So in the process of packing up and moving my fiber stash and equipment over, I kept hearing this little scratch-scratch going on. We have six kitties so I figured it was one of them. Willie was hiding in the big picnic basket full of exotic fibers that need spinning. He's so funny. Must be part Siamese because he 'talks' all the time when he's playing or wants something. I met the most interesting lady at the craft fair a couple weeks ago. She visited the new studio the other day and has gifted a friend and me with some beautiful wool yarn from sheep she used to raise. All spun and on cones. I want to wind a warp, then do some dyeing (fiber painting) before I put it on the loom. Not sure yet what to make, maybe a large shawl. Its way too delicate for a rug. Good news, yesterday we went to the Fair and I won a blue ribbon for my bamboo scarf. That thing was the hardest pattern I've ever tried. Worth it however, it turned out so beautiful. We had fun and ate a lot. Couldn't believe I was hungry again last night. Today I will try to get a project finished in the studio. There are so many going on, I don't know which one to do first. I've just about got all the black alpaca from Oso spun up, and had this idea I'd like to see a little brown / black / white tweed yarn to use with it. So I lightly carded some together and am spinning it now. I think when its plied, it will be pretty in the black alpaca scarf I'm going to weave. I've got Mawata silk hankies to dye, more pygora, alpaca, bamboo and wool sitting there calling me to dye ... so much fun!

Its so nice to have some time finally. After a long summer of so many things going on here at the farm we've finally reached the point where I'm getting my house back in order. We've managed to take most of the studio and shop furniture over to the new building and at last I'm able to find my living room floor. As is my norm, now that I have time to finish up a few projects I'd already started, I have a bunch more in my head I can't wait to start. Room for dyeing, new warp on the big loom, finish the warp on the little loom and maybe even get my tapestry loom up and running. I did finished the bamboo scarf for the fair. We're going on Friday. I'm always afraid to see what the judges say about my things. Mostly they are so nice. I also re-homed my chicken flock this morning. A very nice lady from Spokane WA came over and picked them all up. Wow, finally I can sleep in without hearing those silly roosters seeing who can cock-a-doodle-do the loudest. Ah, peace and quiet at last. Bella is doing so beautifully. What a sweet and gentle little girl she is. We just love her. Here's a more recent picture of Bella doing what she does best ... what a ham!

Wow, what an awesome and busy month we've had here on the farm. The studio and shop were finished just this weekend. Blanchard Daze went smoothly and we met some super nice people. Lots of interest but so many are so busy with other stuff. I don't know why we do it to ourselves. I for one have had to learn when to say 'no'. I've nearly finished the bamboo scarf I started last spring ... that's a year ago last spring! Beautiful pattern but difficult for me. To many different repeats. Maybe I will finish in time to enter it in our county fair. The yarn I took to the show was very well received and now I have room to make more. Oh boy. I hope to get some new storage areas to put fiber and yarn in. I got my big Herald loom moved over already. Both spinning wheels, all my dyeing equipment, and now I just need to get the bags and boxes of fiber that have been taking up all the room in my house moved. And I'm having so much fun! Pictures later this week when things are cleaned up. All the animals are doing so well. The weather was so hot for so long, then a nice cool break with rain for a week or so. Now its getting hot again but everything has greened up. If the lawnmower and lawn tractor hadn't broken at the same time my yard would certainly be mowed. What a good excuse not to!

I'm so excited. We have two new members added to our household. A few weeks ago we fostered three more kittens without a mom. After turning them back to the animal rescue, last week one of the kittens wasn't doing too well so we brought him home again. What a difference a little TLC and some different kitten food makes. He's now thriving and terrorizing the entire house. The other little person is a new Great Pyr puppy. She is around 10 weeks old I think, just a beautiful little miniature of our Dolly. She's got dark spots on her head, ears and body. We're thinking of calling her Bella because she's so beautiful. I've been working hard getting my fiber and yarn ready for Blanchard Daze which is Aug 15. We have a booth this year and I'd like to get more people interested in spinning fiber for yarn. I plan to do demos and it will be a hands-0n type booth where you can purchase handspun yarn, fiber to spin your own, and also Ashford spindles with which to spin the fiber into yarn. I really want to show that you don't have to spend a fortune to get into this wonderful relaxing hobby. The turquoise and white merino / silk shawl shown below was spun on a spindle. Our new studio and shop are nearly finished so I will finally be able to clear out my house. Right now you can just barely walk from room to room for all the fiber-y piles of stuff. Here's a pic of Bella ... she's so cute!

