Category: Blog

Quite possibly the longest week ever.

And while I’m relieved by the result, it’s left me rather exhausted, so I’ll keep this short.

Woolwork for the week includes Felix Spring 2020 rolags

And also a bit of a test spin from a drum carded batt. It’s not terribly even, but I love it anyway. So soft and pristinely white. The rolags should yield a more even result. I find that Felix’s fleece, being a lot finer than my other wools, requires a bit more careful prep.

Also picked and carded the last of Daphne’s Spring 2020 fleece (her first shearing) , about 14 oz. You can’t see it very well in the photo, but the outer coat of her wool has a really interesting mahogany color. I don’t think that that characteristic has carried into her adult fleece.

Also dug deeper into my bins and turned up a little over a pound of lovely Chone wool. Is always kind of bittersweet working with the wool of a dear departed sheepy friend.

Very special stash.

Ok, take care and have a good week, folks-

I was thinking this week that, since there is no longer a Bow Market, where I would normally offer my woolen goods to folks locally, I might as well post some items here in case folks are interested in unique handcrafted gifts for the upcoming holidays (or just to be outfitted as the weather cools).

So I’ve reactivated the Farm Stand page. There you’ll find hats, cowls, a couple super cute little sheep puppets, and a variety of hand-processed wools from my pasture gang. I hope to add some yarn listings soon.

Since I’ve resolved to get more of my washed fleeces carded up, I’ve gotten quite a bit done! I’ve got about 23 oz of Esther’s creamy white wool ready to go

About 19 oz total of three different shades of Dottie

And I think about 13 oz of Daphne from her Fall shearing a couple of months ago

I’ve also carded Fiona’s fall shearing (baby fleece), but I think I’m keeping that for myself 🙂

Just picked Daphne’s Spring 2020 fleece during the Hawks game this afternoon, and so will hopefully have that hot off the carder a little later on this week! I do really like this part of the wool processing, as I get really hands-on with the fleeces and can appreciate the variations in their colors and textures.

Also got some good work in on the hoophouse this weekend. It’s really starting to take shape!

The hoops are up, and the corner braces in. Next up- baseboards and hiprails!

Have a good week- and make sure you get out and vote.

Make some progress on the hoophouse today. Hoops assembled!

And here’s what one looks like in my expertly pounded groundposts 🙂

So that is super cool. I can stand under my one hoop and imagine what the structure will be like when it’s completed. Super excited.

I also have decided that the time is ripe to move some of my fleece inventory along in the processing pipeline. I’m up to date with fleece washing, but have abit of a glut of locks awaiting picking/carding. So I have resolved to get one bag of fleece picked and carded each week through the month of November. Bag size varies a bit, but that’s ok. Just workin’ through it.

This week’s carding is Daphne Fall 2020 fleece- about 18 oz of dark, nutty, frosty deliciousness.

And here is the girl herself striking a pose, to show you what that texture looks like on the hoof-

Also wanted to show you the texture on Fiona’s fleece. This is not quite two months growth since her fall haircut- I love the curly tips!

Really glad I got some Fall shearing done this year, Hoping it will mean that Spring fleeces will be a little tidier and less felted.

Have a great week- and Go Hawks!

We got the rest of the groundposts driven this weekend, wrapping up phase 1 of the project. Doesn’t look like much yet, but hopefully we’ve laid a decently square and level base that will set us up for success going forward-

Phase 2 means getting the hoops themselves assembled and securing them in the ground posts. So that should be exciting.

Not much woolwork happening here today- all the sledgehammering really took it out of me yesterday. But I do have a little something going to keep my hands busy- I ripped back my garter stitch “meantime” cowl that I cast on a month or so ago and decided that brioche stitch would be a better way to show off the color combination

And out in the pasture the sheeps (and chickens) are still enjoying apples. I thought I’d be able to rotate this video in youtube, but apparently you can’t do that anymore. Sorry about that- but it’s still cute enough that I wanted to share 🙂

Such a cool bunch of critters.

That’s all I’ve got for now- have a good week!