End Of An Era

Friday was my last day of work at the wool mill. It was rather bittersweet.

I'm sure going to miss touching fiber all day.

Playing with Baloo and Bagheera.

Maybe just Baloo. I'm actually a bit afraid of Bagheera. He plays with claws.

I'll definitely miss seeing the new lambs. This little guy is quite a character.

He has a white tail! How funny is that. I think I might name him bunny. Once he's docked he'll look like a little cotton tail.

Agrodome

We went to the Agrodome, which is in Rotorua, to see the sheep show. There are 19 rams presented in the show. The top ram was a Merino. He didn't seem to have much of a problem with the dog on top of it.

I hadn't seen the sheep show since I was was shorter than the sheep. I recall them frightening me. Not so much this time, although this fine looking fellow, a Border Leicester, was a bit more interested in the puff ball on top of my hat than I cared for.

It is lambing season in New Zealand right now. I got to feed the lambies. The ones who weren't getting the bottle sucked on my fingers. It tickled.

Across the parking lot from the sheep show was this gem.

With my favorite thing inside. Yarn.

I came away with a bit.

They had a 104 year old card on the inside, which is still in use. It seemed a bit longer than the ones we have at the Yolo Wool Mill. This card was made in England.

They also had a lovely collection of spinning wheels.

My favorite one was this. It was fashioned out of bits and bobs during the war, which I'm assuming was WWII.

I also found this lovely collection of signs in shearing shed. I already knew wool was excellent, but it was wonderful to learn why.

Spinning Lessons and New Born Lambs

I spent the last week knitting 4 hats and 3 headbands for farmer's market. It was such a relief to finish them all that I forgot to take pictures. Whoops. Here is a picture of a llama at the mill itching it's ear with it's hoof instead. I think that is much more interesting than pictures of hats.

I did recently get a lovely ball of yarn in the mail from Wolle's Yarn Creations. The colorway is Tropical. It is a 6-ply cotton.

I've decided to make a Citron shawl from it. And yes I know I haven't quite finished the Shipwreck Shawl. It'll be done just as soon as my blocking mats come in the mail.

Today I went to the mill for a spin-in. I bought a niddynoddy that was made from a recycled shair. After spinning wheel lessons I headed out to the barn to see my favorite little lambs. As I looked in I noticed that there was an extra lamb in the barn. As I went to get a closer look, I noticed another ewe who had three new lambs. Of course I had forgotten my camera at home. Soon it became apparent that the ewe with one lamb had one more on the way. I got to see a lamb being born! I hope to get some pictures from other people who were there.

Poor Scooter was left alone for a few hours while I was gone. He's been pretty sleepy recently, so I don't think he minded.

Lambies

Three lambs were born at the mill on April 3rd.

I got to hold the white one when she was two days old. She was about the size of Scooter, but a little lighter.

There are also a bunch of baby chicks.

As I was taking pictures of the lambs, Molva, the resident pet chicken, came over. She's quite photogenic. It almost seemed as if she was demanding to have her picture taken.

Work has been going well. I'm primarily working with the spinning frame. It spins roving into a single piece of yarn. (Many yarns are plied, which means there are more than one single spun with it) The machine also puts a second twist into the yarn.

The mill is an excellent place to work. It's beautiful out there to boot.

And now for the Scooter report. Scooter has been all over me when I come home from work. I'm sure I smell rather interesting to him. Recently after taking the laundry out of the dryer, I dumped it on him. I don't think I've ever seen him so satisfied.