One more added to the herd this month. Here's Wasabi. He is so cute! What a little sweetheart. He and the two other little guys Apollo and Harley, always are together. When they eat the adult white alpaca joins them. Seems funny but the white ones kind of stay together and the other three are content to stay with each other. Everyone gets along for the most part. Once in a while someone has to have a 'time-out' because he is getting a little too rough, but they all live and sleep together. I've been spinning a lot, mostly Oso's black fiber and plying that with some beautiful spun silk. I was so impressed with the colors of the silk I decided to try dying some on my own. It turned out very nice ... red and yellow with the colors blending in the middle. I like to think of it as Tequila Sunrise. Pics when I get it done. We've had a busy summer, remodeling the oldl guest house into a new studio for me and a workshop for daughter. Now we can get our 'stuff' out of the house and out there where we can really make some messes. Uh oh, now I have no excuse for my house being messy. Hmmm, where did I go wrong? I'm learning to make videos with my camera so maybe I will do one for the blog soon.

They're finally here! Apollo and Harley were sheared and brought home Saturday. How cute are they? You decide by this picture of them. They are quite a bit smaller because they are so young and are a little intimidated by the 'big' boys. They seem to be blending in very well, each day getting easier for them. Nothing is quite as soft as baby or yearling alpaca fiber. Right now I'm working on some of Oso's beautiful black fiber from last year. I've spun a single and plyed it with a single of some Mawata silk hankies that were dyed a beautiful dark turquoise and purple. Wow, with that black alpaca, its really striking and extremely soft. Guess I better do some more of the same. We're remodeling the old house on the property and will make it a garage, two shops with a small bedroom and bathroom. So much nicer. Now my studio can be out there instead of upstairs.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I salute all our veterans including my brother Dave, for their service to our country. May God bless each and every one of them. Thank you. Yesterday we got the four alpacas sheared. Finally! I'm sure they were all so happy to rid themselves of those hot sweaters they have been enduring. The temps have only been in the 70's but even so, they were too warm. I got over 12 pounds of blanket fiber off them plus the 2nd and 3rds. We keep it all separated; I will send the blanket fiber to Going To The Sun Fiber Mill in Kalispell MT and do something with the 2nd and 3rds myself. GTTS does such a fantastic job. So far I've gotten rovings and lace-weight yarns done. Thank you Diana! I will spin the 2nds and maybe try a little felting work with the 3rds. We got the goat side of the barn finished this weekend. Now the alpacas and the goats each have their own areas to eat and sleep in if they wish. Most of the time they prefer to be together, but when they eat its so much better to separate them. Dolly seems happy no matter which side she is on. She's so sweet and calm. Nothing disturbs her except loud noises or strangers. Such a love. Here's a picture of coming home after taking them to be sheared. The gray alpaca is really my white one after rolling in the dirt because it feels so good!

Spring, finally. The last week or so has been much warmer. We're shearing the alpacas this Saturday. I'm sure they will be so happy to get rid of all that hot fiber. And I'm getting two new babies the following Saturday. They are young and named Apollo and Harley. So cute. We will shear them when I pick them up. Finally got another side put on the barn. Now the alpacas and goats can be separated for eating and it gives them so much more room without them having to go inside the barn. I plan to use the barn this year to store hay. That way I won't be carrying it over to the pasture daily. I can carry almost enough for one day, but with two more boys, that would mean two trips. Since I have a booth this year at our local fair (very small), I really need to get busy preparing my fiber and other related things. Hopefully more folks will get interested in spinning and weaving. Right now I'm still working on spinning the black alpaca fiber and also some beautiful dyed silk hankies. Both of these will be yarn for sale in the booth.

