New Website and Listings

I just attended a spinning retreat in Massachusetts at Ashley Martineau's of  How To Spin Yarn. She spins lovely chunky yarns and has loads of tutorials on spinning art yarns. She has helped me update my website with a new logo and format. I can now be found at www.witherswool.com. I will continue to update this blog for a while, but all of my other sites will direct you to my new website.

 Prince Charming was really happy to see  me yesterday. I got lots of gorgeous pictures. Some look so good that they look fake! The three young males are now raising their tail feathers but they do not have the long ones yet, so they are only a pale imitation at this point.

 The does and kids are on a dry lot now to reduce the summer parasite worm load. We let them out yesterday so we could rake their area. They were  really eager and chomped down on the ragweed.

 The adult goats are ready to be shorn, so I will start that this weekend. I am selling most of my blacks and some of my reds and whites. If you are interested, now is the time to contact me: jmarckathy@aol.com.

 I am also willing to  let a few kids go this year.

 I am currently listing roving and mohair locks on my etsy page which now shows up on my website. It is really nice to have everything in one place.

I have been playing around with spinning bulkier yarns because I am weaving curtains and rugs for my new rooms in the barn. This one is a Navajo ply in Merino and kid mohair with a red cotton thread. There is not quite enough yardage for a hat, but I have plenty of yarns that will coordinate.

I have officially been accepted into the Maryland Alpaca Show November 12-13, 2016 at the Howard County Fairgrounds. I will be in my same spot in the Dining Hall. Mark your calendars.

Goslings First swim

 Yesterday Marc heard goslings cheeping under the goose that has tried to nest the last four years. This year she was finally successful.

 I went to try to get photos, but the goose was not budging and the gander started coming after me. I am not a fan of being bit, so I used the zoom on my camera and got some good photos.

 This afternoon I saw both geese in a different part of the pond and thought the mom might have been taking a break. Walked over to check her out and discovered that she had 7 goslings sitting next to her.

 They all slowly moved back into the water and cruised the entire pond. I was pretty amazed to see them swimming at a day old.

 Not sure that the goose will return to her nest. She went back on the grass near her nest.

I am so glad to see that her goslings made it. Kind of sad to see them fly off by themselves every summer.

That fox is now running around the fields where my goats and sheep are. We are filling in the spots where she has dug under fences. So glad she will not be able to get the geese since they will swim into the pond to get away.

Beware Foxes at Play

Some workmen spotted animals moving in the alpaca pasture. I took this with my 60X zoom lens. He identified them as fox kits playing.

I walked out into the pasture and spotted the mother. She was too quick, so no photos of her. She ran away from where her kits were playing. I moved out slowly and managed to capture one of them on camera.

 It just stood there and looked at me. Caught lots of photos but these are the best. The hole to the left of the it is the entrance to the den.

 This was the exit to the den.

 This is the entrance that the kit was standing next to and which it entered.

 I am pretty sure that this is the third goose that came this spring which we have not spotted in a while.

Anyone know what this skin is? Looks like a fox skin, but I am not sure. It was next to their exit hole and dried up, so it has been there a while.

I moved the sheep out of that area a month ago when I saw a fox hiding in the shrubs. It would not have been able to take down one of them, since they are adults, but moms sometimes pop lambs when you are not expecting them. We just let the kid goats onto the large pasture and I will be running them into the barn every night. The kids are not great about hanging with moms. My Great Pyrenees are pretty good about keeping predators out, but there is no reason to tempt the foxes. I believe in letting wildlife be as long as they are not bothering my animals. My birds are also in aviaries, so no worries there.

Finishing Projects, Starting New Ones and a Lovely Surprise

 I forced myself to sit down and finish the pattern for Nadia's Shawl. It is an intermediate pattern that takes advantage of gradient yarns. I have been spinning a few and playing around with ideas. The color way is a single edition. I have others that will work up beautifully but in different color ways. I have finished the Watermelon Shawl pattern but will not publish it till I have a few sets of yarn to go with it. I have a hard time revisiting yarns, so when I publish the kits, if you want one, better not wait. I plan to only make 4 and then sell the model. Nadia's pattern is available on my etsy shop,if you are interested.

