Get Ready, Get Set.... Oh wait - It's Over.

Got your cup of tea and comfy seat? I'll wait, go get your tea.
I wanted to post before we went to Rhinebeck, about getting ready for Rhinebeck.... but it took every ounce of energy to Get. Ready. For. Rhinebeck.

New colors, new kits, new displays, new pixie... well, there were lots of new things going on. So, here are a few pics of the pre-party after the fact.

That's 'Teenage Romance' and 'Rose Garden' drying in the sun.

This is how we packed up kits this time around. It saved a ton of space over using the Rubbermaid containers. See that reddish-brown color under the gold for Oktoberfest? Those are for Oktoberfest... in an Irish Red, followed under that by Chocolate Stout, both new colors for that kit this year (and both expected up on the website this week). We seem to favor the alcoholic socks around here... go figure.

Yes Waldmaus, Christmas-Yarn does exist. This is 'Candy-Cane' and yes, it sold out and yes I'm making more.

At Rhinebeck, we found that all of our imaginary friends really DO exist! Here's a few pics for proof:

This would be BrewerGnome folks. In full Kilt-mode. And what's that in his hands, you ask?

Well that would be his brand new spindle. TsockTsarina a-spinnerated him in about 4 seconds flat. She handed him her spindle with a length of spun yarn to wind on and asked him to hold it for just a minute (subtle she ain't). A minute later & he'd wound it on and was spinning away. Her work finished, I'm sure she moved on to her next victim.


Kathe & Mardi debate the benefits of french fries verses fried dough or some such critical question.

Juno explains once again that she is not taking interviews and cannot be bothered with paparazzi or pepperoni or whatever famous people talk about on their cell phone... Kelley does some shopping... or not.

Stephanie & Cassie enjoy the sunshine... do either of these women look sleep or caffeine-deprived? I think not. The very picture of calm and poise. (We shall not be showing the picture of ME with them. I am the very picture of dazed and under-caffeinated. And it's my blog so I get to post only good pictures of me.)

This person here? This gal who calmly surveys her domain, sizing up any & all? This would be Jesh. Jesh is most formidable in her mad super-awesome spindle-making skillz. (btw, if the blue gloves on the hands next to Jesh look familiar, they should. Glenna borrowed them from Lisa as it was a bit chilly over the weekend. Even with the cold, I think Glenna had an awesome time meeting everyone - I know we're glad she came.)

Anyways, See what I mean about the spindles? (Jesh, I borrowed this pic from your blog.)

We had them in the booth for sale - if you missed them, cry for they are worthy.

This handsome young man is modeling a sweater made from handspun wool from our own Buddy... a beautiful natural colored Border Leicester ram we had on the farm a couple of years ago. Buddy has passed away, but his sweater lives on. And apparently, hangs out with famous folks because 'small-bob' gave in to be part of the photo-shoot.

Let's see... zuzusunshine brought us cupcakes - we adore her. Another raveler (who's name escaped my short-term memory short-circuit) stopped by with even more cupcakes that had creamcheese frosting and I dunno what else but they were cupcakes and we adore her as well.

Someone from Canada brought chocolates - very good but I wish I could remember WHO so I could ACTUALLY thank her... oh the lack of short term memory skills when sleep deprived! Anyone remember who that was?

The delightful dmcubed stopped by the booth for what could be the best 4 minutes of the entire festival and made me SIT DOWN for a backrub with something called 'nukkles'. If you ever get the chance to be nukkled.... drop whatever your doing and give yourself over to the dark side - or at least, to whoever is doing the nukkling.

The lovely knitterotica brought me tea... all the way from Hong Kong. How cool is that? Dragon Pearl. Awesome.

BrewerGnome brought me Pickles & Jam - very good I might ad.. as well as a delicate Jasmine Tea I am enjoying as I type this monster of a post...

And when I got up Monday morning after falling asleep around 1am (wicked drive home)... I found this on the counter waiting for me and I wept tears of joy and gratitude. Caroline in the UK has rescued me (again). She wondered in the comments of my recent tea-less post about how I'd come to miss the general order of things... in that you generally ORDER more tea before it's all gone. I say to her now so there is no question that I am the queen of de nile. Queen, I tell you. I refused to actually LOOK in the bag because that would have been proof that I'd consumed more than my fair share in the recent weeks and couldn't face the reality of the dwindling supply. (I'm the sort of gal who puts off procrastination. Honestly. I'll tell you all about it later when we have more time.)

Anyhoo, at Rhinebeck I also found these (the socks, not the feet) tucked inside a 6pack of home-brew:
Knit for me by Georg who is the beloved Tserf. The colorway is one of Nora's, and I have already been asked to ask Nora to dye more of it. They fit perfectly, and I love them. Thank you, Georg (and thank you for loaning me your jacket Saturday. I would have been hypothermic if not for you.)

Also at Rhinebeck, I bought this and think it is absolutely surreal.
Let's see... what else went on at Rhinebeck.... Anyone care to guess what these are?

