Shearing again

I might include a photo of the buck tomorrow. You could not tell how big his dewlap was, until he got sheared.

Since my shearer has rescheduled on me three times and it is really too hot for some of the animals, I decided to get my shears back out. I will survive it, and so will my marriage, if I keep it to one a day. I am finding the hooves harder to do than the whole body! Anyhow, I have done two goats, have two more and then two sheep. A third sheep is pregnant, so I am going to wait until she delivers. I still plan on having someone else do the llamas.

I am busy coming up with new designs for shawls to weave. I just finished one that I really like. Hope it shrinks the way I expect in the wash. Kristie told me to bring it to Indiana and she will model it for my website. They are definitely her colors.
I will post photos tomorrow, if all goes well!

More roving

This is about half of the shipment of roving that I received from Wooly Knobs Mill on Monday. It is lovely blends of kid/yearling mohair, llama, and wool. Through the end of this month, I am selling it, well below my normal price, for $36 a pound. Come check it out!

Spring, almost summer

The prickly pears are in bloom. I am going to use these as inspirations for something. Not sure what yet!
This is Crystal's buck. He was born last Thursday. He has the loveliest fleece of any of the whites born this year - probably because he is out of No Size and the only full Texas doe that I have. He has no name yet. Inspiration has not hit.
This is Cumin's ram. He has absolutely soft wool. The nicest that I have had a chance to actually get my hands on. Some of the moms did all of the work, or I was too busy with the mom, to get a good feel of the lamb. I plan to use him for breeding next year. Most of the rest of the rams will be castrated next month, if no one comes looking for one.

Felting purses

Ellen and I made felted purses yesterday. Mine is on the left and hers is on the right. We experimented using a resist inside the bags to create small pockets for keys or a phone. I am really happy to say that we both succeeded. It is one thing to understand the theory, but application does not always follow. It was a relief to see that it was not as hard as I thought it might be. Now I have five bags that need straps and additional embellishment to finish them up. Since my mind is running around with ideas for my loom and the current shawl is going to come off tonight, they are on the back burner. I have decided that they template I created for these backs has turned out to be the best size of any that I have used to date.

Texas Doe finally got a name

She should have bust already in my opinion. This is my Texas doe and she finally got a name, "Crystal." I have been waiting for a week now and nothing has happened yet. She will be the first Texas doe to give birth from No Size. All of my other does have been lovely, but they are a mix of the Texas and the regular line of angora goats. Can't wait to see what she produces.

Goats for sale

Latte's buck, Toffee is now available for sale. He is $350 and the one in the middle with his head turned away. I will try to get a head shot tomorrow. He is gorgeous, but I can't use him. He is related to almost all of the does. If he is not sold by breeding season, I will have to castrate him. It would be a shame, since both of his parents are what I consider to be show quality, as well as lovely hair quality.
These six bucks are out of No Size's dad. A friend is trying to sell them. He ended up with almost all bucks this year. They are all bucks out of the Texas line and have the finest hair that I have ever seen on angora bucks. No Size's last fleece was the equivalent of a second doe fleece, and it was his sixth fleece. I am keeping that guy! I would like to keep the bucks, but they have his parentage and are too close in breeding to mine. If you know anyone who needs a great herd sire, pass this along. They are $350 each. If not sold, I will castrate them and keep them for their fleeces, which would be a total waste!

Time flies

I got bored tonight, so I decided to take a few of the goats for a walk. I figured the oldest moms would be the safest, because their kids would follow them back in. Barbara, Saffron and Habanera seemed to be the most interested in escaping, so they got to go. Habanera's daughter must already be weaned, because she was no where near her mother. She did not get to go!

Some of you might recognize marble, the bottle fed baby from the November wool festival. He has definitely grown, although tells me that he is small compared to the rams born about the same time that he was.

The last picture is of Garnet and her ram, Truffles. They were on the inside looking out. I included this photo, because I am currently finishing a shawl on my loom that includes her wool and the "Doll Hair" buck. It turned out to be a lovely combination.