July

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One month closer to fall!

Nice Hair, Holly

 "Sheep with character; producers of fine wool products."

Leaning a bit heavier on the character these days apparently...

Birds Bees And Blooms

Do you see it?

What about now?

I have loved watching the hummingbirds and big bumble bees working the salvias and borage this summer. I've still not seen any birds or bees in the fountain though.  

I have a different spray pattern nozzle thing that might be more attractive, but the spray is lightweight enough that the wind blows it out of the bowl pretty quickly.  I'll keep playing with it.

BYFC Random Tip #10

If you are looking for something fun to take to a sheep-y party, try a traditional Welsh Shearing Cake.  While apparently not as commonly made over there these days, we embraced this historical cake several years ago and it's now a staple on shearing day here and at nearby Tring Farm.  

This hearty cake is designed so you can grab a piece while you are working and eat it on the go...or with a quick cup of tea during a break.  The recipe is a fairly basic cake with the addition of some candied citrus and caraway seeds.

I've tried two slightly different recipes and this is the recipe we like the best.  It's even better if our friend Ed makes it :-).

I hope you enjoyed the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl, whether from near or far.  I had fun picking my favorite tips and really enjoyed blogging every day.  I wish I knew I could keep it up...and I'll try.  Ah, the good old days.

Let's try to keep all these old traditions alive!

BYFC - Random Tip #9

 BOOKS!

There are So Many good books and magazines out there that were written by really experienced and real live fiber artists and teachers.  They have put incredible amounts of time into researching, writing, photographing and marketing their books and you can learn so much from them. 

Take the time to learn directly through them, not by reading an unethical AI synopsis.  You'll get better information and enjoy the journey so much more.  You can find great selections in stores, your library, your guild's library, estate sales, friends houses...

BYFC - Random Tip #8

"This yarn sucks."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's all over the place, thick and thin, lumpy and bumpy, underspun in spots..."

"Just knit a swatch with it."

"Why would I even want to waste my time?!?"

"Hmmm, where are all those bad spots now?"

* * * * *

Don't hate on your early spinning.  Go ahead and knit a swatch with it.  You might be very surprised.  

That being said, if you've spun something that looks pretty, but when you knit a swatch you aren't super happy with your fabric, figure out why and fix it.  One common issue with new spinners is putting too much twist in your singles or plies.  When you knit with yarn like that, you may not be happy with the softness, or lack of softness...but you won't know that until you KNIT A SWATCH ;-).

You'll learn more about spinning by actually using your yarn (even for just a swatch) rather than just spinning and spinning and spinning.  

BYFC - Random Tip #7

 Another sheep tip...that may seem familiar if you have a dog.

All the Punkin's Patch sheep stay here for their entire lives.  Old age for a sheep starts around 10ish.  Smaller sheep can live longer, like smaller dogs, but they all face many of the same old age maladies as old people, dogs, horses...

One of our oldest sheep right now is Krista, who is probably 14.  She's gotten pretty arthritic and is now on a daily dose of meloxicam.  She comes out to get a little breakfast with three other old sheep each morning, but instead of trying to keep her breakfast, with her dose of ground meloxicam mixed in, separate from the others, I just make her a little jelly sandwich ;-).

While this looks like burnt toast for some reason, it's actually just one slice of whole wheat bread (to make it healthy ;-) with a spoonful of grape jelly smeared all over and the ground meloxicam sprinkled on top.  Fold and go.

Going...

Gone...to Bea's dismay.

What makes this nice is that I don't have to stress her (and me) by catching her every morning to stick a pill down her throat.  She comes running for her "treat" and I come out looking like Mary Poppins ;-).

To prep your sheep to take medicines like this, start by having some plain bread parties.  Sheep love bread once they figure it out.  You may want to do a practice run with the jelly too in case of any super suspicious characters.  

Feeding medicine "treats" is a great way to handle many situations with sheep, but you still need to get comfortable giving shots and oral drenches when needed.  

And remember, I am not a vet.  You should always run something you read on the internet by your vet first...but I'm pretty sure if you ask a vet about this, they will probably tell you not to feed your sheep jelly sandwiches ;-D.

BYFC - Random Tip #6

 Speaking of roving...

If you are spinning right along and everything is going well and then you pick up a new length of roving to join on (or from the start) and all of the sudden things go off the rails and the fiber is not drafting smoothly and you are getting a bunch of jagged thick and thin spots and what on earth is going on here...?!?

Turn the roving around and spin from the other end. 

