fourth in Pair of Ram Lambs class.

Wool on the hoof just before shearing.

Wool before shearing.

After shearing - happy boys.

Clyde - won first place in Junior Ram Lamb class.

Clyde and sheep grandpa making a funny!

Gussy won fourth in Junior Ewe Lamb class.

Lilly and Marla won third in Pair of Ewe Lamb class.

I also picked up a couple of really nice Pygora fleeces, dyed Angora locks, and two ounces of Qiviut roving. Want to get my hands into the fiber.

Llama Hair Cut

2010-07-21T07:15:00.004-04:00

Shearing Puzzle

Nothing like getting up on a Sunday morning and shearing a couple of dusty llamas. I think they really appreciated it though. We figured that Puzzle would give us a problem leading into the chute but he was wonderful. Walked right in.

Buzzin' away

It's funny, as I was shearing away and moving the fleece to the tarp off to the side, DH looked at it and said "That would make a nice sweater!" Hmmmmm.....maybe a holiday gift if I can get my act together and work it in.

A Happier Puzzle!

NEXT! Here comes RipRock, ready for his hair cut.

Fibre Week 2010 - Day 7

2010-07-02T19:43:00.008-04:00

Now that today’s class is over I have TPI, cotton, silk, novelty yarns, count systems, wool, wheels, and spindles dancing in my head. And after I have a few days at home to get settled back in with hubby and the critters, I’ll start in on my homework and stay ahead of the eight ball this year.

We got through the course material today and had time to look at in-depth studies of past graduates. The in-depth studies are kept in the library on campus so we reviewed as many as we can. We still have a few years to decide what we want to do for our in-depth study but it’s always good to start thinking about it now.

Here are a few final pics from today, mostly of the women I spent the week with. They are all truly awesome. Everyone comes from different place and is so interesting. And our instructor, Michelle Boyd, is awesome. She truly have a ton of knowledge and experience that needs to come out in a book. I’ve learn so much from her this week and info that I know will stay with me as I continue to learn throughout the Master Spinner Program and outside of the program.

Master Spinner Program Level 3 class

Sharon, Lois, and Val

Michelle Boyd

O.k., I have to fess up and show what I bought this week. It’s really not too much volume-wise so packing shouldn’t be too much trouble. I swore I wouldn’t bring home any new fiber and I almost stuck to my guns. Because I have as much wool, mohair, and angora as I want, I didn’t want any new fiber for awhile. And besides, I’m really developing a passion for working with raw fleece…basically taking wool from the sheep’s back (or the goat or the bunny), to my wheel, then to my needles or loom. Commerical roving and yarn doesn’t really light that spark like a good raw fleece does. So, anyway there was this English Leicester fleece from last Sunday’s Wool Judging 2 class that had my name on it, so it’s coming home with me. Here are pics of most of the new stuff I’m bringing home (of course, there is a bag full of fiber from class this week that’s making the flight home.)

English Leicester fleece

Two drop spindles and a Takli support spindle

Tibetan and Russian Support Spindle

These Russian and Tibetan spindles are made by Ed Tabachek of Canada. They are spectacular! The wood and detail is gorgeous. And it just so happens that Ed Tabechek spent the whole week up here at Fibre Week. I got the chance to chat with him a bit…he’s very nice.

Then as we were spinning in our classroom we could hear this wonderful music drifting down the hallways. Turns out Mr. T plays the cello and was passing the time in the atrium with his cello. What a special touch!

O.K., now it’s really time to get packing. Shuttle leaves for Calgary in the morning and I have to be on it!

Fibre Week 2010 - Day 6

2010-07-01T23:22:00.006-04:00

First of all Happy Canada Day to all Canadians! It wasn’t hard to miss with little flags sticking out from people bags. I had one too so maybe I can say I’m a little bit Canadian…at least this week I feel like one, eh :-)!

Today in class was silk day. We spun from a silk hankie, silk noils, tussah silk, and bombyx silk. Here are some pics (I know I still need a lot of practice with silk):

We also got our fingers around silk worms and, get this, worm poop! That’s right, POOP! Michelle (instructor) degummed the silk cocoons and showed us how to remove the worm and the one poop dropping that is in the cocoon (you don’t want that going into your yarn) and stretch it across a frame to make a silk hankie. Then we took the degummed, de-wormed, and de-pooped cocoon and made our own silk hankie. They’re drying overnight and tomorrow we’ll spin from them. Here are some pics:

(Dead worm and its poop on the towel, it was sort-a gross)

(My silk hankie and the worms and poop to prove it).

(My neighbor class mate, Maijo, with her silk hankie.)

We also talked a lot about how to achieve a properly spun silk yarn or thread for weaving, knitting, crochet, embroidery, and cross stitch. That’s why I think the Master Spinner Program here at Olds College is such a high quality program because spinning, which is the first step before any cloth or thread can be made, is studied and practiced for all types of end use. And I’m just showing you the nice pics of the week and talking a little bit about what we covered. What I’m not going into here is the more technical details and the formulas that we’ve studied as well…partly because at the end of the day I just want to think back and recall the spinning and colors and textures of the day, not so much the formulas for TPI and the count systems (albeit very important). But at this time of the evening my brain is burnt around the edges.

So, that said, here are some pics of the pot luck get together that we had this evening. Tomorrow at the end of class people will start going home and very few of us will be left until Saturday morning when we’ll shuttle to Calgary and catch our flights home. It’s time to get packing.

The townhouse complex where we stay. You can see the pot luck gathering across the lawn.

Fibre Week 2010 - Day 5

2010-06-30T20:08:00.006-04:00

Today was dye day. Natural dyeing amazes me every time. You never know what you are going to get when it comes to color range. Today we used madder for our dye material and each of us put 25 10-yard sample skeins of yarns (mine were hand spun from a crossbred fleece) in the dye pot. Each skein was manipulated with different mordants and modifiers before and after they spent time in the dye pot. Each of us ended up with 25 variations of color from one dye pot. Amazing! I love nature dyeing and while I'm up here in Olds my marigolds and lady's bedstraw are growing so they can be used to do some dyeing later this summer. Anyway, here are today's pics of our dyeing efforts:

Mario and Heather weighing out the madder.

Lois and Jackie stirring the dye pot.

Madder particles are in a large tea bag in the dye pot.

Val spinning cotton on the Takli spindle while skeins are in the dye pots.

Heather showing Val a more efficient way to spin on the Takli.

Skeins coming out of dye pots.

Skeins after rinsing before modifiers.

Rinsing more skeins.

Reorganizing the dyed skeins into groups for the modifiers.

My skeins after the dye pot, but before the modifiers.

All 200 sample skeins after the dye day was complete. The first row of skeins are mine. Of course, they are brighter and more vivid in person.

Tomorrow we are spinning silk! I'm going back to my town house now and I'm going to admire my 25 dyed skeins, oh ya, and read my course book to prepare for Friday's test.

Fibre Week 2010 - Day 4

2010-06-30T09:17:00.014-04:00

After a day of spinning cotton on the spinning wheel, a support spindle, and a quill spindle, my brain is just about fried. But cotton spun on the Takli spindle is wonderful. I see visions of projects dancing in my head. Wednesday is our dye day...that should be very colorful! Instead of blathering on about this and that, I'm just going to post Tuesday's pics from class and from the Tuesday evenings fashion show.

My cabled yarn.

A seed of cotton (on the right) and the cotton lint coming from the seed.

Using a book charka. I think there might be one in my future.

(Gandhi used the book charka to take to meetings with the British. He spun while they talked. The British thought that was rude. Go Mahatma!)

Michele (our instructor) demo-ing the quill spindle.

THE FASHION SHOW.

I am in awe of the work created by so many talented people.

Just about every usable fiber can be found in the items (wool, alpaca, llama, angora, mohair, cashmere, yak, qiviut, camel, bison, silk, cotton...I know I probably forgot some). Items were knitted, crocheted, woven, felted, sewn...bobbin lace was also used in some items. The pictures do not do justice to the level of detail and design on some items. Sit back and scroll down through the pics.

(This knit blanket was knit during the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The knitter cast on during the opening ceremonies and cast off during the closing ceremonies.)

