Harvest Time... for wool, that is!

I had long anticipated getting the fleeces off our seven sheep, as I have really come to love working with their locks in my felting and their fiber was looking wonderful.  It's nice to let their wool grow as long as possible, but if we wait too long, there's a greater likelihood of them getting messed up with excess hay and other vegetable matter.

Our daughter and her friend took them out for a good walk the night before shearing, which they truly seem to enjoy! I swear they even think it's fun jumping over logs!

Look at that form, lol!

I took the sheep to my friend Dianne's for shearing, and helped with skirting fleeces from her sheep.  I think I oohed and ahhed over just about every fleece that was set on the wide table for us to skirt (pick out and trash the dirty or coarse parts).

Dianne and her husband Mike looking over Jeffrey's fleece.

The two shearers were fantastic and very experienced, leaving very few "second cuts" for us to pick out.  (Here, they're trimming a ewe's feet).

 
Here I am with one of my favorite fleeces... and I've already washed a little bit of it, dyed it, spun some and put it to work as fringe on a new nuno felted shawl!

Yep, nothing like a spring harvest!

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Winter Fiber Fun

Donna, myself and Cheryl with our finished fitted felt pieces

My Cleveland friends and I had our 3rd annual fiber retreat a few weeks ago, and I have to say it was the best yet!  January has become, surprisingly, one of my favorite months since there are few obligations, plenty of studio time, and the retreat to anticipate and enjoy.  I don't even mind winter weather, as I'm pretty content to stay inside (by late February and March, I'll be changing my tune!)

Madeline rust-dyeing

At the retreat, we always teach each other what we've learned over the year, and this time Cheryl and Donna were eager to try out the a fitted jacket/tunic/dress using the technique they had just learned at a demonstration clinic.  The math involved in calculating measurements and shrinkage was not nearly as daunting as I thought it might be, and all three of us had successful projects!

Me with a rust-dyed scarf

Other friends of theirs spent smaller amounts of time coming and going, and we did some experimenting/playing with rust dyeing, eco-dyeing, and snow dyeing!  SO. MUCH.  FUN.  I've continued doing some of these dyeing activities at home and even took along supplies to do snow dyeing with my parents on a recent weekend visit.  They had a blast!

 Donna with a rust-dyed scarf

 Cheryl and Donna with a snow-dyed silk piece

 

A silk scarf with combined eco-print and rust dyeing

Snow-dyeing with my parents, drying the silk by the fireplace

I've been felting, too, and have been creating more "art"pieces since the weather in Kentucky turns some people off wool wearables, even the lightweight nuno felt.  Here is a piece that my parents "commissioned"for their home.

 

The wall piece I made for my parent's home

 Another recent wall piece that will be available at The Collective

I've been doing a LOT of photography, too, watch for some of that to come in the next few days. I am completely addicted to Instagram, a photo-sharing social network for mobile photography- have you checked it out yet?  

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Farewell, 2012!

The last sunset of 2012 at Siesta Key, Florida

Happy New Year!  I don't think that I'm alone in saying good riddance to 2012, it seems that many people had a wealth of challenges last year.  The new year is filled with such promise and hope, a clean slate and a time for quiet after the bustle of the holidays, and I am especially happy that it is now 2013.

And yet, it seems ungrateful to not reflect on those many good things that have happened this past year.....

My mom's complete recovery from a serious illness last spring
The continued health of our family and many birthdays (and anniversaries) celebrated
The births of two precious new souls in our family- our darling first grandchild, Hudson and   precious great-nephew, Michael
Valued friendships... special dinners, riding with friends, fiber retreats in Ohio and at Shakertown Inspired creations, with new emphasis on photography and a special new gallery to be a part of (The Collective)
Some great trips- The Smokies and Siesta Key with family and a felting workship/art retreat to New York for me
A smooth and fruitful year of births and sales on the farm, with many healthy crias and lambs
     
May 2013 be one of peace, good health and prosperity for you and your family!!!
      

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A bit of light..

The tragic events of last Friday keep hanging over me like a cloud, and today's rain isn't helping, so I thought I would simply try to spread a bit of beauty and light.  Because there is already enough ugliness out there....

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Dreary update

I sat in the cold for a long time waiting for this shot

Lest you think I've disappeared from the face of the earth, I thought I'd write a post on this soggy morning (I'm not complaining, we needed the rain but it's just so gloomy).  It's been a busy fall, filled with family, farm, fiber and photography (I like that alliteration, if you were to add in faith and friends, you'd have the core of my life in a nutshell!)

Felted hat that just sold at The Collective

I joined a new artists gallery/cooperative in Lexington called The Collective, and have produced tons of felt projects to display there and to keep my stock up at Damselfly Gallery in Midway, too.  I love the concept of the Collective- each artist pays a monthly "rent" (shared with the 19 other artists there) and instead of giving up 30-50% of an item's sales price in commissions, I keep it all!  It's been a lot of fun to meet the other artists and customers, and yesterday I taught the gallery's first class there (Felting a Birdhouse).  Having my work in a few regular, high-traffic areas has saved me the time of exhibiting at art fairs, for which I am truly grateful as I can spend more time with the family.

At the Woodford Hunt's Blessing of the Hounds

The Collective's other artists are painters, woodworkers, jewelers, mosaic and collage artists, vintage art creators and more- LOTS of great, diverse work.  I have a special feeling when I go to the Collective in Chevy Chase (in Lexington, KY), as I lived on S. Ashland Avenue less than a block away when I was single and teaching school in the 80's.  I reminisce about my unsettled young adult self, and how content I would be to know that one day I would be a happily-married artist, living on a beautiful farm with my family and tons of animals, and displaying my own artwork in a Chevy Chase gallery!  If you haven't been out to the Collective yet, there are two upcoming Open House/intimate evenings for which you have my personal invitation- Saturday, Dec. 15 from 7-9 and Thursday, 
Dec. 20 from 5-8.

One of my most popular prints

Throughout this year, especially since buying my new dslr camera, I have put more time into my photography and have begun to sell my prints at the galleries and in my Etsy store.  It has been very rewarding to get a positive response to the photos I've shared, but even better is the time that I take to SEE the world through my lens, often in the great outdoors with my trusty dog Hoss at my side.  These moments have truly helped me through some challenging times this year.  I am grateful.

Hoss, along the river trail on a foggy morning

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