A Night in the Fiber Studio

 It was rainy outside tonight so I scurried to get the sheep and cows fed and put up for the night.  Sadie and Ladie were fed...Old Norm shut in with plenty of water and feed...hot potato soup for supper and my sweet hubby brought in the new electric spinner that he had built for the Kromski flyer,  not quite finished, the hard maple wood is not stained or finished yet but she worked like a charm.  This makes the 4th electric spinner he has made me.  I am turning out the yarn like crazy!  I spent the night upstairs carding wool to be ready to spin more yarn.  I also put on the dye pot to dye some homespun yarn black to be ready to knit another hat and felt it.  I have an antique hat wooden hat mold coming any day.

Wool and silk blend that I carded tonight

My Sissy never lets me out of her site.  She sits in the little Princess chair and supervises.

New basket that Ang got for my birthday...I love it.  I can carry my knitting with me everywhere.

New espinner Danny made for me...number 4.  He is perfecting  his idea and I am the happy recipient

I use my combs to comb through the tips of Birdie's wool before taking it to the carder.

My box of jewelry making supplies.  I also use beads in my knitting.

I would like to share the message for today out of my little book that I read  out of each day.

Carding the silver dyed wool...so long and fine.

Some of my latest hand spun yarn, spun on the new espinners

This is one of my homemade knitting needle tubes made from PVC pipe and caps.  Works like a charm to protect  my knitting needles while I am carrying them everywhere with me.

wool I carded tonight.

I am so blessed to have a flock of sheep that produces my fiber, a wonderful Husband that supports my hobby and uses his talent to build me espinners, tables, etc.
I pray that you too have a place to unleash your God given talents.
God bless and please come back soon.

Things that make me happy

I took a break from spinning today and went back through pictures  I  have stored on my computer.   I caught myself  smiling and relaxing.  What makes you happy?  I hope some of my pictures gives you pleasure.

This reminds me of the many miles that I am knitting as Danny and I travel.

My studio, where I play and keep my fiber toys, knitting needle collection, knitting caddies, old and new.

My pets and friends

Gentle Liam, BFL Ram, that gives me BFL lambs that gives me the wonderful fiber that I enjoy so much.

Einstein (above) AND sweet Miss Macy Sue (below)

 Einstein is a play boy, he is always squeaking a toy.  Both of these two little friends are with us most of the time.  They are ready to travel at anytime.

I love Spring and baby lambs

 some of the lambs from last Spring.  I love to go out to the pasture and watch the babies play.

 I enjoy watching Lady and Sadie taking care of their lambs, big gentle giants.

 Jumping with joy, playing in the sun and green pastures.

 Hot coffee and coconut cake...I will need to get my order in for the coconut cake for my birthday.

I smile about all the times that Lexi and I spent together, sharing our love for the sheep and the farm.

 I am thankful for the times that Danny and I have spent sitting together having our hot tea or coffee 

 The collections that I have stored in the beautiful old blue fruit jars.

 Handspun yarns from the fleeces of the Spinning C Flock.

 The fun I have making hats, purses, mittens from the yarn from this farm's fiber.

 Dyeing, spinning, and winding the homespun yarn into balls

 This picture of Lexi and Wyatt that hangs in my dining room makes me smile remembering the good times that I have had with my two oldest grandchildren.  I hope they don't remember me as the Nana that always had a camera in their faces. 

My two youngest grandsons are also a great joy in my life.

 Knitting gives me hours of pleasure too.

I think it is good for all of us to stop and count our blessings and just dwell on the good things.  I praise God for so many wonderful blessings.  God Bless you, dear friends and family.

First load of hand built pottery is out of the kiln

I used the homemade clay extruder to make the coils to build this yarn pot and then I  hand molded the leaves and berries to decorate my pot.  I put a hole in the other side to pull my yarn through.
This is the first hand built item that I made and fired in the used kiln.  (I was not expecting miracles but it will be functional.)

this small cup is the first thing that I turned on the wheel and will probably be one of the last things.  I don't enjoy  hand turning.  I prefer to hand build but I have to tell you...I still would love to have my fingers in wool over clay....I just love pottery pieces and wanted to give it a shot.  I will continue to practice when I am not working with my fiber.

