Going Off In A New Direction

There are a few things I'm known for...and we are going to skip the first couple of them ;-).  If you've been around me any length of time you'll know that I am notorious for my lack of color.  My car is gray.  My truck is gray.  I wear white turtlenecks all winter and most of the time you'll find me wearing a gray t-shirt during the summer.  

Gray IS a color!  There are lots of grays!  You can make all sorts of them by mixing different amounts of black and white Jacob wool together!  It's just maybe not as exciting to you as all the other fun colors most wool crafters embrace.  Whatever ;-).

In the last couple of years I've gotten interested in punch needle crafts.  I enjoyed sampling rug hooking with wool strips several years back, but didn't want to get started having to collect a stash of different colors of wool fabric.  Punch needle is done with yarn.  I can make my own yarn as I need it and I can...ahem...dye it all sorts of colors.

During shearing over at Tring Farm we pull out the nicest fleeces for hand spinners and the rest, because there is no commercial market for anything but fine wools anymore, get used around the farm for mulch, erosion control or...nothing :'-(.

As I set one of my favorite sheep's fleece on the dump trailer last year I started thinking about how else to use that wool.  Miss Piggy is old and her wool is nothing really special...but it's Pigs...so it's special to me.  So are her daughters, The Piggly Wigs.  And Pocket and Double O and Mims and Holly and Posey and Maybelline and then there are all of Annemarie's favorites.

While they might not be sexy young sheep fleeces, they'd make great rug yarn!  And the next Lamb Camp yarn was born.  Lamb Camp...Old Friends.

I decided to ask the mill for a mix of worsted weight and bulky weight yarn.  There are different punch needle sizes for each, with the smaller yarn and needles offering a bit more option for detail work and the larger for a heavier weight rug you would actually walk on (!).

When the yarn came back earlier this year I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very pretty and much softer than I'd expected and it would actually be just as nice knitted as it would be woven or punched, especially the worsted weight.  I should have trusted the old girls :-).

 

Here's where things get really crazy.  Since I'm a bit color challenged, I've been a little hesitant to make any big dyeing plans.  I did dye up a small amount to match the basic colors that someone else developed for last year's winter postage stamp collection.  I needed some color inspiration...or at very least a kick in the backside.

Yes, I bought two boxes of Nothing But Color :-o.  These Color Cubes provide all sorts of information for aspects I'm not even positive what they are yet, but they're inspirational for sure.  I'm looking forward to learning all sorts of new things.

Stay tuned for more colorful posts and more information about my ideas for punch needle designs and yarn kits and even perhaps some colorful knitting!  We'll have the new yarn available for the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl starting this Saturday and I will get it added to the website soon.

Who What Where When And Why

We are joining the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl this year!  The Crawl starts this Friday and runs through next weekend.  Each business sets their own hours and there's an interactive map that shows everyone participating, where they are located and their open hours...so you can plan your routes.  

Punkin's Patch is not opening until Saturday because I'm pretty sure Friday is going to be spent doing some "flight of the bumblebee house cleaning" because I have special guests coming in town for the first weekend :-D.  

Robin Nistock will be here from Nistock Farms, famous for beautiful wool, handcrafted spinning and rug hooking and punch needle tools and being the breeder of some of our most favorite sheep of all time.

She'll be bringing some tools and equipment with her (more about that later) and if you'd like to order something special, get in touch with her so she can bring it with her for you to pick up during the Crawl or I can hold on to it for you.  She'll also be on hand Saturday to teach punch needle and rug hooking and talk sheep and shepherding and it will be great fun!

But wait, there's more!  Andrea Edwards from Morgandell Farm will be setting up over here on both Saturdays.  She's bringing her beautiful California Red batts and some other fun stuff.  She's also happy to talk sheep and shepherding and spinning and horses and is big fun too :-).

As an extra special treat, Tonya Fedders from Flat Creek Wool and Pottery is setting up a fun trunk show here during the Crawl as well.  I just love her beautiful sheep pottery.  I wonder if she'll be bringing any of her gorgeous Icelandic fleeces?  Stay tuned!

Annemarie Holland from Tring Farm brought over some of her flock's lovely farm yarn this past weekend.  I just love farm yarns.  So much character and quality and knowing how the sheep are loved and cared for adds an extra level of special.  

As for Punkin's Patch, I have a bunch of raw wool, some washed wool, a bunch of roving, lots of Lamb Camp Yarn (more about that to come, too!), the usual gift items, needle felting kits, Christmas in July greeting cards and lots of funny sheep to visit.  Cookies not required...but recommended if you'd like to keep your kneecaps.  Just kidding, Maisie...sort of...

