Unique Designs By Kathy

Withers Ranch to be a Farm on April 1, 2012

2012-01-25T11:18:00.000-08:00

Withers Ranch to Become a Farm on April 1, 2012

Wool Festival March 10, 2012 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

After 12 years in Tucson, we are moving to a 22 acre farm in Woodbine, Maryland at the end of March. I will be keeping my website, blog, e-shop, and current cell phone 520-401-6117, as well as my business and animals. I am sad to be leaving friends and loyal customers in Tucson, but I am also very excited about having pasture, a cooler climate for the animals, and a place where people will not look at me funny when I say I deal in wool in the desert! My husband will continue to work for his current company, but he will be home a lot more.

Spring Wool Festival - I am scheduling a Tucson Spring Shearing/Wool Festival for March 10, 2012 from 9-2. I do not plan on spending a lot of time publicizing it, so please pass the info on. The crowds and attendance will probably be less than in the past. I will only be giving one tour at 10 a.m. The shop will be open all day. My physical shop will close at the end of the day on March 14, 2012, as I need time to take down fixtures, pack fiber, etc.

I am not going to be giving animal tours except under special circumstances, so plan on the shearing day for bringing friends and family to the ranch.

Classes need to have 3 or more persons for it to be worth my time. I am listing classes currently scheduled. All classes must be prepaid. I will refund all, if I cancel the class.
January 28 - Freeform Knit and Crochet 10-12 $75 at the ranch
February 4 – 5-6:30 p.m. Drop Spindling - $60 at the Doubletree Inn on Grant and Alvernon.
February 5 – 9-10:30 a.m. Nuno Felting a Shawl - $100 at the Doubletree Inn
February 5 – 5-7 p.m. Freeform Knit and Crochet - $75 at the Doubletree Inn.
February 6 –9-10:30 p.m. Nuno Felting a Shawl $100 at the Doubletree Inn.
February 11 – 10-1 Wet felting a bowl, bag, or flat piece. $25 instruction fee plus cost of materials based on project selected.

Shop Closures
February 4-6, 2012 Tucson Bead Show
Noon February 21 through noon February 28, 2012. Stitches West

I am selling my three llamas (asking $100 each) and I am looking for a home for Shep and Herd, the Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd dogs. Call me at 520-401-6117, if you are interested. We will be taking the dogs, if I cannot find them a home, but they will not fit in at the new farm. If you take the dogs, we will throw in the Igloo doghouse that we recently purchased.

Kathy Withers
520-401-6117
jmarckathy@aol.com
www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com
www.uniquedesignsbykathy.blogspot.com
www.uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy.com
www.uniquedesignsbykathyshop.com

Withers Ranch to be a Farm

2012-01-17T11:34:00.001-08:00

The first week in January, Marc and I found a farm in northern Maryland that pretty much has it all. 22 acres includes a fully remodelled house from the 1820's, three pastures, a barn, a garage, an old bank barn, a pond, and 6 acres of hay.We plan to move in early April. I am tentatively scheduling the Spring Shearing for the 31st of March - just depends on whether we have to actually fly in for the closing.

I am doing the bead show in Tucson the first weekend in February and the Stitches West the last weekend in February. I am scheduling some classes. If I don't have at least 3 people in them, I will cancel them, since my time is valuable. I will let you know when I will close my shop doors. I am going to sell some of the older fleeces at reduced rates, but I am not going to dump my fiber or my animals. I have a friend with a stock trailer and he says they will all fit.

I would like to find good homes for my three llamas, since they will no longer be needed as guardian animals. Let me know, if you know someone looking for llamas as guardians. Fillip, the male, has usable hair, Brillo has a lot of guard hair, and Emmy's is compost.

I am also looking for homes for the herd dogs. If I do not find takers, we will take them with us. They are very friendly and require attention, which I no longer have to give. The Great Pyrenees that I bought as guardian dogs are more in line with our new property.
I just got back from the Pasadena Bead and Design Show. Nuno felting was a hit. I came home with three dyed silks and some black. I really enjoyed teaching it and had some super students. I was too busy to take photos of their work, so I am hoping that they will share photos.

The shop is set back up in a slightly different style. I always try to find a different focal point, so you will see something different. I also plan to start listing my yarns on my etsy shop as I spin them. I will mainly be online once we move. I will be doing shows on the east coast, but I will fly back for the July Pasadena Bead show. I have made quite a few friends among the vendors. They are inspirational.

This batt was created from all of the leftover Merino Tussah silk and kid mohair from the nuno felting classes. It will be the next yarn I spin - after I coil the thick and thin yarn that I spun Sunday. A show is successful when I don't get a lot of spinning in! I sold 4 of the six skeins that I spun in Pasadena.

New Colors for a New Year

2012-01-02T18:26:00.000-08:00

I have been busy washing fleeces and dyeing them, as well as silk for nuno felted shawls. I have also been spinning up smaller skeins in a lower price range for the upcoming Pasadena show. They all have enough yardage to knit a scarf. I had a few days of purple and then amethyst. I am currently spinning a skein of natural red kid mohair with seacell. The last few weeks have been pretty busy between classes and visits. The Arizona School of the Deaf and Blind came out on the 21st and 22nd of December. It was a challenge until I realized that they did not always needs words or sight to appreciate what I do.

A black and white angora goat are best friends. You can see that they already have a lot of growth since the wool festival. I have tentatively scheduled the Spring Shearing Festival for March 31, 2012. A lot depends on whether we find the right place in Maryland.

Kristie and Kyle (in the middle) came for Christmas. The cats provided a lot of entertainment. Kyle is holding his Persian cat - it has no ears. They were bit off by a dog before Kyle got him. The black cat that Tonia (far right) is holding is also Kyle's cat named Licker. Abe is holding Monet and Kristie has Pixie. Our big outing was to the Festival of Lights in Winterhaven. We have never been in 11 years and figured this would be our last chance. The one voted best was awesome. Hate to think about their electric bill!

Class Schedule

2011-12-13T10:57:00.000-08:00

I will be teaching wet felting bags tomorrow and nuno felting on Thursday. Both classes will start at 10 a.m. The class size is limited, since it will be in the workshop/garage. Do let me know, if you would like to come.

You may schedule classes for yourselves and friends for other dates.

The shop will have variable hours from Friday thru Monday. I am flying to Maryland and have an intern who will cover some of the hours. I suggest that you call before coming out!

Crochet is big! Check out the hat that was on a sculpture near my booth. I was told that it weighs 50 pounds.

Hats were very popular at the street fair. Since the skein dedicated to the ranch was not likely to sell, it was knitted up into a hat. The band is a coordinating elastic yarn to ensure that the hat stays on. Unique gift designed for a boy. Fits a 22 inch head or smaller.

And the predators are still out there. This bobcat walked by my studio door yesterday about 3:30. It saw me and went under the orange tree next to the the shop door. Huge cat!

4th Avenue Street Fair Tucson

2011-12-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

The shop is packed up and set up at the 4th Avenue already. Michael, my intern, helped Marc haul it all to the booth and we set it up in record time. Do come visit, since this will be my last 4th Avenue Street Fair.

Next Friday-Monday December 16-19, 2011, Marc and I are flying to Maryland to look at properties with acreage, pasture and barns. It is no longer a case of "if" we are going to move, but "when." We have both enjoyed Tucson but feel the need for a change. The predators here have worn me out. It is devastating to walk out and find that animals have been wiped out by coyotes, bit by rattlesnakes, etc. The cost of feed is skyrocketing and I have downsized as far as I am willing. We plan to arrange for all of the animals to be transported. I have some of the very best Merinos and angora goats and don't want to start all over again! My fibers are more suited to a cooler climate. Keep an eye on my blog, so you can come say goodbye before we leave. We are not going to wait for this house to sell. The realtor has politely told me that I have too much "stuff."

Left and Right are the two Great Pyrenees that I bought as guardian animals to be in with the goats and sheep. They are very gentle and curious. They will love having more room to run. They are growing quickly.

One of my friends gave me yellow mums two years ago. My son gave me cranberry colored ones earlier this year. The two plants cross pollinated. Check out the cool colors! Thanks Karen and Kyle!

This batt is a combination of Fillip's first fleece, a Shetland lamb's fleece from this year and a red kid mohair from last year. Super soft and next on my list to spin - after the yarn for the top of the sweater jacket that I am currently designing.

Tempe Festival of the Arts

2011-12-01T21:02:00.001-08:00

Just a reminder that I will be at the Tempe Festival of the Arts tomorrow thru Sunday. The truck is loaded. It is supposed to rain, so I have decided to bring my wheel. I will also set my yarn rack further inside the booth. No sense letting it all get wet!

Hope to see some of you there.

Strange animals in Maryland

2011-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

We found this cow in a front yard as well as the one below. We were in a town named "North East". That is maybe as bad as my naming our Great Pyrennes "Left" and "Right?"

We did see some more normal looking animals the next day. Howard County Maryland had their Alpaca and Fleece Show while we were there. Most of what I saw was traditional/commercial items produced by Peruvian Connection. I guess most breeders don't have time or have not learned how to process their own fibers. I think that it might have been alpaca fiber only. Too bad they have not diversified into other fibers and blends. It would have been more interesting. I hope to make it to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival one of these years. There was a rabbit show in one of the barns - they had some cute English angoras. I have to admit that I was not tempted!

In the Air This Time

2011-11-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

This is the back of the bolero that I sold in Sacramento. It is a little too big for me, so I am glad that it found a lovely new owner.

Susan Corl is going to be watching the ranch and teaching some classes while I am flying off to Maryland to check out where Marc spends part of his time working.

The shop will be closed Wednesday and will reopen on Thursday. Susan will be teaching a few silk fusion classes (sample above) on Thursday and a Chinese sewing box book making class on Friday from 9:30-3:30. $75 class fee with a $15 materials fee. There is still room in all of her classes. You can email her at susancorl@hotmail.com or call the ranch at 520-572-3758 for more details or to sign up.

I will be home on Sunday.

Sacramento Festival of the Arts

2011-11-05T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Sacramento Festival of the Arts was supposed to be a working show, but it became an opportunity for my sisters and I to get together. My sister, Nadia (on the left), flew in from Boston and is modeling my Layered Collar. Paula, on the right, lives in the area and is modeling my Southwestern Shawl. I am wearing the Freeform Bolero that I finished last night. Fortunately, Nadia and and another vendor took pictures of the Bolero because it sold half hour later!

The show is always more exciting when my sisters are around. They have had a blast running around talking to other vendors and in some cases rearranging their displays to help their sales. They modeled my designs and attracted a lot of attention to my booth.

My Thick and Thin Dress has been really popular. I wish it were not so hard to make another one - I have too many ideas for new designs, so I don't want to go make another.

I will not be home till November 10, since I plan to visit with my sisters for a few days. I have an appointment on Friday, so do call before coming out.

Handspun Freeform Yarns

2011-10-26T10:56:00.001-07:00

My sister says that dragonflies are in. This one of two skeins based on this colorway. This one has the dragonflies. Lots of texture, beads and other novelties.

This skein is the same as the one above, shown from the opposite side, so you can see the color variation.

I am heading to Sacramento next Tuesday, so I have to do lots of spinning. I sold enough yarn at the wool festival to be happy and inspired to create more!

Tucson Wool Festival 2011

2011-10-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share this link from a visitor who came to the wool festival. You can get another take on the day! She captured a lot of my remarks and some lovely animal photos. http://www.crochetconcupiscence.com/2011/10/tucson-wool-festival/

Tucson Wool Festival Wrap Up

2011-10-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Wool Festival was a blast this year. Besides there being a lot more people, I was really happy to see that more children came this year. Thanksgiving (the alpaca) was on her best behavior. She is pushy and a spitter. I was amazed to see her cush and let kids pet and rest on her. One of the visitors used my camera to catch scenes from the festival. There were several good shots with visitors. If anyone sees himself in a photo and wants it removed, please let me know. I did want to share. This is Mr. Right with an unshorn doe. I have added Great Pyrenees to the herd to protect against coyote attacks. His sister, Miss Left, is pictured later. They are three month old puppies and won't be real work dogs for at least a year. They have settled in with the kid goats. The doe is in a post below minus hair.

The young Merino ram is still friendly this year. I hope he will be next year, when he is older and the real testosterone has kicked in!

I end every tour talking about angora rabbits. They are the least expensive fiber animal to buy, but their fiber is the most valuable per ounce.

Carole Beakey was one of the new vendors this year. She makes lovely ceramic yarn bowls. She came to me for lessons and found that her true passion is pottery.

Jaculine Harrier Coss is an interior designer and includes pillows among her products. These are all embellished with wool and kid mohair. Each one is superbly planned and unique. Stunning!

These are the older does. I took the photo this morning after the last batch of goats were sheared. 18 of them went to the Arizona State Fair. The doe on the left front won Grand Champion. Her mother, Sweet, is to her right. Sweet is also the mother of the kid who won Reserve Champion. He was beat out by a yearling buck. My buck that won Grand Champion at Del Mar died shortly after his return from a rattlesnake bite, so I did not have a yearling buck to show.

My colored goats were somewhat felted due to monsoon rains. We have a plan to prevent that next year - so they will be champions also. They did very well, but have never done as well as my whites.

The doe above is pitiful looking with out her fleece, but a lot happier.

This is Miss Left. She was worn out this morning after playing in the water. I have had to use smaller buckets for the drinking water since the Great Pyrenees play in the larger water containers. None of the animals want to drink from that!

My State Fair ribbons. Not as impressive as the Del Mar ones, but still worth keeping!

The winner of the Southwestern bag is Sally Vega. She has been called. If I do not hear from her by Saturday, I will draw another name. The proceeds of the raffle - $88 will be donated to the Casa Maria Kitchen of Tucson.

The email drawing winners have been notified and they have made arrangements to pick their prizes up.

The vendors, volunteers and demonstrators were complimented repeatedly on their friendliness and willing to share. I want to thank them again - a wool festival requires a lot of people to be successful. I can't do it all by myself. I also want to thank all of my volunteers - there were enough of them this year that I am afraid to list them and omit someone by mistake. They know who they are! Thanks!

New designs

2011-10-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Kind of cool to win for something that I love to do. Comes with a free booth next year - so you can plan on me being in booth 25 next year.

I spun two freeform yarns. My supply has been seriously reduced by recent shows. These are my favorite yarns, because they make me think. You can't just throw the items in and have them work as a whole.

