No Time to be Bored!

 There is always something that needs doing on the farm. The bunnies are four weeks old now. Their eyes are open and they are hopping around. I think they are all males. I will know soon enough.

 Charming has lost his old feathers and is now growing his new ones. I have been spinning his really short feathers into yarn. This one features 5 peacock feathers that have eyes. I clustered them close together, so they will make a nice bouquet. The smaller feather are gray with green iridescent tips. I placed them the usual distance apart on a black kid mohair single. I spun the coordinating yarn, so a longer version of the feathered collar can be made.

 I have lots of bags with Black Sussex rooster feathers. It is interesting how different each batch is. I spun these feathers onto a moorit Merino and spun a matching single.

 Fall is the time for kid goat shearing. This guy had gorgeous locks which are now drying in the barn. He is for sale until Monday, when I will send him to auction. He is very parasite resistant. We only had to treat him one all summer. Would love to keep him, but he is related to 2/3 of the does.

 Close up of his fleece before shearing.

 The angora goats have been divided up for breeding. I put the colored goats in the woods and they are getting plenty to eat since they are not interested in the hay when we bring them in for the night. They know it is time to come in, because they are all waiting at the gate.

This is the buck I bought this summer. He is not as fine as my last one, so I will only use him this year. I am looking for a dark red, so if anyone has one that will be a yearling next year, I am interested. I am also downsizing so, if you are looking for a proven doe with lovely fiber (all colors available,) please let me know soon.

I am off to the Art Harvest at Waterford, Virginia this weekend. I will be inside Red Barn #1. It will be cold, so I am hoping that people will be looking for yarns to keep them busy this winter and wearable art. Hope to see a few friends there.

Just Another Day on the Farm

 Silkie, one of our dairy goats, had her kids on Friday. We decided to let her feed her own babies for a month, since we have two freezers full of mik. Saves us a lot of time, since there is so much else going on now.

 This mom is now looking like triplets. Any day now...

 We now have a playroom into which we are throwing the moms and kids so they can get used to each other and to be sure that they can recognize each other in a crowd. we let them out yesterday and today. The moms ran out. The kids took a little more coaxing. It was fun to watch them run and play. One of the white kid does is obviulsy going to be a ring leader.

 As I have been shearing, I have been putting the most recently sheared into the pen with the heater. Today, I finally moved the colored goats into one pen and left the white ones in the other. Amazing how much animosity there was in that pen. The walls were shaking!

 This is Holler with her mom being very protective. They  sharing a pen with two other does and their kids. The mom is afraid that they will try to steal her baby.

 These two does were posing beautifully for me today. They were the last two that I sheared today. All of the goats have now been shorn, so I will keep an eye on the sheep and start shearing them next. I won't tell you how many goats there were, but it was a lot.

 Life is not always fun on the farm. This afternoon, the above ewe gave birth to a lamb with no jaw. I suspect that it might be the result of worming medication or something that she ate out in the new pasture. Her second lamb is a perfectly healthy little ewe. They are both in a stall bonding.

This ewe was doing a walk about yesterday - in other words, she busted through a gate. This morning she had twins. One did not make it and her insides came out with it. I thank my friend Greta for her advice on fixing it. We managed to get everything back inside her and cleaned off while my sewing skills came in handy. Her stitches are holding and she is chewing her cud with her baby by her side. Good thing that I no longer hesitate to take action.

I always debate about sharing some of the horror stories that happen when you own animals. There are always people who criticise and see the animals as pets and not as livestock. You can't keep all of the animals and you should not breed, if you are not willing to do what has to be done. I can tell you that Marc and I were seeing this ewe as a goner when we saw her uterus laying by her side. You can't wait for a vet to show and most do not want to deal with livestock - horses, cats and dogs are much more lucrative. I am fortunate to have a network of breeders who are willing to help out - even long distance. I have pulled babies and treated all sorts of things. today was probably the worst that I have ever dealt with. I won't know whether what we did will have worked for a week, but I feel like she will be fine, since she is eating and caring for her lamb.

