TNNA 2015

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Robin

TNNA is The National NeedleArts Association and there is a trade show every winter. This year’s was in Phoenix where I met up with my friend of 35 years, Irene who owns Cotton Clouds.

We stayed at the Hyatt… …and here is the view from our window. Kind of makes me think of Ghostbusters. But wait……Here it is as I saw it without the aid of the camera.

We spent Saturday and Sunday on the show floor. I hadn’t planned to buy anything for my shop this year because it is already pretty full. But there were some things that I couldn’t resist.

This is just to pique your interest. I will be selling these kits and developing a new class in this technique for making very cool scarves. What a way to use up leftover yarn! Sincere sheep cormo I already sell Sincere Sheep’s Bannock Targhee yarn but then I saw their Cormo yarn that is grown and spun in Wyoming. How can I choose from all these colors? I really can’t have them all. Sincere sheep cormo (1) These will be in the shop in a couple of months. I saw the “Olympic sweater” in person. This sweater was knit with very soft wonderful yarn that I sell here and that I used in some of the pieces in my November show.

Irene and I took a class taught by Judith Sangold who wrote a wonderful book called Weave-Knit-Wear which I will have in the shop shortly. An advantage of taking the class was that we got to try on the garments that are in the book. They all fit me just right!

There were photo ops…

In the Spinning and Weaving Group’s booth with Liz Gipson, promoting Spinzilla……and with Irene. Hey, why am I wearing the funky hat and she didn’t dress up?

This is in the Lavishea booth. I’ll be getting new scents of this great lotion bar. Is there something about us that says The Beautiful Hero and the Weird Sidekick?Speaking of weird, what about this book? I love some of the projects in it. How about a knitted moosehead to hand over your fireplace or a knitted wolf head hat? Hey, I’d wear that scarf. Did you know that I made my husband a cow tie once complete with head and tail? But that’s another story.This is Irene and me sandwiching a new friend who also designs kits for Irene but whom I’d never met.

And speaking of yarn, here is more that I bought:Unfortunately this lovely lady won’t be coming home with it because she had to return to England. The yarn is called Titus, after Sir Titus Salt who became important in the burgeoning textile industry in Yorkshire in the early 1800’s. It is a wonderful blend of Wensleydale, BFL and alpaca. I couldn’t afford to buy bags of all 13 colors but will be getting these 4 as well as packs that include all the colors in small quantities.

Here is one more photo of Irene and me. I just learned how to use Instagram and this is my first photo on it.

After getting home I emptied all my loot out on a couple of tables. Can you believe that I got all of this into my carry-on suitcase along with my clothes?

Ginny – 3 months old

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Robin

Ginny has been here a month and will be 3 months old on Monday. I still feel this pressure to turn her into a Well-Mannered Dog, but I think we are doing OK. I have decided that puppyhood is like condensing the childhood years from 0 to 15 into about 8 months. That’s how much time I have to get it right. She has a smudged face from rough-housing with Rusty. He is still stand-offish a lot of the time but he has his moments. In the early morning I can see Rusty playing with Ginny in the yard but I think he doesn’t want me to know. After doing chores Ginny and Maggie play (me bribing Maggie with treats) and Rusty will chase, but not get involved in the actual tussling. When I am finished at the computer it’s Rusty’s turn for a blog post and he’ll show the photos of this morning’s play time.Here is the doorway. Rusty is in his regular spot at the backdoor. Maggie has the mat to the right and Ginny has a couple of towels…and a stick. It’s a good thing that when Dan built this back porch he used two doors. We are now using the door to the right that leads directly to the laundry room because if you go in the usual door you have to climb a puppy fence. When we all go in I open that door for Ginny and the other door for the rest of us.

Yesterday I tried to take all three dogs for a walk Across the Road. That was a mistake. Ginny was way too excited and distracted and trying to play with Maggie and pull on the leash. Today I took her on her own walk and she did very well. This is the latest photo while I’m at my desk.

Shearing 2015

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Robin

Although we had a cold start the weather for Shearing Day turned out great and a lot of people came out to watch and to buy fleeces. Ewes before shearing. Farm Club members handled all the jobs. I don’t have photos of all of them but FC photographer, Dona, will probably have some for me to add to another post. That’s Stephany and Gynna who wrangled sheep all morning. Alison and others helped skirt fleeces that people purchased. Here is a view from above. Carol and Amy are in place to sweep between sheep and to let the shorn sheep out the gate.

John Sanchez has been our shearer for several years. The fleeces are always beautiful and the sheep look great too. He’s prompt and he’s fast too. He finished everything in 3 hours.Looking at this photo I wish that I’d done a series of photos of footwear. There are a lot of stylish boots in our Farm Club.

Jackie kept track of names and cards… Mary scooping fleeces

…while Mary scooped the fleeces into bags. All Farm Club members rotated tasks and helped all day–answering dozens of questions from visitors and also helping in the shop. Thanks to everyone: Alene, Alison, Amy, Betty, Carol, Dona, Gynna, Jackie, Janis, Joy, Kathleen, Lisa, Mary, Peggy, Polly, and Stephany (and to Judy for joining us).Jimmy is one of two wethers (castrated male) who was well marked so that the shearer would be told to watch for different parts while shearing off the belly wool.

Amaryllis was probably glad that she wasn’t on the shearing list.

This is what Dan made out of the pressure tank we had to replace a couple of months ago. It provided a welcome place to warm hands. Maggie behaved admirably all day.Rusty kept watch.Ginny was in the barn with us but had her own pen to keep her out of trouble.

