The Start Of The 2019 Tour De Fleece

As I posted last week, our team captain this year is Maisie.  She's let it go to her head just a little, but so far, so good...unless something has happened late today and I haven't heard yet.  I happen to have a small sheep in my "inside flock" that reminds me of Maisie, so I've picked her to be my spinning mascot.

She's wearing a warm jacket because I have turned the air conditioner in the Wool House on high :-o.

I'm spinning something pretty neat this year.  17 years ago, when I was just getting started with our wool flock, we were gifted five Jacob sheep from a kind shepherdess in Indiana.  I really didn't know what to do with So Much Wool (hahahahaha), so I had some processed into roving and some into quilt batts.  

I think I must have divided up the black and white wools because I remember having some light gray batts and one dark one that I kept for myself in hopes I could find someone to make a real quilt from our barn quilt. Sigh...

You know...I thought this spring...rather than just sitting in the loft, that dark batt could be re-run as roving.  Roving from our very first five Jacob sheep.  Wouldn't that be neat?  Like an historical do-over now that I'm a better spinner...and those sheep are no longer with us.

This year for the Tour I'm spinning Elizabeth, Esther, Jester, Joshua and Jacob :-).  There are 2.5 pounds of dark gray roving.  I'd like to spin all of that, but I'm off to a slow start, so I may not be able to reach that goal...but I'm going to try.

So what is Mini Maisie looking at in the picture above?

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Posting this here so I can post it to the blog. It will all make more sense in a bit 😉. #tdf2019 #jacobsheep

A post shared by Sara Dunham (@thecrazysheeplady) on Jul 7, 2019 at 7:03pm PDT

The legacy of those five Jacobs :-).

And we're off!

Grays

I completed Clue 2 for the Hole and Sons Tales of Purbeck MKAL (mystery knitalong) on Saturday. Don't get too excited.  It was a short clue ;-).  I'm approaching the end of my white yarn and enjoying the pattern so I know I'm going to finish the shawl and therefore need more yarn.  Since I'm ahead of schedule with the knitting, early Sunday morning was a perfect time to do some spinning.

I'd found a small bundle of light gray core roving in my stash.  Core roving is two colors, one wrapped around the other.  This particular batch was medium gray core with white wrapped around the outside.  When you spin it the yarn looks almost tweedy.  Hmmm, that might be a nice transition from the white yarn into the medium gray yarn.

Drop spindles are a perfect tool for samples like this.  I keep a spindle (or two, maybe three ;-) at the house for just such instant gratification.  Golding spindles are my favorite and this beautiful swan spindle (and sheep holder/stand - look closely) was a gift from a special friend.  I've been dying to give it a whirl.

Nothing says class like spinning with a fancy spindle...and then skeining your yarn around a cardboard box ;-).

The other option I found in my stash was a few ounces of dark gray Jacob roving.  I'm trying to remember when I did the three colors of roving - light, medium and dark gray.  It's been awhile.  If I had to guess, this would be Elizabeth, Jester, Joshua, Crazy Esther and maybe Emily and Annabelly.

Here are the two new color choices in tiny skeins.  The small ball of gray is the Jester yarn I already have picked out.  The light gray core roving on the right - now this is kind of odd - is a completely different gray from the other grays next to it.  Not that the other grays are brown exactly, but there is a hint of a muted color in there that is missing in the light gray.  Pretty, but not for this project.

So here is the color plan.  The gray mini skein is the same yarn from the ball above, just re-skeined. I'm going to switch over to the medium gray next, maybe with the next clue, and then finish with the dark gray. Actually, I'm toying with finishing the very end with a red/brown edge.  Any guesses as to why?

Eli, displaying his grays.

Some phone shots from later in the day.  Thanks to another good friend who had come over to pick up half of Woody's fleece and ended up giving me a spinning lesson (this is quite a racket I have going on here :-D) I have nearly a full bobbin of (hopefully) perfectly matching yarn to ply up today. I was planning on spreading mulch, but gee, it's raining ;-).

Liddy prefers driveway grass.  We don't have another sheep on this farm that we could pay to weed eat.  She's a keeper!

And when she gets tired, she sits down with the rest of the dogs ;-).

Folks, I Think We Have A Winner!

I have really been struggling with my mitten pattern choice. What I want to make either isn't available as a download, won't work with the yarn I've spun, gets some "complicated" reviews... I had dreams nightmares last night about Norwegian mittens!

I finally found this pattern, read the reviews, looked at other people's project notes, color choices/examples... Okay. I downloaded the pattern and while it was printing on my beloved, but temperamental old printer that cannot be replaced (if I had to pick one word to describe me it would be Obsolete) I was perusing the designer's website and look!!!



Does that Zig Zag cowl look familiar???



