farmjournal

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off.... ;0)

2009-07-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope you all have fun planned for today and the weekend? Any fiber involved? Knitting? Spinning? Felting??? My spinning wheels are a 'centering force' in my life, and I have definitely needed that lately- big time. The first picture is the yarn I am currently spinning- our roving carded by Shari that is a blend of our Theo (white Corriedale) and Morgan's (Tunis) fleeces- spun on my Kromski Symphony wheel. I love how the yarn is sort of a 'secret' when you are spinning, then when I skeined it up- I could see the pretty red/cinnamon-y fibers from Morgan's softly red fleece! It is really unique. The OTHER unique thing here is, this is the first time in forever that I have sat through spinning over 2 pounds of ONE yarn! Yey me! Yey for my mental health too- hee hee! I spun one ply of really fine weight yarn, then let the second ply be how the wool 'wanted' to be. This will be on the sheep's Etsy shop soon.... need a yarny laundry day soon!
The rest of the pictures are just some of my favorites- all on the 'wheel' at one time or another.... Above is again, Kromski spun....

Spun on my first ever wheel! My little 'castle' wheel from Russia. It has seen hundreds of years of happy spinning, it has some chatter to it but I like to think it is telling stories of people and projects long ago....

My new challenge wheel is a Rio Grande spindle wheel- thank you Taos Martie! I got started spindle wheel spinning with my Penguin wheel and graduated to this one. It is a step toward my dream of an antique walking wheel- but boy do I need practice! The long draw spinning is not my 'natural'- I am an 'inch worm' spinner according to my friend Kathi- kind of makes her crazy watching me! ;0) (The blue roving was Corriedale from a friend's flock- Theo & Marshall's 'family')

This is again, the Rio Grande- my first attempt at spinning from clouds... The yarn from this wheel is SO light and soft- I just love it- soft smooshy single ply, in spite of myself! The fiber was a blend of Humphrey's Camel fiber and his llama buddies...

Hope you all enjoy the weekend- and smooches from the sheep! Not sure what THEY have planned tonight but I am sure it involves margaritas and fireworks- bwaaahahahaha!

Please bear with me til tomorrow....

2009-07-02T13:59:00.001-07:00

I don't have many words in my heart today, but did not want to leave anyone thinking I had left town either. I will be back to answering email tomorrow (Friday July 3). I had to let two of my sweet sheep go today- and I am heartbroken.

The bottom picture is my Culley sheep as a lamb, and top is my elegant, very grown up Border leicester boy- who by the age of 4 had a very horrid case of genetic arthritis. We have been treating it very aggressively for the past few years and he had finally had enough.
The last picture is my sweet Bela Mia- you might remember her from a large rescue we were involved with last winter? Her legs were crippled in front thanks to her former owner- and the past few weeks found her pain uncontrollable, and she deserved better from the world.
So whomever watches over my sheep up there, two good sheep were added to your flock- and they love Fruit Loops and hugs. Please be sure they get a ton of them. Also, Culley has missed his mom Mma, and brother Treasure. Bela Mia has been missing her best ever friend Kelly. Please be sure they find each other in 'my' flock....

If I ever get 'used to' the decisions we are often forced to make- it will be time for me to get out of this line of work. Fortunately, in that light, things are as they should be. I will miss you forever my sweet lambies.....

Updates and ramblings....

2009-06-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I am sure you all know I am a rambler-most of you have been subjected to my novella emails by now right? AND generally I can't even use the humidity 'fried brain' excuse either! bwaaahahahaha! Hope you are finding ways to stay cool- we are easily amused so that is a fun one here!

Here's our Dalai Llama, he is tired too! On these hots days, you may not hear from me as often because I worry (who me???? really??) about the critters. The Sandy rule is comfort first so I have to watch how much I disturb the sheep. I would rather they stayed in their cool spot than chase me around looking for treats. THAT said, Monte & Cricket (horses), Casper (honkey donkey) and even the llamas/alpacas love a nice mid day shower- or two-or three! We also play in the water tanks and keep the pot belly pigs cool by filling their self dug swimming pools- they look like little hippos, but they blow bubbles in the water- don't think hippos would stoop to bubbles???? hee hee
The sheep updated the website today with some very pretty unwashed and washed wool- along with dyed and undyed roving.... be sure to take a look about! The picture above is our gorgeous, elegant Dalai Llama's fiber, all washed and ready for a project- he is actually a llama/alpaca cross so his fleece is soft soft soft!!

