Little Meadows Farm

New selvedges just in

2009-08-21T07:06:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Just brought home 8 big boxes of new selvedges and here are some pictures of what I unpacked this morning. A small sampling but will give some idea of the variety. Remember these selvedges come from an upholstery mill so they are of mixed content. Still $1/lb + shipping from NC. Your order can be packed in 25 or 50# amounts and you can specify light, medium or darker colours or a smorgy of all three. Shipping of 50lbs of selvedge is more economical than 25, so consider sharing with a friend. You can pay via paypal (funded or CC) or check. Email me with your postal code and I can give you a shipping quote. But just to give you an idea a 50# order to MI is $48-49 and yes shipping has gotten quite a bit more than we used to pay but in the end the selvedges cost less than $2/lb. Email address is littlemeadowsfarm@yahoo.com.

More Pictures of selvedges

2009-08-03T05:19:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of some of the selvedges we have right now to give you an idea of the variety of colour in each. Remember that you can order these in any amount starting at 25#'s with 50#'s max. per box. More information is in the entries below.

More about rug selvedges

2009-07-23T12:08:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures of some rugs I just took off the loom. I put on an 8/4 warp in a denim colour so that limited my weft selections so please don't think this represents all the choices - not by a long shot! The upper right picture also shows where I did some clasped weft design to make the triangles, that was fun.

Please continue to the next entry for all the information about purchasing these selvedges.

Selvedges!

2009-06-26T06:06:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

Here is the current information and a few pictures of the selvedges available. We are sorting thru the boxes and separating them into bags which can be quite a task in untangling sometimes. These selvedges come from a local mill that weaves upholstery fabrics for mid to high end furniture manufacturers - chairs, sofas, recliners. The content is a mix of polyester, cotton & rayons. Some are matte, some are silky and some are a mix of matte & silky and there are some rather sophisticated colour combinations too. When I took a tour of the mill they were running 15 different looms all at once, including about 7 Jacquard looms which are so impressive! The manager told me with some pride that they are known for being able to get up new designs quite quickly, so there is lots of variety in the boxes now and I expect that every delivery from them will be completely different. Well on with just a few photos to give you an idea of what the selvedges are like - remember there's a lot more variety then what you are seeing here:

We are sorting the selvedges into bags and then they're classified as "light", "medium" or "dark". The minimum order is 25lb up to 50lbs per box and you can specify which of the 3 categories or "The Smorgy Box" which will be a mix of all three. The cost is $1/lb + shipping via UPS. Payment can be by check or paypal.

Some questions I've been asked:

What are selvedges? These are the very long, yards & yards long continuous edge strips that are cut off the fabric as the cloth is woven and being rolled onto the cloth drum. Some people have asked if they are "worms", since "worms" seem to mean the edges cut off from woolen blankets after wet finishing we don't use that term.

Do you send samples? Yes, samples can be mailed but we can't guarantee that those selvedges will be available for any particular length of time or in any particular quantity.

Can I choose by content? Because these selvedges are quite mixed it wouldn't be possible to send you just cottons, or rayons, etc. All the fabrics woven are a mix of poly, cottons & rayons in some combination.

What's the shrinkage? Today, July 17th, I finished a 28X35" rug in a combination of 2 very different types and did a full wash, line dry - there was 1 1/2" shrinkage in the lengthwise and none in the width. This was on a poly/cotton warp from Great Northern. Since these selvedges are all very different the shrinkage will probably vary a little bit.

How many pounds do I need for a rug? I weave my rugs at an 8 epi, 29" width in the reed and usually to about 40" long which takes less than 5lbs of weft. A 50 lb box then could make 10 or more rugs depending on length and your warp sett. A denser sett means less weft material needed I'm told.

Do you have sock loopers? No, I haven't found a local mill doing socks.

Please send an email to littlemeadowsfarm@yahoo.com to place an order or for the phone number if you'd like to speak in person. And if there is a question you have not covered here please send me an email via littlemeadowsfarm@yahoo.com.

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon,
Liese

News from Little Meadows

2008-10-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

Hello to Everyone from all of us at Little Meadows. Although it's been a busy time for us humans in the last couple of months since the last newsletter, the rest of the crew has had it pretty easy. But we do have a few things needing done today.

First up is Frank because he's going to be having a hornacure -yup, you've hear of a manicure and a pedicure, right? Well ol' Frankie needs to have his right horn shaped every month to keep it from growing against his eye. Now his left horn grew just fine but his right grows just a wee bit different and that's enough to make it grow too close to his face. Fortunately some very nice people at UNC Small Ruminant (that's what sheep and goats are) Center helped us and so now we take care of it ourselves. Because Frank is such a mellow guy and knows that we are trying to help he is very co-operative, standing very still so we can sand, file and then sand again. Here's a picture of how his horn looks:

It has a flat end because we could cut it back that far several months ago. This did not hurt him since we didn't cut back to where he could feel anything. Today what we have to do is trim away at the inside that's coming so close to his face. First we put in a shield to protect his eye, we have a thin sheet of plastic that's both flexible but won't tear. Then we slip in a piece of sandpaper with a cloth backing and sand enough of the horn to slip a file in. This is like getting your fingernails filed. We use a shurform file that's flexible and thin, this takes off a lot of horn pretty quickly so we aren't making him cranky by taking too long. Usually he get's alfalfa coookies now and then to thank him for being such a patient boy. Then we sand again so that the horn is smooth. In the next picture you can see the shield and how much help we're getting from Max. After all Frank is his cousin so he wanted to be sure everything was okay.

In the picture at right, we're just giving the final touches with the sandpaper. Now let's get a few words from Frank...

Mom: So Frank how does your horn feel now?

Frank: It really feels great, before sometimes when I was chewing my grass, I would feel that horn rubbing my face. Do you think I'll have to always have a hornacure?

