Friday, November 15, 2019

Where has the time gone?

Sorry to be away for such a long time.
 Late August kicks off the fall festivals that I participate in and gets super busy, along
with working a day job full time.
Miss Sauerkraut above is the only picture that I took during all three festivals.
Isn't she cute!

The festivals went great and I've sold out of most of my products that I make.
I do still have some combed top available.  But, don't fret.  We'll be shearing in
March and will be full and abundant with all colors of wool. 

After these festivals I just needed a break and some down time.  Before
I begin getting back to work restocking.

So, I finally tried one of my likes in Pinterest.

Air drying clay
 My timing was great as there where still leaves on trees and falling, but they were
still flexible enough that I could get impressions from the leaves with out them crumbling.

 I started looking at all broad leaves to get impressions from, the below 
where leaves from weeds!
I shaped the clay while making them so they would be able
to hold  some small item(s).
In Pinterest they called them trinket dishes...I think they are cute!
Final products:
 A bowl made with several maple leaves overlapped.
I used Rust-oleum copper spray paint to seal them.
 
 Several different types of leaves and one small hosta leave.

 I had a lot of fun making these and used a whole tub of clay.
 Above, a weed! I love the deep veins that show in clay.  I did add
some fancy curving edges to the leave when I traced it with my knife.
 This is a large leaf.  I had an even bigger one that I wanted to try 
the next day, but I wasn't thinking when I left the leaves in the house
and by the next day they had started to dry out and curl.  If I had 
only put them outside in the cold wet weather they would have been fine.
There's always next year.
 Another weed above.  I gave this one some extra curves too.
If you look closely you can see the smooth line from the leave.
I should have sanded them better...oh well it's just for fun.
Maple leaves and a host leaf on the left.
Most of my hosta leaves had started to get dry and 
crumbly.  I think doing this in the summer when you have
access to larger hosta leaves and rhubarb leaves, ohh and 
pumpkin leaves would be great to!

This was fun, different and I've gotten so many ideas
I will definitely do this again...I've been 
looking on Pinterest and see some great ideas with large leaves and cement.
New project next year!

Back to the sheep!
This was the girls waiting for me to feed them this evening.
We were busy with the breeding groups from early October until the second 
week in November.  That was ALOT of extra work.  Glad to be back to two 
groups to feed.  The boys and the girls, much easier.
 *******************************

I went back into my pics. to find this lambs picture.
Although not a good pic. (my old camera).
I thought that I had a another nice little black ewe lamb.
Well this is her as an eight month old ewe.  She is geogeous!
 She is not black.  She has what some people call a moon spot in other breeds 
of animals, that is the lighter colored spot in her fleece.
I believe this is what is called shaela in the shetland sheep world.
A dark steely-grey.
 
We also temporarily inherited some new girls;
 The two ewes on the left, one moorit and white, the other black and white.
We have called it a cape flecket, although that is not correct
according to the shetland sheep registry.  There was an article to 
this pattern of sheep in the past year in the NASSA NEWS
another one of the new girls.  They are very sweet and we 
hope to bring this pattern out with the parings we made during 
this falls breeding.

So much I should have shared earlier.

That's all for now.