Pictures a re worth a thousand words ...so I'll try not to say too much!

Well, it was another dreary day in the neighborhood of make believe. I have been on the phone and computer way too much since I returned from the Fiber Frolic. There is so much raking and cleaning up to do from mucking out the paddocks. So in between downloads and waiting for calls to be returned, I weeded my garden, and began raking, and raking, and raking. Of Course I was distracted and had to go in with the woolies and take a few pictures.
Tomday was VERY curious about the camera. He cautiously approached then stole my lens cap! The little stinker! He has taken Lyra's place as the pest of the paddock. As usual Lyra was too close to take a picture of, she is still my baby and needed to be a close as possible without crawling into my pocket.
Mike is growing into his handsome self. He is now known as Handsome Mike. I suppose he will take Joe's place one of these days. He is so calm and has this very sweet look about him. Old Joe continues to hold the biggest place in my heart. He is 10 now and continues to be a strong healthy boy, but I fear his teeth are getting quite worn down and he is spoiled with a mash I make for him everyday. I hope to have a few good long years ahead with him.

Angus, Mike's twin has such a different look about him he is also very sweet and calm. Sometimes I have to watch to be sure he gets his share of food, He is so non aggressive.

Priscilla is just beautiful. Her stout little body is like a loaf of bread. She has her mothers eyes.

For a brief moment the sun did shine today ....look at my garlic! It is over 4 feet tall!And last but not least. I took a few pictures of my shop. I have moved things around a bit, so it seems bigger and not to cluttered. Come visit soon!

Fiber Frolic

Last weekend, I spent a lovely two days "frolicking" as a vendor at The Maine Fiber Frolic. Saturday I worked at the Annual Maine Sheep Breeders Association Wool Pool. 8,000 pounds of Maine grown wool was sorted and bagged by breed and type - fine medium or coarse. Yesterday, I delivered the last of the wool to the washing facility in Waldoboro. WHEW! That's a lot of wool! After washing, the wool will be spun into various weights of yarn, some 100% wool, some blends, and some will be carded into roving for spinning.

Best of all, the wool is from Maine, it will be available as finished product at a wholesale price. Many yarn shops in Maine New Hampshire, and VT are already planning to carry this line of 100% Maine-grown yarn. I am proud and excited to be a part of this process!

Yesterday I Was Inspired .....

Yesterday met someone who inspired me.

This person, with a big smile, adventurous heart, and beautiful outlook on life, shared her life adventures with me. She is an artist, an author, and like me, at one point, she was a stay-at-home mother who ran a farm, and a successful business. We shared stories of our children, and how we make it all work in the many roles we play. We laughed at the frustrations of those children, the animals, and of running a business, and shared solutions and ideas that make the ride a bit smoother. Thanks Elaine! I am excited and ready to get this project started! ( wink, wink) ....I will see you next week!

Each spring as I travel around, the lupine and vast array of summer flowers, beckon me to paint. I used to paint when I was younger, mostly watercolor, some acrylic, sometimes I would sketch in pastels. It always made my heart full when I created. It still does, but I don't paint enough anymore. It is something I intend to change this summer.

Today I will finish up preparing for The Maine Fiber Frolic. Each year, I have a booth beside my good friend Betty Stover of Spinakees' Farm. We have decided we are never in competition with each other, but rather that we compliment each other ...although I do tend to win the bigger ribbons ...right Betty? Hahaha ..I love you Betty!

This is weekend I also manage the Maine Sheep Breeders Association Wool Pool. Many good Maine Shepherds "pool" their wool and sell it to the highest bidder. This year myself and Claudia Reassler of Royal River Alpacas, were the highest bidders. Claudia will be blending her portion with Maine grown alpaca to create a beautiful blended yarn , and my portion will be spun into 100% grown in Maine, hand-dyed, wool yarns. Both yarns are available wholesale.

You can learn more on my website or better yet ...come visit me this weekend at the Frolic!

And ...if you visit the Sheep Barn, take part in the Knit-In. There will be a table set up with donated yarns from Maine farms for visitors to knit 4X4 squares that will be combined into a blanket, which will be raffled off in the fall. The money will support youth programs for kids who are involved in shepherding. Hope to see you there!

Thursday I morning, I brought all of my dye-pots up from the basement. By Thursday evening I had picked up four big boxes a was pre-washing my beautifully spun skeins. Friday morning I began dyeing oranges, reds, yellows, blues, greens and purples ...I went nuts!