Mom: Probably since your horn grows all the time just like my fingernails. Is there anything you'd like to tell folks in the newsletter?

Frank: Yeah, tell them that the grass is growing okay but we need more rain to make it more tender and yummy. And Teacup has been baaad

, she got out of the fence yesterday but I was good and stayed in. Can I have a cookie now?

Mom(laughing): Okay Frank, I don't think anyone can send us rain but maybe they can send us rainy wishes and here's your cookie.

Besides Frank's horn we also trimmed or at least looked at everyone's feet to make sure they're not over grown. Fancy, Faye & Fiona (the Dorsets) and Betty, Mabel & Precious (the Corriedales) need their feet done frequently, growing fast out in front which then makes them stand in ways that isn't good for their legs. Everyone else have slower growing hooves that don't need trimming so frequently. It would be nice to have a picture here but taking a picture whilst holding a leg and clipping is beyond me! And Bob is busy holding each sheep to help them feel balanced and secure. The front feet always go pretty smoothly but everyone hates to have the back feet done. I hang on and eventually they stop kicking their leg back enough to trim without either hurting them or myself. But this is where I can stab myself with the points of the trimmers.

In the photo above you can see the netting that we use to keep them in a place without permanent fencing – in this case right behind the house. I rarely have to use a lawn mower! This was taken in the morning when everyone is the most active of the day, they are so busy eating they won't even look up to see what I'm doing. Then they'll go and lay under the trees or shelters in the shade for most the day. Then in the evening they get out for another major meal and then snack sometimes at night. Now if it's really hot they'll do most of their eating at night, that's why we don't put them into a barn at night. They are happy to lay down in groups and sleep under the stars. We all love to sleep under the stars....good night all.

Sheep shelters, cheap shelters

2008-07-11T18:26:00.000-07:00

Over on Ravelry someone asked about how to provide shelter where there is no infrastructure. Lots of web surfing a few years ago yielded Hoop houses that we've worked out thru several renditions. At first we built them on frames to haul around as some people do. Maybe it's us, probably it's our terrain and field condition but they began to fall apart; plus dragging them around is a ... drag. So we have evolved to have semi permanent hoop houses in each field. Semi because we can take them apart, permanent because they hold up to wind and sheep.

It all starts with the cattle panel which is 4' high and 16' long of welded wire, this is available at the farm supply store for somewhere in the $16-20 range. The picture on the right up there is of several tied up awaiting use. So you take this 4x 16' panel and raise up the center- the easiest way is to pound 2-3 T posts in the ground and set one 4' end against those posts and push on the other end making the centre rise up; do the same for the second panel. Now is the time to set the other T posts for the opposite side - 2-3 again. With the posts pounded in, the panels will stay put and behave themselves. Then they need to be laced together and you can do that with handy baling twine or electrical zip cords - we have lots of baling twine so that's what we use. You want to do the lacing almost along the entire join because the wind will try to have fun with it.
Now spread your tarp over the structure and tie that down at the grommets with more baling twine. Tie it on one side and then pull tight from the other so that it won't flap much in a wind - this is what really wears a tarp out. More cords can be tied from one side to the other over the top for further wind protection. In order to get the right length of tarp we're forced to get too wide, just run the extra bit underneath and tie like you see here. The final stage is to tie the panel to the posts just below the tarp - lashing it on is all you need to do. In our experience, it is better to set up 2 of these separately rather than make a big long lodge - the sheep just don't use that set up efficiently and several will be out in the rain looking miserable. Also when setting up 2 houses don't put them smack against each other unless you have lots of time extricating lambs - leave a bit of room and no-one will get hurt. Our flock is about 24 and 2 hoop house are just about the minimum necessary, 3 would be nicer. Definitely do the one extra in the winter so that you can feed hay under cover and not have a crush. Each one will cost under $100, the panel last for many, many years and the tarp maybe 2-3, more if you're disciplined to untie it when not in use. We have 2 in every field as we rotate the sheep from meadow to meadow. Shade from trees is far superior, so fence in trees when you can but where there are no trees and for rain protection I haven't found anything cheaper or more versatile than the hoop houses.

Farmer's Market or How I spend my Saturdays

2008-05-31T13:08:00.001-07:00

This is what the little market looks like, it's a log built stable once used by the family of the Chinqua-Penn estate and so just down a bit from the Big House . The tables are set up all under roof but we're on grass and small gravel which makes standing 5 hours a little easier. Of course I don't stand as much since I bring my wheel and spin. Here are a couple views of my table: Actually these pictures are switched but you get the idea. The framed picture by the soaps are of Iris and Gardenia mugging it up. Now I have pictures of the sheep too.
My neighbor sells many things from her farm including these lovely mushrooms, these are shiitakes they grow on oak logs. She sells fresh and dehydrated, just in case anyone needs to know where a good source of these mushrooms are. She also represents the local winery by pouring out small samples of their wine and selling. Once in awhile she'll turn to me and ask "would you like a sample?" Isn't this a great neighbor to have?!
All in all, we have 10 vendors so it's not a big market but I do well enough. It's a balancing act because a larger and busier market would mean much more soap making, spinning and weaving. Since I feel as though my work is never done now, this seems to be a good fit.

Currently on the loom is a 5/2 pearl cotton baby blanket with a 15 epi sett - which is wide for a twill but a 10/2 blanket in the same sett (!) had a nice drape and hand so I decided to try out the same threading for the 5/2. Perhaps this preference is being influenced by our 80*F spring weather - this blanket weight seems just right. I'll have to try the next at a closer sett and compare. This blanket is being also woven in a 2/2 twill but I changed the treadling so that I'm stepping right to left but outside to inside and am finding this much easier to keep straight. Meanwhile I've gotten a copy of Peg Osterkamp's second book intraloaned thru my wee library. Even a quick read has given me lots of handy tips and pointers for warping the big loom. Which I'd like to happen this weekend because Sheila has sent me a note and I feel that a picture of her former loom with a warp on it is a must in my reply! An even bigger must is getting Lashes sheared, she's still in her winter coat which last week didn't seem to bad but now the temps have soared. Llew's coat doesn't grow near the length hers does but we'll have to see how matted he is from rolling around; we may have to tackle him too.

