3 1/2 Years Later

 

So many things have happened since I was here last.  For one thing we sold our Angora goats as it was too difficult to keep and shear them.  I do miss them but I have a lot of mohair I stored all those years to deal with.  I do still have Angora Rabbits and I still love them and sell and use their fiber.

 

Two years ago we acquired a Longwool Lincoln ewe that had been bred to a half Shetland, half Racka ram. We waited and waited for her to produce a lamb and I was literally just emailing the prior owners to tell them about the situation when my husband came in yelling about how the ewe had just had a lamb. She had the coloring of the Racka breed but no horns.  We didn't breed her the first year but this last year we acquired a wonderful ram that is part Rambouillet and part Merino.  The ewe was bred and developed a condition that happens at the end of gestation when twins take the glucose out of the system which causes things to shut down.  She stopped eating and drinking and my husband and I spent 2 weeks trading off every few hours getting glucose products and water down her with a syringe.  

 

Everything I read about this condition was discouraging and unfortunately they were right.  We lost her but she was able to give birth to the twins 4 days before she died.  I was there after she gave birth to first one which was a mostly white little ram.  There was a dark colored glob that came out and I didn't know what it was.  When I touched the glob it opened and there was a little black lamb inside - a ewe.  

 

So now I am sheep mama and have been giving feedings to my babies 4 times a day. They are adorable and will have beautiful coats with long soft fiber. Maybe I'll start a new breed: Longwool Lincoln, Shetland, Racka, Rambouillet, & Merino.  What do you think?

 

 

Lil

 

Let me tell you about what God did.

 

I have been raising English Angora rabbits for 27 years. Wow - a long time :)  I have had up to 20 rabbits at one time, but the last 2 years have not bred any.  I thought maybe I was done raising them.  I was down to 1 doe that didn't want to produce anything and 6 bucks.  

 

Well - My friend Lil and I have known each other many years and raised rabbits and used to attend rabbit shows together when our kids were little.  She & I laughed a lot together whenever we we together - matching senses of humor. A couple months ago she emailed me to say there was a rabbit show in the area & if I stopped by she would love to see me.  So that Saturday I went to the rabbit show and we sat and talked for a couple hours. It was so good to see her as it had been a long time since we were together.  I had also asked if she had a doe available and she brought a beautiful little blue doe for me.  She wanted to just give her to me but I made her take some money. (She usually sold her rabbits for $300 plus as they are winning show rabbits.)  

 

About 2 weeks later my husband showed me the newspaper and in it ....her obituary.  It said she had died the day after I saw her - some fluky heart vessel thing.  I hurt to lose a friend, and I miss her but I am so grateful to God that he arranged that I could spend time with her before she left.  I think about her every time I work with my rabbits. 

 

And the little doe's name is Lilly.

 

 

Sat

24

Jan

2015

From Roving to Rugs

Everyone who raises fiber producing animals knows that the fleeces accumulate quickly and can be overwhelming. I know this from experience.  I have used the mill for some of it - expensive but it saves so much time and labor.  And II process some of it myself which I love doing.  One way or another I end up with beautiful roving.  I can hand-spin it into yarn, but I can also go straight from roving to rugs.  There are 4 ways to do this that I can think of: Locker Hooking, Crochet, Knitting, and Felting.

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Sat

04

Oct

2014

YARN SCHOOL :)

 

Well - this month I was able again to be a part of the Harveyville Project Yarn School.  Twice a year Nicole asks me to bring my English Angora Rabbits and talk about them and our Angora Goats.  I get to show off my beautiful fiber friends and their fiber and sell some the fiber I have available.  I always love going and feeling immersed in the fiber and spinning atmosphere.  Nicole invites fiber lovers from across the country to come spend a weekend in rural Kansas at a re-purposed school building in Harveyville learning how to handspin, dye, card, blend, wash, and experience various kinds of natural fibers. The gymnasium is full of spinning wheels and fiber lovers hand spinning beautiful yarns. She has placed beds in the class rooms and uses the school lab as place to teach how to dye fiber.  There is brightly colored beautiful roving hung to dry over line strung in various places around the building. Part of the really wonderful weekend is the food prepared by her partner, a professional chef.  Thank you Nicole for making this wonderful experience available and including me in!!   See www.harveyvilleproject.com

Being a Creator

This is a blog about making RUGS. This is a blog about being CREATIVE. This is a blog about having a WONDERFUL HOBBY.

(The words here are in color because I'm actually creating here and I love color.)

Creating stimulates your mind; Creating stimulates your life: Creating  stimulates your relationships. I've noticed that marriages seem to endure with more contentment when both are passionate about creating things. Creating gives your mind a place to go to make plans. When GOD created the Earth, He first hovered over a world that was empty and purposeless.  As He hovered, He was planning and envisioning what He could and would make into something productive and beautiful in so many ways.  Then He caused them to come into being!  

He created us in His Image - We, also, hover over spaces that are empty and purposeless, and we envision and plan to make something beautiful and productive.  Then we cause things to come into being. Yes - We are related to the ONE GOD CREATOR.

Creating gives us satisfaction and purpose, and a sense of self-reliance. Creating presents challenges and causes us to overcome obstacles.

You Creating helps to heal and nurture your soul and helps you contribute beauty to this sometimes un-beautiful world.  Thank you! 

 

So do it!  Create something.  A beautiful RUG perhaps!

So here we go.  There are SO many possibilities

"Beauty is a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted." - Kahlil Gibran

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Sat

13

Sep

2014

Being a Creator

This is a blog about making RUGS. This is a blog about being CREATIVE. This is a blog about having a WONDERFUL HOBBY.

(The words here are in color because I'm actually creating here and I love color.)

Creating stimulates your mind; Creating stimulates your life: Creating  stimulates your relationships. I've noticed that marriages seem to endure with more contentment when both are passionate about creating things. Creating gives your mind a place to go to make plans. When GOD created the Earth, He first hovered over a world that was empty and purposeless.  As He hovered, He was planning and envisioning what He could and would make into something productive and beautiful in so many ways.  Then He caused them to come into being!  

He created us in His Image - We, also, hover over spaces that are empty and purposeless, and we envision and plan to make something beautiful and productive.  Then we cause things to come into being. Yes - We are related to the ONE GOD CREATOR.

Creating gives us satisfaction and purpose, and a sense of self-reliance. Creating presents challenges and causes us to overcome obstacles.

You Creating helps to heal and nurture your soul and helps you contribute beauty to this sometimes un-beautiful world.  Thank you! 

 

So do it!  Create something.  A beautiful RUG perhaps!

So here we go.  There are SO many possibilities

"Beauty is a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted." - Kahlil Gibran

 

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