A Whirled Yarn

Black sheep, black sheep, what #@$% happened to you?

Remember how I impressed you last week with a hideous naked sheep picture...did you really think I would allow shearing day to come and go with out a blow by account of the whole thing?  Sorry, no such luck for you!

My absolutely faithful and loyal readers (which may only be my husband...) may recall how last year we here at Settlers Farm were determined to shear the little buggers ourselves.  After all, who would want to pay a hefty $5 (!?!) a head when you have two able-bodied adults to sling sheep and numerous children capable of running about like border collies?  Armed with my thrifty ebay sheep shearers, we cornered the first sheep (I think it was poor Violet).  I squeezed a rope halter (upside down, the poor thing) over her face as the Absent-minded Prof readied the shearers ...which look like dog clippers on steroids... and are completely capable of slicing off an ear (both your's and the sheep's with one good blow). 

They didn't work.

Not to be thwarted...we did what any sensible Insteader (translation: homesteader wannabe) would do.

We got out the sewing scissors...

This is about three hours per sheep later.  The coats are to hide their shame...

This year we found Danny...

And we are NEVER, ever, letting him go...

This poor man spends all his working hours bent in half.  And he wields those massive shearers with the finesse of a gun-slinger from an old western.  Each sheep took him 15 minutes...maybe.

And the results look like this...

I love him.

The Absent-minded Prof took this picture to prove I don't need a skirting table.

I think it proves exactly the opposite.  Thankfully I thought ahead and wore a long shirt to prevent skirter's butt.

This is what happens when you look like a woolly pig...but act like a woolly grasshopper...

Sad, but just imagine what he would look like if I had to attack him with the fiskars.

Here they are, naked and so proud of their contribution to my fiber insanity...

Okay, maybe they are just begging for cookies. 

You know how the goats spend their days hogging the hay and slamming into the poor sheep with those stupid horns?

Karma baby, karma...

What is real?

 

So not only do I have a logo but now I have also created a website for the new shop.  It is just a page, but you know, it's a start.  And it has it's own email address and everything.  Despite all my obvious technical finesse (heck, I even know how to reach my voice mail messages on my mobile phone), I am always in awe of being able to manipulate something on the WORLD WIDE WEB.  Having space on the Internet seems to make everything so real.  Or is it that everything on the Internet isn't real? 

Whatever...I'm here and I'm real...

...I think.

You know it's spring when...

   

1. You have been trapped in the house with three crazed children on "Spring Break" for a week and the weather is cold enough to forget your groceries in the car for the whole day...and nothing thawed.

2. The couch, the floor, my sweater and an entire toddler could be mistaken for a golden retriever.  If this keeps up much longer, that dog will be nakid.

3.  Your sheep have turned pink...

Don't laugh...her name is Violet and she's very sensitive...and a wee bit chilly.  And please don't mention that this is really not the most flattering look for her rear end.

4. But the most reliable sign of spring is...

...the gawky half grown chick in a plastic tub.

Mention the word "chick" and everyone immediately envisions a little puff ball fit for an Easter card.  (Unless, I guess,  your visions are fueled by testosterone.)  No one ever mentions this skinny necked, long legged, prickly pin-feathered, easily panicked and completely stupid phase.  Welcome to the chicken version of the teenager.  Take one look at these hideous, dinosaury creatures and just try to tell me there is no good evidence for evolution.  It's like a mini Jurassic Park on my porch...

Our first chicks that we bought when the kids were very small were named sweet, unimaginative things like "Runner", "Jumper", "Flyer", and "Chirper".  Six years later I must introduce "Toady", "Cloud", "Autumn", "Taylor" and...prepare yourself..."Enrique". 

This was "Puff", may she rest in peace.

Although I think her coffin decorations might keep her up nights...

the Big News

I must apologize for being gone soooo long.  I was a vendor at a conference last weekend, and I spent the last few weeks dyeing, and dyeing, and dyeing, and dyeing, and dyeing all over again.  The result was lots of beautiful rovings, batts and "ToeToez" sock yarns (aren't I so clever...ToeToez...ToTos...I live in Kansas...heh, heh, heh,...yah.  Well, it seemed clever at the time.

And I believe I can officially pronounce Project365 dead.  Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead.  (Sorry, I seem to have  developed some sort of repetitive tick.)  Perhaps it is time to start Project52.  If I can't do one a week, I can be officially pronounced a loser.

So, here is my BIG news that has kept me so busy....I AM OPENING A FIBER SHOP!!!!  Yay, hooray, whoo-hoo, loud whistle, lots of sparkly confetti, large cheering crowd, and a hand shake from the President (whoa,... okay that last one brought it down...how 'bout this instead...) and a handshake from the Democratic Nominee for President (to be determined at a later date...)!  My mother, who has been my business partner in our gallery has decided to retire and TRAVEL THE WORLD...well, at least travel to the East Coast to visit ill relatives.  And so I thought, if I am going to work a heck of a lot more out of the home, why don't I do at work what I would be doing at home?  (And that is not housecleaning or laundry...trust me, just visit).

So far I have become a dealer for Louet, Babe, Ashford, Baynes, Strauch and Majacraft.  I want to be primarily a spinning shop with tons of fiber... from fresh fleeces to combed top.  I will have drum carders, spindles, hand carders and combs.  Also dyes (and a dyeing studio for classes) and yarns from indie companies and farms.  Most importantly, I have develped the ever so important image for my logo...

Cute, eh?  I am so freaking excited!!!!

On a completely different topic,... if you have lain awake nights wondering what the stretch of Kansas between Wichita and Manhattan looked like...

what the h*ll is wrong with you?!?