A Little Helper

But a huge help!

I've been unable to do much of anything this week (i thought i could lift something that my back couldn't) Jack has been wonderful about taking over the sheep chores, and Wyatt has jumped right in too! Plus, it's given Wyatt a good reason to get out on his tractor! (He won't be "old" enough for it until this time next year..but who goes by the recommended ages on the label? )

Boy that was fun!

It was a beautiful week, and looks like we're in for more nice weather this coming week! How nice it is to open the door and hear birds chirping. Winter is so quiet, but it sounds like spring out there. (and feeling like it too!)

Wool art and projects?

Does anyone have any icelandic wool projects they'd like to share photos of?

I have added a page to my website and would love to post your project / projects along with a link to your website, or blog, etc.

Thanks!

http://flatcreekwoolandpottery.com/icelandicfiberart.html

They say it's better to give than recieve

I say "that's not always true"

Our friend Donna Perkins painted this beautiful portrait of Wyatt and gave it to him as a gift. What a talent! Thanks for sharing your talent with us Donna!

The Sign Read "9 Weeks Til Spring"

I was driving into town last week and passing by a Nursery, I noticed a sign that was advertising to many, the hope of warmer weather, birds chirping, and plans of gardening projects. What I got from the sign was a touch of panic - 9 weeks? !! I still have a lot of winter projects to do!!

I think we're down to 8 weeks now. (just in case you have a lot of winter projects to finish up as well)

I am looking forward to spring, but have to admit, I am enjoying winter. Hope you are as well!

I'm Out Of Wool!

Well, not exactly. I don't think the wool well will ever run dry. What I'm actually out of is washed wool to card. It is the goal for the winter to wash up and card all of the fleeces. (yes, it would be so much more practical to send it out, but for now, I'm enjoying processing it here) SO.... with wool drying on the shelf, and having stated my excuse for not carding wool today, I experimented with clay instead.

(i say experiment, because so many times, i have no idea what I'm doing, but I had in mind to try a sculpture today)

I have been adding pages to our website, and when I came across this picture the other day of Carlie it reminded me of how sweet she is and how much i would enjoy sitting out in the field with her. She was sweet from the time she was born, so it is just in her personality. Many times I would go out to check on the sheep and sit down in the field for a minute and here comes Carlie. She would sit down right next to me and put her head on my leg and close her eyes. She is a 1/2 sister to Ziggy, Didi, and Roxy - who also seem to have a "sweet gene."

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So thinking back on summer days and hanging out with Carlie, this is what came out of the clay.

This is what I love about clay - this looks like just a lump of clay, but Carlie was in there all along! I just had to find her.

The piece still needs a lot of work, and who knows if it will ever make it to the kiln, but it was a fun experiment.

Latest Mug Design..

Ewe.S.Military

Hey Guys!

Where is everyone going?

The sheep seemed to be a bit leary of this guy. They've seen him plenty, but he must have looked different to them from this angle!

It was so warm last Friday when these pics were taken. (60's) It was fun to let Wyatt run around in the field - and it was great for me too, as I was able to take some pictures! It seems it's been a while since I've had the opportunity to have 2 hands free to hold a camera.

Oh wait, someone is going to be friendly. Yes, that's our Roxy. She's a sweet little ewe lamb.

We have a sale pending on the 6 ewe lambs that were listed on our sale page, but this girl didn't make that list. We chose 3 lambs to keep from this years lambing and Roxy was so sweet, I hated to part with her.

Sadly, this pretty little lamb is one that will be leaving. Isn't that a sweet face?


And little Charolette, she will be moving on to another pasture too.

