Article in Carroll County Times

Just discovered this article published in December. So exciting. It is my first real publicity in Maryland!


http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/advocate_of_westminster/columns/eye_for_art/withers-focuses-on-fiber-arts-from-the-farm/article_6d7daf46-026d-50a2-8620-12071cf82a66.html

Name my Mannequin Contest

 It is funny how the angle at which you see something changes your view/perspective. I stood on a chair to photograph the scarf above and I stood on the ground to photograph the one on the bottom. If you have met me, you know that I am seriously short.

I think this one looks snooty. Maybe that is why short people look at tall people and see a different attitude than those who are taller.

Contest rules:

I would like to name this mannequin by April 30, 2013. The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate that they can spend either in the shop, on my eshop or etsy (email me if you decide to choose an online gift, or at any of my shows. Must be redeemed by the end of May or win is forfeit.

Baby Season is Here

Baby season is officially here. In 6 days we had 37 kids and lamb born. I still have ten does to deliver and 12 ewes. They appear to be a week or so out, which is giving me a small break to get shop things caught up. Photos and stories are below.

Just before the kid explosion, I picked up my roving and yarns from Sweitzers Fiber Mill. They turned out lovely. The above yarns are a three ply lace weight from a first fleece Border Leicester Shetland X. It is lovely and I dyed it dark turquoise. I always add yarns over a period of an hour, so there will be variation in color. The lighter ones at the top were put in last. I have 5 skeins of the paler turquoise (pictured below) and 10 of the truly dark ones. They all have 240 yards and will be priced at $17.25 a skein. You can order direct by email: jmarckathy@aol.com or wait till I get it listed on my eshop or etsy shop - hopefully later today.

 

This is a skein of natural colored Suri alpaca that I have spun. look for it on my eshop soon. I have one other in the wash.

 Above are two skeins that I got back from the Sweitzers Mill. The top is a moorit Merino blended with a first red kid mohair. It is gorgeous. The bottom skein is from a Shetland lamb blended with kid mohair. It is just a tad less silky feeling, but still gorgeous. Both are three ply and DK weight. I also have a dark chocolate 100% Merino.

 I have been busy spinning and playing with new ideas. The above yarns have twisted coils. Still have to knit or weave one up to see how they will look, but they feel lovely. The ones below are brushed mohair (not as soft as kid mohair) that are spun thick and thin.

 I just finished a scarf with random pleats and I will be listing the pattern on etsy, my shop and craftsy. I still have to get a good photo. I have ordered a mannequin that will arrive this week. My old mannequin now looks too beat up to use. All that hauling around for shows has worn out the "Headless Wonder."

 Now for baby pictures. The little doe in the back took five days to get on her mom. She had to be treated for pneumonia, since she got amniotic fluid in her lungs at birth. I finally took her coat off last night. She is happy to be running around freely with the rest of the kids.

 I just don't have enough hands to get the baby bottles and kids back and forth from the house. This little buck fit perfectly in a bag and was content to ride up to the house for a short session with a heating pad and baby bottle.

 Among all the baby births, the adult goats and sheep got their spring shearing. Now I can keep an eye on udders and predict (not likely) when the next batch of babies will be born. Got 53 fleeces and have already washed 4. I turned the water back on in the bank barn, so I can wash. Soon I will be listing classes since I  have a long list for nuno felting.
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This mom was awesome. She had just had a baby, when I had to pull a kid out of another white doe. The second mom was stressed and did not look like she would take her kid. I took the kid, covered in goo, and put it in with this mom. She adopted it as her own immediately. I will be able to tell them apart, since one is a buck and the second one is a doe.

Lots of babies: you can call to schedule a farm visit: 401-795-6070. I have decided that I am not going to do a fiber festival here at the farm this year. Too many issues with scheduling a shearer and so many shows in the fall. I will be updating the list of shows on my website as soon as I hear back from a few places. I will be doing Stitches East in November in Connecticut. This coming weekend you may find me at the Carroll County Home Show in booth #60.



First angora goat kids of the year are lovely black and red bucks out of 394. It is easier to remember some of the goats by their numbers and this mom is one of those. She did a great job. Both babies are already up and drinking, but I will verify that a few more times.

I have a few more who could deliver today. So hard to predict since I have a lot of drama queens!

Charging Beaver

 Something must have happened (probably babies) because our beaver is now angry and guarding the grate that allows the water to flow from our pond here in Woodbine, MD, into the stream below. We would not bother to clean the grate, if we did not know that it would flood the lower pasture and kill the trees along the pond. Beavers are nocturnal, but this one has been out since this morning and Marc found him out there again at noon.

 I told Marc to drop the pitchfork when the beaver came chasing us. Marc was afraid that he would chew the fork up, but he left it when we backed up.

 Above is Marc trying to keep the beaver from following us. I took some absolutely awesome videos of him charging us, but our bandwidth is not good enough for me to upload them.

 This picture and the one of the geese below were taken in between the excitement of the charging beaver. I loved the play of the ripples of water as the animals moved and the reflection of the tree in the water.

First Kid of Season is not an Angora

 Rosemary surprised us with her kid on Saturday afternoon. According to the breeder, she was not due till the first week in March. I have Parsley down in the barn with her mom, now that she associates milk with me and a bottle. Rosemary is three years old and never had a baby suck off her, so she did not let the baby nurse. I am glad, since I wanted a dairy goat to provide milk for angora goat babies that fail to thrive. Now I just need to get my stiff fingers to loosen up! Marc is a much better milker than I am.

 Everyone has suggested that I get brooches to complete my collars and scarves. I found a lot of vintage ones two weeks ago and I am starting to design to fit the brooches. I have another larger daisy brooch that is crying out for a scarf. I might start selling the pins, if I find there is enough interest.

 The skein of yarn above and below are the same skein. I have just wrapped them differently. I tried different pins for color. Since it is yarn, I won't permanently place the brooches, because it limits their use. There are a lot of knitters and crocheters out there who like to use the yarns as embellishment.

I am busy spinning beaded yarns over shades of green right now as part of my Fields of Green series.

Starting the first week in March, I will be available for farm visits. Call 410-795-6070 or email jmarckathy@aol.com for an appointment. I will be publishing a class schedule that starts then. Hopefully it will be warm enough to do wet felting. Call to schedule your own class or contact me, if you are interested in a trunk show at your location.

Colors, Spinning and Wall Hanging

 I started this wall hanging/possible rug last year while in Tucson. I am using a size 35 needle and 12 strands of yarn to knit . As you can see, the colors are variegated and no two skeins of yarn are alike. In order to create an abstract look, I have been spinning up all of the fibers that do not feel good against the skin. (I do sell the needles - so email to order.) This is my second wall hang and to give you an idea of its size - it weighs over 5 pounds currently and is 45 inches wide and I have knitted 42 inches. My goal is to reach 60 inches in length. It is nice and thick, so it will make a nice rug. If I embellish the way I plan to, it will have to be a lap rug or a wall hanging. It is keeping me warm!

 I am almost out of the blues for the sky, so I ran down to the bank barn and carded up two batts and stole some batts out of the shop that are beginning to look ratty. I am going to start spinning them this afternoon once I get the moorit llama cria off the wheel. Can't run out of yarn! I want to finish this by next week.

I have been busy spinning since the Chantilly show. The natural colored skeins at the left are singles, two plies, thick and thins and coiled. The colored ones show that I am shifting to spring colors. Panetone has a page where they show the spring and summer colors for 2013. The fall colors are out and I can't wait to start working with those. I do not try to match the colors because you want accessories to complement and at the same time pop the basis colors. After spending all the time making something, I want it to be noticed!