Holiday Update Completo!

Well, the update got done, no thanks to MOOSE! He loves to sleep on the couch in my office--it is an old wool tweedy couch and very warm in winter. The only trouble we have Moose and I is the race to the couch every time I want to spin yarn--he is quite the crabby pants when I make him move over. He refuses to share, growls and even shows me his teeth, then hops down to slep on his office bed. He is a dude with a tude but he is my office supervisor and never a foot from my side. I adore him--and this picture shows him not only taking over the couch, but hijacking my knitting also!

The update on the site includes new yarn-crazy quilt and Magpie's almost lash yarn to name a few; dyed fiber and lots of new fleeces on the unwashed fiber page--including a sweet little baby alpaca fleece, blanket fiber and so so soft--almost black in color too! Wheee!

Have you seen our new Crazy Quilt sheep yet? They are on the 'Sheepy Gift Originals' page, along with lots of other fun stuff I dabble with in my 'free' time..... The CQ sheep are originals created by our friend Dennis (our Barbara's hubby) with left over wool from his rug hooking projects. He finds wool coats at thrift stores, takes them home, dyes them, cuts them into strips and wa-la, perfect recycling a perfectly good coat into something unique and special! Each is a little different and I adore them--be sure to have a look!

Hope you all had a special holiday and have time to recover for the next one-- N-ewe Year's Eve-- bwaaahahahahaha!

And to all a good sheep!

Isn't this a cutie pie? This is a baby picture from two years ago--our Baaaxter! He is twin to Piper and his mama is Abigail--all three are part of the infamous McNair flock. We adopted Abi when she was pregnant with the twins, what an adventure that was! Glad I am not a sheep breeder, I am a nervous nelly for sure! Abi was a great mama and both the boys are grown up, gorgeous sheep now--Baaxter is white and looks just like his papa (Kirk) and Piper is black and looks like his mama. Blessed we are!

We will be updating the site on Wednesday the 26th so be sure to stop in when you have time--happy holidays to you all and thank you for another wonderful year!!

Joy to the Wooled everyone!

OK, now THIS is what I have to deal with when I type at the computer--yes, that is our Noodle, the 8 month old deaf Border Collie--giving me the biggest sad faced guilt trip. Ugh. She loves to be anywhere I am but when I am working on the website, she feels the need to be 'helpful' by insisting her paws be 'typing' on the keyboard just like mom. It is cute but not for hours of wrestling with her over it! She sits on the other side of the gate to the office on that blasted chair, usually with her chin hanging over looking even MORE pathetic. Very hard to ignore that cute face and blue eyes! Love that girl!!

I just finished updating the site so be sure to have a look--new fiber, hoopty hat, and this weekend there is more to come--we have a snow storm on the way again so will be a good day for a MAJOR update! The dyepots are cooking as we speak! More pictures here.

And if you are in the mood for shopping, check out my good friends HollyEqq, Carolyn and Linda for some great gift ideas, fiber and yarn.... The sheep are enjoying sun and fun in the snow today, some time off before 'work' on pictures and fleece sorting tomorrow--hee hee!

Snow happens and talk is sheep--hee hee!

Hello all! Yes, more snow and we just finished digging out--it is NIPPY out there! The sheep say I am a wimp--and that could be true!!

We planned an update today but those silly sheep are out galloping about in the snow and have no work ethic today..... ugh. I will get them to work later on and do the update tomorrow. They keep pointing out that the fiber drying today will be ready tomorrow anyway--along with the batts they are overseeing in the morning. Guess it makes sense!

The pictures are of one of my latest projects (always seem to have at least 4 on the needles!) which will be a cutie pie curtain for out little bathroom window. I am just doing a straight knit, size 15 needles, a cone of acrylic/cotton (?) yarn AND a cone of fine elastic thread--which makes this look like I really worked hard to get it to look all squiggly and fancy.... The elastic thread is available on our website, we have 3 cones available on the 'findings' page and they are gigantic!

We are also off on a sheep run today-- some wonderful Romney sheep from our friend Kendra are my Christmas presents--wheee! Stay tuned and more soon--off to get the sheep off the sleds before they break their necks!

