Collars, Chantilly and a Frozen Pond

 With the wind howling, a desire to keep my neck warm was the inspiration for a group of felted and knitted collars. The felted ones are fairly quick, but I enjoyed knitting up some of my own yarns. Usually I am so busy spinning to keep the pegs filled that I miss getting to design.
This scarf used 100 yards of fingering weight yarn and 2 yards of a thick and thin crocheted in a random manner as an embellishment.

 I was at the Dulles Expo Center for the Chantilly Sugarloaf show. Gives you an idea of my current colors.

The weather here is definitely winter. I walked the farm this morning to check on the beaver activity. The pond is frozen and animals have been walking across is. Another tree is down, but the grate was clear. It is dreary, so a good day to spend indoors. I decided to have Marc help me unload the truck when he gets home tonight. Don't want to slip and fall on the ice while hauling heavy racks!

A New Year

 On Christmas Eve we had our first snowfall for the winter. It was lovely and I took lots of photos. This was probably the loveliest. It might be the centerpiece for a Christmas Card next year.

 New years often bring new new ideas. I have discovered over the past few shows that my yarns are selling as infinity scarves because there are not as many knitters that go shopping at art shows. Now I am spinning most of the skeins between 24 and 32 yards because they seem to be the right size to be worn wrapped around the neck. They are also long enough for a knitter to make my boa scarf.

I photographed this one differently, so you can see options for wearing the yarn. I have listed several on both my eshop and my etsy shop. I am also planning to knit several boa scarves because I have been selling my sample at each show.

Happy New Year and may your days be creative!

Farm Walkabout

 Last Week I started getting cabin fever, so I took a walk around the farm. My first stop was the manhole cover that the beaver keeps covering. I cleaned that off and walked down the stream to check out our water fall. With the water flowing again, the stream was roaring. Now that the leaves have fallen, you can actually see it. Not as pretty!

 I suspect that there is more than one beaver. This is all that remains of one of the trees. Three trees are down and two more are being worked on.

 Since it has gotten cold, the animals are eating between 7 and 8 bales of hay a day. If we run out, I am going to buy pellets. Amazing how much of a mess they can make! The colored goats are looking more pregnant than the white goats. Based on size and the fact that they are not due for another two months, I am predicting a lot of the older ones are going to have twins.

The chickens know how to fly out of the coop now. They come up to the side door because they recognize it as the one that we come out. The Fedex guy is now watching for them as he drives up. I counted 10 out this afternoon. They can fly back in, if they want, but they usually wait to follow me in with their feed.

My son and daughter are both coming for Christmas. Kyle is going to love the wildlife. Kristie calls the farm a story book picture.

Merry Christmas! Might not write again till the new year unless something super exciting happens!

Textile Museum, New Yarns and Dairy Goats

My presentation at the Washington, DC, Textile Museum on "Fiber Connections: The Art and Science of Weaving" went really well. I had a very enthusiastic audience who plied me questions, so I know they were interested. Above is one of the three shawls that I used as a basis for my talk. I loved how the supercoils created the look of a bouquet by just draping it a certain way. It and the more traditional (but still with art yarn) shawl will be for sale at my Chantilly show this coming weekend. I rarely do all white, so will dye them, if they do not sell in the next six months.

This was the third piece that came off the loom.  It was dyed at the Greater Baltimore Weavers' Guild meeting in October. It is not quite long enough to be a shawl or scarf, so I am looking at it as a piece of material that will become something one day.

A friend wanted a picture of what my studio currently looks like. Two weeks ago it was very tidy because I taught an art yarn class. You can see that as I get busy and inspired, piles start to accumulate. I am getting more Internet orders, which makes me happy. Repeat customers always become friends.

I di not include a picture of the Gaithersburg boot, because it would be a case of find the changes. I am using a set way of setting up, so I can save time and find things easier. The Gaithersburg show was really worth doing. I like art shows because people are looking for all sorts of things - and usually the unusual. My yarn scarves are selling well here, so I think the move from Tucson will be worth it.

 I am busy spinning yarns for Chantilly. Since the supercoils and elastic yarns are doing so well, I am spinning one of each in each colorway. I am currently spinning a "Monet" green with ivory beads. I hope to have time to spin one freeform yarn.

And, as if that is not enough, Marc and I went to pick up Rosemary (on the left) from the East Rivendell Farm in Damascus, Maryland. Last year I spent more money on powdered milk replacer for the babies, that I had to bottlefeed, than it would have cost me to buy a dairy goat. Notice in the picture that there are two goats? The younger one, who I have still not named, was an afterthought. While I was cleaning out stalls in preparation for her arrival, I remembered how loud the Nubian goats are and that all goats do not speak the same language. Marc agreed to let me get a second one. I am going to breed her to an angora buck. She is over 6 months old and larger than a lot of my adult angoras. I let Marc pick her out. She is super friendly - but she sure is loud!

