Greenberry's Bina Wade

Busy week, catching up on computer work and doing some needed bunny chores.  I sheared this lovely pure German Angora doe on Friday.  Bina's mother is descended from some of my earliest lines; her father is from new lines that Chris over at Woolybuns.  Bina is one of the nicest angoras I've bred here, with record production of wool and a nice temperament.  Bina's mother, Greenberry's Highland Mary, is an excellent mother, raising nice sized litters with ease.  I tried to breed Bina to Woolybuns Puff 'n Stuff on Friday; she was NOT happy about it.  She was more cordial yesterday and we should have some nice bunnies in about a month.

Painted Coopworth Roving

I popped this Coopworth roving into a crockpot, and painted it with turquoise and purple dye on Friday as well.  The colors are a little darker than they appear in this shot, but there is a nice variation from turquiose to purple to deep navy blue.  I'm running low on this roving, finally.  I plan to spin the rest and then dye it in my favorite "Blackberry Vine" deep purple for sale.

Yesterday's craft tent went pretty well, although we fought wind all day.  A minor mishap with falling displays was annoying.  Today it's raining, windy and cold; we decided to stay in and I hope to do some computer work, and maybe paint some Shetland/mohair roving. 

• Comments (3) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Linda Painting Yarn

I sometimes wonder if I deserve all the wonderful people that come into my life and the neat things that happen because of them. Yesterday I was honored to host a mini dye day with Sandra of Thistle Cove Farm and Linda, who has a fun blog called Goin' Up Cripple Creek. They arrived with knitting, books, fiber and food; what more could anyone ask? Lily was happy to greet them; TJ stayed in the yard to keep him from participating too much in our dye adventures.

Painted Yarn

I was so busy talking and getting the dye stuff ready that I didn't take many pictures. We worked in my kitchen with acid dyes and vinegar, and had time to do two dye runs. Linda is a new spinner, and she brought her first skeins of singles to be dyed. She's going to keep them as a reminder of her new venture into spinning. Sandra brought some lovely millspun yarn; large skeins of soft and beautiful wool. We painted the first two skeins with squirt bottles. We used water bottles, which work pretty well, although you don't have much control of where the dye ends up. We used turquiose, violet and gold Jacquard dye. Sandra is experienced with natural dyes, but she hadn't used acid dyes before. Linda is new to it all, so I showed them both how to measure out a stock solution of dye and explained a bit about how to get predictable results. With painted dyes I don't get predictable results; I imagine there is a way to know what will come out of the pot but I like being surprised. We painted the skeins, one of Linda's and one of Sandra's, and then put them in the dye pot to steam. It wasn't long before we had the lovely yarn above. Sandra's is the lovely lighter shades on top; she used gold with hers. Linda's turned out darker and more turquiose and green.

Bunny House Scarf

Our next experiment was with vat dyeing; we filled the pot with water, dumped in the dye solution and some vinegar, and put in a skein each for Linda and Sandra. We used Jacquard Dye again, this time violet. I dropped in a scarf I knitted years ago which is mostly twisted stitches of mohair and angora yarn. Sandra's yarn turned out rich purple; Linda's was lighter while the bunny house scarf came out somewhere in between. Each item was made of different fiber and it was interesting to see how that affected the results. All during the time we worked we talked, of course. Fiber people always have lots to say. Lily shared our lunch with us, doing the sad eyes and begging. Busy and intelligent women are wonderful to be around; the many projects considered, debated and invented at my kitchen table yesterday were exciting to think about. Too soon it was time for them to leave; Sandra had a long drive home and Linda had to work. I saw them off hoping they had enjoyed the day as much as I did. Today the tidy house seems empty; I'm looking forward to another dye day soon!

• Comments (5) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Dyed Shetland/Mohair Roving

Busy getting things ready for the festival; yesterday evening I watched out the window and wound roving into these balls while my brother and sister-in-law mowed grass around the tent. Today I think they want to get the canopy up. Then we can start moving stuff up so it's not so overwhelming on Saturday; displays and tables, etc.

I'm trying a different way of displaying the wool this year; I don't know if it will work but I saw several booths at SAFF with roving wound into balls. Theirs looked a lot better than mine; these look OK in the picture but they're sort of bumpy. Each weighs 4 ounces. I love the purple. They still need to be labeled with my logo and stuff.

A bad picture of silk skeins

This is the silk that I've been plying with the Coopworth. I have a bunch of it; I did it all a long time ago on a spindle and didn't have the nerve to try to ply it together. These light colors didn't look great with the white Coopworth, so I plied these singles back on themselves. The skein on the left is green and pink, while the one on the right is shades of orange. I really like the one on the right. Trouble is, there's not much there, maybe enough to make an edging on a scarf or something. It would make pretty embriodery floss.