Fibre Week 2010 - Day 3

2010-06-28T22:24:00.005-04:00

Fell asleep last night to a cow bellowing at the far side of the campus and awoke to the same. Not as lovely as hearing the birds in the wee hours of the morning but when you're at an agriculture college that's what you get (along with the occasional whiff of freshly spread manure).

After yoga class this morning the Land Sciences Building on campus was bustling with spinners going to their first day of the week-long classes (although Level 5 and 6 actually started last Friday), but for the first four levels today was day one. And the other people taking knitting, felting, or the other classes offered were also hustling to their classes. Bags of wool slung on peoples' back, spinning wheels being carried into the classrooms, dye pots, bags and suitcases of supplies being pulled along. The energy is amazing.

Today we spent most of the time talking and experimenting with TPI (twists per inch)...a very important concept for the serious, technical spinner. Knowing TPI one can create the yarn they want instead of just spinning and hoping the result is a usable skein. Here's a pic of some of my experimenting:

Some samples of today's spinning (very rough ones).

The instructor, Michele Boyd, is unbelievable! The knowledge she is sharing is invaluable. I also spun a cable yarn but that's back in the classroom drying. Tomorrow we're going to spin cotton and silk and experiment more with TPI. This level focuses on TPI and other technical aspects of spinning.

After class I walked to the store to get a few groceries and clicked a pic of the college sign:

Then this evening was the Cashmere Spin-In. Teams of spinners were assembled and have four hours to take raw cashmere, card it, spin it, and turn it into a finished product. Here are pics of a few groups:

The competition goes until 10:30 tonight....way past my bedtime and way to much stimuli for me so I just dropped in to check it out. Tomorrow the finished products will be displayed and judged. I'll take pics.

Tomorrow evening is the fashion show which is so awesome. The level of detail that goes into items that people make is unbelievable. I'll take pics.

Fibre Week 2010 - Day 2

2010-06-27T22:33:00.008-04:00

Another day packed with wool, wool, wool. Spent the day judging fleeces set up as a wool show. Linda Wendelboe was the instructor and she is a wealth of knowledge. I could just sit and listen to her talk about sheep all day. There was this gorgeous English Leicester fleece that found its way home with me. It's actually half a fleece but is very good size. It's natural color and spectacular! Here are some pics of the wool judging class:

Linda Wendelboe (red apron) talking about sheep and wool.

Finished products made from Shetland wool...absolutely gorgeous!

Me judging a natural colored fleece.

The actual wool show. About 50 fleeces to be judged.

Yoga in the morning great...the best way to start the day. Yoga and spinning really are synonymous with reaching that place inside that really rejuvenates the soul. And the massage at the end of the day was icing on the cake or I should say the raspberries in the fruit bowl (I like that image much better than cake).

The kick off social event was this evening with Cat Bordhi as the keynote speaker. She gave a wonderful talk about basically getting the whole world to knit and spin (I agree!). Of course I wandered around chatting with people and looking at all the wonderful fleeces (wool, alpaca, llama, mohair, cashmere)...a spinner's dream.

The vendors in the "merchant mall". Exquisite stuff!

Tomorrow starts the Master Spinner course (Level 3). Five days of intense instruction and spinning. The requirements start to get pretty technical in the level but I've heard our instructor (Michele Boyd) is awesome, so that helps. But first I have to label my 25 sample skeins for tomorrow mornings dye class.

Fibre Week 2010 - Day 1

2010-06-26T22:12:00.006-04:00

Well, actually it's day two because I arrived yesterday (Friday), but today was the first day of class. The trek up here was pretty long from Lansing (MI) to Olds (Alberta) with a four hour wait in Chicago. And always having something to do at the last minute, I spent the time on the flight from Chicago to Calgary winding and tying my 25 sample skeins of yarn for Monday morning's class. Tying each skein in four places is pretty time consuming so I figured I'd get it done on the plane. Here's a pic:

Yea, I got a few odd looks from people (but I'm used to that LOL). And no one was in the seat next to me so I had a lot of elbow room. Then while I'm deep in thought and tying away on my skeins I hear someone say "Are you heading up to Fibre Week? I figured as much by the skein work you're doing." It was Sharon Costello, a very well know felt maker from New York who is teaching felt making classes here all week. Great fiber people can always spot other fiber people in a crowd.

But I finally arrived, it was a very pleasant 65 degrees, got settled in, bought groceries for the week, unpacked, and finally got a good nights sleep. Woke up to a very chilly morning but it warmed up and ended up to be absolutely beautiful.

Today's class was a sock knitting class taught by Cat Bordhi. Cat is a world renown knitter, author, designer, and an excellent teacher. Our flights arrived in Calgary at the same time so we rode in the shuttle van to Olds along with Sharon Costello. Just chatting with and listening to Cat and Sharon was wonderful. Listening to their views on different aspects of the fiber world and getting to know them was very inspiring. I have to honestly say that when I've seen Cat's books in the local yarn shops around home I wasn't that keen on delving into her way of knitting socks. But when I saw her on the schedule as the keynote speaker and guest teacher, I thought this would be the best time to take one of her classes. All I can say is "Sock it to me"! Wow, she is awesome and has made me think differently about socks, knitting, spinning, and designing patterns. I bought all of her books from the vendors and I may never have to knit a gusset again! Whoooo-hoooo!

(Cat demonstrating how a stitch behaves)

(Cat teaching a group a cast on method)

Tomorrow's class is Wool Judging 2 (I took WJ1 last year) so I'll be up to my elbows in raw wool...ooo, I love the smell of raw wool...I know it's weird but I can't help it. I can't wait!

Oh, and yoga and massage starts tomorrow and runs through Wednesday. I signed up for it everyday, so yoga every morning, then class, then massage. I'm livin' the life!

T-14 'til Alberta Bound

2010-06-10T23:50:00.003-04:00

Fibre Week at Olds College (Olds, Alberta, CANADA) is just around the corner. This will be my third year (out of six) in the Master Spinner Program. They say the third year is the defining point. If you can get through the Level 3 and the homework and you're serious about completing the program, then you brace yourself for Levels 4, 5, 6, and the final in-depth project. I know I'll get there, I didn't start this program to walk away uncompleted. But to get ready for Level 3 I'm putting together supplies for spinning, dyeing, knitting, and other off the wall stuff I want to get done. I just finished balling up the yarn in the pic for the sock knitting class I'm taking with Cat Bordhi. Should be interesting. The whole eight days will be wonderful!

Amish Quilt Auction

2010-05-21T10:25:00.005-04:00

Last weekend’s Amish Quilt Auction at Yoder’s Farm in Clare, MI was incredible. After looking at all the quilts hanging on racks, the auction started at 9:00 a.m. and went straight through until around 5:00 p.m. Just sitting there and looking at the workmanship, colors, and designs was an art experience in itself. Here's a link to some of the quilts during the auction. But, of course I had to bid on some. I missed a few really good ones because I wasn’t fast enough, but when the king size "Spinning Wheels" quilt was presented on the display carousel I had to go for it. And, yes, I won it. Yay! I also bid on a few wall hangings for myself and a few for future gifts (so I’ll only show the pics of the wall hanging I’m going to keep).

I am truly in awe of the hand stitching that goes into quilting these pieces. I’m going to have to find more of these auctions to go to, if nothing else just to appreciate the art work.

Bunnies, Surprise Lambs, New Goats

2010-05-12T23:19:00.011-04:00

This last month has been a whorl wind of activity. I sort of felt like a drop spindle making continuous rotations going faster and faster. But I think things may start to slow down, and usually when I say that the spindle starts spinning faster and faster. Anyway, since my last post I attended the International Association of German Angora Rabbit Breeders (IAGARB) annual event held in Frankenmuth, MI. I don’t breed my bunnies but this event had some really good information on rabbit nutrition that I wanted to absorb. Plus my friend from California (who does breed her Germans) came for the four-day event and stayed with me for a couple of nights. Good times! Here are pics of Zeilinger's Wool Mill. We toured the mill at the IAGARB event.