Well, it near milking time already, so off to clean the bucket and get the food ready. Have a great weekend everyone.

Postscript - here's a couple of pictures of the finished Preemie/stroller blanket:

The cloth is of course much fuller with the 5/2 than the 10/2, more "blanket" like at the 15epi. Don't think I'd want a much closer sett myself. The 10/2 at the 15 epi in the 2/2 twill is more shawl like. Temps now in the 90's! Not blanket of any type weather unless one has the A/C blasting!

Still Here!

2008-05-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone? It certainly doesn't count that I've thought about getting entries done but let me catch everyone up starting with last to first.

On May 18th we had a Fiber Day at the Farm which was a whole lot of fun for me but required an embarrassing amount of work. The house inside was a wreck and much detritus around outside also had to be taken away. Recycling is a good thing but only if the stuff gets to the recyclers! Bob took 2 days holiday just before and did a huge amount of the outside work, especially on Saturday whilst I went of to do the Market. Believe me, I had it easy. But it all came together with lots of help and I think we all had a good time if the level of laughter in our screen porch was any indication. People really came quite a distance, including Meg and her husband who drove 3 hours one way to be with us! She had blended up the most elegantly coloured batts, which she is selling. Send her an email if you'd like something custom, hollowoakfarm@yahoo.com. Thanks to Anne aka Carpoolknitter for taking photos!

The week before the party my Mother and Grandmother stopped for a couple of days and helped with the inside wreckage. My wonderful 92 year old grandmother washed and cleaned up the kitchen and then lent a hand with pinning up a lap quilt. My mother threw herself into organizing the rest of the place but I do have to admit that the pile of library books has now crept out of the study and back to their accustomed place next to the chair. Mother also came up with the way to finish the afore mentioned quilt - although I had gotten lovely advice from others when I posted earlier, I did a simple hand sewn edge after Mum and Ranny spent an hour kneeling on the floor pinning. It may not be the best edging choice
for a heavily used and washed quilt but since the batting is wool from a Faye fleece that I carded up, machine washing isn't an option anyway. It is extremely light and warm, perfect for the cool spring mornings right now.

The weekend of May 3, was the opening of the Rockingham County Farmer's Market, a new market for me that is slightly closer to home than last years venue and hopefully more lucrative. Bob, who normally stays home, came with me to man the table whilst I sat at the spinning wheel. I didn't take any pictures myself but the local newspaper covered it and I had my moment a fame being pictured spinning. It was a good turnout and I met many knitters and would be knitters, as well as, would be spinners. So I'm hoping to get those " would be's" going by teaching at the Market when time allows. Last Saturday was a bit quiet and it's anyone's guess what tomorrow will be like but I will try to bring the camera.

So that pretty much brings us up to date on May. Farm news wise it has been a excellent month for rain, the pastures are green though headed out and need cutting. Bob has been battling a fuel leakage problem on our old tractor but hopefully he'll have that under control soon. The goatlings have been growing like crazy, besides just being crazy. The play on the old wire spools gets quite rambunctious at times. Grace's twins Katie and Muggins are still managing to squirm through the field fencing but it's getting to be a tighter squeeze as they get bigger. Still at about 4 in the afternoon they are hanging out at the back door wondering when dinner will be served. I have gotten half the garden planted but have more beds to prepare and areas for the corn - it's getting quite late for planting but we do what we can. At least the potatoes are doing well. The lone apple tree has some apples beginning to swell but I'm having a terrible time keeping the llamas and big girls from it when they're out for a walk. When there is so much that they should be eating I don't know why they head for what they know is off limits. But we let them out to eat down the explosion of poison ivy, honey suckle and rose brier that threatens to engulf the place.

Currently on the spinning agenda is Dorset sock yarn which I spent 3 hours carding up yesterday and started spinning today. The Glimakra is half warped for blankets but I did finish 2 on the LeClerc. The colour selection requested by the client was so cheerful to work with that I plan to do more things in warm palettes in the winter. These baby blankets were woven in 10/2 pearl cotton with 24 epi and in a 2/2 twill. The one shown here was woven first and then the commissioned blanket second with 6" wide stripes. In person the larger check had a folksier feel compared to this one which reminds me of Bauhaus designs.

Well, now we are truly all caught up. I sure enjoy sharing our news with you and hope that you have a great Memorial Weekend. Our weekend plans are to build a better hen house - pictures coming!

The latest and last babies

2008-04-18T10:39:00.000-07:00

We had been waiting for Zoe, one of the Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats to give a sign that she was ready for birthing and 2 days ago looked like she was near. So up she came to the nursery where Grace and twins were ensconced. Just after noon today I heard sounds of labour and sure enough she was already pushing. Grabbing fresh towels I went out to be the support. The first birth was a wee bit difficult for her since this girl decided to come into the world butt first, fortunately the other 2 girls took the proper course and within 30 min. Zoe delivered all three, they were standing and with a little help from me finding the teat and nursing. This picture was taken about 45 min. from when I found her in contractions! It is an incredibly warm day - up to 80*F so these three are having a nice introduction to the world but the sheep are less then thrilled, they are lounging out under the tree probably wondering where spring went.

