Trip to the Spinnery

On Tuesday we went to the Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney,VT to see our white wool being made into yarn!  The Spinnery's carding and spinning machines were made in the 1930s.  It was so cool being able to see our wool, that used to be SO dirty, really clean and finally being spun.  Because Mom's cell phone is broken, we didn't get the message in time to see the wool being carded on the big machine and made into pencil-roving last week.  When you card the wool it makes all the fibers go in the same direction. Then it is divided in to thin strips called pencil-roving.  Once it's made into the roving, it is twisted into "singles" which can then be plied into yarn.  Here is a bobbin with the singles...

We had our wool made into very fine singles so we could ply two strands for sock weight and four strands for sweater weight yarn.  This is about as fine as you can get Border Leicester wool - they weren't even sure they could get it as fine as Mom wanted it, but it worked perfectly!  When we were there, we saw four strands of the singles being twisted together to make four-ply worsted weight yarn, like the yarn used in traditional Aran sweaters.  First the bobbins were put on the top of the spinning machine and the strands were threaded up through some eyelets to keep them from getting tangled and to help maintain tension.

Then they were fed down through some rollers and finally through red travelers, to keep the 4 strands together as they are being spun onto bobbins.  Gail set everything up.

She spun a little bit of yarn, and then we got a sample off one of the bobbins.  It wasn't quite right - there was too much twist in the yarn.  See how the bottom is twisting?  It should hang straight.

So Gail had to change the gears...

Here is the spinning machine spinning our yarn...  It is wrapping very quickly around the bottom bobbins, which move up and down so the yarn wraps around the whole bobbin and not just in one place.

Here is me and Gail (you can see in the background the bobbins are lower)...

And here is the second yarn sample, with the correct twist...

I love our yarn!  It's a beautiful round yarn, very soft, and it has a nice halo (the little fuzzies) because it was spun woolen, rather than worsted (it's worsted weight, but not spun in the worsted way - the Green Mountain Spinnery only spins woolen because that's how their carding machine cards.  It's a little confusing, but I can explain it if you ask.)  Since it is white wool, it is from the fleeces of Cutie, Jumper, Lucy and Baa Baa.  The colored wool from Miss Fudge, Amy and Bunny is going to be carded and spun next.  We're going to go back to the Spinnery to see the colored wool being carded.

After we get all our yarn back from the Spinnery, we are going to go to fleece and wool shows and sell our yarn!  We might dye some of it first.  And I've been working on designing a label for our yarn, which we are going to call Mimi's Woolies. When I get a few more samples sketched up, I will post them and you'll have to tell me which one you like best.  But for now, what do you think of our yarn?

The Fox is Back

We have bad news from Sunday.  The fox is back and attacked Tulip, our gentlest chicken and one of Anna's favorites.  We actually saw the attack, which happened at noon, in broad daylight.  I looked out the window and saw a red fox running low in the pasture right toward the sheep shed.  Even the sheep were huddled in the shed - they know a predator when they see one.  We ran out and scared the fox off Tulip, and it ran right through the fence like it wasn't even there.  The openings are maybe 5 inches square, the most.   We had no idea they could fit through so easily.

Tulip is recovering now, getting antibiotic shots in addition to having the wound cleaned twice each day with betadyne and neosporin.  Here is a photo of Tulip and some of her friends from March.  She is the beautiful black chicken...

 

All the chickens and Buttercup are being kept in a small chicken wire enclosure for the next few weeks so they are safe.  Anna is making sure that they get plenty of treats - apples, oats, leftover pasta and greens - to keep them as happy as possible since they can't scritch-scratch all over the pasture like usual.  We set a trap, covered it with branches and leaves and baited it with chicken (from the store!), but at some point, even if we don't trap the fox, it will move on if there is no food source for it here.  I'd prefer to trap it, though.

Meet the Animals - Bunny

Our youngest little sheep is Bunny.  She is 4 years old and was a bottle lamb.  When she was a baby, her mother Amy abandoned her.  Right after Bunny was born, Amy went to the opposite end of the pasture, leaving Bunny all by herself.  Little Bunny tried to nurse from any sheep that was near her, including Jumper our ram, and even from the chickens!  Right after that, we went out and got the bottle.  Here are some photos of me (I'm six years old) and Bunny in our house after she had a bottle...

                                   

Even Crash loved the little BunBun...

Bunny was so small she could slip under the gate.  Whenever it was time for her bottle, we would call "Bunny" and she would squeeze under the gate and run into the house, right to the sink where we mixed her bottles.  Then she would hop up and down on straight legs and make a "THUMP, THUMP."  Then we would go into the entryway and give her her bottle.  Even Grandmom gave her a bottle!

Now she is a big, happy sheep (although still a little smaller than the others).  Here is a photo of me and Bunny this past fall...

And here is a photo I took of Bunny Saturday.  Because she is our smallest sheep, she is the best at getting grass outside the fence!

Also, on Saturday Bunny got into our house! By accident I left the front door a little open, and Bunny pushed her head in to eat the hay out of the egg basket we keep by the door.  I got the camera and took this picture...

But then, she pushed by me and went into our house and was clomping around next to the piano.  I pushed her out, but it was hard.  And look what happened to the egg basket...

Bunny tries to get in the house a lot, and sometimes succeeds.  I would definitely describe her as one of our naughtiest sheep.

Please leave comments on my blog and let me know what you think of Bunny.  Is she naughty or nice?  Also, how did you like my first post that I wrote by myself?

