New Sheep!

Well, we needed more sheep like we needed another hole in our heads. But.....when the Lord whacks you over the head enough times telling you to do something, who are we to question Him? There was a lady here in our own town that had been raising longwool sheep to show. Did I mention we didn't have to drive but 10 minutes to her house?(Smack! do you hear the first smack the Lord landed?) She wanted to get out of the sheep business, and was looking to re-home them all. (Smack!) They needed to be sheared, so Stan called Danny Smith to ask when he would be coming this way, figuring it would be this fall - he was coming this week. (Smack!) They are all breeds I have been wanting, long before we knew she had them, and they are longwool sheep.(Smack!) We prayed and prayed, and turned the possibilities over and over, but in the end, we wound up with 10 of them. Here are pictures of a few.



This first one is a Gotland ewe who may be bred:




Then there were two Wensleydale cross twin rams. We also have their mother, an elegant black Wensleydale. I was very excited about the fleeces on this group of three. This lamb is silver-y black, and his twin brother is coal black. Both are very tightly curled:

This is another Gotland ewe:

And finally, here is a Cotswold ram lamb. We also have his twin sister and his mom. We already have an older sister of his, Marley. You can see her at our farm website http://www.diamondbsheepfarm.com/

We also now have two Gotland rams, one is creamy white and the other is black. So. Our not so little flock has grown again. Where am I going to put all this wool at spring shearing time?

By the way, most all of the lambs are now posted on our farm site. We have around 20 that will need new homes, so please take a look and tell all of your fiber-y friends.

Then, just because it is a hoot, have you ever heard of southern folks visiting over the fence? Well, that is just what our neighbor's bull did this afternoon. Literally. Take a look:

Crazy outfit thought he might like a sniff of our lady cows, and didn't realize the amount of effort it would take to actually clear the fence with his bulk. At least his front half made it. After a couple of snips with the wire cutters, he was set free, with only a little raw spot to show for his adventure.

Massive Shop Update

After ignoring our etsy shop for what seems like forever, I just did a massive update this afternoon. There are lots of new items and some that had disappeared because their listing had expired. Come check it out!

Rt. 66 Fiber Rendezvous and Spin In

We had a great time at the Rt. 66 Fiber Rendezvous and Spin In at Edmond, Oklahoma yesterday! I saw so many spinning wheels, my dream list of spinning wheels to try just got a little longer! I also squeezed, felt and smelled (yes, I said smelled) lots of really pretty fibers! Color, color, color...my head is still swirling with all the pretty color combinations I saw.

Kate, of Lowder Colour Farms, one of my very favorite people, had several of her beautiful Wensleydale fleeces. I had to stay away! I still have the gorgeous chocolate brown from her last year that needs to be played with. But you can't stop a girl from looking!

Gwen and Donna from The Weavery at Indian Meridian were set up next to us. Those ladies know how to create a tempting booth! I immediately spied a deep cranberry batt, made up of merino, silk and bamboo. I decided it would be my one purchase of the day after I had a few sales. Well, someone else bought it before I could, but that is okay, it isn't like there is a wool shortage at my house. Instead, I decided to give in and spin my own hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester roving that I had with me. I had brought the little Mathieson wheel to this show because he is so portable, but he can be a bit cranky at times, and the bobbin I put on would not spin. Period. It just wouldn't. Donna commented that it looked to be the same size as some Ashford bobbins she had, and she brought one over. It is a perfect match! So now I have a source for more bobbins for my favorite little wheel!


Lisa Sasser, another one of my favorite people, had some of the prettiest wool from her flock. Her alpaca was so soft, I could have dove in and took a nap in heaven for awhile! And her batts.....ahhhhhhh....her batts, so very pretty, and such beautiful colors. But, alas, I have a feed bill to pay, so I had to be content with my new Ashford bobbin.


One more beauty to share - there was an extremely talented lady at the show, I think she was part of the Log Cabin Spinning Guild. She had brought some of her hand knit shawls to show. One of them was made from cashmere and angora that she had spun herself. It was a soft shade of tan, and looked like it could float, it was so light and airy. Such skill and patience!




I would have posted pictures of all of the lovelies I saw, but, as usual, when we pulled out of the driveway at 4 am yesterday moring to head off to the show, my camera was still sitting on the kitchen counter. Good place for it. At least I knew exactly where it was every time I wanted to use it yesterday!

~Lori