I have finished the pattern for my dress. It includes a few closeup pictures inside, since words do not adequately convey the assembly. Publishing the pattern means that I have to spin yarn for it although commercial yarns that have elasticity can be used. I am doing a shade of red right now. The side panels will be spun in a shade of natural chocolate Rambouillet. The original dress - which I am keeping - since it fits weighs 8 ounces. The variation in texture makes it. It is one size fits all since the changes in direction of the knitting allow the dress to stretch in all directions.

This is my 500th post. A major milestone?

Look for an article in the Tucson Business Magazine on November 4, 2011. I am being featured as a businesswoman. The photographer is coming to the Wool Festival. Hope to see a lot of you here.

Best of Show at Patagonia Fall Arts Festival

2011-10-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

This is my booth down at Patagonia. My wheel is not shown, but it is in the right front corner. I am very excited. I will post a photo of my ribbon and plaque tomorrow - I won best of show. I was told that I won because of my gorgeous art and craftsmanship, my customer service, and willingness to demonstrate my craft and educate. I like to show off at all of my shows, as I mentioned in my last blog. I have started using my wheel rather than the drop spindle, because I have lots of upcoming shows (those animals eat a lot and more as it gets colder!) and I have to have a good mix of yarn to sell. The wheel is definitely a lot more attention gathering than the drop spindle.

I still dream about moving to Patagonia. It is a lovely town and the festival has one of the nicest locations that I have been too. I get to choose my booth spot for next year - I am keeping the same one. I get to look out at the mountains as I spin or chat with customers and dream. If you are looking for a fun outing - come down and visit tomorrow. I will find you a chair!

I finished this dress on Thursday - I say this loosely, because I have already decided to crochet a maple leaf to go in the split of the skirt. It looked a lot shorter when I wore it today (this photo was taken yesterday with a different outfit), since I had so many layers on. The panels are all knit in different directions which means the dress/vest will stretch in multiple directions and is truly a one size fits all.

I came up with the idea in Chicago and am happy to have finished it in a timely manner. I hope to finish a sweater jacket next - but, I could get distracted with a new idea!

Forgot to mention that I was featured as the cover story in last Sunday's paper. The goats were featured on the front page of the Home Section and they did a lovely spread on me in the middle. I have the link - not sure that it will work after tomorrow, but if you missed it, I can send

it.

Tucson Expo Quilt Show

2011-09-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

Foot traffic is pretty slow at the show, so I am getting lots of spinning done and catching up with friends. I probably recognized 80% as previous visitors to the ranch. I am at the very back of the hall, but I am OK with that, since no one has complained that I have spread out and taken room for two spinning wheels, my skein winder, and a basket of fiber. I would have gone nuts without my wheels. I am spinning freeform yarns since I was down to only 4 after recent shows. The whole front rack that you can see is all yarn spun since the Pasadena Show at the end of July. I do love to spin.

A cameraman from Fox 11 News stopped by to film me spinning this afternoon and he took all of my information. He wants to have a reporter come out and cover the ranch - hopefully before the wool festival - so we can get more publicity. Marc and I will watch the news, but I would not be surprised, if all of the footage (digital of course) ended up on the floor!

I feel like a gallery or a circus act depending on the time of day, but I do think it is worth spinning in public to generate interest in the arts. If you have free time, the quilt show is free and there is enough room for several spinners to set up. You might want to bring a chair. If you want to knit, that would be great also. I forget that not everyone has been exposed to the arts and that those of us who have been are really blessed!

Unexpected Changes

2011-09-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I added two alpacas to my menagerie. Angel and Scarlet are gifts from a friend. They fit right in and are wandering with the rest of the alpacas and llamas.

They are not eating out of my hand yet, but will be soon.

I am working on publicity for the Tucson Wool Festival. The felted bag above will be raffled off during the festival to benefit the Casa Maria Kitchen of Tucson.

I have updated my website to include the new shows (9 over the next few months), class changes and the wool festival page. I also changed my store hours. I will be closing at 4 P.M. effective immediately. Few people come that late, it is getting dark earlier, and I need to start making time for running errands. If I am here, I will open, until the word gets out.

I was first on the waiting list for the Quilt Show at the Tucson Expo Center and was called to say that I got in. I have already loaded the truck and will set up there tomorrow after the THSG guild meeting. I heard about the show too late to get in, so I had to wait for a cancellation.

This morning I went out to feed and discovered that coyotes had attacked and killed all of the geese. The geese have been there over 10 years so it is hard to believe that a pack got past Fillip our llama (he is obviously not doing his job) and dug into the arena area. They carried Ugly our oldest away and chowed down on the others, so I was left to pick up the remains. Needless to say, I am depressed about it.

In order to keep the sheep safe, we herded them into the barn area and fenced them in. The dogs, Shep and Herd, have been moved out to roam the arena. They were really helpful in getting the sheep moved - first time that I have ever used them to herd - and have been very quiet. I expected them to start barking as we left them, but they only barked once a little while ago. They are going to enjoy having the area to run in.

Our organ pipe cactus flowered this week. Those blossoms stayed open less than four hours. Sure hope the insects pollinating them work fast!

Seems like changes are in the air. I am doing more shows and home less, so the Shetland herd is being seriously reduced. 12 are being sold this weekend and the rest will go in mid November. The feed has risen 50% in the past three months and the Shetlands are not producing enough quality fiber to justify keeping them any longer. I am a creature of habit and I hate selling them, but I am running a business and have to be realistic. I am consoling myself with the knowledge that the Merinos are much friendlier and produce five times as much gorgeous wool for almost the same amount of feed. The goats are too precious to sell and have always earned their keep. They are going to the Arizona State Fair the week of October 18th. Tor and Scott of Southwest Acres are going to show them for me. It will be interesting to hear what another judge has to say.

More yarns and new projects

2011-09-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

My latest batch of yarns will go in the shop this evening. The green singles will be added to my knitted landscape on large needles, while the two skeins wrapped in figure 8s are for a knitted rug that I have been thinking about for ages. The bag of roving for the rug yarn is on the far right. The skeins look gorgeous, but are incredibly itchy. Perfect for the floor!

Love is in the Air (Breeding Season is here)

2011-09-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

I spun 10 ounces of merino for an order. I have gotten the thick and thin down to a science now and it looks gorgeous!

This batch of yarn was last week's production and it is now in the shop.

A gorgeous shade of blue violet for my newest nuno felted shawl. I published a pattern for nuno felting and it is available on my etsy shop. http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy.com

Marc - this picture is for you. I hate to tell you that you are missing all of the monsoon rain. It is all coming down when I usually feed - making feeding a lot more interesting.

Someone told me that they missed my animal photos, so I caught a few just half hour ago. This guy is fully covered now. He will get sheared next month at the wool festival. His fleece is gorgeous, but not even the best!

Last year I was bottle feeding Dainty and Brazen. They are still the tamest young ones. They thought my camera was a treat. This is Brazen - she was the blue eyed one.

Breeding season is here. This is the buck that I bought at the Del Mar show. He is in love! The weather has cooled and the goats are getting frisky. It is still too early for the sheep.

There is a lot of tail wagging going on. The object of his affections is on the wrong side of the fence. If I did not think my arm would get injured, I would move him to a different pen and try to put her in. Marc and I will spend some of Saturday sorting animals for breeding. The white guy looking back, is interested, but not quite ready - thank goodness! I want to breed the reds to reds this year, so I get red - not white - kids next year!

Trip to Chicago and Oddities

2011-09-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

Chicago and the surrounding towns are not much different than other towns. The size of the city does allow it to be a little more fashion forward than other places. I saw these shoes in a Nordstrom in Schaumburg, Illinois. I would have bought the white shoes with the abstract lines on them, if they had not been so expensive. I could not see myself wearing them, since they had such a high heel, but I was fascinated by the art that went into them.

Very interesting architecture with the old and not so nice right next to the elaborate.

I was fascinated by the red building that stood out among the more traditional colors.

All of my helpers have to pose with the Headless Wonder at some point - especially, if they go to a show with me. So here is Caitlin. She did a wonderful job of introducing beginners to the drop spindle and selling batts.

Surprisingly, Caitlin and I did not get sick of one another during the four and a half days of driving. We went to Chicago using the southern route and came back by the northern route. We were hoping to vary what we saw, but there were cornfields everywhere. We saw some gorgeous barns and pasture, but we both decided that the Midwest was not for us.

Yesterday, Marc spotted this snake crawling up the Texas mesquite outside the front of our house. I looked online to see what kind of snake it was, but none of the sites were conclusive. This one was heading for the birds' nests. First time I have ever seen a snake in a tree!

I came home with several orders from Stitches Midwest. This one will ship in the morning. It is lovely to be given artistic freedom. Sure makes the spinning go faster!

Stitches Midwest and other shows

2011-08-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

I just took this photo of my front rack to use as part of my new business card and to have a memory of what colors I have as I leave to go to Schaumburg. I am a little excited about the show, but dread the drive. My intern, Caitlin, is going with me, so it should be a fun road trip.

The nuno felted shawls above were an order from Pasadena. I am happy to say that all of those orders have been filled (although a new one was placed by one person who had ordered, who understands that the show comes first), so I can start off with a fresh slate.

I have been juried into the Tempe Festival of the Arts for the first weekend of December and I am doing the Pasadena Bead and Design Show again Jan 12-15, 2012. I will for sure be teaching nuno felting and drop spindling and will offer one other choice. Anyone planning to attend, who has a preference, should express interest now.

I am putting it in writing, so I will have to stick with it. I am not going to spin dog hair for anyone from this day forward. It takes way longer to spin than my own yarns, there is not enough satisfaction, and it does not pay the bills. I have a need to create lovely and inspiring things, and dog hair is not it.

Happy Accidents and Inspiration

2011-08-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

You know that someone really cares about you, when they find something truly unique and actually buy it because it reminds them of you. My sister, Paula, and my step-mother, Vicky, were out shopping the other day and came across this ram. I hated to put something inside it, because it has a lovely colored bowl inside the body, but it is a great way to display mohair locks.

At last week's show in Pasadena, I was asked to design a sweater in moss green. Since I was already ordering something from the Dharma Trading Company, I decided to just go ahead and buy three bottles of the moss green dye. I filled both dye pots with a variety of fibers - kid mohair, Suri alpaca, Shetland Border Leicester lamb, and Merino off my ram and walked away. When the dye was all absorbed, I rinsed the fibers out and lay them on my drying racks. I was amazed at the diversity of color that I got. It split between dark moss green, bluegreen, emerald green, and yellow green. The milk fiber barely absorbed any of the dye. I had planned to card all of the fibers together for a textured yarn. Now it will have the Monet look - all shades randomly blended. It was a happy accident, since the colors are gorgeous!

On my way back from Pasadena last week, I took a detour to pick up Garfield from my son. He has been failing for a while and after an expensive vet visit which said he tested fine, we decided to let him come hang out here. It is hard to watch an animal fade. I have given him the roam of the areas outside the studio since he loves to sprawl in the heat. Once or twice, he looked like one of the birds was going to be his. He has been losing weight all week, but seems better today. I am giving him dry food and addding probiotics over all of his food. He ate with renewed appetite tonight and things are solidifying. At any rate, he is happy hanging out in a mohair basket (older stuff, which I will eventually spin - so no longer for sale since he is sleeping in it and I am not going to move it for now.)

I finished 5 pounds of dog hair/Shetland. Still have more to do, but I need to fill the racks for the show in Schaumberg and a few smaller orders before I get back to it. I have been spinning supercoils almost exclusively, since they sold out in Pasadena. I have done a few fall shades (on the right) and hope to get a few skeins of the Medieval collar yarn spun. If it is black, it will sell. The orders are for white and black supercoils. I need more time!

Inspired - Pasadena Bead and Design Show

2011-08-04T13:16:00.001-07:00

Due to a slight mix up, I ended up in a large room and was very excited to see my designs presented as a gallery. My shop now seems too small! Most of the yarns that you see on the first rack are gone. All of the yarns from the last post are definitely gone.

I flew in my sister, Paula, to help me with sales. She has an awesome ability to spot trends and can recognize unique works of art. She not only helped with my sales by modelling my pieces, but went around helping other vendors with theirs.

Paula has a very flamboyant grace and was so obviously a natural model that she was asked to model my pieces and some others at the fashion show. I missed that since I had a class scheduled - and I have to admit that I did not even know that they were doing it. She was a definite hit and so was my work.

All shows are great for inspiration. I came away with new ideas for colors, a few possible designs, opportunities for travel to teach, and new places to do shows. I met lots of artists, who work in different mediums, and made several new friends.

And, very importantly, I am able to repay my husband for the feed bill loans that he has provided for the last few months. He is truly great at watching over the animals at home. I can never thank him enough for freeing me up to travel. He says I take it for granted - he has to reschedule his own trips occasionally - but I don't. It is easy to get someone to throw food at them morning and night, but very hard to find someone who can recognize an animal in distress. Anyhow, I thank him for it.

The latest batt off the carder. It is a blend of Black Shetland lamb and dyed mohair (it has the shine.) I plan to spin thick/thin and elastic yarn for the slouch hat, and supercoils with whatever is left over.

New Yarns, Freeform Vest, and a Sunset

2011-07-25T20:43:00.000-07:00

I am always being asked for yarn similar to those in my southwestern vest, so I spun up just enough to make one. The colors are close, but will never be an exact match, since my dye lots and blending change each time. They are gorgeous and tempt me, but I have hung them in the shop.

I have put the dog hair on hold (more than halfway done), so I can spin up a few new yarns for the Pasadena show. I will be spending all day tomorrow loading the truck and organizing, since I have scheduled a few workshops. The blue one at the bottom is a freeform yarn that is mostly kid mohair and both types of alpaca. I discovered today the red kid mohair and the white Suri are a beautiful silky blend - next to the skin of course. I have carded up superbatts of each of the colors, so I can play around with them during the lulls.

The photograph does not do the colors justice. The vest is almost done - it would have been, if animal emergencies had not eaten up my time this past week. I plan to take it to Pasadena, since it shows off my yarns and a comparison can be made between my handspun and commercial yarns in the same project. Mine wins, of course!

One front side.

The other front.

A lovely sunset - we did not get rain - but everyone else did!

I am heading out early Wednesday morning to the Pasadena Bead and Design Show. If you live near there, come visit, and bring something to show and tell.

Notes from the Withers Ranch in Tucson

2011-07-15T13:10:00.001-07:00

I just sent this out to my email list, so if you did not receive it and would like to be added to my list, please email me. Contact info is at the bottom.

An added note - last two lambs for the year were born yesterday. Two Moorit Shetland rams.

