Blog

This weekend was gloriously warm and sunny.
Perfect for washing fleece!

Here are Felix and Griff batches drying on the picnic table.

They looked so gorgeous sitting there that I just had to take a minute to thanks the sheeps that make this all possible.

So I went out to visit the guys and spend a little time telling them how cool they are.

And I took them some of their favorite treats- salmonberry branches.

What a cool bunch of guys.

Also wanted to provide an update on the Monkey Sweater.

Here’s the thing. It was done. Off the needles.

And I liked it.
Really.

But I didn’t love it. And it was my fault.
I made it too large.

I can wear it (and have), and the shoulders fit fine, and the sleeves are the right length and everything.

But somehow the body is too big. Baggy.
And when I wear it, I think it looks kinda schlumpy.

And I don’t want that for the Monkey Sweater.
I want to love the Monkey Sweater.

I’ve been thinking about it alot.
And I tried it on again yesterday and came up with a plan.

I’m taking it in.
All the way up each side and through the underarm.

According to my not-so-scientific calculations, that should bring it back to Perfect Sweater size.

I intend to operate tomorrow.

Wish me luck.

sunshine + green grass= happy sheep

Everything looks so nice with a sprinkle of sunshine.

Despite my neglect of the blog, I have actually been making steady progress on the Monkey Sweater.

See?

It’s 99.9% done.

Only a few ends left to tuck in.

Maybe I’ll get to those tonight.

I think this is the fastest I’ve ever finished a fleece-to-sweater project.
Almost exactly 2 months.
I already had a few skeins of the yarn spun, but that’s a pretty quick spin/knit for me!

And it’s the first sweater I’ve spun on “Spedj”- that’s the name I’ve just settled on for the Lateral Treadle Wheel.

Next Up:
Monkey Hat

Yeah, I’m still in Monkey Mode.

Meet Miles (on the left)

Big sheep weekend!

First off, I went to help with shearing day at Schoonover Farm on Friday-

It was a good time, and I came away from it with a lovely medium-dark brown fleece from a wether named Coco:

Mmmmmm.

Then today was sheep maintenance day here at home-

We did hooves, CDT vaccines, dewormer, and CoSeCure boluses

And then I hung on to Felix so we could relieve him of his winter coat.

I almost got done. But he’s still got a hula skirt hanging low on his ample hips 🙂

And as for the Peeps-

Meet the Guinea girls!

They are just little- about 4 weeks old, and so a re too little to go into the pasture with the sheep and chickens,
so we’ve made them a little pen under the eaves of our old dilapidated chicken house.

They have a heat lamp in there, so hopefully they will be nice and comfy hanging out there while they gain some size and strength.

Welcome Peeps!