This is another silver Coopworth fleece from Jacob's flock! It is soft, 6 inch locks, gorgeous silvery to steely grays with the cinnamon tips- and coated so clean clean clean!!

The sheep are also working on their Etsy shop update today! The My Little Pony spin along shawl has finally made its way to Etsy, along with some of Marshall's natural Corriedale single ply- spun on my Krosmki Symphony wheel....

The llamas and alpacas are voting today on which type of sprinkler we will be installing for them to play in- so far the front runner is a 'stand up' sprinkler that is about 3 feet tall and sprays a misty shower.... We'll let you know (and share pictures) when they decide! They sure do bicker a lot! Look forward to hearing from everyone when you have time- stay cool!

Rrrrrroad Trip!!

2009-06-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

We snuck away Saturday and wait for it....... remembered the CAMERA!!!! Road trip was on to Graham & Margaret's farm for the day. Giddyup!

What do you think? Was Bobbi (our Great Pyr) telling Speedy, hey, it's ok, I'm here for you.... OR was she saying ssshhhhhhh- it's paaaarty time! (I am thinking party- complete with margaritas and little umbrellas--maybe even a pool boy-um sheep?)

If this tree is not the epitome of determination, I am not sure what is! It is growing right up out of the old abandoned farm silo right outside of Argyle- the little town that is about 10 miles from us. Argyle is also home to our friends at http://www.argylefibermill.com/

Holy Batman was that the bat signal??? Nope, the sheep signal that says don't come home yet sheeples! Made it to Graham & Margaret's....

You again? said the sheep

REALLY?? Geesalou-can't get rid of those two people!

Don't care, too tired to get up- been there seen them....

This tree is also determined, the wagon wheel has been there for a looooong time- grown right into the tree base. What a cool greeting at the end of the driveway-over the hills and through the little dale..... ;0)

We went up to try and help figure out their new computer- having some issues that we were unfortunately, not very successful with. But we sure had fun trying- and spending extra time (besides shearing day) with Graham & Margaret is always a treat. While the fellows worked on the computer, Margaret and I strolled in the sheep pastures, chatted on the porch of their victorian farm house/bed and breakfast, and enjoyed the birds in her gardens (which look like parks by the way). The day flew by and before we knew it, time to head home before our little natives got restless.... Bobbi is pretty lenient with the sheep, as long as they let her go to the party- not always a great thing! (for us grown ups anyway!) hee hee

One last look and off to home we went..... Isn't it just heaven on earth at Graham & Margaret's? We adore them!

Friends of the sheep!

2009-06-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

Haaaapy Tuesday everyone! (hee hee) Nope, not sheepish at all about my silly sheep-isms either! ;0) Been trying to get everyone introduced to our sheep's friends- today is Mary & Joseph's turn! (and yes, those are the correct names- cute huh??)

Today I have some wonderful pictures of Mary & Joseph's Angora goats, and one of the two llamas that protect this lovely flock. These are some s p o i l e d goaties! We purchase their fleeces spring and fall- so keep an eye out!

Mary has a few white Angora goats, but most of the flock is a range of colors that is like a spinner's rainbow dream!

This is a new rescue to Mary & Joseph's place, his name is Phoenix. He came from a not so great place and is working on figuring out his new job protecting the goats. He is eating corn from Joseph's hands so that is a great sign! There is one other little mini llama named Casper (he is a creamy white color) that also helps around the farm- MARY, send me a picture!!!! tee hee!

Mary & Joseph are friends from way back and have been through almost everything with us- good and bad. I adore them and am so blessed to call them friends.....

Have the update done for this week so be sure to browse the website and the sheep's etsy shop! More blogging to be done tomorrow- we went on a road trip Saturday to Graham & Margarets! Yeeha! Hope you are all enjoying your day-smooches from the sheep!

