Bit O' Heaven

November Happenings

2011-11-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

What a busy time of year!! 16 1/2" of snow a couple of weeks ago. So much shoveling !! Last month we had the NH wool Tour of which I'm a participant at Spinner Farm in Deering. We had a beautiful weekend as far as weather goes and very enjoyable time with friends and fellow fiber people. Sales were down for me personally and it may be due to the fact that S.O.A.R. was in Manchester this year. They are not on our side of the world that often and when they are, people flock to it. I would love to have gone too!!!.

Also last month was the VT. Sheep and Wool Festival in Tunbridge, VT.

I enjoyed that immensely and bought my very first cashmere roving ( a whopping $22 per oz. I purchased 1 oz. I am spinning it on my Tom Forester cashmere russian support spindle.

Have just started using support spindles. My first was a russian made by Spindizzychick. Then I got the cashmere russian and then a French, Russian Hybrid made by Lisa Chan which I love and lastly a wonderful Surprise Spindle made by Bristlecone in Colorado. It has a glass base with a yellow flower in the center. Breathtaking!!

Also at the Vt. Sheep and Wool Festival, I purchased 2 Jacob lambs from. a friend and fellow spinner. I have named them Emma and Angie.

I attended the 2nd annual NE fiber Festival in West Springfield ,MA this month with the Sugar River Spinners. It was a great day!!

Yesterday was our monthly meeting of Sugar River Spinners in Newport.

We had a great turnout and feasted on crackers,cheese,dips, fruit and desserts.

This coming weekend is the NHSWGA annual meeting in Boscowen with a lamb supper. And Sunday is the Conn. Weavers Guild meeting.

Support Spindles

2011-09-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased 2 support spindles. My friend Maureen has been showing off her support spindles at our weekly spinning get togethers. She has several beautiful ones. She constantly adds to her collection. I had never spun on one so decided to get one to try. I ordered a Russian spindle on Etsy from Spindizzychick. It's made from Blood wood and is great. I also got a wood bowl to support it and that is made of leopard wood. I then ordeed a Cashmere Russian spindle from Tom Forrester made of silk wood. I've been spinning Angora on that one. Now I'm hooked!!!! I have another on order from Lisa Chan. It's a hybrid Russian/French support spindle.

April News

2011-04-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have been taking riding lessons from Spinner Farm in Deering. I go every Tuesday morning. I have ridden 4 different horses in the stable. I've been on 3 trail rides so far and am getting better at the jog.

I've joined a weaving group called Thrumbs Up.. It's a new group and all are welcome. I'm a beginner weaver and this group encourages us. Today I went to Harrisville for our monthly meeting & we had a tour of the Harrisville Mill by the owner, Chip. It was so interesting.

Back Again

2011-03-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I have such a hard time keeping up to date with my postings, but I do.Since I last posted I have had back surgery in September, my palomino Quarter horse died Oct. 1st, got a new kitten Oct.2nd., had to have my little Angora goat, Houdini put down the day before Christmas because of Kidney stones.

I'm not working at this time. I was working as an LNA at the Sullivan County Nursing home in Unity, but got done there last February. Now I'm at home tending the animals I have left. I have 2 horses, 3 Angora goats, one Shetland/Icelandic ewe, 4 dogs and 2 cats.

I have been taking horseback riding lessons from Spinner Farm in Deering every Tuesday morning.

Wednesday evenings I have a group of ladies that come at 7:00 pm and we spin or knit ,enjoy snacks and each others company.

The first Sunday of every month it's off to Newport for the Sugar River Spinning group , the second Thursday of the month is for knitting at the Fiber Studo with the Needles & Shuttles Fiber Guild, and the 3rd Tuesday it's knitting at the Antrim library.

At this time I'm trying to get prepared for the NH Sheep & Wool Festival, where I have a booth. So it's lots of dyeing, spinning, knitting,etc.

Monday,I will be looking at another horse to see if it's suitable for me to ride.

