New Website and Listings

I just attended a spinning retreat in Massachusetts at Ashley Martineau's of  How To Spin Yarn. She spins lovely chunky yarns and has loads of tutorials on spinning art yarns. She has helped me update my website with a new logo and format. I can now be found at www.witherswool.com. I will continue to update this blog for a while, but all of my other sites will direct you to my new website.

 Prince Charming was really happy to see  me yesterday. I got lots of gorgeous pictures. Some look so good that they look fake! The three young males are now raising their tail feathers but they do not have the long ones yet, so they are only a pale imitation at this point.

 The does and kids are on a dry lot now to reduce the summer parasite worm load. We let them out yesterday so we could rake their area. They were  really eager and chomped down on the ragweed.

 The adult goats are ready to be shorn, so I will start that this weekend. I am selling most of my blacks and some of my reds and whites. If you are interested, now is the time to contact me: jmarckathy@aol.com.

 I am also willing to  let a few kids go this year.

 I am currently listing roving and mohair locks on my etsy page which now shows up on my website. It is really nice to have everything in one place.

I have been playing around with spinning bulkier yarns because I am weaving curtains and rugs for my new rooms in the barn. This one is a Navajo ply in Merino and kid mohair with a red cotton thread. There is not quite enough yardage for a hat, but I have plenty of yarns that will coordinate.

I have officially been accepted into the Maryland Alpaca Show November 12-13, 2016 at the Howard County Fairgrounds. I will be in my same spot in the Dining Hall. Mark your calendars.

Farming is not just animals

In three days, my plants grew 3 to 12 inches. I did a show in western Pennsylvania, which is not worth doing again, and came back to find my garden is almost a jungle. Some seeds from last year sprung up as volunteers, so the chickens will have more to enjoy. wouldn't you figure that they would be the vegetables that tasted horrible? Lots of pumpkins! 

Winter and Thanksgiving are due at the beginning of August They are getting testy, so we are keeping a close eye on them.

The chickens that I bought for feathers are doing well. I love the color variations. I am fairly certain that a few of them are hens.

The latest project on my Majacraft Dynamic loom. Using a 10/2 in the weft sure adds time to the weaving, but the end result will be worth it.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Very weird on in terms of weather.

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!