Dyer’s Rants

I took a break from my dyeing activities to learn how to shear sheep. For some reason-I have it in my head that before I die (I mean really die-not dye,) that I should be able to take fiber from growing it, harvesting it, dying it, spinning it, knitting it or weaving it. Now I have done just about all of that-even getting good enough to teach some of it. I have raised cashmere goats, angora rabbits, even cotton. I have spun on wheels, spindles and charkhas. I have taught knitting, even designed and published patterns. I have harvested fiber from the goats and the rabbits. But now that I have started raising sheep-the one task-the one skill set that has eluded me….shearing.

Now I knew my window to learn to shear-and I mean really learn to shear-the way they do it in Australia and New Zealand-was running out. You see-I turn 50 this year and my body-the one I used to run with, do body building with, row with, play soccer with…well let’s just be honest and say that I have never been in worse shape-other than being pregnant.

Ok-onto sheep shearing school in Maryland-where they have been teaching this stuff for decades. I drove up the 4 and a half hours Thursday so I could be ready for 9AM the next day. There were 20 fellow novices and 4-5 teachers on this large sheep farm in Westminster on a cold blustery day. (I say 4-5 because this cool shearer from New Zealand showed up the next day.) Well after a short lecture we headed to the barn where there were 4 stations set up and in one corner-were about 30 sheep-who were soon to feel the cold weather more fully. We got about 2 demo’s then we were thrown off the deep end. We divided into our groups-I was in the left handed group with a long bearded 60 year old guy and a 20 year old hot shot. I was the last to take a sheep-the instructor talked us through as we nervously held equally nervous sheep and tried to shear around the getitals, moving ourselves and the sheep as we worked around the body. Doing this while holding the sheep was like running a 2 mile race. My forearms gave out before my back-much to my surprise-and my wind-let’s say my mouth was as dry as cotton when I finally was able to stand up and let my sheep go. I think my 1st sheep took at least 20 minutes. We broke for lunch and kept at it until late afternoon. Our group’s instructor did not want the left handers any more-so we had a new guy after lunch. I was sooo tired-that I slept the rest of the day. And I got up and did it again-with a break to learn about equipment. I managed to shear 3 more that day-I think I am down to about 12 minutes. One part that is a challenge is learning intimately-the contours of a sheep’s body so that you know when to crank the shears over on a blow (or stroke.) I also learned that Oster shears are not for me-they weigh 4.5 pounds. I like the Premier-weighing only half as much.

While I need to work on my endurance-including muscle endurance-I think I can hack it. I might be able to do about 5 in a day. Maybe. We’ll see-I am scheduled to help a friend with her 10 sheep. My back did hold up-barely. I have muscle soreness, but I did not pull anything. I say that shearing is not for wimps. In fact, I think we should start a movement to make it an Olympic sport. John-the guy from New Zealand, told a story of a shearer in competition who, while shearing, cut a sheep’s mammory gland. He stopped to suture the wound and still finished shearing in just 2 minutes. I’d like to see Michael Phelps pull that one off.

Head Instructor demonstrates

Quick note to let you know I have entered the Ravelry dyer’s contest Dye for Glory, to correspond with the Sock Summit to be held in early August in Oregon. The Loopy Ewe with have Grassy wool in this new colorway in their booth. Here is the colorway: Bubble Gum and Blue Jeans!

Bubble Gum & Blue Jeans before skeining

Go to Ravelry starting July 23 and VOTE!

Greetings All!

Have you ever felt your life is traveling at warp speed? That is how it has been around here. Since the last post, we have attended a wildly successful trunk show at the Knitting Basket in Carytown in Richmond. (So fun seeing Uta and Kristen!) It was so much much fun-we are doing it again this Fall. We have several new patterns written, typeset and now posted on the website-thanks to our super-talented designers-Cheryl, Dee, and Paula…..

(see more on the website!) And as we readied for the TNNA wholesale market, Spring came, and demanded some gardening chores be done. Take a peek of Sweet Tree Hill Farm since the last blog. Actually, since these pics were taken…many more flowers are blooming and my husband’s pumpkin plants are following through on their plan to take over the vegetable garden!

