A Delivery to MacAusland's Woollen Mill

These are my Brother-in-Law's sheep. The black faced girls are Clun Forest and the solid colored girls are Cheviot.

 Everyone wanted to tell me this was first day of weaning. Not sure if my words of comfort were any help.

I jammed ten bags of the girls' wool in the back of my family's Suburban. I hit the road from New Hampshire to Prince Edward Island.

The bridge to Prince Edward Island is eight miles long. I was happy to make it there before sundown to capture the thrill.

The next day I traveled to MacAusland's Woollen Mill in Bloomfield. We unloaded the truck and I was allowed to explore the mill -- big kicks for me. I used to work in a weaving mill many moons ago: I have an abiding love for the greasy smell, the constant clatter, the simple ingenuity, and (be still my heart) the machinery.

These are the wet processing tanks for washing and dyeing. They are about the size of a hot tub. 

Baled dyed wool waiting its turn.

The big chewing machine, teasing the wool to open it up.

A segment of the carding machine. The chewed wool goes in one end, and sliver comes out the other end.

The rolls of sliver (unspun yarn) are mounted to the spinner and spun into single strands of yarn.

Some of the singles are plied into two or three ply yarn,

some yarn is wound onto cones,

and some yarn is wound onto bobbins for the loom.

The coned yarn is arranged and tensioned into a warp (the long ends of yarn dressed on a loom).

I love their use of cottage cheese lids.

The warp is wound onto a back beam and then sleyed (fed) into the loom. I'm sorry I don't have a picture of the loom -- please imagine my ear up to the door that said "Employees Only".

This machine brushes the almost complete blankets -- they go in stiff and scratchy and come out fluffy and inviting. The ends are finished with a jumbo serger and each blanket is carefully inspected. Check out their website if you would like a blanket to cherish for a lifetime, made by a small group of welcoming and hard-working folks.

After touring more of the island I retired here, one of my favorite places to sleep, with my new MacAusland's plaid stole, a good book, and a ball of yarn.

And this was the view out my window.

Place Stitches on a Holder

I am working on another Joan Fuller, this time with no curves at the hems. I will add the modifications directly to the pattern as soon as I complete the sweater and take pictures (or make pictures as my Dad used to say).

Freshly joined sleeves and body

There are many tips for knitters out there that make me say to myself, "Why didn't I think of that?"

One of my most favorite tips ever comes from Bristol Ivy. When the directions say, "Place the next X stitches on a holder", bind off those stitches with a piece of cotton yarn or a scrap of yarn from the project.

Why? The piece of knitting remains flexible. It is tidy, not clumsy or cumbersome. But most importantly, the stitches that are temporarily bound off maintain their integrity: They are protected from stretching and distortion as the stitches around them are worked.

When the time comes to use the held stitches I can unravel the bind-off chain and slip the released stitches onto a needle. In this particular case I will probably first graft the stitches together and then unravel the bind-offs.

Neat, huh?

Shearing at Riverbank Farm, part 2

Riverbank Farm has animals that one might expect to find on a small New England farm: Handsome cattle, large geese, a lovely flock of Cheviot and Clun Forest sheep, llamas of many colors, ducks, pygmy goats, and guinea hens. Helping to make the machine run smoothly are a team of prize winning herd dogs, obedient and charming hard workers. Good dogs.

What makes this farm unusual is the cast of characters added to the regulars, the ill-behaved, overly curious, warm welcoming staff. My Brother-in-Law is a veterinarian and seems to have found a steady stream of misfits. Dogs that are returned to the shelter. Dogs that are passed off as payment for money owed. Cats that pee "inappropriately". Stowaway cats that are discovered in the car three miles down the road (how did you get in here? -- turn around, return to barn). Roosters. Geese that are protective of their human. Geese that knock on the door. 

Dennis the Menace is busy, fearless and outgoing

the Supervisors

the Critics

Wishing you a grand weekend and the strength to power through the time change.

Shearing at Riverbank Farm, part 1

Shearing and lambing are in season at Riverbank Farm, my Brother-in-Law's Homestead. 

find the rooster

The sheep are corralled in the main area of the barn.

find the llama

The dark faced gals are Clun Forest, and the white faced gals are Cheviot. There are about a dozen of each, as well as several black sheep and rams.

Levi selects a group to move into a holding pen in the shearing area.

The sheep hoped Clara might have a better option than going into the holding pen.

Here they wait. 

Sam selects a sheep and flips it onto its rump for shearing.

Pauline coos and supports them as she gently shears them, never moving suddenly and seeming to know who needs extra hoof holding. I want to be Pauline when I grow up, minus the shearing.

This gal is due to lamb any day now.

If you have ever purchased my yarn or if you were curious about my source, this is where it begins!

Part 2 will be about a few of the other animals on the farm, like the supervisory roosters, Waldorf and Statler.