Was that meeee baaing???

I didn't think my baa was so deep! Yes Wooly Bear, that was you! His baa has gone from a sweet little lamby baa to a deep, raspy, garble-sounding, manly baa! He seems a little unsettled when he hears it, not sure if that is himself or not. He is noticing the changes and not recognizing himself. Being such a sensitive and sweet ram, his confusion is quite noticable. You can tell he wants to ram stuff, but isn't quite sure why he'd want to do that yet....and girls are interesting, although he doesn't quite know why yet. You can read the confusion on his face!

His horns are black/grey and very beautiful, having not made contact with much yet!
From above, they look pretty cool. You can see how they fling outward in growth even though his horns are not as wide as some Shetland rams can be. They are always very warm to the touch, and smooth. We try to never handle him on his horns since you can tell they are sensitive. Despite being good handles, (and I have had to use them that way a couple of times), he is proud and protective of them, as rams are. We don't pet him or treat him as a pet, but I do lay my hand on his back as a friendly jesture when halter training or working with him. He's come to know that as reassurance and seems to appreciate it. It won't be long now before we'll have construction work of the ram sort on our farm. Dear hubby is not looking forward to that!
Here is an update on the baby chicks. The oldest one is the dark brown chick. The black one is showing a green sheen in the sunlight. That surprised me! The other two are real light grey/brown. All have feathered feet. Momma hen is amazingly loving, patient and tender. She is an excellent mom! They went out into sunlight today to forage for bugs and grass. When they are happy, they make the cutest peeping noises and musical sounds. I love that about chicks. They are very musical in a soft, happy way. A pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.


The yarn on my wheel right now is from Psalm 23 Farm. It's called Raspberry Kiss and the softness is amazing....a blend of shetland, mohair and silk noil. The colors are complex yet peaceful, grey/white/pink/purple...giving it beautiful depth. Thanks Laura!

Lastly, we had the most beautiful sunset the other night. So instead of capturing that, I took a picture of the colors reflected in the barn window! Silly me! Can't get enough of the farm.


Thank goes out to all my customers and new friends we met at the farmer's market yesterday! Hope you all stayed warm! If you get your scarves done by October 3rd, bring it back and show us your pretty new scarf and receive 10% off any purchase of yarn in our booth that day!

Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies are like....

....handspun yarn! Warm chocolaty homemade cookies gooey fresh from the oven are so good! They are so different from packaged cookies from stores, hard, crispy and chemically-tasting. Handspun yarn is that way compared to machined yarn. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy machined yarn at appropriate times, such as when I made bunny puppet mittens for my child that needed to be machine washable and dryable at a moment's notice.
However, handspun yarn has a feel and liveliness you cannot get out of machined yarn. Handspun has life in it. It's cushier, bouncier, more responsive. If it's Shetland, it's so lightweight, even in a bulky weight. It has personality, character. Rather than being pushed from one needle to the other, it practically leaps! It is easy on your fingers, not needing pushing, and it doesn't squeak! I find I can knit longer with handspun, whereas I get fatigued sooner with other types of yarns. Just as gooey homemade cookies have a depth of deliciousness, so does handspun yarn. If you haven't had the opportunity to knit or crochet with handspun yarn, give it a try! I'm confident you won't be disappointed, but be ready for a new great feel!Here's another picture of little Wooly Bear (Woolchester). I LOVE his fleece! It would be called longish/wavy. It makes a different yarn than crimpy yarn makes. It is very clear, strong, warm, fine and soft and what was used in the original fair isle knitting. I have a button up sweater made in Shetland of this type of yarn, and it has been a staple in my wardrobe for nearly 10 years. It still looks newly made, with no pilling or fuzzing. It is timeless and always fits in with styles of the season. I've worn it in all seasons. THAT is a good buy!

Here's a baby chick update, taken a few days ago. If you look closely, you'll find four chicks...two in lower right with heads peeking out from under Mom (one black, one brown), one peeking out from her wing on the upper side, and the oldest one standing between her and the feeder. They are so fun! We give them tidbits of grass, clover, and dandelions to prepare them for foraging later when they are older. A non-foraging chicken is an expensive bird to feed, so we teach all our little chicks to forage. They love it! They love playing keep-away, where one will find a big piece, then peep and tear around with it, as if calling all the others to chase, and chase they do! GREAT for kids to see! These chicks are going to a wonderful home soon with children who will love them as much as we do.
In an earlier blog entry, I briefly showed how I wash my fleeces. Here is a picture of the screen panel I use for skirting, and drying a whole fleece. This is Iris's fleece just out of the bag...
...partially unrolled.....
...and spread out for final picking or skirting before going in the tub. I found it funny how clearly you can see how I sheared her upper tail wool, hanging down in this picture in the middle! I guess I got it all off in one nice piece! The two sides hanging down are her britch wool (outer hind legs). Her britch, being a beaver-coated Shetland, can get to 10 inches long or more in twelve months. I LOVE that!
Here she is before shearing, so you can compare. That britch wool is coarser than midside or neck wool. I love using it for socks and rug hooking with yarn. Um, don't know how to rotate the picture for you so you don't have to crane your neck to see.......

See you at the farmer's market Saturday!

Handspun Yarns

Handspun yarn is so amazing! Before I had my own sheep a few years ago, I purchased wool and roving from other producers (some not Shetland) and spun it up on my wheel. This is Weathered Barn from Hidden Valley Farm...the Carol us upper midwestern spinners know as the "I'm so glad you live near me so I can spend all my spare cash on your luscious roving Carol".

This is a natural colored yarn made from a ram Nancy Larsen had at Sheepy Hollow named Duke. He was emsket, and when I saw his wool on his back I started hyperventilating. Yes, she would save it for me. When time came to buy it, I didn't buy it all, worried if I was crazy. I regret now not buying it all. Duke has become famous in our house as his wool has been spun and knitted into treasured articles of clothing. Some of his yarn was displayed, but not for sale in our booth and received endless compliments. Nancy, if you still have him, send me a picture of 'ole Duke!

This dreamy wool is more from Hidden Valley Farm. It was such a pleasure to spin! I gave most of it away as gifts. Some of it was made into a simple scarf that draws endless attention at our booth as a display item, to show the beautiful things you can make with handspun yarn.

Handspun yarn, especially from Shetland sheep, is so very lightweight and dreamy to knit with. There are many breeds of sheep to spin and knit, and everybody has their favorites. Mine is hands down Shetland! While I enjoy other fibers very much, Shetland has a way of drifting from needle to needle in such an ethereal way. It is strong, soft, and silky. It makes knitting nearly effortless, and the colors are such a pleasure to either use naturally or to blend with naturals and dyes. It doesn't pill, is easy to wash, doesn't squeak on your needles, and is incredibly warm! I always come back to Shetland, and now I have many Shetland fleeces of my own and my own flock of purebred Shetland sheep. I continuously have something going on my wheel. If you spin or knit or crochet, try Shetland wool!