It's been a week since we had any rain so I'm hoping we get some soon - the heat dries out the garden soil so fast. The potatoes from Moose Tubers, part of Fedco in Maine have come and I'm planning to get them into the trenches either tonight or tomorrow. I'm also going to try growing a few in a tire tower. Meanwhile I am making soap, finishing some weaving and measuring out the warp for some baby blankets. Last weekend I brought home a 25 y/o Glimakra loom and have been reading, studying, putting together, rearranging and generally getting acquainted- remember when you got your first bike or train set? Well, that's what it's been like for me! I think I'll wait until a couple of books come in before actually warping her up because right now I'm a little intimidated. Those papers on the bench there are what I have right now to go from; I'm sure Joanne Hall's book will help me out on some of the mysteries of this loom.
The plans for this weekend are to let the sheep graze behind the house for a couple of days while Bob and I finish fencing the tiny North area and the bigger East field, now that the fallen trees are cut back far enough to be out of the way. Shear the last three girls still in fleece and in the evening wrap and label soaps for the Farmer's Market. I hope where ever you are, it's a perfect weekend too.

Spring is about New Life

2008-04-09T06:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a rainy week here in the Mid-East and we are so grateful for it. The grass has gone from crunchy to green and now is beginning to put on some growth. Not quite fast enough for the sheep tho and so I've been on the phone hunting down hay because we are running out. Looks like I've found some but at about $25 more than pre-drought prices. Well hopefully one more big roll will see them through to fresh green grass.

On Saturday in between the rains Faye gave birth to twin ewelings. She's always been a big girl so I wasn't sure if she was really carrying, fortunately she is also an old hand at this so she just laid down delivered these little girls, cleaned them up and was nursing them when we discovered the situation. What a great Mum eh? As usual the pairing of Dorset to Jacob has produced wonderfully colourful lambs and these 2 little girls are going to be great additions to our Adopt a Sheep fleece program. The colour plus the buttery softness of the Dorset is a nice combination that we are getting compliments on. They also are friendly and curious about us 2 legged ones.
On Sunday afternoon Grace, one of the Nigerian Dairy goats, decided it was time and went into labour. But goats aren't stoics like sheep; they yell just like we do in contractions. The first goatling was a backward delivery and not alive, very sad but we had to put him aside and look to what was coming next. Fortunately the next doeling came in the proper presentation and was alive but the third was another backward delivery, she came easily though and I kept her head down and cleared her face quickly so she wouldn't breathe in any fluids which can cause pneumonia later. Mom and babies are doing great and we haven't had any concerns. Now we watch and wait for Zoe, another Nigerian Dairy goat and our last expectant Momma.

In the meantime we have started up another "adoption" program called Adopt a Goat, the information is on a separate page of our website. We are hoping that this program will be appealing to families because kids in cities or suburbs really don't get much of a chance to see farm life up closer than maybe a school field day at a petting zoo. I know we didn't growing up and having a greater understanding may help parents and kids feel more connected to the natural things that happen around them. And it's fun for me too, since there isn't anything better than talking about our family and the farm.

In Memorium

2008-04-02T08:33:00.001-07:00

The biggest, gentlest Rooster of our farm, was laid to rest yesterday evening. Winston, a Buff Orpington, came to us 3 years ago from a friend who knew that we would keep him until the end of his days. He wasn't named then but because he would emphatically shake his head, making all his wattles move and at the same time give low croaks and croons - I was so reminded of Winston Churchill and his low voice that the name seems very appropriate. So Winston he became and he ruled over the small flock of Buff Orpington girls but with a gentle touch. He always stood back so that a hen could have the food, was a perfect gentleman with me and will be very much missed out there in the home paddock. Over the couple of days that he lay sick, I noticed that many of the hens would come, one at a time and sit with him. He passed at night with his family around.

A Quiet Week

2008-03-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

This has been a week of quiet and resting. A terrible cold gripped me all week, which left Bob to pick up all the work, even coming home at lunch. But now I'm teetering about and getting boxes of fleece out to the post was the big job of the day. Fortunately everyone was pretty well behaved, the only 2 miscreants were and are Llew and Lashes who have decided enough with being stuck down in the middle part of the farm by themselves - they want up where the action is! So they jumped the netting and have stayed ranging around the house all week except on Monday when Llew led the way down the drive to take himself and Lashes for a walk. Fortunately I saw this and was able to trot out after them. They were told in no uncertain terms that they'd gone far enough! Lashes headed right back but Llew had to think about it...the rascal. Anyway, they have been good as gold since but it still gives me a start to see one of them cushed down outside the kitchen sink window. This picture is of Lashes just after checking out the little chicks.
And then the lambs:

The chicks are now a month old and almost completely feathered out. Here are a few that are hanging out in the spring sunshine and snoozing. They are always ravenous and I've teased Bob about not falling down in there because they would have him for dinner! They are old enough to go onto new homes - so I've posted them up for sale for people who'd like their own little "biddies" as they're called here.

And, no we don't have 2 Corriedale mums, we have a Auntie who doesn't mind lending a little body heat on a crisp morning. That's Betty with little Geode, the boy and Lacey the girl is up with Precious. All the lambs are doing well and confidently moving around, even straying off from the Mums.

The jumping and running has started a little but only with each small group not together yet. I stood out the other night trying to catch some pictures but mostly I got this:

Gotcha! Here's Geode doing laps!

So the plans for this weekend are to move the sheep over to the garden area - there's better grass there than almost any other place on the farm- and the field behind. The goats and the llamas will be moved onto the Middle pasture even tho we should really cross fence first, but we haven't the time and they need the fresher green stuff and exercise, especially the 2 Mums to be, Grace and Zoe. Oh and shear Fancy because someone is waiting for her fleece. So that's the agenda for tomorrow. Sunday will be finishing up the perimeter fencing around the East Field, since in a a couple of weeks that's were the sheep will need to be. Hope everyone has a productive weekend too.

