I just got back from my annual visit to see the sandhill cranes  in Nebraska. The weather was very cold but the cranes  danced on  in all their splendor.  We cut wood for my friend and eat lots of amazing food.It was great to spend a few days with old friends under a sky of singing cranes
           It has been a super busy week here at the farm since I got back. Spring barn cleaning and shearing have begun. Wednesday I  got the barn lot all cleaned and swept then set up the shearing stand and sheared Hatti and Beatrix.  Spring fleeces are never as nice as those stunning fall fleeces but some of these are turning out very nice.
        A volunteer from kirkwood was out yesterday and together we cleaned most of the main goat barn. We hauled load after load to the compost pile. While I sheared one of the goats she topped the compost pile with wet hay the flock had spilled on the ground.
       I got back the new blend from the carder. It is stunning. I was so nervous about this one not at all sure it would turn out as I had planned but it did!  Here are a couple of shots I took. It looks a bit more orange in the picture. In real life it does look like a garden blooming in pinks and yellows.

       Last Sunday's natural dye class was great. Five students and we went covered over 15 different dyes. It was a busy day covering this many dyes in one day. Several people brought small skeins from home and  took home a rainbow of mini skeins.
       I spent yesterday cleaning up the studio. I pulled the overnight indigo samples out and they are darker than I think I have ever seen. I dug out a nice pile of  un-dyed skeins I have had around for a bit. I am going to use up there wonderful leftover dyes and have some natural dyed skeins out at the store. I combined our left over pots of Rabbit Brush, Marigold, and Osage Orange. I have two skeins in that pot simmering as I write this.  I can't wait to see how they turn out.  I  have two more skeins in the avocado pot and a couple in the walnut.

I am posting some picks of our samples. The top one is all the fun colors I got from Avocado skins. The center shows some of the amazing blue/turquoise from red cabbage, as well as osage orange and cochineal.The bottom one  shows  the red onion greens that are always one of my favorites.

Here are a couple of picks of the new colors I am playing with. The rolag and bit of fiber on my spindle are the first I have  blended with these new colors. I plan to add a bit of light green to  get the summer garden theme I am working towards. I will dye some up and do a second  sample. I am  very happy with this one so for. I can't wait to do a second try with a few more colors.
          Gail is coming over to help blend this one up on Feb 14th. If anyone els want in on a blending party. Drop me a line or put up a post on the Fae Ridge Farm Ravelry group  thread about this party.
Back to the dye pots.

       Freezing rain this morning  and I am thankful I am not having lambs like so many  of my friends. I am  happy every time I go out to see the flock that I have  decided not to breed anyone this year.   I will miss lambs and kids but the girl's fleeces will be so much nicer, softer and silkier without  being breed. We will not be listening to the barn channel, I can get away for spring shows without  endless worrying. On days like today I  do not have to lock the pregnant ones in with extra food. Life is so much simples with just a spinning flock rather than a breeding flock.    
      The new weathers  are such a nice addition to my barn yard. Ebony has one of the most beautiful  chocolate fleeces I have ever seen, and he is such a sweet boy. He loves to eat out of my hand and get his neck scratched.  Teddy is going on three this year and still produces a wonderful fleece. I  can't wait to see the next few years in the lambs from this last spring.
         I got back from the Des Moines Metro knitters winter retreat yesterday afternoon. I  had a great time reconnecting with folks I only see at that show. I guess if they get stranded in this weather they will just happily knit away until the roads clear up.
         I will be heading down to the studio later today to start dyeing on a new fiber blend. I like to stretch my color world every so often, so I am going to try to create a summer garden of fiber this next round. I will work with pinks, oranges, yellows with just a bit of olive green and purple splashed in.
 My friend Gail who loves these tones loaned me several balls of yarn and a stunning shawl she has woven. I have them laid out in a big basket so I can meditate on the interaction of these  colors. I will keep posting my progress on this new blend.         Janette
     

The new blend just got back from the carder! These are fibers I sheared, washed , dyed and blended back in November. I have a  dream and a plan how they will turn out when I dye and blend, but there is always a bit of  a mystery of how it will all blend up on a big carder.  The Blue blend is one of the nicest I think I have ever come up with. It has bits of purple along with 6 shades of blue, and a  wonderful gray from Ebony's baby fleece. I can't wait to  see how they spin up.  I will get at least a few bags weighed up for the store on Saturday. Here is a  sneak  peak.

Basket Weaving Class

Dianne Mockler  will  teach a Basket Weaving Class at Fae Ridge Farm

                                     on March 10th  9:00 AM-2:00PM
                             $45.00 includes all materials and use of  tools

        Dainne lives in Good Field Illinois and  has been teaching basket weaving for  over a decade. In this class students will learn the basics of basket weaving. Continuous weaving and traditional rimming/lashing techniques make this the perfect project for beginners.

            A variety of sizes and colors will be available. Fibers will be included as part of your kit . You can also bring  something from your own fiber stash. $45.00 includes all materails and use of all the tools for this class. Class is limited to 10 students ages 16 and up.  A deposit of $25.00  is due by March 1st to hold your place in this class. Please make checks payable to  Dianne Mockler  and mail to Fae Ridge Farm  5140 Rapid Creek RD NE Iowa City Ia 52240.
        For more information contact Janette at 319-643-5873 Or faeridgefarm@lcom.net
   
        

Early Christmas Surprise

    Sweet little Petunia had lived here as an only Bunny for several years. At the Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival in June I bought a beautiful 7 week old female angora bunny, and named her Sweet Pea.  Around Thanksgiving I had a very sad surprise on a Sunday morning when I looked out at the bunny pen on the deck. There were four little dead bunnies. I knew this was not immaculate conception so went out and  started an investigation. I  picked up Petunia and sure enough she had just had these tiny sad  babies.  I  buried the babies in a wave of mixed feelings. The last thing I needed was four more bunnies but it was just heartbreaking. That afternoon I began investigating how to neuter a male bunny, and renamed Sweet Pea Sweet Pete. The next afternoon later I neutered Sweet Pete and never gave it another thought.  

           As Christmas approached and we planned our trip to San Francisco to be with family, I decided to  put a big flake of hay in for the bunnies so they would be warm, toasty and have sweet alfalfa to nibble on between feeding from the house sitter. The next morning I got up and looked out at the bunnies. I was  one again totally surprised,  this time  by a big pile of  white fur tucked in the corner of the hay pile.  I went out and stuck my hand in the pile and felt  a tiny warm pile of wiggeling bunnies.  I checked the calendar  over and over. Sweet Pete had been one determined boy.   The 24 hours he and Petunia spent together prior to his little altering they had one last amorus moment.

          I  moved the store bunny cage up to the deck, moved Pete in, and gave Petunia and her new family some solitude.  I called the house sitter to let her know the chore routine we had gone over had just shifted.  I went to town and got a heating pad and set it up under the wire under the nest. As I walked away for the week. I was still not sure how many there were in this new family.  Yesterday  I finally checked. Petunia and her three babies will be out at the store on saturday. They love to curl up and sleep in your hand.