Update Update read all about it!

2009-06-15T16:40:00.001-07:00

Well, at least picture all about it- tee hee! The sheep and I are running out of words (yes, really-although my mom would never believe it!) so here are pictures from today's update.... pictured above: Blaze Crazy Quilt Batts- Kirk McNair's Romney wool
Pictured above: Posie's Romney cross wool (Kendra's happy flock)

pictured above: Our Gilmore's 'Georgia' Merino x fiber....

The sheep have fun off now and say they are done working. eeps. They did update the website AND etsy so be sure to take a browse ok? Lots of new pictures coming this week from our road trip to Graham & Margaret's place Saturday....

Silence of the Goats.......

2009-06-12T11:17:00.001-07:00

Well THAT title sounds sort of ominous- oops! It has been a real rodeo around here- all around us farmers are baling hay. The smell of fresh hay wafting about the countryside drives our goats batty. Truly freaking batty. For example- today I got up, looked out my window to see the 5 goats, 1 sheep running around on the road- with a crazed llama threatening to jump the fence to be with her goofy flock. OMG.

Got them back where they belong, fed them breakfast and all was quiet.... I spent lots of time keeping an eye on them- and all of a sudden, THREE GOATS and A GIANT SHEEP on the lam? I called and called, rattled the food bucket with corn- no answer. Went out traisping around the hayfield with the Gatormobile, no critters in the hayfield. Back home, took the truck around the block- no critters. Got out of the truck, and wow, there was Phoebe (pictured below in her favorite box) running around the pasture to see what I was up to. Took my little pail of corn up and oops, there came the gigundo Sonny sheep, and the two missing goats- OUT OF THEIR FLIPPING HOUSE-the last place I would have looked-obviously. I think they need hearing aids. Right after I give them a talking to about no so funny hide and seek-or maybe hearing aids first? I can just hear them snickering away out there.... grrrrr.

SO, the goats had a party on me- Sonny is not so, well, forward thinking, he was just along for the ride. He has a lot to learn about being a goat! I hope my afternoon is a bit quieter- have SO much update work to do- and at this point, the update is moving to Monday (PROMISE IT WILL BE MONDAY)- and I personally thank you for your patience- life is a rodeo at the Homestead. Is it a full moon? Have to check- no goatie fruit loops tonight- turds. ;0)

Random thoughts....

2009-06-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Some regular old barn cleaning went on yesterday that got me thinking.... Follow me here.... (not often I can post a blog about poopy humor!!!) yey! OH, and mirror mirror on the wall, who is cleanest of them all???

CLEAN Ranking? (must say, top of the dirty list) Definitely not too worried about keeping their house clean-leave that to the people....
Clean Rating? Well, let's say a step above the sheep-they pick one spot, INSIDE-even though there are acres OUTSIDE? Again, we have people for that....

Clean Rating? Right up on top- second from best! They pick an OUTSIDE spot and that is IT. Hooray for fertilizing and recycling- and llamas/alpacas!

Clean Rating? The blue ribbon of clean goes to my little pot belly piglet boys. The do not allow anyone (humans included) into their house. They do not make messes in their house, AND are the only animals on the place that mow their own lawn better than we mow ours, AND (drum rolllllll) clean their own house! Who knew pigs were so clean huh? ;0)

Now that you know more than you need to about poop, thanks for stopping by! Wonder what we will think of next for blogging? (don't worry it will be woolie happy related!) Fruit Loops for everyone!

PS-someone suggested we up the Fruit Loop treats- would that make for more pleasant aromas? bwaaaahahahaha!

Update, mm mm update!

2009-06-03T14:16:00.001-07:00

I am running out of words- yes yes, I can hear the gasps of disbelief from here! ;0) Pictures and a web update for today! Pictured above is Olive's Romney wool from Kendra's pretty flock....
Suri Alpaca fiber blended with our clan's Romney wool, carded into a very pretty roving- called Grandma's Lilacs..... (pictured above)
Our Lucy's Targhee wool (pictured above) Gardenias!

