Stitches West and All About Babies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First kid, patterns and Stitches West

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.

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

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

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

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

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.