Now to the market…..Ginni and I took off with the contents of our booth Thursday, June 11th-over the mountains to Columbus, Ohio-getting there late in the evening. Cheryl met us there the next day and we set up the booth. Lots of offloading and unpacking and hanging…lots of help from Ginni and Cheryl-produced a nice booth I think…

We had many visitors, and happily, Scarlet Fleece will be finding a home in several new shops across the country. Also, several designers-including those at the Stitch Cooperative-visited us and  are looking forward to using Scarlet Fleece in their design work. Another happy happening is that Frank Santoro-a sales rep-will be introducing Scarlet Fleece to the Mid-Altantic and New England shops. So we continue to grow!

While at the show-Ginni and Cheryl and I attended the semi-annual TNNA fashion show where new designs are launched by the yarn companies. Here are Ginni and Cheryl waiting for the show to start….

And we had an entry that attracted lots of attention-the Scotty Tam and the Petal and Leaf Cropped Kimono that features a needle felted decorative edging…..

Here are some views of the rest of the show….

After visiting with many old and new friends-we packed up and headed back last Tuesday. Along the way I caught a killer cold and am now just getting back on my feet and geting back to the real work—-dying yarn for you. Coming soon…..patterns and yarn will be available to purchase here online….visit us often!

Hi Everyone,

This is the crazy time of year that Mom Nature is a bit schizophrenic. The 1st of this month we had 13 inches of snow on the ground and nights (without power by the way) was getting down to 9 degrees. The next weekend is 70 degrees and the daffodils are in bloom and my husband and I are breaking ground on our new veggie and fruit garden, planting cherry trees and raspberry bushes and wearing shorts.

OUt my kitchen window looking at the studio

Of course-the 3-4 days we were without power-not much was happening in the dye studio. We focused on survival and snowmen! And I started my yarn spinning challange for my spinning guild

me and my snowman!

Sammy snowman-master of all he sees

Often the craziest weather happens in March. Of course I was thinking the worst was over when we hit March 1st. Boy was I wrong!

Some examples of the "Give it a Whorl" Drop Spindles

Well-all things are back to normal and much is going on. I am in the process of working on adding a store to the website.

We are adding a line of hand made drop spindles based on the colorways of our WoolPaint. They will bee reviewed in the August edition of Knit N Style due out in May.

And all this while working on a large order for the Loopy Ewe (whos is adding our line of roving by the way!) and working on 2 more trunk shows.

Before the big snow…I had a trunk show at my spinning guild in Richmond-Clothos Children. It was a blast-and very successful. Here are some pics of the event.

In't she cute?

There is a bit of a trunk show going on at Holly Spring Homespun now and a big trunk show happening on April 4th at the Knitting Basket.

And all through this-dying is going on and planning for TNNA in June.

Here are some pics of the dye studio inside….a dream come true for me!

Looking towards the door-yarn drying.

Dying has always been fun for me-but now it is a true joy and time just flies by as I am working. It is so nice to have the room to work and I do not have to clean up before dinner-I can allow roving and yarn to soak in color overnight. I think this settup has improved my results!

Upstairs where I skein, label and ship.

Patterns ready to go

As you can see-my head is all over the place. Lots of exciting things happening. Stick around-it is going to be a bumpy ride!

Thanks for visiting!

A midweek morning veiw

Our pond in the snow

Living with cold and the colorless landscape, causes us to slow down and be with our thoughts. These are the days that we think about the choices we have made, what is working, what is not working; to reassess and prioritize. This is good for us. We need this. But it can be a source of fear and anxiety. We need to pay attention to those feelings-they are a signal that change is necessary. I am at that point. Money is tight for all. and I am no exception. I need to face that having the cashmere goats is not cost effective and in fact they are draining. I love them, I have a relationship with all of them. But I need to make choices that streamline my my life. I am the main person that sees to the animals, the house, the kids and Scarlet Fleece. I am one person, and I need to contribute to the finances of my family. The goats do take some time, eat hay and since moving to a new place-are looking at $1000 in fencing to contain them properly . So—–most will be auctioned this weekend. This is very hard for me. But I cannot do it all. In fact, I started with the goats almost by accident. My goal had always been to raise Shetland Sheep. But I adopted a 4 month old cashmere buck and it grew from there. Perhaps I had gotten off path. Often when this happens-at some point we are shown the way to get back to our purposes. I am at this point. Now-I am not abandoning farm life. I just have to make it work with Scarlet Fleece and it needs to contribute an income and be containable. Now I am a fiber person and I have not abandoned the notion of raising fiber-even for my own purposes. I do have 3 angora bunnies and I am still looking at Shetlands-where my heart is. And I do have fencing that will contain sheep. If I sell some goats-I can purchase 2 sheep. Which is my plan. Reduce my overall hay consumption and still feel the joy of raising fiber animals. I also enjoy raising chickens-they fertilize, till the garden and provide eggs for little expense. I am also starting to raise vegetables for the local Farmer’s Market. We can do this now that the green house is freed up and we already have a tiller for our tractor….so that will be in the future.

