Let me tell you, the weather we’ve had in the last week has been… well… the garden hasn’t needed watering. Let’s just leave it at that. The good thing about cool damp weather though, is that it calls for a cozy warm sweater!
Please allow me to introduce to you… Rogue!
You’ll have to excuse the goofy look on my face. Who knows what I was looking at…
I finished up the knitting and seaming last Sunday morning. Happy mothers’ day to me! And you know? I have worn it every day since!! Of course, that does mean that I haven’t had a chance to (ahem) block it. D’oh!
You can’t tell me you’ve never done that, can you? So far, Rogue’s favourite outing was yesterday’s, to the Sheep Shearing Festival at Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm. What a great place! It’s a working farm right in the city. Evan had a great time checking out the animals…
Although he told me that the sheep were “too noisy”. This from a boy who adores running his metal dump truck into the wall, and banging stuff in general. Somehow that’s the only photo I got of Evan with some kind of animal. Weird!
There were lovely Jersey cows (I’m a sucker for a Jersey cow)
and of course, the sheep shearing! A friend of mine (Hi Judith!) managed to procure for herself the fleece from this beauty
and I have a story to tell about the next lovely girl… Anyone know what breed of sheep she is? I am *hoping* to end up with the fleece. If not, no big deal (it might be better for my marriage that way, actually) but I do think it would be very cool to have the fleece from this sheep since I met her and photographed the whole shearing. Turned out that while I was talking to one of the presenters about getting it another girl (Hi Su!) was talking to the shearer and he gave it to her. We’ll see if she was able to get another one, and if that was the case… I get this one! Whee! Of course, I’ll keep you posted. And Su? Really- don’t feel bad. You were quicker! (And I forgot your email addy- knew it- so leave me a comment if you want!)
(What breed of sheep am I?)
It was so neat to watch the shearing. Sheep Shearer Ross was awesome. He’s quick and efficient, and the sheep all were very calm with him. Really, after hearing their talk, it’s no wonder there’s not much of a wool industry here in Canada. They said it costs about $3-5 to shear a sheep, and you get about 4 lbs of wool. When you then turn around to sell that wool, the market here in Canada at the moment will pay you the royal sum of… wait for it…
27ยข per lb.
That means that for a 4lb fleece, you’re getting $1.08. When you paid $3-5 to shear her, and about $65 to feed her for the year, whatever your overhead is to maintain the farm… you get the idea. Much better idea to sell them for meat. D’oh.
Once I got home I was totally inspired to spin, so out came the Louet and I sat myself down with some roving that I have been too nervous to try spinning. I love the natural brown of it, with a little white here and there. Just didn’t want to muck it all up, waste it, that sort of thing. Well, I think I was right. Should have waited. That stuff goes from rope to thread and everywhere in between! My drop spindle spinning, although not great, is better than this. It reminds me of Franklin Habit’s spindle cartoon at his blog The Panopticon (one of my faves).
For now I definitely need someone with me when I spin, to help me out with my drafting. I am such a novice it hurts. So, if you’re in the Ottawa area and are interested in helping me learn, I am (usually, but no guarantees here) a quick study, I’ve got a well lit living room and I will provide wine. And chocolate. Coffee? Just let me know what floats your boat… If only my coaching schedule would line up such that I could take a class!
Anyway, just a last shout out to the ladies of the Ottawa Valley Weavers’ and Spinners’ Guild and the Ottawa Knitting Guild. It was great to see you!
Have a great Victoria Day monday tomorrow. Be safe and have fun with the day off!