This is a picture of "the gang" that we are keeping. Roxy is the icelandic in the front middle. Her sister DiDi in the back right is the lamb that had a broken leg earlier in the year. She has healed so well, and runs and gallops with the rest of them! I have to say, our vet was amazing and so kind. He said that he wished all of his patients had the will to live that she had. She really was something. She was a good patient. Despite the broken leg, she seemed to enjoy her trips to the vet. She is back to being a sheep now. The little lamb on the left is her little friend, that we've renamed "lil friend". I kept her with DiDi for company the many, many weeks that DiDi had to be separated from everyone else. So... those are the lambs we're keeping. They're nice little ewes. And oh yes, the other characters in the picture...

that is Hickory and Hiccup. They came to stay with us back in the summer (and never went home) They were bottle lambs that our friends raised. They are probably some relation to our "myrtle" but we're not sure. They came from the same farm. They hang close to DiDi and the other 2 girls.

We enjoy all of the sheep here, and while we hate to see any of them leave, we're glad that they will be going to a good home.

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a great New Years Eve.



We rang in the new year here sleeping! Which, come to think of it is out of the ordinary for me to be asleep at that hour. so that was a party.



We have a winner for the giveaway! (thank you random.org for the number) The winner is Hidaway Farms Shetlands. I will be in touch with you to get your information. Thanks for playing!

Best wishes to you all for a great 2011!

Is It Winter Yet?

The sheep don't seem to mind it much. They have a path carved out from one barn to another.

This snow has hung on for several days now, but it is raining out tonight and quickly melting. We're supposed to be up in the 50's this weekend, so I thought i had better take a couple of snow pictures - you know, just in case we don't get any more snow this year! :)

and oh yes, Wyatt says "howdy".

After Christmas Giveaway

Merry Christmas! Hoping everyone is having a great holiday.

The day and season may be coming to an end, but the giving isn't over. I'm giving away a mug of choice. Below are a couple of examples, but the mugs that you have to choose from can be found at http://www.flatcreekwoolandpottery.com/potterymugs.html

Just leave your name or a comment below and on New Years Day, I will log onto a website that will randomly pick a number and I will post the winner then.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

A gift from God - A gift sent down,

He came to save the lost.

Christ was born in a humble manger,

but he died nailed to a cross.

This sacrifice becomes salvation,

for all who will believe.

Not just an "I know" in our heads -

but from our heart, a trust that's deep.

The cost to us of this gift?
Well, it's totally free!

But like any other gift that's given,

it's one we must receive.

Our wish to you this season,

is for the joy that's spoke of in His Word.

And that we share this gift with others,

for some have never heard.

Merry Christmas.

Rosco

I love this time of year. The water spigot at the sheep pen is frozen, a trailer load of wood needs to be brought up at least once if not twice a week... feeding hay and carrying water now to 3 different lots for the sheep.. if it sounds like i'm complaining, it's just coming across wrong. I do love it. I didn't get out to do the feeding tonight until after midnight and it was well over an hour before all was done, but while i was out there I wondered what was wrong with me, and why was i enjoying it so much?

I think a big part of it is that the sheep seem to be a little more gentle this time of year. (ok, they're hungry) In the spring , summer and fall, a large group of them don't want to have much to do with us, and just seem quite unappreciative. They won't dare be caught in the barn.. they have plenty of grass and are just fine. Actually, a few of them are quite snobby! However, this time of year, they seem to appreciate the care they are given. Oh, makes it all worth while. Well, if they would start paying for their keep it would make it all worth while.. just kidding.


All that being said, there are drawbacks here to the cold. One, it's a bit cold for Wyatt to play outside. (not to say we won't be sledding down hills when the conditions are right) But the other drawback right now is getting pottery glazed! (i do my glazing outside due to the health hazaards of spraying the materials indoors without the proper equipment) I fired the bisque firing on the pots i had been working on since the wool festival either last week or the week before (my memory is shot) and it's like getting the stars and the moon to line up to get them fired again. However - we'll have a heat wave Friday (40 degrees) and Wyatt is going to visit his Papaw and Momaw while I glaze. So.. if I'm making a special pot for you (or glazing a long overdue pot that got broke in transit.. Nancy knows what i'm talking about...by the way, she has the patience of Job! And Alice - so do you! I have some pots in there for you too! lol) But anyways, next week - Glaze firing! Come rain, sleet or snow ... (i think they're forcasting all the above! but not Friday :) )


Here's how the latest mug design turned out. I'd like to have something "catchy" to call it besides "the shear shop" but.. my mind's shot at the moment. I do have one other new design that's on a mug now but I'll need to wait a couple of months to share it. I think it's a funny one, but .. again, it could be that my mind is shot. (i'll give a hint though: it has something to do with the "ewe.s.military" )

ok.. so, what have Wyatt and I been doing during the day when it's too cold to go outside? (Wyatt will tell you it's going to be a really long winter) We've been making stockings from wool.