But the weekend before IAGARB, we had a few wooly surprises. I gathered the 20 February lambs in a catch pen area to get their 60 day weight and all the sudden I heard a tiny newborn bleat above all the lamb noise and commotion. Of course my “what the heck is that” antenna went up. Was it kids from the prego goats in the big barn over 30 feet away? Couldn’t be. I’d never hear that over the ruckus coming from the lambs. Long story short, we have a group of five yearling ewes that were going to be put into the breeding group this fall. I looked in their stall and sure enough a little black ewe lamb was in the middle of the stall. Two days later twin black ewes were born, the following week a white ram lamb, and then last week a white ewe lamb. Four of the five girls lambed and this was very unexpected (on our part). But now the few oddities that occurred this last month or so make sense (ewes getting fat, wool not as I expected, laying around a lot….DUH). How you ask? Escaped ram clearing the fence? Fenceline breeding? No, just little ole ram lamb who we let hang out with the ewes for a few months. We quickly put him in with the girls one weekend and he just sort of blended in and seemed like “one of the gals”. Well I guess his ram-ness surfaced once the barn lights were out. Lesson learned! It’s a good thing BFL lambs are so cute. This really knocked my whole spring schedule off balance. Oh well, we’ll adjust. Here are a few pics of the new surprise lambs.

Rachel: A good helper (my daughter)

Then yesterday one of our Angora goats finally kidded. She had twin bucklings, one white and one chocolate brown. They are just gorgeous! This is the first time we’ve had goats that kidded. Oh boy, I might be hooked!

Oliver, another great helper (my son)

Small Flock Clinic ~~ Good Timing, Good Info

2010-04-26T00:06:00.007-04:00

April’s MSBA’s Small Flock Clinic (April 17^th) came at the right time. At Suzanne Pufpaff’s Fiber Processing mill the small flock group offered a day of hands-on lamb and wool presentations. First Dr. Heather Ludlam gave a very informative presentation on sheep/lamb health. I definitely have some new information to add to my list of “what to do” and “what not to do”. Then Dr. Ludlam used an artifical uterus and dead lamb fetuses to teach us how to reposition and deal with a dystocia birth. Very helpful!

After the potluck lunch Letty Klein presented a ton of information about wool via a Powerpoint presentation and various fleeces. Letty talked about fleece characteristics and what qualities go into a good show fleece. Then Sue Pufpaff held a discussion about using llamas as livestock guardians. Very interesting stuff. Then Sue conducted a tour of her fiber mill and the felting machine….ooooo, the felting machine!

All in all a great, informative event. Take a look at my photo gallery to see some pics of the day.

The Gang

2010-04-13T23:36:00.002-04:00

The 20 2010 lambs in their creep area.

Lambs and Spring!

2010-04-07T23:14:00.002-04:00

I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my last blog post. It’s been absolutely crazy around here with lambs and everything else in life that needs attention. I did squeeze in time to make some sourdough bread and visit with my son when he came home for Spring break. The lambs are growing like weeds. The Lincoln lambs are like teddy bears walking around in the pasture. The goats are in the window of time for kidding so barn checks have increased. Our one goat, Hope, is making udder and looks ready to go anytime. I sheared her so that the kids won’t get lost in all that hair. Hand shearing an Angora goat is much different than hand shearing a BFL…it just takes longer. I actually divided it up over a couple of session so she wouldn’t have to stand for such a long time. OMG, I can’t wait for the new kids to come.

A few weeks ago we opened up one of the pastures and let the BFL ewes and lambs lose. The springs in the lambs’ legs took over and it seemed like they all hopped out into the pasture at the same time. What characters! After the hopping stopped they just ran around like wild things. Even a few of the ewes started springing about. It’s good to see that the ewes “still got it” when you see them leap through the air.

I just sheared the bunnies and now it’s on to…..ugh, dare I say…..our taxes. It’s crunch time so no excuses will work. Then after that it’s on to my homework for the Master Spinner Program. I started it last fall but holidays, lambing, knitting, and weaving interrupted my momentum. I’m all registered for my third year in the program and my flights to and from Alberta are booked, so all I have to do is complete the homework from Level 2. I see a lot of late nights coming up. There is no dye work this year but a lot of fiber and color blending and a “raw fleece to finished product” assignment to complete. I’m getting excited…..79 days until I’m Alberta Bound!

Lamb Lessons

2010-03-10T23:42:00.014-05:00

Curious lamb

To sum up this year’s BFL lambing activity, I have to say we are pleased. There were a few blips along the way, but overall it was good. In six days we had 21 live BFL lambs hit the ground and those same 21 are now running around and creating a ruckus. I think what really helped this year, especially because lambing started mid February, was a combination of heat lamps, lamb coats, and tube feeding (when needed). I know, some people don’t bother and figure the lambs will have to “sink or swim” from the get-go, but considering the time of year I’m going to do whatever it takes to get them off to a good start. Now, that doesn’t mean I dote and hover over their every move. No, I leave that up to the moms, but if I don’t see lambs nursing after a couple of barn checks, they get a tube feeding (with the colostrum I nursed out when I striped the teats soon after birth…if I end up not using it, it goes in the freezer).

The quads

I tube feed initially instead of bottle feeding so the lamb gets a “meal” without interfering with its desire to find the udder and latch on. It seems like the energy the lamb gets from the tube feeding helps them continue their search for the teat. Obviously some need the boost, but some do. I often wonder if the February lambs that were slow to nurse were born in May, would they get up and move quicker and easier? I venture to say….probably. So if a lamb is "slow-on-the-get-go", is it the breed or the environment that we’re imposing on them? I also get a sense that a bottle too soon may confuse them and reduce their search for mom’s teat. I mean, with a bottle their sucking instinct has been satisfied (for the moment) and their belly is full, so why bother…nap time. But by tubing, they still have the sucking instinct that hasn’t been satisfied so the search continues. I know, I may be way off base here, but that’s what I’ve concluded from my observations and from the few bottle lambs I have.

Streeeetch

As for the lamb that we found in the dark corner of the barn…it was obvious that being the first born (twins) he was up and searching for the udder and wanted to nurse, mom was busy delivering another lamb and the spaces on the gate for that stall were too big. In his udder search he basically went right through one of the spaces in the gate and kept on searching. To me that shows he was up and wanted to nurse and was pretty intent on accomplishing this. He was still quite active after his nearly two-hour ordeal. Once we got him back to mom and he latched on the bond was nearly instant. Lesson: new gate.

I think they realize a bark is different than a bleat.

I learned another good lesson this year, albeit the hard way, which will make me check the lamb’s temp before I tube feed. I was setting up to tube feed a triplet and noticed its sibling was acting a little cold but standing near me like she was hungry. I was tubing one so figured I’ll just tube her as well, that way I could hopefully get a decent night’s sleep and function half way normal at work the next day. As soon as I tube fed her, she laid under the heat lamp within a minute or so. Before I packed up to go back to the house, I went back to the stall and nudged her just to make sure she was o.k. She didn’t get up; when I lifted her to stand she flopped back down on the straw. Oh boy, I had myself a problem.

Hanging out in the creep area.

I spent the rest of the night (except the two hours that I did sleep on the couch) bringing her back. Apparently she was cold and I didn’t realize how cold. I tube fed her, probably too much, when she really didn’t have the energy to take it. So she decided to check out. I took her up to the house and made a make-shift warming box (after a few other feeble attempts with a hair drier then the warm water/plastic bag trick) where she stayed curled up for a good couple of hours. Every time I checked her temp was going up even though she was still unresponsive. A determined bleat woke me up about 4:30 a.m. and she was back out with mom and sibs within the hour. Needless to say I made it through the day at work on a wing and prayer. Lesson: check temp and learn to do an intra peritoneal injection.

As for the ewes and their mothering ability…out of nine BFL ewes we have one that is noticeably not as attentive as the other eight (who are exceptional…very attentive, lots of ewe/lamb dialog going on, and lots of milk). One is a new mom and before I started my usual observations, the lambs were nursing and a strong bond had formed. At this point all ewes and lambs are together with access to the barn and of course lambs have their creep area (see pic).

Creep area. Access from both sides plus the front gate.

I think the only thing we may consider for next year is spacing out the breeding groups so they don’t all lamb in the same week. Whew….that’s a circus.

