I've been 'baad'

How did September get here already! I guess summer was pretty busy, and I am really terrible (baad) at keeping up with this blog. I vow to do better! Maybe if I ever get more followers, I will be more inspired. Well, here is an update on summer:

1. I survived the one-day lavender festival. It was a beautiful day in Champaign County, and I was lucky enough to have a view of the lavender fields all day. I didn't sell a lot, but I still made more than I usually do at the winter market. Not a great time of year to be selling wool products!

2. We spent the weekend of the fourth in Missouri with Zac, Rebecca, and Lucia - I presented Lu with her July hat, a red, white and blue beret for celebrating Bastille Day.

3. I started teaching a class at Wright State at the end of July, while Jerry prepared sheep for the Ohio State Fair.

4. We showed the white border leicesters - 1 ewe lamb and 1 ram lamb on Sunday, August 2nd. The ram lamb was third in his class, and the ewe lamb was first in her class and reserve champion overall. On Tuesday Jerry showed Othello and Sporty Spice (black yearlings) in the natural-color show. Each received first in the long-wool division.

5. Mid-August was the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan. I headed north with Eileen and Ruthann for 3 days of spinning workshops before Jerry came on Friday with 6 head. Othello was the champion natural color long-wool ram. The ram lambs were first and second in their class and also won first as a pair of lambs. I also got a first place for a skein of yarn, which made me feel like I must be doing something right.

6. Lucia received her August hat - an OSU football helmet.

That brings us to September. This weekend is Labor Day and I will have a booth at the annual West Liberty Lions Park Festival. Hope to see you there!

Latest Knitting Projects

I've been working on several projects getting ready for Lavender Field Day next Saturday. I tried 2 different styles of market bags. They are usually made from cotton yarn and crocheted. I knitted one in cotton and then tried one in the wool yarn from our sheep. They are both nice, but I actually prefer the wool one - seems sturdier and it is much larger (and still has stretch!). I also have homespun yarn from 3 different sheep and in 3 different natural colors.

I am also working on a basketweave scarf that can be wrapped and buttoned...pic to come later. It is made from a purple alpaca yarn I bought in Maryland - very soft and nice. Included in my inventory next week will be a lot of children's hats, some scarves, and a few felted items. I guess I better get busy!

Coming Soon!

Not much to report right now. Jerry's been trimming sheep getting them ready for August - Ohio State Fair and the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan around the 15th. We'll take the black ewe (Sporty Spice), the new black ram (Othello), and at least a couple of lambs (no names yet!). I'm also planning on entering Othello's fleece and a few skeins of handspun yarn into competition. I really just want to get an idea of how I am doing compared to other spinners.

In the meantime, I'm getting things ready for the first annual Lavender Field Day at the Freckle Bear Lavender Farm in Champaign County (6332 Nine Mile Rd.). There will be all sorts of great foods (including amish baked goods) and crafts. I will have homespun yarn, hand-dyed yarn, hats, scarves, market bags, etc. for sale. I will post some pix over the next couple of weeks to highlight some of the items. We hope to see you there!

Fleece at Wooster

We made it to Wooster. It was great to catch up with new friends we have made through the border leicester connection. The Koeppels from Ann Arbor were there and did very well in the sheep show and won the fleece competitions. We saw Barbara Thompson and her daughter's family (Seldom Seen Farm) from Rhode Island, and of course the Fogles from Raymond, who have been very supportive. The people are all so nice and helpful - a great community.

Jerry had hoped to buy a new black ewe lamb, but he didn't see what he wanted, so decided to wait it out. We did show 2 fleeces for judging. The white one was too short (Jerry gets carried away with trimming), but it did sell! The black ram's fleece (see picture) ended up in second place - I guess he was a good buy! I brought that fleece home. By the way, we decided to name him Othello.

The Wooster show had a good turnout with many vendors - gets bigger and better every year. I got many ideas to try out in Fern's Fiber Studio for fall open houses and the market.

Wooster

The Great Lakes Wool and Fiber Show is this weekend in Wooster. The featured breeds this year are Border Leicester and Tunis. We are not taking sheep to show or sell, but we are taking some black fiber from the new ram and white from one of our 2-year old ewes. We are hoping to find out what caliber our fleece is. Then hopefully we will know what we need in order to improve fleeces.
Hope to see you there! Here is the URL for the show:
http://www.greatlakesfibershow.com/

Time to get serious!

I am ashamed to see that I last posted in November! I had good intentions, but being both very busy and a bit technologically challenged, I kept putting off adding to the blog. Here is an update on our sheep-related activities:

• We were in the Louisville area the day after Christmas dropping off wool at John Guffey's for processing. We stopped in to visit with Diana Anson and take a look at her BL's.
• Lambing is done. We lost 3, and ended up with 10.
• We bought a black ram after traveling to Wisconsin in April to check him out. He has a nice fleece.
• I have continued to go to the Worthington Farmer's Market at least twice a month. I haven't sold much, but there seems to be a lot of interest in my spinning, yarn, and knitted projects.
• We went to Maryland for the Sheep and Wool Festival (huge affair!), but Sporty (our black 'champion' ewe only came in 5th place (more on this coming up).
• Next we have the Border Leicester show and sale coming up in Wooster on the 23rd of May.