Our Holly's Merino x wool- unwashed.....

AAAAAND, coated Coopworth wool from our new friend Jacob's animal friendly flock! We also have black/silver Coopworth on the site- this is special coated wool so incredibly clean and free of debris- and his price is incredible too- $10 per pound (unwashed).... Yeeha!

Hope you are all having a wonderful week and look forward to hearing from you when you can! Smooches from the sheep!!

what a week of posts huh? eeps!

2009-06-02T06:57:00.001-07:00

Weeelll, sorry for the week of not many posts! Had such high hopes! Shearing season is winding down and lots of great fleeces will be showing up on the site-including our own pretties! Lots to chat about so here goes- bwaaahahahahaha!

Kendra's beautiful Romney wool has arrived! The fleeces are outstanding- her flock started out as McNair sheep so the quality is wonderful- not your every day Romney! They have much softer fleeces than typical Romney fleeces. Kendra's flock features a variety of shades and colors! Be sure to have a look!

Beautiful prime Suri Alpaca blanket fiber from Jen's flock! We will be offering much more of her fiber asap- and look for her millspun yarn (spun at Argyle fiber mill in town) AND our combined blends of roving/clouds!

Cold Valley Jacob fleeces are in from Carl & Becky's flock! Beautiful shades of rare lilac in most every fleece. Soft, very free of debris and the crimp/locks are so cute! Be sure to check them out-you won't be sorry! Definitely NOT your typical Jacob fleeces and they do not hang around here long......

And the wool we have been waiting for- Jacob's Coopworth wool! He is a youngster with a happy flock that lives on the family farm in north central WI. The sheep are coated/jacketed about 6 months of the year- when they start feeding hay in the fall, the jackets go on! Wheeee! The locks are averaging from 4 to 8 inches of soft, shiny wool that will be SO easy to spin as is, blend, dye or? Yee ha! The price is right too- $10 per pound. The fleeces are well skirted/sorted so the wool is only the section that was under the coat.... ;0)

I will be updating the flock guide on our site today so be sure to stop in and read up about our happy, animal friendly flocks we are so lucky to help support! Hope your week is off to a great start! More very soon!! Cheerio- er Fruit Loops!

Up to my ears in wool!

2009-05-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed your weekend and had some fun- or rest- whichever was best suited to a long weekend! This is one of Dennis' rug hookings that I love- we have so many sunflowers here, but we don't let the sheep eat them! The birds & chickens get to eat those!

We will be updating the site and etsy shop late tomorrow- I have been working non-stop in the 'fiber palace' downstairs all weekend and I am chooched. Sleepy eyed shepherdess' make big mistakes so getting at the wool/website update early in the morning. You KNOW now that those sheep can eat grass, instead of hay, they are permanently 'out to lunch'. ;0) They will be back to work with me tomorrow too- even if they fuss. They know what a pushover I am for a pouty sheep face!

We have lots of new wool here and I will be featuring each this week- lots of blogging coming your way. We will also be picking up coated Coopworth Saturday- we adore the young man that owns this flock- and he adores his sheep. If all works out, we will be offering the Coopworth wool year round- giddyup!! (his prices are very reasonable too, despite my encouragement to charge more.... ).

Hope all is well, and please stop back again, lots more fun on the way!! Cheerio (and Fruit Loops from the sheep) tee hee!

What a wild week!

2009-05-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day spent with friends yesterday-friends that we actually call family- Graham & Margaret! I absolutely adore them! They have a very happy flock that gallops acres and acres of pasture-living the good life! We have a shearing party there each year to help them out, and we had so many people to help this year, it really WAS a party- except for our David the wonder shearer! Poor fellow- but don't be fooled, we take very good care of him! ;0)

This is a picture of the loot- gorgeous Scottish Black Face, Scotch Mule, North Country Cheviot and British Suffolk fleeces! They will be showing up on the website this weekend so keep an eye out! You can see more from our day of shearing on our Flickr account so be sure to browse about, and stop back in for our update this weekend.... Today is llama/alpaca shearing day here so if we don't get to your email promptly, appreciate your patience!! Toodles!

Monday Update!

