Wool!

Thanks to a dear friend, I recently scored four huge garbage bags of Llama and Alpaca wool from a farm in Waterford. I think I will have enough wool to spin for quite some time. The wool was really clean so I did not have to do much soaking but it took a full day and a half to get through two bags.

Also, many thanks to my father-in-law who got both of my antique spinning wheels in working order, so that I have a mechanism to actually spin all of this wool!  Yes, there will be many future spinning posts. After all, I bartered all of this wool in exchange for making a few hats with the finished product.

Sawyer

Well, it has been a week since our new puppy, Sawyer, came home with us.  He has been nothing but a blast.  He can already sleep through the night with no accidents, he knows his name and is already fetching and bring the toy back to us.  That last bit I think is more the lab instinct in him though.  The only complaint so far is that he already claimed the couch as his.  Just like every other dog we've had.  We're pushovers that way.  We were thinking of kennel training him, but we want him to have run of the house when we are gone.  One of his roles in the house will be security and he cannot do that from a kennel.  He has kept chewing to just his toys and treats (no power cords).  It is amazing how big of a hole Marci's passing left in this household until Sawyer came.  Even the cats had been acting weird since she died.  But now the puppy has filled that gap and everyone is back to normal again.  As normal as life with a puppy can get I suppose.

At this point in his life he is a sponge for the next 12 weeks or so.  His training will be the most intense and he should learn all of the basic commands and rules of the house until summer.

Fall Day

Everyone's getting in the action.

It seems that Denali, one of our Angora Rabbits, figured the compost needed to be turned one more time before going on the garden.

 

Don't worry, the pile here has already been broken down and had been sitting for a month now.

The Spinning Continues

Sorry folks, it's been a long time since our last post. We have had a few ups and downs earlier this year and we are still moving toward a more self sustainable lifestyle (we just haven't had much time to blog about it).

But I wanted to share how good I am getting at spinning all this angora wool! I am quite proud. I am actually getting large enough skeins where I can finally start making knitted items. I also found the secret to spinning pure angora yarn - a really lightweight drop spindle. The tension is perfect and does not break the fiber while spinning. I tried spinning it on a larger drop spindle with not much luck.

21 Days Later

There has only been one thing that had me losing sleep last night and losing my focus at work today.  It is not the state of the economy, it is not the seemingly unending election cycle, not earthquakes, tornadoes or climate change.  It is the 54 ovoids sitting in the kitchen cooking under a humid 99.5 °F - 100.5 °F in the kitchen.  Day 21 of incubating eggs is most likely the most nervous you will see me in any given year.  Three days ago I stopped turning the eggs, gave a random sampling a good candling to make sure each chick was still growing and closed the lid.  It was now all up to the little guys.  I feel such a connection to them and a great responsibility for their success or failure to hatch.  Each morning, when I woke up, each afternoon I came home from work and right before I went to bed each egg was carefully turned.  It is a great commitment to have in my opinion.  


I began this endeavor on April 9th in the evening and so yesterday, I feel myself getting anxious, impatient and unfocused.  Last year, the hatching began a day early (a sign of too high a temperature), and lasted three days.  Even though the rule of thumb is 21 days, chicks can hatch as late as 25 days.   So when I got home from work yesterday and looked inside the incubator and saw nothing happening, my anxiety went into high gear.  I know there is nothing I can really do at this point the feeling of a complete failure began to hang heavy on me.  Last night was not a restful sleep and many cups of coffee were in order this morning.  The anxiety level slowly rose throughout the day. 


This evening marks the end of the 21st day and I am glad to say, the peeping has begun!  A few of the eggs have been pipped with some others rocking around, as anxious to get out as I am for them.  I feel a great deal of satisfaction.  I am sure the hatching will last until Thursday.  Many pictures of the fuzz balls to follow!


Drawing credit to Judy Butler at Down the Natural Trail

Sheared and Feared

I'm so glad I am finally getting around to writing this post. I have been busy working at the best company in the world so I let time escape me.

Anyways, I sheared the Angoras last weekend. Their hair was starting to mat so I figured it was time for the dreaded "shave and a haircut". I think I was dreading it more than the rabbits were, one being that the girls had no idea it was coming, and secondly, I was terrified I was going to cut too close or one would jolt and my scissors would meet their skin. It took me two sittings to do both rabbits, but thankfully I took my time and no blood was spilled.

Now I have a few ounces of fiber to felt and spin. I scored a sweet deal on an antique spinning wheel a few weeks back. The thing is in great condition, all I need is a drive band and a crash course. I am attending the Waukesha Spin In on Saturday and hope I can get schooled then.