Update = Happy Sheep!

First we have an update for Lela and Lucky! Yey! I am working on spinning Lucky's gorgeous fleece so I can create two woven blankets for Lela. Way fun and a ways to go but am enjoying every step! Proof!!

Hey Florida Holly--does this fiber look familiar??? Thank you again, the mohair is grrrrreat and I am spinning it up now--what do you think??

Oh, of course we have a major update on the website so be sure to look around at ALL the pages! Lots of fun including more hand dyed Cotton Roving (think I am getting the hang of it!), cutie Crazy Quilt sheep by Dennis the rug hooker (thank you Dennis!) and lots of 3 Chic Knit items!

We are not done with the update, even after 30+ pictures (more here) we have more fiber, yarn and 3 chick finished items to add this weekend--maybe we will be caught up?? Oh, we would be but the sheep walked off their photo duties--they are out playing in the sun and snow now--turned around and they were GONE. Ugh. Guess that means I can go spin yarn right? Happy Thursday!!

Mega Update in the offing!!

Do ewe see what I see? (sorry the sheep just had to get that out of their systems!) We are working on a HUGE update to the website tomorrow so stay tuned! The sheep are working on pictures--lots of them, they are up to about 30 and we are not even close to done!

The 3 Chic Knit (ters) have been very busy and we will be offering up some great winter items that would be great gifts for friends, family--or YOU! Over and out--have to get the sheep to stop bickering over the camera! :0)

Meet the sheep! Update done too!!

Thought it would be fun to do some 'meet the sheep' again--our flock has grown a little and I forget who I have introduced to their adoring public so please forgive any double ups!

This is our little Becan--a single coated Shetland baby. Well, he is not a baby any more and he would HATE to hear me say that! He arrived from a friend as a bottle lamb and lived in the kitchen with us for a while that winter. He has grown into a gorgeous boy with soft fleece that is a cinnamon/silvery color. It is so so soft mainly because he doesn't grow the outer guard coat that most Shetlands have. His fleece is so cute and curly--and he loves to follow us about and get treats--and hugs! He spends most of his time romping with his buddies Toshi, Arthur and Shannon--more of our little Shetlands!

The sheep just updated the site with LOTS of new stuff, including fiber, roving and yarn. We are planning another update this week that will include hand painted drop spindles, fiber/roving if it is dry, and lots of new items from 3 Chic Knits. Great gifts for you or yours!

Also, we added a new 'wish list' feature to the site a few months ago--it is a good way to create a holiday wish list and it is not visible to us--but you can send it to anyone asking for a list just by hitting the email button. Then they can easily shop for your favorite Homestead items!

More update pictures are available here and Happy Monday all!!

Let it snow!! (not rain?)

Well, Libby has the right idea today for sure!! She and Noodle often spend hours outside herding each other about the yard--today they are just plain couch potatoes--and snugglers! We had about an inch of snow this morning and since about 11 am freezing rain/sleet. Ugh. Just hope it doesn't build up and cause tree topples or power line troubles....

The sheep are working on an update that includes lash yarn, Crazy Quilt bulky singles, fiber, roving and more! Keep an eye out on the site and will post here when it is ready also--tomorrow at the latest, still taking pictures! I am off to spin some more lash yarn--oooorrrr, maybe a nap on the couch with the BC's! Happy fiber art everyone!

What's on the wheel this week??

Hello all, hope you had a wonderful holiday! We ate ourselves silly at mom's and had a great time. What's new on the wheel you say? Crazy Quilt singles AND baby camel singles I spun from mill ends I was lucky enough to get my hands on! All sort of bulky and SOFT soft soft. I have always loved camels--wish they came in a smaller size though--they are BIG, strong and sort of destructive--but have great personalities! The big sweeties!



Here is the latest lash yarn--Raggedy lashes. You can find them on the site already and more lash yarn to follow. My computer would not read the second disc of pictures today so have to re-take them tomorrow and update again--will keep you posted. There are new rovings, Corriedale wool and more just waiting to get 'out there'.....

