Pet, Patty, and Bunny!

Yay!  We got all three!  Pet, Patty, and Bunny!

"Bunny" is a ram, born to "Astero" and "Acorn."  He is the first lamb from the set of girls we bred to "Acorn."

"Pet" is a ewe born to "Red Heart" and "Duncan."  You can see "Duncan" below.  He is standing in front of the lambing jugs.  Lambing jugs, what a great invention!!!

The panels from our lambing jugs can be rearranged into almost any position I need with the use of removable stakes.  That makes it easy to accommodate the needs of the ewes and lambs.  You just have to love them!

Lambs - Snowy, Snowdrop, and Patty

Hello World!  We have had three lambs this season; still more on the way.

This is "Snowy," he is the first all white lamb we have had!  Of course, he was born the day before a snowstorm.  It never seems to fail that lambs are born during the most miserable weather or right before, ewes seem to have unusual timing!

I should not have been surprised that he was all white when his father, "Duncan" is a beautiful white also.  However, check out his other babies below. . . 

"Patty" was born to my sweetest ewe, "Sage."  "Patty" has earned her name from Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  We have been reading the series as a family read aloud and it has been great fun!  Pet, Patty, and Bunny are three of the horses in the story.  Therefore, if we have two more ewes they will be named Pet and Bunny.  

"Snowdrop" was born during a snowstorm this week.  Her mama is a solid moorit with a beautiful chocolate brown fleece.  I am surprised to only see a couple brown spots on her lamb and two brown ears.  April seems to be one of the snowiest months here in Lander, WY.

Stay tuned for more lambing updates. . . 

"Brickless" Shawl

I am teaching this shawl class at our local art center: Lander Art Center, Lander, WY on Saturday, March 28 and Saturday, April 4 from 10 am to 12 pm.

This is another delightful pattern from Martina Behm!  This is an asymmetrical scarf with three pattern repeats; lacy pattern, garter stitch pattern, and a ribbing pattern.

I made a set of cards with the repeating patterns and put them on a ring to help keep track of my rows.  As I complete a row I flip the card to the next one and keep going!

I am blocking this shawl as I write this!  I decided to block all at once because it will be hard to keep my kids away from the table for one day, let alone two days.

"Yeah, Kitty is Done!"

This is what my son shouted as I presented her to him.  She has been dubbed, "Whiskers."  

This is not the best picture but it gives you an idea of my first knitted stuffed animal!  Pattern was from "Knitted Farm Animals" by Sarah Keen.  Up next, the ewe for my middle son. . . 

Musings of a Homeschool Shepherdess

Most people assess where their lives are at each year when the new year rolls around, so, I guess I am a little late or have a more difficult time sitting down to put pencil to paper.  I have realized that my life revolves around four main themes:

1. Homeschooling my three boys;

2. Acting as a shepherdess to a flock of woolly Shetlands;

3. Knitting and Fiber Arts;

4. Building a house (this all consuming endeavor will hopefully be over by the end of the year!)

You are probably wondering where I am going with this . . . I am going to manage only one blog for both knitting and the ranch, in addition, I am going to expand the scope of my blog to include my musings on homeschooling and education.  Enjoy!

In Sheep's Clothing

In Sheep's Clothing, A Handspinner's Guide to Wool by Nola Fournier and Jane Fournier is absolutely fascinating!  Okay, I just proved my fiber obsession, but I know some of you will like it too!

This book is not for the faint of heart. . . it is absolutely packed full of information about different sheep breeds and how to process wool at home for spinning.  Watch out sheep lovers, after reading this you may want to bring a little lamb or two home from a fiber festival this summer!  A major chunk of the book is dedicated to the different sheep breeds and the properties of their fleeces.  Charts are provided as quick reference guides for the different breed fleeces with categories such as: softness, elasticity and loft, staple length, luster, and felting properties.  There are charts for each category of sheep: fine wool, longwool and crossbred wool, down-type wool, other wool, black ad colored wool.

I found the last three chapters to be the most important to me.  The many fleece preparation techniques are concisely described with good pictures.  I especially like the section with the diz!  The first time I ever saw a diz was on The Woolery webpage.  I had no idea what one was or how to use it.  I looked through my numerous spinning and knitting books, there were only brief mentions of it and nothing that really helped me understand how to use a diz.  In comes YouTube, upon a search I did find a couple good videos that showed me how to use one. Enough on dizzes and back to the book.

I wish I had had this book when I first started carding fleeces.  I think it would have made it easier to decide if a carder or combs and a diz would have been better.  Live and learn!

I also learned about some other tools that are less often used but valuable such as a picker. One nice aspect of the book is that the tools are paired with the type of fleece (in general terms) that work well with that tool.  For my Shetlands I think combs are good for some fleeces and carding will be fine for others. I think a picker does not fit my life as I have little children but maybe when they are grown I can experiment with one. 

All of this information is grand but you really must experiment in order to discover what works best for you!  Happy Spinning!

Circular Swatching

Circular swatching?  What is THAT?

I remember thinking this the first time I needed to swatch in the round.  I use the magic loop method of one long circular needle (usually 32-40 inches) for my sock knitting or any small tube knitting such as arms.  (You can do the same swatching using double pointed needles.)  When I cast on for a swatch in the round I place the recommended number of stitches plus 4 to 8 more.  I then knit one row.  Next slide the work all the way to the opposite side of the needle; the yarn should be on the wrong end (this is good!).  You will wrap the yarn around the back of the work, I always pull it looser because you want your swatch to lay flat when you are measuring the gauge.  If it is not loose then a distortion will occur and it will be hard, if not impossible, to get an accurate reading.  After you have wrapped the yarn around your knuckles behind the knitted fabric keep knitting!  Then repeat the procedure until you have a swatch the size needed for the pattern.

One bonus for this method is that you do not have to count the rounds because you can count the loose strands behind the work and that will tell you how many rounds you have knit!  Easy!

Mini-Circular Swatch

Circular Swatch View from the Top

Side of Circular Swatch