Wool, Silk and Angora Blend Yarn

This is a blend of moorit wool, tussah silk and fawn angora. It's a lovely tweedy hand spun yarn and I thought I had more of it done. But there's enough in these two skeins to make a scarf, I think. I'm really short of yarn right now, so I'm pulling whatever I can to fill my tables!

Wool and silk yarn, plus some walnut dyed wool

All of this needs to be labeled. Most of it is the silk and Coopworth two-ply, plus a couple of skeins that are left of the walnut dyed Coopworth. I've designated Friday as labeling and packing day. This will be the time to make sure everything is in good condition and ready to be sold. Hope we have lots of customers!

Mohair Bag with copper pin and rhinestone buttons

One bag done with some sparklies; the other is blocking. A friend suggested wooden buttons as embellishments but I don't have any, and don't want to buy anything. So I went with copper colored metal in the pin and buttons; kind of nice, I think! Today I'm hoping to paint some display pieces we got last week and shear a couple of bunnies. Then I'll wind more roving and try to get a few more skeins of yarn done. I'm still working on the crocheted rug at odd times but that won't be done for this show. And I have a nice little green bag that won't be ready, either. But I think my sister-in-law plans to have her tent open every weekend from now on; I haven't talked to her about it but I assume so. Unless it rains all of May, like it seemed to do last year!

• Comments (4) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Greenberry's Highland Mary

It has been an eventful couple of days. Friday I spent the day at home, catching up on paperwork for taxes and then taking a break to shear my lovely pure German Mary. I bred Mary to Storybook Dreams Alm Uncle. He's a little small but has a great textured coat; he's also from different lines so there's good genetic diversity there.

Then I loaded up the truck for the trip to Tazewell on Saturday. It didn't take long. To my dismay I realized that I hadn't done enough to get ready. Yarn still needs to be labeled, and I really need to have a lot more by the next show. The piles of dyed roving need to be bagged and labeled, and I need to finish these little bags. Yikes! I comforted myself by working on my crocheted rug instead of tackling the work I should have done.

View from Thistle Cove Farm

Despite predictions of rain and storm, I headed out in a silver dawn for Tazewell, watching a swift sunrise in my rearview mirror as I crossed the ridges. The trip is lovely; I headed up the Interstate and then ventured across Bland and Tazewell counties on a country road that wound between high mountain ridges. I got a little lost; took the wrong road out of the town of Tazewell but soon realized my mistake. A cheerful local, probably used to lost travelers, set me onto the right road and I arrived to see a bustling Sandra, busy getting ready for the day. Thistle Cove Farm was as beautiful as always, with blue skies overhead.

Ready for a hair cut

The sheep were all gathered in the barn, dry and ready to be clipped of their heavy fleece. As you can probably tell by the picture, Sandra's sheep are well cared for and live on clean pasture. There's a bit of staw here and there, but nothing that doesn't shake right out of the fleece when you start to process it. Sandra has posted a nice article on the Blue Ridge Gazette blog describing a bit more about the care the sheep receive, and about the process of shearing. I visited with the flock for a few minutes and then headed up the hill with my spinning wheel and stuff to set up a little booth in Sandra's farm store.

Spinning Demonstration

It wasn't long before guests arrived, to see what was happening on the farm. I love talking to interested and interesting people, and soon we were all chatting away about fleece, sheep, processing and spinning. I had to mention (probably too much but I'm excited about it) the festivals we're doing in Meadows of Dan to everyone. Many of the people that came to Sandra's also visit the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Broom Maker

Sandra took pictures while I talked and there are several posted in a set called "Sheep Shearing Day" at flickr. Watching them as a slideshow is fun. There was a broom maker there, plus a young man who was whittling walking sticks. A Civil War soldier presided over parking and Sandra's Komi Kids Yarn Project donations. When I went into the house after the festivities there were piles and piles of boxes in the hallway. Sandra said they were yarn donations for the children in Russia.

Enjoying the day

There were a lot of cheerful helpers on hand. Everyone pitched in when the shearer showed up, with one young man guilding the sheep to the shearer, who swiftly clipped off the fleece before the sheep really had time to become annoyed. Sandra gathered the wool quickly and brought the entire fleece to a high table made of plywood on sawhorses. This was the best part of the day for me; plunging elbow deep in wonderful smelling fresh fleece and getting to handle it. We pulled off the messy bits, which is called skirting; there weren't many but these are animals, after all. Even the spectators jumped right in, with everyone taking the opportunity to learn about the wool and what will happen to it after it is sheared and skirted.

Whittling and discussing wood craft

All too soon the shearer left, with some problems of his own to deal with at his farm he couldn't stay long. I could have played with wool all day! I went back up the hill to spin, and talked to several more people throughout early afternoon. I forgot my hat and sunburned my forehead and arms; calendula oil is easing that right now. After things slowed down we sat and chatted about knitting and visited with friends and neighbors.