Or this. Anyone want to guess what this is?

Well, if you guessed Turandot, and then Nine Tailors (you guys knew we had a change-ringing sock coming out, right?) and lastly The Iceman Cometh for the first picture, you'd be correct. If you are hoping that the small leaf-colored packet is the Vintage Leaf as a stand-alone kit.... your prayers have been answered. I expect to have all 4 up on the website tomorrow available, yea, they are ALL even in stock waiting to ship out to you as we speak. How about we all meet back here tomorrow to go over the details on those little rays of sunshine, hmm? Great. Now I'm off to bed because tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

Acts of Kindness

I have about 7.2 minutes to make a blog post (about how long for the next round of dye pots to heat up), so let's cut to it, eh?

DING! We have a winner! A TsockFlock Club contest winner!
The question (asked via email): In the 1967 movie/musical of Camelot, what is Guinevere doing at the beginning of the song 'Take me to the Fair', and who was she doing it with (character name)?
The Answer, provided correctly first was Enjay: "She's winding a ball of yarn with sir Lionel." Wanna see? Here, let me show you:

See?

New Business:

Guess what this is:

Give up? It's the empty bag of this:


Ty-phoo tea sent to me from club member Caroline in the UK and it's downright awesome. I know, because we did taste tests. There were 160 teabags in this set, bundled in smaller groups... I thought surely it would take me longer to go through that much tea but I guess I underestimated myself (over-achiever that I am, apparently). It is, alas, completely empty and sniffing the tea dust does little to help. I must give in and order more as I am now drinking a runner-up in the taste tests and miss my OO greatly.

This does bring up a point of thanks I think I missed out on while a bit busy early on in the year. I wanted to thank several folks for sending me wonderful things during a sleepless period of dye pots earlier... I'd show you pictures of wonderful tea blossoms and German chocolate and Gummibärchen... but those wrappers are dust and the contents enjoyed and remembered happily. So, not only was I so busy I never quite got around to the public thank-you's but now that we've moved and had to pack up (and since lost track of) my squirreled-away notes... I've forgotten who sent which and don't want to get it all wrong. (except the Gummibärchen. That could only have been Waldmaus.)

I do have pictures of a non-edible that requires thanking and is worth talking about though! This came in the mail recently, and I was delighted.

This is a Scentsy Wickless Candle. The 'candle' is a ceramic pot and warming dish with a small lightbulb to melt the scented wax in the dish that sits on top. The pot is called 'Merino' and I wish I had a merino sheep this color! It came with 3 different scented wax bits for the candle, and the Nutmeg & Orange Zest is delightful. You can get yours from Jan here. Thank you very much for mine, Jan!

Now, I have not been sitting around sniffing wax & drinking tea as tempting an idea as that is. I've done a little dyeing, here & there as well. Who am I kidding, I've dyed A TON of yarn in the past couple of weeks, though once it's all neatly wound, labeled and hanging on a rack it doesn't look to me like much of a dent has been made in the 'to-dye' list. I guess we shall find out soon enough as it's 4 days to be done & ready for Rhinebeck... (Excuse me. I need to sit down for a moment, the room just spun.)
Random Yarn Sighting: Look! Bubble-Gum!

There's tons of other new colors, (below the Bubble-Gum is a hint of Chai...)but the dye pots have reached 'optimum dye the yarn temperature' so it looks like my 7.2 minutes are officially up and there's about 16 days' worth of yarn to finish today.

What's in a Name?

I just checked, and I cannot believe it has been more than a month since my last post. And then I got to thinking about what's been going on for that month, and I guess I can see how time flew by.

In the beginning of the month, Glenna moved up from Texas to work here for us. We got her technically moved into an apartment, but I didn't give her time to actually unpack anything. The recent club kit York & Lancaster needed to get dyed, packed up & out the door. As soon as it flew, we took a look at the 'Rhinebeck Plan 2008'. We immediately realized that the most critical issue was not the 'how much yarn' question, the dyeing, the inventory, or (my favorite) what's for dinner. It was our name. What's in a name? Well, we're not exactly Vancalcar 'ACRES' at the moment. This pointed out the problem with naming a business after a specific location... we'd moved and hadn't taken the location with us.

We do plan to move back to a farm, and we've been looking to no avail. It felt as though we'd taken a holiday from farming that will last the winter here. And so, with that reference, this just seemed appropriate:

It's even been sighted in the wild, by a club member:

So! Now that it's official, Please note that Rhinebeck still knows us as Vancalcar Acres, but we'll have new 'signage' in the booth with the new name etc. and you can find us in our regular digs there in space 26D - Building 26 is closest to the 4-H entrance/gate.

Speaking of Rhinebeck, the Pixie has created this amazing techno-yarn 'thing' using some magic called 'MSProject' and more magic called 'Excel'. The magic tells her (and she cracks the whip) how much yarn I have to dye per day to get ready for Rhinebeck, and I find it suspiciously similar to the numbers I faced without Pixie Magic... no chickens this time at least. (You folks remember 'The Plan', don't you?) At least I've got 6 weeks 4 weeks 22 days 20 days left (they make me stop dyeing to pack the truck and drive).