Hankies for Anna

One of the ways we've tried to minimize our environmental footprint is by eliminating paper products from our home.  We have used cloth napkins exclusively forever, and we  have a nice, full rag basket for cleaning up messy, dirty or germy things (rags get washed in their own laundry load with hot water and a touch of bleach).  This summer I decided to make some flannel hankies for Anna - a girl with a perpetually stuffy nose - so we could stop buying tissues.  I was originally concerned about the germ factor, but I can report that after 8 months of only using only soft flannel hankies, Anna has actually been sick less than in past years, and her cute little button nose hasn't been red or raw once!  Yesterday I made six more hankies to add to her supply...

Whenever we go to Joann's fabrics, we check the remnants and scoop up whatever 100% cotton flannel they have.  Just a quarter yard can make four hankies, so they come out to be much less than $1 each.  I just sew a quick scallop edge, trim between the scallops, and they are set to go.  For washing, we swish them around in hot water and washing soda for a few minutes before putting them in a regular load.

And here is the girl who loves her super-soft hankies...

p.s.  Just to let you know what is coming on the blog... Anna has come up with the idea to write a "Meet the Animals" post each week.  She has already started going through old photographs so she can show off her  furry, wooly and feathery friends not just now, but also when they were babies!  Should be cute!

Signs of Spring

We have had some beautiful, warm spring days this week and have been able to spend a lot of time outdoors.  It's nice to be able to get some laundry on the line every day now...

Chloe sometimes slips outside to roll in the dirt on a huge rock in the sun....

Anna was out and about looking for more signs of spring.  Here is our seckle pear tree leafing out, but in sad shape structurally after surviving a sheep attack in the fall.  They broke through the fence and not only did they eat ALL the pears, but they also stripped most of the branches off and ate them, too.  We should get a few pears this year (see the blossoms?), but we'll have to replace the tree at some point since it doesn't have a strong scaffolding of branches.

Here is Anna's favorite type of daffodil...

Anna was also in the woods looking to see if our Lady Slippers have sprouted.  We were concerned that they might not have survived because we didn't have much snow-cover this winter, but she found some, including two sprouts right next to each other, so they must be multiplying!  Yeah!

She also found some fuzzy fiddle-heads...

The earlier spring sunrises have also been nice - early light means it's easy to get up early to bake bread for breakfast.  Here is Anna brushing some sugar syrup on the hot raisin and orange peel buns....  There is nothing like warm buns fresh from the oven with a cup of tea for breakfast!

Living in Western Mass, we're probably behind everyone else's spring (except maybe Peter, out in Colorado).  What are your signs of spring these days?

Happy 85th Birthday Dad!

Wednesday the 14th was his actual birthday, but the CELEBRATION was on Sunday (thanks to Joelle, who coordinated the entire thing).  Here are some photos of the event...

Dad looking a little surprised and VERY happy...

Mom's wonderful speech...  She called Dad "the love of her life."  She also mentioned he is a pain, but we all knew that!  :)

Kid patrol (note the location near the cake)...

Dad and his nephew Vince...

Heading home after the party with Alicia...

Anna and Annelise enjoying all the balloons back at Grandpop's house...

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful day it was!  We had a dicey start as Anna fell and hurt her hip running up the stairs to see the yeast rising out of the jar for the hot cross buns.  There were some tears and questions about whether she would be able to hunt Easter eggs outside, but after some ice, advil and rest, she could hobble along well enough, though she still has a huge bruise right on her hip bone.  By mid-morning, Anna was dying eggs while I was finishing the hot cross buns....

The Easter Bunny must have hidden the eggs while we were busy in the kitchen, because when we sat down to have tea and buns, we noticed a few eggs outside.  Anna gulped down her milk and went out to find her Easter basket and all the eggs....

We also found a little Tiger in an Easter basket....

To the right of the basket you can see the corner of a little floral pillow that Anna made for me for Easter.  She used the sewing machine herself, and made the neatest, tiniest stitches to hand sew the opening.  While she was working on it during the week, she told me it was for her room, so you can imagine my surprise when I found it in an Easter basket for me!  What a sweetie!

And here is Anna after emptying all her Easter goodies from the eggs....

It was quite a haul, but we put a lot of the candy and cookies in some big plastic eggs and sent them off to Peter.  I guess he won't be surprised after reading this, but I'm sure he'll be happy!

The weather was perfect and we even got some gardening in.  Anna and I prepped the flower boxes on our back porch and started soaking some sweet pea seeds, and Michael started turning over an area that will become Anna's butterfly garden this year.  Jumper is Michael's official helper - he always hangs around whenever Michael has gardening tools, and he especially loves the wheel barrow.  Must be a boy thing.

I hope you all had a very happy Easter!

Nettles and Pussy Willows - Spring is Here!

Yesterday we picked the first batch of nettles and made a delicious nettle and potato soup for dinner.  Actually, I did the picking since Anna is skeptical of touching something that can sting her - she took the photos instead.  I love the idea of being able to go out in our yard and pick wild and nutritious food.  Emilie, I know you'll be doing this as soon as you and Joachim move out to the country - nettles and other weeds (just don't tell him what they are!)

Our nettles grow in little clumps throughout the pasture, and soon they will be the tallest plants out there since the sheep avoid them.  Although they are very curious about them once they are picked and in a bag...

Here are the nettles in a colander, ready to be washed (they look a little dangerous, don't they?)...

And the soup...

I've heard that nettles are more nutritious than other greens, and they are really tasty.  Just be sure to boil them for at least 10-15 minutes to get the sting out.  I tried one a little too soon last night and my tongue still feels zapped.

And to make our spring dinner table complete, Michael brought home a beautiful bouquet of pussy willows for us.