Church in Tazewell County

Sandra offered a lovely lunch but I had to head for home. I had wakened Dad early to make sure he was feeling all right and promised him I wouldn't be late. I had a lovely trip home, with a detour through the mountains toward Christiansburg. The road wound through beautiful stands of redbud, miles and miles of it, along a rushing mountain stream through a narrow mountain pass. I had a camera disk already filled with pictures and was pressed for time, so I didn't stop along the way. I was tempted by this lovely old building, though, not far out of Tazewell. It was a Methodist Church at one time, and I think the community must be Nebo.

Shetland Hogget Fleece

Of course I came home with wool. This is a hogget fleece from Dolly, a Shetland sheep. A hogget is the fleece of a year old sheep. This wool is just the right length for blending with angora, soft and oh, so crimpy!

Shetland Fleece

It's really fun to see a fleece come off a sheep, pick through it on a table, and then put it in a bag and bring it home! This was Carly's fleece, a Shetland sheep with a sweet nature and a gorgeous, just right for me length. Despite the fact I was exhausted last night, I unloaded the fleece and wheel from the truck and started spinning Coopworth. I want that out of the way so I can delve into all this lovely Shetland! Busy days ahead; the next festival is here on the farm at the end of April. I have a lot to do before then!

Update:  Sandra has posted more information about Sheep Shearing Day on her blog, with photos of the shearing and of me elbow deep in lovely fleece!

• Comments (8) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Learning to spin

Yesterday was a fun day out, with a meeting first thing with Linda of Goin' Up Cripple Creek so that we could have a learning to spin session.  She just bought a nice Ashford wheel.  I'm not familar with Ashford but we managed to get the tension set up right and Linda was spinning along in no time at all.  I don't consider myself a very good teacher; all I know to do is show people what I do.  Linda was the easiest student I've ever had.  She picked up everything immediately, and was spinning nice, even Coopworth yarn right away, with only an occasional slub.

Linda is lots of fun, and her lovely daughter was along.  They are talented people; Linda is working on a music CD and her daughter is now planning to take guitar lessons.  Linda knits; she showed me her terrific bucket bag that she posted about on her blog.  It has personality!  So does Linda, and we had a great time visiting and spinning.

Crocheted Rug

I had a long day away from home, feeling a bit under the weather because of allergies and lack of sleep.  So it was nice to get back and work on my crocheted rug a little while in the evening.  This piece is working up fast, and I love the colors.  It's going to be a nice bright spot in my booth; can't wait to get it done and felted.  I worked on the green crocheted purse a little while during the day, and I'm still trying to decide what to do with the mohair purse flap.  Tomorrow I'm heading to Sandra's for Sheep Shearing Day.  Head on over to her blog and post an encouraging comment!  She sounds a little wild!

• Comments (7) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Mohair Slip-stitch Purse

With the wind tearing at everything outside, I simply don't feel inspired to tackle bunny chores.  Need to get out and do the morning things.  This time change business always puts me out of sorts and I feel off-schedule and unsettled for weeks.

The mohair purse is coming along nicely, despite the slicker yarn.  I've been working at it during odd moments; may get more done today since I'm sort of caught up on computer work and the wind is discouraging outside activity.  If I bring her inside I might shear a doe. 

Commercial Green Yarns

I bought these at an auction awhile back; very cheap and I love the colors.  The soft green is Bernat Venetian; it's 100% wool, while the light green variegated is acetate and nylon and called Paradise Puff, also by Bernat.  I don't think either of these lines are manufactured anymore.  Should make a couple of fun purses.

• Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Small Mohair Purse

Too many days spent away from home have prevented much in the way of work lately.  I did finish crocheting the small mohair bag and start another one.  The finished one is blocking on my washer right now.  I'll be digging out some beads and trinkets to embellish it after it dries.  This didn't please me as much as the first one; I think the thicker yarn needed a different treatment.  The next one, with a larger crochet hook and looser stitches, is going much better.

Hand Dyed Angora

Also drying with the bag is some angora I dyed last weekend.  Angora takes a long time to get thoroughly wet, and also a long time to dry.  With all the other fiber I worked up last week, I didn't have a place to spread this out right away.  So it sat draped over a shower rod and didn't fluff up until I spread it thinner.  Very red!

This week has flown by, with a trip to town for bunny feed and visiting with favorite cousin, a day of play and work in Floyd, and yesterday a gathering to celebrate the dedication of a visitor's kiosk for The Crooked Road in Meadows of Dan.  A group of bloggers met in Floyd on Thursday for an instructive and entertaining meeting at a local cafe.  Linda at Goin' Up Cripple Creek has a delightful description of the event.   We learned about trackbacks and permalinks; I'm not going to turn on trackbacks here, yet, until the spam problem is figured out.  It was great meeting so many local bloggers.  Linda is just like her blog, sunny, cheerful, witty and wise!