Plenty of time. I'll just dye a few extra skeins a day...

Out of Control.

You know when you think things are going along AS THEY SHOULD, and someone throws a wrench into your machine, your plan, your whole stinkin' organization... ok, maybe it wasn't quite that bad. Maybe, I even finally stood back and allowed the door to be opened a crack - allowed a chink in the armor to become a gaping opening for the enemy to come blazing in.

Spinning. I speak of spinning. Specifically, the Tsarina and her Spindle (plural, actually cuz the girl went SHOPPING when she fell down the rabbit hole). Here we were, minding our own business, with a lovely little tsock business. My own little Tsock Tslave, as it were (she thinks I'm some Yarn Slave, but I've got her number... I think...) and then some upstart comes along and grabs that door and rips it RIGHT. OFF. THE. HINGES. Goes and sends the Tsarina a spindle and a WHACK of fiber. and not crap fiber, either.

This means war. I mean really. Club member and all. Did she think she'd get away with this? Without Repurcussions? I swore she'd get coal for her next club kit. Coal. And then, I did a little searching on 'coal' as it were, and found it... boring. Very. Boring.


It needed some fire. And so, Mistress 'I-can-make-the-tsarina-a-spinner', here's your Lump of Coal (though I think we're going to call it 'Embers' here).

What's New?

Blog? I'd like to introduce you to the new Yarn Pixie (Ain't she purty?):

Yarn Pixie? I'd like you to meet the blog.

Yes, this means we've come across someone in Pixie-land who wants to come work here with the Yarn Fairy, and we're absolutely thrilled to have her. She knits, she weaves, she spins, she does voo-doo on a chakra wheel, and she knows how to 'make yarn go' around here. She brings with her some awesome ideas that I think you all will love in the coming months.
She is moving all the way from the grand country of Texas, and is looking forward to actually using all of the hand-knit woolen goods she's amassed while waiting for winter down there. She is expected here in early September, and we can't wait!
Take a minute and tell miss Glenna Chumbley congratulations in the comments, will ya?

And in other news, I recently had the chance to be in the right place at the right time. You see, there was a lady who wanted to learn to knit but missed our appointment. I had yarn on needles ready for her to start her first hat, in pink for her daughter. When she didn't arrive for our class, Nora & I headed off to Karate and that's when fate stepped in. There was a young girl there sitting next to me during Nora's class with a broken leg. I was working on a sock (big surprise, eh?) and she asked about it. She explained that she'd recently gotten a knitting kit, but neither her nor her mother knew how to knit and it was all greek to them.

hmmm. recipe:

1. yarn on needles ready to go with instructions in bag.


2. young lady wanting to learn to knit


3. person with teaching skills on just such a subject

By the time Karate class was finished, she was happily knitting away on row 2 when Nora came over. She took one look at the young lady knitting the yarn that was previously in mom's bag, with mom leaning over to help this 'other' girl, and announced loudly: "I'm learning to knit!" hmm. a little jealous maybe?

We have tried in the past but with little success. She refused to let me show her more than one time, she refused to sit still for more than 2 minutes, and was then wildly frustrated when she didn't produce any 'knitting'. This time? This was diferent. Over the next week, she told everyone we met she was learning to knit. She produced 2 needles and about 3 feet of sock yarn and told me she was going to knit. One needle was a 10dpn, the other a 5dpn. I feared the conversation regarding the needle choice and string length but started anyways... and she listened. She put the string in the trash. Gave me the needles and asked which ones she should go get from my bag. I explained we needed heavier yarn, like the hat yarn the girl at Karate had, and so she announced she wanted to dye the yarn for her hat. hmm. I gave it a couple of days, she persisted.

2 days ago, we dyed the yarn in purple and gold. She pestered me until it was dry and wound into a ball. She stood by patiently while I cast on for a hat. I faced with trepidation our first knitting lesson.

She sat next to me on the couch.
I showed her a knit stitch several times, and she watched quietly.
I put the needles in her hands and knit a couple of stitches with her.
She knit the next couple of stitches, and automatically her fingers held back the stitches on the left needle so they wouldn't slide off.

We worked on where to keep the stitches on each needle in relation to the tips so they don't fall off, I fixed a couple of drops as they happened. She knit almost the whole first row before we took a break. We've sat on the couch a couple of times today for short knitting sessions, a few stitches knit and then taking a break to play. She asked me once how far the girl at Karate had gotten on her first lesson. Interesting. She talks now about teaching dad to knit when she teaches a knitting class. Hear that? My daughter will be teaching knitting in her yarn store, and her store is going to be next door to mine so we can visit because we're both dyers (her words, not mine).

Saturday night - Somewhere Else.

Emailed to me by a blog reader & friend in response to yesterday's blog post 'Friday Night'. She captioned it 'Jennifer's Backyard on Saturday Night':

Talk about yer 'Deer in the Headlight' looks. Geesh.