As for our new Lincoln Longwool lambs…they were up and nursing in a flash. I did put coats on them just because it was January 31st when they hit the ground.

Our next upcoming activity is kidding for our two Angora goats; any time after April 4th.

Six Days and 21 BFL Lambs!

2010-02-22T11:03:00.025-05:00

I KNOW!!! Whew...lambing is over! Now I can regroup and take a breather. It all started Wednesday (Feb. 17th) morning at the 5:00 a.m. barn check before I went to work, triplets. Thursday, two sets of twins, unfortunately one lamb was stillborn :-(. Friday ended with triplets. Saturday was the only day of no new lambs, but that was the calm before Sunday's storm. Four ewes lambed: a single, twins, triplets and quads. I KNOW! Quads! Totally unexpected. We knew she would at least twin, but quads? I don't know where she hid them all this time. It was like someone slapped me upside the head. I was blindsided! Then this morning, oh, this morning...!

One ewe left to lamb. Walking down to the barn at 5:00 a.m. this morning we heard the last ewe bleating/bellowing. I knew she was lambing (of course she had to wait until the snow storm was in full force) and expected to see at least twins in the lambing stall. We get to her stall and see one ewe lamb almost completely cleaned off. Few minutes later the ewe passed all the afterbirth. I couldn't believe one lamb was it; she was so big. She did seem a bit anxious, but was concentrating quite a bit on the one ewe lamb so we went about our business feeding, cleaning stalls, etc. After about 1 hour and 45 minutes in the barn, we gathered up our stuff to head back into the house. I heard a lamb bleating quite a bit. I heard it occasionally while doing chores but figured it was one of the 20 lambs. But as we were leaving the barn the bleat seemed a bit frantic and coming from a corner of the barn that was used for the horses. Sure enough I peered in the cold, dark stall and saw the little erect head of a lamb and heard him bleatin' like crazy. Turns out that she did twin. This little guy must have been born first, squeezed through the gate, wandered over to the barn aisle, crossed the aisle, meandered through hay bales, pieces of wood, a dismantled cattle shoot to reach the dark corner where he sat. AND he had to be there for two to two and a half hours.

Once we got him back to his mom it took him a while to settle down. She was very glad to see him and now it makes sense why she was so unsettled. More excitement than I'm used to in the morning. I took the day off of work and am going to try to take a long nap and bake some bread!

But first, the numbers: 16 ewe lambs (10 white, 6 natural color) and 5 ram lambs(4 white, 1 natural color). A few 7 pounders but the rest were between 8 and 12 pounds. All doing very well!

Here's the line up:

Ewe: Bonnara - triplets born 2/17/10 (2 ewes, 1 ram)

Ewe: Magpie - twins born 2/18/10 (2 ewes)

Ewe: Edwina - twins born 2/18/10 (1 ewe, 1 nc ram - stillborn)

Ewe: Mereion - triplets born 2/19/10 (2 ewes, 1 ram)

Ewe: Lorna - single born 2/21/10 (ewe)

Ewe: Tia - twins born 2/21/10 (2 ewes)

Ewe: Annadale - quads born 2/21/10 (3 ewes, 1 ram)

Ewe: Shonah - triplets born 2/21/10 (2 ewes, 1 ram)

Ewe: Gretta - twins born 2/22/10 (1 ewe, 1 ram)

First Day in Snow...

2010-02-16T00:16:00.009-05:00

...for the Lincoln lambs, that is. I'm sure many people have had enough snow to last nine lives! I spent about four hours outside on Monday getting stalls cleaned, the creep area set up, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. The Lincolns spent the day in a small pasture and for the lambs it was their first taste of snow. They loved it! Lambs love just about anything and snow is no different.

Here is a YouTube clip of the lambs and their shenanigans:

This is "Red". One of our Angora goats. She's checking out the Lincolns. They will be sharing a pasture soon so I want them to get acquainted.

Birth Management Clinic for Sheep Producers

2010-02-14T01:05:00.005-05:00

Perfect timing for the Birth Management Clinic for Sheep Producers. Dr. Richard Ehrhandt, Small Ruminant Specialist at Michigan State University gave an excellent clinic today at his farm out in his barn. The clinic was held with ewes and lambs all around us. Here are a few pics. All pics taken today are in my photo gallery. The caption under each photo in the photo gallery will give you an idea of the topics that were covered.

Lincoln Lambs

2010-02-03T05:50:00.003-05:00

No explanation needed!

Got Lambs! Got Goats!

2010-02-01T00:49:00.003-05:00

A crazy busy day. Woke up to twin Lincoln ram lambs. Earlier than expected so had to scramble around to get a few things done, clean up the lambs and weigh them. Done by 10 a.m. and hadn't had coffee yet, ugh! Lambs doing well. BFLs still sitting around with full udders.

Then off to pick up the new goats. Two bred Angora goats. One white, one red. They settled in nicely and are still deciding on what the llama is all about. I think they are going to be just fine.

Our Lincoln Longwools

2010-01-18T23:47:00.003-05:00

The Lincolns are really neat. Can't wait to shear them in the spring.

Our BFLs

2010-01-18T23:43:00.003-05:00

Why did we decide to lamb early this year? I have to remind myself as we clean stalls, get lambing jugs ready, and boot the rams out of their stall to the lean-to in the pasture (that's after DH enclosed half of the open side for added protection). All in very cold temps....brrrr! Anyway, while vaccinating, preparing for lambs, and doing other chores this weekend, I snapped some pics of our flock.

Four rams (three almost yearlings and one almost two years) and ewe lambs in pen behind them.

DH, Steve, with Amos (almost two year ram)

Our rams.

Nine bred ewes.

A walk out to the pasture followed by the nine ewes.

Socks Are Coming

2010-01-18T23:30:00.002-05:00

Bags of BFL on their way to the mill for a sock order. I debated whether to put all the BFL into socks or sell individual fleeces or process into roving/batts. I think this time I really wanted to try the socks. So today we threw the wool in the truck and trekked up to Zeilinger Wool Mill to put in the sock order. It will take about six months and we'll have about 125 pair of socks in various sizes.

Zeilinger's

Baby Stuff

2010-01-17T08:33:00.005-05:00

Most baby gifts are done and were finished just in time for the shower. I made a small baby blanket on my RH loom. A plain weave with a two-color warp and multi-colored weft. Then sewed on a satin blanket binding. Having a binding around the edge made it easy because I didn't have to worry so much about even selvedges. When I learn how to weave a double width piece of fabric, then I can make our grand daughter a larger blanket so her toes can stay covered.

With the left over multi-colored yarn, I had enough to knit a newborn cap. I whipped it up one evening with size nine DPNs.
The other cap I made has ear flaps. With a skein of self-striping sock yarn and size two circs, I casted on about 132 stitches. Before the cast on, I knitted the ear flaps on two separate DPNs and left them on the DPNs. Then using the circs I cast on 20 stitches, knitted on 21 stitches from the first ear flap, cast on 52 stitches, knitted on 21 stitches from the second ear flap, then cast on the remaining 20 onto the circs (note: the 52 stitches make up the from of cap and the first 20 cast on and the last 20 cast on make up the back of the cap). So when the cast on is complete, the ear flaps are on and you can knit the cap using your favorite pattern or your own stitch design. The ear flaps can also be brought up to the top of the cap and tied together if aren't being used.
I would have loved to use my handspun yarn, but being baby items I figured that a washable yarn was more practical.

Now I can move on to the final baby project (which I'll post here when complete) and then onto my homework for the Master Spinner Program.

Michigan's Shepherds Weekend

2010-01-04T06:04:00.008-05:00

Shepherds Weekend in Lansing (MI) is a great event that gets me re-focused after all the holiday hoopla. This year was no different. I think the best part was the keynote speaker, Dr. Temple Grandin. Dr. Grandin is an expert and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to livestock, animals behavior, and animal handling. During her presentations she emphasized thinking in pictures and sounds instead of language (verbally). That way we see the world as our sheep see the world, thereby understanding them better which leads to lower stress (on sheep and shepherd), easier handling, and better overall management. Last year I read two of her books after hearing an interview she gave. Then when I heard she was this year's keynote, I was thrilled.

