Wool and Wings Fiber Arts

Ohio at Dusk

2010-11-04T21:16:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T15:00:00.001-07:00

Wassup?

2010-03-30T10:21:00.001-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

New Project!!

2010-03-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a cook book cook-a-long. Check it out! http://fromamonasterykitchencookalong.blogspot.com/

Tasty Tuesday

2010-03-23T11:11:00.001-07:00

That's banana bread with chocolate chips and topped with toasted coconut.

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Progress

2010-03-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Barn painted and fence raised!

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The Pinewood Derby

2010-03-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

We started with a plain block of pine, which after much frustration, sanding, painting, weighing, and gluing, became:

Then, the weigh in. Exactly 5 ounces!! Phew! A few cars had to be sanded down or have items removed to participate.

The 40ft track.

Each scout brings up his own car, ready to race.

Ready...

Aim... Fire! He won two out of four heats he participated in. This brought him to the last round before competing for third place. Not bad for his first car!

Little man says, "mama my teeth hurt. Is it lunch time yet? Molars suck."

Or really: "waaaaaa no! No no no ehh no wahhhhhhhh!"

While we ate awards were selected and laid out with the winning car. Notice a familiar one with that huge trophy up front? (I have no idea who that little boy is. He wouldn't get out of the shot.)

Presenation time! Best of Show!!! (Or- our car didn't have any pieces fall off of it due to quality construction. Yeah!)

Proud day for my big boy.

The troop and flag:

This was the first annual pinewood derby for our den. Good job boys!!
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Wordless Wednesday: it's spring!

2010-03-10T12:56:00.001-08:00

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New ewe has arrived!!

2010-02-28T17:13:00.000-08:00

And boy is she ever gorgeous! Much smoother delivery than the last time we had sheep here. While it was cold, there was no precipitation, and they got up the drive way no problems. Her belly is HUGE so I'm hoping there's at least a couple lambies in there!! The other sheep introduced themselves with a light headbutt, and Nibbler even tried to mount her! (Which was greeted with a swift kick...) She is a little skittish of me today, but I got her to come close to me as long as I was on the other side of the fence today. I think she was more interested in the hay than she was nervous of me tho. I hope she warms up since we'd like to milk her.

Enjoy a view of winter on our farm, with my little herd of icelandic sheep!

PS- what should we name her?

The chickens enjoy a chilly roost in the garden.

Dudley says, "Hi!" And meet our new girl...

This is how I make venison sausage

2010-01-16T10:53:00.001-08:00

My husband finally bagged us a deer so I thought I would share a method for making country sausage patties.
First- sanitize your grinder. Even if you did it last time- do it again. Really.
Next take around 2lb of venison chunks (about 1-2" pieces) and run through your grinder. I like to crank slow to allow gravity to drop the meat into the screw threads.

When finished pick out any sinew and hair you may see and you should be left with this:

Add:
1 lb ground pork
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sage
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs parsley

Blend by hand until pork fat and seasonings can be seen evenly throughout. I suggest wearing gloves as the salt can be drying.

Use a patty press (I like this one from Tupperware) to press the meat in 1/4 cup increments.

Yield: about 15 patties perfect for sandwiches or breakfast.

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Winter on the farm

2010-01-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

The sheep are taking it easy, the chickens stand on on foot and the kids go sledding! Babyman is 2 and thus this is the first winter he has really gotten to enjoy. The older boys had winter in NH last year but we didn't get an opportunity to sled so this is a true novelty for them!

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Cyber Monday

2009-11-29T13:39:00.001-08:00

The Internet equivalent of black Friday- I wanted to announce I'm having a sale!
Http://www.woolandwingsfiberart.etsy.com

Drastically reduced prices on yarn, hats, tarot, and coaching.

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Blogging will be slow this month

2009-11-02T10:21:00.001-08:00

As I participate in Nanwrimo. See you in December.