I would like to say that the animals in my backyard do tend to live a 'pre-hunter' bambi-esque lifestyle though. Today, the doe was joined by (and I kid you not), a pair of squirrels at the top of the tree, 2 rabbits and a groundhog, all hangin' out at the ol' pear tree. I wonder, what kind of quasi-wild/suburb gossip goes on out there? I dunno, but if a skunk starts showing up for the party, I'm calling Animal Planet. Or Disney.

On the yarn side of 'As the Forest Turns' here, Colleen has an excellent idea in the comments for that Bamboo-Ewe yarn... and call me Burger King, but you can have it your way. (and please, do NOT call me Burger King. Or Burgermeister-Meisterburger, or any Burger - I jest.) So, without further sleep-deprived commentary from teh dye potz, you can haz all 7 colors at once in tiny skeins if you want. Clickity: http://www.nysfarm.com/bamboo_ewe.htm

Friday night.

Remember the pear trees I mentioned? Well this gal is eating my pears. 2nd night in a row.

Look! Something Shiney! It's Bamboo-Ewe, in spring pastel colors! (Hey, what can I say? In the spring, we were still a little busy with January Leaves. Someday I might even get around the Valentine's Day Sale I had been planning...)

This is a 40% Bamboo, 40% Wool, 20% Nylon blend 4ply sock yarn, non-superwash (it felts shiney as well). Ain't they purty?

Peach, Lavender, Pale-Blue, Spring Green, Yellow, White and Pink. They were a custom request but oh boy do I like them! I have plans for a tank-top in the Spring Green, a baby sweater in the pink & blue, a striped felted bag with all of them.... so many ideas, so little time.

Goldfish.

I'd show you a picture, but by the time the batteries for the camera were charged.... it was time to pick a burial plot.

We went to the Carnival last night, Nora had a wonderful time. She rode rides, and played games... and won a goldfish. She threw the ball and got it in the bowl and won a decent sized goldfish. She named the wee sushi 'Pink-Rose' and off we went. Miss Rose made it through the night and part of the morning before she began gulping for air.... and started to list to one side. With the end in sight, we gave some tearful goodbyes, discussed burials and dad took her for a bike-ride. I buried Miss Rose. Moving on.

Cathy-Cate is awesome. Just sayin, cuz she came through with Tai-Chi info in abundance for me. While the style I learned was Yang, I'll go see how different it is from the Wu style taught there, thank you Cathy! It also helped me search out and find one other, who does teach Yang, and so I have 2 options now.

I've got better pictures of Plum Shadows now, and it's officially for sale:

And, Nora wanted to dye some yarn. She wanted to dye Red and Pink, but when she was almost finished with the skein, she decided it needed some blue, and so we've got shades of a Fuschia red, blue and purples. She drew a few hearts in Fuschia when she got started, which reminded me of valentines day, so I think we'll call this one 'Teenage Romance' cause it's so bright and shiney. You know? And yes, it's also now available for purchase.

I'm thrilled to say, that for those of you still waiting for 'Mint Mojito' (also a Nora yarn), I expect to have it available in a few days - Nora can't wait to dye more. Pictures when we're done here. And you know what she told me yesterday? That because we're both dyers, that she wants to have a shop right next door to me, so we can visit each other. I love this kid.

So confused.

So thrilled last night to have found a Tai-Chi meet-up... Like you see in the movies, you know? A group of people in the park in the background dong Tai-Chi?

Well I'm here to tell you that it was absolutely, positively.... NOT like that. At all. To be completely fair, the instructor did say at the beginning that it was going to be some Tai-Chi, some Yoga, and a little Pilates. Ok thinks I, I can handle a little of this & that. A few Tai-Chi moves to help me get started again is good, even mixed in with some Yoga stuff - it can't hurt, right? Yes, it can. (Especially when the only Tai-Chi was 'Wave Hands Like Clouds 4 times in a row - good call Astrid). It was mentally difficult to stay focused on keeping my 'Leaning Tree' from tipping over when I was psyched for one thing and given another, and plus let's just say my body was not ready for Yoga. So, almost 70 minutes of Yoga, 2 minutes of Pilates, and a 30-count of Tai-Chi. I am not that limber, and my thighs doth protest. Earnestly.

ETA: Let me be clear: I do not want to do Yoga.

I think I like this though:
(don't tell anyone, but I have found that if you sign your child up for Karate, Kumon, and swimming lessons - you find yourself with time to actually KNIT in 30 minute increments more than once a WEEK.) This is a sock I've actually knit myself, toe-up turkish cast-on (thank you Lisa). The colorway is a very early attempt at a color for Firebird, (or click here for the finished Boid) but obviously has way more pink than any self-respecting flame would show the world. (Pay no attention to the white yarn at the top. I couldn't remember how to do the bind-off I wanted to do, and I was at Kumon with Nora and wanted to start the mate... well, I didn't have a crochet hook to thread a lifeline so I knit in a row of bulky for later.)