Notes:

This has been a quiet summer in terms of business, but very exciting in other ways. I did a show in Albuquerque at the end of May that caused me to look in other directions for my inspiration and I took a trip to Del Mar for the White and Colored Angora Goats Shows that reaffirmed my love for the angora goats.

My first love is spinning yarns, but I have come to realize that what sets me apart from other spinners and designers is the fact that I raise my own animals and have cottage industry sized equipment that lets me express my color sense when dyeing and carding my fibers. I control the quality of what I sell and produce – so it is always my responsibility to ensure that what I sell is the best. I was incredibly excited to discover that my goats have among the finest fibers available.

My friend, Scott of Southwest Acres, borrowed 20 of my goats and entered them at the Del Mar shows. I took the opportunity to go visit my son and watch the judging. It is hot here in Arizona, so my goats are always going to be smaller than those of cooler regions. The other breeders were all from California and can breed to have kids born whenever they chose. I have to wait for it to cool down sufficiently for the buck’s semen to be viable. I am lucky to have babies born in January. My first kids were born February 29 and most were born in April. Despite the fact that my kids were two to three months younger than the other contestants, my whites won pretty much everything - my yearling herd sire won Supreme Champion. In the colored competition, my goats took first or second. If they did not take first, the judge always mentioned that he preferred their fineness, but that they needed a little more growth. I do not plan to artificially inseminate to compete and I won’t be showing my animals, unless Scott wants to do it again next year or at some other venue. It is very exciting to know that I can recognize quality and can hold my own against breeders who provided my original stock.

Due to feed expenses constantly rising, I have decided to focus on the animals that produce the best and most fiber. This means that I will be seriously downsizing my Shetland herd and focusing more on the Merino sheep. I bought two Merinos while I was at Del Mar - a new white ram and a lovely Moorit ewe. I have ordered a black ewe that will arrive sometime next month. They are already friendly and eating out of my hand.

I will be at the Pasadena Gem and Bead Show from July 27-31, 2011, so the shop will be closed. I have applied to a few other shows, so it is always smart to call ahead, if you have a long drive. My website and blog will keep you current on my whereabouts.

The Tucson Wool Festival will be Saturday, October 22, 2011 from 9-3. Due to inclement weather this past spring, we are adding Sunday as a rain date. Not all vendors will be able to stay the extra day so, if you are just wanting to shop, do come on Saturday. The animals have to be sheared and I plan to keep as many dry as possible, so there will be shearing on Saturday, even if it does rain.

New Products:

I am now carrying size 35 needles that are 32 inches long that are perfect for knitting a rug or landscape. They are a great way to use up roving or yarns that are not so nice. Come see what I have been doing with them.

I have a complete set of elastic yarns for core spinning, as well as a small selection of metallic threads. If they prove to be of interest, I will stock an entire line. I am using both types to create art yarns.

Classes:

August 13, 2011 10 a.m-1 p.m. Pin Weaving $45 for the instruction, a foam pad, needle and warp and an additional $20, if you do not bring your own stash.

August 16, 2011 10 a.m-1 p.m. Crazy/Abstract Lace $45 for the instruction and 10% off any yarn you buy that day.

August 20, 2011 10 a.m-1 p.m. Nuno Felting $50-70 includes the use of my felting kits to make a scarf or shawl.

September 1, 2011 10 a.m-1 p.m. Freeform Knit and Crochet $45 for the instruction and 10% off any yarn you buy that day.

September 10, 2011 10 a.m-1 p.m. Nuno felting $50-70 includes the use of my felting kits to make a scarf or shawl.

Freeform Spinning Group – Learn to drop spindle or just hang out – August 6, September 3, and September 17.

Private classes may be scheduled by calling 520-572-3758 or emailing jmarckathy@aol.com.

For a continuous update on events at the ranch and online items for sale, check out my blog: www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com and etsy shop: www.uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy.com.

Kathy Withers

www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com

jmarckathy@aol.com

520-572-3758

So many projects

2011-07-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

I started knitting this landscape two months ago. I am back to working on it in between sessions of spinning dog hair (no picture of that since it is white and not spectacular!) I am using size 35 needles that are 32 inches long and using 12 strands of either a single or a two ply that is between fingering and sport weight. I now have the needles available for sale in the shop. They are $52 plus postage, if you do not live locally. It is a great way to use up yarn. This is going to be a wall hanging. The next one I do will be a rug - the idea is to use up the roving and yarns that are not next to the skin in an artistic manner. I have challenged myself to spin the yarn colors required for a specific design to see how well I can follow it. I am pleased with how it is turning out.

Mounds and a Shetland in the arena are both pretty close to delivering. Mound has definite udders and her backside looks loose. I can't believe that she could just be fat. Her shape is too off!

I have almost finished a freeform vest from the yarns that I bought in Del Mar. I spun eight skeins of my own yarn to go with it and decided to just use four of them, since I don't need them all. The other night I pinned the pieces to the pattern that I had modified. Good thing I did because some of the pieces just barely fit. Now I am filling in the rest. I decided to wait to publish a photo once it is complete. Probably by the end of the weekend. It is an addictive project, since is is laid out on my table and I walk by it every time I get up. I made sure that I picked colors that I love, so I would be sure to finish it!

Elasticity and Color

2011-07-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

The yarns above were all spun from the batt below. Changing the color of the core yarn seriously affects the final look and so does the texture. Starting at the far right - the batt was pulled in strips so both the top and the bottom were represented equally. It was coiled over a pink cotton. The super coil immediately to the left was spun from just the pink part of the batt. The third from the right was spun with strips of the batt with both colors being equally represented again, but the core thread was a teal. The textured yarn at the left is a single from just the blue, knotted over a yellow core thread and then plied to a blue thread. The knots did not stay where I wanted them, so I plied with the blue. Turned out quite interesting.
Below are two skeins that show how different fibers behave. The skein on the right is 100% kid mohair off Dainty- one of the red kids from last year that got bottle fed. I love the deep chocolate color. Most of the red goats tend to have paler mohair.

The skein on the left is the same red kid mohair with white kid mohair dyed red and white Merino. In the wash, the 100% kid mohair kept its original length. It is best suited for shawls or items not requiring elasticity. The blend with the Merino shrunk. When knitting, the yarn will stretch back out. Anything made from this skein of yarn will require blocking.

A Shetland ram was born yesterday evening. No photo till I am sure that he will make it. Too depressing otherwise. He was a lot larger than other lambs born this year and his mother had a hard time pushing him out. He feels nice and sturdy. Due to the heat, I am supplementing him with a bottle. We have seen him drinking off mom. Mom bellowed for hours after his delivery, so we put them in a pen in the barn and closed the doors to give them a chance to bond - and to cut down on the noise. Talk about loud! I am told that I am overly sensitive, but .......

Busy, Babies, and a New Project

2011-06-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

My wet felting Saturday became a nuno felting Saturday. I made the shawl on the left while teaching the class and, since I was already set up, felted the navy one. The wind started to kick up while I was laying out the second one, so I had to keep wetting it down. I have decided to clean off the back porch and felt there when I am on my own. It is a little more protected.

My trip to Del Mar last weekend included the purchase of three animals to round out my herd. The Merino ram on the left has an issue with his front legs, so I needed a replacement. I will keep him for his fleece and as a companion to the new one on the right. The Mendenhall Ranch has the finest fleeces that I have ever seen.

The moorit in the foreground is another Merino. She is already friendly and roams with Mounds and the other Merinos. The white one in the background is the baby ewe born in February. The Merinos are always right at the feed wagon, when I bring it in. They are so hungry that they let me pet them and part their fleeces.

I also bought a red buck. He placed third, while mine placed first, but I need new blood and he is large enough that the older does are not going to fight him off. He is 6 months old and already as big as my yearling bucks. He is not enjoying our heat.

I noticed yesterday that this ewe (277) had udders, so I was not entirely surprised to find an ewe lamb in the barn this morning. Her mom is a first timer and won't stand still, so we put her in a pen and I fed the baby, so she won't dehydrate. Since we now have electricity in the barns, I also moved a fan in. I plan to supplement and bottle feed, if necessary. The baby has really pretty colors. Her mom was impregnated by the white Shetland/Border Leicester cross. Her fleece will be a mix of fibers. Looking at her, I can tell that she has sections of very fine and then coarser areas. She has the more primitive Shetland characteristics. (Note added on June 28, 2011 - She is not going to make it. Oxygen deprived at birth? She has not opened her eyes, so something is definitely wrong.)

Mounds is my only Rambouillet now. I was afraid that she had not gotten pregnant, but I have noticed udders developing over the past week. Since she was bred to the crooked knee Merino, I am very curious to see her lamb. I am assuming just one, since she is not huge this year. The Rambouillet that I bred her to last year was big and gave her a normal sized baby and a 16 pounder that did not survive. Merinos are a lot smaller, so I expect her to deliver without going into Ketosis this year.

This is one of my huge batts. I started with the reds and yellows and moved to the blues and greens. I am spinning it right now since it is mostly kid mohair and will post photos of the yarn once spun.

I have been asked repeatedly for the pattern to the black shawl that I knitted in crazy/abstract lace. I am using some commercial mohair blended with man made fibers - polyester and acrylic. The yarn is a lovely color, but not as soft as true mohair. Commericial carders and spinners cannot handle true kid mohair, so they have to blend it to make it strong enough to hold together.

I am using Knit Visualizer to chart the pattern. It is very random, but left brain knitters have told me that they want a pattern to follow. Personally I would go crazy. I have to sit at the computer to enter the stitches in as I go. Bet the person following the chart won't be able to duplicate it! I am bound to have a few typos in there somewhere.

Del Mar Angora Goat Show and San Diego Beaches

2011-06-20T16:35:00.000-07:00

I got to the fair and almost did not recognize my goats. Scott had oiled their horns and applied some humidity to their fleeces and they looked great. Dry air in Tucson makes their hair hang straight until the monsoon arrives. Scott has been showing goats and sheep for years. He had to sell his herd last year, so he borrowed mine to show. The white goats won everything and this guy - my herdsire for next year, won Supreme Champion buck. I debated photographing the pile of ribbons and posting it on my blog, but I thought that would be a bit much. I was really excited.

The colored angora goats placed first and second in their categories. They are smaller than the goats from the California breeders. With the heat in Tucson, the goats don't breed until late October through December, whereas in California they can breed pretty much any time. That allows the breeders there to schedule births to maximize their placement based on show dates. I have to take what I can get. The hotter it is, the later my kids. I was very happy with their showing since, when they placed second, the judge would talk about fineness of fleece and say that mine would have been first if they had a little more size.

All of the attention and petting wore the goats out. They were back in the pens for less than five minutes when I took this photo.

This kid was sleeping with her eyes open.

Even the older goats racked out immediately. The red doe has only one udder. I had thought that would count against her, but Scott assured me when he picked her that they don't care. If she can feed her kids, more power to her. She placed second among aged does.

Every trip should include some artist time. I hit the three yarn shops in the 25 mile radius, although The Grove is not technically a yarn shop. Common Threads was in a horrible location, so I was aggravated by the time I found a park. It was not worth the visit, since they were very traditional yarns. The Black Sheep is awesome. That is where I picked up the yarns below. I tried to pick mostly mohair, so I could compare them to my own yarns. The brown up top looks horrible knitted up, so I am splitting the two colors and knitting/crocheting them separately. The other brown yarn is so fine that I will ply it to one of my yarns, so I can add it to this project.

Kyle and I visited three beaches and three areas of town. Above is a photo of downtown. I liked Old Town and the Coronado beach the best. I could not believe how different the sand was from one area to another.

Kyle will be starting his doctorate at UCSD in the fall. This is his building.

And this is his view from his office. Kind of awesome how close he is to the beach. I am not a beach person and the wind was always blowing which I hate, but I can certainly appreciate the view.

We were on the Mission Beach Saturday evening and I caught this bird getting ready to take flight. We were going to wait for the sunset, but it was too chilly. Nature has it right - all blues and my favorite bird photo of the trip.

Del Mar and the Angora Goat Show

2011-06-15T21:50:00.000-07:00

One of my friends is showing 20 of my goats at the show in Del Mar tomorrow. I will be getting up before dawn, so I can be there by 10. I am interested in seeing how they rank amongst other breeders' goats. I will be back on Monday. Marc will be here Friday and Saturday, if you need something, or you can call my cell 520-401-6117.

I am also using the time to visit my son, Kyle, and maybe visit a few of the local yarn shops. Kyle wants me to check out the university that he will be studying at next year for his doctorate. And, any trip to the San Diego area requires a walk on the beach.

Wildlife, Batts, and Getting Older

2011-06-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

This is the third Gila monster that we have seen and the first this year. It is a lot smaller than the two I saw last year. It crawled across the arena and into the old duck pond area.

Among other wildlife sightings has been an old gray coyote. He was seen in our driveway last Friday morning and then Marc and I saw it sneak under the front fence on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, it is not possible to fence all of the way to the ground and an electric fence is just too dangerous to consider. This guy has been traveling on his own and is way too tame. I have gone back to creative spinning. I spun these two beaded yarns, while I was doing paperwork for the Pasadena Bead and Gem show which is July 28-31, 2011. I am looking forward to going and have already scheduled a hotel room in the same building, so I can teach evening classes and not have to worry about rushing from one place to another. Let me know, if you are going to be there and are interested in a class.

I am featuring batts this month. They are all on sale. In the two above, the shimmery colors are created by mohair locks randomly thrown onto the carder. The fronts and backs are never the same, since I get bored as I am feeding the carder. Felted they will look a lot like what you see. If they are spun, you will get a variegated yarn and the colors on the backside will pop out. Gives them the Impressionistic look.

This is a progression of batts that I have carded over the past few days. I started with the bottom one and then changed colors on each batt. I ran out of the green, so it became more peachy, added some reds, then an almost pure red (the back side has natural colored white Shetland in streaks,) and then a really thin batt that is mostly white with dashes of kid mohair in colors.

Those of you who know me or have been following my blog are aware that my Dad passed away in March. Both he and my mother died from heart disease, so I felt the best use of my insurance money was to invest in my health. I have diabetes that I have been controlling by diet and exercise. Stress has been causing me problems recently and I just could not force myself to go to the gym. It is two minutes away, but the hassles of getting changed to go and then the reek of the place was just a total turn off. I want to be able to exercise when I want and having the equipment here will make it more likely that I will. I can beat the post prandial desire to snooze with a few minutes of exercise so, if you don't see me in the shop, figure that I am here, if the shop says "open" and that I am putting in a few minutes. Call the house number (on a sign next to the door) and I will be there, or feel free to shop and then let me know that you are ready. My next investment will be some kind of bell that lets me know that someone has driven into the driveway!

