Nuno felting

I have been dyeing silk every time I dye a batch of wool or mohair in order to have a variety of colors available for nuno felting. Almost all but the red/pinks are gone, so I am hitting the dye pot again tomorrow.

I was talking to the felters on Saturday about mistakes and how they can turn out to be useful or modified to work in other ways. I made a felted bowl over a ball a long time ago. It ended up having a hole that I did not want to fix, so I finally gave it to the ferret last summer. He wore it out, so I took a clutch purse that was too stiff to close properly and gave it to him a few days ago. I happened to see him in it yesterday, so I took a photo. He was totally inside it at one point. He is probably feeling the cold.

I had three ladies drive down to do nuno felting on Saturday. Their shawls all turned out beautifully. I do want to point out that all three of them picked colors that they were wearing. It is most obvious in the one on the far right. They are all much more colorful than they appear in the photo. Arizona sunlight is very harsh!

If you have read this far, I also wanted to say that I lost Latte yesterday. I used to think that it was great to have animals that gave triplets. Since I have lost two to ketosis now, I have revised my opinion.I would be happier with single or twin births that are healthier. I talked to the vet and know that I did what could be done reasonably, but it does not make it any easier. Latte was five years old and pretty laid back. She had become very friendly, so it is hard to see her go. Her daughter, Almond Joy, must know and understand, because she is staying away from the rest of the herd.

Barbara is due any time now. She has full udders and is not giving any signs of stress,, so I am praying that all will go well. So far, it has not been a very good baby season.

Photo Journal

Above are two of the bunnies. They are growing quickly and putting away the food!

A few photos of the yarns currently hanging in my shop. The shop looks very bright with the lighter colors.

My favorite yarns always are hung at the front.

This is the background for an abstract landscape that I felted last Thursday.

Above is the background for the southwestern landscape that I felted on Friday.

The above vegetation is going to be my inspiration for the southwestern landscape.

This yarn is going to be part of the abstract landscape. I love how it turned out.

Eggs galore: The largest egg was the first goose egg of the season and it was laid today. The egg directly to its left is a duck egg. The rest are chicken eggs.

Above is the southwestern shawl. I plan to crochet a cowboy hat and a bolo tie to add to a section that turned out rather plain. Otherwise, I am happy to say that it is done!

Moving on

I went to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show today and picked up enough beads to get me through the next two years. They will be my color inspiration for a while. The multicolored strings were the most interesting this year. I have learned that the weight of the beads makes a big difference in spinning and the final look of the yarn, so I went lighter and looked for different styles. There was a definite shortage of purple beads. The attendance at the show was a lot less than last year. It was nice not to have to fight the crowds.

I discovered that none of my white does were bred by No Size's Father, so he got replaced by younger bucks. I am not sure, if they will breed. They will have babies in July, so I will have to watch to be sure that they don't wilt in the heat. The young does, that were moved to a regular pen, have yet to figure out that putting their heads through the fence means they can't get them back out. I removed three from the fence yesterday and had to help three others tonight.

This is the laid out version of an abstract landscape that I lay out and then wet felted on Thursday. I will photograph the felted piece before I start embellishing it. It looks nothing like the picture above. My southwestern landscape sold on Friday, so I lay out and wet felted the base for another one. My goal is to make sure that it looks like the Tucson area and nothing like the previous ones. I don't want to get in a rut. I have already spun a few yarns for its surface design.

A friend caught this hummingbird that flew into the studio to check out my yarns. My friend, Stacy, is teaching a class here on needlefelting a hummingbird on the 21st of February. How can you resist?

This is Lindt with one of her babies. I have not named them yet. They will be named after cities in Arizona, since that is my theme for the year.

I am sad to report that Garnet and her lambs did not make it. I had to deal with it myself before I could write about it. My breeder friends told me that I did all of the right things. Unfortunately, once they get it, is is usually too late to do anything. She would have been the first to deliver, so I am going to be antsy, until one of the does or ewes delivers safely. Several ewes and one doe are fairly soon. I hope they wait till after Thursday, when the weather will return to being nice.