And Scarlet Fleece is my job, my passion and my contribution to the knitting world. I look to this year with a new dye studio to produce more yarn and to label and ship more productively. I feel good about that endeavor and I hope it will continue to be well received so that I can continue with this business. I do face fear that the economy will hit me hard. But my reaction it to dye, design and market better. In fact-I welcome that challenge. It is stimulating, exciting, and I know I am not going away. Many ideas are in the works-including adding capablity to the website for individuals to purchase yarn and patterns. And coming soon are the most beautiful drop spindles you have ever seen…stay tuned!

Views of the workshop-now complete!

studio in the snow this week

Work area-downstairs

drying area

And here is a sneak peak at a design for a new pattern! We have more coming-keep checking back!

The Uno Cabled Crew

Cable detail

Hi Everyone,

It seems life has been in running away at full tilt, many details to contend with, both in business and personal worlds. With all of the national attention on the inauguration, my family was in Washington, but for a different reason…a much more sober one. You see, I lost my step dad last month and we buried him in Arlington Cemetery 1 week before all the festivities. This was the second time I have participated in such a service. My dad is also buried there-some 24 years ago. Both these guys were the real deal. My dad was a Marine Corp Colonel, was a field commander during Vietnam and my step dad was a Naval Aviator, landing jets on many aircraft carriers (not for the faint of heart.) If you ever have the opportunity to see a military funeral at Arlington-go-you will never forget it. The guard at Arlington are the best and treat our soldiers with such respect and dignity. Here is a peek at the day. We also visited my dad while we were there.

walk to the gravesite

at the gravesite during the service

My little guys at my dad's gravesite

And so it goes….

This is the beginning of 2009. Owner of a business in this economic downturn is a bit unsettling. We can either react out of fear-or move forward with confidence. I choose to do the latter and have faith in what I offer yarn shops and knitters. At this time-I select the 2009 colorways and washes. I hade fun this year in that I put the word out for ideas from our Raveler’s group-the Scarlet Fleece Flock. The winner will get sock yarn in their created colorway. Yarnartist won with Guitar Hero. You will see the following colors in your yarnshop orfavorite website soon:

Camo with a Twist

Guitar Hero

Apricot & Plum Jam

Pink Chocolate

Professor Plum

Miss Peacock

Colonel Mustard

These are the new colorways-will be posted on the website soon.

We are working on new patterns-several to be posted soon. Here is one I am working on:

Painted Ladder Scarf

I am using the Painted Merino in Colonel Mustard and Apricot & Plum Jam for the scarf. I am also going to working on matching fingerless gloves. And Cheryl has completed a wonderful guy’s sweater-also in Painted Merino. This is a great  yarn for such projects because it is washable. All will be posted soon.

And another thing I am working on is a trunk show for Clothos Children Spinning Guild next month. Not only will yarn and roving in the new colors be available, so will hand made drop spindles that will be available soon…more on that later.

And check out the homepage-you will see that Scarlet Fleece is starting to appear more in the major magazines such as Knit N Style and Interweave Knits. Where other small companies are backing off due to the economy-we are not. Perhaps more will discover Scarlet Fleece! Take care-more later.

We’re moving to a new server, and there are a few loose ends before we get everything straight.

Photos should be back shortly on Kathy’s blog, and you may find another couple of bumps in the road.  We’re working quickly to get it all back to normal, and thank you for your patience.

-Igor the Webmaster

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, my family and I were treated to a rare snow day! This was what I awoke to!

It was a bit wet-but so wonderful to see what what this place looks like dressed in white. I was not disappointed. This place is as close to bliss as I can afford. I have so many hopes and dreams for this place. The challenge is what to choose to do first. I have some farm ideas, I have business ideas, I have family ideas. My challenge is to set a path and to focus. My down fall sometimes. I am a horrible time waster. I feel my day is successful if I complete the tasks I set out for myself. Though as the day goes by-I am always editing that list. But on the other hand, I need to be in the moment. That means not to multi-task. So maybe I need to not be so out-come oriented. I need to enjoy the moment. Ok-enough of the zen talk.

One accomplishment is the goat paddock. Goats can finally get out and enjoy the view. Here they are in the snow yesterday.