The new black lambs

2008-03-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

After spending the day shearing, our early evening was enhanced with Precious getting serious about lambing. She was in light labour for about an hour and spent about 30-45 min or so in heavy duty work. I, of course, stood back trying to remember that holding my breath during her contractions wasn't doing any good! With towels and bags on hand, it was just a matter of time. She passed 2 water bags which confused both of us; she kept turning about expecting to find a lamb to clean up. But finally the first one showed his front hooves in the classic delivery position. Shortly after the little girl came sliding out and we were kept busy rubbing, drying and stimulating them. Pretty soon they were up looking for the first gulp of colostrum. Between the evening twilight and wetness we couldn't really get an idea of how black these lambs really were. But here they are in daylight out snoozing with Mum. Isn't that face wonderful! I don't know yet by sight which is the boy and which is the girl but we'll have to come up with some special names for these special Spring Equinox babies. Now as a hand spinner, it will be exciting to watch as their fleece grows to find out what the combinations of Corriedale and Jacob genes produces. Certainly both parents have mellow personalities, so I expect very laid back, easy and friendly kids; makes visiting the flock so much more fun when they come up to see me, rather than running the other way. Bethany's trio are learning to hop a little, so in another week or so the lamb games and races will begin. In the meantime it's mostly follow Mum and nap.

Bethany's triplets have arrived

2008-03-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, the weather is gearing up to storm, high winds and the changes in barometric pressures pushed Bethany into labour this morning. She wasn't too quick to the hay was our first sign that today was probably the day. Then about 8 am she started laying down, getting up and this just got progressively more so as we approached 10am when she went into full labour and pushing. Within 30-45 minutes she had delivered 2 girls and a boy. Of course this was out in the field so I went out to help her clean them off and get them dry as quickly as possible. When they began to get shivery I went and got the sleeve coats. Here's what they looked like sporting their outerwear. But now that we're up to 70F it's time to take them off so they didn't over heat and get a good look at their colouring. Of course getting a picture of all three in one frame turned out to be a wee bit challenging so here's 2 with the third hiding behind Mum. These Jacob sheep are extremely vigorous and hardy. The lambs were up and nursing within 5-10 min. of being born and certainly Bethany births without much fuss.

Now all the others are roaming around the house and into the garden area but I see Precious, our other Mum to be, standing around looking like she's listening to something far away ... I've got an idea her labour will be soon too. We, of course, hadn't planned to bred Precious, a Corriedale to Issac a Jacob but I made the classic error of trusting to a ram who normally respects electric fencing - baaaad move! So would be sheep farmers, please do not feel sorry for your ram in his nice field fencing pen or you too will have unplanned lambs.

Shearing Time

2008-03-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Another year has past and it's time once again to get out the shearers and unzip the sheep from their coats. On Wednesday Bob took a vacation day and spent it holding sheep for me. Actually we didn't get going until 10 am once all was set up but from then until just after 4pm we plodded along. Plodding really does describe it because I shear with the sheep standing and skirt as I go along, each sheep takes about 30-45 min. Good thing we have a small flock, eh? Here's a picture of Bob and Faye who was the first. He sits on the front steps mostly and I manuevre around with the shearers, scissors and hoof trimmers. We set up a pallet floor and then I throw the fleece over into three piles on another board that's swept between sheep. My piles are prime, second and compost pile. This is a picture of her "prime". Once we're done with the shearing, she gets a treat of cracked corn whilst I trim hooves and then back into the front paddock where the rest of the flock is.

Here's a picture of Mr. Darcy's "prime":

This is a picture of Teacup's rump after I've made a couple of passes. Look how freckled she is under there! And her fleece is heathery grey half way going to cream. I've not seen that before; that's going to make a very nice handspun yarn

I'm pretty pleased with the cleanliness of the fleeces too, keeping the pastures clipped so that the weeds couldn't seed out really made a nice difference and then feeding the hay out in troughs rather than free choice from the round bale also made a tremendous difference. Since they get 2 meals a day, they are eager to eat, eat it all and don't waste it over their neighbor's back. We've spent almost $500 on hay this year and expect the prices to double for next fall so every little bit needs to be eaten and not wasted getting into someone's fleece.

So 4 sheep finished and 14 more to go, rain is forecasted for Sat. and Sun. but just a light rain so we may get a window to do a couple of more before that much needed moisture actually comes in. If not then we'll be fencing the garden in that rain since I need to keep the hens out. This afternoon's project is getting the dividing fence between Ranger and Mr. Bunny arranged better. Ranger has been able to hop over to visit Mr. Bunny and that was looking ok until this morning when I found that they had actually been fighting which resulted in Mr. Bunny getting slightly hurt. So they aren't getting along as well as it had originally had looked. Right now Mr. Bunny is hanging out in the bathroom and I'll fix up that fence and fill in some holes.

Hope everyone's weekend turns out well and is productive too.

PS: the fleeces are for sale! I'll have all pics and prices on the web site as we shear. In the meantime adult Dorset is $5 a lb, adult Jacob $8 and the few remaining available hogget fleeces either Dorsetx or pure Jacob are $12. This is for the raw, skirted fleece and if you'd like to have it sent to a mill directly that can be done too. I'll charge actual postage, no handling fee.

It's Raining!

2008-03-07T10:18:00.001-08:00

Since the entire Southeast region is in a terrible drought condition we are thrilled of course to have it but....wet sheep don't shear well! So shearing plans for the weekend are being scrapped and we'll have to see how well they dry out for maybe a mid-week shearing date if more rain is forecasted for the next weekend. Meanwhile more weaving projects are getting planned and the small rugs just off the loom are getting finished. Two batches of soap made as well; today's batch scented with "Juniper Breeze" and the earlier one was scented "Lime Verbena" so the house has smelt better than you'd expect with 50 chicks in here! I'm changing out their boxes every other day and fresh straw in between but it does get a little ripe. We had one mortality early on from unknown causes but thus far everyone else has been quite hale and hearty.