Kraft Dessert Scale Widget

2010-07-07T06:20:00.001-07:00

Sharing content with public pages

2010-06-07T18:42:00.001-07:00

Sharing content with public pages

2010-06-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Sharing content with public pages

3 Little pigs

2010-06-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

We do have an addition to our small farm. We purchased 3 pigs May 29th. They are being housed in the back part of barn where I use to keep my rams. They have a nice fenced in area to root about in ( which they do nicely )

3 Little pigs

2010-06-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

We do have an addition to our little farm !! 3 pigs were purchased May 29th. They are being housed in the back part of barn where I use to keep my rams. They have a nice fenced in area to root about in ( and they are doing a great job at that )

Wound Update

2010-06-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

Every other stitch was taken out on June 1st. Still had to keep it covered & put antibiotic ointment on. Lots of swelling so had to keep my leg elevated . Went back on June 4th & got rest of stitches out. Looks disgusting!! Still have to keep ointment & bandage on & keep my leg elevated when I'm not moving about. Wanted to start a job tomorrow, but that was nixed by Dr. No work fot 2 -3 weeks at least, no horse back riding either!! What next???

Wound of the week!!!

2010-05-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, after going to a Parelli trailer loading session in Alstead, I visited a friend that I hadn't seen in years. She gave me rhubarb & rhubarb plants. I fed my animals & opened the doors to my horse trailer ( in anticipation of working the next day on trailering my horse ) I jumped up into the trailer & promptly fell. I grabbed my shin, it hurt so bad! My hand came away covered in blood.. by the time I made it up the stairs of back deck, blood was coming out the eyelets of my boot!! Needless to say, I was rather scared. Got out of my boots & jeans,managed to stop the bleeding & finally got my husband at work. Went to Concord ER and had 10 stitches. My bathroom had so much blood , it looked like someone had been murdered!! I'm doing fine now.. Stitches come out the 25th..

NH Sheep & Wool Festival

2010-05-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Had a great time at the NH Sheep & Wool Festival in Hopkinton this past weekend. I lent a helping hand to Cindy in her Ewe & I Farm booth and was also able to sell some of my own fiber and knitted items. Sarah & Sue were also part of the team as well as Cindy's husband Jerry. A good time was had by all, but we were mighty tired by closing on Sunday.

A couple shots of Sue's Booth. She's busy stuffing dyed roving into bags for the needle felters.

It's Been a Long time

2010-04-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'm back !! Where does the time go? I've been busy with working several different jobs, trying to cope with stuff that has been thrown at me, and I survived!!
I had to cut down on my animals and now only have Willow, my Shetland Icelandic ewe, 4 Angora goats, Holly, Hope, Houdini, & Heather. I have 3 horses, Boo( a retired Standardbred racehorse) He is 28 years young, Goldie, ( Palomino Quarter Horse) She is 24. And my wonderful Quarter horse , Daisy. She is 9. I'm doing a lot of ground work with her following the Parelli Natural Horsemanship Program. I did fall off her last July & broke my ankle, so have been a little leery of getting back on. It was entirely my fault that I fell.

I will post pictures soon.

The Kids

2008-08-12T18:36:00.001-07:00

Houdini Heather

Holly & Houdini
Mom & the Kids

Pictures of the kids

Holly & Kids

2008-08-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

Holly & Babies
Heather & Houdini

Houdini & Heather

2008-08-12T18:09:00.000-07:00

Houdini
Heather
Holly & Houdini
Holly & Houdini
Houdini

Houdini & Heather are doing great!! Growing like weeds and bouncing around everywhere. They are such fun & Holly is a good Mom.

Triangle Shawl

2008-08-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Finally finished it after having borrowed the loom months ago. Once I got at it, it only took a couple of days. Used wool from my sheep that was sent out to be made into yarn. It will be good to wear as an everyday shawl.

New Additions

2008-08-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

This morning while feeding the sheep ouside, I was startled to hear some human like baby cries. I turned to see Angora Goat, Holly, with twins at her side. A bouncing baby boy at 5# 12 oz. ( Houdini ) and his little sister, Heather, who weighed in at 4 1/2 #. They are both colored. At first I thought the girl was white, but she's actually a very light red. Houdini is darker. At one point I thought she was pregnant, but when nothing happened,I assumed she wasn't. She's always had a huge hay belly!! And since I just got her back in June after her being gone for a year I was clueless.

