Tag: lambs

Todd Morrison Jan 2002 – August, 30, 2014

Todd Morrison Jan 2002 – August, 30, 2014

Posted on by Melisa

August 30, 2014 was a sad day for Charlie and I.

Another of our furry family members passed.  It has taken me some time to be able to write a post about Todd’s passing. Todd came to us when he was about 8 years old.  I had started herding lessons with Kathy in Ft. Lupton, CO for Abbey, my red tri color border collie.  During the time that I was taking a few lessons with Abbey, I met Todd and we bought Todd.

Todd

Todd wouldn’t always work for everyone.  He did like to work for me.  He occasionally worked for Charlie but most times he would not work for him.  Todd needed a firm but patient handler and if anyone shouted at him, he shut down and would refuse to work.  He and Kathy had a difference of opinion.  He wanted to gather up the sheep and bring them to her, she wanted to train him to go further and drive and do other things.  If the sheep or goats were moving away from the human, Todd was NOT happy.  Well for us and our minimal needs, Todd’s style worked well.  He could gather up the sheep and goats and bring them to us all day long so I didn’t have to go down that big steep hill on the Colorado mountain side.  He understood that he wasn’t required to work every day, that when we walked even without any critters to herd I would run through his commands for practice, and that this was his retirement home.  We had about 6.5 years with Todd.  He adored my husband Charlie, me too, but there was a special bond with Charlie.  Charlie was his playmate.

Todd moving Michelle, one of our angora goats

Todd started going downhill dramatically about 2 weeks prior to our decision to let him go.  We did run numerous tests and our best guess was that he had a bone cancer in his back hip and some sort of spinal injury as no messages from the back end were reaching the brain.  He was staggering, struggling to use the bathroom, didn’t want to eat, and in pain.  It was the correct thing to do for him, even though it sucked for us.  I waited a little bit and tried a few pain medications and he had some initial improvements but not any significant increase in the quality of his life.

Todd and his mate, Charlie

I had hoped the medication would turn the tide and was going to give him a few days to look for improvements, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.  Charlie was offshore at the time but the extra few days making him a bit more comfortable with the pain medications allowed Charlie to get home to be with Todd that last evening before going to the vet the next day.

 

 

Todd working the training sheep

Our Todd would gather up the sheep, but he really enjoyed the belligerent stubborn goats.  Those were his favorite to herd and bend to his will.  He had a great eye and barely made a sound when doing any herding.  It was a joy to watch him work.

Todd will be missed.

 

Fibery Goodness Module Seven Yarn

Fibery Goodness Module Seven Yarn

Posted on by Melisa

As promised, here is my Module Seven Yarn photos.  I spun these several weeks ago and just managed to get some photos taken this week.  Also of note, is that I spun Module Six in the morning and Module Seven in the evening.  Two totally different and unique yarns which required two widely different styles of spinning and plying techniques.  Make sure you see Mod 6 yarns as well.

Mod 7-7

 

Mod 7-2

I used the same 15.5 Micron Merino commercially prepared combed top in white.  I spun one ply a bit finer than usual with a bit more twist and evenness than usual.  I spun the other ply with throwing it at the wheel.  I spun slubs, thin bits, thick bits….anything I could to make the texture wild and crazy.  I plyed the thick slubby wild single spirally around the thin even tightly controlled one to get a lovely slub flame spiral yarn.  This is super soft and a very comforting sort of yarn but still has strength due to the tight controlled spun single.

Mod 7-6

This completes the spinning portion of my course with seven stunning yarns all created from the same 15.5 micron Merino commercial prepared combed top in white.

My focus in this course was creating the seven yarns using the same prep and wool in the same white color while creating 7 obviously unique and different textured yarns due to the ply structure and spinning technique only.  It was a challenge that I set for myself and I think I achieved it.

 

Mod 7-3

Now for the preparation that will be Module 8 and constructing a final project that will use some of all seven yarns in the final item.  Stay tuned because I have a fantastic final project planned.  It will involve circular weaving, rigid heddle weaving, wet felting, free form crochet and a lot of creativity.

 

Fibery Goodness Module Six Yarn

Fibery Goodness Module Six Yarn

Posted on by Melisa

I have had my Module Six yarn spun now for several weeks but hadn’t taken any photographs of it.  I know….I was slow.  It is a 2+ ply hand spun yarn of the 15.5 Micron Merino.  Natural white with a 3rd ply if you want to call it that which is a silk thread with garnet seed pearls strung on it.

Mod 6-3

I have spun some beaded spirals in the course but was having troubles with the merino shrinking and fulling a bit in the setting process with the silk thread staying the same.  The end result was that the thread hung loose with the beads on it and would get caught and break…. losing beads.  This made the yarn super fragile.  I wanted to make my usual go to yarn that is a medium weight 2 ply, mostly evenish.

Mod 6-1

I decided to spin the 2 singles a little bit finer and try for a much more even yarn with a tad bit more twist in the final plying to give it more strength than usual.  I trapped the silk thread with the garnet seed beads on it in between the two merino plys to give it some added strength.  I was going for a 2+ ply that was 2 plys for strength and softness, and 1 ply for bling and character.

Mod 6-2

I do not usually spin fine or even like this so this was rather outside my comfort zone.  Probably not even in the room where my box was….that is was soooo far out my box.  I am over the moon pleased with this yarn.  I really like it.  I spun the Mod 6 yarn in the morning and the Mod 7 yarn in the evening.  They are two very different-night and day yarns even though spun from the same white 15.5 micron merino wool.  Look for Mod 7 yarn coming soon.

Mod 6-4
Fibery Goodness Module Two Yarn

Fibery Goodness Module Two Yarn

Posted on by Melisa

My Module Two Yarn was a bit slow in completion.  I had a month of super heavy snow on almost a daily basis, sub zero temperatures and wind chills up to -25F, and doing all the chores on my own because Charlie was offshore.  I didn’t spin at all during that time he was gone.  Our Module Three Yarn came out around Valentine’s day and I had only a little of the spinning for Module Two completed.

Module 2 Classic Cable Yarn

 

 

I chose to spin a Classic Cable Yarn.  I had never spun a Cable yarn before so this was brand new territory for me.  I used the same fiber that I did for Module One.  15.5 Micron Merino commercially prepared in a combed top. Pure white with no added blings or extra fibers and natural with no dyes.  I will be spinning each module of this same fiber and prep so my focus is on the various yarn structures in the 7 yarns required for the course.

Module 2 Yarn close up

 

 

A Classic Cable yarn is constructed of 4 singles spun evenly.  I chose to spin the four singles to the Right.  I took 2 of the singles and plied them to the left to make a 2 ply yarn.  After that I took that 2 ply yarn and ran it through and plied it a second time to the left so that it was double over plied.  I took the remaining two singles and plied them to the left twice in the same manner.  This left me with 2 2 ply yarns over spun to the left.

Module 2 Yarn

 

I got to use my brand new Country Spinner 2 for the first time to cable those 2 2 ply yarns back together going to the right.  It was fun watching them POP into that cable as I spun along.  I set the twist by washing in a warm water with a bit of liquid soap and swished them around a little to felt them just a touch into their chain structure well.  They are soft and squishy and oh so much fun.