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Passage of time

2009-10-29T07:53:00.001-07:00

Halloween always makes me acutely aware of the passage of fall into winter. It's the final harvest. Despite our still relatively warm weather (we are headed to the park today!), I notice the animals both wild and farm reaching out further and further to look for those last few seeds nuts and bugs. I've had to start bringing more hay for the sheep; their pen is about all dried up for leafy greens. I clipped the last sunflower head and roasted it's amazing seeds. I pulled the last huge sweet potatoes from the earth to roast alongside squash and pork tenderloin with fresh fall apples. The leaves continue to fall. The hens go to sleep earlier and earlier and there are less eggs day to day. The rabbits coats are growing thick and wooly (mmm wooly). Holliday movies and advertising is becoming abundant.
At this time of the world slowing down to sleep, I have been speeding up and drawing on the abundance around me. I recently received a scholarship seat to a fantastic life coach certification program and I am excited for the good things this will bring. In a turn of coincidence that makes amazing sense, it is a six month program and beginning at the final harvest, I will reap what I have sown at the first harvest again.

Everything continues to go full circle, ebbing, flowing, never ceasing. I just ride the wave.

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Check out windrose fibers!

2009-10-28T07:40:00.001-07:00

I love reading this blog and today there is a contest!
http://bit.ly/15Qvhk

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Phew

2009-10-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

Shearing those sheep is some crazy work but the fleeces are beautiful and I am quite pleased!
I wante to share these beautiful rolags I made from a sample of Dudleys wool and Ginger's fawn angora. They are for my friend Jen in Michigan and I think she will be really pleased.

Coming soon- @vtkmitboy's thel batts!
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Last Harvest

2009-10-12T20:16:00.001-07:00

The local bees are soaking up every tidbit they can get as fall slowly kills off the pollen supply. So what is left in bloom? My sunflower garden!

This little fella was so plumb full of pollen he just fell right off the flower!

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What a wonky crazy week!

2009-10-07T13:36:00.001-07:00

Went to a lovely rabbit show on Saturday and picked up two new bunnies! Introducing Snuggle Bunny and Tahiti:

Snuggle Bunny was a freebie I gifted to my son who loves her more than anything despite having to suck back mass quantities of Zyrtec to chill with her.
The rabbit show was fun. I brought our white rabbit Proncess who didn't place but I learned a lot about her and what they're looking for in a show rabbit and I will certainly show her again when she has a longer coat.
I think we will try breeding Tahiti to Nougat since they're both gorgeous satins. Nougat remains my best wooler, and you can't beat the color on our new doe. Just look at them together!

In sad news, we lost a hen today to a prolapsed oviduct. (Ew.) I'm wondering if she was the mystery hen who laid us a massive egg once every three days.
Sometimes this farming stuff really sucks. The highs and lows are drastic! I do have a picture of that but you'll have to message me for it cuz it's nasty and I don't feel like posting it.

Will be shearing the sheep soon, that should be fun and exciting and hopefully profitable!
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Sad news

2009-10-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

Baby bunnies got too cold overnight and didn't make it. We will try again.

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Eeee bunnies!

2009-09-30T18:46:00.000-07:00

My black bunny girl has had 7 babies!!!

There are four with grey skin, one black, and two pink. It will be fun to see the fur colors! (mama is black with tortiseshell and chinchilla and chocolates in her background, papa is a cream). So exciting!
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Exciting news!

2009-09-07T09:26:00.001-07:00

Star, my very favorite barred rock, laid her first egg!

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Update!

2009-09-06T21:12:00.000-07:00

Let's see here...
We have three new guinea keets which my son has trained to roost on his arm. It is so cool! (pics soon)

Noodle the rooster attacked my aforementioned son and found his way in a soup pot. Due to the massive number of chicken butchering details online I'll save you the gory details. He served 8 w leftovers and was quite tasty.

We had Cloudy the bunny bred and with any luck we will have babies on the 29th! If not, I'm considering showing het on Oct 3rd if she has a nice enough coat by then.

After a gun scare we pulled the boys from school. I'm happy to have them home but not under those circumstances!
If anyone has grades K and 3 Oak Meadow curriculum I'm looking.

Currently on needles:

95% wool 5% silk slipper sock. Hoping to get a secnd pair of ankle socks out of this yarn; it wasn't cheap.

Sorry for the brevity and late update- things have been crazy settling back into our normal life.
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And the winner is...

2009-08-30T21:37:00.001-07:00

Huffleduck with Jemima Puddleduck! Thank you all entrants this was fun and Ms. Puddleduck appreciates not being called "girl duck" anymore!

