Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Black Corriedale - Jen

I was given an entire black corriedale fleece a few years back when I was at State Fair. I started working on it this summer and have recently added batts and yarn to my etsy shop. I also completed a pair of socks for Will, and he has just placed an order for a matching brimless hat, which he insists he would wear to school. This is mighty praise for a knitter to receive from a teenager.












I have a few comments about this fiber.

A. I love it.
B. The fleece is massive. Its like a bottomless pit of fiber.
C. The color is gorgeous
D. Its fun to spin
E. The fact that my fussbudget Will wears socks made from this fleece is a testament to the softness.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Ewe A Day - Fantasia

V Creek Fantasia is a wonderful two-year old ewe with a gorgeous single-coated blue-grey fleece. There's very little I don't like about her. As an added bonus, she's the friendliest ewe on our farm. At the fair this year, she would often stick her head through the gate and rest her head on our laps as we sat next to it. As a brood ewe, she brings a lot to the table. I like her bloodlines for one. She's a double F3 Greyling out of Walnut Rise Ivan and V Creek Sparkles. There aren't a lot of spotted sheep out of those lines. She had two very nice ewe lambs this spring that we decided to keep.


You can see her excellent structure in the picture below. Lots of frame and very level.





















Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Shetland Shawl - Jen

I wrote about this shawl last spring, I was in the final stages of completion and couldn't resist a premature blog entry. I was quite desperate at the time - thank you to all for your support. Now its done and blocked, and I am totally over it. Sort of like how after you have the baby you forget about how painful the delivery was?

I spun the wool from two different ewes, and knit it in the round. I got the pattern from Fiddlesticks, its called "Garden Flowers".

Funny story, I have been killing myself over this thing. Took with me on every sheep delivery/pickup Rich and I made for 5 years. Had it sprawled on our bed for an entire day during blocking. Blogged about it. It's been my albatross, right? So I finish it, and put it on and show it to Rich one day while he was reading a book about sheep parasites or something. He goes (I swear I'm not kidding), "Hey, that's really nice! Where did you get that?"

By the way, there is no way in heck this thing will fit through a wedding ring.