Sugar River Spinner's Monthly Meeting

2008-08-03T18:25:00.002-07:00

We had a total of 17 people today for the monthly meeting. It was a great time with terrific friends and fellow spinners. Many brought food to go with what I furnished so we all had plenty to eat. Some brought knitting, hand stitching, etc.

My good friend, Candy, brought me a large sheep statue. I love it!! It happened to be one that I had taken to a previous Sugar River Spinning Xmas party as a gift & she was the winner. Knowing how much I liked it she brought her back to me. She's so thoughtful!!

Shetland/ Icelandic Ram Lamb

2008-08-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

My little boy Casper, went to a new home last night. He'll be living in Henniker doing breeding, so he should be happy!!. I get to have his fleece after shearing so that's a plus (like I need more fiber!!) He was born April 1st, 2008 and is black with white shading on his sides and two little white marks under his eyes that look like tears.

Animal update

2008-07-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

I'm back !! It's been extremely busy with working 2 part time jobs ( I'm actually looking for a 3rd), taking care of the animals & a husband that's been out of work since the end of April. He did have back surgery in June and after a visit back to the surgeon on the 31st of this month, we're hoping he can return to work.

I was able to get my 2 goats back on June 16th. You might know , one week later Hope showed signs of pneumonia and I had to have the vet come out. She's fine now and back to her old tricks of sneaking under the fence to greener grass!!!

In the Spring, my daughter took Willow, the Shetland/Icelandic ( after much pleading) back. She also bought my Shetland , Fanny & her twin lambs,Jill & Jake.The 2 Jacobs she had given me for my birthday went too. I was having a rough time with my husband losing so much time with back problems.

I have since gotten back Fanny and Jill. Fanny was prego when she came back so now there's 2 more ( a multi colored ewe lamb, Kizzie & black boy, Casper) They were born April 1st. They are a Shetland/Icelandic x.

My daughter called last night asking me to take Willow back as she is getting rid of all sheep and horses. So I'm off to bring her home again!! What a merry go round.

During one real bad snow storm when roofs were collapsing, I rescued 2 Jacob sheep from a Bradford family. Rebecca & Rachel are about 8 years old and may have some arthritis. They are sweet girls.

In January, I sold my female alpaca to people in Vermont. So I'm back to my original 4 gelded guys. It turns out these people also bought my friend, Cindy's 2 Alpacas.

Sad news about CeCe

2008-01-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

Linda called me this morning with the sad news that her CeCe had passed away. She had been fine last night, eating and moving around. When Linda went to barn this morning, she was down and not responding very much to any attention. Linda sat with her holding her head in her lap and petting her and she died.

Delilah

2008-01-21T16:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I decided it was high time I clipped the rabbits. So I sat down in the barn and worked on my German Angora, Delilah. I was proud of myself for getting the job done, however, when I went to feed the animals this morning, she was very dead!! I'm not sure if it was because of the extreme cold, although I did leave a good amount of fiber on her, or if she was just stressed from the clipping. Either way, it was a sad day and needless to say I won't be clipping the other two just yet.

Visiting Hope and Holly

2008-01-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

On January 13th, my friend, Linda & I went to the Putnam farm in Stoddard, to look at the Llamas they have for sale. Linda was interested in a black & white one. I wasn't interested at all until we arrived there. Then I was ready to buy one too.

After leaving the farm we went to Marlow, where my goats are. Bonny Collard bought them from me in June. I've missed them so much & she's decided she wants to concentrate on registered goats, so has kindly offered to sell them back to me. Hope was receptive to me but Holly was very standoffish. It was great to see them.

My common sense eventually kicked in & I decided not to get a llama. Linda picked hers up on Saturday, Jan. 19th, with Shari Mead's help.

My Goats ( Hope & Holly )

2008-01-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

My goats have been gone since June and I miss them terribly!! Bonny says I may be able to get them back this Spring. I'm happy about that. She wants registered stock. Thank goodness , they're not registered, other wise she'd want to keep them. They are registerable, but it would cost too much just for papers.