2009-05-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

We are sort of out of words around here- no really--the sheep just finished the update of our website and Etsy!

Wildcard Lash yarn (first picture) and Ivory Crazy Quilt batts are listed on Etsy...

Sunflower Garden Lashes (our Treasure) is listed on our website....

And so is this gorgeous little Romney lamb's wool from our friend Kendra's happy sheep. Her flock started with McNair Romney sheep so there are just not enough words to describe how wonderful these fleeces are! Don't miss out-this wool is listed on our site too.

We will be updating the site again on the weekend-with new Cold Valley Jacob wool, Graham & Margaret's British Suffolk; Scottish Black Face; Blue Face Leicester x & North Country Cheviot- and of course, fleeces from our very own special sheeps! Have a great week, more soon!!

Wool Flurries? Er Storms??? ;0)

2009-05-17T17:56:00.000-07:00

Holy fleeces Bat Man!! We are catching up with our friend's little flocks and boy will we have wool for you!!!!

Today we got to visit with our friends Kendra & Paul (and their cutie pie kidlets)- while they dropped off their Romney fleeces! Kendra's flock is from the famous McNair Romney flock- the fleeces from Kendra's sheep are georgeous! Next to the skin soft, long locks, and beautiful range of colors! I have not had a chance to sort through any yet (picture above is a fleece from last year) so keep your eyes peeled- hope to have a few ready for this week's update- late Monday.

AND, we also have the Cold Valley Jacob fleeces coming in tomorrow! Giddyup! Most of you are probably already familiar with these gorgeous fleeces- many even the rare lilac color! Soft, VERY free of debris and well, just gorgeous! Look for them to show up on our update next weekend.....

This week will be absolutely off the map for us so please bear with us! We will be helping Graham & Margaret on their shearing day on Tuesday- another wonderful visit with some of our favorite people- AND David the wonder shearer!

We also shear our own llamas and alpacas on Thursday. Whew, we are gonna be tired but what fun- fiber fleeces everywhere!!!

We are also picking up a new flock this year- a very happy group of Coopworth sheep from Northern WI. They are owned by a dedicated young man who loves his sheep- and oh shucks, needed somewhere to market his wool???? ;0) Twist my arm! The wool has been jacketed/coated and his price is truly reasonable- you won't be disappointed! More on that as we have more info- I think we will have the wool in my clutches by the end of May. And that is not too far away- eek! Happy Sunday night everyone, hope all is well and look forward to hearing from you as you have time!

Turkeys in the compound!

2009-05-15T07:20:00.000-07:00

Right before bedtime last night, a sweet mama turkey came strolling through the yard, and hopped through the goat fence. I thought sure Chaquita would chase her out and was on my way out the door to be sure mama turkey got away safely. Chaquita llama is VERY protective of her g0at babies! She allows no funny business! She even decides when it is bedtime for her family (5 goats, 1 sheep) by chasing them into the little house, then sleeping right in the doorway so nobody can get past her and be naughty. She runs a tight ship! However, must have been because Ross was feeding hay, she totally did not even SEE that turkey! Silly old girl!

We adopted Chaquita from a friend a few years ago- she was not being so nice to her llama friend OR people friends. Spitting was her favorite way to show her displeasure in life! And her aim was pretty good too. She needed a job so we gave her our little goat family to watch over. The only time she spits (aka drools) now is when she is done being sheared. Enough is enough you know?! We adore her!

Here are two new yarns heading for the Etsy shop later on- the Romney and Romney x sheep all got together and had Argyle Fiber Mill spin their fiber into a 2ply, soft soft yarn! All animal friendly, just a new addition to our yarn selections. I dyed this up when it came back home- stuck on green I think I am!

Hope all is well and look forward to hearing from you- update planned for Sunday, Cold Valley Jacob fleeces come in Monday, Kendra's Romney soon, shearing at Graham & Margaret's Tuesday and shearing our llamas/alpacas Thursday.... talk about a whirlwind week-whew!

Fun updates today!