Happy knitting, felting, weaving, etc. and don't forget your health.

Albuquerque, More Lambs, and Fleeces

2011-05-29T18:52:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the Albuquerque Fiber Fiesta. Foot traffic was slow, so I got a pound of yarn spun. I just wound it into skeins to be washed.

I go to the shows with the intentions of making money to feed the animals and gleaning inspiration for new projects. I met lots of doll makers and was seriously impressed by the workmanship. My sister and I did buy Topaz, from Arley Berryhill. A search on his name will give you his website. Gorgeous!

I saw a different type of doll that is within my skill level, so I bought the pattern to make it. I have already decided that I do not want to make the face, so I am going to use material that I bought from sewbatik to make the body. The abstract fabric will lend itself to the design. I also will be able to show another use of kid mohair and of the felted fabric that I intend to start making.
Lynnae of Chamomile Connections was in the booth next to me. When it got too slow in the afternoon, we got our wheels into the corridor, so we could chat with each other and other vendors. I am spinning from one of the huge batts, while Lynnae is spinning some of her space dyed Merino Seacell.

The silver buck is my favorite. Unfortunately, I cannot use him for breeding since he is related to all of the blacks. He is gorgeous and he is for sale. So are a lot of other goats and sheep. The feed jumped from $10.15 to $14.50 a bag, so I am going to have to downsize now and not in the fall as I usually do. The sales will not be at firesale/auction prices. They are all registered. Some will be going to Del Mar with my friend, Tor, for the CAGBA and Angora goat shows there next month.

This is the buck's fleece close up. It is just now starting to curl. We have very low humidity. The first rain will curl all of the mohair fleeces.

Went out to feed the Shetlands this evening and discovered two ewe lambs One blends right into the dirt. The mom is a first timer, so she will stay in the barn for a few days. Her babies are tiny, but they have both been on mom.

This ewe lamb is almost a week old. She was born last Monday and I had to bottle feed her. Her mother is behind her and enormous in comparison. The mother's milk is now in and baby is doing well, so Marc let them out of the barn yesterday,while I was gone.

Marc discovered the mom and ram lamb when he went out to feed last night. The mom has Jacob and Border Leicester, as well as Shetland in her back ground. The lamb has more Shetland. I will be selling both of them. They are a long hair breed. The lamb might fade to gray or white by fall.

I will be home for most of June and July. I plan to go to Del Mar and see my son, Kyle, at the same time. I also have a show at the end of July in Pasadena. I hope to get a lot of these fleeces washed and carded. Dealing with my Dad's estate has really slowed me down, but most of that is now taken care of, so I will have more fiber time!

If you would like a workshop, let me know and I will try to schedule it. I won't be teaching in August or September.

I am also reducing my prices on batts for the next month. Crazy batts off the Louet carder are $4, the batts off the Elsa carder (huge carder) are $5, and the batts off the Supercard are $6. Do come and check out the selection.

Yarn extremes

2011-05-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

Somehow the post that I created at my Dad's did not make it to my blog. I made it back home after 10 days in Colorado Springs dealing with his estate. His house has sold, so I went to sort his belongings, do a yard sale, and donate the rest. Wish I could say that I am back to doing my usual things, but there is still a lot of paperwork to sort and time shares to sell.

It is hard to settle on any one task, so I started carding batts in hopes of tidying up the studio. It is not quite happening, but the batts are lovely and will work as very interesting yarns or parts of landscapes.
The above are all Shetland. The front and the back are not the same, so they are reversible.

It took me three days to card the batts for the kid mohair above. Thought I would show how much trash is still left in after three cardings. I plan to coil this kid mohair, so I will have yarn available for the Medieval collar pattern. This is lace weight yarn.

I have started another knitted landscape using the size 35 needles. I just ordered a batch of them, so I can sell them. They are an addiction.

I am using 12 strands of yarn that I have spun. I carded the batts with the intention of having variegated yarns. I have knitted 18 inches and with 51 stitches on the needle, it is approximately 46 inches wide. It is using up lots of the non wearable yarn. It is a perfect use for the older mohair and scratchier wools. I am currently shifting to a darker pine green to create the illusion of a forest. I plan to embellish on top with coiled and super coiled yarns. I was considering changing colors in a middle section for the sky, but the numbers of threads was outrageous, so I will let surface design break the horizons. The needles and all of the yarn are quite heavy, so I am only doing a few rows at a time. You would not believe how much yarn it is eating!

Goats are all Delivered

2011-04-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

Barbara's daughter had twin bucks on Wednesday and Barbara herself had twin does late this afternoon. She is my oldest doe and I was a little worried since she gave me Chinless last year, but she did all of the work herself and the babies appear to be healthy.

No red kids this year, but I have plenty of fleeces in that color from previous years, so it is OK. The silver buck gave me mostly bucks, one silver buck and the rest are all going to be shades of black and charcoal. Some have very cute faces and their moms are easy to pick out.

A friend has encouraged me to enter some pieces in a competition, so I rephotographed the blanket above, since I have so many pictures that I could not find the one that I took years ago. They are looking for more entries. They have to be made from any natural fiber. Their website is www.llamas-alpacas.com/showcase, if you are interested in entering something. A sampling of yarns spun over the last week. The green is going into the knitted landscape that I am making on the size 35 needles. It is turning out well. It will be wider than the last one and could be used as a rug.

Mother of the Year Award: Sweet

2011-04-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Danny sheared the rest of the sheep and goats last Monday. I have decided to name the Merino ewe "Meri." Still trying to decide on the ram. This is Meri getting her first haircut. Her fleece is pictured below. It is the best fleece of all, with the ram coming in a close second.

In terms of statistics, 78 animals were shorn. The heaviest fleeces were: the Merino ram - 17.5 pounds, the Merino ewe and Mound, the Rambouillet, came in at 15.5 pounds each. The Merino will produce more yarn, since the Rambouillet is gorgeous, but coarser.

The kids are starting to assert their independence and developing personalities. All of the colored kids are black so far and the buck gave me lots of bucks. I have two more goats to deliver and expect that their babies will also be black.

Sweet has won the "Mother of the Year" award. She gave me triplets and had all of them up and drinking by the time I came back out last Thursday afternoon to check on her. Two does and a buck. I am excited, because she has always had the kids with the best fleeces. This is her first set of triplets and all are thriving.

The goat moms are very patient. The kid jumping on this mom is not her baby.

Pearl gave me triplet ewes yesterday afternoon. I considered her as a possible mother of the year, till I went out and found the smallest lamb too weak to get up. They have all been drinking or at least under her on her teats. I tried milking her and could not get any out, so they are sucking her dry. Since the largest one is really heavy, I figure the rest are not getting enough. I brought colostrum that I had saved from last year out and the smaller two inhaled it. I am glad they suck without having to be coaxed. I gave Pearl lots of grain and water, so I hope she fills up. Otherwise, I have two really cute bottle babies!

Someone asked for lamb photos. You would not believe how hard it is to get front facing photos of the babies. Their moms head the other way when they see me coming. I don't think backside pictures would be cute.

Cheryl came last week and claimed the rug. Hopefully, she will get lots of use out of it. She came with the TUSD school group that took the first tour.

Tucson Spring Shearing Winner

2011-04-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

The raffle earned $81 for the Casa Maria Kitchen in Tucson, despite the poor turnout. Rain in Arizona in April is rare, but we got it. The turnout for the first tour was pretty good and Danny was able to shear the sheep in the barn. He will finish shearing tomorrow morning, so anyone who wants may come out about 9:30 to watch. The shop will be open. The winner of the rug is Cheryl Walling. She has till next Saturday to contact me and say that she is coming to collect it. If I do not hear from her, another name will be pulled. Hopefully, she or a friend checks my blog, since that is how I posted that I will announce the winner. In other news, I lost Spindle, the baby alpaca that was born late January. She was bit by a rattlesnake and too young and small to survive. We have seen lots of rattlesnakes this year and some unseen killed my Black Sheep Cup last month and now this baby. Do be careful when you go outside. We have had them in the backyard twice and under the orange tree outside the shop recently. It has really depressed me.

Time to move on

2011-04-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have been doing the 4th Avenue Street Fair for several years and I think this is my ninth or 11th time. Either my standards and expectations have really increased, or the street fair has really dropped theirs, but I find it to be more of a carnival that an art festival. I have decided that this will be my last show there. It is really hot, which explains why all of my friends have stayed away, but it does not help to watch people walk the street in a daze - heat or alcohol related and know that there are babies being born at home and so much else I could be doing. I am trying to look at it as advertising for my wool festival next weekend, but it is rather an expensive thought, since I have not even made my booth fee, which has never happened before. Neither have any of the booths either side of me. Only the food, drink, hat, and trinket vendors are doing much. It is sad, but I think the 4th Avenue no longer fits my needs, so I am moving on!

4th Avenue Street Fair

2011-03-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

The 4th Avenue Street Fair starts tomorrow. My friend, Donna, went down and helped me set up my booth. It needs a little fine tuning, but otherwise looks really good. If anyone is not busy tomorrow afternoon and would like to come to the street fair to help cover the booth and pass out flyers, please call my cell 401-6117. A week ago Tuesday, Columbian had triplets. In keeping with my fiber theme , they were named: Laceweight, Sport Weight and Worsted Weight. Laceweight was curled up on top of her mother this morning, but those pictures are still on my phone. Since Columbian is pretty calm, the lambs are easier to catch - especially Laceweight. I was really worried about her at first because she was so tiny.

My Grandmother's Irises have bloomed again. They are very hardy. I have been hauling them around for 16 years now and they have survived everywhere.

I took a photo of my stepmother while we were sorting some of my Dad's paperwork. Last week I worked from 7:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. on clearing out papers. He kept it all - papers from 1930 to now, every receipt, all of his taxes, and pretty much every card that he received over the years, as well as printed copies of emails. I have kept what looks like history and trashed the rest. It was unbelievable and totally overwhelming. If you are hoarding paperwork, do your heirs a favor and get rid of the non essentials. You have to pay extra to get it hauled off, so why not keep it moving out? Do you really want them to be reading every single piece of correspondence that you leave behind? There was so much of it, that you can rest assured that I only looked to see who wrote it - kept it for my sisters and brothers, if it had writing and was not just a card with a signature - and threw out all of the rest. Having priced the hauler fees, this is some pretty pricey trash!

The spring shearing festival is next Saturday. Fortunately, I did all of the advertising before flying to my Dad's, because I am now too beat to do it. The Arizona Daily Star called today to confirm their information, but I don't expect an article this year. Hopefully, all of you are passing the word along.

Marc wants me to remind everyone to watch out for rattlesnakes. This morning there was one was under my orange tree outside the shop - Charcoal was sitting within striking distance checking it out. Then this evening, the dogs started barking and would not stop. Another, larger rattlesnake was in their area in the back yard. They had obviously made it mad because it was rattling. I did not see any bite marks, so I won't know, if they got bit till something swells up. Two snakes in one day is a bit much!

Tucson Spring Shearing Festival Raffle

2011-03-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Freeform Spinners wove this rug from my handspun last year during the fall festival. We are raffling it off at the Tucson Spring Shearing Festival with all of the proceeds going to benefit the Casa Maria Kitchen. This is a 21 by 42 inch rug (not counting the fringe) that will be perfect for a kitchen or bathroom. You can purchase raffle tickets in advance by sending a Paypal payment to my email address: jmarckathy@aol.com. Be sure to include your name and tel or email address on the payment, so I know who to credit. The tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. It has a value of $450.

I discovered very large and long knitting needles at Stitches West. I knitted this piece with the idea of a southwestern landscape in mind. I began with the taupe for the desert sand, reddish brown for the mountains at sunset, and then the pink and blue shifting to just blue for the sky. Everyone always looks at the spectacular view on the sun side of the sunset. If you turn 180 around, the sky is shades of pink and blue and the mountains take on a color of their own.

I used up quite a bit of not next to the skin yarn to knit this piece. Marc says it is not economical, because it used over $480 worth of yarn. All things considered, I found the process to be very soothing and a distraction while dealing with my father's death. I plan to make another that will be wider and longer. The one I just finished is designed to be a wall hanging. My next one will be either a larger rug or lap blanket. I will use a greener part of the country as my inspiration, since it will involve a totally different colorway.

I have not decided whether I will add surface embellishment with art yarns.

Cycle of Life

2011-03-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

My Dad passed yesterday morning. We are all sad, but relieved. The doctors wanted to play God, which made the process more difficult, but we were able to preserve my Dad's wishes. I wish to thank those who emailed or contacted me in some way. Your words meant a great deal and reminded me that we do not go through life alone.

Above is a reaffirmation that life will go on. My Merino ewe delivered a healthy ewe lamb this morning and all seems to be going well. I am using a fiber art theme and hope to have her named by this evening. Notice her long tail. It will be docked in a few days when she gets her first shots.

Unexpected Realities/Tucson Spring Shearing Festival

2011-03-11T12:15:00.000-08:00

In half hour I am leaving for Las Vegas to take my Dad off life support. He has a triple by pass surgery almost 2 weeks ago and it did not go well. He chose me to be his representative, so it falls to me to do as he wished. I don't normally throw my life issues out for public review, but thought I would share where all of my energies have gone the last two weeks. I was out in Las Vegas last week and my dad had lost his will to fight. He is over 80 years old and I feel like he has a full life, so I have no regrets. He would have liked to live to 100 (wouldn't we all?), but it is not meant to be. Dealing with life or death issues with animals over the past 8 years has taught me that I am not God and that we need to be willing to let go.
My mind has been all over the place and so have my colors. I did get one supercoil listed on etsy.

Amongst death, there is the celebration of life. I have 8 black kids on the ground now and the reds will start delivering any time. I hate to leave it to Marc to deal with, but he has been getting lots of practice, so he will be fine. See, I am learning to trust that other people can handle it.

Ruby had twins last Friday late - which is unusual. I was expecting it, so I did go back out to check one last time. The second born was a doe and she took right to her. Since the buck did not get up since he was chilled and a butt first baby, she rejected him. I have held her so the buck could drink (he was one of the ones that I had to put on a heating pad before he would suck), but Ruby is really fighting him. I decided yesterday to get him on a bottle just in case he was not getting enough milk. He has become a bottle baby and is really friendly. He has great genes - black and silver with blue eyes. He is for sale, but don't call till after I get back - hopefully Monday. I check out all buyers to be sure there is a good fit. He will be less expensive, but not free or cheap.