Wonderful Jacob wool from our friends Becky & Carl's Cold Valley flock! We love this fiber--it is absolutely spankingly free of debris, soft and just high quality lilac, white and tri-color fleeces. I washed up Spot's fleece and it is available on the site too. I really can't believe we still have any of the Jacob fleeces--they are usually long gone by now so don't miss out!

And here is what I do in my 'free' time-- create something from a lot of nothings! This lamp shade came out of Ross' bedroom when he replaced it. I liked the look of the shade so it hung around (no pun intended hee hee) until I got the perfect place/idea for it--my office/spinning studio! I found the chandelier crystals at the thrift store one day, then added in some pearly looking beads for a more dramatic effect--I love it! Adds some very warm charm to the office for sure. I posted more pictures here and please take a browse through the site too.

Also, a good friend of the Homestead--Linda in Ohio--has been having a rough go of things lately and she offers some fantastic yarn through her Etsy shop--take a peek and maybe you will find something you have to have!! She was involved in a car accident this week that totalled out her hubby's car--but she is fine--although it makes them car-less for now and lots of headaches on the way..... ugh. SO, Fleece Navidad to everyone and check back soon for more goodies!

Update and wonderful friends!

I got a wonderful box of goodies from my spinning buddy James--of Virginia! You may have seen our long distance spinning on the website listed as Franken Yarn... bwaaahahahaha!

The box arrived with this fancy schmancy wrapped batt selection that James created in his studio--the second picture shows the wonderful, fluffy batts--and they are gorgeous! I cannot wait to spin them--and there was more in the box, more pictures of that later--thank you James, you are the best!!

Today's update is complete so be sure to visit the website here or pictures here. Lots of fun washed and dyed fiber with more on the way for Sunday's update--including new roving! Happy fiber and almost Friday!!

Giant update today!

Finally done with our Sunday update! Featured today is our little beelzubub goat Phoebe--the Pygora! I did not get a ton of fleece from her this year as usual--she decided to be particularly NOT careful! SO, spun it up from the uncarded locks and added in random stripes of Tussah Silk. Phoebe picked out a pretty vintage beaded applique to go along with the yarn so be sure to check it out! There are two skeins in the set--one of Phoebs and silk, one of Tussah silk--both wrapped with twinkle thread....

We have hot water again--yey! and I am back to washing/dyeing wool so look for more updates on Wednesday depending on how quickly things dry. Have lots of new roving planned, batts and dyed fiber--OH, we just got a new batch of Corriedale wool from our wonder shearer too--his sheep are soft and gorgeous so keep an eye out for Corriedale!!

Be sure to check out the update on the site here and sneak peek pictures here! Look forward to hearing from all of you when you have time!! Happy Sunday!

Skip To My Lou!!! (no not the 'loo! ha!)

Well, we now have cold AND hot running water! Of course I knocked everyone over the second it was safe to take a shower--AFTER I put our Hershey's beautiful Shetland fleece in the wash--of course! bwaaahahahahaha! We have a mega update planned for tomorrow so keep an eye on the site. We always send out emails from the sheep when we update so be sure to add your name to our private/secure/not shared mailing list on the website....

I also hear that my good friend HollyEQQ is updating her gorgeous fibers and yarn tomorrow too so lots of fun goodies to check out! Watch for another update post tomorrow and hope you are all enjoying a snug, fibery weekend-sheep too if you have them!

A word about hunting.... it's that time of year

I am probably not going to win any points with this entry--with some people--but we are smack into deer hunting in WI and even in the first few days, someone I know has been forced to live with the loss of her beloved pet. Northern WI is home today of a sad young lady who went to national championships with her pet horse--and loved that horse dearly. She is the daughter of a good friend of the Homestead and is devastated because a hunter started shooting 1/2 hour early, shot at a silhouette that turned out NOT to be a deer, but her beloved horse. He made it back 'home' to his barn and was unable to be saved. Mind you his owner was away on a trip herself and had to receive this news from her distraught family and THEN try to make her way safely home. Please say a prayer and send good thoughts to her everyone, she is going to have a long way ahead of her to find peace. I can only imagine.

