Shearing Sheep

Learned alot about shearing sheep and llamas last week. It was lots of work, but lots of fun with my spinning guild friends!

This is a sheep fleece I brought home. Hope to card and spin it myself...we'll see how it goes.

Spring! and first skein from Smokey.

This is Smokey, my beloved angora rabbit at 8 weeks old - isn't she cute?? She's bigger now, but looks the same.

I clipped her a few weeks ago and spun up some of her fur. Slippery stuff, angora is, but I think it turned out pretty good for the first time.

South GA is a beautiful place in the spring....azaleas everywhere, dogwoods opening, pine pollen all over everything, sneezing, wheezing, coughing....you get the idea. But it beats snow and long winters.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to be a Penn State fan in southern GA?? I think there's 4 Penn State fans within a 50 mile radius. This calls for a membership drive....

Learning to Crochet

I know, I know...didn't need another fibery hobby. But my friend Jerolee was here from Athens and showed me how to do this. Perhaps I can make baby blankets for all of my friends who are having babies.

Spinning mohair shetland blend

My friend Elizabeth from Yahoo Death by Socks (she is my very favorite assassin) sent me a Christmas surprise box of all different fibers. I finished spinning the 50/50 mohair shetland blend last night and it turned out nicely. Trying to think of what I want to knit for myself...after I finish the 56 other unfinished projects around here....

The Loom is Looming....

Here's my Union Carpet Loom - inherited it from my aunt a few years back, and recently put it in my living room. Even if it's taking me months to warp it, it's a great conversation piece and makes guests think I'm even more eccentric than they thought...

Well Read Bun

Smokey, my French angora rabbit, really likes magazines....well, really likes to chew on magazines...but her favorites tend to be healthy ones. She like my Curves magazine, and is very fond of Martha Stewart.

Here's a pair of Monkey Socks I've finished for Christmas using Trekking XXL yarn. Love that yarn, and this is a great knitted sock pattern. Have to wash and block them, but hey, the knitting is finished!

Making Cane Syrup

Today was a BEAUTIFUL south GA day, and a perfect one to make cane syrup. We arrived at the farm a little late for the pressing, but our friend Tracy is demonstrating how it's done with a tractor/contraption that squeezes out the juice into a bucket, while the tractor driver(used to be mule) gets dizzy going round and round and round.

Next, the juice is boiled for hours (and hours) in a caldron and skimmed to remove impurites such as wax from the cane and anything else lurking in the boiling caldron.

It's getting close to time for syrup now, and the way it pours off of the edge of the bucket lets you know if it's ready. (I would need a thermometer to figure this out, but I think I got it by what it looks like....)

It's ready - time for Cosmic Ray and Donald to pour it through cheesecloth and filter out any remaining plant/bug parts.

I had the all important job of moving the empty bottles into position to pour....

Time for biscuits! Yum!

Plan Ahead....

Aren't these cool socks?? They were going to be a Christmas gift, however.....I'm running out of yarn. And better yet, the company who dyed this yarn is not making anymore at the moment....so, progress is halted on this pair of socks.

Homemade soap

Cosmic Ray is wondering if Walmart is no longer making soap or socks, since I seem to be making both of them at a fast pace...but here's pics of my soapmaking endeavors with Lindsey this week. The soap on the left has chocolate swirled in it, just because I think chocolate is good on the outside and inside of every person. The soap on the right is lavender - nice circles using a Pringles can as a mold.

Smokey gets a haircut...she's slightly embarrassed...

Smokey has lost her baby coat, and I have 2 ounces of angora wool to spin! She looks a little "sheepish" and isn't quite sure if she likes her new look....she is enjoying hopping around on our new plywood subfloor we're putting in our front room.

Silly wabbit....

Still enjoying Smokey, the French angora. She likes to hop around on the tile in our dining room.

Had fun dying roving at the GA National Fair on Saturday - dyed some merino rovings with indigo. The pot of dye looks nasty - yukky yellow green, but it's a miracle when you pull it out and let the air hit it - it turns a beautiful blue!!

Smokey comes home...

Here she is - I'm now the proud owner of a French angora rabbit! She's 4 months old, friendly and loveable, and I can't wait to spin some mittens and socks from her. She came home with me today while I was attending a spin-in at the GA National Fair in Perry, GA...I wandered over to the rabbit show and was smitten. Stay tuned for bunny updates.

Spinning is a beautiful thing....

Here it is - the yarn from Alix the Shetland sheep. I've started a pair of socks with some merino for accents...think I'm going to TRY to knit a sweater, too...if I'm brave enough. But who needs a wool sweater in South GA?? I'd get to wear it once or twice/year...

Here's my newest spinning project - I met a great lady in Newnan who was spinning angora from her bunny. She was kind enough to send me some to try - it is SO SOFT. I now want an angora rabbit...but Cosmic Ray is not being too agreeable....hey, they are smaller than sheep, and don't eat as much....

Tour de Fleece starts soon!

My family thinks I've totally gone over-the-edge now....but this is a great idea!  Spin while those sweaty folks bike all over France!  Click here for more info and join today.

Back to spinning the mountains of roving from Alix, the Shetland sheep.

Alix's Fleece Arrives!

Alix, a moorit Shetland Sheep from Sheltering Pines in Michigan, gave me this beautiful fleece.  I had it processed in Indiana at Wooly Knob and it's spinning up nicely!  Think I'll make a sweater...or socks....or a shawl....or hats....decisions, decisions...

Fibery Goodness for Mother's Day

My kids and husband surprised me with these beautiful rose quartz merino rovings from Main Street Yarns and Fibers in Watkinsville, GA....they were up in north GA for a 4-H contest and stopped there to by my present...they did good!! It spins up soft like a dream! The sock started on the right is from some yarn I got from Sheri at the Loopy Ewe - it's called Las Vegas Brights and it's very colorful and soft. Hope all mothers had a great Mother's day!

Kool-aid - more than just a fun drink....

I've been dyeing some superwash merino rovings with Kool-aid and having a great time!! The colors are bright, it's easy and the kids like helping...

Spinning, spinning....

I've got a new addiction, er hobby....spinning with my Kromski Prelude spinning wheel. I spun this blue-faced leicester wool into a double ply skein last week. Now I'm trying to decide whether to dye it, or knit it into something as it is....it's so soft, I feel like knitting it into a stuffed animal....

I spun some wool rovings from the Sheep Shed Studio, plyed 2 singles together and knitted this hat for my daughter. She loves it!

Zokni Socks

My mother's family is from Hungary, and I thought it would be fun to make a pair of socks with a Hungarian connection - Zokni means "socks" in Hungarian. This pattern is found at Pepperknit.blogspot.com I'm using Lisa Souza sock yarn in the Violets' Pink Ribbon color and the yarn is gorgeous and soft...can't wait to wear them, but I think my oldest daughter is claiming them for herself.

Monkey Socks Finished!

Loved this pattern from Knitty.com! Worked up nicely in Lorna's Laces Iris Garden yarn on #1 double pointed needles! Daughters are fighting over who gets to wear them....