Last of the Sheep to Sweater AMP - Felting !

Our two days with The Bush School students nearly over and only one project left... Felting!! We did a small wet felting project over a resist and all the creative energy was flowing like a river run wild. No two projects were the same! Thanks to all the students for allowing us to share our knowledge with them .... and also teaching us so much in the process.

Wheel Spinning...

After everyone had their try at hand carding and drum carding we had a group lesson on drop spindle spinning. That afternoon everyone was spinning their own yarn on drop spindles... a few even went on to wheel spinning!

More on the AMP... Hand Carding & Drum Carding

Sheep to Sweater AMP at Rainshadow Farm

Marcia assured us that Homer was quite comfortable....

Last month's Sheep to Sweater AMP with The Bush School was a tremendous success. The AMP (experiential education at its acronymic finest) led by Lisa Keller (Head Librarian at The Bush School) was designed to immerse 13 high school students in the process of yarn and feltmaking from sheep to finished product. Marcia, Claudia, and I had two days to show them our stuff and boy did they get an education (and so did we!).

Marcia kicked off the event by demonstrating her famous "sheep flipping" technique, then proceeded to shear her ram, Homer.

Constance and the Basket of Bison

Constance was again with us at the shop on Sunday, her last day before the big move to Morgan Hill. Linda, who has Constance following her around like a little puppy, decided to take Constance outside to do her "business". We decided that day 3 in sheep life is the discovery of running and jumping, as Constance leaped out the door and began trotting across the parking lot as if to say, "Look Mom, No Fences!!". Linda caught up with her and safely returned to the shop where curious Constance seemed to be attracted to the basket of Buffalo Gals Bison fiber.

Constance

This is Constance, just 2 days old on Saturday! She is Linda's "Bottle Baby" who for reasons unknown, was rejected by her mother. Linda, on the other hand, bonded with this sweet lamb immediately and has been bottle feeding her every 4 hours, so she was at the shop with us all weekend... The word was out on the street early Saturday that we had a 2-day old lamb (Jacob Breed) in the shop. She was quite the attraction as people entered the shop asking "Where's the Baby?".

By the end of Saturday afternoon there was an adoption offer on the table from a friend and local B&B owner, Marcia Breece. Marcia's sanctuary, Morgan Hill Retreat in Poulsbo, is already home to a family of fortunate critters, and I personally couldn't think of a better home for Constance. Linda slept on the offer (and checked out Marcia's references) and agreed to the adoption (with visitation privileges I am sure!) . I heard that Marcia spent a sleepless Saturday night waiting for Linda's decision and researching the Jacob Sheep Breed!

Happy news is that Constance will be moving to Morgan Hill Retreat (www.morganhillretreat.com) on Monday afternoon, where she will be most wanted and lovingly cared for by Marcia, her new shepherdess.

Sunday Spinning at the Artful Ewe

Last Sunday we made a new fiber friend, Vickie, who is also a member of NwRSA (Northwest Regional Spinner's Association), and has been spinning for about 20 years. She was so excited to find us and said she would be back. Well, one week later she was back, with her wheel, and spent the afternoon spinning with us!

It's an Open Invitation to Spinners/Knitters/Fiber Enthusiasts! Bring your wheel, needles, or whatever you're working on and spend the afternoon.

We're Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

(Weekdays by Appointment - Please call me at 360-297-3493 or 360-643-0183).

Oh, and we don't have a lot of chairs yet so please bring your spinning stool or something to sit on!!!

Fiber Station

Is it a Fire Station.... or a Fiber Station???
We're Open!! Our first weekend and wow was it busy. The building we are in was part of the Port Gamble Historic Home Tour on Saturday. I can't count how many times we were asked "where are the fire engines?".

Just a couple more pictures...

This building is such a cool space to work in!!!

Setting up at Port Gamble

We're pretty much set up at Port Gamble and ready for the Historic Homes Walkabout tour today (Saturday). Still a few things left to do this morning but we should be ready by 10 a.m. Linda and I are Looking forward to sitting and spinning today!

Weekends at Port Gamble

Old Fire Hall at Port Gamble

Here's a couple more pictures of our progress setting things up. Between me, Linda and Laurie I think we've managed to make it feel comfortable and inviting. I especially like the sitting area where you can spin, knit, read or whatever. Woo Hoo! There's even a view of the water!!!

Our fingers are crossed that we'll at least be there through the summer... maybe even longer. Having a workshop or two... hosting a spin-in.... or simply enjoying the many events the town has planned over the next few months. Every Sunday there is the outdoor market and antique market, May 5th (Saturday) is the Historic Home Tour, and the 10K Spring Fling is on Sunday the 6th.

June is hopping with the Medieval Faire on the 2nd-3rd; Old Mill Days Country Carnival from 8th-10th, and the Civil War Re-Enactment on June 22, 23, & 24th.

You can check out the Port Gamble Calendar of Events for the entire year at www.portgamble.com. So come on out to Port Gamble! We're in the old Fire Station across from the General Store - Open Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Weekdays (M-F) remain studio hours by appointment only - please call 360-297-3493, 360-643-0183.

Home from Whidbey... Well Hello Miss Molly!

As if the day wasn't full enough, I came home to find out that we had a new kid! A baby goat kid that is. Miss Molly was born that same Sunday morning, April Fool's Day, without any human assistance (or intervention depending on how you look at it). fact, by the time Frank found her in the shed, Emily's motherly instincts had kicked in and little Miss Molly was already clean, dry and wobbily walking about investigating her new world. By the time I got home Sunday, it was already dark, but I wasn't waiting until morning to see the new baby kid. Flashlight in hand, Frank and I walked up to the goat shed. I sat down on the straw and held tiny Molly in my arms. Oh my gosh, how sweet is this !! I could feel the tears well up in my eyes. Okay, Okay, to all you shepherds, shepherdesses, farmers, and others that witness this birth thing on a regular basis, cut me a little slack here. I am a Newbie Goat Mom, and a sentimental one at that. I will forever be amazed and humbled by the miracle of life, no matter how small. Honestly, I had the same kind of reaction when this little nest of baby birds hatched in the rafters of our front porch last year! Doesn't she tug at your heart, just a little? (Molly - 1 Week Old)

Desperate Spinner

Not a whole lot of explanation needed here I'm afraid. I believe this is evidence that I've gone over the edge... Sunday afternoon heading home from Whidbey, we just missed the ferry so it was nearly 1-1/2 hours until the next one. It was pouring down rain so stuck in the truck we were. Linda had her knitting to occupy her time, I on the other hand had forgotten mine, along with my drop spindle. Linda had also won a fiber door prize (she had also won an amazing door prize at the Edgewood Spin-In.... hmmmmm... she was holding both of our tickets...) and I was curious how it would spin up. I had dp needles (used to make camelid fiber punis in the workshop) but no yarn. I attempted to spin Linda's wool by rolling the dp needle along my leg to build twist... a hopelessly lame attempt to create any reasonably sound yarn. Linda, watched me for a moment then grabbed a baby carrot from the bag of veggies, "Here, use this!" she exclaimed as she handed me the baby carrot. I quickly stabbed the dp needle into the carrot and voila! The carrot spindle was born. Honest, it really did work!!! It was a little wobbly, but a bit more precise placement and perhaps a nibble off one end would have made a more balanced tool, but usable "as is" it most certainly was...