I'm also fond of this: Out of the imagination and into the dye-pot last night - it's been on the 'I want to dye' colorway now since Tsock #2.

I think we'll call it 'Plum Shadows'. And yes, it's fer sale... send me a note as I haven't gotten the site updated quite yet.

Lisa, this one is for you. It's in that yarn I didn't like before but now I'm liking, and it's in the color I showed you in the other pictures though this picture doesn't quite do it justice and yes I'm mailing it to you today along with other things but not everything blah blah blah and boy are you in trouble and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Waltraud, this is for you. I'd like you to know, that my nieghbors have more than one of these - and I don't mean 1/2 knit socks (I posted both views since I couldn't decide which was better):

One last thing. You folks remember Casey, right? Our most dedicated, handy, farm-hand-turned-yarn-slave? Well, she graduated from high school this year, and is getting ready to leave (::sob::) for college next month. She will be attending Bennington University in Vermont and studying music. She's planning on putting her next billion years of productive paychecks in hock to pay for college (see college=debt/loans) but is thrilled with the opportunity, as she's been accepted to the Music department in the College and if memory serves, it was her first choice.

Any-hoo, I'm reminded of the Secret Santa thang we had going on this past winter, and was thinking if anyone was interested, we could do something similar for the young budding college-student-soon-to-be-starving-artist. You can donate cold hard through paypal, in any amount, or if you want to purchase gift cards or other small items (not much room for stuff in her packing - small shared dorm room), I'd love to surprise her when I see her off in August. I'm going to miss her, she's become part of our family and while I miss her awesome, yarn-skeining skillz, I will miss her sense of humor and her company more.

You can mail things for her to me here, please email me for the mailing address at (jennifer at nysfarm dot com) replace the wrong stuff with the correct stuff as usual. For cash donations to the pot, I've had to use the limits of blogspot and put the donation option in the sidebar called 'Graduation Gift'. If your going to mail a gift card (target, wal-mart, bed bath & beyond type places etc), I'd like to have it by August 1st so I can get it all together in time for my meet-up with her before she leaves.

Well, it's almost time for swim class (woo hoo!!), and I've got a few things to do before we leave so I guess that's it.

Stuff and some other Stuff.

So, I see I haven't posted often or recently. I do want to post more often, and I have lots of things I think about blogging... oh well, we're all here now so let's get on with it.

It's been a busy summer so far. Nora has started Karate, and is loving it. She's seen Disney's 'Mulan' perhaps a few times and was really looking forward to being 'like Mulan'. So much so, that in class when Sensei asked the students for examples of an appropriate time to use what they learn in class, other students made suggestions like "When someone bad tries to steal you" or "When someone is hitting your sister." Nora announced "When the Hun attack". Well, Sensei had to admit, that was a good time to use your Karate skills.

If I were the Hun, I'd be scared - wouldn't you?

Also, on a martial arts note, I would like to point out to anyone who may be confused, Tai Chi is NOT Yoga. I'm not certain how or why this is being confused, but I've lost count of how many times in the last 2 weeks when I have inquired at various dojo around the region about Tai Chi instruction/classes/etc, I've been pointed in the direction of a local Yoga group. Now, I've got nothing against yoga, and I'm sure it's wonderful, but I'm looking for TAI CHI.

Also, it turns out this small non-farm property has 3 pear trees, 1 apricot, 2 apple, blackberry and raspberry bushes, and in the front yard.... 2 Bing Cherries - my favorite (and I filled this several times):

In other news, Cleopatra is now available... and even better? IN STOCK.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get Nora to Karate and find the directions to what I hope is an actual Tai Chi meet-up tonite, and not a Yoga class.

Dear Diary:

Dear Diary,

I dreamt last night about that thing called 'internetz' again. It's a magical place where you can communicate with your friends, offer wares for sale, and stay in almost constant communication with everyone, all over the world. In my dream, you could even do all this in your own home but alas, in my dream, something mysterious called 'The Cable Company' messed up something called the 'Installation Date' and I was left with no internetz OR phone. For more than a week. (In my dream... I twitched a LOT for some reason.)

Instead in my dream, I had to drive to something called a 'Panera's Restaurant' where something amazing called 'wi-fi' allows you to connect to the mystical 'world wide web'. The only drawback in my dream to this temporary solution, is the drive, and the only real way to entertain the 5 year old.... is with a chocolate brownie. In my dream, we did not stay long or get much done.

But the brownie was awesome.

Love,

Gwynivar


Club Update: Club sock 2 is going out the door this week. The kitchen, the bathroom, and the dye pots were unpacked immediately - everything else is still in boxes and obviously we can live without quite a bit of 'stuff'. An interesting experiment.