Dr. Temple Grandin

Dr. Gandin and Pat Tirrell talking sheep.

Dr. Grandin talking with others about sheep

Dr. Grandin made herself available throughout the weekend talking to anyone who wanted to know more. The weekend also included vendors, displays and information by breed associations, a sock and mitten competition, and even two very, very cute eight week old Great Pyrenees puppies.

If you get a chance to attend Shepherds Weekend next year, it's worth it! Now, it's time to get stuff ready for lambing and for my new Angora goats that will be arriving soon!

Godspeed and Happy Landings!

Carol

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T00:27:00.006-05:00

Happy 2010 to every that reads my blog. There is so much to reflect on over this past year and past decade, and so much to be thankful for. Going forward, many things are on the horizon this year that center around sheep, goats, bunnies, wool, fiber, spinning, dyeing, weaving, knitting, gardening, and preserving what I grow. The most immediate "to do's" are a few projects that have a tight deadline (baby shower gifts):

Just finished warping the loom for a babies blanket (25" RH loom)

Baby hat with ear flaps.

Have to knit all the way up to finish.

Finish ends on the silk scarf I wove.

Close up of the silk scarf. I love the colors.

To start the new year immersed in sheep info, we're off to the Michigan Sheep Breeders Shepherds Weekend in Lansing. With a number of informational seminars and listening to the keynote speaker, Dr. Temple Grandin, the weekend will be very interesting. I'll report back on the Shepherds Weekend next week.

Godspeed and Happy Landings!

Carol

A Real Slick Pick!

2009-12-29T22:24:00.007-05:00

A wool picker, that is. Thanks to DH (aka Santa) this wonderful wool picker was waiting under the tree on Christmas morning. How neat! I've contemplated a picker for quite some time now. I absolutely love to hand comb and card locks of wool, or other fiber, for my proejcts, but let's face it, with a flock of 20 - 25 sheep, Angora rabbits, a couple of llamas, and Angora goats on the way, I have to speed up the process. Ya, I do send to the mill what I know I can't process, but I do want to process as much as I can myself. My new picker will help me out.

Fancy Kitty Wool Picker

As soon as it was set up in the basement, I ran some washed Lincoln through and in literally minutes I had a box full of picked wool ready for the drum carder. Wow! I was awe-struck.

Picker with cradle pulled back (gritting its teeth).

Picker with cradle pulled forward.

So, if anyone is looking for me, you know where I'll be.....in the basement just a pickin' and grinnin'!

BFLs Top the Plate...

2009-12-10T23:31:00.005-05:00

...the cookie plate, that is. A few with frosting wool and a few with coconut wool. All homemade cookies. Yum! Joined a "cookie exchange" with my sisters and niece. We ended up with over 3,000 cookies....I know! Put together a cookie platter and a few smaller pans for people at work.

The Lincolns and Llama at Breakfast

2009-12-07T22:25:00.001-05:00

The calm before the storm.

Visions of Pumpkins Dancin' in My Head!

2009-11-09T11:17:00.008-05:00

Lisa's (of Somerhill Farm) question about pumpkin recipes conjured up vision of all good things pumpkin! Fresh pumpkin is great this time of year. Here are some recipes that I've used over the years and some from my Great Pumpkin Cookbook that I haven't tried yet.

A note about canned versus fresh: Season it, boil it, and mash or puree it. After mashing or puree-ing, place it back in the pan and set on low heat to reduce the water content. Watch it closely so it doesn’t scorch. Then line a large strainer with a double thickness of cheesecloth (or a few flattened coffee filters). Place the strainer in a bowl and pour the puree into the lined strainer. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the pumpkin and place the entire set-up in the refrigerator overnight. You can now use this puree in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin, or pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin recipes:

If you would like a PDF of the recipes, just let me know. These JPG files might be hard to read.

Pilgrim Verse, circa 1630

“For pottage and puddings, and custards and pies,
Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies.
We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon.
If it were not for pumpkins we should be undone.”

Weekend of Knitting and Weaving Classes

2009-11-08T22:10:00.004-05:00

Two great classes at Woven Art (E. Lansing, MI) just happened to fall on this Saturday and Sunday, so that's where I spent the weekend. They were great classes, but my brain is fried!

Saturday was Portuguese Knitting using a pin hooked up on your shoulder which allows you to maintain tension on the yarn. You also use your thumb to move the yarn over the needle. It was very good and showed me that there are different knitting options.

Knitting class at Woven Art

My sister Ellen took the class with me.

Sunday was Double Heddle Weaving on a rigid heddle loom. Weaving with two heddles allows you to weave many different textures and patterns. I plan to catalog my projects on Weavolution. I took my new 25" Schacht RH loom to class and warped away. The others in the class wove some beautiful stuff.

My sample project.

My RH loom on its stand and sample weaving coming along.

Classmate's project

After two full days of classes and a head of fried brain cells it was wonderful coming home to our new sheep, our trusted ole guard llama, and all the rest of our critters.

New Lincoln bred ewes...Haley and Winnie

Puzzle

...And Then There Were Lincolns

2009-11-01T07:44:00.005-05:00

Instead of candy for my Halloween treats, I got a couple of "wooly creatures with curly features". Yep, we picked up two bred Lincoln Longwool ewes from the Michian Bred Ewe Sale. It wasn't spur-of-the-moment, we planned to bid on them before we went to the sale. We had the breed pegged for a while now.
Because our BFL flock is certified in the SFCP, we had to decide how we were going to incorporate sheep that are not in the program. We had two choices: lose the certified status of the BFL flock or start a flock that is epidemiologically separate from the BFLs. We chose door number two. We have the means to run a separate flock (separate barns, pastures, and equipment) and it will give me the chance to add a few goats as well. I had many discussions with the area epidemiology officer at USDA-APHIS Veterinary Services to ensure that we're meeting all the requirements.
The ewes came from Harvey Warrick of Adrian (MI) and they are a year and a half old. They have a very good temperment and settled into their new pasture very well. So you'll see Lincoln lamb pics next spring along with the BFLs.

Fiber Expo - Vendor Booth and Workshop

2009-10-27T05:51:00.005-04:00

Now that I've had a chance to catch my breath after Fiber Expo, I'd like to reflect a bit. This was our first time as a vendor at a fiber event. I've been involved with many other shows, different types of show, at different levels but not sitting in a vendor booth selling our wares. We had a great time and did very well selling our fiber stuff. Breaking down and loading up on Sunday evening was quick because there wasn't much inventory to pack up...that was nice!

Here are a few pics of the shelves my DH made for the booth. He did a great job on them and they are very easy to set up and take down. We were just getting set up on Friday night.

Then on Saturday morning I taught a fiber blending workshop (while DH manned the booth). The students were wonderful and had a great time. Our class seemed to stir up a lot of interest from the general public walking by. How could it not with the wonderful blends that were created. Some people even came right into the classroom area to watch and ask questions. Here are a few pics of the workshop (more pics on my photo gallery):

We figured out a lot of "do's and don'ts" for next time. Thank goodness that I have some time to get my you-know-what together before then. And I'm sure I'll be teaching the workshop too...great fun!

A Trek Across Michigan for Yarn

2009-10-16T10:01:00.008-04:00

Not that I need more yarn or am keen on purchasing commerical yarn, but I'm always on the look out for yarn stuff. As my job takes me across the state of Michigan from time to time I'm always on the look out for yarn/fiber shops. I couldn't let this week go to waste. While planning my route to Traverse City (to attend a conference) I had to find as many yarn shops as possible to visit. This is how I made out:

Starting out in Lansing (A) I swung by the Tawas Bay Yarn Company in Tawas City (B) to check it out. What a great shop! She (the shop owner whose name I've shamefully forgotten) has a great selection of everything you would expect in today's yarn shops. I picked up some sock software to create my own sock designs as well as yarn for a future baby project. She also had a nice selection of patterns created by Michigan knitwear designers...that was neat!

Then I was on to Traverse City (C) for my work-related obligations. After a few days at the Grand Traverse Resort (always a wonderful stay), I moved on to Glen Arbor (D) to Mary Turak's Yarn Shop at the Village Sampler. Mary has beautiful original hand knits and does amazing color blending work with different yarns. I couldn't resist a hand-dyed sock blank and a couple of skeins of yarn. Her shop welcomes book discussion groups and a very warm and friendly atmosphere.