Tucson Spring Shearing Festival 2011 in the 9th of April. If anyone is willing to help in any way - you don't even need to be a fiber person, please email me at jmarckathy@aol.com. People come and people go, and it seems like more have gone than come, so I am in need of volunteers. The festival has gotten too big for me to handle it by myself. A lot of the advertisement has gone out and I will try to finish next week, but from past experience, it is the word of mouth that has caused the festival to be so successful, so I am counting on you to pass on the word! Thanks!

Snow in Tucson!

2011-02-27T08:31:00.000-08:00

We woke up to snow this morning. Very cool. Of course, we had to get up early to see it, since it is already melting. It is the first time that it has snowed here at the ranch in the 11 years that we have lived here.

The goats started walking gingerly towards the feeder when they saw me. They always eat a lot more when it is cold. Most of the animals stayed dry. The alpacas and llamas did not care.

Stitches West and All About Babies

2011-02-24T11:48:00.000-08:00

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.

First kid, patterns and Stitches West

2011-02-15T10:03:00.000-08:00

Dark Chocolate delivered prematurely. Only one of the triplets survived - a buck. He is healthy, but very quiet.

In preparation for Stitches West, I have been sorting and printing patterns. I decided to write out the pattern for my Southwestern Shetland shawl. It took quite a while, since I included extra photos and a stitch chart for the lace section. It is definitely not for a beginner! Thanksgiving was quite interested.

I will be packing up the shop this afternoon and heading out tomorrow morning for California. I am slightly depressed, since there is rain in the forecast for the whole trip. I suffer from the SAD syndrome, so it is going to be tough. I have been reminded that it is an indoor show and that people in other parts of the country do not hibernate when it rains like Arizonans do.

Caitlin, my intern, will be covering what remains in the shop and watching out for the animals. I don't expect any to deliver while I am gone.

2011-02-02T16:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is becoming a little bit of a brat, since she has been put out with the other llamas and alpaca. Sibling rivalry happens even among the animals.

As I was giving an animal tour yesterday afternoon, I noticed that Amber's teats are filling. Her baby is hanging pretty low. I checked my blog and realized that I could have kids as early as this weekend, since I had the coyote issue. I am glad that the weather will be nicer by then.

This is Catlin's pin weaving. It was the back side and I think it has more color and texture than the front. She is probably going to turn it into a small bag.

I took a trip to the Gem and Mineral show along I-10 this past Sunday. I came home with some new ideas and a few different type of beads.

A trip to the Doubletree Inn on the east side netted me these beads.

All of these were spun in the last week and a half. I finished the angora rabbit and need to send it off.

This is a closeup of the center skein. I am doing a series of freeform yarns in these colors. This is the middle range color. I am working on a darker set. Below is the lighter set. I can't which I like better!

After the wool festival, a lot of people told me to pass on thanks to the guy directing traffic using the bike. He looked pretty scruffy, so I thought you would like to know that he does clean up well. I rarely see him dressed for work, since he leaves before I get up. This is Marc, my husband, and I call the look - The Secret Agent Man.

Winter's Cria

2011-01-28T18:57:00.000-08:00

Caitlin went out to feed this morning while I was getting ready to go to the optometrist and discovered that Winter had had her baby. It was an11 months and five days gestation. I had it on my calendar, so I know for sure. She is a darker chocolate than Winter and still unnamed. I still have not settled on a theme for the year. I did get to see her before running off t my appointment.

I went back out this afternoon to check on the cria. Winter had just bit my hair, so I was trying to block her. She latched onto my shirt as I was checking out her baby. Winter is settling down, but she is not fit for public greetings!

I taught a pin weaving class to a select group of the Old Pueblo Knitters. They picked it up quickly. Above is the piece that I started during the class.

My piece turned into a landscape. It will be done, as soon as I weave in the loose ends and attach a saguaro rib for hanging. It was a very addictive piece to work on.

I carded up angora rabbit for an order and then carded a bunch more. Most of it got blended into black kid mohair and then one batch with black and navy blended and two batches with red and black blended. Now I am gearing up for spinning them. I ended up with 70 ounces blended. It is going to take a while.

A Day Off

2011-01-23T19:38:00.001-08:00

Above is a picture that Caitlin, my intern took today. This is Barbara, my oldest goat. She was born in 2003 and is still going strong. She has produced lots of lovely babies over the years. She still loves the salt licks! I played with the picture a little.
I went over to a friend's llama ranch to help with a baby llama. She did not make it, but another baby was born while we were there and she seemed to be in good health. Caitlin took the photo of this mama llama, while I was working with the baby. Her eyelashes are gorgeous! None of the rest looked half as cute.

I am getting lots of spinning and carding in, while Caitlin is washing and picking the fiber. She is getting to see how variable fleeces are in terms of quality and dirt. I have taught her to drop spindle and want her to hop on a wheel tomorrow or the next day. She is worth more than her weight in gold!

The Best Time of Year

2011-01-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

The winter months are the best time of year for me here at the ranch. Shows are over for a few months and visitors from out of state start coming through to see the animals and check out the yarns. Ideas start to flow and I get feedback on finished goods. This is how I know what patterns to put in writing and what types of yarns to spin.
Someone bought a skein of angora rabbit at the Tempe show. She came to visit on Saturday looking for more yarn and she showed me her hat. Talk about gorgeous. I have only knitted up bits and pieces of angora rabbit, so I was blown away by how soft and lovely her hat is. I have to spin more angora!
This might be the last dog hair that I ever spin. The fber at the top right is what I had to deal with. It was fairly felted and I wore out my rotor cuff and thumb trying to pick it apart for carding. I have to admit that the coiled yarn turned out lovely and, since I focused on the fiber that was softest, she will be able to knit a scarf from it and wear it. It will shed a little, but it is definitely sturdy enough to be used.

Two skeins of yarn that I plan to turn into a freeform lace shawl. A sample shawl is posted further down in this post.

I just finished a blue series of freeform yarns. They are a blend of kid mohair, Shetland lamb, and Rambouillet (Mound's last fleece) with lots of beads, bows, and texture.

A view of the yarns that I spun to complete the series.

This is my latest freeform lace shawl. I am going to draft a pattern explaining how I created it. I don't have a clue as to how many stitches I cast on or how many rows there are, but I can explain how you can create your own. I spun the cranberry colored yarns above to make another, but I am being seduced by a red kid mohair fleece that came off #397, a buck that I might use for breeding next year. His fleece turned out to be nicer than that of many does. I did not know that until he was shorn. It is not like the goats are going to stand still for me to fondle their hair!

This is a close up of the lace. I am naming this shawl - A Spinner's Web.

In other ranch news - Josey does not look like she is going to deliver, while Winter is definitely due around the first week in February. These are alpacas. The goats are due to start delivering around the 24th of February.

I don't remember whether I mentioned that I am juried into the Spring 4th Avenue Street Fair here in Tucson - the first weekend in April.
These are the yarns that will greet you as you enter the shop.

New Colorways

2011-01-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

I did a quick search on the color forecast for spring and summer of 2011. The colors above are an extract of one set. Most of the spring and summer colors look to be what we traditionally consider to be fall colors. I spun two freeform yarns, a coil, and a single, so there is enough to make a shawl.

The colors below were spun just prior to the golds. I had some "red" kid mohair already spun up that will go nicely with the green. I spun 3 freeform ones in this series.

I am already on to reds with touches of orange and white. Stitches West is just a month away!

I did get into the Albuquerque Fiber Fiesta and the spring 4th Avenue Street Fair 2011. I won't be doing the San Diego show, unless the Tempe show moves to a different weekend. San Diego was OK, but Tempe was awesome and so much closer to home.

I finished the versatile vest order and decided that it would be the last knitting order that I will fill. From now on, I will be knitting to design patterns. If the model sells, I will still have the pattern. Spinning is a much better use of my time.

Celebrations and Reflections

2010-12-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

I turned a year older today and it is also my wedding anniversary. Thought I would share a photo of Marc and me from our wedding. Hard to believe that 28 years have passed. My brothers and sisters were all betting that our marriage would not last long. (One of my sisters revealed this a few years ago.) Marc and I met one month in the Army Signal Corps Advanced Course, got engaged the next month, and then got married the next month. When you are in the army and you can be stationed anywhere - there is not a lot of time to wait - if you want to end up living together for the next three years. I could have spent four years in Tampa, Florida, as a recruiter, while Marc went to Heidelberg, Germany. By getting married over the Christmas break, we were able to be assigned together.

When we got married, I would never have dreamed that I would own a shop. I worked as a clerk in a department store to pay my way through college and hated it. I have a whole new perspective on retail business now and it is a lot more positive, since I am selling something that I believe in. I have been commissioned to make a mural. Above is one side of a batt and below is the other. Both will make lovely skies. I will probably use the lighter one for this commission, but I can never seem to card a whole batt in one color!

A few days ago I went out and discovered Josey acting weird. I am now sure that she is pregnant. It is hard to tell with the larger animals, because their size hides it well. She is no longer standing to be petted by guests. Her due date is the 29th, but I would not be surprised, if she delivers early.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!

New Yarns and Progress

2010-12-21T11:33:00.000-08:00

I am spinning a few yarns in between working on my orders. Most are finished, a few will go in the mail today, and the vest is half done. I really like how the supercoiled yarn looks in a closeup.

A supercoil hung on the mannequin as a cowl scarf. I am going to list it on etsy this afternoon.

A more southwestern colored skein that will also go on etsy.

Yarn scarves and shows

2010-12-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

Nuno felted shawls got a lot of attention this winter, as well as my version of a supercoiled yarn. I sold several of the shawls, so I will be glad to teach the class in order to replenish my inventory. The yarn in the photo sold.

This was my booth set up for Tempe. All but three of the supercoils sold there, so I spent last week spinning those exclusively.

Last week's yarns. The only one left is the pale blue one at the very center of the photo.

While giving someone a tour of the animals last week, I discovered this nest on the ground. No babies in it, thank goodness. Even birds can be artistic. A very good use of color from my chickens' feathers.

I spun these yarns last Thursday and Friday. The burgundy and the multicolored skein at the front are the only ones left.

My 4th Avenue Street Fair in Tucson booth. I mention the Tucson part, because at the other shows, everyone wanted to know where the 4th Avenue was. It was a lot better than last winter and spring, but it did not come anywhere near the Tempe Festival of the Arts. I was really impressed that I had customers from Tempe that came down to buy yarn scarves. They had come by on Sunday in Tempe and the choices were slim. Thanks to all who did come out. I have covered my feed bill for the summer, so Marc is happy and I have lots of motivation to produce more of everything!

This was a scarf ordered in San Diego. It goes out in the mail today. I have several other orders and I am working on all of them. It is hard to settle on only one project!

New shows: I have been invited to participate in the Pasadena Bead and Gem Show. I will have 500 square feet to fill. It is by invitation only, so I am excited that people in San Diego have been passing the word about my art. The dates are July 28-31, 2011. I have the option of teaching in my space, which is nice. I plan to offer a basic drop spinning class, pin weaving, or my novelty yarn class there. If the classes don't fill, it will be OK. I would like to offer nuno felting, but don't know that they will have the appropriate facilities.

Among other news, I got a new phone (Droid X) last night and have realized that there is going to be a long learning curve. It is more like a computer with phone capabilities. Anyhow, if I am talking to you and something weird happens, blame it on my having to learn new tricks.

Tempe Festival of the Arts

2010-12-05T19:54:00.001-08:00

Will post booth photos tomorrow, but I could not wait to share that it was an absolutely awesome show! Met lots of cool people. Taught 4 people to drop spindle and sold lots of "yarn" scarves. Received several orders, so I will be busy and definitely not bored.

And, I have the 4th Avenue this next weekend!

San Diego

2010-11-30T07:40:00.000-08:00

I had an 8 by 10 foot booth. It was the smallest booth that I have ever had, so it was a challenge to get it all in. Most of the supercoiled yarns from the front sold. Non knitters were buying them to wear as scarves. I have decided to take them off the wheel in smaller batches, so they will be less expensive. I will have multiples of the same colors, so knitters will have enough to make scarves. The price per yard/ounce will not change.

While in San Diego, we visited the La Jolla Cove to see the seals. I caught this pelican in the middle of a yarn.

The seal in the middle of the water was definitely an older male. Kind of ugly, if you ask me, but the water was a lovely color.

While at the San Diego Zoo, I saw this palm tree. I was struck by the owl formed by natural growth and tree trimming.

This was the first show for the San Diego group and foot traffic was not so busy that I did not have time to spin. I started spinning the single in the ball at the foreground, but switched to thick and thin as I saw the supercoils selling. I plan to coil all of these today. The dark blue single on the top is the same roving as the thick and thin blue at the back. The two blues at the front are also the same roving. I love how changing the texture changes the color of the yarn. I will post photos of the coiled yarn this afternoon, so you can see how they changed again.

Off to San Diego

2010-11-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

Latest creations. Top and one below are the same skein - two sides. The last is one spun yesterday.

If you need to talk to me, please call my cell 520-572-3758. Marc is here at the home number 572-3758, if you need batts or roving. Happy Thanksgiving.

Shearing and Another Show

2010-11-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

I discovered that the Art Institute of Tucson is more culinary-oriented than fine art. They do have a fashion design course, but graphic arts, video, and cooking are their focus. About the only thing that I accomplished by doing their show was to realize that I can pack a lot more in the truck than I thought, so I will not need to take the trailer to San Diego/Del Mar next week. A huge relief, since I don't think I could back the trailer up, if I needed to!

Penny came and sheared the rest of the goats and the sheep that I was planning to sell. She did a super job - very few second cuts - and now I have a lot of lovely fleeces! Above is Black Sheep Cup (BSC), the white herdsire. This is his fifth fleece and it is lovely. It is superb, when you consider that it came off a buck.

A close up of his fleece. He has a lot of curl for his age and it is still next to the skin quality.

Penny, Charles (her helper), and I started naming the goats that I am keeping and we decided to use names of comic characters. Since I was able to be there as they were being sheared, I was able to analyze their fleeces and determine which will be the best fiber producers. This red angora goat was named "Blondie" for her white hair on her forehead (obviously gone.) All the wrinkles on her body meant she had a very heavy fleece. It was the curliest and softest of the reds. If I had to pick the top kid doe, Blondie is it. Dainty and Brazen had lovely fleeces, but did not have the weight that hers did.