That said, if you live in deer hunting areas, even if they are not heavily hunted, please keep your pets close to you and watch them like a hawk. We live in a very heavily hunted area but are lucky that most are people we are familiar with that are aware of our animals. However, there is also a tendency to have people from out of our state even to wander through our lands, shooting indiscriminately--like at my neighbor's boarding kennel??

I realise there are 'responsible hunters' but please know hunting personally goes against everything I believe in, but what is best for one is not best for all. That said, pictured above is our little Casper (honkey donkey) who was also affected by a hunter's bullet-while his mama, a WHITE DONKEY was pregnant with him. A hunter shot her, along with a white llama that belonged to a friend--both of the critters in the same pasture. Now come on white?? Casper and his mama were ok, except when Casper was born, the bullet had smashed into his little spine, right at the withers and he now has a crippled/stiff/s-curved spine that he will have to live with all his life. It has not been easy for him, we have to keep a careful eye on his weight, and as he has grown, the spine curvature has gotten much worse--sometimes making it difficult for him to get up if he is in the wrong spot.

We keep our critters up close to our buildings now til after Thanksgiving and eagle eye any activity we see that is not 'normal'. We are thankful the hunters who belong in surrounding areas are careful and aware of our flock--and hope we make it through another season with out a horrid incident like our friend. To pet owners AND hunters, Please Please be careful! (thank you for listening to my rant....)

Halloween Update!

Well, hours later, I almost have the website 'caught up' from our melt down last month--be sure to take a look! I will be adding more fiber this weekend AND our painted primitives--hand painted by me with of course supervision by the sheep--and lots of fun gift items!

You can also see more photos here -some already posted to the site, some to follow this weekend! The fiber pictured today can be found on our site and is the wonderful Mohair (Angora goat) fiber from our sweet Odey goatie!

Odey arrived here as an almost yearling, really on his last legs so to speak. He was very sick, we did not ever figure out exactly what it was but he was off his feet for the better part of the winter, hanging out with us in the house while we worked to save his little life. He got better and ended up with his front legs 'frozen' bent backwards, making it very difficult to get up and walk. We were afraid he would have to be put down--we gave him another night, moved him into the warm barn by the sheep all jacketed up with a heat lamp. In the morning, my little miracle goat was standing in the barn, STRAIGHT LEGGED looking at me as if to say, hey, where you been and WHY are you crying??? He really is a miracle and today is a happy go lucky fellow hanging out with the other goats and Chaquita llama.

SO, add some of Odey's fiber to your next project--it is silky, soft and so so shiny--must be his glimmer coming to you long distance! Happy fiber everyone, soon to be back washing wool/yarn again--we now have running water (cold) and hot water to follow very soon! Yippeeee! Never knew how much I would appreciate such a basic item in my life!!

Sheepy wildness!

Our website is 'fixed' so please keep an eye out for our new fiber and yarn-- we will still use our flickr account to update too but all pictures will start on the site again. Yey yey yey!!

I tell you, if we didn't have a 'surprise' every day here lately (and not always nice ones!), we would not know how to behave! The well guys were here connecting the lines back from the house to the well--we looked out and Bobbi & Andrew's group had snuck through a hole in the fence (?) and were galloping around kicking and jumping--in with the little group of oldsters and lambies! Eek!

So, off we went, Jim went out and set out their three bales of hay and all but one sheep went back 'home'. Lucy the Targhee decided she was going to stay and live with Max the llama's group instead. She just would NOT go home! Little does she know, I originally wanted her in that group--she has some specialness too, when she had her lamb the last time (she is now 3), she had a prolapse and a ligament tore in her tummy--she is fine but can't have lambs (why she is here) and her tummy is a bit crooked when you see her from the front/back. We adore her and her crooked tummy is cute, and doesn't seem to bother her in the least. She is probably one of our BIGGEST sheep too--I did not know Targhee sheep were that big, I am betting she is at least as big as a Shetland pony? Wowser! She is a very good girl.

We have water back TO the house, now Monday our plumber is coming out to hook us up--at least will have cold water back in the house that day, which means NO MORE outhouse visits in the cold AND wool washing/dyeing will be back full fledge--yey! Who could ask for more right?? Hot water by the end of the week and then, the rest can take as long as they want as far as I am concerned!!! Have a happy sheepy, fibery weekend!!

