THIS, Eric Miller.

THIS is why I have sheep.

The last time I had lambs here was a few years ago. I had 12 ewes. 5 were my wool sheep and 7 were hair sheep. I think all but 2 had lambs. They had 22 lambs. 2 died and I had to bottle feed 3 ewe lambs. 1 set of quads, lots of twins and some singles. It was a really cold wet winter too. They started lambing in late Jan. through April.

The hair sheep did pretty good. But the wool sheep got sick a day after lambing. Plus I had several goats that had kids around the same time and some of the does were not doing too good either. I was doing everything I knew to do for them. But they weren't much better. So I called the vet to come out.

The sheep were up front and so were the chickens. First thing the vet said was it wasn't good to have chickens around goats and sheep. After checking the sheep and giving shots, he asked me why I had sheep. I came back with generic answers. But it always stuck with me. Why did I have sheep? During all this, I was ready to sell them all. It was very overwhelming for me. With ewes being sick and so many lambs and goats sick too. I was thankful to have the goat milk though.

I did keep the sheep. But knew I would have to sell some of them because 32 sheep was just way too many for the small amount of pasture I had. So I debated over and over about which sheep to keep. I liked the hair sheep because they were so much hardier than the wool sheep. They never got sick. And never had the worms like the wool sheep did.

But in the end, I decided to sell the hair sheep. I just kept my 5 Finn sheep and their lambs.

And I am so happy I kept these girls. I love them. I never would have thought even 10 years ago that I would have wool sheep. Or be spinning wool from my sheep into yarn. But I think it was in my blood.

So today I took my spinning wheel out to the pasture with my sheep. It was a beautiful day. Even warm. I actually got sunburned! I sat out there and spun wool from Buttercup, one of my younger ewes who I cannot ever pet. She's very skittish. Always has been. But I love her. And her wool is amazingly soft and easy to work with. I just enjoyed being out in the pasture with them on the first really nice day of the year. It was so peaceful, listening to them munch on grass. Then lay in the sun. Just nice.

And when these 3 girls came to me to watch me spin, it made it all worth it. These are my 3 bottle babies.

And this view is amazing too. Here they are, 5 up and 5 down. I thought that was pretty cool.

                                     This is the end result, 197 yards of 2 ply hand spun wool.

So yeah, this is why I have sheep, Eric Miller. Just so you know.

Some goat maintenance. And some silly sheep escapades.

I got the milk room semi cleaned this morning so I could get the goats in there. I gave them both CDT shots and trimmed their hooves. It had been awhile since I'd done that. And they haven't been in the milk room in several months. If I'm not milking, they don't go in there. And it was a bit of a mess. I get lazy during the winter when it comes to that milk room. But I will get in there and get it all ready for milking in the next few weeks.

Sometimes when I look at these guys, I don't think they're pregnant at all.  But I see Freya's udder is getting bigger.

And if you look really close, you can actually see teats on Olga!! And a little udder. But she has some good teats so far. She really needs a good hair cut. But I'll wait til a little closer to kidding. And hopefully, it will be a little warmer. But she's a hairy girl for sure. Don't want any of it in the milk.

I am excited to be having some cute little kids running around again here. It's been a few years.

And there's always something crazy happening around this farm. Especially when it comes to sheep. I had my 2 water buckets outside the studio. I heard the awfullest racket awhile ago. It sounded like one of the sheep had a bucket on their head and was running around the house. It was Cassidy. But the bucket wasn't on her head. It was being dragged behind here on the hay string that was wrapped around her middle. Misha, the alpaca, was chasing her all around the house. The other sheep were running the other way. So I had to go get some more feed and try to get that string off of her. I thought it was wrapped really tight but I was able to pull it off her.

Cassidy seems to be the one who gets in the most trouble. The sheep were out in the garden last month. I had put the electric netting fence around my kale garden so they wouldn't eat it. But Cassidy didn't care that there was a fence around the kale. She had her head through that fence anyway. Then she couldn't get her head out. Then she panicked and got it all wrapped around her. I finally got it off. But the fence is a mess. And she was just fine. A little embarrassed. She's a mess, that girl.