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There's a monster in my garden!

2009-08-24T09:55:00.001-07:00

But I slayed it!

Weighing in at a full 2lbs, meet lunch!

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Ducks are cool.

2009-08-23T17:47:00.001-07:00

The female duck was having a hard time getting into the feed dish so Ping scooped out food for her, waited for her to finish, and THEN he ate. Wow.

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New friends and a contest!

2009-08-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

This is a testimony to the law of attraction! Yesterday I was looking through the Meyer Hatchery catalog and dreaming of ducks when someone popped up on freecycle giving away a pair of ducks! So I nabbed them up and brought them home. It's a boy and a girl (eee ducklings??). The girl was attacked when younger and has a pretty gimpy leg but seems to get around and the boy looks after her. I gave them the dog house and free run of the sheep pen for now. Unfortunately they won't be able to truly free range with that bad leg but the sheep pen is pretty big for just two ducks.

On to the contest! I'm bamong the boy Ping after my favorite childhood book. Please leave suggestions for the girls name in the comments below, or tweet it And leave a link in the comments. Winner will achieve the glory of naming my duck, and a handmade needle felted duck to play with or display as you see fit. Name will be chosen at midnight the 31st.
Go!

Sheep says, "WTF is that?"

-- Post From My iPhone

I'm on to you chickens!

2009-08-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

Now that I know where you nest during the day- lay me some dang eggs!!!

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I'm ROASTING here!

2009-08-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

I figured Peter wouldn't want us to languish away in grief so we decided to have a bonfire and marshmallow roast to lighten things up. Nothing fixes a bad mood like sugar and chocolate.

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No funny tales today

2009-08-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

Peter Cottontail, my beloved red satin angora bunny died today of unknown causes. I buried him under a tree near one of our beautiful wooded trails. May he hop through the meadows in bunny summerland. He will be missed.

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Nougat Shawl

2009-08-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

It's finally done! I've decided to list it since it's so elegant and I just don't party LOL
Over 42" long and one naked satin angora! Little Nougat has achieved twitter fame by winning the alpaca-bunny-smackdown for softness. I love this little guy so much.
Anyhow check out the shawl:

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What have I been up to?

2009-08-15T15:25:00.001-07:00

Let's see, a lot of the same old stuff. Working on my shrug and a pair of socks. Just spin up a ton of peach merino/silk and planning to start my white batch of merino/silk for coachella.

The garden has been giving forth plenty of cucumbers and I'm thinking about making pickles.
I've bee harness training the sheep. It's getting easier but I can't say they like it. But since I'm the only one in charge of the sheep a harness makes like an extra pair of hands.

The ewe I was planning to get was exposed to parasites so we will be getting a black ewe, bred. Lambies this spring!!!!

I've been baking tons of sprouted grain bread. It is awesome.
Etsy is open but I haven't loaded anything new this week due to verizon doing what they do best and delaying the wifi hookup. Look for new items Monday. Should be a ton of destash fabric.
The boys start school the 26th. I'm less than pleased but what can you do. I have very little information about the place and I don't like that. Guess we will take it day by day.

Off to go knead more bread dough!
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Thank you friend!

2009-08-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Pollinate those squash blossoms!

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Cloverbud interview at the fair

2009-08-04T11:39:00.001-07:00

Jacob got to show his chicken, Sparkle, at the fair yesterday. Sparkle is a three month old golden buff hen and he was very excited to share her with the judge and his 4H friends. He is incredibly proud of his medal and has it hung on his wall!
It wound up being a crazy long day. I had to run home, drop off the chicken, run back, pick up husband and kids to drop hubby off, then run back to the fair again so the boys could walk in the 4H parade. Then a few rides with friends and finally babyman said enough already so we came home. Phew!

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New addition

2009-08-01T11:37:00.001-07:00

One more bunny coming to join us tomorrow! She is a black French angora and I'm getting a fantastic deal on her diego the owners relocating. Pedigreed and show quality. I wasn't going to get more rabbits but I figure she will be a good investment because: I can blend her with Nibbler for a nice grey/black wool, it will give me a darker angora to offer, the cage I'm getting with her will be a good size for breeding usage, and she has a nice coat ready for the rabbit demo I'm doing the end of this month (my other rabbits are bald).
Any ideas on a name for her?