Bags of fleeces for me to sort through. 937 Donna (1)

This is how I felt at the end of the day.

Ice

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Robin

The older I get the less I want to slip and fall. My body sabotages me enough without doing something that is more likely to break a bone. So on our hike yesterday I was very careful to avoid the icy parts on the trail. But not everyone else seemed to care so much.Sam on ice. Ginny on ice.Kirin on ice. Chris on ice.Meryl and Chris on ice.

Chris on ice–this time on purpose.

Matt’s version of the louge…

…followed by the skeleton…

Here he breaks form before breaking his head.

Bassi Falls

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Robin

Yesterday it was way too cold and windy at Loon Lake … …for us to enjoy snowshoeing for very long so we drove back down……to the trail to Bassi Falls at about 5400′ elevation.There wasn’t enough snow to snowshoe but there was no wind and the other signs of winter were still there. At the base of the falls Meryl and Chris showed off their gymnastic skills.Here is a group shot where we’re not quite as bundled up as in the previous post. How many people does it take to arrange a dog-only group shot? You can see the result of this in Rusty’s blog after he gets his turn at the computer. Maggie and Ginny Once again, Maggie provide entertainment for Ginny because just hiking isn’t enough for her.After the trauma of the first stop we made, Ginny had a great time on this hike. We all thought that she would be worn out for the day, but it seems that the long car ride was enough to revive her and she wasn’t at all tired last night.

Loon Lake

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Robin

It’s not easy to find a time when we can all get together for a whole day. We had planned on a snowshoeing trip and the prediction of a little cold weather wasn’t going to deter us. The problem was that even though we had significant precipitation in December with Caliornia’s continuing drought the snow level was fairly high. To find enough snow for snowshoeing we drove to Loon Lake (6358′ elevation). There was enough snow here and it was sunny but the temperature was in the low 20’s and the wind was howling. (I know that plenty of people live in this kind of weather, but not me. I’ll go for 100 degree days anytime over bone-chilling cold.)

We decided to go for it with the snowshoes at least for a short time. Everyone out of the car… …including Ginny, in the snow for the first time. Matt, Kaleena, Chris, and Meryl started down to the lake with the big dogs. I was behind because I had to remember how to walk with snowshoes without getting my feet tangled up going down the steep slope from the road. It didn’t take us long to figure out that with the strong wind it was just too cold for Ginny so Dan took her back to the car. The rest of us continued down to the lake. Matt was having a hard time keeping track of which was his wife since both Kaleena and Meryl were wearing Kaleena’s snow gear. There were white caps on the lake and lots of ice at the edge.

That’s me on the left, then Kaleena, Matt, Chris, and Meryl.

Meryl and Chris with Sam and Rusty.It’s the wind that is making Rusty’s ears stand up.

We didn’t spend too much time here. Instead we drove back down to Bassi Falls and went for a hike there–something that all of us could enjoy. Photos of that in the next blog post.

Farm Day

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Robin

Shearing Day is coming up so next weekend and Farm Club members came Saturday to help get things ready. Dona took a lot of great photos and all of these are hers. There is always barn cleaning. A break for puppy-time.After finishing with the barn……it was time to preview fleeces. Mary made cards to be put into bags as the sheep are shorn and she recorded which fleeces were reserved by Farm Club members.

.Maggie watched from above.

Everyone was anxious to get hands-on the fleeces.

This is Isadora and her July lamb, Isabelle. Shearing Day is an Open House so if you’re in the area you are welcome to come. See this link.

Landscape

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Robin

These remind me of photos taken flying over Nevada at 30,000 feet.

But if that’s the case then this is scary:

These are from my last walk Across the Road.

Sheep Grow Up

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Robin

Farm Club came and helped get the barn ready for shearing next weekend. We also made sure that my sheep list was current and we looked at fleeces. The lamb fleeces are gorgeous and it made me think about how sheep grow up. Here are some examples.Ventura’s baby picture…

…in the fall……as an adult. Rosie as a young lamb……half grown……and grown up with her own lambs. Onyx as a lamb……and grown up.

This is Jane with her lamb this year who I have named Jean.Jean during the summer…

…and a few weeks ago.

Here is one last one. Jerry (Garcia) is the wether who keeps the BFL ram, Faulkner, company. Jerry is a lucky sheep because he would not have been kept as a ram with his narrow horn set and lots of black fiber (too much to register, but great if you like dark wool).Jerry as a baby……with Faulkner after shearing a few years ago…

…and now ready to be shorn next week.

The wool is what it’s all about.

Jerry’s fleece from last year.Ventura’s fleece.

Maggie the Babysitter

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Robin

All three dogs come to the barn when I do chores.So that I can keep track of her Ginny is on a chain while I’m cleaning the barn and putting out hay.

After chores it is play time.Maggie has only rarely shown an inclination to play and maybe that’s because Rusty doesn’t either. Once in awhile she will show the “play-bow” move and run off in what I think of as the cartoon-dog run. Ginny, of course, is desperate to play with anyone who shows the least interest. I have figured out that I can bribe Maggie into playing with Ginny–at least for awhile. When she responds to Ginny’s play attempts I have given Maggie a treat and said “play with the puppy”. It seems to be working because I can prolong playtime that way. The longer the better to wear out that puppy. That doesn’t look like play, but it is. Rusty just watches, wanting nothing to do with them. Maggie coming back to me for another treat before she goes another round with Ginny.