Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Apologies to Hungary


Some time ago (this spring???) I discovered an etsy seller from rural Hungary who had local sheep and their fleeces for sale. Here is the documentation of  the shipment that arrived, just one week after I  ordered it (my how things have changed since I was a student and shipped things to and from Europe!). The white and black fiber samples smelled richly of the beasts upon opening the envelope. That too was a treat!
But the staple! Sooooo long. Like, 8 inches? More? After taking these photos of the still dirty fiber I did wash it. Then, I got a combing lesson from my friend Chris and learned how to get these exotic long lengths into order for spinning. Only now am I actually working up the little birds' nests of roving into yarn on my wheel. It just slips through my fingers. I think it will be very strong, not much spring, but lush and special. 

Now, I have to find someone selling german sheep fleece online and so satisfy that side of my family tree.


Not exactly woolly

Unrelated but important to me, a few scenes of my Mom enjoying Acadia National Park this month with some friends. On the water and on land, having a grand time. 



Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Summer from &*()^%

I'm probably not alone in feeling this way, but a little self-pity now and then is normal, no?

Posts to this blog have been nonexistent since July . . . that should tell you something. My wheel was down, my family was in chaos, storms were strange and menacing, and fiber time was on the back burner.

The good news is there are new portfolio photos, new business cards and postcards, a few fiber excursions made, and a revitalized spinning wheel. Plus, collaborating with the Salty Ewe Farm shepherd on promotional materials has kicked me back into gear.



Living so close to OSV (Old Sturbridge Village), I escaped for a couple of hours last Sunday and hung out with the Gulf Coast Native sheep, the dyers, the herb garden, and a couple of exceptionally handsome and friendly Randall steers. Really nice to have such a charming resource 1/2 hour away.
The Gulf Coast Native sheep,which would have been popular, along with Merinos, apparently,  in New England during the  19th Century.






 




Woad!

The Randalls, heritage breed steers who like attention.