It is a beautiful day today! Blue sky and sunshine! I am taking my wheel outside on the porch and will spin out there. Yay! I have Willie Nelson on Pandora. Greta list of music going. So I am good.

A rainy Tuesday in the studio.

 I have been so cold all day. It started out beautiful, with bright blue sky ans sunshine. But as the day went on, it got cloudy and then started raining. A cold rain. So I have had heaters on over here in my studio all day. And I'm still cold. Ugh, I am So over this cold already. And wet mucky mud. SO over it!

But I have all this warm beautiful wool with play with! So much wool. I've been working on Buttercup's wool. Lots of combing. And more combing. For days, I've been combing her wool. And that was just 1 tote full. I still have one more to go of hers!

And I've been spinning her wool, for days. It takes a few days to get just 1 bobbin full. I just now finished the 2nd bobbin. I weighed each one and they are 10.60 and 10.70. Pretty good, I think. Now to ply them. But I don't think I can sit and do any more tonight. It really hurts my back.

I thought I was all done washing wool. But I found a little tote under some others a few days ago. So got it washed and it's so pretty. Can't even remember where it came from. Or what it is. I love the colors.

I've also been combing some of that gorgeous Romney fleece. I love this and can't wait to spin it soon.

And I have got to get this blanket finished. It just needs a little bit more around the border. That's all. So I brought it over here to do. I just keep piling more and more on me to do. One day, it might all be done. Then what will I do?

Still funny...

I got this birthday card years ago from a friend. I have kept it this long, because it still cracks me up when I see it. It's just funny!

Just thought someone else might need a good laugh.

Chickens camping...

Officially finished!

I am now officially finished washing all of the 2015 wool!!!!!! Found 1 more bag of Darla wool, so got it all washed up. So that is all the wool from last year done!


Look at this wool. This is Darla, who is Suffolk-Finn. So pretty. And makes really warm leggings too!

                                      Most of her wool is at least 6". And it washed up really pretty.

I got a wild hair yesterday and started making this 100% wool pillow. It's made with old thrift store sweaters and stuffed with mt sheep's wool. It has 4 pretty ceramic buttons too. I love it. It' 7.55 oz. and is 11x14". It's for sale for $20 plus shipping if you'd like the very first Outback Farm 100% wool pillow.

I'll be making lots more of these.

I posted this on my FB page and someone said I should find a local potter who makes buttons to use on the pillows. Well, I have signed up for a pottery class that starts Feb. 23rd!! It goes for 8 weeks. On Tuesday nights, which I'm not thrilled about at all. Plus it's like 40 miles from here, around the mountain. I hate driving at night. But it'll start getting lighter soon. It's a 3 hour class and they want us to come in at least once a week to practice.  I am so excited about this because I have always wanted to learn to make pottery. The lady I take care of was a wonderful potter. She still has 2 kilns. I asked about about the smallest one. So who knows? And I am getting a wheel from a friend who doesn't want his anymore! Yay! So, if I am any good at this, I hope to be making my own yarn bowls soon. And mugs. And bowls. And plates. And buttons. And....

Also going to a basket weaving class in March. Fun!

My oldest grand daughter starts guitar lessons tomorrow. My son-in-law found her a beautiful Fender guitar with a lot of extras for just $100. She will love it I'm sure. Now I need to find something for the middle grand daughter to do. Maybe we could take archery lessons together?

Y'all have a wonderful weekend. It's gonna be freezing cold here and more snow Monday. Ugh. Ready for spring. I am so over this freezing coldness.

Sweet little bird.

Can you see that cute little bird on top of the white gate inside the barn? Just to the right of the hay? I saw it last week. The barn is right out back from my studio. I was going out and saw this cute lil bird. I started talking to it. I thought it might be in there making a nest. A Barn Swallow. There are a few nests in there from last year. I was going on and on with this bird. Got my camera to take a picture, so walked closer and closer to it. It never did move. Not at all.

BECAUSE IT'S NOT A BIRD!!!

Oh my goodness, I felt just like Mrs. T. when she tries to get me to look out the window at the imaginary critters out there.And I keep telling her no, I don't see anything. And she keeps on and on about it. The bird is just a piece of wood sticking up from the gate.

Geeze, I think I might need to go get my eyes checked!

Spinning and Romney wool.

