Spinning From the Stash

Here is what is on the bobbin right now, Llama fleece that I bought before I had sheep and Llamas! I'm trying to use up my stash so I can plunge into all the Icelandic fleeces and rovings that I have. I am spinning this Llama fleece in the "grease", actually, Llamas have very little lanolin, however, they relish rolling in the dirt at every opportunity. I card it with my hand cards, then spin from the rolags. There are some guard hair in this fleece, I could have pulled it out, but am spinning it as is. The coarsest parts I just tossed out. I will ply this (then wash and set the twist) and send a huge skein to my Dad who is knitting up a storm and wanted some yarn this color! I use a double treadle Lendrum wheel, love the flexibility and portability of the wheel. I've got the plying head, haven't gotten the fast flyer yet (for lace yarn).

Cherry Jam

We've just picked a bunch of Bing Cherries, the trees were loaded, the kids helped so much. Together we all picked 10 pounds, ate fresh, juicy Bings to our hearts content - I put up 8 - 1/2 pints of Cherry Jam (it feels like such a luxury). We all took turns using the little German cherry pitter. Also made some Bourbon Bings, from the "Home" cookbook ( a little comfort food restaurant in NYC). I love this cookbook - great canning recipes, home cooked meals and all!

The Black berries on the back 40 are getting ripe, the Himalayan wild ones that I read are native to Armenia. Our black berry patch is around 1/2 acre, home to California Quail and the native little bunnies that live around here. The crop should be tremendous, due to the perfectly times rains courtesy mother nature. We make Blackberry Gelato which I will dig up the recipe and share here soon.

Icelandic Lambs are ready for new homes!

The lambs are just about ready to be weaned - many are finding new homes, but we still have several beautiful lambs available!

Icelandic Sheep are a triple purpose breed. We choose only the best to keep and sell for breeding stock. They have fleece that handspinners love, in many natural colors (white, black, gray, chocolate brown, brown, reddish brown, buff and combinations of these colors), they have mild, lean meat and can be milked for homestead use. Our sheep all have unique personalities, are a medium sized breed of sheep - ewes are around 150 pounds, rams 200 pounds. We have available all of the badgerface patterns in our lambs for sale, which are black, moorit, gray moorit and black gray. Also solid colors, moorit and white, as well as a couple of spotted lambs. We sell only lambs with the best conformation and horn set. Come visit our website at http://www.dolcefarm.com/ to learn more about Icelandic sheep and view our lambs!

Roving to Yarn

Just spun up some almost bulky Icelandic singles from roving, this is from a gray-moorit ewe ( grey on the inside of the fleece, moorit (reddish brown on the outside). I just love spinning the wool from my Icelandic sheep. She is Yvonne, a very curious and lovely gray-moorit Icelandic Ewe. (Here pictured in the front at the right, with her twin lambs, a morrit badgerface ewe lamb in the middle and here HUGE grey moorit spotted badgerface ram lamb to the far left. Roving is washed, and then carded fleece made into a tube shape (not hollow), and is such a lovely combo of light grey with the oatmeal - moorit colors. I made a skein on my niddy noddy, but am going to look into purchasing a skein winder to create a more even skein. I first learned how to spin on a spindle, then after a couple years moved to a double treadle Lendrum spinning wheel and I just love it (but I do enjoy spindles too - a spindle can go to the doctor's office, swimming pool, park, camping, well, everywhere a wheel might be a bit too cumbersome to carry along). Spinning on a wheel or spindle is just so very centering and relaxing, a fine tranquilizer after a stressful day.

Cloudy Spring Day

We've all spent much of the morning working in the fields, the kids helped clip the tops (garlic scapes) of the garlic going to seed - that helps the bulb grow larger and keep longer. (cut garlic scapes)They are also good sauteed in olive oil with a little salt and pepper - even the kids like them! They taste like really mild garlic greens, but with a hint of artichoke. They also have been chopping off the tops of wicked thistles, trying to use fewer sprays is our goal. I've been cleaning out the llama's favorite areas in the pasture- goodies for the garden come this fall! Kevin is cutting out the windows in the shed, much to the concern of the barn swallow couple who has taken refuge on the rafters and built a nest there. The siding has arrived and that should shore up the sheep shed. One of the black mouflon Icelandic lambs wanted to snuggle up to the ugly Bella the Llama, no such luck, she wouldn't have anything to do with him.

Icelandic Lambs are here!

I am finally finding the time to start my farm blog - Our Icelandic lambs were all born in the month of April - I just love the colors and patterns they come in, such beautiful fleeces they have, a mass of pin curls and ringlets... 17 in lambs in all. This little ram lamb is a spotted moorit (reddish brown) badgerface - Some are reserved for other breeders and others we'll keep for our flock, and those that don't make the grade will make wonderful grass fed lamb for the table. I've sent fleeces all over the country, and I'm a spinner myself, so I hope to include photos of current spinning projects on this blog as well. Our sheep shed is nearing the last stage of work - windows for light and ventilation soon, and then siding , and finally - proper roofing! My husband is quite the handyman and does almost all the work himself. Today was the last day of school, summer is now really starting - I celebrated by picking up a flat of Hood strawberries - they have got to be the sweetest strawberry I've ever tasted! I cooked up a batch of whole wheat pastry biscuits to go with the sugared strawberries, and then canned up 5 pints of Red Red Strawberry Jam from the Joy of Cooking, oh how good that will taste on a slice of fresh baked rye bread and butter... Also froze a container of strawberries and sugar. Well I've wandered a bit, but did help a friend shear an alpaca, some very nice white fleece, 2 years worth, and now I can think of blending it with Icelandic lambs wool or on it's own...