The sheep are doing a happy dance--Noodle and Libby, not so much!

Well, the sheep are happy because the house now has a new foundation, floors and basement windows! Hooray! The well people come out tomorrow to get the water back to the house, then we hope the plumber will get here very soon! Almost back to washing and dyeing wool INSIDE! We are all happy to be closer to business as usual for the sheep--can't be soon enough for me!

The weather is getting cooler and the dogs are all enjoying time in front of the warm corn burning fireplace in our living room. Makes it tough to keep thinking about working--they look so not worried and content don't they? And believe me, the best time to take pictures of a Border Collie is when they are asleep--that is about the only time they are still for more than a few minutes!

OH, and the website is FIXED and I have almost finished re-adding the fiber and yarn so be sure to take a look around. I will be posting brand new yarn and fiber this weekend and will send out emails so be sure to sign up for our 'sheepy fan club' on the website! Happy Thursday!

New fiber and PHOTOS!!

OOK, we are trying something new--the sheep are really getting frustrated because our IP server has not fixed/loaded up our image manager.... SO, we are set up on flicker so if you see new items on the website , you can pick up the photos here. Please just email us off the website if you would like to order something-- and thank you for your patience.

While we have been waiting for this to get settled, the sheep have been busy designing new fiber, dyeing roving/clouds and creating batts so we are still here and we hope the new place to see pictures will be a short lived step for ordering!

Might have our new basement floor poured tomorrow--barring any barrage of rain so keep your fingers crossed for us! Happy fiber and more updates to follow!

Our little Noodle dog is growing up....

I tried to sneak in and take this one while Noodle the Border Collie was sleeping in 'her' chair--but even though she is mostly deaf, she caught me with the camera. Oops! She was sleeping so soundly I thought sure I could pull it off! And I might point out that in the first picture, you can see how she made that 'her' chair--see the chewed padding on the one arm? She also picked a teeny (repaired I might add) hole in the seat to make it mucho larger. She has been picking on that chair since she was six weeks old--she even untied springs on the bottom--stinker! I planned to re-hab that chair anyway but I can't convince her she is naughty--I just get the look of the second picture like hey, I know what you mean--BUT, I am still smarter than you! Sometimes that is so true!

She has a date with the vet to be spayed this month and her deaf buddy Libby will be going with her--they are joined at the BC hip now so it was a great move to adopt Noodle too. They play ALL day and just wear each other out. Noodle's 'new' thing is to take me by the pant leg or bottom of my shirt and lead me to where she wants me to be. I came in the other day after feeding the sheep and she was waiting for me, all excited but sitting nicely like, I have to show you something way COOL! She took me by the shirt tail and showed me her 'surprise' and she was so proud of her work, I didn't have the heart to be mad! However, she had 'toilet paper rolled' the entire living room (furniture, floor, fireplace) with some of my most expensive BLACK SURI ALPACA fiber that had been drying near the fireplace, up out of her reach--or so I thought. She made quite a mess but it ended up only being a handful and I think she just placed it where she wanted it like an art project--no ripping or shredding. What a silly dog. She sure has been a blessing not only for lonely Libby, but us as well. It has been a tiring year at best and we have enjoyed her and she definitely keeps us on our toes--and smiling!

The house is set back down on the foundation now and we get a new basement floor Monday--keep your fingers crossed for a nice day--no more rain! Then the 'real' work can get under way-- plumbing, heating/AC, water heater, softener, WATER back in the house AND my washer hooked back up down there ASAP!

The guys also got our back porch (you may remember my Dad and our friend Dennis from IL came up about oh, 3 weeks before the basement collapsed and enclosed our porch for us) re-floored and Ross put the patio doors back up! Yey! NOW it looks like progress! I will post pictures this weekend--am plotting a finish for the floor--hooray for painting-another love of my life!!

SO, while we all wait for the new IP server to load up our image manager, I am working on new things for the site and getting info decided on for the new yarn and fiber clubs--keep stopping in and email if you need anything you don't see on the site yet! Happy weekend everyone!