This is Monet. Marc and I picked her up at "FAIR" at the Petsmart yesterday. We went to buy a climbing tower for Pixie, so she would quit using our legs. As I was passing the kitties for adoption, I saw Monet and loved her coloring. As an artist, my eye was instantly caught by the unusual coloring. I mentioned her to Marc as the guys were loading the towers (we splurged and got two) into the car. He said I could get her, if I wanted. It was not an impulse purchase, since we had been talking for a week about how we had never had a sole kitten. Very cute and photogenic! Took a while to get a picture, since she is always in motion.

Pitiful and Inspired

2010-11-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

Barbara is my oldest doe. She looks pitiful without her fleece. I have a picture that I took of her as a kid and she has not changed much - in terms of sad look. She does have the middle age spread!

I got inspired to finish my southwestern landscape. It was so close to done that I felt stupid showing it to people this past weekend. I will take it to the Art Institute of Tucson for their festival this weekend.

I am entering the Albuquerque Fiber Fiesta and had to send a collage of my work, so I played around with photo staging this morning. Time to get back to the carder and my wheel to fill my orders.

Tucson Wool Festival Anecdotes

2010-11-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

Danny Smith, my scheduled shearer was not able to make it this year, so I talked my friend, Scott Scheyli, into filling in. He used to shear his angora goats, but now spends more time shearing his horses. He has not lost his touch and the animals that he got sheared are very grateful. So am I! I hate advertising an event and not being able to follow through. The shearing is always a highlight of the festival for everyone and I would not want to have disappointed.

Alpacazona - an Arizona alpaca farm with a wide variety of handmade items and raw materials for the fiber artists.

Yumiko Alexander from was here selling her book and patterns. Very original designs! She wants to learn how to create her own art yarns!

Celestial Designs traveled the furthest and had a wide assortment of fiber related products.

No festival can be a success without all of the volunteers who show up before and during the festival. Above is Judith Segel with her triangle loom weaving demonstration. She shows up every year - with no other motivation than to share her love of her artwork with passersbys.

Virginia John splits her time between Arizona and California and shows up to help, if she is in town when the festival takes place. This year she warped the loom and encouraged others to sit down and try their hand at throwing the shuttle. Even children were given the opportunity, so the rug will be a true community project. The rug on the loom will be raffled off at the April 9, 2011 Spring Shearing to benefit the Casa Maria Kitchen.

The Shawl raffled off this festival was won by Bethany Newhouse. A photo of her wearing/holding it will be published once she picks it up. The raffle brought in $148 which will go to the Casa Maria Kitchen of Tucson.

Other winners:

Isaac Barrios - $10 gift certificate to Unique Designs By Kathy

Windy Hunter - stitch markers

Kim Newhouse - yarn

Martins O'Brien - felted bag

Rhonda Grimaldo - stitch markers

Julie Olson - Batt of Rambouillet wool

I have a different shearer coming on Tuesday to finish the shearing. If you missed the shearing and would like to see a different style, come out after 11 a.m. She is supposed to be here earlier, but traditionally runs late.

Thank you to all who came out and supported the event. Without you, it would have been a dull day!

Crazy Lace and Tucson Wool Festival Project

2010-11-04T11:18:00.001-07:00

We always begin the raffle project for the next shearing event at the one prior. We have decided to weave a rug for the April 9, 2011 shearing, so the weaving will begin this Saturday during the Tucson Wool Festival. You can see the colors that have been selected. One skein is ready and hopefully a few more will be, so the project can be completed in one day.

I began this crazy lace scarf/kerchief last fall. I spun the yarn for the ruffle on a drop spindle during the 4th Avenue Street Fairs. I like to have one new project for each show, so this is mine for the wool festival.

Side view.

This is all the spinning that I have done for the shop this week. I am busy spinning for the rug and cleaning up the workshop and the ranch, so it will look lovely for the visitors. Good thing we do this twice a year! Marc hit the dump this morning and will do Goodwill this afternoon. Amazing how much we can accumulate in 6 months!

I am doing the Art Institute of Tucson's Artisan Festival next Saturday. 10-3. It is on the north side of Grant just east of Swan. The shop will be closed as a result on November 13th.

Setting up shop

2010-11-02T09:01:00.000-07:00

The worst thing about doing shows is the set up once I am back at the ranch. It takes a few hours and after standing around at a show, I am ready to be spinning or creating again. Fortunately I had Sunday to put the shop back together, although I admit that I did not finish till 11 on Monday. I am debating not putting it back up after the San Diego show, since I would have to take it down 2 1/2 days later.

There was very little foot traffic at the show, which was a real shame based on how many vendors made it. I used the opportunity to hand out flyers for the wool festival. Hopefully lots of people will show! The Tucson Home magazine has an entry about it, but the magazine was not available at Barnes and Nobles last night, so I was not able to pick up a copy.

I noticed that my check for Stitches West has been cashed, so I am going for sure. It will be fun to see a large fiber show - as well as participate.

Time

2010-10-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that a week has already passed since I gave a presentation at the Old Pueblo Knitters' Guild about the importance of needle size. No computer issues, which was a total relief. It is always a challenge to prepare for a group that could know as much as you do about a subject!

Pixie is the newest addition to the ranch. My son took two of the house cats when he left this summer and the house was just too quiet. We still have Emerald, but she alternates between living in the couch and hiding in Kyle's old room. She is coming out more now that we have Pixie - but it is only to terrorize her. Pixie comes to the studio a lot. She and Charcoal tolerate each other. Some friends came and helped pluck the rabbits last week. Pixie decided we did not groom them sufficiently, so she worked for a while.

Cadbury's cage was given a new floor by one of my new friends. All of the rabbits are now outside. The English is still on the back porch, since I need to cut the hair off his belly. It matted too much to be plucked.

I spent a few days spinning black and red in order to have some complementary yarn for a freeform skein. If it does not sell soon, I plan to knit it up. The above is an alpaca/Merino blend. The alpaca had a lot of trash in it and the static electricity kept attracting it. A turn through the dryer with a perfume free Bounce cleaned it up a lot.

I am setting up at a fiber art show tomorrow south of Tucson. I will be at the Amado Territory Inn at Arivaca Road. Go south on I-19 to exit 48. The inn is on the east side of the highway. Hours are 10-4. The shop will be closed and reopen on Monday. Come visit!

Tucson Wool Festival Shawl

2010-10-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

The shawl to be raffled off to support the Casa Maria Kitchen in Tucson is now finished. The Freeform Spinners of Tucson spun, wove, knitted, and crocheted

Rambouillet wool in natural brown and roving that I dyed in autumn shades. I spent the last few weeks assembling and adding a corkscrew border.

Raffle tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. This year I will let you buy tickets in advance. You do not need to be present to win. You do have to provide a valid telephone number or email, so I may contact you.

Hope that a lot of you can make it to the festival this year. There are always new vendors, changes at the ranch, and different volunteers. It always amazes me how quickly the time passes and how much more creative we all get!

Patagonia

2010-10-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

It was great to get out and see people for a change. I work in isolation in my studio and can get disconnected sometimes from the everyday world. Summers in Tucson are pretty quiet.

At the festival I met Cynthia Binyon from Bisbee, a handweaver who specializes in rugs from reclaimed materials. Pictured above is one of her rugs that I bought because I loved the color combination. It does not really match anything in my house! I bought two others and will feature them in a future posting.

I dug out all of the colors in the rug and carded them into roving, which I have already spun. Great fall colors that I spun up as lamb's tails, elastic, and a single. I am doing a variation in mostly mohair now - which has turned out a lot greener, since I left out the navy blue.

Above is a photo of my booth. Elastic and funky yarns were definitely a hit!

The North Tucson Living Magazine has an article on me in its October-November 2010 issue. It was in mailboxes yesterday and should be online soon at: www.northtucsonliving.com.

Do pass the word out about the wool festival. The shawl is almost finished - I am crocheting a border! The vendor list is complete on the website.

Patagonia Fall Arts Festival

2010-10-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Patagonia Fall Arts Festival is Friday-Sunday. I have a friend covering the shop for drop ins, but the good stuff is going to be with me. There will be roving, batts, and what I can't fit in the truck, left in the shop. Can't wait to get out and see what other people are doing and see some of my friends who can't make it up to the ranch.

I will be doing a lot more shows this fall and I have applied for Stitches West next February, so please check my website or call me, if you are coming on a weekend.

I finished the Suri alpaca scarf. The yarn was coiled, but Suri develops tails rather than clean coils, so it turned out a lot more interesting than I anticipated.

Batches of yarn produced over the past week and already in the shop.

I sold some skeins with a lot of yardage in them, so spun up some more - different colors naturally. The turquoise one at the front has 700 yards and is a fingering weight. They are going in the shop this morning.

New Designs

2010-09-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

I finally finished this freeform shawl - just in time for Kristie to model it for me during her visit. It takes a certain amount of "drama" to carry off the unusual designs and I think Kristie has it!

I designed this to be a traditional shawl, but noticed that the center piece worked perfectly to frame my head and be worn as a mantilla or prayer shawl. The pattern will be for sale on my eshop and etsy by this weekend.

The more traditional look.

I have played around with pin weaving and have now finished all three of the pieces that I had started. I wanted to show that each one lent itself to being finished off in a different way. I can't pick one as my favorite. All three are now in the shop. I will schedule a pin weaving class in January, if there is sufficient interest. I am now playing around with texture on my Cranbrook loom.

Pin weaving as a scarf.

Pin weaving as a bag.

Pin weaving as wall art.

Blue beaded yarn.

3.33 pounds of yarn spun over the past week. The blue skein at the front has the beads. The rose and greens have novelties and various singles to go with them. I am currently spinning white - it is a combination of Shetland, kid mohair, and alpaca that might (or not!) remain white.

Coyotes

2010-09-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Marc and I went out to do the morning feeding and discovered that a coyote had gotten into the main goat area and killed a silver buck. The coyote could not get it out of the fence, so it ate half of the goat right there among the rest of the goats and left what it did not want. We have had goats and sheep wandering the open area for 7 years and never had a problem. Since the buck, that was killed, is the one I was planning on using as a herd sire next year, I am especially sick. I am playing around with textures on my loom. I had mentioned finding Jane Patrick's book on ideas for weavers. This was my first experiment. Very time consuming to actually make a rug that way, but a very cool effect for a small project. This will probably be a small bag.

This is a variation on Brook's bouquet. I am half done weaving a scarf using this pattern. Yarn size makes a huge difference when you are weaving funky patterns.

Friday was spent putting all of the goats and sheep into pens. I was planning to put a lot of them in pens on Saturday for breeding, but all are now in pens after the coyote incident. The picture of the hole in the top photo is of one of the three holes that a coyote dug during Friday night. We do not think it actually got in, since this hole was the largest and nowhere near as large as the hole from the day before. We have gone around and reinforced all of the fences and the llamas and alpacas are now spending the night inside the area to keep predators out. I am letting the llamas and alpacas out during the day - as long as they come in willing at evening feeding.

The common goat area is very bleak looking with all of the animals penned up. I sheared five sheep this weekend who will be sent to the UA meat lab on the 12th of October. If anyone is interested in lamb/sheep, please let me know at jmarckathy@aol.com, 520-572-3758. There are too many animals in the pens, which I consider unhealthy, so I am scaling back.

I received a special order for spinning and creating something from Eskimo dog hair on Friday. The dog hair is a lot like llama in that it has a short under coat and guard hairs. There was only enough fiber to knit a scarf. It turned out rather nice and can be worn next to the skin, if the person is not sensitive. If you look closely, you can see that it is going to shed for a while.

Is Fall Here?

2010-09-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Marc has been planting pieces of our front yard organ pipe cactus in other places as the branches broke. The main plant died this summer, but we have lots of lovely one new ones. They only blossom for one day and I was lucky enough to catch this one as it opened.

I have been playing around with weaving techniques. This is similar rot the southwestern one that I am turning into a ruana. In an escape to Barnes and Nobles on Saturday evening, I found a book by Jane Patrick on weaving ideas. It is written for heddle looms, but can easily be adapted to what I am already doing on my Cranbrook Loom. The book is probably the most interesting one on weaving that I have come across. I can already envision take offs on her ideas.

These are the yarns that I spun last week. I was not as productive, since I had to shear a few animals and finish sorting the ones that went to Michele in Oregon.

I had to do some dyeing this weekend. I had run out of the moss green kid mohair that I love to throw into rovings. I have plenty of the green in the not so nice mohair!

Mounds and my "$500" ram were lured into a pen last evening. I hate restricting their movement, since I think it is healthier for them to be able to run around, but the ram was chasing all of the does who are in heat. It is too hot for that and I could see him injuring one of them. At 3 1.2 months old, he is bigger than they are. He will get weaned this Saturday, when I move his mother, the other Rambouillet and the Merinos to the far out pasture. All of the goats will be sorted for breeding, since the adult bucks are in rut. I am so glad that they do not smell like dairy bucks.

I mentioned Michele above and thought I would share with you what happened when the sheep and goats were delivered to her Saturday night. Only three goats had made it off the truck, when Michele fell and broke a few bones. She is seeing the orthopedist today and is likely to end up in a cast. It was an accident and not the animals' fault, but I feel really bad about it. She has not even been able to go out and check them out. Fortunately, the animals will be on pasture, so it will not be as much of an ordeal to feed them.

Marc is now in a panic about what we would do, if something happened to me. I don't have the luxury of a pasture, so I have to feed twice a day. And, as stupid as the animals have been this summer, they have to be checked on a few times a day to be sure that they have not gotten into trouble. If you know Michele and would like to drop her a line, please email me at jmarckathy@aol.com and I will send you her email address.

Progress

2010-09-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Our monsoon is almost over and it has been pitiful. They listed the rainfall totals for the different areas of Tucson and our area has received 1.5 inches, where other parts of Tucson have had 4 to 12 inches. Trees are losing branches and leaves and we just have to watch it happen. My friend, Holly, was here last week and I was joking with her about our lack of rainfall. I mentioned that there is always a blue patch of sky above the ranch while all around you can see nasty thunderclouds. As she was leaving, I looked up and there was our patch of blue, so I had to run back in and get the camera.

We have a flock of black birds hanging out to steal the dogs' food. I thought that this picture was rather cool. There were two birds on the float, but this was the better picture. I love the reflections in the water.

I finished the black, white and grey scarf!

I finished a felted bag..

and, I put the strap on a woven bag from the 15 yard warp. I have decided that Sundays are good for finishing projects, because I can run back tot he main house to use the sewing machine without worrying about leaving the shop unattended.

My most recent yarns spun over the past five days.

