Someone please stop me.

I went to the MA Sheep and Wool festival today. I bought some roving, a new drop spindle, some fiber for Rianne to spin and two bunnies. Yes, you read that correctly. Two more bunnies.

Wasn't I just complaining a couple of days ago about having to take care of Ruby? Didn't I say that I didn't have time to properly groom her and Eloise?

Meet Henry and Loretta.



Henry is the small brown boy and Loretta is the large tri-color. She is about a month older than he is that is why there is such a size difference. No, they are not English Angoras like Eloise. No, they are not German Angora like Frau Ruby. They are Satin Angoras. Who knew that this was a completely different breed? Not me.

When will I learn?

We now have 7 cats, 1 dog, and 4 bunnies.
That new shed is filling up fast.

Just a quick note to say that our website will be offline for most of the day. Steve is installing and testing new software. Soon we will be ready to accept credit card payments instead of just Paypal!

Debi

We finally have the Wild and Wooly Studio/Barn/Shed!

It arrived on Friday 5/19 while we were struggling in NH to get Ryan's dorm room packed and cleaned and get him moved back home for the summer. We still have more inventory and business items to move out there. Last weekend it rained again so we didn't have a chance to finish in between all of the showers. We even had hail during one bad storm!

(Yes that is a screened porch, just perfect for spinning)

It also has a small loft that we can store all of our empty bins and boxed items. We are also awaiting the approval of our charge card service. Soon we will have that option for purchases instead of just Paypal.

Today finishes up our week of birthdays. Friday 5/19 was my birthday. Sunday, 5/21 was Ryan's birthday and today is Steve's. Thank goodness all that gift giving is done and the checkbook can recover.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Steve's father. He took us all out for our collective birthdays. It's just easier than trying to give us gifts. Ryan received an MP3 player and a digital camera for his birthday. We are calling the studio/barn/shed as my birthday present but there was more. This is what Steve and the kids (Ryan and his girlfriend Rianne) conspired and bought for me.

This is Ruby. She is a 1 year old purebred German Angora. She belonged to my friend Gail. But Gail didn't have the time to keep up with her coat so she wanted to sell her to a good home. Rianne heard she was for sale and convinced Steve to buy her. And they think I have time to keep up with her coat?

I'm somewhat apprehensive about her. Ms. Eloise Bunny is an English Angora Mix. I chose her specifically because the English Angoras moult. If I give her a good brushing her fur just combs out. The English Angoras don't need to be shaved. They can be shorn but they don't need to be. The German Angoras do. At least 4 times a year. And they have to be brushed a lot so they don't get fur mats and knots. The fur of the German Angora is highly priced and much sought after. I just don't know if I'm up to the high maintainence. I had wanted to get another bunny, but I had planned on another English one. I don't know if I want this much work.

Of course at the moment I am suffering with allergies. No really, I'm SUFFERING!. I can't breathe, I need cough medicine with codeine, my chest feels tight when I try to take a deep breath and my head is pounding. Hopefully once I get over this sickness I'll feel differently about Ruby. I remember it took a few weeks for me to warm up to Ms. Eloise. If I decide not to keep her, Gail said she would take her back. That is reassuring for me.

This Saturday is the MA Sheep Show in Cummington MA. I think I might make the trip up by myself. I need some alone time to think about things.

Play nice until next time.

Debi

I did it. I drove 350-something miles round trip yesterday. In the torrential rain. To New Hampshire. I had a good and soggy time by myself. I met Dave and Sean and Norma. There may have been other bloggers there but it was raining so hard outside it was difficult to speak to any one and I am a relative stranger in blogland. I did check on Chris to see how she was doing. She said she was happy and surprised with the amount of business she had received up to that point. She had spent the night sleeping in her car with just her Woolybuns to keep her warm.

I bought batts. Lots and lots of batts. I know I shouldn't say that as I am a vendor, but our business fiber is different. It's for the business. I feel very naughty when I use any of our inventory. It's the forbidden fiber and yarn. I'm ever so thrilled when something happens to a skein and it's too messy to sell because it becomes MINE! I have actually been accused of removing skeins from the plastic bags and buckets and leaving them where the dog can get to them. Lies! All lies.