Back in the car and on to The Yarn Market in Beulah (E). Again, a nice selection of yarn and very helpful staff. The shop has a nice area in front to sit and knit looking out onto the quaint downtown street. I picked up some Debbie Bliss silk yarn (on sale, yay!) and some other colorful yarn that compliments the silk. It's all on my loom right now making its way to scarfville (I'll post a pic when it's complete).

Then about 60 miles later I ended up in Ludington (F) at Nautical Yarn. All I can say is YARN, YARN, YARN! This place is a yarn gold mine! I browsed and chatted with the yarn expert until closing time but didn't escape without a memento...two skeins of this wonderful hand-dyed yarn from Vermont and a few other skeins of something or other.

Then it was the long drive back home (G). I arrived home about 10 p.m. with skeins of yarns dancing in my head. I could have got a lot of knitting done over the 500+ miles if it wasn't for the fact that I had to do all the driving, but that's o.k. too. A good 19-hour historical fiction audiobook was great company. BUT I was very glad to get home to hubby, the critters, the sheep, their wool, and my wheels. Spin On!

Alpacas and Sheep

2009-10-01T20:23:00.008-04:00

2009 Michigan International Alpaca Fest (Flint, MI). I had to stop by to see how the Spin Off entries that I judged were display AND get my alpaca fill:

Need to rest. Way to much stimuli!

Cute Suri.

Awe...cute!

Silly!

Then after the visit to the alpaca show, we headed over to the Mt. Bruce Station Fall Festival (Romeo, MI). I can't resist sheep bonding.

O.k. enough creature comforts for the day.

Spinning 76 Alpacas

2009-10-01T20:14:00.006-04:00

When I owned alpacas, I marveled each time I buried my fingers and hands in their fleece while doing chores at night. I miss that! Fortunately this past summer I had the opportunity to run my fingers through 76 alpacas....well, sort of.

As the spin off jude for the 2009 Michigan International Alpaca Fest I spent two months carding, spinning, and judging all kinds of alpacas--baby, juvenile, yearling, adult, Huacaya, Suri, fine, medium, not-so-fine, and so on...

I tip my hat to the breeders out there who are working on breeding alpacas for high quality fleece. Alpacas are truly awesome. Here are some pics I took while judging and then on display at the alpaca show (September 2009):

WSWF - Sheep, Spinning, Knitting

2009-09-16T22:09:00.012-04:00

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a good combination of sheep shows and spinning and knitting classes. Initially we planned to take sheep and participate in the BFLBA show, but then decided to just go and enjoy the show instead of hauling sheep. It was great to have the freedom to move about without sheep duties. There was a lot of nice looking BFLs at the show. Steve and I did help out at the show on Saturday morning. I introduced the UK judge, John Stott, and acted as announcer and Steve helped with recording class placements and ring steward duties. He also helped during the NAMSS show on Sunday. I didn't get to take a lot of pics during the show because I was so busy. But here are a couple of pics that I did take:

I figured if we weren't taking sheep I might as well take classes. The WSWF offers some of the best classes! On Friday I took an all day "Spinning Fine Wool Yarns" with Patsy Z. We spun a variety of fibers and Patsy was a wealth of knowledge:

Then after the BFLBA show on Saturday morning, I moved on to my "Thrums Knitting" class. A thrum is a little piece of unspun fleece or roving that is knit into your project. Thrums make the inside of your garmet soft and fuzzy, and extremely warm. After a while the soft wool inside (the thrum) starts to felt and takes the form of the garmet. Thrums are used in hats, mittens, socks, and jackets. I think thrum mittens originated in Canada's provinces of New Foundland and Labrador. Here's a pic of each side of my knit sample from class:

Outside (right side) of my sample piece.

The inside of my sample.
That would make for extremely warm socks!

Then on Sunday I took an all-day "Binge" knitting class. It's pronounced Binga. In Halland, Sweden the old word for knitting is "bindslöjd" (the dialectal form "binge" is used to identify the knit designs and knitting patterns of the area). Traditionally, the binge patterns are knit in the colors of blue, white and red:

Samples of the Binge patterns

Bjärbo pattern - wrist warmers - half done
This is what I started in class.

Not much is written about Binge designs and knitting. Carol Rhoades taught the class and presented a wealth of information about the Binge designs and history. She gave us a list of some good resources about Binge. Most of the Internet searches I've done have come up in Swedish. Google will translate some of the sites which helps. Here are some links to some pictures of binge garmets: jerseys and caps (double flower, Bjarbo, Crown Princess Margareta's hat).

Then as I strolled through the vendor barns, I discovered a vendor that sold kits for Bohus hats. Of course, I had to pick up a couple. The patterns for the hats are in the book "Poems of Color: Knitting in the Bohus Trandition (and the womens who drove this Swedish cottage industry)" by Wendy Keele. The kit is basically just the yarn.

The Swedish Bohus tradition and its 400+ designs allowed women to supplement their income during the depression in the 1930's and help their local economy. Here are a few pics of the hat kits I bought and the corresponding sweater in the same design in the book:

Design: Blue Shimmer

Design: Dean

Happy spinning, knitting, and/or shepherding!

Old String

2009-09-16T12:48:00.003-04:00

The simple concept of twisting fibers changed the world. Here's a find that proves our spinning craft goes back at least 30,000 years: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8249362.stm

Bunny Bungalow

2009-09-09T23:50:00.004-04:00

One of my current projects is to build hutches for my five angora bunnies. Three of the buns are in cages and two are in temporary hutches. My guys (all bucks) will be with me for all their years so I want them to be comfortable and to be able to stretch their legs.

My goal was to build all five over Labor Day weekend...HA! Turned out that I got one done so far. It's the prototype. My sister, Ellen, came over to lend a hand and was very helpful working out all the details and thinking things through. See, I didn't start with written plans, I winged it as I went along so this first hutch took a lot of time.

I want each hutch to have two levels with a ramp going up to the second floor. The first obstacle we ran into was the ramp would be way too steep because each level is about 24". So we figured a way to build in a two-section ramp. At first I thought the hutch was too big for a little bunny. When I finished, I put Sal, the bunny in the smallest cage, in the hutch to see how he maneuvered around. Every inch was worth every minute I spent (and Ellen) on the hutch! There are a few things I'll do different on the next hutch but overall it works very well.

Checking out the upper level
(where the food and water are)

Next step....hutch #2!

Amos Gets a Wool Cut

2009-08-25T00:13:00.008-04:00

I finally got to Amos (yearling ram) this week and sheared him. Because his fleece is spoken for already I wanted to remove it carefully for Beth. I manually sheared Amos and he hardly moved the whole time he was on the stand.
I think as I sheared and the fleece draped off of him, he felt cooler and figured that this wasn't too bad after all.
Amos has a lovely fleece, very soft. I sold all my other fleeces at MFF and online so Amos was the last to go. I do have one left which really isn't in a sell-able condition so I think I'll felt it and make lamb coats for this next lambing season.

Beth, this one's for you...finally!

He was so good in the stand.

(The supervisor!)

Just in case Amos acted up while in the stand, I wanted Steve to hang around in case I needed help. Ah, thanks Amos for being such a good ram!

Beth...I'll stop by the shop soon!

New Angora Bunny

2009-08-23T22:24:00.005-04:00

With a face like that, how could I not take him home? Saltora (Sal) is the newest edition to my small group of Angoras. He joins Striker, Dark Shadow, Rumpelstiltskin, and Goldfinger. That should be it for bunnies….ah, I think (an English would be nice :-)! Sal is 82% German and has a wonderful coat. I love his color and he is friendly, friendly, friendly! There were a lot of very nice bunnies at MFF, but Sal caught my eye. He is three months old.
I'm interested in blending BFL and Angora. My goal is to recreate yarn (as close as possible) that was used in the traditional Bohus knitted garments. It's a long shot but something to shoot for. Even though it was wool from the Finnish-Landrace sheep in the original garmets, I'll use my BFL. I'm really intrigued by the Swedish Bohus and Binge (Halland) designs.
Hopefully Sal and the rest of the bunny crowd can help me with some awesome blends.