 Got some better photos of the peacocks. We got a lovely surprise when she laid an egg. We composted that one because she did not lay again for two weeks. Then she was serious and she started sitting about the 1st of September on four eggs. It would be exciting, if she has chicks. We plan to have a structure and aviary built for the peacocks, so the chicks will be less stressed. All of the birds love the small tomatoes. Marc and I don't like them and they keep showing up every year. I pick several handfuls to give them every day. Otherwise, I would consider those plants a weed and rip them out!

 This is Sleeping Beauty. The peacock is Prince Charming. Beauty and Charming for short. Their feathers are lovely - even the shorter ones. Charming has a few more short tail feathers to lose and then I will spin a yarn. Don't know whether I will sell the yarn or knit it up as a sample. I won't have any more feathers till next year.

 Rug hooking a landscape has been in the back of my mind for a year and a half. Today Marc helped me set up a board and pin the linen to it, so I could trace the farm photo that I chose onto  it. I bought a digital project years ago to do power point presentations. As you can see, I knew exactly what to do when it came time to trace my design.

 I am spinning yarns as I go. I use it as a challenge to do color ways and styles of yarn that I would not usually spin. The yarn for the barn is gorgeous. It is several shades of red. I had spun it as a single and got mad because I think it is too itchy to wear. Today I Navajo plied it and it looks luscious. The sheen and colors be just right. i have hooked one sheep and part of the silo. This is going to be a lot of fun. I can actually name some of the animals and I know whose fiber I am using for some sections.

This is our wooded area. The deer and fox have now abandoned it. They don't want to share. If you look closely at the center of the photo, you can pick out a few of the sheep. There are 47 ewes and one ram running around out there. Most of our pastures are drying up, since we have not had much rain and it is hot. This area is nice and shaded with a stream running through it. Whenever the animals get access, they are super excited.

Show season has started. I head to the GA Fiber Festival on Wednesday and have the PA Knitters' Day out the weekend after. Lots of fun places to go and friends to visit. Hope to see some of you there!

I will be teaching a pin weaving class here on September 16. I have openings for 2, if anyone is interested. Email me at jmarckathy@aol.com for details.

Around the Farm and New Colorways

 This week the angora goats and Shetland/Merino Crosses are mowing the front yard. Next week they will move to the lower garage pasture. I hope to keep them parasite free by moving them to taller pastures frequently.

 A close up of one of the moms with her kid. It was a pain to have all of the animals in the barn  over the winter for delivery, but it paid off. All of the kids and lambs are much healthier this year. They have well formed horns, lovely fleeces and are much larger than they have been since we moved to Maryland.

 We had a fox in the newest pasture, so I hung out with the goats while they browsed. The alpacas decided to join us. You can see how tall the grass and other plants are. Five of the goats were so happy, that they refused to return when everyone else did. The above photo is of one of the streams running through our property. We have a nice soothing waterfall just above where I took this photo.

 I am listing lots of roving on Etsy. This is a different color than the previously listed fuchsia orange mohair. You have to read the specifics to know the fiber content. This one is a blend of kid mohair and Merino.

 This is a batch of wool and mohair that I just took to the mill. I carded and spun some up and really liked the combination. The Merino Shetland cross was white, gray and had white tips. I dyed it along with a white kid mohair. Can't do without my mohair. The sheen takes yarn to a new level.

 I am experimenting with a tutorial on spinning gradient yarns and how to use them. I will be publishing a pattern called Watermelon Shawl as soon as I finishing proofing it.

I still have a few Shetlands for sale. They are purebred, but I will not be selling them with papers. They are intended to be a spinning flock. They are all of the more modern style with very soft fleeces and lots of crimp. I also have two East Fresian dairy sheep for sale. Not enough time to make cheese. Email me at jmarckathy@aol.com  

I will be teaching my Spinning Freeform Yarns class on June 20. This will be the only time I offer it this summer. I teach how to spin a novelty yarn with loads of texture in it without tying knots in one skein of yarn. They are my best selling yarns. Anyone, who can spin a decent (not perfect) single, will enjoy this class.  

Around the farm in Spring

With spring, sheep are shorn and then the wool is washed and dyed. The water to the red barn is back on again.