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The alpaca bunny smackdown

2009-08-01T11:33:00.001-07:00

It all began innocently enough. One day on twitter I was speaking with Alpacamundo and mentioned that I've worked with angora for so long now that alpaca almost feels coarse. She felt those were fightin' words and I said, a little competition perhaps? After much deliberation we decided to trade samples along with neutral third party spinner, vtknitboy.
I sent along a bit of my best from Nougat, my chocolate agouti (shawl finished pictures coming soon!). In return I received a half ounce of peachish tan alpaca. Admittedy it is a very fine fiber and I spun it light and thin to see what it could do. It did have quite a bit of VM which I struggled with but the fiber itself is quite nice.
In comparison to Nougat however, on softness factor only, I feel the bunny still wins. I do however think the alpaca is a stronger fiber than the angora, and I do love me a blended angora/alpaca spinning batt for the best of both worlds. Since the bunny goes a long way, a 10% angora to alpaca blend can make for arctic quality finished goods.
This has been really fun so far and I'm delighted to see how others have jumped in. I'm anxiously awaiting verdict from Alpacamundo and Vtknitboy.

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Babyman's hat

2009-08-01T11:24:00.001-07:00

For whatever reason my son hands me the same ball of yarn everytime we visit our local yarn store. I decided finally to buy it and make him something. He has requested a hat and socks. Here is the finished hat. It's a bit short but since it's crochet I may lengthen it come winter. For now it makes a nice summer skull cap. The yarn is lambs pride superwash in true green.

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By popular demand

2009-07-30T09:32:00.001-07:00

A better shot of the sheep:

I think I'm going to name the little black one Nibbler after the pet from Futurama. I've yet to see him stop eating.
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Bock! Ererooo!

2009-07-29T17:48:00.000-07:00

One thing I forgot to note- as we are dragging Dudley down the hill, Noodle the rooster decided to greet his wooly new friend with a series of loud gusty crows. It was awesome :-)

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No free range sheep for me!

2009-07-29T17:44:00.001-07:00

So I'm sitting there folding laundry when I see a sheep peeking in my living room window. Now I admit I had been thinking it'd be nice to fence in that area and have sheep peeking in the window but the key word is 'fence'.
Anyhow, since I've had more exercise in one day than a fat lady needs, I will spare you the play by play and give you the short version:

Bad news: sheep are loose!
Good news: they trimmed up the grassy spot near the swing set that hubby hates to mow.
Better news: after much todo and hulaballoo and chasing around they moseyed back into their pen all by themselves.
Awesomest news: looks like our organic insect repellent worked- after all that Mucking around in the bushes I didn't pick up a single tick!!!

Phew.

Am I a real farmer yet?

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The sheep have arrived!

2009-07-29T14:06:00.001-07:00

My two wethers are here! And what an adventure it was to get them here. Imagine, torrential pouring down rain. Two wet sheep. My aforementioned awful steep driveway. The sheep lady shows up and can't get her truck up the drive. So, I drive down the hill in my SUW, load the first sheep into my trunk as I sit with him holding him down by the horns as my husband drives is back up. First sheep is Dudley, a two year old morrit wether who weighs about 175lb and is no wimp. No wimp, who is now sitting in my lap pooping away as I hang onto his horns for dear life as we bumpity bump and get air hauling tail up the grand canyon that is my driveway.
Next, we have to get him into the sheep pen, which is halfway back down the hill.

See barn to right, garage, upper left. Imagine hurricane force rains, dragging an angry national geographic looking big horned mountain type Icelandic sheep by the horns from said garage to said barn. Thankfully after a brief scuttle getting out of the car, he offered no resistance heading into the pen and immediately started noshing on the foliage.
The littler sheep was caged and thus a bit easier to get in. Both seem to be enjoying the grasses and weeds after a cursory exploration of their new digs.
Any name suggestions for the black lamb?

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Mm fiberlicious

2009-07-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

I spent a few hours today blending 3oz of honey tussah into 7.5oz of white merino.
Ohhhh I couldn't have dreamed how pretty this wouldve turned out. It is awesome. And soooo soft. I have no idea yet how I want to spin it but I'm planning for something close to the skin. It's that soft.

