Adventures in Lambing

The Farmer thinks we are up to about 90 lambs now. That’s a lot of babies being born. Just this morning there were seven more. There will probably be at least another this afternoon – I saw a mom in waiting looking like she was in the early stages of labor. We found this handsome set of twins this morning.


Two weeks ago, when all the madness really got going, the ewes were just popping the lambs out like crazy. Each morning, we try to identify new lambs, who had who, and to generally try to keep the chaos in order, if possible. It’s usually pretty easy to tell who is new because most of the mothers have the sense to go inside the barn and lamb in the nice soft frozen hay. Occassionally though, especially with new mothers, they aren’t even aware of what is going on and they’ll lamb outside. This happened last week and we arrived to two nearly frozen but still breathing newborn lambs.

When this happens, you go into emergency mode. First, you stick your finger in the lamb’s mouth and feel just how cold they are. Neither that particular morning were good. The Farmer put one in his giant truck with the heat blasting, while he fed the 200 plus sheep. I arrived after dropping Julia off at school and was soon put in charge of a cute little black lamb who was also cold and barely alive. We soon discovered that the other lamb was locked in the truck along with our only cellphone. The truck was on empty. I went in search of someone to unlock the truck snuggling the little black lamb in my jacket.

After finding someone charming to help out, I did a couple errands and returned to the farm. Noone was there. No truck, no little cold lamb, and no Farmer. In fear of the snowstorm that ultimately didn't happen, I went to get some new tires to replace those bordering on dangerous for all. I took the little black lamb with me. I brought her into the Tire Warehouse waiting room and wrapped her up in my wool coat and lay her on the floor, unnoticed by anyone in the crowded waiting room. I sat embroidering my latest project while patiently waiting for the tires and hoping the lamb would warm up. About 15 minutes later the lamb put out a baaaah and I was discovered. A baaaaaah from a cold lamb is a good sign.

It amazes me how adults of all kinds flock to a baby or a child. My little lamb was soon the subject of the conversation with a retired cardiologist who sat warming the lamb while he asked me questions and telling me story after story about his own encounters with sheep. After he left, a woman about my age inquired about the lamb. She said the last small thing she had held had died in her arms - her puppy. I promised her this wouldn't happen with this lamb. She snuggled with the lamb wrapped in a fleecy jacket that the owner of the tire store had lent me. This woman held the lamb for quite a while.

Then in walked the Farmer who had heard from the local bakery that I was waiting for some tires. He had gotten his truck back in working order and he relieved me of the lamb. Not that the lamb hadn't done some good in the folk's lives that we had met that day.

When I got home, I found both the cold lambs in a refrigerator box in the bathroom under a heat lamp- a sure sign of lambing season - lambs in the bathroom. The story continues tomorrow.

Stay Warm

Winter colors make me cold. I look and look and look for divine color inspiration in the January New England landscape and I can’t find it. Most times of the year, I have no problem. The landscape in winter just doesn’t do it colorfully for me. Looking at these photos, makes me shiver. I imagine the wind whipping through the fields and I wrap the scarf I never took off around my neck again. Everything is trying to get warm – the tree branches, the moss, the fungus, the birds. It won’t happen for awhile.





We too are trying to keep warm. Piling on the layers. Hoping the newborn lambs won’t freeze. Making another pot of soup to warm our insides. Hunting for kindling can be a numbing experience – thank goodness there is an evening fire to warm up with. I wonder how the people who built our house in 1751 ever survived? It had to be all they could do to try to get warm.


All I want to do now is warm up with a nice cup of tea and a piece of toast. But I better not disappoint Phoebe and Ness by skipping their morning walk. Hope you are warm wherever you are today.

Wool is Born

Julia and I met The Farmer at the barn (which is actually a modified greenhouse) a couple Saturdays ago to check on the lambing progress. Things were beginning to heat up and each day more and more lambs were being born. Lambing time is the most exciting part of the year in sheep farming. We don’t go overboard checking the animals at all hours of the day and night. First of all, we don’t live on the site where the barn is – it is five miles from our house on the farm where Mark grew up. And secondly, most of the ewes can take care of their babies themselves. Thirdly, with over 150 sheep, we would never sleep. Because of this, we don’t often see the lambs being born. This year has been an exception. Julia and I have seen about 6 births – most successful and some not. Every time I watch a lamb entering the world, it amazes me the miracle of birth and how animals really just know what to do.

That particular Saturday morning, I had my camera with me with its optical 12X zoom. We arrived to a ewe in labor. Here she is chasing around a little lamb - a trait they sometimes exhibit when in labor.


After a while, she settled down on a lovely muddy spot (the ground at this point wasn't frozen - it was more like March mud season). I feel very lucky to have been able to document this birth and I hope you enjoy seeing what we saw that morning.

The hooves are appearing - the sign of a successful birth on the horizon.


Here it comes.


She pushed like a veteran.

Pretty much delivered.


