A very eager goat at the feeder. I have a couple of these little guys to neaten things up around the yard all summer. They're quite charming, and compared to other goats (these guys are high percentage Boers, or meat goats) they are rather mannerly.









Probably one of the most invaluable technical projects I did this summer was to create a dye sample chart.

With rare exception, I rely on three dye colors to obtain the colors that I produce. Every hue on this chart- and I did eighty some-odd dye lots- was produced using one, two, or three of those basic three colors in varying proportions.

This is a priceless tool for me because it's far easier now to "nail" a color on the first try.

OK, here's something new for me. I'd seen lots of lockerhooking projects look just awful, even some in books about lockerhooking!

The concept still appeals so I tried using some of my roving "seconds" to hook a sample. This measure about ten by ten. I lockerhooked on a weaving warp (actually did it on my loom) which is a little unusual; most lockerhooking is done on a canvas grid.






A new offering:
Purebred Coopworth batts, originally gray and over-dyed in several hues of magenta. The variation is very subtle including an ever-so -slightly coppery magenta to slightly silvery magenta. When I look at it overall, I think "chocolate cherries".








Here's a close-up. This fiber was from Dooby, my ram. It is on the soft side for Coopworth.

$3.50 per ounce; just under 23 ounces are available but I'm happy to sell small amounts.

A Perfect Winter Day

Feeding the critters was delightful today. The sun was bright; it was cold but there was no breeze and it just felt good to be working in the fresh air.

The critters had finished their first bale of haylage, opened for them on Christmas Eve. Haylage is hay that is cut and then gathered up before it has had a chance to dry out. It is compressed and wrapped in plastic; the absense of air in the bale causes the grasses to ferment. (Off subject: in the distance are, left to right, the woodshed, Fort Apache the chicken house, our home, and just the peak of the building in which my husband built me a beautiful studio.)

I feed my sheep haylage rather than bales of conventional, dry hay because haylage keeps the fleeces cleaner, the sheep waste far less, and it's more economical.

A bale of haylage weighs in the vicinity of 1200 pounds. In the lower right hand corner of this image you can see a wrapped bale; the one that I just opened is the brownish-green one behind it.









Here's a close-up. When opened, a good bale of haylage has an odor that's been described as "pickles and beer." It's actually quite an appealing odor.






A few words about why I was silent since my post in May. 2008 did not get off to a good start here. There were numerous sad events and losses, and even an attempt to get away from it all for a few days ended in failure. One of the losses was my part time job; my company eliminated an entire sales division this past spring.

I knew that I had an indefinite period of unemployment and needed to find a positive way to spend this time as I sorted through various issues. I made the decision to see this time as a gift and to spend it quietly doing a lot of creative experimenting. Those months were a sort of passage for me between a not-so-good beginning and a much better ending for the year. Not every issue has been resolved- some won't be- but in general things are much better (and, by the way, I was able to find new employment and am in a better place career-wise). But beyond 2008, I made several discoveries and conclusions that will probably shape the path I follow.



Here's the first of many images over the next couple of weeks to get caught up with what I've been up to.

These are what I call stitch-lets; little 4 x 4 samplers of embroidery stitches. The wool is two-ply sock yarn from my own and other Massachusetts sheep; the felt is made up in large sheets from the less desireable (to spinners or knitters) fiber that I separate out when my sheep are shorn.

I love embroidering on felt and am doing these stitch-lets to learn new embroidery stitches and to apply embroidery concepts to felt. Very different from working on evenweave or needlepoint canvas! While I'm learning how to work on a scale that's larger than most embroidery work, it helps to keep the projects... and associated failures as well as triumphs- small. I love the texture, the variations in color, and especially the fact that this takes me back to when I was a little girl experimenting with felt. It was during the summer that I realized this connection to my past. I'll most-likely be posting lots more stitch-let images.

Catching Up...

I'll be catching up with photos and comments in no particular order. For starters, here are some of the critters yesterday, the day after a snowfall, awaiting their daily ration.



A long-overdue progress report on Bud! Here are a couple of photos taken late fall. As you can see, he has the sheeps' respect and he knows how to keep up the tension but not put his charges into a panic. He looks to me for direction (wish I could always be up to the task). We have a few bad habits to work on, but he is turning out to be a very good worker. And a wonderful companion off the job! He continues to be a food thief; his latest conquest was the last of a loaf of fruitcake today. Not the kind you're glad to get rid of; rather, the kind that you hate to see dwindle away. Dwindle it did not.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very wonderful and peaceful Christmas. I'll be back soon with a few comments about my long silence!

Happier Days

Here is Bud. Bud came to live with us one month ago today. When I ran into my good friend Victoria Huff the day after Abby died, she reminded me that there might be a wonderful dog out there somewhere, waiting to be rescued. I went home and began searching for the Border Collie rescue groups.