Most of the time you can run your hand loosely down the roving and feel that it's catching or grabbing a little if you are working from the wrong end. Sometimes you can't.  Regardless, at least try spinning from the other direction.  

If that doesn't work and you really can't see anything physically wrong with the roving, stop and take a break.  You'd be surprised by how much a cup of tea helps your spinning (or anything else) sometimes :-).

BYFC - Random Tip #5

When you are first learning to spin, don't be tempted by those beautifully colored braids of combed top.  Well, you can definitely be tempted and it's perfectly fine to add them to your future stash because...beautiful.  I just don't recommend trying to learn to spin with one of those.  

I'm not saying you can't learn to spin with them, but if you are trying and you are getting frustrated and not having fun, switch to roving.

What is the difference between combed top and roving?  Combed top has been...combed...and roving has been carded, which is more like brushed.  

Top is all the same length with all the super smooth fibers lined up side by side all matchy matchy.  At home I make that with actual metal tined wool combs.  I'm not sure how the commercial mills process it...now that I think about it.

Roving is all mixed together and can be different lengths and the fibers are all swirled around in less organized fluffy...fluffy-ness. This brushing can be done by a commercial mill with huge multi-drum machines or at home with a hand cranked drum carder or even using hand cards.

The picture above is roving.  See how it's fuzzy and airy and even a little messy looking?  This is Mini Moose and not only has it been processed as roving, but his wool is what I think of as a perfect medium wool.  Medium length, medium amount of crimp, medium fiber strand thickness, medium softness...  

A perfect learn to spin wool :-).

BYFC - Random Tip #4

I hope everyone is enjoying the 2026 Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl.  There are several locations open throughout this week and almost all are open again for the upcoming weekend.  Check the map for locations nearby!  We are open Wednesday from 4:00 to 8:00 and Saturday from 11:00 to 4:00.

Today's tip involves sheep care.  One of the most important things to put into place as soon, or before, you get any animals is making sure you have a safe and easy way (for you and your animals) to gather everyone into a small area so you can safely and easily catch even the wildest of the flock.

It's very important to do regular health checks and hoof maintenance, especially through the hot and sometimes wet summer months.  It's super important to be able to easily and calmly get your hands on a sheep who's having a problem.  It's much less stressful on everyone if this isn't a rodeo every time.

A sheep who's been injured does not need to be further injured by trying to grab them on the run in a large pen or out in the field.  

A sheep who appears to be sick does not need the extra stress of running...  

You and your help don't need the risk of injury trying to grab someone as they run past or being run over by a panicked group of sheep.

Create a small place where you can crowd enough sheep together so they can't go too far and there are enough "blockers" (big fat quiet sheep, usually of the Nistock variety :-) in the group to help corner the one you are trying to catch. 

We have a series of gates that close to bring the sheep in tighter and tighter until they are in a "working pen".  I start by closing all the outside barn gates, then move all the sheep into the outside shed and close that gate.  Then I push them all into the working pen and close that gate.  

It helps a lot that our outside shed is long and narrow and basically becomes a chute as I walk that last gate closed.  Play around with your set up and figure out what works best.  Gates are your friends :-).

Here I have 18 sheep crowded into a 12' x 12' area.

This is a good amount for my particular flock.  If yours are wilder, you may need to go tighter.  If they are really wild, you may need taller gates...   

You may need a second person or a good herding dog to help you push them all into the small pen in the beginning.  

Use common sense and don't wait until you need to catch them.  Practice penning them for fun things like cookie parties so that when you DO need to catch them, they aren't panicked trying to figure out what's going on.

Here I'm doing a routine FAMACHA check.  I think it's funny how the same sheep are always near the last to be caught.  This is Muffin, who even though she's been doing this very easy, painless check for over nine years, still tries to hide until the very end.  

Guess who's ALWAYS the biggest baby and very last to get checked. :-D

BYFC - Random Tip #3

Tip #1 talked about using contrasting colors in your roving to help see your angle of twist.  Today's tip is about creating contrast under your yarns to make it easier to see what's going on with not only twist, but also your drafting zone (the triangle between my fingers) and how thick or thin you want to spin...

You could make a special spinner's contrast cloth or apron with a light and dark side...

...or you could use a dark and light pillow case or t-shirts or even just wear dark or light clothes.

BYFC - Random Tip #2

Would you really like to knit a sweater, but are too intimidated to try?  Make a teddy bear sweater first!  You are probably going to make a mistake or two, but if you have to rip it out and try something again and maybe even a third (or fourth) time, you are only ripping out a small amount of knitting, not a crying amount whole month  of knitting.