Yesterday was a beautifully balmy day so got some laundry done and a fleece washed but inspite of the weather I held back from working in the garden. I've succumbed before and then had horrible clay clumps to deal with later. It's just soooo hard to wait. But there'll be no planting until the garden fence is up anyway since the hens think anything planted is just for them. So this rainy afternoon will be spent getting the quilt binding cut and started. I have had such wonderful help both here and on Homesteading Today. Thanks everyone, you really gave me a boost of positive thinking and a clearer understanding. Speaking of positive thinking, I am now repeating to myself often that "I am an organized person", thus far I've sorted out most everything in the Study with small crates on top of the bookcases to hold commercial yarns and a couple of shelf systems to hold my soap and handspun stock. Still have a few loose ends but this is coming under control because "I am an organized person"! Try this yourself and see if it doesn't do wonders for your home, your outlook and your energy.

First Quilt project

2008-03-02T06:20:00.000-08:00

Well, here's where I'm at with my first quilt. The top is a nine patch from scraps, the back is made from 2 pillowcases, and I've tied the corners with a handspun yarn made from wool and llama. The batting is Dorset wool from Faye that I carded with my drum carder. Now I'm stuck trying to figure out how to go from here with the edge/sewing the sandwich together. Hopefully the ladies over at Homesteading Today's sewing forum or other quilters will lend me some support since the library books are leaving me rather confused and afraid that I'll mess this work up. Once I understand how this process is supposed to go I have another top also done in a nine patch ready to be assembled. So quilters out there where do I go from here?

Spring Peepers!

2008-02-29T05:42:00.001-08:00

The new chicks have just arrived this morning after their long journey from Hoover Hatchery in Iowa. Of course the weather went from mild to wintry just in time for their hatching so I fretted about how warm they'd be. And of course I'd hoped that they would get here in 1 day but that was a wee bit too optimistic, but got the call this morning at 7:30 that they were at the post. We had done the morning rounds so I was standing by the phone and rushed down. They came in quite a small box which did a good job retaining their heat since all were up and peeping. Now they are ensconced, in large boxes with heat lamps suspended, in the kitchen. The chicks on the left are 25 Black Australorps and those on the right are 25 Barred Rocks - hopefully all females or pullets! I have a dish filled with gravel and water and lids with the crumbles - which is what chick feed is called. Also have a pot of eggs simmering to feed to them. No doubt some may be thinking "Cannibalism!" but remember our eggs aren't viable, wouldn't become chicks and the proteins and yolk are very sustaining. It is the yolk that the chick absorbs right before hatching in fact that sustains her for the first 24-48 hours of life. So more yolk provides fats and the white, proteins. Feeding a mixture of commercial feeds and home foods is something we do alot here for everyone because I don't really know if I can rely on the commercial feeds 100%. When the chicks are a few more days old I'll start giving them greens, grated carrot, chopped fruit as a small part of their feed because that's what they would get if they had hatched here under a Hen. We've had a small clutch from Isabelle, our Banty Hen, every year so I've had a chance to watch her and the little ones forage around. It was quite astonishing how far they'd roam - the little ones scrambling to keep up with Mum. So I've got to be Mum to this group and make sure they know that there's lots of food options - not just one kind shaped in a pellet. The pattern of my life will be popping into the kitchen to top up food dishes, clean water and watching to see how the chicks are congregating under the heat lamps. This is only the second time we've ordered chicks so I'm a fussing Hen!

The chicks will spend the next 2 weeks in the Kitchen keeping warm, dry and out of harm's way; I had thought to keep them in the bathroom but Bob said he wasn't going to wash out of the kitchen sink for 2 weeks. Then we'll move them outside if the weather has moderated, to a wired area under cover - chicks don't survive wet. By the time they're in feather I hope to start selling some of them in small groups to recoup my costs. We'll keep 25 to help bolster our egg laying capacity next year since some of the Americaunas are now 4 years old and slowing down a bit, though the size of the eggs are huge and more than make up for quantity.

So more pictures and reports will be posted as the chicks grow. In the meantime Cheep, Cheep!

Email troubles and Shuttle solutions

2008-02-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! Firstly, for anyone who has tried to get me through littlemeadowsfarm@yahoo.com and didn't get a reply - we had a problem which is now fixed! I'm terribly sorry if you have been accidentally ignored; please resend for a prompt response because normally I'm responding to my emails at 5:30 every morning and then throughout the day.

Now onto other fixes - namely shuttle bobbins. As you might know I am frugal to a fault so when I needed more bobbins I looked to using straws as a solution. But in using those straws I found that over the project they started to hang up at the back of the shuttle pin where it is flanged. Pawing through all the bits boxes I found this little rubber do-hickey that did just the trick so here's some pictures of my fix for a fix!

The black rubbery ring is a grommet of some kind and I cut it with the serrated bread knife to shorten it to the right length. I'd think you could come up with something similar from the hardware store. So if you're find that suddenly the bobbin/quill isn't feeding smoothly and freely look to see if it's hanging up at the back. Hope this saves someone frustration.

Catching Up on the Farm News

2008-02-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

It's a cloudy but incredibly warm Monday morning - we awoke to 60*F at 5 am! But just last week we awoke to snow, the first real snow in the 3 years we've been in this area. So today my first thought were about the poor sheep in their full winter wear out there sweltering! This up and down weather can be tough on everyone's health so after the main feeding/watering I made up some loose minerals with tonic herbs added in. Not only will the herbs help boost their immunity but the salt in the mineral will keep them sucking down the water - good for them and hard for me since the water has to be carried out in containers. Oh, well if I'm smart I'll not fill them all the way and just make more trips ... we use recycled laundry detergent jugs that are sold now with the delivery spiggot and they hold about 4 gal. or 32lbs when full. That's a bit much for my aging shoulders. Farm work really reminds me that I'm not 30 any more but rather quickly approaching 50, a humbling realization.

