My Local Yarn Shop

Setting up for the Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl has been a good exercise in Getting Stuff Done, but also a bit of a morale boost.  Things are so different now without setting up at the big fiber festivals.  Those events created a business structure that I apparently really needed.

Lately I sometimes catch myself wondering if maybe it's all over and it's time to retire...but I have a flock of sheep that will stay here until the ends of their lives.  They can keep paying into their pensions...if their shepherdess would just do her part.  

I don't know what the sheep really understand about their lives here.  In my anthropomorphic brain I want to think they know that their wool products and pictures and inspiration keep the hay stack tall and grain bins full.  That that is their job.  I'm betting some of the retirees like Krista and Short Round understand things are different here.

Not doing my part to use that wool and their inspiration to help support them feels almost disrespectful.  Like not standing up for a friend or family member.  

In the 'olden days', when I'd get home from a show each night I'd always report in.  I'd tell them which fleeces sold or who's roving was popular that day and who got asked about or came walking into the booth made into a sweater or shawl.  It was nice to be able to do that last Saturday after our first Fiber Crawl day.  We'd all had fun and done a good job.  No one wore a sweater ;-D

Surely I can pull this back together.  I still have some good ideas...and obviously lots of wool.  Let's wash some wool and pull out the hand cards and combs or roving and spin some pretty yarn and knit hats and mittens and scarves and sweaters from our favorite sheep.  

Let's make felted sheep and wreaths.  Get out the drawing pad and create some new rug patterns and learn how to dye bright colors and make rugs and pillows and wall hangings and tote bags.  And send each other some handwritten note cards.  

This will also be known as quit messing about cleaning the house and mowing grass and working in the gardens and show up more for your more fun job that somehow always gets pushed to the bottom of the list. 

If you'd like to come out to the farm this afternoon/evening, we will be open from 4:00 to 8:00 today*.  Bring your wheel or current project and a box of vanilla wafers for the sheep if you'd like.  We can sit and spin or play with wool or just relax and watch the sheep.  If you'd like to mow grass or clean the house, that's always an option too ;-D.  We'll have wine and cheese starting around 5:00.

It was pretty toasty yesterday and the porch was very pleasant.  It's also covered in case we get rain.  The barn is also a fun dry spot and there's nothing like listening to rain on a barn roof, especially after it's been so dry.  We have plenty of chairs and room to spread out.

We also have plenty of good company on the porch.

Pottery from Flat Creek Wool and Pottery.

Morgandell Reds brought over some beautiful California Red batts.

Beautiful yarn from Tring Farm.

Lamb Camp Legacy yarn, I (heart) Kentucky Wool bags, note cards from here.

Washed wool.

Plenty of roving - in the Wool House and also set up in the barn.

The new Lamb Camp Old Friends yarn.

Look at these fancy wool balls made from Pinto's fleece!  You don't have to have a fancy fleece to pay into your pension.  All wool can have a job and if you are using these balls for dryer balls, I'm pretty sure Pinto will add some extra bounce :-D.

Folk art farm cards

I've pulled out six more skeins of Lamb Camp Bottle Lamb yarn.

Two walls full of fleeces.  

If you are looking for your first start to finish fleece, a specific breed for Shave 'Em to Save 'Em, or a favorite sheep you've followed for years, let me help you pick one out.  You can even meet the sheep who raised the fleece.

Do you have questions about how to wash or process your fleece or what to make?  Just ask.  I love to talk wool :-).  

Honestly, I love to talk sheep and wool and farming and spinning and knitting and weaving and I'm happy to share what I've learned along the way and I love to learn what you have as well.  Come out this evening and grab and glass of wine and some cheese and pull up a chair.  

We are also open for the Crawl this Saturday from 11:00 to 4:00.  Really, we can be open anytime.  Just email me to make an appointment.  Maybe in the future I'll start having an actual open schedule.  Let's get busy!

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.  