Anyway, the batts I bought were from Grafton Fibers and she had every color in the rainbow, including some rainbow batts. Since I couldn't decide on a color, and I was feeling deprived what with not purchasing anything at the CT show, I bought 8 of them. They are glorious! The colors are brilliant. They make me happy. I wish that it wasn't so dark and gloomy outside so I could look at them in the sunlight. I do plan on giving a couple away. I just have to decide which ones I can part with.

I started spinning one this morning that is a poppy orange-red. It has bits of dark purple in it for depth and contrast. I normally don't like orange, but for some reason I could not get enough of this color yesterday. I also bought one that is just a shade slightly darker. I tried to just spin them together but I was getting that dreadful barbershop pole effect. I may just Navajo ply them together instead to keep the shading separate. This color is so warm and pleasing I just want to crawl into it. It reminds me of a summer's sunset. Of sitting out on the deck, smelling the newly watered petunias while sipping wine and watching the fireflies out in the yard. I guess it's been a long winter for me!

Today it's back to reality. Must get the weekend chores caught up. Hopefully, our shed/barn/studio will be delivered in another week or so. I really need to get this wool out of the house.

In just two weeks is the MA Sheep Show! Woo HOO! See you there.
Debi

NH or Bust

My group of friends has decided not to go up to the NH Sheep Show. We have been having torrential rain here and flooding is expected. The southern part of NH is under a flood watch also with the possibility of 4-5" of rain to fall before Sunday. Common sense would tell me not to make the almost 4 hour drive by myself up there. But who said I had any sense?

I REALLY, REALLY want, no, NEED to go to this show. I have been feeling deprived since I was unable to shop at the CT show. I know that as vendors we did very well, it's just that we were so busy I was unable to leave our space to go shopping. I also have a fleece waiting for me and I want to pick it up as I had promised the vendor that I would be there. It's bad business to make promises that I don't keep.

I won't make up my mind about going until tomorrow morning.

A Day Off

I decided to stay home from work today. I had an outpatient medical procedure done yesterday and I think I want to be a baby and take today off too. It was nothing serious. Since I have had cancer before, the doctors keep after me to get things done when they say they must be done.

So, what shall I do today?

I have all sorts of tasks that I need to get done that I never have time to do on the weekends. I have phone calls that I need to make for Dad's estate. Not that he owned anything, but there is still SO much paper work to be filed. I have phone calls that need to be made and I don't like making them from work. The walls have ears.

I really need to organize, file or shread the mountains of papers that are growing with the business and personal issues here. There is so much, a bond fire might be needed instead of the shreader.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a fiber blog. Enough of my rambling about everything else.

I have a few questions to pose to any fiber readers out there. First, what do you think about Cascade Yarns? I finally received a phone call from one of their sale representative a couple of weeks ago. Is there any interest in this line of yarns?

Also is there a need for us to offer regular credit card sales instead of Paypal? We are just wondering if we are missing many sales because we don't currently have this option. There are quite a few fees involved with this for us and we just don't know if it's worth it.

I decided to make the trek up to the NH show this weekend. The gang is leaving Salem (CT) around 5:30am to get up there shortly after the gates open. I received a note from Donna at This and That Farm in VT that she has a fleece from the same ewe as the one I bought from her last year. It's gorgeous! Pure white and very, very clean as the animal was coated. It's as soft as butter. There is a great deal of lanolin still in the wool however. It feels strange to spin in the grease, but it really helped my dry fingers and cuticles. Kat Smith of Stonesthrow Farm in VT also has great fleeces, often they are the winners at the fleece contest. If you attend the NH show and want to buy an entire fleece, check out these two vendors. Their stuff is great.

I'm thinking of bagging up more fleece for sale. I have sold out of the Merino/Cheviot/Corriedale mix that I had bagged up for the CT Show. Is anyone interested in this concept? I figure an entire fleece is overwhelming to a new spinner. But smaller packages introduces the spinner to the wool without the big headache and storage space required for the entire fleece. Besides, the small bags are easier to sneak in the house and hide from your partner.

The landscaping crew has been here on and off all day. They have brought in fill to level the area for the shed/barn/studio. They will top of the dirt with crushed stone so the shed will be stable.

If I behave and finish my chores, I might even get some knitting done today.

