Bella Vita Farm & Fiber

Triplets closeup

2008-04-16T14:47:00.002-04:00

Triplets closeup
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Dolly was the last of the Finns to have her lambs. She was so big and uncomfortable the last few days. Now we know why, she had triplets, 2 ewes and a ram. From L to R they are Loretta Lynn, Alex, and Patsy. They were born on 4/14/08 in the evening just after dinner. I had stayed in the barn before dinner and realized how uncomfortable Dolly was and thought she was going to start going into labor at any time. I sat with her and rubbed her belly and tried to make her feel more comfortable. Dinner was ready, so I came inside and ate and went back out to the barn as soon as I could. Within minutes of returning, she started into labor. Loretta Lynn was first out, no problem. Then came Alex, and I moved Alex in front of Dolly to start cleaning him up. I could see Patsy's hooves starting to appear when I heard a newborn lamb crying. I turned around to find Loretta Lynn was already across the pen by the feeder. I picked her up and moved her back closer to momma. Then Patsy decided to appear hind legs and butt first. All of the lambs are doing fine, so far, with Dolly nursing all of them. I'm keeping an eye on them to make sure all of them are getting enough milk from mom. I hope that Dolly will be able to raise all three on her own. If not, I may be bottle feeding at least one.

Rosie and kittens

2008-04-16T14:39:00.001-04:00

Rosie and kittens
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

My cat had kittens, AGAIN! She had 4 kittens this time, 3 boys and 1 girl. The two orange ones are boys, the lighter tiger is also a boy and the dark tiger is a little girl. They don't have names yet...so many babies born around the farm this past week. They were born 4/14/08 in the corner of the stack of hay in the barn. We moved the hay bales and provided her with a box and an old saddle pad for comfort. We put the box in the same corner where we'd found the babies, obviously Rosie liked that spot for her babies.

Tara and Aaron

2008-04-16T14:36:00.001-04:00

Tara and Aaron
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Daisy, our white Finn ewe finally had her lambs. A set of twins, one ewe and one Ram. They were born on my daughter's birthday, 4/12/08, so I named the ewe after her and the ram after her boyfriend. Tara is on the left and Aaron is on the right.

elvis

2008-04-10T10:05:00.001-04:00

elvis
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Here's a picture of Elvis, the ram twin. He's Clara Bella's brother. He looks kind of shy, but he's not! They were both up and nursing within minutes of birth. When they were just a couple hours old they were already sproing around like little lambs do.

clarabella

2008-04-10T10:02:00.001-04:00

clarabella
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Bella Vita Farm & Fiber welcomed twins yesterday, 4/9/08. The twins are Finn lambs and this is a picture of Clara Bella. She looks like a little panda bear doesn't she? Clara Bella will be staying here at Bella Vita Farm.

Donna side

2008-04-08T10:35:00.001-04:00

Donna side
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Our first lamb born on Bella Vita Farm & Fiber, April 7, 2008. She is a little Shetland x Finn ewe, we named Donna. She was born around 9 AM while I was doing morning chores. We were late for an appointment with our CPA, Don. So we named her Donna, seemed very fitting.

Mystic Light swatch

2008-03-12T23:34:00.001-04:00

Mystic Light swatch
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

I got my swatch done for the Mystic Light Shawl Mystery KAL which starts on March 26, 2008. I used US #6 circular needles, gotta order some Addi lace. The blunt tips on regular needles won't cut it. I'm using Fearless Fiber's Inner Sanctum colorway for this project. The yarn suggested in the pattern is sockweight due to the cabling that the pattern calls for in addition to the lace. You can see the cables on the edges in the swatch. This is my first big lace project and I'm kind of excited and at the same time scared I'll screw up.

Working Magic Loop

2008-03-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

Magic Loop 2 socks at a time in progress. It's not hard, here are the basic concepts to keep in mind.