There are quite a few patterns on Ravelry and other places online.  You can try raglan sleeves, drop sleeves, top down or bottom up, sweaters in the round or in flat pieces...

I wanted to try a cable sweater and picked this fun one for Chocula Chip.

Tiny sweaters are also a great way to test your handspun yarn for suitability in a bigger project...but that's a tip for another day ;-).

Bluegrass Yarn And Fiber Crawl - Random Tip #1

Today starts the 2026 Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl.  Of the ten days of the tour, our farm stop is scheduled to be open on both Saturdays from 11:00 to 4:00 and also Wednesday afternoon/evening from 4:00 - 8:00.  I am happy to schedule other times as well, but please email first as this is a working farm, so who knows what's going on each day.

My focus for this year's crawl is education.  There are shopping opportunities here for sure, but I enjoy teaching and encouraging more than selling, so if Auntie Reg (the boss) isn't here, let's go out to the barn or sit on the Wool House porch and have a good time talking sheep and wool and fiber arts and teach each other some fun new things.

I know most readers of this blog are not local or not in a position to travel out here so I thought it might be fun to post some random tips each day that anyone might find helpful...or at least interesting even if you aren't a fiber or sheep person.  The tips will mostly be geared towards folks just starting out, but you never know everything :-).

Today's random tip is about angle of twist.  If you are having trouble with either over spinning or under spinning your yarn, use a color of wool that isn't a solid color.  Let's zoom in.

This is Kaala and her gray is a mix of light and dark and those dark strands show up as you spin, making it easy to see what you are doing.  As you add more and more twist, the angle (shown here in the dark diagonal line) changes.  

In general a 45 degree angle is a good starting point, but you may want to spin looser or tighter depending on what you want your finished yarn to do.  You might want to add in more twist for a stronger yarn for a pair of socks or less twist for a softer feeling yarn for a scarf.  

Bonus tip today!  Don't set your roving down on top of a dried up marigold flower.  Free seeds included with each purchase ;-D.

We've Almost Got The Band Back Together

When they demolished Stella's little shed behind her bee yard I asked that they save the quilt square I painted for her birthday back in 2011.  I hope it's safe somewhere...but it never made it down the hill :-/.    

So I painted a new one.

Again with purple coneflowers blooming nearby.

Hanging next to a hive of happy bees flying in and out, working hard.

Now all we're missing is Stella...

...but I hope she's hanging out in the B Garden sometimes.

 

The 2026 Bluegrass Yarn And Fiber Crawl

This summer feels like it's crawling, but in reality...or altered reality...it's time once again for the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl.

There are over 20 farms and yarn shops participating in the crawl this year so there is something for everyone!  Our farm will have some retail offerings with yarn, roving and raw fleeces, but what I'm hoping to make the feature of our stop this year is education.  

Would you like to learn how to spin - spindle or wheel?  Maybe you bought a raw fleece in the spring and need to learn what to do next?  Interested in how yarn is "grown"?  Thinking about starting a fiber flock?  Just want to come out and meet some sheep...and get mugged for cookies?  

Our crawl hours are July 25 11:00 to 4:00....July 29 4:00 to 8:00...and August 1 11:00 to 4:00, but our farm can always be open at other times if you make an appointment. 

Come see us!  And the sheep would love if you brought some cookies ;-).

How's Your Tour Going?

I got off to a slow really slow start, but I haven't given up and neither should you...in case you are thinking about it.

Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that spinning is fun, especially with your friends :-).

June...In July

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The 2026 Tour de Fleece

 

The 2026 Tour de Fleece starts tomorrow!  

For anyone who's new here, this is a world wide spinning challenge that runs alongside the Tour de France race.  In 25 words or less, when the bike wheels are spinning, our wheels or spindles are spinning.  Some people set specific challenges (I'm going to spin a pound of wool) and some set general challenges (I'm going to spin 15 minutes every day).

There is an official site for the Tour de Fleece and Punkin's Patch is one of the Wild Card Teams.  There are some really fun sounding Wild Card Teams and you can join as many as you'd like.  Follow the links for more information.  

The Punkin's Patch - My Favorite Sheep team is a very laid back, but fun group of spinners of all skill levels.  Several spinners also follow the race pretty closely and I've learned to really enjoy the race because of the discussions in our group.  

You don't need to join a team if you don't want to.  You can just set your own challenge and  play quietly by yourself :-).  If you'd like to report in with successes and struggles without joining the group, you can leave a comment(s) on this post or shoot me an email.  If I can't help you, I can find someone who can!

