Fibery update!

Well, despite the crazy weather (no damage here but sorry for all those that are wrestling tornado damage) the sheep did knuckle down and get their update finished--wa-la! Pictured is our Baaxter--a gorgeous Romney we purchased from the McNairs. He is twin to our Piper and their mama is Abigail. Way cute and he has a SunFire offering on the dyed page on our site. There is also lots of new dyed fiber, roving and unwashed wool--and I am sorting through more fleeces for an update later in the week that will also include more dyed roving .... 'worky worky' right? ha! Hope you all enjoyed your long weekend, off to spin more yarn --over and out for now!

Update done & sunny DRY days!!

Yep, we got sun! Almost forgot what it looked like that is for sure! ha! And what have the sheep been up to?? Spinning yarn, updating the website and even some outdoor reclaiming of our poor yard--and using the term yard loosely! I even got a start on the painting of the new cement outside (foundation)! Had to wrestle the paint brushes away from the sheep--they had some very odd ideas of what to paint instead of sand stones! Naughty sheep!

The new look of the foundation WILL be sand stone--just don't like the look of the new cement on our 150 year old farm house. Has to look like it belongs here so off with its head I say. I am taking before, during and after pictures so stay tuned for more of that story--have the stones painted on, just have to shade them and add the finishing details--need a little warmer day and we are off to the races!

Remember, if you need a certain yarn spun, we are always happy to get you set with some fantastic yarn--we can spin our fiber or yours so keep us in mind!! You can also see some of the yarn I spun up lately on our new custom spun yarn gallery--too fun! Spin spin spin!! Happy fiber art--another update this weekend--yey sheep for getting back into a routine!

Teaching an old dog new tricks?

No, not THOSE dogs! I am the one learning new tricks--thanks to Mandie & Holly--who are determined to drag my hinder out of the digital dark ages--they treated me to a new digital camera-they SAID the sheep wanted them to shop for me for Mother's Day??! Stinkers! And they were kind enough to get one that is PINK with part of the proceeds donated to Breast Cancer Reasearch--and one that they both have so they can bail me out if need be! Thank you two, you are the bestest! SO, of course I am running around learning to use the camera, and these are the first three that Ross took. He is so techno-savvy! Mucho more than me and he is a great teacher or I would be on the phone to Florida or Australia every two minutes! Watch out girls! I am just too overwhelmed with the gift but am enjoying figuring it all out--even splurged on a light box so watch out for new pictures and fun on the site for sure!

The dogs are such a hoot, Libby (one of our two border collies) is deaf, very watchful but is not so worried about what I am doing--as you can see! Buddy Schnauzer was napping peacefully on the couch when the flash woke him up--he only opened his eyes like 'hey, what the heck'?? And Calvin the Jack Russell was out enjoying the sun, but when this was snapped had obviously had enough and wanted in..... Too fun!

The sheep updated the site today in between happy grass eating so be sure to browse about! Happy Wednesday everyone!

No Cancer for Holly--hip hip hooray!!

Have you heard the news??? Recently we gathered together a talented group of fiber artists to create our "Circlin' the Wagons' fundraiser for our friend Holly . Generous generous people helped fund the trips she will need to get a serious surgery that will help her be over some health issues.

Part of the scare for Holly (and all of us) was she had a mass on her liver that the doctors thought might be cancer. After yanking Holly's chain since January, the verdict is in--NO CANCER! Yey! Now Holly can get that double surgery scheduled and get on with her life. She is happy but of course dreading the surgery but she continues to take comfort in all your good thoughts and the generosity that has taken away the financial fear of having to be away from home for surgery. We wish her well and please visit her site for more updates. For now, YEY YEY Holly!!!

Update Wednesday this week so be sure to stop in! Toodles!

Happy Mother's day!

This is a picture from when Abigail had her twins--Baaxter (white) and Piper (black). They are still a very happy family, Abby is a great mama and even though her boys are all grown up, she is still busy keeping them safe--and in line! You can read more about them and see more pictures on our 'meet the sheep' pages!

And a few words about my Mom, and there really are none that come close to describing her heart, strength and determination--all things I admire so much about her, but again, just a FEW things! As you all probably know, Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 2006. She is almost done with chemo now (May 27!) and I am so flipping proud of her.

She stood up to the BC and has come through all her horrible treatments with flying colors--and some beautiful new curls! She and Dad are amazing, watching their commitment to each other all my life is a gift that taught me what it means to love someone.

And I cannot go to Mother's Day wishes with out sending them out to my Barbara either! She is my Mom's best friend (since I was a youngster!) and now I am proud to call her my 'other Mom' and best friend. She is patient, a good soul, great mom and above all, she was there for my Mom through all the BC treatments no matter what. I adore you Barbara!

Our family is SO blessed this mother's day in many ways, but in one very sad way, we are missing Jim's mom Claire terribly. She also was a strong woman, very dedicated to her family and fought her cancer to the last day we had her with us. She never waivered and I adore her--and miss her terribly. She has been gone almost a year now and I will never figure out how my hubby Jim has ever managed to get himself moving forward from Claire's loss the way he has. What an amazing family I have, be sure to hug your family--not just tomorrow, but any chance you get!

Happy Mother's Day to you all, from the Ryans and your sheepie family...... We adore you too!

What's new on the wheel??

Hope you are all having fibery fun this weekend! Planning an update soon, almost ready!

Today I thought I would share what I am up to on a few of my wheels. The first picture is fawn Alpaca fiber with Standard Poodle locks, to be plied with a fine fine ply of Alpaca.

The second picture is one ply Alpaca, one of Meremma (flock guard dog) fiber! How fun! Didn't plan to post two pictures that include dog fiber but if you have not tried it, you should, what fun texture and softness! Spinning this one on my antique Norwegian wheel.

You can see more pictures of what I am up to on our new 'custom yarn gallery', that includes pictures of yarns people have asked me to spin from their own fibers or ours. Fun fun fun I say! Cheerio!

Thompson & Jerdee wool has arrived!!

Hello everyone! Hope you have fun fibery art planned for the weekend! Been a gloomy few days and hear that won't change til Sunday so plan a lot of spinning myself!

Went on a wool run the other evening and picked up our friends wool. We buy from several flocks each spring. We have been to the farms to see the sheep and the owners have become great friends of ours over the years. The sheep are happy, healthy and loved--our biggest concerns for sure!

The first two pictures are from our friends the Jerdee's sheep--they have added some Tunis sheep AND Cotswold this year, to compliment an already great flock of Border Leicester, Shropshire, E.Fresian and blends of the above. Very tempting wool that will show up on the site this next week or two.

The third picture is of our friends the Thompson's flock (or part of it!). They have 16 ewes that raise their families on LOTS of pasture--good grass--they would not even look up at me for a picture! The flock includes Tunis, Suffolk, Border Leicester, Jacob and some crosses. Nice, clean long stapled wool that is soft and just a super wool for most any project! Look for their fleeces soon!

Just finished a web update so be sure to check it out--along with our new 'flock guide' and 'custom spun yarn' gallery pages when you have time--will be adding more soon, sort of cross eyed now--too much computer time! ha!