Spindles and Bunnies and Sheep, Oh Boy!

2009-08-18T00:37:00.007-04:00

Now that we're back from the Michigan Fiber Festival it feel good to kick back for a few. That's about all we have is a few before second cutting hay starts, more shearing, and other stuff around here. But MFF was a good time. I took a spinning class with Galina Khmeleva on Friday afternoon after the sheep were unloaded and in the stalls. The class was great. We learned how to spin lace weight yarn for Orenburg-type shawls on Russian spindles.

My new Russian spindles.

Galina teaching her workshop (she's awesome).

Some of Galina's Orenburg shawls...exquisite!

Then in between the sheep show and taking care of the sheep, I slipped over into the Angora rabbit area and watched the judging and shearing. I couldn't resist, I bought a three month old black German Hybrid Angora. He's gorgeous. He's settling in outside in his new home with the other four Angoras and I'll take a pic this week and post it. I also watched some bunny shearing so that I'll know what to do in November. Rosalie Truong had some beautiful bunnies (I bought one of her bunnies) and she was very helpful with educating people on shearing bunnies and other basic care.

And our sheep brought home a few ribbons, but most of all they're back home and very happy about that.

Amos - Yearling Ram - Reserve Champion

Ram lambs and Steve getting ready for the show ring.

Next trip...Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. We're going without the sheep. That way we can enjoy a lot more of the festival and I can take some classes. I'm signed up for two and a half days of spinning and knitting classes! We'll be helping out with the Great Lake Bluefaced Leicester show as well.

Michigan Fiber Festival...Here We Come!

2009-08-13T02:03:00.002-04:00

Apollo is all ready for the sheep show at Michigan Fiber Fest.

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post. July just flew by and was gone by the time I looked over my shoulder. We've been super busy all week getting ready to hit the road for the Michigan Fiber Festival. Nine lambs and one yearling ram are coming with us. I wished I had more time to spend with them on halter, but it is what it is at this point. Three lambs are staying behind...two that are on the small side and one that has a mind of her own.

After we get to Allegan tomorrow (or I should say today...Friday the 14th), we'll get the sheep settled in their stalls and set up everything else, I'll be heading over for an afternoon class---Hand Spinning-Orenburg Style. I've packed my support spindles and am ready to learn how to spin really fine lace weight yarn.

I'll take pictures while we're there and post an update when we return. Time to get a few hours of shut eye!

Home At Last!

2009-07-06T11:55:00.005-04:00

As good and exciting as it is to go up to Alberta for Fibre Week and my Master Spinner Program, it's so good to get home. I've had a day to regroup, do laundry, unpack, and wean the last three lambs. Here's a link to my photo gallery with over 100 pictures from Fibre Week.

Now it's "go time"! I came home to four bags of roving and two batts from the mill. AND, because I took on the task of being the Spin Off judge for this year's Michigan International Alpaca Fest (MIAF) in September, I came home to 76 entries of alpaca fiber (each in 2 oz bags) waiting to be spun and judged. Here are some pics:

Fine Morrit Corriedale roving, Coopworth/Natural Color BFL blend, Cormo/BFL blend in a two-way swirl and a three-way swirl, two batts.

Cormo/BFL two-way swirl (navy blue and chartreuse) and three-way swirl (yellow, burnt orange, and crimson)

76 entries of alpaca fiber (Huacaya and Suri) to be spun and judged.

I definitely have enough fiber to fondle and work with. Endless possibilites! So if you thought I fell off the face of the earth, don't worry....I'm just cranking out samples on my wheel in my spinning room.

Master Spinner Program (Level 2) - Day 5

2009-07-03T09:53:00.004-04:00

I woke up this morning to September-like weather. Last night it rained and the wind blew for a while. I think I'm going to buy a heavier jacket today. I came prepared for hot and humid weather like last year, but it's much different this year. I've already bought another suitcase so what's one more jacket.

Day 5:
It's actually 8:00 a.m. and class starts at 9:00 but the library closes early tonight so I want to get my post up now. And when class gets out I have a ton of packing to do (especially now that I have two suitcase). Plus it has to be an early night because our airport shuttle van is picking us up at 5:00...yikes!

Today we are going to find out what we got on yesterday's test and review it. I had a dream that I didn't quite get a passing grade on the test and Gayle, the instructor, whispered in my ear that she's going to pass me anyways as long as I understood my incorrect answered. I know it's just a dream, but now I'm sort of anxious to see how I did on the test. Do dreams really come true? I hope not! I've always done quite well in school so this dream has thrown me for a loop....it's just a dream, though.

After the test review we are going to work on drop spindles and learn how to Navajo ply on the drop spindle while spinning. It's called the "Navajo ply on the fly" technique. I forgot to pack a drop spindle (did I really or was it intentional?....hmmm) so I had to buy one here. It's a beautiful Tom Forrester with a design of a spinning goddess etched on the top whorl. Simply dreamy. SO, I'll be able to use my new drop spindle in class today. Oh, I also bought a Forrester support spindle...it very neat (pics to follow). Anyway...

We are also going to have a timed spin to determine how much time it will take us to spin a specific type of yarn. We'll use this info to help with our sweater calculation homework. THEN we're going to recreate the yarn that was used in the Lord of the Rings shawl (the one that makes you invisible). A woman whose name I forgot analyzed the yarn in the shawl to determine the twist per inch and grist (wraps per inch). We're going to spin to those specifications and hopeful absorb some magical energy along the way!

I think the afternoon is going to spent going over our workbook assignments. Our workbook(s) is the year's worth of assignment we have to do at home, assemble in binders, and ship to the instructor for marking. When we leave class today, we have to be very clear on what is expected.

Our Level 2 class was large enough to divide into two classes. So today both Level 2 classes are going to see if we can take our instructors out to lunch. They are wonderful people and truly passionate about spinning, weaving, wool, fiber, and everything else that goes into this wonderful artistic medium; and we, the students, want to recognize how incredible they've been all week. I hope there's time to take them to lunch. Even though it's the last day we still have specific topics that we have to cover, so lunch may not happen.

I'm signing off until I get home. I'll post pictures to my photo gallery, then post the link.

Spin On!

Master Spinner Program (Level 2) - Day 4

2009-07-02T18:46:00.002-04:00

After a day packed with fiber info, I'm ready to unwind. The weather in Olds today is very pleasant. The Albertians tell me that it's usually warmer this time of year. Last year when I came it was unseasonably hot and humid. I'm just enjoying the cool evening and pleasant days.

Day 4:
Today we were introduced to a lot of fiber info. It will be great to go home and let it all soak it. We worked with mohair today (fiber from the Angora goat). What a great fiber! Gayle, our instructor, gave us some beautiful hand dyed mohair locks to use in our homework assignments (she gave us a ton of other fibers too...pic too follow). We also looked at braids and how different braids and cords are made from strong handspun yarn. There are myraid uses for cords and braids ranging from garments to animal halters to handles. I bought a couple of plate to make kumihimo braids (Japanese braids). Pics will follow when I get home.

We also did color blending on the hand carders and drum carder and talked about the color wheel we have to create from blending primary colors (a homework assignment). Then we went through the "gruelling" calculations of determining how much raw wool is needed to make a sweater. Not as simple as it sounds, but well worth it in order to have enough yarn to make a complete sweater instead of ending up a half of sleeve short (that happened to one of the students in our class).

Oh, we also took a test that covered everything we've learned so far this week. It wasn't too bad. We ended the day with a presentation from one of the students on the history of the drop spindle. Did you know that on Columbus' ship all the textiles (the sails, the clothing, the nets, the whatever) was made from a drop spindle? Just think about that for a minute...amazing!

O.k. now it's time to unwind. There's a pot luck gathering at one of the townshouses and I'm going to stop in, have something to eat, and unwind for the evening.

Master Spinner Program (Level 2) - Day 3

2009-07-01T14:53:00.003-04:00

The weather in Olds today is beautiful. Light jacket in the morning, then just lovely the rest of the day (well so far). Today is Canada Day so the library is closed and I found another computer to post the day's events.