This is often referred to as the "Home Position" in Magic Loop knitting. When knitting one sock using Magic Loop this is the only position you will refer to. See how the yarn is coming from the back needle? That is the most important thing to remember. You will pull the back needle out to become your working needle.

This shows the back needle from the picture above pulled out and ready to use as the working needle. If you look close you can also see the working yarn is coming from the cable from the back needle. That is an important concept to remember in ML. Always make sure when in the home position that the yarn is on the back needle.

This is what I refer to as the "Resting Position" in Magic Loop knitting. You only have this position when doing two socks at a time. The right needle should have the yarn coming from the front from the last stitch on the needle. The left sock will have the yarn coming from the stitch that is on the cable (positioned behind the left needle).

This is the position that I usually leave my knitting when taking a break. You will see the home position and the rest position twice for each round of knitting on both socks.

Tips with Magic Loop, hold on to the tip of your needle when pulling on the cables, so you don't have dropped stitches. I also keep a finger in the loop where the bend is between the front and back of a sock, so the stitches don't slip off there either.

Casting on for 2 socks at a time on Magic Loop

2008-03-05T21:06:00.014-05:00

Nine easy steps to casting on for Two socks at a time on Magic Loop. Step 1 cast on all your stitches for sock 1. So far, so good.

Slide sock #1 on down the needle, out of the way. Next, cast on all the stitches for sock #2.

Push all the stitches to the other end of the needles. See how the tails and the working yarn are at the opposite end from the tip of the needle (pictured lower right)?

On the sock closest to the needle end (sock #1), divide the stitches in half. Bend the the cable so half the stitches are on the needle and the other half are on the cable. Sock #2 is shown at the bottom (don't worry about it now). On the right you will see the free needle which will become your "working" needle.

Make sure your stitches are not twisted. Use the needle shown at the right to work the stiches on the needle. Make sure to snug up the yarn on the first two stitches to avoid "ladders".

The first half of sock #1 has been worked. The needle in the back will have the worked stitches and the working yarn will be dangling from this. This is the needle you want to pull out to become your "working" needle. Then you will knit the second half of sock #1.

Here's a close up to show you better.

Here's the needle (upper right) pulled out ready to work the second half of sock #1.

Now you're ready for sock #2. Push these stitches up to the end of the unused needle.

Again, split the stiches of sock #2 in half. Half the stitches on the needle and the other half on the cable below. (Sock #1 is on the right and sock #2 is on the left.)

When you are done with both halves of sock #2 you should have something that looks like this.

Alpine Twins

2008-02-24T10:16:00.001-05:00

twins
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Here are the twins born Feb. 23, 2008 weighing in about 8 to 8.5 lbs. The one on the left with the white eyebrow is Venus and the full frontal shot is Casseopia (Cassie). Shannon (the mom) had them about 3 PM without help. I was on my way out to the barn to check on everything when about halfway there I heard baby cries, newborns. I knew it wasn't Lacy. When I got there mom was cleaning off the first one (Venus) and Cassie was still covered with amniotic fluid. I grabbed a towel and cleaned her off some and gave her to mom to finish getting her clean and dried off. It right around freezing outside but the barn was about 40 degrees F.

Lacy 3qtr shot

2008-02-22T10:30:00.001-05:00

Lacy 3qtr shot
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Here's the newest addition to the Bella Vita Farm. She's a little Alpine doe that I named Lacy. I just started a new group on Ravelry "A Gathering of Lace" the same that Lacy was born, Feb. 21, 2008. Mom and baby are doing great!

First Fair Isle Sweater

2008-02-05T12:01:00.000-05:00

Well, this year I'm really sttttrechinnng my horizons with knitting. I've decided to do my first Fair Isle sweater this year. I've gotten a pretty good start on it, now if those socks would stop jumping on my needles in the meantime...
I'm working the Luna Jumper pattern from The Art of Fair Isle Knitting. I'm using a fingering weight merino that I dyed to match the colors that were used in the pattern. There was a bit of a learning curve dyeing this wool compared to the superwash merino I'd done before. The superwash really grabs the color a lot more than the regular wool does.

