N-Ewes from Hopeful Shetlands

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Colours For Spring




Finally we are having some decent weather here and the sunshine has inspired me to get out the old dye pots. I purchased some jaquard dyes last summer at the Michigan Fibre Fest and I finally got to try them out. I never really know what I will get, but I did some painted rovings and then some immersion dying with the leftover dye stock. I like to place the roving in a mesh bag and then dye it, which gives a mottled effect to the rovings since it is mashed up in the bag. So until we have flowers, I can enjoy my own colours of spring. I hope to bring them to Port Hope, April 18th for the Gathering and to Knitter's Frolic the following weekend in Toronto.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Spring Has Sprung a Leak




This, to me , is the absolute worst time of the year. I am tired of winter, but at least with snow on the ground, there aren't any puddles. The dogs are constantly wet and muddy and our yard is the consistency of a wet sponge. Warmer temperatures will soon get the grass growing and the flowers blooming, and my mud pit will be a distant memory. I love spring!.Here are some photos of Avery in her new sweater, knit by grandma, and Kayla taking refuge from the wet ground.

Monday, March 02, 2009

I Guess Willie Was Right






I cannot believe how cold it is today especially after we were teased into believing an early spring might be in the books after the warm weather we had a couple of weeks ago. I felt pretty confident that the sheep would be able to be out after shearing last Saturday, but I was wrong. Instead, they are happily munching their hay in a nice warm barn. I was really pleased with the quality of the fleeces this year and will be shipping them off to the mill this week to be made into rovings. A few of the fleeces were badly matted as the girls really started to shed early this season, so I didn't get much brown or black. The fleece from my shetland mule I purchased last summer from Bill Stearman, had a fleece equal in handle to my purebred BFL ram. Of course lambs will not be far off and I have lots to look forward to. My little granddaughter is growing like a weed and gives me much pleasure. Enjoy the pics.