Weaving is coming along on the rugs project. The fleece lock piece is done, I then did a piece with carded fleece - that's the blue & white up there on the left and this morning I just finished the last one which is done with handspun singles. These are all short rugs of about 22" long for the last one - ran out of yarn due to poor planning- to about 27" for the others. Now what to do for the last? Right this minute I haven't any ideas so will let it sit and perk. Certainly the housework needs doing far more desperately than weaving! And I have Ranger, the French Angora bunny in the bathroom awaiting his comb out. The hens are in his house cleaning up all the bunny food he spreads around - they'll have it picked clean by the time I get him back out there. Glad to see some cleaning going on without any effort on my part!

Bob spent the weekend digging post holes - about 15 or so and getting the area right in front of the house ready to move the sheep. He'll be taking a day off from work so we can stretch the field fencing; a gate will need to be built but I can do that on my own. But with luck we'll have them off the west field before they damage the clover seedlings emerging in this warm weather. These fencing projects are never finished and this can get a little discouraging until I remind myself that we've only been here 2 years. I'm sure everyone has projects like this so I won't whine but rather encourage you to look at what you have accomplished, not what is still waiting to be done. And I'll try to practice what I preach as Mum always said.

Upcoming news to look forward to: I ordered 50 chicks (I've lost my mind!) that come in 2 weeks and will be ensconced in the bathroom for the first week of their lives, we start shearing in March and in May - if I survive the chicks and shearing- we are putting together a Farm Fiber Day. So please come back to see what's happening here at Little Meadows!

A New Weaving Project - Fleece Rugs

2008-02-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

This is my Leclerc warping board that we mounted on the kitchen wall. Having up at eye level really has made it comfortable to use. The warp is 115 ends, 6 yds long of 8/2 poly/cotton rug warp - the spool sat in in an container at my feet as I wound the warp on.
On this project I'm warping B2F ala Chandler. I was quite unhappy with my warp tension in my last project so decided to work on this method for awhile. Here in this picture is threading the heddles. Found that a bit awkward since on this LeClerc Artisat I can't take off the front beam, whereas the back beam folds and let's you get closer when threading from the back.
Here we are all tied on. The rug design calls for a 5 dent reed so I sleyed my 10 dent every other. Also left the warp sitting overnight to see if it would loosen up - didn't find any noticeable difference this morning. So after getting the bread and cheese making started sat down and got things going. This picture shows a couple of rows of the fleece locks in place, after each fleece row, I'm weaving 8 pics of the 8/4 cotton. The fleece I'm working from is over there on the bench, it's from one of our Dorset girls Faye. If all goes well I should be able to get 4 small rugs out of the 6 yd warp. After finishing this piece, I'm going to try laying hand carded sections in to see how that looks and works as a rug. Don't have firm plans yet for rugs 3 & 4, am hoping that as I sit weaving inspiration will come to me! Meanwhile whilst working on this rug I'm listening to a program called Sound and Spirit, she did a program about weaving as metaphor last August, you can find the archive program here: http://www.wgbh.org/pages/pri/spirit/2007index.html .

Plans for the weekend

2008-02-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

It's Friday already and the day to look at the weekend "to-do" list for any materials that we might need from town. It rained last night and a wee bit this morning so a good time to go in for groceries and bits. First on the list is to carefully, oh very carefully cut Frank's right horn tip back. The poor guy, his horn is growing right up against his face. I have to find something extremely thin but hard to slide between the horn and his eye to protect him and then we'll try using the dremel with a cutting disc. When we get that done I'll be ready for a strong cup of tea! Then on to much less stressful activities. I have put in the T-posts for the new bunny pad, so now with Bob's muscle power we can roll out and tension the welded wire to enclose a 15'x50' area. This area will then be divided in half because unfortunately most boy bunnies fight each other and certainly Ranger and Mr. Bunny are no exception! So each guy will have 15x25' of romping around space. But before they go in there I also will have to set in edging material to keep them from digging out - no matter the space this is what they'll do, especially Ranger. Ranger's current home will become the chick condo for the batch of chicks I'm ordering this month.
We won't be done fencing yet tho, the garden area still needs it's final and last side done and then a centre section so that the chickens will be in one area and those tempting veggies protected in the other. Normally we let the hens wander at will but occasionally I need an area that confines them so I can do seeding of the pastures. Clover seed would be awfully expensive chicken food at almost $2 a pound! To say nothing of the work discing and spreading it. So in this 40x50' area they'll have to stay for a couple of weeks until the clover comes up.
And more fencing! We also need to move the sheep over from their current field so that this clover can be spread, this means fencing in the front area. Last year we were able to use the electro netting but unfortunately Mr. Darcy and his sister Emma have discovered you don't get shocked if you go under the very bottom. It is amazing how narrow a spot these fat, woolly yearlings can wiggle under & thru. So it will be driving in more T-posts and setting up field fencing. Oh, yes building a gate too. I should do a piece on gate building since I've got it done to almost a science now. Well all of this sounds like a couple of weekends work but we'll plug along and see come Sunday evening how far we got. Certainly Bob is always happy to go back to work on Monday so he can rest! Here's hoping you have a productive and fun weekend too!