Hand built, very crude, and believe it or not...I was shooting for crude.  I have a very old farmhouse (over 140 years old) and  it screams country,  I plan to put a bouquet of flowers in this over a foot tall pitcher and sit it in my kitchen on the kitchen table.

I also had some bowls and a teapot that came out but none of them tripped my trigger!

Up-cycling Old Spinning Wheel Parts

Danny found a box of old spinning wheel parts that he had planned to use as patterns to make a new spinning wheel on the lathe.  (We have been cleaning on his shop so he has room and organized to do some wood working.)  I had made the comment that I would like to have an electric spinner so that my hips and legs would not hurt.  AND...the next thing I know, I have 3 espinners.  He is enjoying making them and continues to tell me that he is perfecting the espinner.

This large espinner (aka.  Big Bertha) has fascinated us from the time we purchased this flyer.  We did not know what wheel that it originally was made for...any idea????  I wanted a wheel with the wide orifice so I could spin some of the designer yarns...tails, loops, bumps, etc.

This is what he came up with.  He has a button switch with a variable speed controller, I just set it and all my yarn is uniform and no foot petal....I SAID "NO FOOT PEDAL."

I can spin lots of wool fiber in a very short time.
Hehe...I spun wool from my largest ewe...Big Bertha on  my Big Bertha  espinner.

Thank you Danny...you are the greatest.  He has ordered another used Ashford flyer and  another flyer and motor  so I see at least 2 more espinners in the future.  I think he enjoys making them and knowing him, he will start to refine them and eventually they will look like a beautiful piece of art.  Until then, I am spinning yarn and giving him feed back and watching for used flyers and spinning wheel parts.

A couple of girls at the school need to raise money for a school trip...their parents told them that they would need to earn some money for the rather expensive trip.  They got creative, got small and large ceramic tiles, added the wall paper with decoupage and then gave a good protective spray.  This is one of the 12x12 tiles and they also made sets of 4 coaster sets.  They are so cute and neatly finished...they had people buying multiple sets.

I think this will find a home in my fiber studio.  

God has blessed us so much and I pray He blesses you and yours in all your coming in and going out.

I got the dye kettles back out last weekend and dyed Gerty's fleece.    I can picture the colorways in my head, dreaming of the batts that I will produce out of my favorite fleece.

This is the drum carder that I would like to sell.  It is in very good shape and does a wonderful job...I  will be getting  a new one that is larger and motorized so that I can do more in house wool processing.

Little ewe lamb from last Spring.  Loved her fleece.

Picture taken the last and one of the very few snows that we have had this winter.  It feels so odd to have  no snow after the winter we had last year.  Ahhhhh, I will take the winter we are having and praise God!

Cable knit hat that I have already sent to Michigan.  Angie loves hats.

more colors

For some reason I am having trouble editing the pictures and loading them where I want them today.  This is more colors of fiber from the dye pot.

I am sorry that my blogs have been so far and few lately.  I have been battling a cold since last November and about the time I think I have it made, I come down with another cold.  I go to work, come home, do chores, fix supper and clean up and go to my recliner and crash....get up the next day and do it all over again.
I have also been having trouble loading pictures to my blog and once I get them loaded....they just go where they want to go and I can't rearrange them.
Lambing won't start until April.  I will soon be cleaning lambing jugs and preparing for the new babies.
Next month we will be shearing again.  Only 19 sheep this year!  We won't spend the whole day shearing....I kinda like this but I do miss my girls that I sold.
I am talking to other BFL and BL breeders to get some more registered ewes. (just a few)  Our fiber continues to improve with every passing year.
We may get some snow the first of the week, and that is OK but I am praying that we won't get the freezing rain.
Valentine's Day is almost here, what are you dong for your Valentines?