Wooly Week!

This past week we were planning on taking our wool to a place where it is processed. That includes washing, and carding wich is making it into roving, batting or a cloud. As we were weighing and getting everything ready to take, I started doing some calculations. With gas for a four hour trip, processing costs, and shipping it back to us it was going to be well over $200. Well I'm a pretty frugal person when it comes to something I can do myself. The other farmgals and I all agreed that the money would be better spent on things we want for the barn. So I have set myself a goal to get all the wool washed in the next two weeks.

This is one of the batches from our Border Leicester sheep, a.k.a. "The Curly Girls" all washed and laying out to dry.

Everything is growing like crazy!

This winter there was some logging done in the woods next to my drive, so now the sun can get to my hydrangea. They have doubled in size and now the blooms are actually white instead of greenish.

Warm and wet weather so far has helped everything grow so beautifully!

Our flock is also growing this year too! This is our new ram Maxwell, he's quite the handsome young fella.




This is Yvonne, she's 3yrs. old, and has come to live on our farm and share her lovely cream fleeces with us. She also happens to be our Opal Ann's mama.

Oh sweet Della will be living here for her golden years, gettting lots of love and attention.
Our little guy Maxwell was her last lamb.

Hot Days!

The last couple of days I have been working on the inside of the house. It has been too hot for me outside. I'm not really an outdoorsey girl in the summer. The sun and the heat get to me real quick, we are talking ZERO tolerence. We are lucky enough to have a house that is shaded most of the day, and close enough to the lake to get a good breeze. I am content to open up the doors and windows so I'm able to get the breeze and hear the birds sing. When the humidity gets high, I love to kick back with the fan and a good magazine. I will post some pictures in the next couple days of what I have been up to. I would have tonight, but of coarse my camera needs to charged...

What I've been up to this month...

Sorry for not posting much this month. Since shearing there has been so much to do. It has seemed overwhelming at times. I started out with sewing new coats for the sheep. I wanted to get them on right away. We took them off of the sheep about a month before shearing because they needed new ones. Well I never got out and measured for new ones, so they didn't get made or put back on. What a mess that made of their wool in the terms of vegetable matter. BIG LESSON LEARNED!!!! A stich in time saves nine. It has taken alot more work to clean the fleeces up. We have also been working on washing, picking, carding and have tried a little dying. Want to try out wet felting soon. Will post more pictures of the process in the next couple of days.

This is me skirting Ruby's fleece.

Opal Ann's Fleece.

Five newly sewn sheep coats.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

Hi there I'm Diana, mom of the farmgals @ Dandelion Acre. This is my first time participating on Vintage Thingies Thursday. I wanted to post these items that are very dear to me, in loving memory of my Grandma and Aunt Jeanne, since they are also fitting for Easter. The vintage tablecloth was handed down from my Grandma. After her passing I was given all of her sewing supplies where I found the yellow trim that is on the lampshade. The neat part about it is that it must have been leftover from a flower girl dress she made me when I was two. The ceramic bunny and lamb lamp were made for me by my Aunt Jeanne when I was a baby. The lamp was also in my babies rooms. Thanks for stopping by and have a Happy Easter!

Spring Lambs

I stumbled across this cute free pattern at www.patternbee.com/FREELAMBKIN . They were pretty simple to sew, and was able to finish them both in a few hours.

Wool Crafting

I have been feeling the need to be creative, so I got out Caitlin's wool stash and decided to do some needle felting. I was inspired by artist Jenn Docherty and her "wool felted friends." You can check out her work at http://www.jenndocherty.com/ . The lamb Cait and I worked on together a few weeks ago using our own "Eleanor's" curly wool. The pink bunny I worked on most of yesterday. Cait an I also had a great time with the photo shoot.