Archives for Craft

Ewe Tube

March 6, 2010 | 5 Comments

The t.v. in the bedroom is tuned to barn cam 1 most of the time now, which gives me this view of the flock. I looked up from my reading last night to spy on the girls, occasionally toggling over to camera 2. Would you believe, Crackerjack now sleeps across the barn threshold as if to say, "no one gets by me!" At one point I saw his head go straight up with his ears alert, pointing down toward the dell. Then I heard the coyotes yipping in the distance. He caught it first. Good llama. There were no picky
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Shearing Day 3 – Contest: Name the Lambs

March 3, 2010 | 119 Comments

The pregnant ewes are now all shorn. Whew! It's the group I fret over the most so I am hugely relieved that they're all now freshly coiffed and dressed in clean frocks. Without their ten pound fleeces, it's much easier to see if any ewes are over conditioned or under conditioned. The group looks just right. Carrera is the only one who looks as though she might possibly be eating pickles and ice cream on the sly. This afternoon as Andy finished shearing Galveston and while she was still seated on the board, Holly and I patted her tummy to
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Brown and White and Wooly all Over

March 2, 2010 | 10 Comments

I am so enjoying the different colored fleeces in the wool clip this year! Thought you'd like to see these photos of Latte's first shearing. Such a peanut, Gabriel scooped him right out of the holding pen and sat him down on the board. He and his sister Bailey have the finest wool of the four moorit yearlings. I am loving every second of comparing the shades of brown, the different textures and varying lengths of the wool staples. Since the fleeces are now snugly wrapped like "wool burritos", I haven't snatched any lock samples for close-up shots, but
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Cilantro’s Awesome Fleece

February 28, 2010 | 20 Comments

Cilantro is a handful. If you're a regular here, I'm not telling you anything you haven't heard before. Although he was wethered at an early age, he is just as combative as any ram. The bad boy of the big boys, we give him plenty of room. One of the things I like about shearing day is working closely with each animal. In the confines of the holding pen, there's no room for a ram to draw a bead on you. I enjoyed wrapping my arms around Cilantro's wooly head to extract him from the pen, and he didn't give
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More colors and a lucky winner

January 26, 2010 | 10 Comments

I love surprising friends and making people happy. So all week I've looked forward to drawing a name today – one lucky winner who will receive a Sheep Shares 2010 membership for a Farm Yarn Sampler. Since announcing this contest last week, Sheep Shares has grown and grown in numbers – to the point where I've had to press pause. I've put a hold on adding new members for the moment, until we catch up on paperwork (and make sure we still have enough yarn to go around). It doesn't mean you can't get in. After the dust settles and
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Crackerjack

January 23, 2010 | 12 Comments

I'm not sure how we've managed to score another perfectly fine Saturday, but I'll take it. While last weekend's post featured a moment with Caitlyn, my diva llama, this morning I had a moment to appreciate what a truly amazing friend Crackerjack is and how fortunate I am to have him in my herd. A few weeks back we placed him with the bred ewes in the birthing barn since we're nearing the time of year when his guardian role is needed to protect our newest and most vulnerable flock members, the lambs. I couldn't ask for a more patient,
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Sheep Shares Colors – Sneak Peek!

January 22, 2010 | 9 Comments

A quick post for inquiring minds. While the sheep are lounging around, eating bon bons, I'm slaving over the dye pots, wending my way through the color samples for the Spring Shares: Cormo Silk Alpaca. Here's a look at what's a'cookin'! Three (duh, make that four) of my favorite colors pictured above. Starting at the left: duck egg, katydid, hen of the woods and hyssop. This shot shows a few more colors. Clockwise from upper left: duck egg, lavender buds, bluebird, hyssop, hen of the woods, katydid, ladyslipper. It's so tricky photographing colors and showing them accurately. But these
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Fruit Loop

January 20, 2010 | 6 Comments

Have you ever wondered if goats prefer strawberries or clementines? The answer is: both! Gypsy is our little fruit loop, brightening our spirits on an otherwise gray morning. Thanks everybody, for your very kind words about my blog, in response to Monday's post. The contest runs through next Tuesday (which means I'll announce a winner by 7 pm EST Tues. evening). The rest of the Sheep Shares Farm Yarn memberships are going fast. By the end of the week, the contest may end being the only way to get one. Please spread the word!
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About Sheep Shares (and a special Kick-Off Contest)

January 18, 2010 | 118 Comments

This evening I'm going to talk about Sheep Shares and let you know there's still time to sign up for this year. Sheep Shares is the farm yarn and fiber club I started just a year ago. Prior to last year, most of my marketing had been either through my website or face-to-face with customers at shows and events throughout the Northeast. My business has grown this way, and so has my farm for more than a decade. I'm truly grateful to those who have so loyally supported my work over the years, casting on countless stitches with my yarns.
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Visitors & Weekend Scenes

January 11, 2010 | 4 Comments

Lazy greetings. Cilantro, Teaberry & friends at afternoon nap. Winter feedings: gold finch and sparrow. Buster, nattily dressed in my purple sweater – minus sleeves (sacrificed for lambie sweaters last spring!). I'll leave off with some scenes from and a few words about my St. Distaff's Day gathering on Saturday. I so looked forward to this coming together of a handful of die-hard, local fiberists who I knew would be here regardless of weather. On my iphone calendar I had written the word "FUN" starting at 4:30 after evening chores. And it was. Cozy. Great friends. Scads of fiber. And
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