Ready to Go

Sweet had a buck last Tuesday. He is plump! This photo was taken when he was two days old.

Due to the crummy weather, Marc and I reorganized the animals, so the pregnant colored angora goats are now in the large shed. The yearling does were moved to another pen. This will make it easier when Tor comes to pick them up next week. No herding animals! Barbara is the huge one in the foreground. She and her 4 year old daughter might deliver tomorrow morning.

I was sure that a few of these does would have delivered by now. I am envisioning triplets for two of them based on size.

I took Susan Corl's box making class last Saturday. I found the small boxes on the top to be fascinating in the way that they open and close. I plan to use some of my handspun as a closure. If you get a chance to take any of her classes, do it. She is a font of information and energy!

I packed half of the shop in bags, so the commercial fiber will end up in the same box, yarns in other boxes and finished goods in still another. I don't plan to unpack all of it, since I will probably not open shop till Mayland it will only be by appointment then. I want time to check out the local knit/spin groups, the shops, etc. before I tie myself down again. I want to enjoy the rest of the baby season without having to worry about commitments.

The animals passed the vet check, so they are ready to go.

The movers arrive in the morning to pack. They will start loading the trucks on Thursday. You notice I said trucks? They are figuring that they will need a trailer to get it all in. How did we accumulate so much stuff? We have been here twelve years. The longest that I have lived anywhere in my entire life! Guess that is why wanderlust hit!

Oh, and you know that crummy weather I mentioned above? We had enough hail to come down to look like it had snowed! Maryland was much warmer than here!

Thank You!

I want to thank all of you who came out for the festival yesterday. I did not advertise as in the past, so it was nice to still have a good turn out. I managed to shear a buck without nicking him anywhere. I am not as fast as a professional shearer, but I can get the job done!

Above is a picture of Socks, the mom, whose kid bucks were petted yesterday. Both of them are curled up in front of her even though it looks like just one. A lot of kids sleep separately after they are born. I think it is because they want their space. These two were not crowded in the womb, so they huddle together to stay warm and for company.

Pearl had her babies the next morning. They got ear tags and shots yesterday morning, so they could get out and run. Pearl has bonded to her white baby more than the black one - or maybe I should say that the white one hangs on mom more. They ran her ragged for a while yesterday while she tried to keep track of them. They are settled back in with her this morning.

In preparation for my Abstract Lace class on Friday, I photographed several different projects that are in various stages. I have not worked on this one for a while. One row takes over an hour and I can't focus when customers might come in. I will work on it while my stuff is in transition. I discovered that I had quite a few lace projects in progress. I don't think anyone can beat my pile of unfinished projects!

Tucson Spring Shearing Festival 2012

I sent this out as a en email. If you did not get it and want to be on my list, please email me at jmarckathy@aol.com.

Tucson Spring Wool Festival 2012
This will be the last newsletter that I send from the Withers’ Ranch here in Tucson. Parting will be sad, but I am excited about new opportunities.

Winding down ranch and shop:

1. March 9 from 10-noon - Crazy Lace (class space available 1 or 2)
2. March 10 from 9-2 - Wool Festival (details http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com/) Update: I am giving an animal tour at 10 and will follow it with the shearing of one goat. Attending vendors are listed on my website. This is baby season, so always a lot of fun.
3. March 14 at 4 p.m. Shop Closes
4. March 15 – available for one class
5. March 15 - Expanded online selections at Etsy
6. March 29 –Animals transport


Our new address will be 6401 Woodbine Rd, Woodbine, MD 21797. My cell phone 520-401-6117, websites, and eshops will remain the same.

My yarns, batts, rovings, finished goods and patterns will be available on Etsy until we are settled in Maryland.

Pasadena Bead and Design Show - the last weekend of July 2012. Nuno felting class and shop.

If you do not wish to receive the newsletters, please let me know at jmarckathy@aol.com. Thanks! Kathy Withers

http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com/, http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.blogspot.com/, http://www.uniquedesignsykathy.etsy.com/, http://www.uniquedesignsbykathyshop.com/

Babies and Stitches West

First was born last week. He grew lot during the 6 days that I was gone to Stitches. He is obviously going to be a red with blue eyes. He is out of Ruby and the red buck that I bought at Del Mar.

Stitches West was pretty disappointing this year. The attendance was way down and the young people were mostly vendor assistants. There were also a lot less vendors. The ones I needed things from were not there and several went from 4 spaces to just one. The sun might have been shining outside - but it was dreary for those of us who were not putting yarns on sale or selling cheap products. My customers are artists and there were few of them at this show. Most of the independent breederswere also absent. Time for me to move on.

I am busy preparing for our move to Maryland. The shop is set back up for the last time. It will all come down on the 15th of March. I plan to pack 2 suitcases with fiber to keep me sane once the household goods are gone. My Gem is going to go into a suitcase. Can't live without it!

I went out this morning and counted the animals by breed, sex and ages for the health certificate. I also checked to see how far along their pregnancies are. No one looks like today, but then last week Ruby surprised me. She is a second time mom and had no udders till after that kid was born.

First Baby

Ruby had a huge buck while I was out giving dextrose to a Merino. I am heading out to Stitches now. Marc is in charge!

Yarns and Stitches West

I will be packing later today for the Stitches West Show in Santa Clara, CA. It will be my last one there, since I am moving to Maryland and will focus on east coast shows. My booth is # 831.

The two photos (above and below) include all of the yarns suitable for the boa scarf. A few might be a few yards short (you need at least 25, but you can always add another yarn and make the scarf longer. The boa scarf is approximately 24 inches long - depends on how tightly you knit.

Our house in Tucson is currently on the market. The workshop/garage has never been cleaner!

Preparing and Packing

In between packing boxes to make the place look neater, I am trying to replenish my yarn inventory. I sold lots of batts and supercoil yarns at the Tucson Bead Show and was inspired to go for brighter and different color combinations.

My room was on the dark side and behind another vendor, so some people were not able to find me. I am sorry!

We hope to have the house here in Arizona on the market early this week. Most of the repairs have been complete and we havce donated loads of stuff to both Goodwill and the dump. My studio is the only mess and it will be picked up by Sunday night.

Just a reminder that my time here is short. I have scheduled a nuno felting class for the 3rd of March. It will be the last one I offer, unless you collect a group of three and I have a date available.

I am driving to Stitches West on 22 February and will be back sometime on the 28th. My booth is 831.

Baby season will be starting soon. Come check out the babies - hopefully I will have some by March 10 for the festival. Since it has been so warm this winter, some of the does and ewes might not have gotten pregnant.

I did find a home for my llamas and they will leave next week. I am still looking for someone to take Shep and Herd. I would NOT use them as herd or livestock animals. They are people dogs and have loads of energy. I do not plan to take them to the pound or a rescue center.

Shop closes on March 14, 2012 at 4 p.m!