Fiber Fusion 2014

Normally I don't *love* the antique machines.
This one, however,... stunning. 

Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend.

This weekend marked the fourth annual Fiber Fusion NW, where fiber producers, dyers, knitters and makers-of-awesome-things all get together in little old Monroe, WA for a weekend of fibery goodness. There are judged competitions for raw fleeces and finished hand goods, and a huge marketplace for all of the above.

All in all, it's a wonderful event, and it draws a large crowd- I think this is my second year attending, and it seemed to be much bigger than the previous year. I also found out that there are two spinning guilds in the area- not just the one, like I'd thought. So, I've gone form hemming and hawing about whether or not I should join a guild, to which one should I join? Oh, the problems I have. (Eye roll)

The highlights of my day at the event were the Fleece Judging (Judged by Amy Wolf) and a class I took called "Beyond Braids: Color Ply with Hand-dyed Fiber" taught by Taryn Winegardner of Fiber Haven. This was some seriously good stuff; the class recap will likely be its own post altogether. If you're into fiber stuff, and want to learn a thing or two, see if you can find an open judged wool show in your area. (In the mean time, check out this free Craftsy class called Know Your Wool!) I know our county fair had one as well, but I missed it. Anyway, I learned SO MUCH in the couple of hours that I spent watching the judging- in fact, I didn't realize how much time had actually passed, I was so caught up in what she was saying. Fantastic!

Then there was the vendor area...and the fleece sale... making yarn isn't an inexpensive hobby. I did manage to show some restraint, however, and came home with a new braid of Huckleberry Knits hand-dyed roving (the colorway is called Allegretto" and it's the blues, greens and purples of a peacock's tail), a nice big bump of a heathered silvery-gray super soft Romney roving, and -get this- a second place winning fleece from the show. I had no intention of buying a fleece, but in addition to being gorgeous, the price was impossible to walk away from. I mean, really. There was no way I could sleep at night if I hadn't brought it home with me.

And last, but not least, were the people. I forget sometimes that there's a huge community of folks like me out there who like to do things that the mainstream considers "old fashioned". I absolutely loathe crowds, but going to events like this is actually alright by me. There were so many people there, in every possible age bracket and demographic, all  getting along because they share the same love for fiber arts, and making beautiful things. (Next up is Madrona, in February!)

What did you do this weekend?

Photo Friday: Mushroom Edition

Well, not *just* mushrooms... but quite a few. Right now, here in the PNW the weather is perfect for fungi and they're popping up everywhere! Each evening, when I let the chickens out for their free range time, I wander around with them and take pictures of all the different mushrooms I can find, so I can try to ID them later.

Shelf fungus on a standing dead cherry tree.

Last of the tomatoes and peppers.

Shaggy! 

Gem-studded Puffballs.

Shetland sheep whose name I can't remember.
She (and her friend) want to come live here with us, though. 

Beautiful morning at the farm.

Unknown variety; still working on ID. 

Friday Photos

Curious!

The softball-sized wild bunny who is currently terrorizing my garden. 

Rat's Tail Radish flower. At least the rabbit doesn't bother them!

Tiny frog in the rhubarb- barely an inch long, if that. 

Sweet little lamb at the rescue.

This guy was my shadow, on orientation day.

Yellow zucchini- the first one this year!

Mmmm, raspberries!

Golden Laced Wyandotte and Rhode Island Red pullets. They're moving in with the big girls this weekend!

Taking the time to recap the week in photos is an easy way to keep track of how a garden is performing from year to year- it's much less work than keeping a journal! Looking back at my photos from last year, I can see that we're about a month behind where we were at this same point in time. We've had more rabbit damage, cooler temperatures and more rain than last season, but far fewer cabbage moths and a bumper crop of strawberries.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't forget to take a few minutes to snap some photos of what you have growing, if you haven't already! While you're at it, share them with me over on Facebook- I'd love to see what you have planted.

Goat Rescue

Yesterday, I spent the morning at the New Moon Farm Goat Rescue and Sanctuary getting my new volunteer orientation. I've wanted to get involved over there for quite a while, but with working full-time and having my own animals to take care of in the evenings, I just couldn't fit it in. So, now that my schedule is a bit more flexible, I thought it was the perfect time get involved.

The farm is located on 6 acres, conveniently located not too far from our home. One side of the property is broken into nice big pens for the adoptable animals, and the other is a large pasture where the resident animals live.

New Moon Farm is home to goats of all shapes and sizes, some sheep, a few horses, a little donkey, two barn cats and a couple of the owner's dogs. (Her home is on site, as well.) It was much larger than I expected!

We started out the orientation with a quick walk-through to give me the lay of the land, and then we got right down to business: manure management. (Holy moley, goats poop a lot!) Fortunately, it was relatively easy to clean, the way the pens are set up- there are stall mats down in the shelters where the animals congregate to eat and get out of the weather (and by default, where the manure piles up.)  I think that wintertime clean up is going to be much more involved, when they're not out in the grassy areas as much. It's a good thing I'm starting this in the summer!

I haven't had the opportunity to spend much time around goats previously, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are incredibly curious and friendly creatures. Each time I walked into a pen, there was a welcoming committee that came over to see what I was up to.

The sheep were a bit more skittish; not many of them were terribly interested in what I was doing there. The gal who was training me said that sheep tend to be like that, if they're not handled a lot when they're young. That makes sense to me, and besides, the goats definitely made up for that sheepy indifference with their smiles. From toothy grins to simple smirks, goats have some very expressive faces.

Sadly, there are a number of animals there at the farm who were badly mistreated by their previous owners. If there's one thing that I really don't understand, it's people who intentionally harm an animal that is dependent upon them. Neglect is bad enough- awful, really- but outright cruelty and abuse is something altogether different. That being said, however, I can't think of a better place for those animals to come to rehab, than New Moon Farm. Even the ones who had clearly been mistreated were friendly and wanted to interact with us.

I'm really excited to have this opportunity to work with the goats, and to get to know more about them. I've been interested in adding some goats and sheep to our little farm for a long time, but I didn't want to take on something like this without already having some hands-on experience, first. They're intelligent animals, and as a result, they're definitely more work than the rabbits and chickens. I need to know that they'd be a good fit here, before we make that kind of a commitment.

Do you raise goats or sheep? What's the one piece of advice that you think someone new should know?