2009-05-12T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Hope your weather is treating you nicely-finally! It is warming up here for the most part, just have one more Angora Goatie (Odey) to get sheared tonight, then comb the Pygoras and wa-la, shearing done til llama shearing day on the 21st.... yay!!

The sheep added new batts to the CrazyQuiltHomestead shop, will be adding some snazzy yarn tomorrow too.
We are intruducing our new 'Elfin Batts' this week on the website! They are sections of large batts the Callaways had carded from their happy sheep's wool. I seperated some sections and had some fun with the dyepots! Too fun! I love my neighbors! Their oldest son is graduating from high school? Where DOES the time go???

And this is one of my favorite fibers in the world! It is Scottish Black Face wool. This is a very traditional, popular European sheep, our friends Graham & Margaret raise them- this is wool from their happy sheep. (we also have our Devlyn sheep who we purchased from their flock-yey!) Anyhoo, the wool is a medium feel, and we take it to Argyle Fiber Mill to have the wool we wash here run through their de-hairing machine to remove most guard hair. This leaves it in the poofy fun to spin/felt clouds. When this batch got home, the sheep dyed it some pretty colors- if you have not tried this wool, you really should. The yarn (or blends) spun from this fiber is durable, strong, felts easily and in my opinion, works into a project just like Linen yarn. Use a little pinch for texture in your batts? Card with a softer fiber? Just let your creative fiberista out of the box and have some fun!!!!

Our next update will be this weekend so keep an eye out- probably on Sunday. Hope you all have a great week and please email us if you have questions or need ANYthing!! Toodles!

A new sheepy adventure!

2009-05-08T16:39:00.001-07:00

WHAT??? Another new adventure? You heard correctly! Culley the Border Leicester is here to introduce you to the sheep's new shop- CrazyQuiltHomestead at Etsy!!
We have always admired and enjoyed the creative atmosphere at Etsy and the sheep finally got me moving to get them there. It has been fun to set up the shop, we will be offering our handspun yarn and Crazy Quilt batts. We will also keep yarn and batts on our website as usual- just expanding our horizons a little! Pictured above is Culley's single ply 'energized singles', one of the first yarns featured at CrazyQuiltHomestead....

Golly Green Crazy Quilt batt- new addition to CrazyQuiltHomestead this evening....

AND, we picked up the famous McNair Romney fleeces last weekend! Hip hip hooray! It is difficult to capture the fleeces on camera -but here is a reasonble sampling of colors. The McNair Romney sheep are beyond happy, wonderful and as you may have noticed, we have oink snorted many into our own flock over the years- they have great personalities AND fleece that is just out of this world! The fleeces are spanking clean and free of debris, locks of 5 inches +, pretty, shiny crimp, and next to the skin soft. Yeeeeum! The flock is a little smaller this year so fewer fleeces- and they never last very long. If you are interested in this fiber, just email the sheep!

Hope Spring has arrived with some nice weather for everyone. And please keep good thoughts for all the people, wildlife and pets affected by the fires in California. Our hearts are with them, wishing we could do something-anything.

Where have those sheep BEEN??

2009-05-06T05:50:00.001-07:00

Well let's see, the naughties have made a few get aways into the hayfield full of new grass- shame shame! They do NOT want to eat hay-even though they have plenty! Keep telling them, little bit longer and they can go out on the pasture. I will be SO glad- they are just tyrants right now!

Welcome our new addition to the family- Marney (we think she is a Jacob/E.Fresian cross) who came from Jenny's happy flock of llamas/alpacas. Jen saved her last fall from a sad fate- got her healthy and this spring Marney had a lamb- but it did not make it. Marney was so sad that Jen wanted to have her here so she was with other sheep-and our bottle lamb Wyatt.
And this is the ever elusive Lucy, our only Targhee girl. She is one of our shy sheep, and she lives in Keebler's little group of special needs sheep. She has a lopsided tummy, she was bred way too young (before she was 1) and when she lambed, her tummy ligaments snapped. She is a happy girl, and you really would not notice her tummy- and really, who cares!
Lucy has taken quite a liking to Marney, it is so sweet to see them take a new sheep, scared and frightened of a new place, under their wing to get them used to the routine- and not being so scared. It is a big deal to a sheep to be out of a routine-maybe that is why I like them so much? Although, I really do not have a lot of 'routine', at least none that I stick to. Just never know what a day brings here!

