Fun in the snow south of us

Thank you so much to several entities for an especially delightful day yesterday in midcoast Maine.

Dandelion Spring Farm/Straw Farm in Newcastle. We've been buying produce, meat and eggs, and wool fleece from Beth for three years. At the weekly Rockland farmers market on Thursdays, She and her crew set up a tempting and bountiful stall, and it's become a must-do favorite. The farm(s) are situated on a rolling stretch of countryside, close to route 1 but enough away to be truly pastoral.

Tamworth is the breed name of these red russet piggies.

Lovely Jersey cows all, so soft and inquisitive.

Yesterday's visit was fortuitous -- weather, light and animals all cooperated, coming together to create a joyful experience for me (sorely needed) . I think the proof is in the porcine, bovine, and ovine faces.

Multi purpose sheep flock associated with a PenBay island flock the farmers also tend to. Their lovely white and chocolate wool has made it into our studio projects, including the raw fleece as well as the beautifully spun 2-ply hanks.

Prior to this pastoral pleasure, I attended a talk by Black Dinah Chocolatier founder Kate Shaffer at the Damariscotta Public Library. She is lovely! And, her words and tastes exquisite. Brought home a Valentine's gift box of heart shaped truffles for my own sweet Valentine, who ultimately agreed to share them. And popped into two art supply shops on Main Street: Attic Heirlooms and ABOCA Beads. All  in all, a very inspiring day.

May is here and so are the fiber festivals, in Maine at least. The weekend of May 16-18 there's a three-day Expo at Windsor Fairgrounds http://www.northeastlivestockexpo.com/.
 That Saturday is a workshop in Bath at Halcyon with Katherine Cobey! Sigh! And, the June Fiber Frolic is early in the month -- soon!
So much to plan for.
Got some great books out of the Rockland Library: Katherine C.'s Diagonal Knitting, and another on "revolutionary" knitting from the center out, written by a guy (will get the name in here shortly).
Looking to get my dye plants growing outdoors soon. Have tried some indigo in peat pots indoors but not sure what will sprout. My new neighbor is a gardener, too, so we should have some fun together this summer.
Signing off with some of my favorite recent shots taken at Straw Farm/Dandelion Spring Farm, Newcastle ME in April on a pretty chilly but sunny day. Really warmed my heart to be there.

She's back!

Getting my fiber on in a big way in recent weeks, now that my day-job working life has slowed down considerably. Learning also to navigate with my fiber stuff through the spaces of my new  home. Yes, we have a very large bathroom, so washing fleece is not so intrusive to our daily needs in that space. Storing supplies is much more of a challenge, and I'm looking to go vertical where ever possible, as we have limited floor space but do have very high ceilings. Found a sunny cozy corner for spinning, and can share the seat with my little guy Igby (= very sweet and comforting). Major questions around heating up the dye pots (in the kitchen???? on the porch via  hotplate and extension cords???? dunno yet). 

Nevertheless, I'm so thrilled to be working with very apropos, local fiber sources, especially Dandelion Spring Farm, which oversees a Maine Island flock, a mix of breeds that has existed on this secret island for a long, long time. The first fleece is turning out to be such a gorgeous snowy white. Have a chocolate brown one as well to work on. Feels  (literally) so good to be back in action.