Mom is cleaning her up very quickly.

The baby wants to get up - hurry up Mama.


First drink.


What a great Mama. But we could tell she wasn't quite done. We waited and waited - me ready with my camera hoping for a movie. Julia asking a million questions. The ewe put it off. Can't say I blame her. I wouldn't want a movie made of me in that position either. Nor would I want three humans watching. But Julia and I were determined and The Farmer was patient. An hour passed and Lamb No. 1 was thriving. Then we noticed a younger, less experienced ewe was having trouble birthing her second lamb. We coaxed her into a pen and The Farmer assessed the situation. Her first lamb was okay but the second lamb definitely didn't want to budge. Just as he was beginning to deliver the troubled lamb, the ewe pictured slipped into the pen with her lamb. Talk about crowded - 3 people, 2 large ewes and 2 lambs. While The Farmer was pulling, "SuperMama" popped out Lamb #2.


Same mom - but what a difference in the color of the fluids. Here sibling is interested in what's new.


Baby No. 2 ready for a meal.


That Saturday we had added ten new lambs to the flock. Things have slowed down somewhat but they are still coming. I'll try not to overdo the lamb thing but it's going to be tough to curb my enthusiasm for their cuteness and photogenic qualities. We will see what tomorrow will bring.

Back in Blogland

I just picked up my Imac G5 from a place an hour from here. I'm back in the blog business, not to mention Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I also picked up a new surge protector - not knowing why my modem has gone twice in four months, I thought I would be safe. But I do wonder why Apple took out modems of the IMac G5 just a month after I purchased mine.

At any rate, we have had a busy week and a half since I last posted. Back in Late December I promised lambs, lambs, lambs, and I will not disappoint.

At first it was a trickle..... A ewe w/ a couple lambs.....


This mama was definitely experienced and needed no help from anyone.
Then, the tempo started to pick up and I want to tell you, it has been a birthing fury.....

Each lambing season presents its own problems and successes. I am not usually too involved - birthing is The Farmer's place - it's also why he was all for doctors and hospitals when we were pregnant - knowing what can go wrong. We were lucky that at the beginning of lambing this January it was unseasonably warm. Cold weather is usually the biggest challenge a newly born lamb faces.

This year, Julia is much more mobile and much more interested in the sheep. We have been visiting the barn twice a day, helping out when needed. She seems genuinedly interested which is nice.

Here’s the first lamb I watched being born one morning in mid-January. She has a kind of reddish tinge to her – from the amniotic fluids. It dries up and flakes off. Sometimes they have a real yellowish tinge at birth and sometimes they are bright white.


She's up here in less than 15 minutes ready for a snack. The first milk a lamb gets is the most important. It is called colostrum and is very thick and full of much needed nutrients.


Who can resist a face like this?

Missing in Action

Sorry to be missing -- I've got so much to write about and wonderful photos coming. But my modem broke on my Imac last weekend - the second time in a few months. It's being serviced but when I called to check on it Friday - hoping it would be done, I got some scary news. The snow storms in Oregon and power surges there have gobbled up most of Apple's modems. I will find out tomorrow when I'll be back in business here.

Ahhhhh technology.

A Post Holiday Catch-Up

At Christmas, my entire family isn't able to get together all at the same time due to distance and other family obligations. Our little family does the trip to NJ and there we see Mom, sister Jenn, and sister Lynn and her two boys Nicholas and Francisco who travel all the way from Brazil to be with us. The boys are on their "summer break" so they stay in the States for about six weeks. Last weekend, we were lucky to have the boys from Brazil, their mom Lynn, and our mom Mum come and visit our house on Friday night. Julia and I joined them in visiting sister Nancy and her three girls in NH for a second sleepover, and then spent a third sleepover at sister Laurie's and her two girls in eastern MA. What fun - a giant traveling sleepover. Everyone had a blast. I feel so lucky that we had that time together without the stress of the holidays. Because Julia is an "only" I always try to have her get together with her cousins as much as possible.

All the sisters got a chance to catch up as did the cousins. It seems that someone is always making something - either cooking or baking or sewing. I spent the weekend working on a felted bag for an upcoming book and my sister Lynn continued with her ongoing embroidery project - decorating her jean jackets until they are covered with stitches.

I wrote a little about Lynn back in the beginning of July. For her living, she sells cosmetics - she's the glamourous one! She has always dabbled in painting and is very colorful herself. The needlearts are not something that come naturally or easy to her. That's why we were all astounded at the dedication she is putting into these jean jackets. They are totally amazing. Here she is stitching away. She uses embroidery floss - all 6 strands at a time. She draws designs onto the denim herself and then she just stitches away - doing mostly chain stitch but creating the most colorful and creative art. I just in awe of them. Here's Nancy's daughter Celia in one of the jackets.



Maybe a floss company will notice them one day! Find more photos here of close-ups of the embroidery on the Colorful Stitchery Stitchalong.