These stockings are wet felted in one piece and without any seams.

They are made to have shape and be somewhat rounded even when they are empty. Not that stockings should ever be empty.

Notice Mildred here eyeing this one - she's certain it's her wool because she is the only black and white sheep we have. However Mildred, it was made from Carlie and Cody. Maybe next time.

Hope everyone is having a great winter. Oh wait, it's still Fall, isn't it?

Little Guy

Little Wyatt turned 1 last week. What a wonderful year we've had.

Rough sketch...

October and November..

Goodness, where does the time go? The month of October was over in a flash, and November seems to be clicking along at a similar pace.

October was the month for our fall shearing. I was really hoping to get started in September, but was probably lucky to get them sheared in October. It's not an organized shearing where they are all put up and sheared in a few hours.. it's a month long process. A sheep here - and a sheep there. I think 5 sheared in one day was the record. I've heard some shear more than 100 a day, but it will never be a goal of mine. Shearing went pretty well, other than near the end... my toughest girl was on the shearing board and my clippers started to short out - argh! She's a fighter to begin with and she's just hard to settle down - so to have her nearly controlled and the shears not work was really aggravating! And to turn her loose half sheared wouldn't have been appropriate (although it has happened before)

this was her first shearing back a couple of years ago- and my first attempt at shearing. Is it any wonder she is a fighter now?

On a positive note, I called Oster and explained the problem i was having and they sent out a replacement cord - i was impressed with their customer service.

So with 'most' of the sheep sheared, it was time to get back to pottery.

It took a while to get back into the swing of things. A lot of pots were made and soon tossed - because I couldn't trim them in time and they would dry out - argh! But not all is lost.. they will be recycled into another pot.

I hope to fire the kiln later this week. It's full of special requests, orders, and a few new things too.

I don't know if you noticed, but Ewenice was getting pretty big! Here, I thought it was a grazing and grain issue.. what was I thinking? She is actually not due until spring.. looking at the calendar, I'm thinking it will be in May.

This little ornament I'm hoping will be ready next week. I was trying to design an ornament that looked a little more like a suffolk, and Susy here was what came out of the clay. She'll be made from white stoneware clay and will have handpainted black legs and face, and a little red on the hat.

When I can't get down to the pottery room, I've been enjoying working with the wool, and have been experimenting with the "fulling" felting process. I'm excited about a few new projects and will share results when they are finished.

I've been picking thru wool from our Henry - which is a yearling icelandic ram. It is on the drying shelf and the carder is standing by.

We have 3 yearlings that was sired by our moorit ram Andy. Henry and Ziggy are 2 of the 3 and after going thru their wool, I am looking forward to our next crop of lambs as Andy is the flock sire this season. He will then be moving on to another flock. We've enjoyed having Andy here,
he's been a good ram with such a laid back personality.

Thanks Andy!

Shearing TIme Again

Where does the time go? October is shearing time for our Icelandics, and although I was going to start in September this year, here it is - October already.

Virgil was the first to step up to the shearing board, and he was a breeze to shear. He must have been ready to shed this wool - and with the heat we're having this week, I don't blame him. The ones to follow weren't quite as cooperative, but understandably so. I'm just hoping that no one saw me trying to hang on to Joe as he tried to get away mid shearing... (no one besides Wyatt anyways.. he giggled - and I think I did too at the thought of what it must have looked like) we both were on the ground, and both were kicking our legs. Joe is gentle, he was just uncomfortable :) I think i was too. Needless to say, Joe's wool didn't come off in one pretty blanket - it was a little stretched out. lol.