Good grief, April already.  Where is the time going?  Three days into spring!  Since we've had snow every day this last week it sure doesn't seem like it.  Went to a friends a couple weeks ago, here is a picture.  The babies are so cute! My babies are all getting along well.  I think today is the day we shear the little goats.  Its been so cold I've been holding off, don't want them to get chilled.  The weather is warming up now so hopefully everyone will be ok.  We have been going to garage sales and went to a swap meet yesterday.  I bought three old pickle crocks for nearly nothing.  They are great for holding fiber-y stuff.  I will have a booth at our local fair this summer, so always looking for stuff for that.  I've been working on my spinning, trying to get some yarn made up to sell.  Its hard for me to knit any more but I do love the yarn.  Pics when I get some done.  I like dying and spinning and blending fibers.  I guess I'm partial to a tweed-y type yarn.  Its so pretty when you make something.  Come on summer!

Well, tomorrow is the first of March. I just realized I haven't posted here for some time. I've been busy trying to keep on top of things at home, get everyone fed morning and night, and trying not to make my back any more sore than it is already. Today I finally bought a tractor to make things a little easier in cleaning up around here. With winter's end approaching rapidly, there will be plenty to do with the animals. In the past I've done it all by hand with my daughter's help. This year hopefully the manual part of the labor won't be as much. Its a cute little Kubota, just my size with a bucket on the front and a snow blade. WooHoo. The chickens are getting big enough to butcher. Since I've got only two hens out of my remaining 11, I won't be sorry to see and hear those roosters go. They are so noisy and start crowing around 3am every morning. Between them, the coyotes that run past nightly and howl, my big pyr barking to warn them, and the wild turkeys that are now back, its a cacophony of sounds all night long. I finally found out where the moose were entering the property, its along the fence all the way in the back. Two very large trees came down on the fence and broke it in several places. How easy for them to just walk over the downed fence in the very deep snow and just keep going. I can't fix it yet as the snow is still too deep and the ground still to frozen. Welcome spring ... hurry hurry.

Check this out! This guy was hanging around my house for the longest time. I had gone down to the chicken coop with the border collie when she started barking and barking. Just about the time I told her to stop and come back, this guy peeked around the corner of the coop. I ran as fast as I could back up the driveway. I was so scared! I decided to go feed the alpacas and the goats over in the pasture instead and when I came back, here was Mr Moose camped out on my front porch. Waiting for his breakfast I guess. Mom and I were inside taking pictures (without the flash on). This one I took from upstairs. When he heard me open the window for this picture, he put his big front foot on the edge of this roof and looked like he wanted to climb up. Our snow is so incredibly deep that he was nose high with the edge of the porch roof. I was on my way to Arizona that day and wasn't sure I would be able to make it out of the driveway. If he decided to stand in my way, I don't think my little car would have been a match for him. Luckily he decided to go eat somewhere else.

My trip to Arizona was fruitful. My mother-in-law passed away and I needed to get a lot of paper type work accomplished. I met some wonderful people in the process. The weather was cool and very windy but nothing like ours here. It was 12 degrees this morning when I got up. Quite a change from 70! I had almost (almost!) forgotten. I'm so glad to be back home. All my little animal friends were so happy to see me ... even J2, my snooty male kitty came and made himself comfortable on my bed last night. Hopefully now I can settle back down and get some spinning done before this winter is completely over.

Almost Christmas. Time passes so quickly any more. I've been knitting tiny little newborn baby hats to take over to the Open Arms Crisis Pregnancy Center. I hope they like them. Its been a fun project. More snow that usual has fallen already and its only the start of winter. We had about 27 inches in 24 hours. We've had moose in the yard too. The snow has drifted in the back by the fence and I suspect the moose just walked right over the 6' fence there. I left and front and side gates open last night so they could get out, but this morning there were no large footprints so I guess they didn't go out that way. I'm so disappointed! One of my goats ate a very old gold earring I was wearing. LoverBoy (so aptly named) loves me and loves to taste and nibble my fingers, face, hair, ears. He reached up this morning and grabbed my ear and I heard the earring unsnap. He gulped a couple times and bye-bye :-( No sense grabbing him, they are so fast. Everyone is doing well in the pasture. I had to take the snowblower over a couple days ago and plow some paths for them to run around. They were so happy to be out of the barn and shed, which are remarkably warm even when the wind blows like it has been lately. Just getting out of the draft sure makes a difference. This picture is almost the same one as at the very top of the blog. Some difference! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.