I should be back online the end of the week, I apologize if I have not responded to your emails - I really have no internetz and if I keep running to Panera's, there is no dye time and way to many brownies consumed. I have not been ignoring you! Kits ordered are also being dyed and shipped, I expect to be caught up with your orders by Saturday. If you have any questions.... well, you might want to wait a couple more days to email me ;-)

If you have a Sheep or Flock Rental, don't despair. The flock is in the care of friends, and still available for pictures and fleece for the Rental program, as part of the arrangement for their care. Newsletters did not make it out the door before the move, and as soon as I find the box their in, they will go out with all sorts of updates and information for you on your rental.

Sometimes, Life throws you a Curve.

Your heading down the road, and you see this
(does anyone really go 25mph?):And then you see this one:

And you realize, that where you thought you were going to end up, and who you thought you were going to be, are not at all what really happens. Instead of being a shepherd who dyes some yarn and plays around with fiber, you find yourself turning into someone who defines herself as a dyer, who plays around at being a shepherd. And you realize a few things. A few very Important things:

1. Running a farm with 300 ewes and their occasionall 600 +/- lambs is a full time job for (occasionally) 3 adults (you are only 2 adults and a 5 year old).


2. Marketing said lambs (and pork and beef) is a full time job (unless you plan to run 750 +/- sheep the next year)


3. Dyeing and Marketing eleventy-billion pounds of yarn per year is also a full time job.


4. There is only 1 of you, and only 24 hours in a day, no matter what you do.

Something has to give, and while I do enjoy the farm and the flock.... let's do some comparisons.

1. Forcing 300 ewes and their offspring to walk through a scary chute system where their toes get wet, is not fun. In fact, it's hard labor and it sucks. When you can be thrilled it only took 6 hours to accomplish... well, that should say something. Comparison: Dyeing yarn, being creative, Earth Wind & Fire on the stereo and the internetz on the laptop? hmm. yarn dyeing wins that round.


2. Hoof-trimming 300 ewes is a messy business. (do you know what they've been standing in while waiting to get their pedicure?) Comparison: What's that you say? No manure on my clothes, gloves, or body while dyeing yarn? Imagine that. Yarn dyeing wins that round as well.


3. Healthcare for the sick, wounded, or injured animals. One word: Maggots. I think that says enough, don't you? Comparison: Any maggots in yarn? No? EXCELLENT.


4. Unrolling 2 (two) 600lb roundbales of hay every day, all winter long, is so entertaining when it's accompanied by gale-force winds bringing several inches of snow. You can't beat this kind of entertainment, really. Comparison: What's that you say? Stay INDOORS BY THE FIRE and dye more yarn? totally.

There are also some very good points about the farm. New born lambs, wild baby turkeys in the field, baby fawns grazing the hillside with their mums.

And also? A daughter who knows how to assist when a mommy sheep needs help giving birth (when she was 3, she figured out where human babies come from after watching a lamb being born). A daughter who loves to give city kids a tour of the barn, and introduce them to bottle lambs & the baby chicks. A daughter who wants to wear a pretty Minnie Mouse dress when she goes hunting for worms. Getting to spend hours and hours and hours with her, watching her grow and learn new things.

So. I asked you what you thought the picture of the truck in the last post might represent. My 2 favorite answers from the comments:

1. This is your new yarn truck with the build-in drying rack, that you bought after you found out that the Harlot posted about your yarn again. (It does look a lot like a livestock truck, though.


2. that is a truck for transporting live kindergartners... or what I'd be tempted to use as one;)

Frankly, I'm not sure which is the better idea.

The reality, is that this vehicle is a triple-decker livestock hauler. Capable of holding 276 sheep. How do I know it will hold that many? Because that's how many we were able to get on board. Yes, we have sold off the flock. This has taken me some time to come to grips with (see earlier definitions post) but it has been the best plan overall.

The Amish signs - and the Amish - have been popping up around here more and more as they have been moving up from Pennsylvania lately. (Please drive carefully. They have just as much right to the road as you do. An accident between a car and an Amish buggy is not good.) This nice gentleman is taking the draft-horses home after a busy day in the hayfields. They live down the road from us.

Recently, some Amish friends of ours suggested to a family looking to move that they stop by our farm. Yes, they do just stop in the driveway and ask if your farm is for sale. With the right offer and the flock already mostly gone (there is still a flock of about 20 here), it became apparent that selling the farm and moving really is the thing to do. We've been looking at smaller farms, closer to Syracuse but haven't found one yet. And so, we will be renting while we keep looking, waiting to see what's around the next curve in the road.

The house we've found to rent? Well, let's start by saying it has a finished apartment downstairs with it's own kitchen. IT'S OWN KITCHEN, PEOPLE! If moving to a house with a built-in dye studio isn't a Sign, then I don't know what is. It does not however, have land for the animals and they are being moved to a friend's farm until we find something for us all.

When does all this take place, you ask? How does 'next week' sound?

Oh, and in other less anxiety-ridden news, I had a concert to go to last night. My daughter is in Kindergarten, and the elementary school had their music concert. Now, Stephanie, as it seems the baton has been passed to me, could you please ask Joe how many more of these I have left to go? Everytime I tried to add it up I got dizzy and couldn't concentrate. Thanks!