I wound up with a big huge soft puffy bagful. I am sooo excited.
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Drool

2009-07-15T10:43:00.001-07:00

Project flaming rabbit has dried to a far more vibrant and beautiful shade than I could've dreamed.
I wish your screen had feel-o-vision because it is SO soft.

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Pheonix yarn, Harry Potter inspired

2009-07-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick how to for dying your own yarn with koolaid.
First off, I HIGHLY recommend wearing gloves for this:

Ok so first you want to get set up. I'm using a skein of 2-ply white angora (from Princess). Set your fiber to soak. Wet wool really takes the dye easier. If you're using a lanolin-y wool wash it first with a mild soap.
Get your color packets, two cups, and a microwave steamer.

You may also want a syringe and some plastic bags.
So next put each color in a cup and add a few tablespoons of water.

If you are doing a large batch of yarn and want a really specific effect I suggest doing a test swatch; this was originally supposed to be gryffindor yarn but the orange wound up far more orangy than the goldish color pictured here.

Lay your skein out on some plastic and get ready to paint!

I like to start with the syringe to define my color boundaries, and then soak if it's not a super absorbant wool. (note: koolaid is very acidic you don't necessarily need vinegar for this.)

This is where you put your gloves on (whoops) and really smush the dye in. Check for white spots especially under the ties. Be careful not to agitate the wool or it can felt.

When it's ready put it in the steamer with some water and nuke for about 2 minutes on high. Let rest a few minutes and nuke again for 2 minutes on high.
Let cool and rinse completely in water the same temperature as the yarn. Sudden cold water can shock the wool and felt it.

When it's done and rinsed lightly roll your yarn in a towel and hang to dry.

Tada!

I will post again when this is dry and knit. This photo really doesn't do the variegation justice.

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Do you twitter?

2009-07-05T11:01:00.001-07:00

I'm loving this networking tool. Follow me @sheepmama.

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Grand opening!!!

2009-07-01T13:32:00.001-07:00

Now presenting my farm store! Please take a look and tell me what you think!
Www.woolandwingsfiberart.etsy.com

Thank you for looking!

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Back from NH with three stowaways

2009-07-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

Phew what a long crazy trip!! I went on a gorgeous farm tour in Barrington, and picked up a cat and two chickens!

The chickens decided to get in a scuffle during the long trip home resulting in my first animal rehab situation. The little araucana is hanging in there despite her wounds and seems to be a good natured little birdie. The banty that attacked her is settling into the coop with no further issue and has even given us our first egg!!

Some pictures from the trip:

What next?

2009-06-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

No seriously, I'd love to know what kind of pestilence shall befall us next. I woke up this morning covered head to toe in what is apparently chigger bites. So now after the snakes, ticks, roaches, ants, beetles, spiders, and now chiggers, what is next?
Here's the kicker- I am NOT a city girl gone country. I spent roughly 20 years of my life in the middle of nowhere in NY or VT out in the great outdoors. Even during our time in charleston (creepy crawly Mecca!) I did not encounter this many problems.
As a child I spent near everyday outdoors in swamps and woods and deep brush and never encountered much worse than a dozen mosquito bites.
This leaves me to ask- What the heck is wrong with Ohio? Did it's founders piss off some angry bug god who decided to bequeath the area with nastiness?

I am so frustrated!

Off to vaccuum, steam clean, and wash everything in hot water.
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Long lost update

2009-06-23T11:21:00.001-07:00

It occurred to me I haven't written here in forever and a day. There isn't a whole lot to say. The guineas were a disaster that flew off however I've been happily free ranging my chickens who faithfully return to their roost every morning. My day went kinda like this-
"why you still in the barn chickies?"

"oh we didn't realize it was to come out and play! Here we go!"

"Mm bugs!"

Then to feed the bunnies...
Peter and Nougat
"pssst, hey peter, she looks funny when she hasn't brushed her hair yet!"

Ginger
"sniff sniff I know I dropped some hay out here..."

Princess "I'm going to kill you in your sleep..."

I swear really that white rabbit still hates me for some reason!
Anyhow things are starting to bloom and grow. The blackberries are so close!