The sheep are working on an update- hoping for tomorrow but most likely Friday. Our surprise (and not in a good way) barn construction project is done, so now we are spending evenings and this weekend getting the alpaca/llama pens set up. Will be nice for them and allow us to keep fans going for them in the summer months. Yey!

Hope you are all enjoying your week and will chat more soon! Look forward to hearing from you when you have time!!

Monday Update & fun pictures!

2009-04-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! Hope your week is off to a great start-even if it IS Monday! ha! Here is a picture of a day in the life of a Ryan sheep- and Andrew the Great Pyrenees who has to 'put up with' his sheep! That is Sunshine the black Shetland on top of the bale, not long after I snapped this picture, her twin Mario joined her- and then a huge game of king of the bale followed! Andy can't believe his eyes! ;0)

This is another pair of sheep that made a great picture perfect! On left (white sheep) is Devlyn, Jim's Scottish Black Face Sheep- on right is Angus, my little Shetland buddy. They are very good friends- and right after this picture, Devlyn gave Angus a head butt to the hinder, and they ran off to play tag..... No rest for the silly right? Is that how the saying goes???

The sheep just finished updating the website too- lots of delicious roving, clouds, locks and more- be sure to stop by!
Above picture is 'Sultry Garden' created by our Rudy sheep (with carding help from Shari of Morro Fleece Works)

Pinks and purples are a wonderful pair for a Sock Hop! Soft and slinky Huacaya Alpaca fiber from our friend Jen's happy Alpacas- washed/dyed by the sheeps.

And last but not least, our Cosmo's locks- two colorways, this is Mystery Cove!

We have a lot more fiber on the way for the site, and the sheep are making progress on the fleece reservation list too- yey sheep! Hope your week goes well and look forward to hearing from you when you have time! Cheerio!

Buenas Crapas!

2009-04-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

Buenas Crapas you say? That is putting it mildly.... Now, would this sweet sheep (Cosmo) do ANYthing naughty? That is a big fat YES. Really. In fact, almost every sheep here is naughty today- actually a little beyond. All proud of myself for rolling out of bed early (7 am) again, all ready to get the day moving. Sat down at the computer and the phone rang- neighbors said sheep were out- in our newly growing hayfield??? WHAT THE @@###?

And they were correct- about NINETY sheep and their leader Dalai Llama were out having some breakfast. Not like we don't feed the sneaks, they just don't want hay- they see green grass that is not quite ready for them. Ugh. Need warmer weather and a bit of regular nice rain so the grass can get a good start- hopefully soon- our hay budget is shrinking....

SO, how long does it take to round up 90 sheep and an uncooperative llama? Well, it is 10 am and here I finally am. The sheep tattle on themselves- that part always cracks me up. They will all come running right back in the hole they made in our fence. Saves us time finding out how they escaped. However, there are always a few stinkers that absolutely insist on being elusive- and won't follow. They are exhausting! Namely Sweet Pea, Samuel, Willow- despite Devlyn's repeated trips through the fence to lead them back. Now he is a smart little sheep but even HE gave up! Honkey donkey Casper got in the action too, he stood in front of the area around the hole in the fence, chasing sheep away that tried to get back out. What a freaking exhausting day and it is hardly even started.....

Those sheep are very lucky I will always love them-and that they are so stinking cute! Come on pasture!!!! ;0)

Contest results!

2009-04-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

You are all so fun- the sheep have called the contest finito! You are all also very very good at naming sheep- even naked ones! ;0)

Here are the names of the naked sheep:

1)Pipi; 2) Steeler; 3) Gilmore; 4) Athena; 5) Aina and the bonus sheep was Frosty!

Our first prize winner is Faun D- and her sheepy present will be on its way this week. The sheep are emailing each of the participants today- so be sure to check your email later on!