Well, that's all for now folks. I really should go pack some boxes now... I've heard a rumor that I'm moving soon.

NOT NH Festival. Mass Festival. (also, I really do know where I was last weekend.)

Went to the Mass Sheep & Wool Festival, not New Hampshire (thank you Lisa - I just show up, what do I know.) show as a vendor this past weekend, and had an excellent time. (I went to NH festival as a vendor as well and had a great time but took no pictures etc.)

Got to spend time with famous people:

BrewerGnome

Cassie

And a gaggle of fiber artists lounging about - Juno, Cate, Tsarina, Kellee, Cassie (again) and names I've forgotten - sorry.


There was fine music on Sunday - don't remember for sure if they were playing on Saturday...



This is Patrick of West Elm Farm, he was generous enough to share tent space with him, and we love him for it! If you've seen us at Rhinebeck, you know he's there as well, couldn't do it without him. He makes some fine soap and awesome hand balm with lanolin, go try some, it's at the bottom of this page here.



And of course, it wouldn't have been 'normal' if there wasn't a drying rack full of drying yarn in the hotel room...

So, not much of the actual festival but that's typical for me, as I've found it really is nicer to take home some of the money made in the booth rather than spend it all at the festival... the husband is way less cranky that way ;-)

In other news, and really way other news, can anyone guess what this is a picture of? (Hint: The smart-ass answer of 'truck' will not win anyone any prizes. Perhaps guessing what the truck represents, or what is on the truck would be a step in the right direction here.)

I get the weirdest emails.

So, in this morning's email I find this:

Dear sir or madam:
We now need to purchase a large number of sheep scrap
purchase a large number of sheep wool.
We also need to purchase a large number of muskrat skin.
If you have, please tell me at once.

uh-huh. Muskrat skins... let me think... now where did I put that bin of muskrat skins? crap. Never can find something when I need it, cuz you know as soon as I tell them I'm fresh out of sheep scrap & muskrat skins, I'll totally find that bin.

eta: for those who've asked or are wondering, this is a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) :

For those of you not familiar with this here critter, I've gone ahead and found all you need to know about the beast, to give you good standing on most game shows. Read, learn, go win a whole row on 'aquatic pond beasts' for 1000 in Jeapordy:

Muskrats: gotta love Wikipedia.

It was on Fire when I laid down on it.

Ok, so I've found (borrowed) a cable for the camera, and found some wonderful pictures. I don't have a bunch of time, so here's what I found on the camera (warning, tons of pics):

Mah couch on Fire, let me show u it:

FireBird that is, colorway: HellFire. plus the gold skeinlets to go with, and the orange in the corner is a byproduct. Every so often I would have to exhaust out a gold dye pot that gradually would go 'orange' after a few rounds of red skeins swimming around to gold-i-fy them. (that's a technical dye term, btw.)

So, how is HellFire made, you ask? My mess, let me show u it.

First we lay out the skeins and start adding red.

then we add WAY more red. (and a little more for good measure)

Then we do something arcane with a pot of gold, more red, and some steam to produce this:

After it set the couch (aka the packing department) on fire, it went to Dave-of-the-Post-Office, and I have proof he exists:

Mommy-Giraffe was a BIG help.

While I was dyeing Firebird (and vintage, and everything else) Nora got bored and wanted to dye some yarn. She wanted to dye green yarn, and so I give you Nora's favorite chewing gum, Mint-Mojito:

And also, more lambs were born:

and in fact more lambs born today but no pics yet.

Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to the dye pots. I know your still waiting on your kit or yarn or both and I appreciate your patience.

From under the debris

I post this in a haze of migraine meds (no, it's not imitrex. no, I am not taking it, cannot take it, will never voluntarily endure take it again - giving birth was less painful).

Important facts:

1. All of the Firebird kits have shipped out, as of Tuesday the 15th. International kits were shipped out by the 12th. (except for Irene. Sorry. I'll be better next time now that your in the mailing label list.)
2. If you are concerned your kit is not the Large you expected, the skein should be tied with a black thread, and your gold lace skein should be a doubled small skeinlet, about 5-6 inches long. If instead it's a small button skeinlet, and your main color is tied with 2 white threads... well, you should get in touch with me before you cast on. Please note: this does not apply to all kits across the board. If you have questions on say, your Kitri kit, give me a shout.
3. I am dyeing and shipping out backorders (and have been all week) on a daily basis. I admit this week has not gone quite as well as I had hoped in really getting caught up. I blame the school systems for scheduling some insane thing called 'spring break'.
4. An extension of number 3 above, there is a 5 year old in the house. All Day.
5. I have amazing photos from the last week or so. I cannot find my camera cable. The amount of migraine meds leaves me in a state where I find myself putting the camera next to the computer and muttering 'make pictures go'. Osmosis is not working, but I'm hopeful.
6. There is a new set of twins, 2 girls - one white, the other black/white spots. I'd show you a picture... never mind.
7. If you've tried to reach me via phone or email in the last couple of days, things have not been working here. Spotty at best, our phone line from the pole to the house works but under the house things have degenerated into a state where 2 cans and some string would work better. Needless to say, my DSL rides the same string. As of now, in my desperation, (and probably to stop me from muttering 'make internetz go') my spouse has strung a phone line from the pole, into the living room window, and moved the dsl modem and phone directly to that outlet. I'd show you a picture... never mind.
8. I have a migraine. Have I mentioned this yet? The monitor has a lovely halo now, and I've had enough. I will catch up with the rest of things tomorrow, after several hours with an ice pack and more meds. I have a pile of packages ready to go to the post office tomorrow. I'd show you a picture... never mind.