Who's spinning this year?

Everybody Gets A Pergola!

The weather has been ridiculous.  We are currently in a stretch of mid to upper 90s and the sheep are hot, the horses are hot, the cats are hot, Pinot's hiding in the air conditioning and I'm...trying not to cry.  The bees are hot too.

Bees work very hard to keep their hives warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  They do this by working together to generate heat when it's cold or try to fan it out when it's hot.  There are lots of interesting articles online about this.  Here is a good one.

Stella and I had the good fortune of having a small building and some trees to provide afternoon shade for our bees when they were up on the hill.  Here's a link to a great Stella and the bees story and also a picture of our set up.  She also had an old leaky cistern and the bees gathered water there every day.  I'm not sure if I have any pictures of that.

There's no shade down here for the new hive and I had been thinking about how I would handle that.  Sure, the bees could probably take care of things on their own, but why add any extra stress to an insect that is already facing so many stressors these days.

I started with just a lattice back and top, but that really didn't help much.  I added the small shade cloth and while it looks a bit janky, it did the trick.  The front porch of the hive had been covered in bees trying to help fan cool air up into the box.  The numbers went way down almost immediately.

This picture was just after I added the cloth, but it's not very clear.  You might be able to biggify it to see more bees.

The other issue in high heat is water.  The tank I've had sitting out in the B Garden to provide water for birds, bees and plants was getting super hot and soupy really quickly.  I've tried to keep it clean and I've seen birds and wasps drinking from it, but never any bees.  I added a shade top to that as well and changed the safety landing to something hopefully more bee friendly.  We'll see.

Ideally it would be great if the weather could just cool off a bit...  

 

If You Are Looking For A Way To Beat The Heat

 Try looking for four leaf clovers.  

(Click to biggify)

There are at least eight here, but even I can't find them all in the photo.  I'd invite you to come out and look in person...but it's outside the shade cloth area so I think I'd just spend a bit more time looking on the computer screen in the air conditioning ;-).

Maybe it would help to look for them in a puzzle format.

Tabitha

Very few of our Jacob sheep get to be well known around here.  Several are remembered for their stories, but remained cookie "tossers" until the very end of their lives.  

Tabitha was loved by everyone and she loved family and visitors alike.  While she was never hugged or even touched by anyone other than us, she was very happy to come up and take cookies straight from your hand.  Everyone loved that about her.

She has not been well for a couple of years and the last month has been a struggle.  She stayed happy until the end though and went out grazing in Del Boca Vista every day and ate cookies and Cheerios when she lost her appetite for regular food.  

I knew the heat this week was going to be very hard on her and I'm glad she left us at the beginning of the week rather than struggling through several more really hard days.  She was a good sheep and we will all miss her.

Tabitha 

April 2017 - June 29, 2026

Pinot's Pergola

Several year ago I built a small(ish) shaded stand for my night blooming cereus. That worked so well and the plant has been so happy under it that we decided to build a Wool House version to try to help me get through summer as well. 

Since we have Pinot's Porch and Pinot's Patio, it's only fitting this is Pinot's Pergola.  When I was putting his fence (that you can barely see in the picture) back up, I made an extra side paddock...Pinot's Paddock :-).

I went with a pergola design because I didn't want to completely cover up the front of the Wool House. There are several most months of the year that I actually like the sun shining through the windows and front doors.  For those months that I don't...here's hoping the removeable shade cloths will help.

With some roll down side shades.

The vining flowers in the elevated (because of sheep ;-) pots are cardinal vines that the hummingbirds are supposed to love.  Can't wait!

I spotted this four leaf clover while we were hanging the side shades yesterday.  I was standing up on a ladder when I spotted it.  Tim couldn't find it.  Pinot did...and ate it ;-D.

I built this raised bed using leftover scraps from the builders.  The big nails holding the 8"x8" sides together are the spikes we used every year to anchor Maisie's "birthday cake" to the bale of straw.

The little shelf holding the not so little anymore hoya is another favorite detail.  That tiny cutting happened after the parent plant crashed during a storm last year...or maybe the year before...  It's been living in the window over the wash room sink and has done so well that it's outgrown that spot.  I hope it likes this outside location for summer.  

I also treated myself to a bird bath fountain.  I filled the basin with broken chunks of old clay pots so there are plenty of spots for bees, butterflies and birds to land.  Waiting for my first visitors!  In the meantime, I have a beautiful place to sit out with Pinot and watch the bats and fireflies.

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If you'd like to sit out with me and Pinot for a minute, enjoy!