North Carolina and My Fiber Fix

2010-08-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

I am playing catch up again. Marc and I went to visit Kristie and Abe in North Carolina for a few days in mid August. Notice the green grass! I visited one yarn shop (the other had gone out of business), but was not inspired. I did get a few ideas on things not to do! Abe has started law school at Duke and is hitting the books pretty hard. Kristie has 10 piano students now and is hoping for a few harp ones. She does have weddings lined up, so she will be busy.

I do have some green in my backyard. A tiny bird was perched on my basil polishing off the seeds.

I finally finished off my first pin weaving as a scarf. I ran out of yarn and would have had to do something free formy to make it longer. I felt like it was done, so I have photographed it.

I knitted up one of my freeform yarns while at Kristie's. I took the yarn to show my relatives in Rocky Mount and just got weird looks.They are traditionalists and did not get it at all. The southwest appears to be more open to abstract art.

I also began this scarf while on the return flight. I have spun up the rest of the yarn, so I will finish it this week.

I really missed spinning, so I made up for it by spinning 60.6 ounces (3.78 pounds) of yarn in the 8 days immediately after my return. The picture below is a different view of the same yarns.

I had to go to Urgent Care this morning to get my thumb checked out and they have referred me to an orthopedist. Too much stress on the thumb from turning water on and off out at the animals. I barely hold the roving/batts with my thumb, so the splint is not slowing me down. If it did, I would only wear it at night!

Moss Garden Shawl and shows

2010-08-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

I finally wove in all of the ends and pushed the novelties to the outside on the moss garden shawl.

I did not block it, since the way it is knitted causes it to drape nicely regardless of which side you put at the neckline. I used about 700 yards of novelty yarn and none of it was an unembellished single. I really loved working with the color combination.

I used quite a few bead variations in addition to the texture. I took 30 close up photos, so I can remember the details. Not that I could ever repeat it! Will spend a week thinking about a anew colorway for the next one. 4 skeins is a lot!

I head out at 3 a.m. for North Carolina to visit my daughter, Kristie. I have two friends watching my shop and someone else watching the animals. It is a good thing that cell phones are so common nowadays. It relieves a lot of the stress, since I can call if I remember something or if they need help. I got tired just worrying about the animal details.

I got word today that I am in the Patagonia Fall Arts Festival. I am also doing the San Diego Festival over Thanksgiving, Tempe, AZ, the weekend after that, and hopefully the 4th Avenue Street Fair here in Tucson the weekend after that. And - November 6 is the Tucson Wool Festival here! I will post the dates on my website next week. Any classes that are normally scheduled will be cancelled, but the shop is likely to be open for spinners and felters.

I plan to attend the Stitches West as a vendor in mid February. That is not a juried show and I have talked to the organizers, so it is just a matter of sending in the contract - and a lot of money. Several Californians have suggested that I try an actual fiber show. I have been doing large street fairs. I will have a chance to see what others fiber artists are doing, as well as show off my own work. If you live near Stitches West and want to work for fiber or can put me and a friend up in exchange for fiber, let me know. I am looking forward to trying out new things!

Another week

2010-08-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Herd started barking in a weird manner last week. I went out to check and discovered a garter snake in their water area. I let the dogs have the run of the pool area until it moved out.

Last week I started out on a red kick and then switched to a blue purple. I am spinning the one at the center back and just pulled off a 525 skein. I am spinning all of it at the weight of the green crochet shawl and the current red one, so I will have batches of yarn to go with the patterns. I am going to spin the roving that is currently on the carder and take those same colors and add black (and I do mean black) Rambouillet. Tor dropped off his last bags of Rambouillet two weeks ago. He has just sold all of of his sheep, so only llama will be coming my way now.

The goats opened the gate on Friday and decided to take a stroll. I let them run around till I fed and they followed the wagon right back in. Three years ago, I would have had to chase them all down. Absynthe is in the center. Her daughter is to the right and has deformed ears, but I will keep her for her gorgeous fleece and not breed her unless someone comes looking for a pet. I am going to Kristie's next week and figured it would be nice to have a few shirts that were not t-shirts. Marc and I went to the mall on Saturday and I saw some lovely shirts. If the print or design were nice, the fabric felt horrible and vice versa. I came home and pulled out my patterns and then went digging into my fabric boxes (another stash.) I came across a lot of beautiful material that my mother and I had collected over the years. I know a lot more about drape now, so some of the material that I would have used for clothing years ago, was put back. I can't remember whether I bought this material 15 years ago for Kristie a dress or me a shirt, but the wild colors and the abstraction really appealed to me. I had to run to the store and buy black thread. While there, I glanced at fabric currently for sale and figured out that my material would now cost about $9.99 versus less than $2. I plan to dig in my stash for material for another shirt with a different style. After watching several seasons of Project Runway, I am a lot less afraid of taking a pattern and modifying it! The pattern for this shirt had a very wide neckline.

New design

2010-07-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

I am tired of cleaning and reorganizing. This is my fiber room and it is stuffed. There is enough room to walk around the 3 racks in the middle of the room. All of this fiber is washed, some dyed and some carded into roving. If you are a spinner and want large batches of fiber, please email to set up an appointment. jmarckathy@aol.com

It seems like I always come up with a new shawl design when I am planning on visiting Kristie. She would never wear one, but I think of all of the time on the plane and how much I can get done. This one might be finished before I leave, since the design has been established, so it has become mindless. Of course, I could get bored and then have to take it to finish it. I was intrigued by a few patterns that I saw that seemed to have ripples in the design.

Some of the Shetland rams for sale. Only the ones with perfect horns get to be sold to breeders. I am no longer registering the Shetlands.

We have had awesome looking skies this month, but no rain. The clouds travel around us all of the time. I have told Marc that God is waiting for him to quit complaining. 50% chance of rain and we got a few sprinkles. I am so glad that we are on a well. Each of the animal areas have swimming pools and they are emptying them more than twice a day. They have automatic waterers, but the water in those does not stay as cool.

Fleeces

2010-07-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

The goats recognize any plastic bag as having a treat in it. This is the only way that Marc is able to get really close to the animals. They know that there is not a lot in the bag, so they have to hurry, if they want any.

It rained two nights ago, so I went out to take photos of the animals. Their fleeces are so much curlier and springy looking, when they have been wet. We have only had one 20 minute rain spell. This monsoon has been pretty sad in terms of rain.

I have listed that I am selling sheep and goats on craigslist. I have put a sampling here to be looked at, since I am not going to send individual photos out. Takes too much time and they are NOT going to pose. Anyone who is really serious is going to come to the ranch to see them close up.

Almost all of the white kids have fleeces that look like this. This is a close up of the buck in the photo above.

Most black angora goats are born black, but their colors change by the time they are two months old. The one on the left has kept a very dark fleece. He is one of Shake's brothers. The buck on the right is now silver. A sliver of the fleece of a white buck on the right side is so white, that it does not really show up.

Beginning and Ending with Rattlesnakes

2010-07-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

The doe that had been bit by a rattlesnake died yesterday morning. I was hoping that she would make it, since she kept eating up until Thursday. The venom caught up to her. She had gorgeous hair. I have already sold one of her bucks and will plan on keeping one. She had triplets and was going to be one of the ones I kept.

Last night I came back from bottle feeding the baby goats and started walking along the porch to go lock the dogs up for the night. It was pitch black out there, so I turned my flashlight on as soon as I heard something slithering next to me. I thought it might have been the Gila monster, but it turns out that it was a 4 1/2 foot rattlesnake. With the light of the flashlight and the camera light, it looks like daylight. I was hoping to catch his rattles. He had at least 7. It was one of the largest that I have seen in years. I woke up several times during the night thinking about it. No trace of it this morning. I plan to take all of the fleeces outside and get them on racks today. I closed the workshop doors last night and plan to keep on closing them!

Small Town and Uniqueness

2010-07-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

I did not mention it after the wool festival, but I had two skeins of kid mohair that were stolen. I was sick about it and prayed that the thief did not profit. This past weekend, one of my friends found them selling at a yard sale for $5 each. They were huge skeins 281 yards and 300 yards weighing 4.4 and 4.8 ounces. Total value was $155 and a week of work, never mind the cost of feeding the animals to raise it. My friend had written to tell me that she had found a "steal" and she recognized them immediately as mine and said they must not have known what they had to be selling it so cheap. I am sure that their conscience was bothering them. They were indeed a "steal."

I have learned a few things from this.

Tucson is a small town and what you do can come back to haunt you. Whoever stole the yarn was never going to be able to use it here in Tucson, because most knitters and crocheters recognize my yarns at first sight. No matter how hard other fiber artists try, they are never going to be able to duplicate my process. I am a freeform artist and my yarns are produced in the same manner. I am not afraid of competition! So, anyone using my yarns or buying any of my finished goods is sure to get noticed.

I have been photographing my yarns for quite a while and these two had been listed on my eshop, so I did not have to look around to discover the cost, yardage, etc. I have listed them here for my friend's use. I don't want it back, because I have already written them off and I would just feel sick again, if I had to look at them. It is nice that she recognized them and was willing to send me a photo. Now I have "the rest of the story" and can truly let it go.

Reorganizing

2010-07-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

This was the last necklace for my personal "Project Runway." Shipped and paid for!

The mom with mastitis can no longer be bred nor can she feed her does. They have become very tame and have very distinct personalities. The blue eyed one sits with Chinless watching for me. The brown eyed one hangs with her mother, but comes running when she sees me approach. Both should have gorgeous hair, since their mother's is the best of the reds right now.

It is easier to feed the twins than it is to feed Chinless. She has a hard time latching on to the bottle and then pushes too hard. She dances around like a ballerina on her back legs.

I am busy washing fleeces and creating a stash room for spinners and felters. Marc says he won't call it that. He says Fiber Room is better. It is almost stuffed. Will post a photo soon. We bought lights for the room this past Saturday. We also bought ceiling fans for the workshop area. I want to start using the looms out there and it is too hot not to have more air flowing.

The yarn above is some that I have spun from the Woolly Knobs batch that came 2 years after being sent. As I was cleaning out the workshop and moving fleeces, I came across some fleeces that were lovely in terms of color, but were rug yarn to the touch. I am currently finishing up the current project on my large loom, so I can tie on a warp for rugs.

I carded some seconds of three different alpaca fleeces for a friend. One was a Huacaya and the other two were Suri. I coiled the yarn and got surprised by how poorly the Suri coiled. Since I was looking for texture, I am happy with the way it is turning out. Usually I say to go with an 11 needle or higher with coiled yarns, but it looks much better with a 10.5.

One of my does was bit by a snake last Saturday. It might have been a dry bite or the goats might be more resistant to snake venom. When I found her, she was drooling and it looked like she had caught her face on the wire from the fence. Once the antibiotics kicked in and the swelling went down, I could clearly see the snake puncture marks. She is doing well and should recover.

There does not seem to be a dull moment around here. Found a kid (goat) outside the fence yesterday in an area where the coyotes hang out. I spent half hour trying to catch her with no luck. She kept getting under the mesquite and ironwood trees where I could not reach her. My shirt became history and I got aggravated. I went back into the pen area, caught the mom and dragged her around to the kid. The kid was perfectly willing to follow her mother, but I had to drag the mother all of the way back. Since it was over 100 and not a cloud in sight, I felt like I had been in an oven. Most goats know how to get back in where they came out. This kid is a dummy. She cried the whole time!

Baby blues

2010-06-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

This kid is out of a red doe and a black buck. Neither had blue eyes, but it was obviously in the buck's background. This kid's eyes and a few others are staying blue. A very different look!

My new Merino's came from Mendenhall Farm in California. A friend was showing his goats and sheep in California and brought them back for me. I am really pleased with them and they are not stressing with the heat. Best of all, they are significantly smaller than the Rambouillets!

This elastic yarn was supposed to match the skein below. There is some of it spun up in the single, but the overall look is too different for me to use them together, so I am going to list it on etsy.

This skein has the southwestern charms in it. I will probably list it on etsy with a photo showing the charms a little better. You can see the horseshoe and the hat, if you look closely.

The last necklace is done and in the wash. I have been carding almost all day and I am accumulating some really cool rovings.

In other doings - I have been experimenting with Navajo plying and discovered that it is pretty easy, since I have had so much practice doing funky yarns.

Major Changes at the Ranch

2010-06-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I went bead shopping to relieve stress with my friend, Holly, and I came back with some southwestern charms. I plan to add them to yarns. I already have one set on the wheel right now.

I now have two more rooms to fill with fiber. This was Kristie's room and I gave it to Kyle last year as a study. He has now graduated from the U of A with a BS in both Physics and Math. He has been accepted to the San Diego State University for his master's with a teacher's assistant position, so he moved out there this week. He stripped the rooms - except for the huge bed, which we had told him was staying here. He took Garfield and Licker, two of our cats, so I moved the rabbits into the kitchen - in cages of course. It is just too hot outside.

A lot of the furniture that we have been hauling around became Kyle's. We bought the couch when Kyle was 8 weeks old and he asked for it years ago.

Stress also puts me in the design mode. I saw a slouch hat online and decided to design a knitted one for my yarns. I will post the pattern on etsy, as soon as I have checked for typos and put a picture on. I am designing a crochet slouch hat right now. I am spinning elastic and matching novelty yarns, so fiber artists can make their own.

I also took the material off my loom, since I noticed that the right side of the warp was looser than the left. It is giving me a chance to finish those designs. The scarf below was an adaptation using pin weaving in the weft.

The skein of yarn was dyed in a ball, so one end is a lot darker and a different color from the other. It is about 11 inches wide and will be just right for a climate - that is not Tucson!

I made this shawl during the nuno felting session a few weeks ago. It matched my shirt perfectly!

Necklace number 10! One to go! Then I will spin some to sell.

Finally sewed the straps on the felted bag that I made several months ago. It is 15 by 15 inches and is sturdy enough to hold a laptop - or several knitting projects!

And last, but most important of all, Pearl had triplets this morning and finished up just as I was going out to feed. No worries for me and all lambs were definitely bonded to her and drinking when I fed at dinner time. Baby season is over!

Birds that Sing

2010-06-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, I was listening to the birds singing outside my window and the melody of a song that Kristie played years ago for Kyle's kindergarten class started running through my mind - "Thank you, God, for the birds that sing..." I had been asked to play for his class and I knew that Kristie was already a better pianist than I would ever be. As I was removing the roving from the carder, I glanced outside the window and spotted this cardinal. Gorgeous color on a dreary day!