It's been a long time since I've blogged. I'll try to do better about keeping up to date.

Hope & Holly

2007-06-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

My 2 goats, Hope & Mom Holly were sold today to a sweet girl in Marlowe, NH. I will be able to visit them. Hated to see them go, but it's just too much for me now.

Fleeces for Sale

2007-01-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

Nina is a white Romney ewe. She has great fiber.

This fleece is 8 pounds. Washes up nice and white. A favorite of mine,but I can't keep them all. Some vm ,but no more than most. $ 64 plus shipping from 03244. Allow a couple of pounds for shipping carton.

# 280---

*Sold*

Fleeces for Sale

2007-01-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

(Tasha) Romney/ Shetland X : 6 1/2 pounds white crimpy fiber,some vm, but not a lot. Easy to clean. Nice to spin. $ 52 plus shipping. ships from 03244

# 281 ** SOLD **

The Cats

2006-08-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Tia enjoys sleeping on the wool drying table. She knows right away when there's a fresh batch drying.

Tucker enjoys the wool too, but he also likes to go out on a limb when there's a chipmunk at the end of it. ( he fell before he could make the catch) Lucky chipmunk!!

Silk Hankie

2006-08-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

Received my 3 Silk Hankies that I won on E-Bay
today. A cocoon was enclosed so I could see what they look like. 1 cocoon makes up 1 layer of the hankie & a hankie has 6 layers. To spin you take the hankie apart 1 layer at a time & stretch it into a 2" wide piece and then spin. I tried it for the first time today. It gets easier the longer you work at it. It spins really fine.

Farmer's Market

2006-08-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

We set up a booth at a local Farmer's Market this year to try to sell our fiber, yarns & knitted items. We have a good time spinning and visiting. There are 3 of us that work at this together.

Child's Pinwheel Sweater

2006-08-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

I started this sweater last Saturday & finished it on Wednesday evening. It is made from the wool from my sheep which was millspun by Zeilinger Wool Co. in Mi. I dyed the wool.
The pattern is some what different than most in that it fits a 6-9 month old baby by turning it so the sleeves are closer to the bottom, rolling up the sleeves & the excess at the top acts as a hood much like a bunting. When the child is older you use it as shown, with sleeves closer to top, unroll sleeves & the shorter top part is a collar.

Jacob Sheep

2006-08-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Frog ( in background ) & Fresca
These girls were given to me by my daughter for a Birthday & Mother's Day gift. They are a little over a year old. They will soon be registered & will be bred this fall. Frog is very friendly, but Fresca is quite timid.

More of the animals

2006-08-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

Holly & Hope are my Angora goats. Holly was given to me for Christmas in 2004. It seemed appropriate to name her Holly. We didn't know if she was pregnant, but one April morning when I went to the barn, I heard what sounded like a human baby crying outside !!

Lo and behold, we had baby Hope.

These "kids" vests came in handy when I had them sheared during cold weather.

Nina is one of my original sheep. She's a Romney & gives me wonderful fleeces. She gave me a little white lamb this spring. I named her Lily. I kept her. Lily's twin brother , Luke was black. Sadly he had to go to market. It sucks to be a boy !!

.

Baby Lily

The father of Nina's children is a registered colored Romney. He is like a big old dog, always by my side wanting to be petted.There have been times when he has rushed at me from behind so I try to keep an eye on him

Spinning Wheels

2006-08-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

I love to spin on my Majacraft Rose spinning wheel. This is my second wheel. I learned to spin on an Asford Traveller. My 3rd wheel is an Asford Traditional & I enjoy spinning on that one too. I also have an antique walking wheel & an antique Lithuanian wheel.

My Alpacas

2006-07-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

These are my 4 alpaca geldings. Their names are T.T. ( two- toned ) Eli, ( the dk. brown with white on his head), Ivanho ( reddish brown ) & Senlon,( white)

Senlon is a Suri ( hair grows in long locks) The rest are Huacayas ( fiber grows close to body, more like sheep).

They are very timid, but can easily be walked with halter & lead rope.

The girls, Promise,( beige color) & Torch .
These were acquired from a friend that could no longer care for them.