And at the same time, check out what others are doing - there was definitely a lot of stitching going on for the holidays - it is so exciting to see people posting their projects on the Stitchalong. We all would love to have more members - so don't be shy!

Utter disbelief - I made myself something! and I actually finished it!

They say the cobbler's kids have no shoes. I know the feeling. I haven't made myself anything in at least ten years. Today I have an reddish orange sweater on that I made at least 15 years ago. Don't get me wrong - I knit but it's always for someone else - and usually not someone in my life that I love - usually for a model who will wear a sweater for about fifteen minutes. Then the project travels around to yarn shops and some knitters get to look at it. I guess after a few years, the project ends up in a "sample sale" and someone buys it and enjoys them. Oh, the glamourous life of a knitwear designer.

I knit a lot of swatches. Swatches are the learning and designing tools that I use to plan a sweater. I keep all my swatches in a pile in a closet hoping the moths won't terrorize them. I refer to them over and over to remind myself how a particular color combination worked or didn't work. Someday I will turn them into a giant blanket to cover a bed.

So today, I am proud to present to you something I made and actually finished for myself. It's a simple scarf knit in reverse stockinette stitch ridges made of many colors of Julia. One day I might add the pattern to my blog site as a free download. Unfortuantely I don't have time for that now - I barely have time to write this post.


Things in yarn land really heat up in January - I've got a lot of projects to design for companies and magazines. It's scary. Although I was knitting over the holidays, it was knitting that didn't help my work load. Those "step-outs" for t.v. appearances can really set a girl back. And then there are the trade shows that this year I chose not to go to. Thank goodness - otherwise I wouldn't be able to work on my real work. But I will miss the hustle and bustle of the show and seeing folks I haven't seen since June but have known for twenty years. Have fun everyone!

Back to the scarf..... I started it at my local FiberTwist back in October on a long circular needle. I like to knit scarves this way - I only have to knit about 8" and it's done. Vertical stripes are fun too - not to mention that there aren't as many ends to weave in. This scarf is very similar to one I did for Pam Allen's Scarf Style. It was the first one in the book and it had pom poms on the ends. This time, I chose to add braids to each end. I left my yarn joins long and braided the ends in with the yarn I added for the braided fringe. No weaving and it looks really pretty.

I've been wearing this scarf around town and everyone loves it. It's pretty long so it is a double wrap. Tonight it is supposed to be 18 degrees - I actually might need it. I especially like the fact that I can use the scarf as a learning tool. By isolating different areas of stripes, I can find a color combination that could turn into something else. Maybe I will write about that one day.

Happy 2007

The new year 2007 has already proven to be a busy one. After a holiday week of nasty illness for The Farmer and I, I'm glad to be back to the normalness of our everyday lives. Julia ran circles around us as we reclined on the couch watching movies and coughing for the majority of the holiday week.

I have already returned from my first assignment of 2007. New Year's Day I flew to Detroit, Michigan to film three segments for the new PBS show - Knit and Crochet Today. It was a whirlwind trip but fun and exciting. I found Detroit to be an amazingly beautiful and interesting city. The architecture is astounding. I stayed in a wonderful Bed and Breakfast/Hotel called The Inn on Ferry Street. The Inn is made up of four Victorian mansions that were built side by side. They are all restored impeccably and the staff was incredibly welcoming and kind. Still decorated for the holidays, each room had a non-working tiled fireplace. The main dining room had a lovely seating area. I was there with Candi Jensen, the author (and producer of this new series), Brett Barra - editor of Crochet Today, and Carla Scott - Executive Editor of Vogue Knitting. We all had a lovely time swapping stories and knitting.

I spent the majority of the Holiday break making "step-outs" for my segments for the show. I could have had more but as it was, I was knitting up until the last minute. It is amazing the amount of work that goes into a show like this. I don't think anyone who watches is aware of the hours of work the guest puts into it.

Here's what the set looked like.


Here's what I looked at while I was demonstrating. It takes lots of people to make a t.v. show.


The show is hosted by Kassi DaPaiva, who is a star of the American soap opera "One Life to Live." Kassi, herself is a crocheter was funny and friendly and totally non-intimidating. Her character Blair is in a coma right now so she was able to tape the thirteen episodes of Knit and Crochet Today. I found Kassi to be quite remarkable. Besides being a dedicated actress, she also raises money for The League of the Hard of Hearing. One of the fundraisers she does is selling her own crocheted hats on her website. She has a personal interest in this as her son JQ was born with bilateral profound hearing loss and has cochlear implant.

As the series information becomes more available, I will let you know. In order for it to be a success, it has to be snapped up by lots of local PBS stations. I think that some down-home, grass-roots enthusiasm by a bunch of knitters and crocheters will help it get out there. If you are a local yarn store or perhaps a book store who sponsors a "knitting night", sponsoring the new PBS Knit and Crochet show may be something you want to think about.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I wish you the best for 2007.