Archives for knitting

Changing Pastures

October 23, 2011 | 9 Comments

Today's post is in celebration of the simple joy of moving sheep on a sunny afternoon. I can't remember the last time I rotated pastures with the sun shining. The only good thing about wet weather is the grass is still growing like mad. Fingers crossed for a solid week of dry so we can make hay. Check out the mid-afternoon long shadows, a true sign of the season. In the meantime, sheepies love tall grass. Nom, nom nom . . . . . Thanks to everyone for sharing my frustration over my Rhinebeck fiasco. More about that and
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NOT READY FOR RHINEBECK

October 14, 2011 | 6 Comments

Yep, you heard me right. This is bad. Due to a major technical/bureaucratic glitch, I did not receive my NYS Sale Tax Certificate of Authority in time to participate in this year’s festival (despite being told on 10/3 that I would have it in time). Since everything I sell in Duchess County NY is subject to NY sales tax, I am sorry to report that I am unable to participate in this year’s festival as a vendor. I learned this yesterday morning. You should have seen the smoke coming out of my ears. So I have a hotel room, a rental
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Autumn Knit Along – Cast On!

September 4, 2011 | 5 Comments

Today is the official Cast-On day for Foxfire Fiber's "Crash Your Stash" Autumn KAL. The rules are easy, and the prizes are great! There's still time to join us. "What will you create from our wool?" Up for grabs are NINE prizes – comprised of both brand new Foxfire yarns (& spinning fiber) and vintage Foxfire Fiber & Designs skeins no longer available to the public. The best part of this KAL is you get to do whatever project you want. We're calling this a KAL but projects may be knit, crotchet, handspun, woven or felted. The only requirement is you use Foxfire Fiber &
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Hurricane Preparation

August 27, 2011 | 17 Comments

What will Hurricane Irene mean for our farm? Like everyone along the eastern seaboard, we're being told to brace ourselves and be ready for the worst. High winds, torrential rain and extended power outage. Yesterday I rounded up the flock in the high pasture and brought everyone down to the barn to ride out the storm. Without power, electric fences are useless; I don't want to chasing sheep all over Patten Hill in a hurricane. I picked as many pears as I could from the tree beside the sheep pasture. Our pears are lumpy and imperfect to the eye, but
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Summer Scenes

August 3, 2011 | 13 Comments

Fall Yarn Shares – Cormo Silk Alpaca yarn, Foxfire Fiber & Designs The photos tell the story of what's happening at the farm. Summer has hit its stride. The garden's growing full tilt, hay's happening . . . During the July heat wave the sheep grazed early morning and evening, returning to the barn to sit out the mid-day sun. The fans are running in the barn 24/7 to keep everyone comfortable.The lambs form a wooly puddle at my feet when I come to the barn in the morning. Our new Shetlands are loving life on the farm.
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New Little Sheep at the Big Farm

July 21, 2011 | 12 Comments

Today I'd like to introduce Ginger and Sassafras, our new Shetland lambs! We first met them three weeks ago at the National Sheep Show at the Eastern States Expo in West Springfield, MA. They were raised by the Ludlam family at Windswept Farms in Michigan who were showing sheep that weekend. We did not go to the show with a sheep shopping list. We went with a very specific mission: to pick up new sheep handling equipment (super light-weight aluminum panels for pens and a sorting gate). There was no plan to pick up more sheep. So why did we buy
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The Strolling of the Lambs part two

June 5, 2011 | 13 Comments

On Saturday we took a moment to honor Holly's commitment to the farm. This month she is leaving the farm to work on an exciting new endeavor in the restaurant business with her partner Chris. We love her and will miss her terribly! Kathryn's craft table was a hit! We made nests and hand felted eggs for a flock of hand-sewn chickens. Mistral loved every minute of being in the center of attention. Mike gave the farm tour. I forgot to tell him about it, so he was confused when people kept asking him when the tour began. Thanks to
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The Strolling of the Lambs

June 5, 2011 | 5 Comments

Thanks to our Sheep Shares members and your guests (more than 50 of you!) who traveled from far and wide to share a super-fun day with sheep. For those of you who could not be with us, I'm posting many images of the day (divided into two posts to make loading easier). Enjoy!
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Easter Morning – lamb video

April 24, 2011 | 6 Comments

Yesterday brought an inch of snow and a steady patter of sleet. The sheep huddled in their sheds. The lambs and mommas stayed indoors. The finches, chickadees, juncos and sparrows fought duked it out over the feeders. Today: a glorious sunrise over the trees that haven't yet leafed but have a fuzzy red halo of new buds. The snow has vanished except for a few freckles here and there in the pasture. The sheep are content lounging in the field. It is a perfect Easter morning. I'm wishing everyone a happy holiday and sharing a video clip from earlier this
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Sunday’s Lambs

April 10, 2011 | 7 Comments

We have a new set of twins! Meet Jonathan and Pink Lady. Bailey delivered them at dinnertime last night. These are Bailey's first lambs and also the very first lambs out of our black fine-wool ram, Cinder. We had hoped for a Moorit lamb (brown like momma) out of this crossing. PInk Lady has one little spot of brown on her back, but that's it. We love her pink little nose. Bailey has a beautiful udder and (so far) gets a gold star for mothering skills. Happy Sunday to all.
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