Puzzle, Moon Pie & Sheldon lambies!

Never let it be said that I need much of an arm twist to take in a bottle lamb- seems like every spring! Jim is such a sweet man. Ruth McNair called and asked if we would adopt three little Wensleydale lambs. The twins are Moon Pie & Sheldon. Their mom died when they were only a few days old. 

The weather was so cold when they arrived we set them up with a special bedroom on our enclosed back porch. They stayed there for 2 weeks til it was warm enough for them to move outside into our 'nursery'. We spent lots of time snuggling of course! 

Puzzle was also a twin but he was much slower to get moving than his sister so mom would not stay with him. She was worried more about the lamb she could not keep track of than the one who would still be in the same place when she came back. We think he had a little heart murmur (?) that he is growing out of. He spent his first few days in the house with me. He is named Puzzle because we had to figure out the puzzle of what was wrong with him so we could fix him! Lounging on the couch while I spun wool. My version of heaven...

And here we are, exploring our new house and court yard across the driveway. Still in my full sight but next to the big group of sheep's pasture. That lets our Pyrs Bobbi & Andrew get used to the new sheep before they move in. It will take a while since the lambs need to be big enough to not get hurt running with the big sheep. The big sheep would never hurt the lambs on purpose. They are just big, clumsy galoots who like to play a little rough.  

More Moon Pie & Sheldon.

Moon Pie & Sheldon pretending to be chickens? We bring the lambs over to the back yard for the day time so they can have pretty green grass, fresh water and of course, be right outside my back door. They really are quite the distraction- but a good one!

You want us to go WHERE?? But remember lambies, matter how far a lambie roams, the back porch is always home... 

Puzzle strikes a pose!

Whoa! We can really run fast! 

And why do we also love the Wensleydale fleeces you ask? This picture is Puzzle's curls when he was just a month old. 

This is what their wool will look like when they are sheared each year. The curls are very well defined, 6 to 10 inches long, soft and silky. Easy to dye, spin and felt. People use them for doll hair, needle and wet felting and lots of different yarn spinning techniques. 

My favorite use for the curls is our signature Crazy Quilt Lash Yarn. I 'tail spin' the locks onto a core yarn. Very dramatic yarn and I think this has to be my favorite yarn to spin. 

SO, for now this is the story of our cute little lambie pies. Hope the weather has been kind to you all and sending good thoughts to anyone in the path of all the weather wildness. 

We're updating the website tonight (June 1) so hope you'll have a look. New handspun yarn, roving, washed and dyed fiber. Always lots of unwashed fiber available too. Smooches from the sheep!! 

www.homesteadwoolandgiftfarm.com

Sheep shearing day 2013!

Well we are finally catching up on our blog posts! Go sheep! We sheared in early April so thought I would share the story in pictures... 

Andrew the Great Pyrenees was not happy that his sheep have been locked inside over night. I told him it would make things go faster on shearing day and he was not impressed. Andrew is of the firm belief that everyone has a place and should always be IN it! (in this case- outside).

This is a picture of our neighbor's dogs. They showed up to visit the night before shearing. We sent them back home with their owner but aren't they cute?? They had an afternoon of treats and sleeping on the back porch and rabbit hutch. I think they heard there was a party going on the next day?

Remember Miss Penny? Our little bottle lamb from last spring? This was her very first shearing. She hid out and came through with the very last group of sheep. Guess the others filled her in by then. 

Trevor the Baby Doll Southdown says, wait, what??

And so it began. Ingrid is feeling sassy and svelte!

This was the scene at the end of the day. By then the sheep wanted their fleeces back. They were chasing me! Simon said 'follow me peeps. I know right where those fleeces ARE!"

Ta-da! This is a photo of half our fleeces waiting to be put away in the safety of the Fiber Palace. GiddyUP! Simon kept trying to pull the bags through the panels while we cleaned up. Stinker. 

By the end of the day Andrew's sister Bobbi was to tired to stay awake while the last group of sheep got sheared. Isn't she cute? By the end of the day we all wanted to curl up for a good nap right on the spot. She's not always a good influence on us.

Everyone found their friends again. They look different with a hair cut you know! 

Another day comes to a close. A good day's work, lots of good work done, happy sheep AND all of us happy peeps who love their fleeces are set to go! Keep an eye on the website ok? We'll be adding lots of new items every week. Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter on the right side of our website pages. 

Hope you have nice, calm weather now and the sheep send many smooches! 

www.homesteadwoolandgiftfarm.com

Lambits!

Catching up on things around here- finally! This is what Jim and I did Easter morning. Lots of the sheep wanted to be 'lambits' like they saw in a commercial on TV this year. So of course we happily obliged! 

Bobbi (left) and Andrew (right) went first- although as you can see, Bobbi was not so sure it was in fact a good idea? Becan (Shetland sheep) was having a giggle at their expense... 

Oopsie! Then BECAN was the lambit!  

Simon the gigantic goat was happy to get in on the fun. 

Andrew not so much. 

Sara's sheep Polly was a good girl. 

She decided she wanted to model BOTH hats! 

A good time was had by all (for the most part) and it was a perfect way to spend the morning. We are all so easily amused! Hope you are having a good start to "Spring" everyone! Be sure to stop by the website, the sheep had their shearing day last week so lots of new things are heading your way. Smooches from the lambits! 

www.homesteadwoolandgiftfarm.com

Sleepin' outside??

We have some very postcard pretty snow for now! The sheep have been sledding, making snow angels and having snowball fights. Most of which involved me as their target too. (Good thing they are so cute right? ha!)

They must also know sleeping outside in the snow is something that makes me cold- and crazy? I know they have tons of wool so they do get too warm. They go outside to cool off. Aren't they cute when they look all sleepy- they must be asking why I am outside so early pestering them. And with the camera no less??


However, with such a nice warm barn, camping outside all night long seems a bit extreme to me. The sheep tell me it is comfy and perfect though. Stinkers! (I have a nobody gets to be cold rule around here!)

Got Fruit Loops? This is my morning 'receiving line'- waiting for hugs and smooches. Remember last year's bottle lamb Penny? That's her with the two crooked horns walking toward me on the right. She's a grown up now! Still a little smidge of a sheep though. She's being independent again, avoiding my hugs to be sure I KNOW she is grown up now. Good to know Penny- but how about a hug anyway for old times sake?

More of my sheepy line up.... deciding if they should go out for breakfast yet. This is the best way to start a morning. The sheep parade usually doesn't go further than the path from barn to hay bales now. We don't go on our walks because it has been too cold but soon soon- and oh my gosh! It is almost shearing time again?! Already? Eek!! 

Hope you are having a good winter and that the weather is treating you well! The sheep send winter smooches and hugs to you all! (be sure to check out the sheep's website- lots of new knit wear to keep you warm available!)

www.homesteadwoolandgiftfarm.com