This is Chinless. Her chin is not noticeable to someone unaware of what an angora goat should look like. She has a sense of desperation when I come to feed her, even though she can't even drink a whole bottle when I come out to feed. She frantically pokes at the bottle, but can't seem to remember that she has to open her mouth to suck. I have figured out how to feed her and hope she learns how to drink from a bowl as she gets older. Otherwise, she is a character. I caught her looking at herself in the shine of the garage door. She has learned to walk through the fence to greet me. Scary thought, since she could do it when I am not around and get taken by a coyote.

Necklace number 9 is finished!

Girls' Night Out

2010-06-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

A close up of necklace #8. I liked it so much that I have carded up a batch that I will turn into a freeform yarn after I finish spinning the last three necklaces. I want to get them done, now that I have a few more ideas - hat in a slouch style, vests and the rest of the bags from my gray 15 yard warp to sew up. All of the current bags and any that I finish before the end of the month are on sale till June 30 at 15% off.

I let the three angora doe rabbits out to run around the studio tonight. Won't do that again real soon! They were hard to catch and made a huge mess. I am not into house cleaning! I did notice that they managed to find spots to rest in that acted as camouflage for their wool. The white one preferred the light colored tile.

The large copper hid under the maple colored loom.

And the black one found the vacuum cleaner. It was fun to watch them run around, but I had to get Marc to help me corner the last one. And then I had the clean up!

The Gila monster was back on Friday behind our pool area. I got some really great photos. My camera has a 20x zoom, so I felt like I was right up on him.

Time to reflect

2010-06-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

Things have been quiet around here. Babies are almost all here and settled with moms. I am still bottle feeding Shake and Chinless, Barbara's kid who was born with a deformed chin, but it does not require the heroic efforts and the time that the main baby season requires.

I have decided to sell a lot of the 2-4 year Shetlands and angora goats and I don't plan breeding very many. I would like to focus on the art side of the fiber business and it will allow me to do shows elsewhere.

I am always being asked about where I do shows and being told that I would do really well in "such and such" a place. I am going to apply to large shows that require being juried and to fine art shows, not fiber shows, because I am looking for what I call "real people." Most fiber artists seem to be buying most of their supplies online. I figure that I have saturated the Tucson area, so I am applying to shows in the Phoenix area and San Diego. I have already received word today that I have been accepted into the San Diego Holiday show at the Del Mar fairgrounds for Thanksgiving weekend. It makes sense to do that one, because of location and the fact that my son, Kyle, has been accepted to San Diego University as a master's student with a teacher's assistant position. It will give me a chance to check out his home and also get his help. (Slave labor!)

The picture above is part of a vest that I am weaving. I have almost finished it, but will not cut it off the loom until I have finished the warp. I can see the beam, so I am almost there!

I am spinning 400-600 yard skeins of fall colors and carding up 5-8 ounce rovings of colors to sell and to have for blending. I am on a red kick right now and have almost finished a Romney fleece by blending some with black Rambouillet, some with white kid mohair, some with chestnut llama, and some with all of it thrown together randomly (my favorite and the one that I will probably spin.)

My Moss Green Garden shawl is almost complete and the first 7 necklaces have been mailed!

Cold spell 5 months ago means more babies

2010-05-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

Above are two options for necklace number 7. The one on the right is a better match, but not as exciting as the one on the left.

I don't need any more babies and moms who did not even look pregnant are giving me twins. These two does were born on Saturday to Casa and they are out Barbara's line. The two of them together are the size of a regular baby.

I added pin weaving to the scarf and really liked the effect. I was going to weave the rest of the scarf in plain weave, but decided that it was too boring.

I am currently weaving a vest on the same warp using more of the cream alpaca Targhee and some Merino seacell that I spun up in southwestern colors. It looks very different from the one above. My next post will include photos of it. I have 22 yards on the loom and have decided to finish the whole thing before taking it off. I have several cellphone sized bags, a few larger ones and a drop spindle bag which incorporates elastic in it. I will be happily surprised when I take it all off. I have already forgotten what I did as the first few projects and I have at least 10 more yards to go.

Lots of kids and yarns

2010-05-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

Above is necklace number 5.

This is a freeform that I spun for the shop in the same shades with a deeper pink added. I might do another necklace with the brighter pink in it to give her a choice.

Above is necklace number 6. The outfit is a chocolate shade with some red tones. I used three shades of alpaca -some Suri and some Huacaya, as well as "red" kid mohair.
I had started weaving a scarf on my loom using a very loose weft. I did not like it, so I started packing it in tighter. I was playing around with the loose weave and realized that I could pin weave that section. I quickly spun up some funky yarn to go with it. I have already done a third of the pin weaving. Will show that in my next post. It is turning out rather cool.

Barbara and Amber have been running neck and neck in their race to have their kids. Amber beat Barbara by an hour. She had triplets, 2 bucks and a doe (she did not make it.) Barbara had twin does and, unfortunately, one has a deformed nose and no real chin. She is having difficulty drinking from her mother and I am trying the bottle, but she is not doing well with it either.

Amber's babies are now resting comfortable. They were born on the hottest day this year and were a little stressed.

This is Casa and she had her babies yesterday also. They are out of Rio and both does. They are tiny! Two of them are equal to one of Amber's babies.

Darling, another one year old doe, had her kids today and did it all by herself. They are also out of Rio. One is black and one is deep chocolate.

A walk through my week

2010-05-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Number 4 in the necklace series. I spun up 3 other skeins (no beads) that I will be listing on etsy.

Marc and I walk the dogs in the evening and, one day last week, I took time to photograph different southwestern plants at dusk, so I could have a true idea of colors. I need to finish the southwestern landscape that I have going and it is a darker one than my usual. I also photographed the roses that were planted a few years ago in the back yard. I noticed that they are growing in a very abstract manner - just like me!

I have had this scarf in mind for quite some time. I wanted to see what would happen when I used elastic yarn with my other novelty yarns. The yarn was all spun from the batt off my elsa carder and you can see how differently each one appears based on the technique used in spinning.

It actually works better as a collar than as a scarf. I packed the yarn in lightly, but it became a lot firmer once the scarf was removed from the loom.

Every couple of months, the rabbits need to be plucked. This is Copper and I carded his wool up at the same time that I plucked. I got 2.4 ounces into two batts. I also carded up Cadbury's. Just have one more left to do.

If you were new to the ranch and went out to see the animals with me, you would see babies playing and animals so deep asleep in the mid afternoon, that you would swear that they are dead. Watusi is pretty laid back and is never lonely. Marc finished remodeling a pen and we moved him 5 pens down, so he would have more shade. The goats, who are free to roam, moved along with him.

She still looks pregnant, but her doe kid is next to her. This one of the Texas doe's daughters, who was not supposed to get pregnant. I came back from the 4th Avenue Street Fair in December to find a silver buck having a good time. I expected the baby and she is really cute and self possessed. I could tell that there were color genetics in her background, because she was up and drinking from her mother without help. Pure whites seem to be weaker at birth. Still waiting on those picky red does!

Three generations piled up on one another. To the left is Shake (this year's bottle baby), in the foreground is her half sister from last year with her head resting on their mother Dark Chocolate. To the right are Shake's brothers - Rattle and Roll. Rattle is staying very dark with blue eyes and Roll looks to be turning silver with brown eyes. The bucks are for sale $350 with papers.

The shop is kind of quiet right now, so I am using my time to spin for the fall and list yarns on my online shops. If you are out of state and have bought from me before, know that these are my best skeins. It takes too much time to make listing any of the less impressive ones worth it. www.uniquedesignsbykathyshop.com and www.uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy.com. The art yarns are on the shop and patterns and less expensive yarns are on etsy. I hope you will take the time to look and pass the word along!

Mounds and Baby and Yarn Inspirations

2010-05-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Above is a batch of coordinating yarns in charcoal, white, and purple that are designed to go together, but can be purchased separately. I am going to re-photograph them, since the sun was a bit much and washed out the colors.

This is the freeform yarn from the batch above.

A closeup of the beads from the third necklace.

This is a closeup of the necklace.

A visitor to the ranch that I caught a glimpse of yesterday evening. He was about 18 inches long.

The chollas are in bloom. The blossom was the inspiration for a skein that I am currently spinning. It will probably be coiled. I need bright colors now to raise my mood.

I will probably name Mound's surviving ram "Pint." This baby was born last evening at 7:30. I knew Mounds had another and finally gave her some power punch at 10 p.m., which caused her to finally push. I could tell that she was not going to be able to do it on her own, so I pulled the lamb out. I had to keep pulling and finally had a white ram in my hands that was the size of a baby llama. It did not look right and I was not surprised when he died an hour later. His back legs were deformed and he never seemed to focus. His umbilical cord was 4 times the size of any that I have ever seen and he weighed 16 pounds. Pint only weighs 6. Mounds and Pint are both doing fine.

Barbara and Amber are sharing the leanto. Amber (right) is going to deliver today - unless she is a drama queen.

Getting ready to have a baby is tiring!

I have to admit that I am burnt out by the baby situation right now. Getting up several times in the middle of the night can really wear a person out. I have to admit that I would make a horrible care giver, since I need my sleep. I really do admire those who are in the care giving situation.

Since I have a huge veterinary bill to cover, I am offering all handbags - whether knitted, woven, or felted at 15% off for the rest of May. I keep making them and I am running out of room!

Update on Mounds

2010-05-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Mounds is hanging in there. This is the longest that I have managed to keep a sheep or goat alive with ketosis. She ate grain out of my hand a few minutes ago, which is a big plus. The IV is a lot less stressful than force feeding the glucose. I am minus $90 more for more bags of the IV and Dextrose. The vet on this side of town, who filled my prescription from the other vet was cheaper on all of it. Too bad they don't see large animals.

Going to take a nap since I will have to check at 2 and then at 5. The vet thought she would go in labor yesterday. The longer she holds out the better it will be for the lambs. I am thinking two.

Treating Mounds

2010-05-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have named this the Moss Garden Shawl knitted up. This is the first skein and I have already knitted the second one, but not photographed it yet. It is gorgeous and I am really happy with it.

This is the second necklace and I designed a freeform yarn around it that I will be listing in my eshop - as soon as it is photographed.

Mounds, my white Rambouillet, has developed toxemia. I was watching her every meal time and feeding grain by hand, so I knew when she decided to quit eating. I had decided that I would be calling the vet, if she did. Time to learn a different way to treat ketosis. This time the vet suggested using an IV to treat her. It is sure a lot easier than trying to force feed the glucose and grain, since I have been bit several times. The veterinarian set up a vein IV, but I ended up having to use it subcutaneously, because the vein no longer worked in the evening - even after using the a special shot to keep her vein clear. She was also given a shot to trigger delivery and to help the babies lungs develop. She would have delivered by now, if that shot had worked. Her body functions are still working and she is still getting up and down, so the IV seems to be working. I am supplementing the other glucose and a power punch drench for animals that refuse to eat. She actually ate some last night, so I am not despairing yet.

My question is - why should calling a veterinarian be so expensive? It was $135 for the visit, $50 for the exam and then more for the fluids. So far, I have spent $450 and I might not have anything to show for it besides gaining new knowledge and the satisfaction of knowing that I tried. Depressing, since it is now hot in Tucson and business has slowed.

Out for an afternoon stroll

2010-04-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Seven of the eight eggs that Ugly was sitting on hatched on Tuesday. By Wednesday afternoon, Ugly abandoned the nest and took her babies for a walk. The proud papa was determined to be in on the action.

No stragglers were allowed! This year was far different one from the first year that goslings were born. The first year Ugly and the other geese looked at the babies, as if they were aliens. They bit the beaks off the babies, pecked them till they bled, and even killed one. The goslings then were born one at a time and we had to rush to take them away. Now we can leave them out. When it is time for a nap, all of the goslings go inside Ugly's wings. You would never even know that they are there.

I was planning on a freeform shawl in red, black, and white, but decided to go with natural shades with sage green and gold added.

I have already spun 400 yards and started knitting. I chose a size US 13 needle this time, because there is more bulky yarn and I like garments to drape well.

Above is the first necklace I spun. It is a gorgeous sage green and charcoal combination, but does not show up against the jacket, so I spun another with a deeper black motif. Have to have that wow factor! There are lots of novelties throw in, so it is pretty impressive in a close up.

I do feel like I got a project runway assignment!

Life is an ongoing adventure

2010-04-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

Winter is very gentle, as you can see. These three bucks are always messing with her and I have seen one of them - the one on the right - drinking from her. It is too funny! This photo was taken with my cell phone and turned out rather well.

My Southwestern shawl sold this afternoon, so I can make another! I am thinking red, white, and black, but the lady who bought the shawl wants to wear my novelty yarns as necklaces and has commissioned me to make a dozen smaller ones for her. She really planned ahead because she brought the sweaters that she wanted me to make the necklaces for. We put together a lot of the raw ingredients, so I will be working on those first. I can see that some of them will be the inspiration for much larger yarns. I also came up with an idea for two of them and they will have to be necklaces. There is no way anyone would want to knit them! I will keep you posted on my progress. She does not have a computer, so they will still be a surprise for her. I can play!

The above lamb was born last week. He is still really tiny. Any even smaller ewe was born with a twin on Thursday. Kidding and lambing is almost over. I am still waiting on the red does who were picky about their partner.

My Southwestern Shawl

2010-04-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is not a new project. Someone asked me questions about the use of the freeform yarns, so I thought I would share it here also. This is one way to wear the shawl and it is great for either a tall or short person.

And this is another - a taller person can get away with this version.

A closeup of the beginning section with the southwestern buttons that were my theme and color inspiration.

When knitting with novelty yarns, you can change needles for each type of texture or go withthe same size throughout. I chose a size 10.5 US needle for this shawl, but have used 11 and 13 needles. You can see where the thicker yarns distort the fabric, but the overall effect is to be abstract, so I don't worry about it. All of the novelties end up on the back side of each row, so they need to be pushed to the side that you will consider to be the outside. If your needle is too large, the smaller beads and buttons might not stay where you want them.

You also need to consider drape. Some people's inclination is to go with a smaller sized needle to make it firmer, but then you will have areas that are very stiff and others that are not. You need to think about the materials used int he yarn. If you have mohair in the garment, use at least a size 10.5 or larger. The mohair will bloom and then be too hot to wear, if you go with a smaller needle. The joy of the larger needles is that you use less yarn and get done quicker!

I do not block the shawls. The curve that you see on one side was created by the natural curve of a neck. The first photo shows how the shawl was draped on the mannequin and how the drape of the shawl accommodated the body under it. I currently have the shawl hanging as it is in the second photo. It is going to cause the fibers to shift to accommodate that shape.