And my tomato plant has little baby tomatoes on it. I'm a proud mater mama!

Outside of that I've just been knitting, spinning, and hanging with the kids. The Nougat shawl is almost done and I've also started the St Augustine shrug in merino.
I just spun up this gorgeous batch of yarn-
Merino, bamboo, and angelina, from an etsy purchased batt of fiber. It came out awesome! About a fingering weight, maybe a little lighter. Two ply with gorgeous blues, purples, yellows, honey brown, and sparkling silver. It came to about 115 yards. I'm trying to decide whether to list it or knit it myself.

Last but not least- two of my sheep come next month- the two wethers, a black and a moorit. In august our ewe joins us from another farm, a badgerface mouflon.

That's all for now! Will update when the knitting is done and berries are ripe!

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On the wing

2009-05-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

The back door of the barn has been left open for my birdies to range. So far my remaining guinea is happily exploring the back pen, the rest of my chicken chickens are hanging out next to the door looking at it but not taking the leap.
In other news I recently attended the great lakes fiber show. It was quite nice and I hot some great prices on alpaca fiber. This new mom smiled for the camera!

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How to catch a guinea hen 101

2009-05-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

So my guinea fowl are here. I think they are a boy/ girl pair. One has bigger cheeks and one makes different sounds than the other so here's hoping.
It doesn't bode well that everytime I get new animals at least one gets loose in my garage.

Notice her friend still neatly tucked in his cage. Silly me opened the cage up to get a better look at them.
Here's how you catch a guinea hen when you're in an enclosed space:
Wait till it gets dark. Turn off all the lights except for one, hung low. Put a box behind the light. When the bird runs towards the light, scoop it into the box and put the lid on fast. Tada! Wish I had figured that out BEFORE I chased it for two hours!
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Barn is clean!

2009-05-12T18:05:00.001-07:00

That was hands down the grossest thing I've ever had to do, and I've done some pretty gross stuff. Dead mice, dirt, grease, poo, old tractor parts, old animal medicine, a desk, a broken dehumidifier, all of it covered in layers of mouse poo. Everything dumped and burned and the inside sprayed out with water and a little touch of bleach (I hate bleach but I'm not eating eggs from that place without a little sanitizing first, know what I mean?). I feel proud to now cover it in wood shavings and chicken poo heehee!

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Gardening and pest control

2009-05-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

My gardening experiment, phase one, seems to have worked. When I brushed away the cedar chips to plant seeds I found no grubs, and lots of worms. Yay! I now have a long row each of yellow squash, zucchini, cataloupe, watermelon, and radishes. I also planted a sunflower house for the boys. While doing that I excitedly discovered a large patch of sorrel as well.

Operation pest control is complete. Sadly I wound up killing the snake. The repellant proved useless and despite my best efforts to coax it out gently it decided to bite my stick and I decided it needed to meet with the business end of a shovel.
I'm very sad, it's the first thing bigger than a spider I've ever killed. I understand I'll have to kill farm animals if we want meat but this seemed different.

Tomorrow I clean out the rest of the barn, hopefully with no more incident. The guineas come wednesday and my little chickies are all grown up. It's time to move them into their new home!

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Happy mothers day!

2009-05-10T12:32:00.001-07:00

May your kisses be juicy and taste like watermelon!

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I've been dyeing to tell you...

2009-05-09T14:40:00.001-07:00

I have two firsts! My first very own raised by me and my own fiber animals yarn. And, my first dye project! I got 106 yards of Princess, slightly over spun for texture. Soaked 3 hours in the crock pot with 1 cup vinegar, 3 cups water, and a pack of generic $0.15 black cherry powdered drink mix. I am amzed how well this works. It was so easy it makes me question the legality of it. The results were totally colorfast and not a bit leached out in the rinsing. Another interesting note- because of the over spin, when I plied it to 53 yards it gave it a tie dyed effect. The twisty parts didn't take the dye.
Results, and orangey red super soft two ply:

Coming soon- the Nougat shawl.

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Ah the joy of nature.