So I find exactly the amount of spare roving I need to make my yarn yardage, I find a pattern that will work with my not perfect handspun and it's from a designer I've successfully knit with in the past?

Let the Mitten Knittin' begin!

By the way, the pattern I picked is End of May Mittens, the gold and maroon pair on the top row. And honestly, the "stress" of picking patterns and yarn is part of the fun. Really. Go pick a pattern, any pattern and join us.

All Sheep Go To Heaven

Crazy Esther is warm, surrounded by friends and ambling around belly deep in green grass.

Sunday Stills - Self Pics

Your pic, the only difference between this one and last years is this year someone else can take your pic but with your camera. So, smile and lets meet the blogger behind the blog. I’ll have to use a tripod or one of my Joby Gorilla Pods since I’m on the road… :-)

Me and ole' Crazy Esther.



Since my friend Reg had just recently taken my picture, I decided to head to the archives - my big pet peeve and something I never do as I use Ed's challenges as true 'get out there and learn something new' challenges. However, if I could bend my rule and thus avoid having my picture taken... ;-).

For more Sunday Stills...

The Punkin's Patch Knitting Group

I finished the Crazy Esther cowl last night. As always I learned some new things, got better at some things, over-thought some things, didn't measure some things (cut me some slack, I did knit a swatch...sort of), had to improvise some things...the usual.



Here is the picot edging that got my attention when I was perusing patterns on Ravelry. I probably should have blocked each point and might next time I wash it. This pattern is Zigzag Cowl by Mandy Roberts, a free download.

You'll notice that it's not the same pattern I sampled...sort of. First of all I decided I wanted a slightly bigger yarn than the first sample. No problem - that's the beauty of spinning your own. Then, even though I thought I'd compensated for the extra thickness, after the first 6 rows, I realized it was ending up too big. Probably not really, but I hate sloppy cowls and wanted it tighter on my neck.

I stewed about it for a day, didn't want to rip out the picot edging that I liked, decided to decrease 8 stitches, change to a pattern that fit that number of stitches - you real knitters out there are cringing. I can see it. Anyway, knit on with confidence... It worked out.



My only complaint was, of course, again my own fault. The pattern called for knitting 4 repeats of the pattern or until you reached 7 3/4 inches or something like that. I didn't really measure, thought it looked like it was going on a bit long, but decided that was okay. A scrunchy cowl would be warmer. Didn't realize that scrunchy would trump pattern the way color always trumps pattern.

Again, stewed on it for a bit. Thought about ripping back a couple inches and then decided to leave it. It will be warm (the main purpose) and I can pull it up over my mouth when it's super cold.

Moving on to part two - or maybe this should have been part one.

We are in the middle of Indian Summer. Beautiful, warm, but not too hot, sunny fall weather. I decided to sit and knit with Esther yesterday morning. As we sat together I thought, boy, I sure wish Iris could learn to take pictures (rather than get into Saint Tim's fishing stuff and eat some gross salt infused plastic fishing thingies, luckily without hooks).



I remembered that I'd gotten a remote control for the D40x that I'd never tried. This would be a perfect reason to learn something else - the fun way, rather than the hard way, as my knitting lessons tend to be learned. I got the camera, set it on an upside down water bucket, focused, sat down with Esther and punched the remote for a test picture.

It blinked, clicked and took the picture. I love it when a plan comes together!

That D40x is a great little camera, by the way, in case anyone is interested. It takes nice pictures, has some great features, is lightweight and you probably wouldn't throw up if Graham Lamb got ahold of it like you would if he tried to use the big girl camera.



"Hey Esther, that was pretty cool. Let's see if it will take another or if I have to reset it each time."

Click.

"Sweet!"

Doesn't it look the two of us are sitting there talking about knitting? I think I was explaining to her what I was trying to do with the camera and what I was holding and why. And I can see the extra length of that cowl coming in handy, covering up that double chin. Yeesh.



"Really, you use a size 4 needle when you are knitting worsted weight?!?"

"Yeah, see?"



"Well, you're right, it does work. It wouldn't be my first choice, but I guess if you're a sloppy loose knitter..."

Seriously, I wonder if she somehow knew that was her wool.

You'd think that was the end of Monday morning knit group, but she and I both started to get too warm so I helped her up and into the shed and then went over and sat in the shaded barn overlooking the rest of the flock in the front field.

Petunia, Woolliam, Boudreaux, Keebler and Buddy wandered over to see what I was doing and were fascinated. Standing on top of me, looking over my shoulder, sniffing the yarn, trying to eat the needles fascinated. The boys lost interested pretty quickly, but Petunia stayed for a long time. It was super neat knitting with a sheep. I tried to take some pictures with my cell phone.



Where is Iris when you need her...

The Velveteen Rabbit

No, no, don't worry. Crazy Esther is still happily munching hay in the barn this morning. Her worn out body, legs that don't work, tattered horns and shabby fleece with brown and white spots just make me think of the story of the Velveteen Rabbit and how a much loved stuffed animal becomes real.