 This is that Romney fleece before washing it. Pretty clean really. It's beautiful and soft!

                                    This is after washing it. Can't wait to start spinning this now. Amazing!

                I just finished plying the blue and white together. Now I can get busy spinning more.

It is freezing outside. And the wind is blowing. I actually walked over here with my "regular" shoes on. The mud is frozen solid. But I cannot spin with shoes on. I have to be either bare foot or with socks. And I think I need to put my wheel on a little rug. It likes to go for a wlk when I'm spinning. Very bad wheel.

It's snowing!

 Last night, the sheep wanted to go back to the North side and the shelters. They knew it was going to snow. But there's no hay over there right now. It's in the south pasture, out in the field. They don't mind snow and light rain. But the wind they don't like. The alpacas head to the barn when it starts raining though. They're so funny, those guys.

                                                Can you spot Sugar in this group of sheep?

                                                         Misha looks so cute with snow on him.

My very favorite ewe, Campbelle. She's the sweetest girl. She likes to eat out of the container, so I have to save some for her. She's the smallest ewe, so she has the hardest time getting to all the feed in the trough. So she's special and gets a little extra love.

                                    This is the goats, running out to say hello to me this morning.

Then they quickly realized it was snowing and cold, so they turned right around and went back inside their little goat barn!

Here is a beautiful Romney fleece I bought last year from Windswept Acres. It mush have been coated, because there was hardly any VM at all. Isn't this beautiful? I really want to look for a Romney ram soon to breed my Finn ewes. I just think that would be some amazing fleece.

Well, now the sun is out and the birds are singing! Snow is all gone. But it's SO COLD! And windy. Great day to stay inside and play with wool, right?

Making rolags

 I think that's what these little balls of roving are called. Whatever they are, I love them.

But I do not love these evil combs. If I'm not careful and get to going to fast, I get stabbed. And it hurts bad! But I do love how it makes this messy wool into something so beautiful and soft, so fast. With not too much waste. I think I'm going to make pillows with the thrift store wool sweaters and use all the waste from combing for stuffing. Just gotta get started. I also have a few fleeces that aren't very good to spin with, that I could use for stuffing pillows with.

Isn't this amazing? I wish you could feel how soft it is. And I really love spinning this too. There are no bumping places and it also gets out all the little bits of stuff that I can never seem to get all out of the wool.

This little thing I am using for a diz is a glass piece  that was a key chain a friend brought me from one of her trips to another country a few years back. It makes a perfect diz for making the roving. And I use the smallest little crochet hook to pull the wool though the hole to get it going.

I have already spun the basket full of rolags I made last week from Buttercup's wool. Need to make more now.

I went to town today to shop and pay bills because the next few days are going to be COLD and we might get some snow. So I am staying at home! I do not like getting out among the crazy people who do go out in weather like that. So I shall stay home and work here in my studio til it's done. It's only supposed to be in the 30's and 40's all week here. My last electric bill for my studio was twice as much as our house. We heat with wood over there and the bill was just $80. Here in my studio, I have wall heaters (old ones) and a new radiator type heater. I just ran 1 wall heater and the radiator heater to keep it warm over here. This past bill was $161. UGH! The man that built this house used a little pot belly stove, so there was a little hole in the roof for the pipe. But when we had the new roof put on, they went over it. I'd love to have a little wood heater over here.


I hope y'all have a great week, where ever you are. Stay warm!

Buttercup

 This is Buttercup. She'll be 3 this April. She's about 95% Finn. Her wool is amazing!

This is her wool from last year. It's like silk, it's so soft. I made a lot of combed top from this so far. I have a whole other full tote just like this of hers to work with.

I had a good sized basket full of these little clouds of fibery goodness. It is a joy to spin this too, let me tell you. A pure joy!

Here is some all spun up. I take my wheel and wool with me to Mrs. T's on Friday and Sunday, so I can spin there. It's so peaceful and not many distractions.

This is some of Buttercup's wool with that blue BL lamb roving I bought at SAFF. It's so pretty and soft. I have another 2 oz. of roving to spin and I'll make another skein of this. This is about 75 yds.

First flower

I saw this daffodil a few days ago. It was just starting to open up. I got it today and put it in this vase and it's in my nice clean kitchen. The first sign of spring to me! Although the birds are busy looking for nests already.