I know that losing an animal is part of the farm circle of life, but that does not make it any easier. Each of the animal's that I keep has some characteristic that makes it special. Garnet was friendly and had really cool looking horns. She is already missed.

Garnet update and spinning

The yarn above is one that I am spinning right now from the batt below. I plan to coil it to the green cotton. I know most of the country is dealing with the rigors of winter, but my 70 degree weather is making me think spring. I am fascinated by how different the yarn is turning out from the batt. It is a combination of kid mohair and Shetland. It is silky and soft!

Garnet seems to be recovering. I am going to be force feeding her with probios until she delivers. That stuff is a miracle worker. I had been giving her glucose with Vitamin A and D. Tor suggested adding probios. She started fighting me over it, which I considered a good sign. I asked my friend, Trish, if her husband would be willing to help me lift Garnet so she could take care of bodily functions. I was amazed that she actually started standing on her own and was even able to walk away from me. Two hours later I went back out to feed and put a bucket of water in front of her. She drank half of it - first time she did anything on her own since Wednesday. I am very excited. I guilt tripped Kyle into going out with me this evening to lift her again. She can't get up by herself, but she is steadier, so I think she is going to make it. Of course, her hair is starting to fall out. She will have to be sheared right after her lambs are born. I am hoping that she will be eating on her own tomorrow. Marc will be back for a few days, so I will have some help.

Ketosis

Garnet, the Jacob's ewe, has developed ketosis. I hope I found it in time. I am treating her for it and hope that she goes in labor really soon. I thought she was in labor this morning, because of the heavy breathing and the way she was stretching her legs. I called Tor and, after feeling her, decided that she was not in labor. Kyle helped me get her up and she was so weak that the ketosis popped in mind. She is a lot more alert, but will not eat on her own. I will give her a day and then check with the vet. The problems are: the lambs might not be ready, a C section will cause her to not want to milk, and the expense, when it is all so iffy.

Will keep you posted.

Tours

I give tours on a regular basis. The Amphitheater school had a large group come out yesterday morning. I was impressed that this bus was able to maneuver around my driveway. It was a lot longer than the buses that have been out before. I am hoping that the group will share some of their photos. I am careful not to take pictures of people without their permission, so I had Chris, who was helping demonstrate for the event, limit himself to taking pictures of the bus. It was a very well-behaved group of 6 and 7 year olds. None of the animals stampeded and Agave behaved more like a dog than a goat. She wiggled her way into the school group pictures.

I have two red hat societies coming out in March, so this skein was created in their honor. I plan to put it into the shop until I finish the southern shawl - I have already knitted the skein I mentioned in the last post and have to spin another. A never ending project. I have already used 500 yards.

This is Garnet, a Jacobs ewe. She could deliver at any time. I spent two hours getting her into the pen next to the far out pasture shed. It would have been easier, if the goats had not tried to get into the action. A few sheep from the far out pasture escaped and then had to coaxed back out. I need to let the does in the large shed out and can't do that with the Shetland ram running loose.

Tomorrow I have the Tucson Visitor Center volunteers coming out to take a tour in the afternoon. I m really glad that the rain that was in the forecast is no longer there. Cold is bearable - wet can get ugly!

Southwestern Traditions

This is one of the two shawls that I am currently working on. I ran out of yarn - again - so I am waiting for another skein to dry.

The finished shawl will be around 20 by 60 inches - more of a wrap than a shawl.

Tucson is a southwestern town. I first visited it when Kristie was less than 1 year old. I won't tell you how long ago that was - you can do the math! Anyhow, there were lots of cool places to visit then that had a southwestern flavor. My favorites were the Hidden Valley Inn - which has been replaced by a more commercial venture in the past two years and the OK Corral - which closed in the past 6 months, if I remember right. Kind of sad how all of the old southwestern sites are slowly disappearing. The old dude ranches can now be counted on one hand. The gem show is now getting more publicity than the Tucson Rodeo. This is my celebration of the cowboy lifestyle!