I found Sweet Border Collie Rescue at Glen Highland Farm. This organization is the life work of Lillie Goodrich along with her husband and co-founder, John Andersen. Since its inception, they have placed almost 1000 Border Collies. E-mails flew back and forth; Lillie selected several candidates, drove an hour and a half to the farm of Warren Mick, a herding dog trainer, and had each dog evaluated with actual sheep to determine herding potential.

Bud was the shining star among the herding candidates. Two days later we drove to Glen Highland Farm, located just outside Oneonta NY, along with our little Silky Terrier Spike so that we could all meet. Bud and Spike hit it off immediately and we began the journey home.

Bud is a treasure. Sweet, playful, attentive, grateful, comes when called, adapted quickly to the invisible fence, truly penitent- every time- when caught swiping food off the counter, devoted. He made many friends at my booth at the WEBS tent sale two weeks ago and charms all he meets when he visits my mother with me at Linda Manor, a local nursing home. He has stolen my heart.

It's hard to imagine that his first family gave him up! Sadly, this happens too often with Border Collies. Many people are charmed by the intelligence and playfulness of the breed, buy a puppy and then are overwhelmed when the herding instinct kicks in and they find that their sweet pup is chasing the kids and nipping at their legs. Although Bud negotiates that balance between good manners and herding instinct gracefully, at some point during his puppyhood the circumstances of his first family changed and he was crated constantly for the five months prior to being relinquished to rescue.

The Glen Highland Farm site is a wealth of information on the Border Collie mind, rescue in general, canine health and nutrition, programs bringing inner city kids and dogs in need of friends together, seminars, success stories about BC's finding meaningful work in keeping golf courses clear of Canada Geese, and profiles of adoption candidates. If you are as inspired by this organization as I am, please consider making a financial contribution. A donor has offered to match every donation dollar up to $15,000! This is a worthy cause for anyone who loves to wear or work with wool. There needs to be a role for Border Collies in this culture. Maintaining a pool of herding dog talent is part of the infrastructure that keeps sheep on our hillsides and local wool available.

Bud is just over one year old and it is still early for him to work sheep. He and I will be heading to Greenfield MA in a couple of days for our first lesson in working with sheep with trainer Denise Leonard. I'll keep you posted!

Remembering Abby

Abby passed away very early this morning. She was 3/4 Border Collie and 1/4 Australian Shepherd, eight years old, and had the sweetest disposition of any dog I've ever had. Although not well-trained in herding sheep she was still very useful to me when caring for my flock and I'll miss her dearly, both as a friend and as an assistant.

In late March I noticed that Abby seemed a little less enthusiastic and her appetite wasn't up to par. We were away the first week of April and the friend caring for her reported that she hardly ate a thing. That trend continued, she lost weight, grew weak, looked anemic (gums and inner eyelids), developed labored breathing, and lay around all day. I don't know if there's a connection, but her beautiful coat changed: not as flowing, and brown hair started growing along her spine where she had always been blue merle. She remained sweet- can you see it in her eyes? This photo was taken three days ago before she was taken to a nearby veterinary hospital for an ultrasound.

Abby was found to have pancreatitis and treatment was begun (pain medications, tests, re hydration with IV fluids, fresh frozen plasma). We visited her yesterday evening and found her no better; I knew, just being with her, that her outlook was poor. Her breathing was even more labored and she was ill at ease. I asked the staff to let the veterinarian know that I wished to discuss taking Abby home.

A call came at 2:30 am. Chest films indicated that her lungs had extensive cancer, probably part of the process that had started destroying her pancreas. They had placed her on oxygen and it was time to decide how to proceed. We drove to the hospital; Abby seemed more like herself, giving us a slow wag of the tail when she saw us. The oxygen had probably provided enough pep for her to be acting more like herself. She lay down quietly on a blanket and we sat on the floor with her. I told her how wonderful she had been, how she'd help me with the sheepies. Then, as the vet helped her slip away, she gave me one last kiss.

Abby never really understood what toys were for but she did have a little stuffed, earless and bedraggled Lambie that she would sometimes seek out and deliver graciously to my lap. Lambie is now nestled with Abby in a blanket, under the apple tree in the backyard in which Abby spent eight contented years.

Please hug your dog. Monitor his or her health closely; your dog, like Abby may be a stoic and suffer without complaint. I think that Abby had a reasonably good life during her last few weeks, but I regret that her last 36 hours were spent in a hospital.

Undyeing Devotion

I have a very large amount of yarn, shorn from Massachusetts sheep and spun into off-white sportweight yarn at a Massachusetts spinning mill. Although I'm a devoted dyer, I think I can spare a little. I personally sorted fleeces for this project, choosing mostly down and medium fleeces, with some longwool fleeces to add strength and luster. Before spinning, nylon was blended into the fiber at 15% by weight. This yarn was spun from the fleeces of white sheep only at a grist that yields 93 yards per ounce, under minimal tension, AFTER DYEING. One skein is more than enough to knit a pair of men's socks in size large.

Each four ounce skein is $8.00; for the next few weeks I'll be lowering the price of four or more skeins to $6.00 each. Drop me an e-mail (sojournerdesign@gmail.com) if you'd like some skeins!