Debi

"A dish pan of spaghetti? Why did you make spaghetti at this hour? Why is it in the dish pan?" That's what sleepy Steve asked me very early this morning when he ventured out to the kitchen for his first cup of coffee. No it's not spaghetti, of course it's wool. I finished spinning this yesterday and set it in the water to soak and eventually hang out to dry. I foolishly also set a skein of a mohair blend that is a lovely earthtone color. It never occurred to me that it might bleed. This skein was as pure white as the driven snow. It now has a distinctive tea stain color to it. I still have more of it to spin so I guess I will just dye it all a dark color, perhaps a purple or blue and live with it.

I'm attempting to clean up the odd bits and pieces that I still have in my stash. I purchased the fiber above at Rhinebeck two years ago. I don't remember if it's Icelandic or Polworth. I know it's different that what I usually spin. I like it, it's just feels different.

I have fleeces that I want to wash and set out to dry. The problem that I discovered yesterday is that I can't put anything out on the drying rack on the deck as I normally do, because, THEY'RE BACK!

The blasted Gypsy moth caterpillars are out. Millions of them. Tiny little 1/2 inch long critters crawling over EVERYTHING outside. Steve and I stood out on the deck yesterday discussing the location of the shed and such. I didn't realize the buggers were on the deck. I came in the house and they were on my arms, in my hair, on my feet. They crawled onto the chair, the bathroom counter, every where! Last year they were very bad here. It was unnerving to go outside and actually hear them munching on the leaves.

I hope the trees survive this year. Last year some of the neighbor's trees didn't make it. We are one of the few houses on this street that still has a wooded area in front. Our yuppies neighbors have been cutting everything down. Why would someone move to a rural wooded area and then proceed to cut down all of the trees? I love our trees. They provide us with privacy from the street, shade, and a wind block in the winter.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to the NH Sheep and Wool show. Last year our knitting group filled up a B&B and we all spent the weekend. This year, some of the group have other commitments or family things to do. They are going to make a run up there (leaving CT about 5:00am) and just staying for the day.

I didn't buy anything at the CT show this year. I noticed that I have changed since we became fiber retailers. With the hundreds of skeins and bags of roving sitting in the next room, I seem to have lost interest in buying anything for myself. I think I'm on fiber overload. I have to find something that is extraordinary before I will purchase it for myself. Although I would like to buy some roving for myself. But.....I'm trying to clear out the stash. It's a vicious cycle.

I'm feeling a bit melancholy today. Today would have been my father's 91st birthday. He just past away on April 1st this year.

I'd best keep busy today to keep my mind off of it.

Hooray!

We finally have the building permit. Steve went to Carefree and put the deposit down for our shed/small barn/studio structure. We should have it in place sometime before the end of the month. I don't know really what to call it. It's going to be a VERY BIG shed or a very small barn. It's 12x20'. To give you a perspective of that, our house is only 26' long. We live in a very tiny Cape, that's why we need this building. We have fiber or fiber related tools and equipment in every room except the upstairs bathroom. It's a good thing that our son Ryan is still at college. There is fleece spread out on the floor of his bedroom!

To keep all of our Louet, Bartlett and handpainted skeins clean, we secure them in plastic bags inside of huge Rubbermaid tubs. We have more of these tubs(16-20) than you can imagine stacked in the room formerly know as the dining room. It's going to seem strange to actually have room to walk around in this house.

The only problem will come when we get an overnight order such as today. It's 4:49AM and I have already boxed up an order for shipment today. Steve gets the postage labels printed. I do all of the wrapping of the items. When we get the shed, we will have plenty of room to work (without cats!) but there won't be any electricity out there. We haven't figured out a solution to that yet.

I just want to explain to everyone out there that has received an order from us. I have tape issues! Yes, I know your box was most likely covered in packing tape. I cannot for the life of me, handle that #%$@* packing tape! I generally end up using too much of it and it is wrinkled an uneven. The tape sticks to me, the table, a cat, the side of box, etc. My tape issues are a never ending source of amusement of Steve. I really HATE that packing tape.

I also wanted to mention that Steve and I work full time jobs (40+hrs a week each) in addition to running this business. That is why when you call our toll free number, you have to leave a message-we're probably at work. Our phone bank for the toll free number is actually in California! The wonders of modern technology. It notifies us when we have a message. We used to just give out our home phone number for the business. We had to stop that after we received a phone call at 2:00am asking about knitting needles.

Speaking of work, it's time to get ready for the day. I must make lunches and get myself out the door by 6:30am! Have a good day everyone!

Debi