Every morning brings new surprises. Just pray that all of them tomorrow are happy!

Spring, New Designs and Art Yarn

 I am hoping that this will be our last snow for the year.

 I thought Rosemary, one of our dairy goats, was due March 17. Guess she did not get bred that time. She has the blank stare that a lot of the goats get right before delivery. Of course, she has had this look for a few weeks. She is now enormous. Last year we could not tell that she was pregnant and out popped a kid. Definitely twins this time around. Good thing I saved a lot of her milk from last year, because most of my sheep and goats have delivered already.

 Winter is a good time for designing. I started the sweater around Christmas and then decided that it needed a hat and cowl to go with it. I finished it just in time for spring, when I won't need it!

 I have been playing around with new yarns and this is what happened to my feathered yarn. The pattern is available as a digital download on my Etsy shop: www.uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy.com. I have one yarn kit spun up and custom colors may be ordered.

 Spots has given me the cutest lambs so far, They are both ewes and have the modern style fleece. It will be very crimpy.

I have also been busy spinning. The above batch has already been sold, but I thought I would share what I have been doing. I have lots of yarns on Etsy, if you are interested.

Upcoming Shows: Carolina Fiber festival, Stitches South, Powhatan Fiber Fest, Maryland Sheep and wool Festival, and Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Festival.

On the Loom, Fall is Here

 As it starts to get colder, I am more drawn to my loom. This is the smaller loom and it ended up in my bedroom the last time that I had company. Since the end of March, if I remember correctly. I got sick of tying on the warp because the cotton kept getting tangled. When it started showing up in my dreams this past week and I was seeing what some other weavers were doing, I ruthlessly cut the rest of the warp off and decided to weave what was already on. This photo was taken Saturday morning. I have about 40 inches on it now and will finish it today or tomorrow. The green yarns that I had originally planned on using have long since sold in the shop! Had to spin a fresh batch.

 I am now working my way through the adult angora goats. This is Barbara's daughter and she was very stoic about the whole shearing things. She has been tossed on her back, lain on her side and been on the stand in the past. I do most of the shearing on the stand and then have my husband Marc hold them while I shear the legs and belly. The advantage to doing the shearing myself is that I can handle the animal and the fleece and throw out the felted and crummier parts of the fleece as I go and NOT cut off a teat!

 A close up of Barbara's fleece. It is for sale at $3/oz raw or $40 a pound. Long and nice enough to be doll hair.

 Marc is luring the goats to the hayfield which we plan to fence.

 Breeding season makes for strange bedfellows. Missed the shot of where Rosemary was doing some cuddling and kissing.

Last pumpkin of the season might not ripen, but chickens will not care!

Carroll County Maryland Fall Home Show

Another show has come and gone. The attendance at the Carroll County Home Show was pitiful, so I had a chance to meet with the other vendors - a really nice group. I had time to knit several inches on my latest project. I am writing a pattern for a tunic and knitting it with a Rambouillet and llama blend.

Marc and I did the Famancha eyelid check again on Friday. We got through it in 45 minutes and only found 6 angora goats that needed to be retreated. Progress!

All of my earnings from the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival went into an invisible fence to keep Left and Right in. They have not escaped yet, so I guess they have it figured out.

I am back to watching for lambs to pop. One of my Merino moorits is due any day. A black one is due within the month. I still have to name them!  It  is nice to have babies at different times of the year. I might have lambs to pet at my Woodbine Fiber Festival.

The angora goats have been separated for breeding and all of the males that I am saving are together on the hill next to the house. They are all getting along well right now.

On Thursday I will be setting up the the Montgomery Fairgrounds for the Gaithersburg Sugarloaf Show. It is an art show, so a much better venue for me. Hope some of you can make it out to visit with me!