Goat Coats and Beavers

 The Oaks Sugarloaf show turned out to be a happy surprise. The Mountain Refuge Landscape at the back
left sold to a lovely lady who will cherish it. I met lots of interesting people and, as always, my neighboring
vendors gave me a new perspective on doing shows.

                                  

The kids were shorn on October 27th. It turned cold with the Hurricane Sandy and now is dropping down to freezing at night. The animals who were shorn are all in the white barn. Parts of the barn are drafty, so I put t-shirts and sweatshirts on the kids and one adult. I also bought a heater to raise the temperature and dry out the barn. I have a few that I am watching for pneumonia. Unfortunately, their immune systems are weak due to parasites. I had to treat all but one of the kids yesterday. They are all looking perkier this morning.

 Above are Flower and Orphan. I have a hard time getting photographs of them, since they hang on me when I am in their area. The does all got Onsies. Easier to tall them apart that way!

 I don't know whether the beaver is still in our pond since he did not cover the grate last night. His lodge looks like it has more canes on top and more trees are down since the last time I checked.

I don't know where the top of the tree on the right went but, in my Internet reading, I discovered that beavers have multiple tunnels running into their lodge and that they can haul entire trees under water. They also do not hibernate. I do hope that he is still around. Natural live entertainment!

I will be home this weekend and will be at the Gaithersburg Sugarloaf show at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds next weekend.

Hurricane, Beavers and Woodbine Fiber Festival

 I took this photo the day before the rains started. Gorgeous colors of autumn that are now gone.

 Since most of my shows are now art shows, I am trying to make more finished items. The scarf above used 28 yards of my supercoils and I added two copper accents to create a closure.

 The Woodbine Fiber Festival was mall this year since the storm was coming in the next day and everyone was busy preparing for it. Those who came had fun and, as always new friends were made. I actually sent some of my fleeces home with Heather of Sweitzer's Mill, PA, to have them spun into lace weight yarn suitable for the Green Crochet Shawl.

 Last week we discovered that a beaver had dug a channel in our pond and created himself a lodge at the north end. He is very industrious, but we are managing to keep the water flowing - Marc is going out twice a day to uncover the manhole that allows the water to flow south. His lodge is the pile of cattails and wood just to the left of the tree trunk.

 I actually spotted the beaver checking his perimeter during the storm. The two pictures above were taken during the height of the storm, so I was really glad that they kind of turned out.

All of the animals went into the barn on Monday morning. The wind was coming in horizontal, so their shelters were not working out. I managed to get all 100 of them in. If it does not rain today, I will slowly start moving them out. The areas where the goats usually hang out is still too wet to let them out.

I head to the Oaks, PA, Sugarloaf tomorrow. I plan to leave later than originally planned in hopes that the road cleanup will have been finished. Don't know that many people will come out, but I have committed to doing the show.

I have scheduled a art yarn classes and nuno felting since they have been the most requested:

Art Yarn Class: November 8, 2012 11-4 as well as Dec 13, 2012 10-3


Nuno Felting: Nov 10, 2012 10-1

Drop Spindling Set your own date.

Evening classes available upon request.

Merino Lambs and Gaithersburg Show

I have been waiting for Sweet Pea to deliver. She was terrific. She popped out Snow Pea, a white ram, and very quickly thereafter popped out Cow Pea, a black and white ewe. Both babies are dry and drinking off mom. I have a black ewe that should deliver within the next few weeks. She will probably have a single. It is exciting to have babies for the Woodbine Fiber Festival next Saturday. I did not realize that Merinos bred out of season till Terry Mendenhall told me that this spring.

The Gaithersburg show was really slow on Friday and Saturday and the beginning of Sunday. Towards the end of the show I taught someone how to drop spindle and sold a lot of yarn. It was exciting and I hope to see some familiar faces when I go back next November. I am actually knitting up a few scarves and headbands.

My daughter Kristie is visiting with her husband. When they leave tomorrow afternoon, I will have to get serious about spinning and tieing up my loom. The festival is next Saturday and I need to work in the barn in case it rains. There will be a place to hang out and spin, if anyone is interested. The shearer has told me that she needs to finish about 2 p.m. since she is giving a presentation for the Maryland Sheep Breeders Group and needs to go home and change. So, if you want to see shearing, aim for earlier rather than later. Marc and I will be going to the presentation.