• Comments (7) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Mohair slip-stitch purse beginning

This is as far as I've gotten in a couple of days work; the first part was a bit fussy for some reason but it's going better now.  I like the striped effect for a handbag; it should be colorful!  I didn't make this one as big as I had intended at first.  I looked up the cost of the fiber and it was more than I realized.  So I'm hoping to get two bags out of this yarn, to reduce cost of materials.

I received the Spring Spin-Off yesterday, and took a few minutes to look it over last night.  Lots of knitting projects that are beyond my current skill but some nice spinning tips.  I haven't read every page yet but I did enjoy a wonderful article about sheep in Nova Scotia.  The illustrations of women spinning were beautiful!

• Comments (2) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Hand Dyed Shetland/Mohair Roving

Cold, gray days with snow falling and then melting are just not great for bunny chores.  So this weekend I turned to the dyepots.  This summer's shows are going to require a lot more stock than I have a present of dyed angora and roving.  I'll keep the dyepots simmering for the next month or so.  I'm hoping my wool spun yarns will come back soon; they are my most popular product!

Hand Dyed Chocolate Chinchilla Angora

I had planned to show a step by step dyeing method here, but I packed away my formula sheets and notes somewhere and just wasn't up to digging them out.  So I winged it, not a good thing to do if you want to show someone how it's done correctly.  If Sandra had been able to come I would have made more of an effort.  But weather forbade and I just wandered through the weekend, dumping roving and dye into pots with no real idea of the results.  Things turned out pretty well.  The chocolate chin above is really quite more blue than green but I couldn't get it to turn out right on my monitor.  Dyeing angora is a bit tricky because it is SO hard to get angora wet through.  I usually soak the fiber overnight and pick apart the clumps to get a more even color.  I don't get carried away with it; I like some variation.

Hand Painted Shetland/Mohair Roving

There are some excellent sites on-line that show how to paint and dye roving; I'll be putting some links under "How To" in my sidebar.  I also did a step-by-step of painting yarn at my other blog last March.  at the time I was using a different method of posting pictures, so it's all in individual posts rather than one.  So I can't post a link directly to the dye day, but most of March last year was dyeing.  I'm behind this year!

Hand Dyed Shetland/Mohair Roving

I have a tendency to do too much blue and purple, so sometimes I just dump in yellows and reds to get away from blue.  This gold roving turned out nice, with some subtle variations in color from rich to pale.

Hand Painted Shetland/Mohair Roving

I used to lay out my roving and yarns on a table and paint them, but it was a messy business.  I got clearer colors in the roving that way, though, by steaming them in my big pot on a rack.  Lately I've been coiling my roving into my crock pot and painting it there.  The results aren't as predictable but I like how it comes out.  This is one of my screw-ups, thanks to not having my notes.  I do this every year, seems like, painting yellow and blue, along with another color, pink this time, and having the roving come out in variations of green.  I love this roving but it wasn't what I was thinking.  I found another dye method not long ago I'll have to try and document here that should come closer to the results I wanted.

Lots of dyeing and spinning ahead; the show season is fast approaching.  While the dyepots were bubbling I worked on web pages.  Meadows of Dan has been off-line for awhile, thanks to transfer problems with the domain name.  I finally got it back and spent most of yesterday remodeling the site and making it easier to navigate and more colorful.  I tried to put together a wood theme to capture the traditional mood here of the buildings and people.  I still need to put in a little more navigation from page to page, but for now it's better.  Last night I worked on a new purse I've started with the mohair yarn I finished spinning last week.  It isn't far enough along for a picture and is taking some time to do, for some reason.  It's bigger than the other purse and the yarn is slicker, so it's a little more tedious.  Pretty so far, though.

• Comments (4) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link

Mohair yarn hand spun from painted roving

Yesterday it was March in all her usual contrary glory.  I woke up to two inches of snow on the ground, and when I ran up to get more sunflower seeds for the outside birds it started raining.  Everything was cold so the rain froze on the tree branches and on my hat brim while I was doing chores.  I got soaked.  Then a heavy bank of fog rolled in, shrouding the fields and hiding the pond.  A good day to stay inside and spin!

I finished the painted mohair roving and washed it to set the twist.  I didn't check the yardage since I plan to use it in a purse, but the two skeins weigh about eight ounces.  Last night I started spinning white Coopworth again, to be plied with the spindle spun silk for the variegated yarn.  Not much to take a picture of, yet!

• Comments (7) • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link