And weeeeee’re off!

Lily and her Lambkin Lumpkin

Welcome to the world, little Lumpkin. Lily is such a champ. She tucked her lamb into the back of the potting shed in the fallow garden. Safe and sound, dry and warm. The new fellow is as strong as he can be, agile, coordinated, and ready to rock! Lily would like a spa day, I think, but she’s doin’ pretty darn well.

She and her lamb aren’t all alone up there. We’ll just call that garden the 2020 Maternity Ward. I moved Jaanet up there this evening. She’s just about ready…any day now…and we’re hoping and praying for a ewe lamb (or two).

So, it’s officially Gulf Coast New Year!

See ya later, bye! *wave wave*

See ya later, bye, 2019! *wave wave*

Orion (Mirkwood) and Clay (Inglenook)

This year, I learned supported spinning.

Rooney at “his” window

This year, Rooney decided he wanted to live in the house, and came right through the window to prove it.

Spin Together Speed Trial

This year, I spun with the Tampa Bay Fiber Tribe in Spin Together and won a prize for Most Beautiful Skein for my speed trial skein!

Gigi & her Amazing back

This year, I let Gigi show off the Smiley Face on her most beautiful coat.

Dahi Toast (yogurt salad on sourdough)

This year, I discovered Dahi Toast (Indian grilled cheese)!

Sweet 100s in my Amy cup

This year, our Earth Box tomato went insane and produced about a million tons of cherries.

Portuguese Sweet Bread

This year, I mastered (oh, please, hear that term loosely used) Portuguese Sweet Bread.

Southern Yellow Pine frame for Summer painting

This year, I asked Tom to frame Summer, and he built me a door frame. Ahem.

Gulf Coast Ram Fleece – Raw

This year, I became a Shave ’em to Save ’em vendor, and sold out 2 years of fleeces and many pounds of yarn.

Remus sitting on Mia’s Fleece

This year, the cats really helped! They provided pawsitive influences.

Rose Me

This year, I got pink frames so I could see the world through rose-colored glasses.

They still work fine. Here’s to seeing 2020 through the same lens(es)!

Not Plain Vanilla

Stone – Westerly Blue
GCN Natural Cream, Natural Grey, and Indigo Dyed

Been awhile since I’ve spun anything except plain vanilla yarn. SE2SE is romping along, and I’ve been shipping fleeces, batts, and skeins of yarn. Plain vanilla 2-ply worsted weight yarn. Every day, I walk past a bin with alternatives. Madder dyed batts. Indigo dyed locks. Sandalwood dyed locks. Natural grey GCNI. I just couldn’t stand it. So, in between carding big soft floofy batts and packing pounds of raw fleece, I grabbed a fat pile of grey, and indigo, and some Sammas fleece I’d been saving for the day I would have a couple hours to spin for me. I looked at those colors. I saw, winking at me from my treasure filled china cabinet, this ol’ necklace I made when I was a teenager. Stones and shells from Misquamicut and my old dog Max’s tag.

The town I come from is known for it’s granite. It’s grey. It’s blue. Like this yarn.

Stone Singles
258 yards ~ 4 ounces
Gulf Coast Native 3 Ways

So this is more or less finished. Needs to be washed and set, but it’s done. I think, mmm, I think I’m going to spin more of this.

On the other hand, I am not slackin’ off on orders. If you ever wondered how long it takes to do this work, here’s a hint, I started carding these batts at the opening pitch of todays game between the Red Sox and the Royals. I finished at the last out! Here is Sammas carded into a baseball game’s worth of luscious batts:

GCN Sammas
3 batts ~ 4.02 ounces

Spinning away

Lambswool au naturel and a batt of Gulf Coast Native dyed with sandalwood

Okay okay. It’s spinnin’ time! Caught up on my orders – well, almost – so I am spinnin’ for the love of spinnin’. This is 100% Gulf Coast Native, so will count towards the Shave ’em to Save ’em passport sticker. Ahhh. Is there anything as luxurious as a hogget fleece? She’s being spun in the grease (that’s what’s on the bobbin). Yum.

Mi oh Mia!

Gulf Coast Native Mia – hogget – 150yd

This is a special treat. GCN Mia’s hogget fleece. Oh my. I’ve been doing some custom spinning with her. Have half a fleece left to spin. WHOO HOOO!

Thinkin’ of Rosie

GCN Rosie Lumpkin 4.1lb

Thanks to the Livestock Conservancy’s Shave ’em to Save ’em project, I’ve been able to share a lot of Gulf Coast Native loveliness with people all over the country.

Raymond & Rosie after the death of their Brother Bing

This was taken in 2013. Rosie is a very maternal sheep. Here she’s hangin’ with her cousin Raymond.  And the orb.

Finding yarn as I unfleece the studio!

Top-Bottom: Gulf Coast Native yarns- Bulky Indigo dyed, Aran wt acid dyed, Fingering wt acid dyed

Yes, this Livestock Conservancy project has me clearing out the big ol bags of Gulf Coast Native fleece. And lo! What’s this? What’s that? The occasional basket of yarn! I’ve been spinning yarn like a bevis for some of the knitters participating in Shave ’em to Save ’em. But, somebody just might like these prespun yarns, eh?