As lambs are born, I have to evaluate who I can keep. I have way too many animals right now for the pastures, so it is time to let a few go. I have two East Friesians, several Merino rams, Shetland ewes and some Shetland Merino crosses. All are going to be sheared Monday and Tuesday after the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Any that are not sold will go to the sale barn. This is not a fire sale, so be prepared to pay what they are worth. If you can't afford them, you will certainly not be able to feed them over winter.

Toggle is growing quickly. He has already doubled in size since I took this picture two weeks ago. He likes to follow the cats.

With spring, all sorts of critters are showing up around the farm. This turtle is not as old as the one I saw last year. So ugly, but wise old eyes. Marc dug a hole so he/she could get under the fence to the pond.

It is not really all that hot, but the animals are all heading for shade now. They will love their haircuts next week!

I am looking forward to the MDSWF this weekend. It is local for me and a chance to catch up with friends. Hope lots of you stop by to say hello.

It is warming up!

 I am now working down in the barn creating my favorite type of batts. They are somewhat rustic because I am grabbing all sorts of fibers. There is some vm in them, so they will be priced lower than my usual. I am seriously tempted to wet felt this one. Above is how it looked while the carder was actually running. Below is how it looked when I stopped the carder.

 This is the same batt taken off the carder and folded so you can see both sides. The left is the top color that you can see on the carder. The right side is what went onto the carder first. I rarely do batts that are all one color. This is the Patrick Green Elsa carder. I love to create batts on it, because it holds a lot of fiber. I do get tired of some colors as I card which is why there are always two sides. Felted it is always a surprise and spun it has a Monet/impressionistic look.

 I am currently spinning the pinkish color of the locks above. I just spun a gradient skein of yarn using it and some natural colored moorit Merino. I have just started a freeform yarn in those colors. So tempted to knit or weave it. I have been adding some new surprises in the yarns. Those who are going to Stitches South this coming weekend will get first looks.

 This picture has already been on my Facebook, page as have the last two photos. You can follow or like me - either as Kathy Withers or uniquedesignsbykathy to keep up daily with events on the farm. Follow both, if you really want to know. I am not always sure where my photos will end up. I love the shot of the kids playing in the water trough. It was empty since that water had frozen the night before. I had to haul buckets out to them.

 This is our bottle baby. He will be four weeks old tomorrow and has gone from 2 to 8 pounds. I have named him Toggle, since he has a switch - he is either running around and dancing or immediately asleep when I put him in his box. I have been taking him down to the play area during the warm part of the day, so he can see other goats. He is definitely too small and maybe stupid? to leave in the barnyard full time.

A view of the farm from one of the pastures. So glad that the animals are finally out of barns most of the time and doing more than eat my earnings!

Still shearing when Marc is available. So glad to have someone coming the weekend of the MD Sheep and Wool Festival who will do the Merinos and as many of the Shetlands as he has time for. I will be in the Dog Run area where I was last year. Come hang out and do stop to say hello.

Merinos Finished, Shetlands Beginning

 This Shetland ewe is a first time mother. She delivered out in one of the sheds and did a great job of drying them off. I have several Shetlands that could deliver at any moment. Their lambs are so much smaller than the Merino lambs. These two are wearing a preemie and a newborn onsie. The Merino lambs were almost all in 3 month onsies. When the snow melts, I plan to hit Goodwill for a new batch. The lambs are hard on them!

 This is a Merino ewe lamb chasing down a Shetland due to deliver any day. The lambs are opportunists and are always sniffing out new sources of milk.

 I have 11 Merino lambs. The ones still in onsies have not had their tails docked or their ears tagged. Ican still tell who they belong to if I keep their coats on. The blue stripped one is Bronze. He would not have lived, if I had not blown him dry to warm him up. He had pneumonia. He is significantly smaller than the rest, but he is now thriving.

This is a collar that I just finished. The pattern is on my uniquedesignsbykathy.etsy shop. Very easy. The yarn is what makes it so unique!

I currently have two other patterns in progress. One is a hat and the other is a crocheted snood. This winter my mind is all over the place. I have been soaking in epsom salts nightly to reduce my aches and pains - that is where I am coming up with original designs. I need time with nothing in my hands to come up with ideas. Hard to knit or spin in the bath!