Virgil was voted least likely to survive or thrive last year, but we think he has turned out beautifully. He seems to have grown horns overnight as well - beginning the spring a yearling with small scurrs? Is this the same guy? His wool turned out very nice as well.All in all, the shearing is going well - still have several to go, but I have to say it is so nice to see freshly shorn sheep out in the field!

Every little kid needs a swimming pool..

Of Some Sort!

(photos were taken 2 weeks ago, when the weather was really warm ) :)

Yes.. I'm really behind on my pictures, and blogging.. in a few weeks I'll tell you how the wool festival went! lol. Actually it was a really nice time. For some great photos from the sheep and wool tent, visit http://kentuckysheepandwooltent.blogspot.com/

A few more sheep designs...

It's hard to believe that it's fall - that it's dark at 8:30 now.. and that the wool festival is 2 short weeks away! I have a couple more days of making pots and I will be packing the clay away to move on to the firing and glazing.

This is a few designs that are currently on the drying shelf:

There's so many different pottery ideas that i'd like to try, that sometimes I have to remind myself to just focus so that I can finish what is in the works.. but I wonder if anyone has ever tried "sheep wool" pottery? (you know, like the horse hair pottery??) hmm.

focus.

All fired up..

literally.. getting all 'fired up' for the Ky Wool Festival http://kywoolfest.org/ that is less than a month away. My pottery wheel had been out of commission for a time, but is all fixed and running better than it was before the lightning hit it! I can't say that "I'm" running any better, but it is. :)

I have a few new designs to bring to the festival - like the "day 6" mug here, In the works, is a "ewe haul", a knitting ewe, "work for weeds" "ewenited we stand" and a few others.

Along with the new designs , Ewenice will be coming along as well.

I'm looking forward to the Ky Wool Festival. The kiln is loaded, so the pots are on their way to getting fired up too. Hope to see you there!

Master Spinners

These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, but I couldn't help but wonder at the time, if

spiders dread dewy mornings?

Summing up Summer

where, oh where has the summer gone?

Vines growing up the garden tiller..i need say no more about that project..

Wyatt is getting around rather well (army crawling on his belly). He's pullling up on the coffee table, chairs and etc, so it's full-time keeping up with him at the moment.

We recently sold our goats.. seems they might have been the cause of a few sheep injuries here over the years. They weren't convicted of anything, just suspected. I think they might have found a nice new home with other goats - or possibly been eaten...

Meanwhile, we have a little lamb in need of a physical therapist. Somehow, her back leg was broken (appeared to have been butted.. but again, no arrests were made - all speculation)

The little lamb has recovered from the surgery, but is not able to stand or walk on her own. It's been 2 weeks and she has a follow up with the Dr tomorrow, we'll see what he thinks. Despite the injury, she seems to be enjoying a little (ok, a lot) of extra attention.

We have 2 new lambs - they are adorable - what little lamb isn't? (they were bottle lambs from another farm)

What else is new...My pottery wheel is not working! Lightning struck close a few days ago and the wheel was plugged in and hasn't worked since. (nor has the fence charger) But all is well.. and it's a great summer! Hope everyone is having a wonderful one as well.

Pottery photo shoot...

I was trying to get a few good photos of some pots to post on the website, but it wasn't as easy as it sounds. The pots were reflecting the background, the sky, me... One after another I placed them on the fence post (the finest of pottery photos must include a fence post, right?), and one after another I had bad pictures!

There's so much reflection on this pot that it's hard to tell what the glaze looks like! I'm sure a class on photography, or even a book on the subject would be money well spent. (but for the time being - I'll keep experimenting)

Then I turned around to check on this sweet little guy that had been so patient as mom was trying to get something done and i realized that my camera had been pointed in the wrong direction.

This is what I should be taking pictures of!

He was quite tired, so we don't have any smiles, but sweet just the same.

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much more cooperative than the pottery!