As you can see, the sheep were probably scheming up this contest before shearing- don't they look all secret-y here? Stinkers! I know they enjoyed this contest so much that I am hearing rumblings of another one in the works soon-- be sure to keep an eye out! look forward to hearing from you- oh, also have our crashed/fixed computer home today- and wa-la, can receive email and not send? grrrrr. SO, keep emailing us if you need to, I can answer them and get them sent out as soon as Jim gets back home- he is my techno hero! ;0) Thank you again everyone and hope you had fun!!!!

Who's That NAKED sheep???

2009-04-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

It's contest time sheeples! This first picture is not part of the contest though- everyone wanted in on the act- including Sonny's giant nose! He is a smooch-but this was not a 'proper' photo for the contest- I promised he could be the surprised looking sheep at the top of the page! tee hee!

Here's the name of this game:

Name the Naked Sheep Contest

(wasn't there a song that went something like 'who's that sheep?' Or was it girl?)

*contest starts now :0)

*there are 5 different sheep pictured below -the first person to correctly name all five is the winner- and wins a surPRIZE from the sheep.

*The next 4 people that correctly name the 5 sheep will receive 10% off their next sheepy order!

*All contest emails must be sent to the sheep at the farm address: ryan3 (at) tds (dot) NET (sorry for being unable to print our own email! eek!)

*please let the sheep know if you knit/crochet or spin

Contest ends as soon as we have the 5 winners or Saturday April 25, whichever gets here first. The sheep will keep you up to date here on the blog. ALSO, if that were not enough (sounds like the sham wow guy huh?), the sheep are adding a picture to Flickr and Ravelry (there are links to the sheep's pages/groups on the side of the blog) that will be 'bonus' guesses- don't have to get them right but if you DO get them, would mean some extra surPRIZE fun! they won't be easy- be sure to take a look!
Remember to take a look at the website- we had a really fun update this weekend! On your mark, get set, GO!

Hello Sheeple!

2009-04-17T16:26:00.001-07:00

Yahoo and giddy up! The sheep are done a little early with tonight's update! Bet they are a drinking some strawberry daquiris-and once again, no invite for me-boohoo. Lots of pretties on the site today, be sure to browse about- the fleece shown above is from our Cosmo sheep....
Roving is a Homestead Gathering of sorts- several sheep got carried away on fiber to the mill day- what a happy blend, and their colorway choice is a great one for spring.

Even had time to get a few batts on the site- go Crazy Quilt for your next project!

And as promised, the sheep will be launching their 'Name the Naked Sheep' contest Sunday afternoon. Don't miss out- they have lots of fun planned and great surPRIZES too! bwaaahahahahaha!

Cheerio! (but the sheep prefer Fruit Loops...)

Update tomorrow, fun contest this weekend? Giddyup!

2009-04-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday everyone! The sheep are busy working on fiber for tomorrow's update, thinking it will be ready for you later in the day. Lots of new pretties- including Crazy Quilt batts! They have been busy busy sheeps.

They are also getting their new contest set up- more info tomorrow. All the fun will get started on Sunday. The only clue they will allow tonight is that the contest will somehow involve 'naked sheep'- oooh la la and oh my! Stay tuned and stop back tomorrow! ;0)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of our little Cosmo- when eh was a baby- always a sass when the camera is on that is for sure! (there is a surgical staple under his right eye- he was born with an eyelid that rolled in, with out the correction he would have gone blind) Thought it was a pretty cute picture of the day.... Hope you all had a fun weekend, full of family, good food and of course- fiber!

We are working from our old computer- be careful on the Internet! Our new computer crashed yesterday and is at Geek Squad so they can retrieve ALL our files. Ugh. At least we have this one to work on- but it is all hand writing- look out for your receipts! Might want to save your emails because I can't even get the printer to work. Never ends.

I hope scammers/hackers can find a better way to channel their innate ability/happiness about creating havoc and making others miserable--SOOON. What the ****? Sad that there is no other way to use what could be a talent.... maybe in computer security???

Anyhoo, hope all is well, our update will most likely be on Wednesday again so keep an eye out and look forward to hearing from you when you have time. Check out our links here too, the sheep love Twitter, Flickr and Ravelry -and would enjoy seeing you there! Toodles Peeps!