Keeping Everyone Happy on a Chilly Day

2008-01-24T13:30:00.001-08:00

January 2nd, 2008

A cold front has brought quite bitter weather for us here, temps haven’t even reached 30F yet and a brisk wind makes it feel even colder. Fortunately I purchased a pair of ski overalls in a thrift store a few years ago and they sure make a nice difference. Everyone got their regular morning meal at 6 this morning and even though we filled the buckets with hot water some of them had frozen over again. So out again at 10:30 to give everyone a midmorning hay snack and warm up those buckets. Did it feel wonderful to come back in and stoke up the woodstove! There is a split pea soup simmering on the back and the tea kettle in front which takes up almost all the top of this little Jotul. Daisy, the 15 year old Lhaso mix and my shadow has taken up station right in front of the stove and feels quite toasty.

Yesterday I started a batch of chevre and that is now ready to be hung to drain, chevre is the easiest cheese to make and requires little supervision. I use DVI cultures that come in foil packets, for chevre I normally use MM100, let it culture 10 min. in the milk and then add the proper amount of rennet for the volume of milk. Let it sit over night, hang to drain over night, herb & salt and eat! For those interested in making cheese I just recently found another site that you should check out: http://www.dairymaiden.com/about/about.htm

Another to-do is getting the ground wheat soaking for bread making tomorrow. I grind up 2 cups of whole wheat berries, add 2 cups of goat milk and let it sit out. Now if it’s very warm I’ll use water instead but this soaking really helps the full flavour of the wheat to shine. When ready for bread making, I add instant yeast, another cup of water and unbleached flour to make a dough and let rise in the pans - I like to bake the bread at 425F for 20 min. As you can tell I like to keep the breadmaking simple since we go thru 4 small loaves a week.

A cold day is just the reason to sit near the woodstove and peruse seed catalogs, design the drip irrigation system and a new Hen House. I found a UK site with designs I really like aesthetically and they really look pretty straightforward to build. I don’t feel too bad about using their designs as a springboard since they aren’t sold here in the US but for folks in the UK, check them out: http://www.hen-house.co.uk/index.html I think the Hargrave will definitely make the Hens quite happy.

Hope you all are staying warm and happy too!

Emergency weaving bobbins & winder

2008-01-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

December 30th, 2007

Here I am, loom finally dressed with her new warp in white and Copenhagen blue 10/2 pearl cotton and no free bobbins! And the idea of paying postage on such a small item when I should have ordered them with the new warp materials had me feeling a bit frustrated. But in the far reaches of my brain a little voice said - straws. Uhmmm. SO off to the market and viola they actually work! And since I need 4″ers I can get 2 out of 1 straw. Then the question was how to wind it. Bob suggested the portable drill, I found a 3″ nail that was just right and away we went but not too fast! I have a few inches of the new cloth woven and those bobbins are performing admirableably - now if my weaving would only improve. Actually it’s the first inch or so that makes me cringe because this is where I am figuring out how much to beat, whether the tie on is straight, yada yada yada. Perhaps I should just do the hemstitching up that high and figure the first bit as waste. Well after I wind this bit around so you can’t see it I’ll post a photo. Sure hope the straw idea gets someone else out of a jam - Happy weaving!

Introduction to our farm family

2007-12-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick look at our family, Bob and I are both 3 generations from farming so we do lots of things a little differently. First and foremost is our philosophy that everyone will live out their natural lives here. We have been vegetarian/vegan for almost 30 years now so while we hope everyone can contribute to the well-being of the farm and land we do so with respect and a view that all beings are created equal. I'll save the rest of the animal respect soliloquy for another post tho. Just want you to know from the outset so there won't be any misunderstandings and that when we speak of our family we do mean it in the full sense of the word. Other things we do that may not be the norm for some folk is being as holistic as we know to be. That starts out be designing our farm from a permaculture point of view. Rotationally grazing and keeping pastures rested. Having some of the chickens in with both the sheep and the goats to help keep parasites in check. And I make an herbal tonic that everyone gets to boost health that and we all eat kelp too! As a whole this seems to be working, everyone is hale and hearty but we have much to do and much to learn.

I hope you enjoy some of these photos and please do ask questions if you have any.

Here is Fancy of the 3 Dorset girls that began our flock. They are friendly, easy going and have lovely fleece, that is soft, crimpy and dyes like a dream.

Soon after the Dorsets, we found a wonderful breeder of Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Goats, Barb Halligan of Cornerstone farm. From Ellie, Grace and Zoe was the beginnings of our herd. Llew the black llama gelding is the herd guardian and he is ruled by Lashes who also likes to sunbathe.

A small flock of Jacobs, a rare 4 horned breed, from Stratton Hall in NJ joined us last year. There is a lot of individuality to their fleeces. Kira and Jester have the softest but still with a little lustre. Bethany's is maybe what one thinks or reads about for Jacobs. This group of 2 ewes and a wether also included Issac the ram, so then we had ....

Lambs! Having 5 Mums give birth really explodes the flock, now the flock numbers 19 in total. What we were surprised about was how colorful the DorsetxJacobs are, so I'll have lots of brown wools to both sell, as well as spin and weave with. Do stop over at our web site www. littlemeadowsfarm.net to see most of our sheep and our Adopt a Sheep Program.

Mr. Bunny came to live with us last Feb., his original name was Thundercloud because he was all grey. After his first shearing tho he is now a white coated guy. Still a sweetie and is doing very well living side by side with Ranger a French Angora bunny gifted to us by Meg. Their fiber is carded into the sheep wool to spin up warm & soft yarns. They do not live in cages but in special enclosures on grass.

This summer we added 3 lovely Corriedale girls to the flock, Betty & Mabel are Precious' twins and the three of them have blended in well. Precious' fleece is micron tested at 24 so is extremely soft - we expect Betty & Mabel to have very similar fleeces too.

Iris and Gardenia, the Alpine Dairy goats are the newest girls here, they are milking a gallon per day so we have lots of milk for soapmaking and cheesemaking.

I am missing photos of our hens so that'll have to wait for another time. In the meantime thanks for looking and reading!