About Robin

Owner of Meridian Jacobs, farm and fiber shop. I raise Jacob sheep, teach fiber arts classes, weave handwovens for sale, and manage the store.

Let there be light…of the right color

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Robin

One of the things on my Christmas list was a light reflector for helping with photography. This is a big round disc with changeable covers to give reflect light in different ways. After figuring out how to get better product photos by using manual settings on my camera, I was still limited by being able to direct light in the best way. I still have a lot to learn, but this is a start.

These photos are of a beautiful Targhee yarn that I just got back from the mill.

The photo above was taken using my camera on automatic. Yuck.

The yarn is in the same place but I have the gold cover on the disc. I also changed the camera to using manual settings for aperture and shutter speed, but I kept those the same for all the following photos.

This is the photo using the gold. It’s a pretty photo, but probably doesn’t show the true color of the yarn.

This is the cover that is not reflective, but diffuses light as it shines through.

Here is the yarn using that diffuse light. Not bad.

Here is a white reflective cover…

and the yarn. The yarn looks ok but there is more of a blue background.

How about the silver reflective cover?

This is the photo using the silver cover.

There are other variables of course–especially how my computer monitor displays the color and how your monitor displays the color. Those may be two different things.

And while I’m at it, here is a photo of felt that I got back from the mill last month. This is incredibly soft.

Look at the back side of that felt. Isn’t that cool? I think this will inspire something interesting.

Weaving in Blue

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Robin

I got a new loom! It wasn’t from Santa. I realized that if I was going to try to sell Schacht looms I’d better have some examples here. I have the smaller looms, but not a large floor loom. So the week before Christmas my loom came. It’s an 8-shaft, 46″ loom and I ordered a double back beam and sectional beam. Wow! What should the first project be? Fortunately I didn’t have time to worry about the appropriate first project. I had an order to weave a chenille throw and I’d been putting it off. The deadline was Christmas.

Here is the first warp on my new loom. I think that a 46″ wide chenille throw is a worthy project for the occasion.

Back view of the loom (before adding the extra beam or even the rest of the treadle tie-ups.

The piece on the left is the original throw that I was to duplicate. The loom was a joy to weave on, even with a 46″ wide warp. I am thrilled and can’t wait to wind the next warp.

In the meantime I had a deadline for a piece to (hopefully) be used in the next issue of Handwoven.

This was finished yesterday and mailed today. Its a v-shawl out of yarn called Bambu Lace.

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Robin

About a month ago I got an e-mail asking for favorite sheep photos so that they could be used for the 2012 Jacob Sheep Breeders calendar. This year’s calendar is very different from previous calendars. JSBA member, Julie, who happens to live nearby, offered to create artwork from the photos to use for the calendar. Julie is a wonderful artist and the calendar is a special treat, complete with Jacob yarn binding. As a special surprise, each of us whose photos were used were given the original artwork.

This is Fanny, my oldest ewe. I absolutely love it. Thank you so much, Julie!

Tie-Dye Meets Christmas Cookies

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Robin

Chris and Meryl wanted to make Christmas cookies. They discovered that it didn’t work with chocolate chip cookie dough (although that didn’t stop us from eating the cookies). Next batch was using a more traditional recipe.

The original idea was to frost the cookies later, but then I got out the food coloring and sprinkles.

Each successive batch was more interesting (creative).

I had to leave before this batch was finished. What fun to have grown up kids in the house!

A Foggy Morning

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Robin

It’s been foggy in the Sacramento Valley, but this last few days we have been just west of the fog. It was here this morning but is burning off.

The sheep greeted me as I went out this morning.

See the 3 sheep in the middle of this photo? Paulette is the farthest right of those three. We did preg checks on her and the other 2 sheep who are the ewes I breed in February to lamb at State Fair in July. When we brought her in I thought that she had quite a belly for an open ewe. She’s pregnant with triplets. No State Fair for her this year. Faulkner had got through the fence a couple of months ago and although I gave her an injectable form of the “morning-after” pill I guess it didn’t work. So those are three little BFL/Jacob lambs she’s carrying.

Why is Amaryllis standing here when everyone else is in the pasture? Those of you that know the flock will probably guess.

Because that’s where Stephanie is.

Here are the rams. In the foreground left to right: Ruby Peak Linden, Meridian Clapton (lambs)

Center: Meridian Fogerty (lamb)

Background front to back: Mud Ranch’s Hudson, Sweetgrass Clint, Puddleduck Sullivan (lamb).

This is Faulkner and his Jacob buddy, Jerry.

And, of course, Rusty is out here with me–staring at shadows.

Fame and Fortune (maybe not)

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Robin

My shadow weave piece is on the cover of the January/February 2012 Handwoven magazine.

This is a close-up of the shawl.

This is a close-up of another one using variegated yarn.

This is the third time I’ve had something on the cover of this magazine.

More about the spinning class

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Robin

These are not all spinning projects but they are pieces made by the talented ladies who took this class.

Paula needle felted this cat…

…and this sheep.

She and her mom felted these bunnies. These kits and many more are available here.

This is some Jacob yarn. I think this is Yolanda’s.

Jean spun this blue yarn.

Debbie stayed a little after class to choose Jacob buttons for her in-progress cape. Isn’t this a beautiful project?

New spinners

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Robin

Today was the third and last class in a Learn to Spin series. I got distracted before I got photos of everyone’s yarn, but here are a few to share.

This is Debbie’s first yarn (Jacob, of course) and she is knitting a scarf. Isn’t that gorgeous?

This photo uploaded OK, but now nothing else will upload. This post Will Be Continued….

Where will you be Feb. 21?

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Robin

I know where I will be. I just transferred the breeding notes from my clipboard to my 2012 calendar (while learning to use the calendar in my Mac) and look what I discovered. I knew that a lot of sheep were bred all at once, but it’s more striking when I see it in this format.

That’s 23 ewes due in a 5 day span. I usually aim for March 1 lambs, but I got antsy and thought I’d start breeding a week earlier. After all, my friends will all be lambing and I’ll want to have a few of my own before the rush starts in March. I thought wrong. There are about 30 more in addition to those first 23. I guess I’ll be warmed up by the time they lamb.

I’ve been finishing up registration applications for this year’s lambs. It’s interesting to look at baby photos of sheep.

This is 11038, now known as Rosie. Notice how her pink nose develops pigment as she gets older.

Rosie was developing very nice horns and I had my eye on her from the start as one I wanted to keep. She got in the ram pen when she was a few months old and, in trying to get back with the ewes, she broke off both horns. They are still stubby, but stout.