Yesterday's cold was hard on her. Today, sitting in the sun, she looks pretty happy. Hospice care.



I spun up a goodly amount of her yarn Thursday.



Yesterday I plied it.

Sometimes I spin two bobbins full and then use my lazy kate to ply the two bobbins together. Since I didn't need much yarn, I just spun one bobbin, wound it off into a center pull ball and then plied it back onto the bobbin from the two ends, inside and out.



This usually works fine, but near the end the ball can collapse on itself and create a huge tangle. When it gets close, I pick the ball up off the floor, run a finger through the inside and keep everything straight as I finish.



This may fall into the category of too much information, but you typically spin the singles with the spinning wheel turning to the right to put twist into the loose fiber. When you ply, you then do so with the wheel turning to the left. As it winds back onto the bobbin, some of the twist you originally stored into the singles untwists and the plied yarn becomes a little puffy-er.

Notice how full the bobbin of two ply is compared to the same amount of yarn as a single ply in the first picture.



There are a couple steps between taking it off the bobbin and winding it off into yet another ball, but that's a post for another day. This is the finished yarn.

I cast on and started knitting the Crazy Esther cowl last night and am hoping to hit it hard this weekend and see if I can finish it - a challenge (for me ;-). I'm putting on a picot edging - another challenge (for me ;-). I try to learn something new with each project, big or small.

Enjoy your weekend!

So, Um, Have You Checked The Calendar?

Maybe because it stayed so hot for so long, I got lulled into thinking it was still summer. I'd forgotten what a dreary day looked (and felt) like.



Oh, yeah.

At least the sheep are happy.

And honestly, I don't really mind either. It's the perfect excuse to hang out in the wool house...



...which was 54 degrees yesterday. Time to fire up the Jotul stove!

Ah yes, much better.

So, winter is almost here and this is the time of year when most fiber folks thoughts turn to the holidays. Finally. I mean, there might be a couple of you out there who have all your holiday knitting done (and should just keep your mouths shut about it!), but while we've all maybe thought about it, we've just checked the calendar and the thoughts are quickly turning to panic.



After all that you might be thinking this knitted sample must be for a Christmas gift, but, alas, it is not. I finally took a break and spun some of Crazy Esther's wool. It's a little bit fussy to spin (getting old ain't for sissies - her, not me! ;-), but is so soft (she's always been finer than probably the breed standard would approve - Jacob wool should be pretty "medium") that I have zero concern about wearing it next to my skin.

My original idea was to make a fancy lace Esther shawl, but after I realized how soft, cuddly and warm it felt and how tough it might be to spin a perfectly even and, more importantly, strong lace yarn, I think that would be better left to some Cotswold. Maybe a Buddy shawl :-). So, I'm going to start with a quick knit lace cowl, move onto some cabled mittens or gloves, add a snuggy hat or headband and Esther can keep me warm all winter. I think she'd like that.

Luckily I think I've finally figured out the general idea for this year's Christmas card. I can fine tune it while I spin. Whew! I don't need a ton of yarn and I picked a pattern that I feel will knit up quickly, not be so lacy that it's not warm, be sturdy enough for daily wear and in case I don't finish it before Esther's no longer with us, will hopefully make me feel less sad. Leaves of grass.

Since the weather's cold and I'm officially back in the wool house, let's start up The Thursdays again this winter. Barring any national holidays, illness or other calamities, the wool house will be open each Thursday from 1:00 - 4:00 for anyone who'd like to come out and spin, knit, rug hook, weave or work on any projects, say, for Christmas.

Yikes!

Aging Gracefully

I was bringing T-Bone out of the middle paddock the other morning - the four horses had all been back in the run in shed. As we walked down to the gate heading for the front field and barn lots, I heard fast moving, thundering hoof beats coming up behind me. Miss Aria. I could almost hear her yelling "LET. ME. THE. HECK. OUT. OF. HERE!!!"

At 28, very arthritic, having some trouble breathing in the high heat and humidity, if she was making that much effort to get back to the front field (most likely away from the boys with whom she maintains a love-hate relationship) I figured she deserved to get out. I let her through the gate.



She happily claimed her very own stall at the barn - no boys allowed - and settled right in.



Over the last several days she's started hanging out with Esther. I think mostly because Esther gets extra cookies and hay, but I've noticed she's very, very careful around her, treating her much as she would a foal.



Hank takes good care of everyone. Whenever the sheep separate out into two groups - in this case Esther up on the hill and the rest out grazing - he sits in between where he can keep an eye on everybody.

Maybe a little closer to his little old ladies.

Restored

A lost sheep back in the fold. This was the stitch marker from the sleeve of the sweater hijacked during Keebler's great adventure last week. I'd assumed it would turn up, but was starting to lose hope.



