Meet Sally and Holly

This was taken the day we brought them home. Three months old. They were born on April 24, making them Tauruses. And boy, are they ever bullish. They are, by the way, Gulf Coast Native Sheep.

The other day, Holly broke off a horn. That was an adventure. We all survived. I have the little 2" horn on my altar of all things natural, bony, feathered, petrified etc.

Now, I have to say, they are growing like mad, and thriving, or so it seems. Their fleece seems to be growing awfully fast considering it is 99 degrees most days. It's about 2" long right now.

They're still skittish as all get out. But they love my husband. Bringer of the oats. Oh, every time he walks out the door, they call him. They have a special Baaa for him - it ends in "O". Almost like their saying "OOOOOATS!!!" I just rate the standard Baaaaaa.

Esther Bear

This is my version of Calorimetry worn as a collar. I shot this on Thelonius, because he is much more photogenic than I. I haven't seen anyone wear this "headscarf" in this way, but it works for me.

One skein wonder

Hel-lo happy needles. Knitting on size 8's was like using telephone poles. I swear. But, as DH drove 300 miles, I knit. Polished off Calorimetry in no time flat.

True enough, I've been neglecting this page since Ravelry allowed me entrance through its golden doors. Cripes, that place sure can suck up yer time. It's also a maximizer of all things wooly! Fabulous. If you, dear reader, are not yet a member, promise to sign up!

Back to the project...I wanted to post my version of Calorimetry...knit of that lovely GCNI dyed with the Florida state flower - coreopsis, and with marigold and marjoram (yellow and green respectively). The button is a hunk of coral. It's lovely.

Tom says that a sweater knit "like that" (meaning with a lofty yarn on large needles) would "tear itself to pieces," but I beg to differ. This yarn is good and strong, it's loft is due to the fact that it's a singles yarn spun woolen on a handspindle.

I can't wait for a chilly wind.

coreopsigold

Here's a little 1 oz skein of new handspun. Coreopsis and marigold flowers provided the color. The wool is Gulf Coast Native Sheep. This is a 1oz skein. I'll be putting up quite a bit more on the ol' Etsy page. And, it's up on Ravelry, too.

s m i tty so c k s are well on their way to being done. Just a bit more to go on sock #2. My 1st 2 ounces of coreopsigold yarn will become calorimetry.

ah geez - obsessed

Well, that ole Pandora's Box was opened when I started poking through my bags of fleece yesterday. Last night, after the fleece dried, I started carding. I've taken a couple of pictures to show how fine and springy Gulf Coast fleece can be. The first picture is a handcard loaded with crimpy locks. The second shows the handcards in position to begin carding. It was just too darn hard to take more pictures of the process. I really need that extra arm, sometimes.





Picking through the fluff to get rid of any second cuts (which were few and far between...just the occasional little blob), and aligning the locks makes for nice rolags. In carding, the fibers are aligned, and rolled into a tube of fluff. It's important that this roll of fiber be consistent, so that the spinner (that would be me) can draw out fiber smoothly from which a thread can be spun.

Here you can see a few rolags. They're consistent, and the fiber will be easy to draw.



Finally, the end product...8 1/2 ounces of rolags. Doesn't look like socks, does it? But, this is at least a couple pairs.



All morning, I make X's and O's and -'s on a piece of graph paper. Drove my husband nuts, I tell ya. I'm working out a sock pattern just for this wool. I'm inclined to leave this batch natural, and just create a design that will show off both yarn and fabric pattern. What good stuff! Thanks to Margrett at Running Moon Farm for this fleece!

Scouring Day

A couple of days ago, the University of Florida dispersed their flock of Gulf Coast Native Sheep (GCNI). Fortunately, a few farms got the word, and purchased them. These sheep are "heritage" sheep. Brought to this continent by the Spanish in the 1700's and let go wild, the breed became acclimatized to the Southeast. These sheep are famous for their resistance to parasites, pleasant diposition, and conformation. It's fortunate that the farms who picked up the UF flock are passionate about preserving the breed. One of these days, we would like to care for a small flock. Until then, I'll be working with Gulf Coast fleece from farms down the road apiece.

I haven't spun any sock weight GCNI yet. So, I dug through the studio, and there - AH! A box of Adelina (cream colored) from Running Moon Farm. AND a bit of Amber (wonderful dark grey/brown). Dirty. Ready to jump in the tub. And here we have a day with no rain. 100 degrees. Higher in the sun. Alrighty!

So, I grabbed enough of Adelina for a couple pairs of socks. Here's a picture of unscoured (dirty) fleece:



This washed up GREAT! Now, I have 8 1/2 ounces of lovely creamy fluff. Margrett from Running Moon Farm confirms that her husband loves his Gulf Coast socks. So...now, to dye or not to dye? This is clean Adelina:



Back to the dirty fleece...I had that bag of Amber all over the bed, and up jumped Artie to check out the doin's. At first, she wanted nothing to do with the stuff, but then...then she got a whiff. Here's a pic of my 13 year old Artie with her new mom, Amber:



And just for comparison...here's some dirty Border Leicester. This is my standard sock making wool. But, not this week. It's a longwool breed, nice gloss, silky but spins up with a nice halo. I made a pair of Baudelaires au naturel last year. I've never received as many compliments as I do when I wear those socks.



Tonight, what's it gonna be? Carding and spinning? Or knitting with some "storebought" yarn? Hm. We shall see.