I will tell you some sad news-Snow’s baby did not make it. I had to intervene because labor was going soooo long. The baby was too big and at the last minute I had to get her to a vet. He did manage to get the baby out. But she was damaged-could not suck. I tube fed the baby her mother’s milk hoping she could learn to suck-but after 3 days-she went. I am always saddened-but I do not feel she would have had a good quality to her life.
I am feeling positive that I am finally back to dying! This is not my permanent dye studio-but a green house will do until the studio is built. It does feel good to have a dedicated space that I do not have to clean up for dinner. It is not great shakes-but I do have water-soon to have hot water, shelving and space and power for the burners. Here is it is pictured during the snow day yesterday:

Currently I am working to get Nature Yarns, Celtic Knot and Holly Spring Homespun orders. I am also working on getting kits together for pattern writers. I am determined to have some wonderful patterns put together in time for the TNNA show in June. So-many irons on the fire-talk to again soon!

Hi Everyone,

One of the fine qualities about working from home is that you can actually have a relationship with family members and that includes my cashmere goats. As a knitter, yarn shop owner and dyer, I am completely devoted to the the animals that provide most of our yummy fiber that support my enjoyable fiber fantasies . It is humbling to care for these fine animals. And the experience teaches me many things.  Mostly that life is messy! (Dying also brings me to that conclusion.) And that we actually have little control over how things turn out (Dying teaches me that too.) Now we can boo hoo and get thrashed around by all the turbulence, or we can ride those big waves-or at the very least dive under them if they get to be too much. What does all this mean? Sometimes new babies arrive in the dead of winter at 1AM-we can rejoice a new life or cry over missed sleep. At harvest time as we comb off the cashmere-we can complain about all the time it takes and how much our backs hurt, or we can simply enjoy digging our fingers into this precious gift of CASHMERE.

Now I am on a tight schedule-I have one more dye order to get out-for Eleganza Yarn in Frederick, MD-and I have volunteered to show 2 of my goats at the Virginia State Fair. AND put together a display. Well-I’ll be working on that display this evening-finishing up a scarf and hat knitted with the cashmere from my goats. And after this is typed-I’ll get the last of the Silk and Ivory dyed up. I feel it is worth sharing the farming experience so that others might consider the venture for their farms. I live in a county that subdivisions are eating up all the farm land. Family farms are quickly disappearing and this country is loosing a way of life valuable and meaningful to our heritage.  So I feel it is worth the hassle of getting a health certificate for the goats, putting together a display and spending the time to drive 2 goats in the back of a pick up,  into the city and spend time at the State Fair! I do look forward to it-though-even with the craziness. Ride the wave…ride the wave.

A great big hello to you! A first post is always shakes the nerves a bit. This blog is my way of sharing with you a bit of the life of an “indie dyer”. Ugh-hate that term. I’m a gal who loves yarn-always had a dream of being a pattern designer. I’m on my way to achieving that. I took some detours though. First I taught knitting at my cashmere farm-then I thought-what the heck-let’s just start a yarn shop. I started designing a few patterns for the yarn I purchased because I “saw” a certain project for a certain yarn-that the manufacturers did not see. My patterns usually sold a bit better then the manufacturers patterns. Ok-but sometimes I had a project in mind and no yarn to achieve it. Then I saw other hand painted yarns and thought their colors were so, well, candy coated. Not much blending or subtle color change. Usually just BOOM-one color, BOOM, another color and so on. Too choppy-colors not playing well with each other-not holding hands. When colors are allowed to bleed into each other-new colors are made and it makes visual sense. So-proving my mother wrong and applying my college art classes (finally)-I dove into a dye pot and I’ve never come up for air. I LOVE IT! So much so that after 3 1/2 years of playing the retail game and making a name for my shop-I have up and sold it. And here you find me wondering, now what? I am now creating yarn to design patterns for-but mostly the designing is in the yarn. It speaks to me. Colors are found in everyday experiences-combinations of color that is right in front of us all the time. I am harnessing those colors and dropping them into a dye pot in celebration of the visual gifts we see everyday. And it is here for you to use to create your knitted and crocheted wearable art. So follow me on this crazy journey as I figure out how to grow this business of hand dyed yarn and original patterns. I am well on my way to dream catching-is this what following your bliss is all about? I’ll let you know as I find out myself. Ok Oprah-you’ve got some ’splainin to do…stay tuned!-Kathy