2009-05-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

I smushed a brown recluse in my garage today. A BIG one. (sorry I didn't take the time to snap a picture of this one!)
I called pest control. I want to take care of our problems as organically as possible but now that there are carpenter bees, wasps, ants, ticks, snakes, AND giant poisonous spiders, I at least need some advice. I'm hoping the chickens will take care of the insect issues and if not I'm investigating guinea hens. The snake definitely needs out.
What I don't want is mass spraying- it is unhealthy and possibly deadly for my animals and all beneficial insects on the lot, pesticides affect me very badly, and frankly with six acres to cover i just don't think we can spray enough to get it all. So, off to find another way.

-- Post From My iPhone

Coming soon

2009-05-05T21:38:00.001-07:00

I love multipurpose animals. My rabbits provide wool, manure, and are ultimately my pets. They have wonderful personalities and are just a joy to be around. My birds are dual purpose, heavy breeds and prolific layers. The barred rocks are my favorite so far and I think I will invest in more of them come spring.
However, my ultimate vision for this farm is to have an ancient rare breed which happens to be the best darn multipurpose beast ever. The Icelandic sheep. They make two types of wool, for three types if yarn. Good milkers and are known for gourmet cheeses. Lean, tasty meat. Economic feeders who will feed themselves all summer on green pasture. Their pelts are thick and great for people with poor circulation. And of course they provide another source of manure.
I've put a payment down on these two fine wethers for wool. I'm hoping to add an ewe very soon as well for milk and breeding.
This little black lamb:

And this sweet big guy (I'm in love with this colorway):

Come July when you pull up into my farm you will be greeted with a resounding: baaaa!
-- Post From My iPhone

New additions

2009-05-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

In the interest of trying to find a meat bird for my carnivore five year old we picked up two new chicks hoping at least one is a rooster. (yes I know you can eat hens but I don't want to eat the layers yet!)

Introducing:
Noodle

And Broiler:

-- Post From My iPhone

Picking up chicks

2009-05-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

I wanted to introduce my hens here. They are nearly fully feathered and once I can get rid of the snake they are about ready to hang in the barn.
Star:

K.F.:

Sparkle:

And Wormeater:

I am almost giddy at the thought of having by own free range brown eggs!
-- Post From My iPhone

Not all wildlife is creepy

2009-05-05T21:14:00.001-07:00

I didn't take this picture (if you know who did please help extend credit), but couldn't help sharing this glorious animal that shares my yard. Known as a northern flicker, despite it's preference for ants, is actually a type of woodpecker and is absolutely stunning.

-- Post From My iPhone

Plucking season is over!

2009-05-05T21:09:00.001-07:00

And wouldn't be complete without before and after pictures! The French girls look pretty much the same, just lighter, but check out my new satins!
Now first my gorgeous little red guy who we've named Peter went from:

Cute, but a little non descript, to:

I apologize for the blur as he's an active little guy but check out that gorgeous color!

Next my new agouti, Nougat, gave me two full grocery bags of amazing wool.

Now looking a little like a naked mole rat with mukluks on...

Cheer up little guy it will grow back soon!
-- Post From My iPhone

No coop for you!

2009-05-05T20:50:00.001-07:00

So I went to clean out my little barn and found...

Nothing like four feet of black snake to keep your chicks in the brooder just a little longer!
-- Post From My iPhone

Big huge update

2009-04-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

So here is what disappeared. The move went smoothly and we are settling in. We have four angora rabbits and four chickens making us officially have wool and wings. We had a spectacular Easter egg hunt. I've even found time to spin 400 yards toward my sweater, 290 yards of Icelandic wool (try before you buy!)and since it's shedding season I'm working up some angora and then back to the teal sweater. Hubby is brewing mead. We put in two garden beds and have plans for a cob bread oven (I'm baking bread right now and it's a thousand degrees in here. Outside bread baking will be awesome).
Here are some pics for the farm,
fiber, chicken, and kid junkies out there:

-- Post From My iPhone

Testing with a picture

2009-04-28T17:45:00.001-07:00

My blog has been eaten; I'm testing posting with photo.

-- Post From My iPhone

Testing

2009-04-28T17:28:00.001-07:00

Mercury retrograde kicked in early and ate my blog. This is a test.

-- Post From My iPhone

Coming Soon!!

2009-02-24T16:53:00.001-08:00

Looks for updates after March 15th 2009!