Thursday, November 11, 2010

My New Ram/A Spinning Lesson

Life has been so busy lately.  Two art shows to submit work to in six days. Writing another grant application, and a new polled Shetland ram! 
Last Friday LeeAnne came over for a spinning lesson on the new Louet S17 she bought.  I was really happy that her wheel was so easy to spin on, perfect for a beginning spinner and with the big Louet bobbins, great for anyone who wants to make big skeins.  Before long she was plying her very first skein from a center-pull ball like an old pro. And look at how balanced that very first skein turned out!  So exciting to see a spinner in the making.

On Sunday I traveled over the river and through the woods (a national forest in fact) to pick up my new polled ram lamb, Sommarang Hansel.  I am very happy with him and excited to see his lambs next spring.

That's him in the back and River Oaks Pepper in the front. She's Ag grey carrying brown, he's registered as a grey gulmoget, but he carries brown and looks more like a fawn or emsket to me. Breeding him to three gulmoget yearling ewes should give me lots of gulmoget lambs in the spring. Hopefully some full polled ram lambs.

Today I finished up a grant application and got it submitted.  Now I'm getting ready for the Holly Fair in Mora on Saturday.  I wish I had more scarves done.  I might have to do a scarf-making marathon  tomorrow.  I wonder how many I could make in one day...

But the thing that really topped off my day was finding an egg in the chicken pen tonight. I'm not sure if it's from my old hens or the 6 month old Buff Chantecler hens. The old girls haven't laid an egg in several weeks and I just can't bring myself to buy another dozen eggs at the grocery store. I hope this is the start of lots more eggs coming my way.  My neighbor is really anxious to get them again too.

2 comments:

  1. I absolutely LOVE your grey ewe, Becky! I agree with you on the ram ~ sure doesn't look grey to me! What color is his fleece next to the skin? You should get some gorgeous lambs from that pairing. I get so frustrated when I see such beautiful sheep but they carry polled!

    ;-)

    I think it's time I tried wet felting some scarves...

    I hope you get lots more eggs!

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  2. Thanks Nancy, I love that grey ewe lamb too. Her fleece is very soft and crimpy and the color goes right down to her skin. But like her dad, she will fade over the winter.
    Hansel's fleece is grey to light grey under the brown tips. Getting lighter near the skin. So we wondered if he might be Ag, but in looking over his pedigree, there's no way that could be true genetically. His mom is a gul/kat who has produced both gulmogets and katmogets when bred to solid rams, so she's definitely Ab/At -- not an Ag carrier. And his dad is a mioget out of Theresa Gygi's breeding who also hasn't thrown Ag when bred to a non-Ag as far as I know. The lambs will tell the story next spring. I don't have any muskets here, so I wouldn't mind some Ag lambs. And I do like a bit of a mystery. :-)
    BTW, Angie does some beautiful wet felted scarves!

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