He looks happy to be home and now both sleeves are finished and surprisingly none the worse for the wear. I even found the artist's tag from the basket. All is temporarily once again well.



With all the wool finally gone, I was able to reclaim not only the floor space and carpet, but also my big loom. It had been surrounded by yarn fleeces and quilt batting for so long that I'd almost forgotten what it looked like. I'm hoping some nice handwoven dishtowels might sooth her hurt feelings.



It's also cooled down enough I could turn off the air conditioning and open the windows. This makes the biggest difference in my day. Seriously. I miss hearing the birds singing, sheep talking, chickens cackling and myself think.



If it's cool enough to open the windows, it's cool enough to sit out on the porch and spin in the evening too :-).

That's a basket of Crazy Esther. I'm still sampling for just the right look. I want it to be textured enough to truly represent Esther in her old age, but yet not so funky she wouldn't be proud to know it was her.

Finally a fun problem to solve.

Things That Make You Go Awwwww

I've been hiding in the wool house during the heat of the day(s). As I got ready to head in for dinner, I glanced over the front field and saw something I thought I'd never see.



I tried to silently run get my camera and sneak back and snapped this picture through the fence just in case Hank woke up or the sheep decided to make a run for the barn...



When I'm faced with a once in a lifetime photo opp, I try to always switch my camera to program mode so someone smarter than me is setting my exposure... I knew it was just a matter of seconds before someone blew my cover.



I wish I'd set the aperture myself though so both Hank and Esther were in focus. I got so caught up in the moment and it never crossed my mind to think for myself ;-).

How sweet Hank looked sleeping up on the hill overlooking his sheep. And right next to the one sheep who would need the most protection. The one sheep I thought would never recognize Hank as an ally and let him lie down with her.



Awwwww.

My Little Pony

This is one baby I have no prayer of picking up. Ewen McTeagle. Possibly my favorite sheep of all time (shhh), well besides Punkin of course.

Ewen was a funny little bottle lamb...with issues. He hated all the "nice" nipples and would only drink from one of the big, nasty, rubber smelling (and surely tasting) black ones. Shudder.



He didn't want any lamb food. In fact, he didn't want anything you told him to eat. He only wanted to eat food you specifically told him not to eat - cat food, dog food, bird seed... We'd put his food up on a table, almost out of reach...and he'd eat it.



Here he is with Clover Belly, while not our biggest Jacob, definitely not a small sheep. Ewen is a Hampshire/Suffolk cross and stands about waist high to me.

I have so many funny stories about McTeagle (click his name in the word cloud to the right if you'd like to see some more), but maybe my favorite is the first time I tried to trim his hooves.

If I'm working by myself, I put a halter on each sheep, tie them to the wall, pick up each foot... No problem. I got to Ewen. I put the halter on him. I tied him to the wall. He fell over like a big oak tree. No struggle, no fuss, just boom, down he went. And he wouldn't get back up.

At first I laughed at him (bad move apparently), then I started to get worried as he didn't get back up. What on earth?!? He continued to lay there. I couldn't get him up (and he was much smaller then), but he looked fine, so I went on and trimmed his feet. Still didn't want to get up. I sat down with him, he put his head in my lap, just crushed.

"Why did you do that? You could have just told me you wanted to trim my feet. I just don't understand why you did that..."

We sat there together for about 20 minutes and then finally he decided he was okay so he got up and we never spoke of it again.



It was cool(ish) this morning so I grabbed the camera and walked out back. Hank stayed by my side the entire time and lay at my feet while I took some sheep pictures. Crazy Esther had stayed back at the barn and after awhile got lonely and started hollering for everyone to come back. They were eating and not interested in doing any such thing, but Hank jumped up when he heard her and ran back about half way to make sure she was okay.

How can those sheep not love him???

The Center Of The Universe

You may have missed this in your grade school science classes. The center of the universe is not the sun, or the flat earth...



The center of the universe would actually be Graham Lamb. And by being the center of the universe you are entitled to many perks in life...such as always getting to sit right. in. front. of. the. fan. Every day. Reliable as the sun. Yeah, um, I don't know why you are always getting beat up, Grammie.



Even I don't get to sit there. And he eats my dog food too.



Poor old Esther. She's hanging in there in every way except her feet. We can't find a thing wrong with them and maybe it's actually arthritis in her ankles, but she's having a hard time getting around. I'm wondering if she could have some aspirin. Any thoughts?



Ewen McTeagle. My big baby. My dearest child. No question who his momma is. We are both miserable in this weather. I think standing in the hay manger is a good strategy. Close as possible to the fan. No one else can crowd you...



I know I'd be using that horn for something other than a back scratcher, Emily. Seems like Caspar Belly is old enough to go sleep somewhere else. Like the hay manger.