Klondike Bars and updates?

Ok, insert here the tune from the Klondike bar commercial, substitute the words: what would you do-oo-oo for a felted fleece??? ;0) Below you see the results of some malfunctioning projects- and have to admit, the first was MY fault, the second was Ross. (sorry kiddo!)

The top of the picture shows a scary, hula hoop sort of being that I knit (my own apparently awful patern) in an attempt to create a tote bag for Humphrey the camel's mom Cindy the teacher (if you are reading this Cindy, read no further, unless you want a giggle!). I spun up a yarn that was one ply of Humphrey's camel fiber, blended with his llama buddy's fiber. Then I plyed it up with wool from our own sheep to be sure it would felt 'properly'. (and keep in mind, I am a very very novice felter ok? please?) I was pretty sure by the time it hit the felting steps that I had not knit a very viable tote, but in my 'classic' style, sent it through anyway. OOPS big time! NOW I have to figure out how to fix this, or Humphrey might disown me! Sorry Humphrey! It can't work as a totebag, even cut and sewn, it is heavy, hairy and she would look like Humphrey had indeed come to work with her.....
The lower dyed fiber is oh, about 6 + pounds of Jacob's coated Coopworth wool that I washed and dyed. I asked Ross to spin the water out of the last rinse and guess what? He put the lid down on the washer. Gaaaaaah! SO, stay tuned, nothing we can't fix right? Kind of excited to see what kind of yarn you can spin with felted locks- boas?? ;0)
Still lots of fun fiber from the update on Wednesday so be sure to browse our site, and the sheep's etsy shop! Off to spend the night at my parents and see the Midwest Fiber & Folk fair so toodles til tomorrow- happy weekend!

Sheep on the Runway????!

No, the sheep have not escaped and caused a scene! (although the thought of being on the runway has caused some new ideas with the sheep- not all of them good-gotta watch the keys to vehicles!) Last fall, designer Kristina Phelps purchased natural colored roving from our Sophie, Louis and a few others.

She wove the roving onto a dress form, and spent HOURS hand felting the roving perfectly in place....
She designed this dress exclusively for a large show in Texas- that included hundreds of entries from other designers. Her dress was chosen to be included in the runway modelling - only a few out of the hundreds were chosen!
So there you have it- a new place for the sheep- Sheep on the Runway! tee hee! Thank you Kristina for sharing your success and beautiful fiber art!
Updates on the site Mon/Tues, hoping for an update to Etsy this weekend too, HOWEVER, the sheep are tired out- from watching US stack hay in the barn.... go figure!

(PS- Thank you for all your kind words Graham from England! They mean the world to us and hope you will stop in again- or any questions I am happy to answer- just email!!)

Pick yourself up, dust yourself off.... ;0)

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope you all have fun planned for today and the weekend? Any fiber involved? Knitting? Spinning? Felting??? My spinning wheels are a 'centering force' in my life, and I have definitely needed that lately- big time. The first picture is the yarn I am currently spinning- our roving carded by Shari that is a blend of our Theo (white Corriedale) and Morgan's (Tunis) fleeces- spun on my Kromski Symphony wheel. I love how the yarn is sort of a 'secret' when you are spinning, then when I skeined it up- I could see the pretty red/cinnamon-y fibers from Morgan's softly red fleece! It is really unique. The OTHER unique thing here is, this is the first time in forever that I have sat through spinning over 2 pounds of ONE yarn! Yey me! Yey for my mental health too- hee hee! I spun one ply of really fine weight yarn, then let the second ply be how the wool 'wanted' to be. This will be on the sheep's Etsy shop soon.... need a yarny laundry day soon!
The rest of the pictures are just some of my favorites- all on the 'wheel' at one time or another.... Above is again, Kromski spun....

Spun on my first ever wheel! My little 'castle' wheel from Russia. It has seen hundreds of years of happy spinning, it has some chatter to it but I like to think it is telling stories of people and projects long ago....

My new challenge wheel is a Rio Grande spindle wheel- thank you Taos Martie! I got started spindle wheel spinning with my Penguin wheel and graduated to this one. It is a step toward my dream of an antique walking wheel- but boy do I need practice! The long draw spinning is not my 'natural'- I am an 'inch worm' spinner according to my friend Kathi- kind of makes her crazy watching me! ;0) (The blue roving was Corriedale from a friend's flock- Theo & Marshall's 'family')

This is again, the Rio Grande- my first attempt at spinning from clouds... The yarn from this wheel is SO light and soft- I just love it- soft smooshy single ply, in spite of myself! The fiber was a blend of Humphrey's Camel fiber and his llama buddies...

Hope you all enjoy the weekend- and smooches from the sheep! Not sure what THEY have planned tonight but I am sure it involves margaritas and fireworks- bwaaahahahaha!

Please bear with me til tomorrow....

I don't have many words in my heart today, but did not want to leave anyone thinking I had left town either. I will be back to answering email tomorrow (Friday July 3). I had to let two of my sweet sheep go today- and I am heartbroken.

The bottom picture is my Culley sheep as a lamb, and top is my elegant, very grown up Border leicester boy- who by the age of 4 had a very horrid case of genetic arthritis. We have been treating it very aggressively for the past few years and he had finally had enough.
The last picture is my sweet Bela Mia- you might remember her from a large rescue we were involved with last winter? Her legs were crippled in front thanks to her former owner- and the past few weeks found her pain uncontrollable, and she deserved better from the world.
So whomever watches over my sheep up there, two good sheep were added to your flock- and they love Fruit Loops and hugs. Please be sure they get a ton of them. Also, Culley has missed his mom Mma, and brother Treasure. Bela Mia has been missing her best ever friend Kelly. Please be sure they find each other in 'my' flock....

If I ever get 'used to' the decisions we are often forced to make- it will be time for me to get out of this line of work. Fortunately, in that light, things are as they should be. I will miss you forever my sweet lambies.....