Day 3:
It's 1:00 p.m. so class isn't over yet, but so far we learned a lot about wool grading systems in Britian, Canada, and the U.S. This afternoon we are going to start on New World Camalids: alpacas and llamas. We're also going to spin and analyze mohair. Then at some point we move on to silk. Still so much to do and the week is half over.

Tonight is another run to the grocery store to get enough food for the rest of the week. We're running low and will probably run out if we don't go. I'll write more tomorrow when I have time at the library.

Master Spinner Program (Level 2) - Day 2

2009-06-30T19:54:00.003-04:00

After a few cool, breezy days it finally started raining here in Olds, Alberta. A wind blew in last night that got the tree branches dancin'...like a wild, crazy dance! It was some wind. It's much cooler this year than last, but it's nice all the same.

Day 2:
Today in class we looked at about five fleeces from different breeds: Corriedale, Merino, Romney, Lincoln, and Gotland. We talked about the different characteristics of each fleece. I did a presentation on Bluefaced Leicesters and got ahold of a handful of washed locks to give to my fellow students. The locks were from a Canadian breeder whose fleeces won many of this year's top awards in the fleece show. There are some gorgeous fleeces here.

We combed wool to spin a truly worsted yarn while still working on our twists per inch, wraps per inch, and twist angle. We also did a lot of hand carding and learned to make nice rolags (still can't get them to look like Gayle's, our instructor). Using the rolags we attempted to make a true woollen yarn. We're getting there. We also practiced more of the spinning techniques: the long draw, point of contact, etc.

The Level 4 group was reeling silk so we took a break and went down to their room to watch. Very awesome. I took pics and will post when I get home.

Tonight is a get together and a "fashion show" where anyone who hand made something within the last year can model it (or have it modeled). There is some truly beautiful work. I marvel at the talent that people have. To celebrate the 2009 Year of the Natural Fiber, entries were submitted of items hand made with natural fibers. The winner will be announced tonight as well as the winners of the silent auction items and fleeces from the wool show, alpaca show, llama show, and mohair show.

I have to wash some wool tonight so tomorrow I can continue with the exercise of calculating the wool needed for a sweater. I chose Corriedale for my exercise. I plan to comb it with hand combs (love the combing).

So I have to run because the events will start soon and I have to grab something to eat first.

Master Spinner Program (Level 2) - Day 1

2009-06-29T20:32:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd post a bit during the week to share what I'm learning all week. I have access to the Olds College library and can use the computer. Can't upload pics but will have loads of them posted when I get home.

Before the Master Spinner course started today I took a two-day Wool Judging Level 1 course. OMG, it was excellent! The instructor was from New Zealand and is an expert wool grader, wool judge, and wool anything. I learned a ton about wool, sheep, and fleeces. I was up to my elbows in wool for two days. The course was designed to teach the participants to judge a wool show. I have to say, we all did very good by the end of the two days. Then we watched the judging of the wool show here at Fibre Week. I'd like to apprentice with other wool judges first. Next year I plan to take the Wool Judging Level 2 course.

Day 1:
The Master Spinner Level 2 course (out of six levels) gets into the technical aspect of spinning. Today we were introduced to the concepts of twists per inch, wraps per inch, twist angle...I mean the mathmatical calculation to figure this out. I felt like I was back in math class. Many people don't want to be bothered with TPI and WPI and twist angle...and that's o.k., but at the master level we have to know it and be able to produce yarn accordingly. I don't have time right now to explain why, but there are many, many advantages to knowing the technical aspects of spinning (just ask Mabel Ross). Our instructor, Gayle Vallance, is very techical when it comes to spinning and VERY knowledgable, and a VERY good instructor. My brain will be fried by the end of the week, but a good sizzle!

We also learned the proper traditional long draw method of spinning to produce a true woolen yarn. Gayle provided hand carded woolen rolags from her Corriedale lambs that we used to practice the long draw. Wonderful rolags! In the past I could never master this spinning methods. Today I think I got it! I'll need practice of course, but I get it now.

I've got homework tonight. Have to go back to the townhouse and wash some Merino, Corriedale, and Romney wool. Tomorrow we'll be combing, carding, and spinning the three and decide which one we want to use later in the week for another project. I also have to prepare a presentation. My topic...Bluefaced Leicesters! Oh, and I have to do some reading.

I goofed off enough after class today and attended a sock darning demo with a really neat darning egg so now I have to get to work.

Albert Bound!

2009-06-26T02:18:00.007-04:00

In a few hours I'll be taking off for nine days in Alberta for my Level 2 year of the Master Spinner program at Olds College. Ooooo...I can't wait to get there. The college grounds are blooming with the work from the horticultural program and it's absolutely lovely. I'll try and post a few entries during my stay, but wanted to leave you with some pics of my Angoras and BFLs (mostly the lambs). I'll miss them, but they are in good hands!

One of the new Satin Angoras

Satin Angora checking out the surroundings.

The two Satins are named Rumplestilskin and Goldfinger. Can't tell by the pics which is which.Just got the Satins last week at seven weeks old. They're settling in well.

Here's Striker, a German Angora - one year old.

Striker trying to stay cool.

This is Dark Shadow, a German/English Angora mix.

Amos - yearling ram.

Some of the 2009 lamb.

2009 lambs.

Good buddies.

Alberta Bound…Almost!

2009-06-01T00:34:00.006-04:00

Well, not me, yet. I’ll be flying to Alberta for Fibre Week and the Master Spinner Program (Olds College) in just 24 short days. But today three large binders of my Level 1 assignments are being shipped up to Alberta for marking. Finally (I’m doin’ the dance)! I profusely apologized to the instructor for sending my stuff at this late date. My plan was to have it done and shipped in February so that I’d be free and clear once lambing started. HA….fat chance! But being the detail-oriented person that I am, I couldn’t just haphazardly just throw my work in the binders and call it good. I had to fuss and fret and finagle. Next year will be different, though. Start sooner, progress faster, and complete earlier. Just wait, you’ll see.

I think my favorite part of this year’s work was the breed study and natural dye section. Although I loved all the other sections, the different breeds and the array of color from the natural dyes really punctuates the fact that there’s a use all kinds of wool (no wool is too coarse or too short), and that no color is too pale or putrid. There’s a time and place for everything.

Now I go forth and take Level 2. I’m also taking a two-day wool judging workshop geared toward teaching participants how to judge sheep’s fleeces. Very excited!

Colorful Weekend

2009-05-27T12:51:00.006-04:00

After a family-filled weekend it’s time to buckle down and get lambs weaned, gardens planted, and start making my lists for my trip to Alberta for Fibre Week and more Master Spinner classes. This past weekend was the last hurrah before the busy summer kicks in...and it was filled with color!

Our “dye day” turned into two dye days and a lot of experimentation. Our goal was to create an indigo dye vat and dye baths of Cochineal, Alkanet root, and Madder. We dyed silk scarves, silk hankies, alpaca and wool yarns, wool locks, and mohair. The results were interesting:

Link here to all the pics from our dye days.

And here are Willa Jane (my niece) and Steve (my dh): one ole farmer teaching the next generation!

Now it's time to get busy!

Last Lambs...Lambing Done!

2009-05-03T22:38:00.004-04:00

I want to say that the best were saved for last...but, then again all the lambs are the best, in my opinion. Our last two ewes, Edwina and Gretta, hung on until the second half of April.

Evy, born to Edwina, is lovely. As soon as she hit the ground, she exercised her lungs and started nursing right away. Edwina, a first time mom, was (and is) great!

Evy: DOB 4/17/09 (Dam: Edwina)

Evy

Gabriel and Gideon, born to Gretta, were finally born last week. Gretta just kept holding on. She finally delivered two beautiful natural colored ram lambs. They were both up very soon after they hit the ground.

Gabriel and Gideon: DOB: 4/27/09 (Dam: Gretta)

Gabriel and Gideon

That's it for this season! Total 14 lambs; two died; 12 left. Seven rams, five ewes. Three natural colored (one ewe, two rams), nine white (four ewes, five rams).

We decided to keep all of our ewes and will be selling the ram lambs.