So Where Are We

I'm sitting on the Wool House porch drinking coffee and watching Pinot mess about being a happy rabbit.  It's been cool this morning and last and he loves that.  I'll be so glad when summer is over.  This has already felt like a long one and it's just the beginning of July.

I've mentioned the Tour de Fleece, Pinot, the woven rug.  The month end compilations have at least included pictures of the gardens, sunrises, sunsets, sheep, horses, cats.  I made a little knitted Maisie, but while I've wanted to start my walnut dyed sweater, I haven't let myself cast on.

It's a good thing Maisie's so cute ;-).

I get beat down by the "can't do something fun until you get your chores done" mentality.  First, I live on a farm.  The chores are never done.  Not only are the chores never done, but I keep adding to the chores by planting too many flowers, getting a rabbit friend, wanting to teach Frankie something new...  I love my flowers and Pinot and I'm proud of what Frankie and I are getting done this summer.  Some rain would be helpful.

Second, if you want to maintain a fiber business to help support your sheep, maybe actually doing something with the fiber needs to be a "chore" if that's how your kooky brain works.  Just because a chore is fun doesn't mean it's not important.  I'm assuming ten years from now I won't remember the blood, sweat, tears and bruises, but I will enjoy looking back at the blog pictures and stories while wearing warm sweaters made from my best friends fleeces.  

I'm going to be 56 this summer.  If I haven't figured life out by now, maybe it's not going to happen.  Or maybe I'm just now getting old enough to start figuring it out.  Maybe I'm just a slow learner...

So, some things to look forward to:

The next post will be about all the building we've done lately.  Mostly for Pinot and some flowers.  Oh, I also put a board back up in Frankie's stall, so I guess I covered all my "distractions" ;-).  Don't let me forget to share the out house as well.  

I've started skirting my spring fleeces...finally...and promptly ran into a nest of very aggressive bees living in guess who's fleece. 

I covered them back up and was trying to find a place to safely stash them (even mean bees are important pollinators and they were just trying to protect their family), but our resident barn skunk cleaned them out last night.  I should have seen that coming.  Slow learner...

Yep, it was Maisie.  You can't make this stuff up...

The Bluegrass Yarn and Fiber Crawl is coming up and I'm going to participate this year.  I'll do a separate post with my open dates and information about what we are going to offer along with some new farm and fiber products.

I finished my first bobbin of Ellie last night and I'm going to carry on spinning her for the Tour de Fleece.  She's a sweet spin and I'm really excited about her yarn.

How's your summer going?

Possum's Wool Beds

I took this picture yesterday. I really needed to get some fleeces skirted, especially if I'm hoping to find them good homes this Saturday.  It was raining and cold and Possum looked so cozy tucked in on the skirting table that I couldn't bring myself to disturb her.  

As I was starting to type this blogpost this morning, I noticed that she'd moved from her normal morning spot on the washroom floor to a cozy little cubby spot under the table.  That's a felted wool laptop carrying bag.  The girl loves her wool :-).

I WILL have some Possum beds fleeces skirted and for sale at the Evening with the Sheep on Saturday.  I'll try to negotiate a good price for you, but she may drive a hard bargain ;-).  I'll also post them on the website starting next week.

  

Guess What!

It's time for the Kentucky Wool Festival.  This weekend.  Like starting tomorrow.  How on earth did that happen?!?  

What a year...

We're there.  We are set up.  The booth is jam packed with beautiful raw fleeces and pretty roving, a few colorful wool pumpkins, the 2019 Farm and Lamb Camp calendars, some Christmas ornaments, tote bags, Mug Shot mugs...and a fun new addition just outside the big tent.

Last year, for fun, we did the My Favorite Sheep Is... contest.  That was hilarious, so we are doing it again.  Since I didn't get any tech-y-er (see, I can't even spell the word) since last year, we are going to run it exactly the same way as last year.  Here are the instructions for how to play :-).

Come on out and enjoy the festival and please stop by the Punkin's Patch/Equinox Farm booth and say "Hi!" and vote for Maisie your favorite sheep.  You'll get a free prize!