Yarn Pron

Look! Something Shiney! Over There!

To be Defined.

The definition of the word 'Define', according to The Free Dictionary, gave me this:

Define: (v)
1. describe the nature or basic qualities of; explain.
It also offered this:
3. To give form or meaning to.

I've been pondering lately, what defines us. Or, perhaps more accurately, how do we define ourselves. How do I define myself? Describe myself? Sometimes it's hard to forget that who we were yesterday, is perhaps, not who we are today. At what point do you let go of previous job titles, career choices, life decisions and embrace the new ones? Nature abhors a vacuum (anyone for a Far Side Cartoon?) and so it is impossible to stop being one thing without becoming something else. The actual moment of switching can be faster than a blink of an eye I suppose, but the actual accepting of, believing in, claiming... well, that can take much longer.

I've defined myself as many things over the years. I find looking back, that I have enjoyed being able to define myself slightly outside the expected norms of the times. Veteran (Air Force - drove a forklift). Phone-Jockey (pc/computer helpdesk). Network Administrator (had an office and everything). Place Holder (they gave my office to someone else). Wife. Mother (best job ever). Shepherdess (midwife,vet, slayer of bugs). Some of these job titles overlapped. I was a network admin and a shepherd at the same time, but when did I stop telling folks I 'worked in computers' and start telling them I was a shepherd? Not for several years. It is understood that when someone asks what you 'do', they are asking how you make a living, not about your hobbies. This is because according to society's accepted definitions for and of ourselves, it is our ability to make money that defines us. (Ask a starving artist who is flipping burgers so he can buy more paint if he's an artist or a short-order cook to see how wrong this notion is.) So, why don't we define ourselves by what we enjoy? Why can't we define ourselves by what makes us feel complete?

A few months ago, I was introduced to someone somewhere, in a locale slightly out of my element. Whoever had the pleasure of meeting me asked me what I 'did'. They were asking for my definition - my 'label' in society. A way to neatly categorize me into their understanding of the world. In a flash, without thinking, I answered "I'm a dyer." You could see the poor man's brain processing this, and being unable to produce a suitable place to put this in his mental filing cabinet, he repeated "A dyer?" I explained what I did, he nodded knowingly and understandingly, and a little condescendingly, asked me politely if there was anything else I did (obviously I had not understood his original question). I answered him with yet another puzzle: "I'm a shepherd." He gave up, nodded as if this explained everything and I think we probably talked about the weather for a few minutes. I suppose I could have said something fancy like "I manage custom pigment-bonding with protein and cellulose-based materials for a niche segment of the art industry."

It's just easier and more fun to say "I'm a dyer." (And a wife, a mother, a veteran, and a shepherd.)

For those of you looking for help with your computers, I'm thrilled to say I've been 'out of it' for longer than moses, and am just as lost as you are with that new Vista laptop. (I'm sure there is a support group for us somewhere.)

For those of you looking for help with your forklift/flightline cargo handling needs, I frankly never want to strap down another pallet of cargo again - though driving onto a C-5 cargo plane IS pretty cool. I am however, proud of the military service I did, and am proud to be an American Veteran. (They work hard, no matter what branch or who's sitting in the Oval Office - never forget what the commitment they've made really means.)

For those of you who want to discuss office politics.... that's why I don't have the office anymore. If that office career is what's important to you, then I suggest you try sucking up to your boss. I did NOT and look where it got me. (though I'd love to wear my muck boots into the office again, just once.)

For those of you who want to discuss motherhood, I am all there. And by the way, please breastfeed your kids, it's good for them. (I mean REALLY people - what do you think is better: chemically re-constituted soy proteins simulating foodstuffs for the child you spent 9 months creating, or milk that your body is continuing to create, that is based on the needs of that child that only your body can know that your child needs? Read that sentence again.)

For those of you who are in need of an animal midwife etc, I've got some mad lambing skills and animal husbandry trivia here to pass on, just give me a shout.

For those of you in need of custom pigment-bonded protein and/or cellulose-based materials (a.k.a. hand-dyed yarns), I'm your gal. And oh look! Here's the 500lbs of yarn to prove it:

This was the 'small' box of just over 100lbs (that's 2 layers of cones there and yes, some are missing cause they've already been skeined for dyeing).

Each of these boxes are 200lbs. Please note they made a stencil to label the box just for us :-)