This is a clock my friend Beth gave me years ago. I've always kept it on the stove. It got a good cleaning today too. I love to hear it ticking. And the chicken's head goes up and down. I love this clock. It's pretty old.

A clean kitchen

Last night, I stood in my kitchen, looking at the door. It was horribly dirty. The stove is very near the door, so it gets lots of grease and stuff on it. Then I looked at the tall cabinet next to the door, in between the door and stove. It's horribly dirty too. Then I looked at the stove. And the floor. And the cabinets. And walls. My whole kitchen is a mess!!! I don't know, but the past several years, I have not been a good house cleaner. I do what I have to do of course. But with dogs that shed like crazy, and dog hair ALL over the house, it's messy. I don't even mop. I figure, why bother? The dogs are worse than kids really. And with all the mud outside, and dogs going in and out, it gets messy. We sweep and vacuum and stuff like that. But not deep cleaning. Well, today was the day!

After breakfast, I started in on that kitchen. Started with the door. Then the cabinet. Then the stove. Then I got under the stove and cabinet. Got the hand held vacuum and got corners. Got the counters. And walls. It's so clean now! And now I want to paint! I never have painted the long cabinets. Or even put pulls on them. And the walls haven't been painted since we first moved in there. Ugh, there is still much more to do. But the floors are mopped! And it's clean for awhile! And it feels so good!!

I went to the farmer's market yesterday. Got a chicken. I'm going out to the garden and pick some kale. I love to put a big bunch of kale under the chicken and roast it a few hours. It's amazing! Y'all should try it. Put some cloves of garlic in the kale and chicken too.

Oh, I keep forgetting to tell about the pottery class I'll be starting the end of Feb. I'm so excited about this class! It's an 8 week class on Tuesday nights. I have always wanted to learn how to make mugs and bowls and plates. I also want to learn to make yarn bowls. I love them. So this should be fun. I went the other day to put my deposit in. So I am in! And ready to get in the clay.

I'm also going to a basket weaving class in March, taught by our friend Bill Haley.

This was the sunset a few nights ago. So beautiful.

Lots of wool.

I still have some fleeces that needed to be washed. This is Annabelle's. The 1st is before washing. The 2nd picture is after. I'm not the best fleece washer. I just use Borax and blue Dawn. I wash a few times, then rinse. I see a huge difference, but the tips are still a bit dirty.

I plan to dye some of the whiter wool sometime soon. I want to use natural dyes. I also have some Jaquard dyes too. So I will be experimenting. I would love to grow a dye garden too. I want lots of flowers anyway, for the honey bees.

This is some of Amarillo's wool. With some of Sugar, the alpaca. So about 25% alpaca. It's so soft. So this took me a few weeks to do. And this is not even a little part of her wool. There is SO MUCH MORE!!

This is Buttercup's wool. 2 totes full! I just don't know how I'm going to get all this spun up. Plus I have about 16 more fleeces in totes just like this.

This is some roving I bought at SAFF. BFL lamb. It's so pretty. This is just 1 of the rovings. I bought 2 like this. So I have some really pretty tan colored alpaca. I thought I might spin some of that with some white and ply them together. I'll see what it looks like first. But I think the dark blue with some tan would look pretty.

This is some that I bought last year. I can't even remember what it is. But it's really pretty. And long! It's in the washer right now. I think I'll use my combs to get this made into roving.

                                                              Look how pretty this is! I love it.

So, I think I'm fighting a loosing battle here with all this wool. There is just no way I could have all this spun by the time the next shearing comes around in May. It's a little overwhelming, just looking at it all. I think I'll start looking around here for a mill that's close enough to drive to. I was thinking if I could just get it made into roving, it would be so much more manageable fr=or me. Because the preparation is what takes so long for me. I'm not really liking my little drum carder. So I have been using hand combs. You know how long that takes to just get enough for 2 bobbins? A LONG TIME!

Anyway, that's all I've been thinking about lately. Wool. If anyone knows of a good mill close enough for me to drive to, please let me know. I think there's one in Ga. but I just have to find it. And in N.C. And another near Nashville.

So back to washing wool and spinning! Have a great week y'a;;!