While I was working in the kitchen, I let the sheep out to mow the lawn, pull the weeds, and trim the shrubbery. I caught this shot as old Joe peeked around the back of my Yukon saying "What ...I have to go in now?" The very well-behaved-woolies stayed in the yard though temptation was close at hand in the form of taller grass growing up the driveway and down by the road.

Tomorrow the dyeing process continues. Aside from raising the sheep ...it is my favorite part. I have a few new projects in mind and with all of this color around, I'm ready to get started before the skeins are even dry!

Of kids, and crazy weeks

It was so nice to wake up this morning and know the past week is over. Nothing bad happened ...all is well. It just was a week of not being able to get out of my own way. Some things were finished, some are still waiting. Some didn't even get started!:) Oh well ... life goes on. I am enjoying having my first Angora goat kid on the farm. Kids are very different from lambs, he has been curious, yet cautions. He stuck close to his mom all last week, then yesterday, his courage grew and he strayed quite far from her watchful eye. Uma is a terrific mom, she knows were he is every second, and he kept her on her toes, weaving in and out of sheep, climbing on the rock wall, and exploring all corners of the paddock. I must confess...I cannot keep my hands off him!

Recently I had a few folks knitting for me. If time allowed I would like to take on more projects, but the wholesale line is keeping me quite busy, so thankfully these ladies are keeping up the work for me. Thanks girls!

This sweater was knit by Bristol Ivy, using my wool/mohair blend in its natural color. She assured me I could make it for myself very quickly, so as soon as my son's baseball season is over, I am going to give it a shot. Bristol is on Ravelry as joyousbohemian, check her out, she is quite a talented knitter!
Bristol also knit this cami, and now has my beautiful Joe on her needles. She is making a sweater/jacket for me from Joe's fleece. This year I had just Joe spun into a worsted weight yarn by NEWAIM Fiber mill. Nancy does such a terrific job, and I have wanted to do this for a long time as Joe is getting old. I need to have him forever! His fleece spun into over 5000 yards of beautiful silver grey.

I also want to thank Roberta and Becca, who are also knitting for me. I will include their work in my next post.

The Queen... delivers

The Queen was restless yesterday. After breakfast she bossed the peasants around as usual, picked at the hay, and got up and down, and up and down. Her tail flicked back and forth and she arched her back from time to time as she gazed down over her kingdom. Her eyes were far away at times and she wandered away from the barn looking for a private place. The Queen, the beautiful Queen then gave birth to a beautiful boy. ....and I am delighted!

Wool On Wheels

Imagine what folks must have thought when this passed them on the highway? Well we certainly got a lot of strange looks. Crammed into almost 350 pounds of wool, my mother, friend Betty Stover, and I hit the road as soon as the kids got on the bus Friday morning headed to VT.

It was a quick trip down, with a stop in Kennebunk to purchase Cushing dyes from the Maine based business. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful hand-hooked rugs created by the talented Joan Moshimer. He artistry was brilliant, her rugs were exquisite. Sadly she has passed away now, but her work lives on for the public to enjoy in books and at this small gallery in Kennebunk.

The next stop was Green Mountain Spinnery, where owner David Ritchie greeted me with the usual laugh and smile. We unloaded the bags, weighed and recorded the blends that he would then spin into yarns for us, took a deep breath, then headed to Nashua N.H.for dinner and a good night's sleep.

I had to get back. The condition of the Queen weighed heavily on my mind. Although she wasn't due for a few days, I had my good friend Dr. Tammy Doughty "on-call" in case anything happened. So far she has held on, looking like a water balloon that was dropped from a few stories up and did not break upon impact, but rather displaced the water to it's sides. Poor thing.

Yesterday, I rototilled the garden and increased the area for more veggies. With a day of rain on the way, I decided not to put down the weed cover and let "mom nature" give the soil a good soaking. Friday I will place the cover and plant. The weatherman tells me that it will be in the 70's by then, and I want to get the planting started before the pesky blackflies arrive and ask me to donate blood.

I was lucky enough to catch these shots of Priscilla stalking and attacking the Guinea hen. She is one of the highest jumpers I have ever seen. The Guinea ran back and forth trying to escape the black devil that chased her, then fluffed up her feathers and turned on her attacker!

Surprised, the little lamb ran off the rock wall and straight under my legs! Her mom then ran after the Guinea hen! It was quite the drama that played out in the late afternoon sun.

Today is paperwork day (yuck), but the rain is falling and the wind is blowing, and there is nothing I can do outside. I will take a break at some point to do some felting. I have new pillows to stuff, and a few crocheted hats to finish off. So off I go to get through the dreaded number crunching.

Watch for udpates on Queen Uma. :)