Mounds and Baby and Yarn Inspirations

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Elastic yarns and babies

A set of triplets checking out the vegetation. The little one at the rear is an opportunist. He sneaks under other mothers for a drink.

Elastic yarns are finally taking off. I am currently tying on to the Baby Wolf a warp for a scarf that will feature the elastic. It works beautifully for hats bands and I want to see what happens when I use it in the weft. Above and below are a series of yarns that I will be posting on my eshop. Each features 4 skeins - a single, a single coiled, a Kathy's super coil, and an elastic yarn.

The elastic yarn below is wildly different from the roving that I used. I have been adding tencel and seacell to my rovings to see what will happen. So far I am really happy with the results.

Mounds is pretty close to delivery. She is obviously a very patient ewe because she is letting Sweet's kids jump all over her. I took a whole series of photos and had a hard time choosing which to use. The kids were tap dancing on her back, jumping on and off and as you can see below, occasionally falling off!

I am taking time out with the animals - and trying to remember to take my camera. They are so entertaining at this age. Three months from now, they will be gorgeous in full hair, but much more subdued.

I sold my Shetland ram last week and have gone shopping for a new one. There are two types of Shetland: the primitive with a long double coated fleece, and the more modern with a shorter crimpier fleece. The ram that I just sold had a double coat and no where near as nice as the single coated. I went to the farm where I bought my first sheep and have ordered a new ram from her. She has some of both styles and she knows what I am looking for. The primitive style has a coarser outer coat that reminds me of Icelandic. It is rug yarn after the first fleece and not at all what I want.

This red kid doe was born with blue eyes. They are slowly turning marbled brown and blue. She was my first red kid. One more was born on Friday. She had brown eyes and is chocolate colored. Going to be gorgeous!