Getting there!

Worky worky--no rest for the wicked right? ha! I am about half way through the updates/re-entering of our new products on the site today--however, during our recent web meltdown, the image manager on our cart was 'eaten' so I cannot post pictures yet. Ugh. Hoping that will change later today-some days if something isn't wrong in my world I don't know how to behave! :0) Thank you all for your patience we have lots of fiber and yarn to add and I hear a box is on its way from Shari too!

The rain has moved our new cement basement floor off til next week but our wonderful carpenter friend is here replacing a few broken floor joists and working on plumbing issues in the mean time. Our front yard is a pond again-lots of rain last night-wah!

And thank you for your good thoughts for our Bradshaw, sadly, we did have to put him to sleep to end his suffering. Our vet said he had a stroke and it was just his time but that doesn't make this any easier- I miss him to bits. At least we got to say goodbye and see you again someday....

Please send good Karma for my Bradshaw sheep....

Your wonderful karma did great things for Lela's Lucky (a few posts back Lucky was having terrible troubles--and now is doing great we are happy to report). We are having rainy fall weather here now that is not always great for a sheep--cold, rainy--yuk. This morning we found our sweet Bradshaw unable to get on his feet and not very responsive to me. We moved him into our 'nursery/hospital unit' where he will be warm and dry and gave him a good dose of sheepy pain killers and some freshly baled hay. He may have slipped in the mud? Been playing too rough as those boys are known to do? We won't know but for now, he is warm and I just checked on him to find him more interested in what was going on and lifting his head. His pain response is back in both hind legs so that IS a good sign. Hopefully he just has a sore muscle in his back and no damage to any more important places in his back. Bradshaw came to us several years ago through a huge sheep rescue effort in Pennsylvania. He had a rough life before he got to retire here with 12 of his buddies so we are hoping he will be ok--definitely good karma needed and you are all so good at that --thank you ahead of time!

Hoping the website will be back up entirely tonight or tomorrow so please keep stopping by--or email us at home at homesteadwoolandgiftfarm dot com if you need to order pronto! Thank you all again, I am off to go curl up in the hay with Bradshaw.....

Egads!

Please don't panic, our website is NOT suspended. Can't believe this is going on but we are tracking down the real reason and should be back on the web soon-- thank you AGAIN for your patience. This is getting old isn't it? Anyone know a deep hole I can jump into???? Bwaaaahahaha!

This week we should have our little house back on a foundation so keep your fingers crossed for us. We are sweating out one more humid day and then I am back outside sorting fleeces for the site. Watch for our own sheep to contribute along with more from our friend's flocks. Fun fun fun! Happy day! (Grrr)

New offerings at the farm!!

Welcome the new handspun art of a long time friend of the Homestead-Rachel! We are proud to be offering her special drop spindled handspun--most spun with fiber from Homestead sheep! Rachel is a person who in her young life has made five trips related to helping children in foreign countries and we like to 'pay it forward' so until Rachel gets her website or Etsy shop updated, you can contact her through our site for some gorgeous yarn. Earthsong is her first offering so be sure to take a peek!

We are waiting for the house mover guys to come back--we may have to have a house landing party next week! Hip hip hooray! We are getting closer to running AND hot water in the house!!! The sheep are waiting for the cooler fall weather to be here to stay and enjoying the extended time on good grass. Our second hay crop was a loft filler so we have at least half our winter hay stocked up--from the sheep's own field! We are looking for rain tomorrow so Tuesday will find me sorting fleeces for the website so keep a good eye out! Happy fiber Sunday!

And wa-la--a basement appears!!!

Hellooooo from the house on the blocks! ha! Not for long though! We added some fun new items to the website so be sure to check out the two new pages for some cool Seasonal and Holiday Handspun--including cute matching buttons painted by yours truly..... We also added a gifty page that will feature lots of fun items that are great gifts, gift add ons and spinning/knitting related items too! Keep an eye out we are on the move for fall!!

