Stitches West and All About Babies

I am back from Stitches West. It is always good to get away and see what other people are doing. This turned out to be an inspirational trip, because I came back with ideas for using up older mohair. I will tell all in my next post. The show was overwhelming in that there were hundreds of vendors and loads of yarn. There was not a lot of temptation for me, since I spin my own yarn. The space dyed yarn in most booths did not have prices on them, so I could not judge where I fit among them. I did not see any handspun, but then there was so much stuff, that it would have been hard to pick out.

My felted landscapes drew the most attention and helped sell a lot of roving, batts, and mohair locks. My coiled yarns and freeform yarns sold well, but nowhere near as well as they did here in Arizona. Blues were the most popular colors. I will have to write the pattern for my southwestern vest, since I kept getting asked for it. I also plan to put together kits for my layered collar pattern, since people were looking for a batch of yarn specifically for it.

While I was off having fun, things at the ranch kept moving along. I managed to get a great photo of Spindle, so her color can be seen. She is loving the attention of all of the visitors.

Amber went into ketosis, so I had to talk Marc through setting up an IV with Dextrose for her. Fortunately she delivered the next day (I think we might have given her too much!) Two lovely twins - a buck, Flyer, and a doe, Maiden. Above is a photo of Flyer drinking from Amber. She was too lazy to get up and he decided that her teat was just right where it was.

Willow waited till Tuesday morning to have her kids, so I got to dry her babies. I am holding Treadle, a doe. Her brother is named Double. Double and Treadle. Get it?

Dark Chocolate's buck, Star, is out with his mom now. He was the first born and he is really friendly. If you stay still, he will come nibble on your pants.

My intern, Caitlin, has only a few more days here at the ranch. She has fallen in love with the unpredictable lifestyle and says that the babies are the most fun. Star is by far her favorite.