I am also going to offer two weaving looms for sale, a bunch of sheep and fiber books and a pretty extensive collection of Interweave magazines (Spin Off and Handwoven).

Farm and Farm Shop Hours: 

Saturday July 27th from 11:00 to 4:00

Tuesday the 30th from 7:00 to 9:00 for In Person Wool House Crafters - bring your wheel or current project

Wednesday the 31st from 4:00 to 8:00

Saturday August 3rd from 11:00 to 4:00

On the Saturdays you are welcome to bring a picnic lunch and enjoy hanging out on the farm with us...or sit off with the sheep and relax on your own.  If you don't feel like packing a lunch, you're going to get a "shepherds lunch" of peanut butter and jelly (you know, living the dream ;-), but the company, people and sheep, will be good :-).

Bring a snack and beverage of choice on Tuesday.  I barely get myself fed that night :-o.

Wednesday - Wine and Cheese :-D  Bring your wheel for that as well!

I think this is going to be a lot of fun.  If you have any questions or need directions, please send me an email.  If there is something specific you'd like to learn, let me know!  I'm happy to teach anything I can - spinning, wool processing, knitting, sheep care...

Did I cover everything?  Who, what, where, when and why...  Why is to support our sheep of course :-). Purchases are never required or expected when you come out to the farm, but a small donation to the hay fund is always appreciated.  

Come see us!

The Whole Murphy Thing

One thing you don't want to do is get between a group of sheep and a fresh grazing area.  Whenever I open a gate, I am very careful to make sure that the gate can swing wide enough, fast enough so no one gets wedged and that I am clear of the gate as well.

Last night I decided to open up Del Boca Vista.  The chain rattled as I unhooked it and the chorus of baas started and everyone came running.  As I moved some sheep around so the gate could open, I quickly stepped back, pulling the gate towards me.

The sheep started swirling around, jostling for position, but no one raced through. This all happened in a matter of seconds, but still long enough for me to notice the strange behavior.  And then Murphy walked up, through the group, out the gate and everyone followed him.

I find this whole Murphy thing* fascinating.  Did he do something to earn their respect?  Are they all snickering behind his back as they send him off to look for lions and tigers and bears?  Has he pulled some sort of Graham Lamb scam to trick them into believing he's the only one who can go out first?

There's a story here I'm sure and I'd love to hear it.

*I linked this to all of Murphy's posts, so you'll need to scroll down a couple to find the stories about him leading everyone out.  If you are new to the blog, you can click on any of the "labels" over on the right side of the page, down a bit, and read all sorts of stories about any of the individual animals or events.  For example, if you don't know who Graham Lamb was, those are usually pretty...um...interesting ;-).

 

The Bottom Of The Pile

I had planned to share a Tour de Fleece post today with some more TdF spinning, but I started skirting my spring fleeces the other day...finally...and ended up pushing through to the end this afternoon and what a huge relief it is to have that job finished.

As I worked through big fleeces, small fleeces, beautiful fleeces, messy fleeces, surprising fleeces, favorite fleeces and finally reached the bottom of the stack...and there was Blossom.  

Oh!

Inhale...exhale...

Dear sweet Baba.  One of my very favorite sheep ever.  I still can't believe she's gone.

I've made and sold over 400 drop spindles over the years.  I would guess that Baba's roving was in at least 350 of them.  Her wool was so easy to spin that she was a perfect choice to help set up new spinners for success.  I'd love to know how many of them are still spinning.

I guess I'll use this last fleece for one last batch of spindles. Or maybe I'll keep it for myself.  I've always wanted to spin and knit a pair of boots socks.  She'd be perfect.

This doesn't look as impressive in the photo as it does in real life :-/.  There are 24 fleeces in there. Maisie's was already skirted and washed.  I took a few pictures as I worked and I'll get organized and post a fleece list in time for the start of the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl that kicks off this coming weekend.  More on that to come.  

Respite

This has been the hottest summer I can ever remember.  Usually I can count on one hand the number of days over 90.  I've lost track of how many we've had this year...so far.  Today was a blessing.  Low 80s, a nice breeze, low humidity (because we are so, so dry unfortunately).

After lunch I grabbed my favorite chair and settled in with some of my best friends.  

Bea was by my side.  Jared and Short Round were napping to my right and Baaxter and Tabitha were napping behind me.