And here are the pictures of our new basement walls! They poured them with about 7 trucks full of cement and the next day already had the forms off. Next comes the plumber, then the house gets set down, then the floor poured, THEN WATER BACK TO THE HOUSE!!!!! Wheee! SO, keep an eye out, we will post pictures as we go.... and life starts to get better! Thank you all again for all the encouraging words--they mean the world! Sheep weekend to you all!

Check out Florida Holly's Sale--two days only so hurry!!

OK everyone, if you have not tried my friend Holly's fiber yet, now's your chance to make a steal--and I am not kidding! She has the most beautiful dyed locks, batts, roving and more--yarn, knit items--and even a batt of the month club--I hear there are five openings (as of last night!) so get your orders in. She will be updating with even more fiber today so keep checking and email your order in so she can email a total back to you. I missed out on a few things I wanted/needed (bwaahahaha) for waiting too long so don't miss out! Her site is HollyEqq

The pictures you see are of her batts, both smooth and 'crazy' geared more to novelty yarn-or just spin it through your carder one more time and wa-la. The yarn pictured was a combined effort--I spun it from Holly's fiber creations--and my own, then we split the yarn. ANother great idea if you have a fiber friend you would love to spin with but are too far apart.....

Also, if you have not signed up for the Lexi Boeger class in Taos (visit my friend Martie at her website for more info) you still may have a chance to get the last few spaces.... Short notice but definitely worth a try--Lexi is the most inspiring spinner ever and a long time friend of the Homestead sheep! Learn to break the rules with Lexi and I hear Jenny Neutron Star is coming along too-- AND if that was not enough, the Taos Wool Festival falls in between Lexi's two classes--now WHO could ask for more??? :0)

I am working on an update to our site this weekend so be sure to stop back- went through gorgeous fleeces yesterday and they are stunning! Some included are colored British Suffolk lamb, NCCheviot cross curlies and more!! Happy fiber day!

Fun pictures!

Want to introduce you to one of my best friends James of Virginia! He is wonderful and you have seen him here and on our spun yarn pages! He only agreed to let me use this picture if we promised no blackmail! bwaahahahaha!

This shawl has quite a story, and a fun one if you ask me-- it started with a ply of yarn spun by James, to which I spun a a ply and we split the plyed yarn. Fun mail believe me!!

THEN, my mom has been knitting up shawls for me while she has her chemo treatments (keeps her busy AND warm in that cold treatment room)--I gave her this yarn and since she had heard how wonderful my friend James and his mom are, she decided this shawl should be for James' mom. It was SO hard for us to keep the secret, and funny how things work out, we got it to James in time for his mom's BIRTHDAY--which we did not know about til after he told us about the timing. More fun! And the best part was the wonderful thank you from mom to mom and from James to my mom. I adore you my friend and thank you for helping me take such good care of our moms!!

New fiber and yarn tomorrow so keep an eye out and have a fibery night!!

Mystery loom parts and web updates!

Ever seen one of these? This is our 'mystery of the week' part that my friend Linda purchased as a box lot at a flea market--along with other spinning and loom parts--and a drum carder!! If you know what this is, let us know!

Meet my friend Jenny's Guanacos! They were a rescue for her, well cared for but papa had a bad attitude--still does! I will be updating the website this weekend with clouds that are dehaired Guanaco fiber from this little three 'person' family. Proceeds go to Jenny and this is a fiber that is hard to get your hands on--I have set aside a teeny bit to try out, but have plenty for the site--keep an eye out!

Check us out on Allison's blog--we got a big time plug for our beaded yarns--thank you Allison! Lots of fun reading on her site so be sure to check it out! We also discovered a new publication named Selvedge-- take a look, I can't wait to get my subscription set up!! Selvedge 'covers fine textiles in every context: fine art, interiors, fashion, travel and shopping, aiming to provide a comprehensive resource for our wide audience of textile enthusiasts. ' Look for us on the supplier link page! Whee!

My log cabin quilt almost reaches my feet now, having so much fun with that free form pattern! It is also keeping me toasty and warm in our cooler fall weather the past few days.

Be sure to check out our update today, LOTS of dyed fiber on the roving/batt page and new yarns galore! More to follow! Happy fiber fall!