I'm also working on a pair of Monkey socks by Cookie A. for the January KAL going on at Sock Knitters Anonymous on Ravelry. I have to have them finished before the end of February to qualify for the drawing. I'm starting on the toe of the first sock, so I have some real knitting to do!

Do you plan projects way in advance, or is it just me? I'm hankering to do some lace this year too. I've already picked out a beautiful pattern I like and I'm working on figuring out the errata and how to get started with a shawl pattern.

I've also planned an Aran sweater sometime in the near future for my husband. Then there's my lovely Shetland lamb's wool yarn that I just back from Spinderella's that is queued for an Oregon Fair Isle cardigan pattern by Alice Starmore. Geesh....so much knitting and to little time! Until next time, keep the needles clicking!

Good Thing I didn't promise to blog more this year

2008-01-21T20:56:00.000-05:00

OMG - the month is almost over and I haven't even posted an update so far this year. I'm so bad...well at least I didn't make a New Year's resolution to blog more this year. I don't have any pictures to post today. I'm working on a project now that I will be posting soon, but I have to get more done so I can show you SOMETHING. I dyed most of the yarn last week but waited on more yarn to come in the mail to do the main color. I didn't even wait for it to dry...I used the good old dehydrator to speed things up so I could get started. I'll have pictures soon - I promise!

I should be getting my new book, "2 Socks At A Time" tomorrow. I checked my tracking info and got all excited thinking it would be here today. Then I realized that it was a holiday and the mailman wouldn't be delivering anything today. Oh well, something to look forward to tomorrow.

I'd better get back to my project.... 'til next time...KNIT ON!

New Year's Resolution 2008

2007-12-31T16:23:00.000-05:00

Read directions ... what a boring resolution, but when it comes to knitting it definitely is important. I have a sock for my daughter that has elf toes since I assumed the toe was 2" long but the pattern called for 3.5" for the toe. Since these socks are rainbow striped the elf toes look even worse! Now I'll have to tear it out and redo the toe so it will fit. I HATE to rip out knitting...hours wasted!!!

Now on to goals for 2008 - I want to try Fair Isle (stranded) knitting this year. I've found a hat pattern (Fake Isle Hat) that is supposed to be a good beginning project. I also found a mitten pattern (Corazon) to try too. These patterns are on Ravelry and they are FREE. I need a new hat, my daughter "stole" my koolaid hat project. I can always use a pair of mittens in the frozen tundra here in northern Michigan!

Hey - have a VERY safe and prosperous NEW YEAR!

Camo socks for DH

2007-12-24T13:40:00.001-05:00

Camo socks for DH
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Finally finished, just in time for Christmas the Camo socks made using the Vintage Sock pattern, Yarrow. I dyed this semi-solid green using sock weight yarn, but only did 166 yds. which ran a bit short to complete the sock. I dyed some more yarn to match in a solid color to finish off the toe section.

Countdown to Christmas

2007-12-21T08:55:00.001-05:00

The countdown to Christmas has begun at my house. I finished up last minute shopping yesterday, now if I could only fit another day in between now and Christmas. I need to finish knitting at least three more projects. One project has been moved until after Christmas. I'm giving the yarn and promising the socks will be knit AFTER Christmas. Another project is still on my spinning wheel and who knows when that will be finished?

My neighbor called to find out when we should get together to exchange gifts and I haven't got hers wrapped yet. Egads...I need to get on the ball here.

Our family at Bella Vita Farm & Fiber want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

I Shoulda Known...

2007-12-10T08:01:00.000-05:00

You Are Mince Pie

Admit it, this isn't the first time that someone has called you "beefy"

What Holiday Food Are You?

fresh_dyepot

2007-12-09T12:20:00.001-05:00

fresh_dyepot
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

These are the latest dyeing projects for semi solid sock yarn. From top left clockwise, mauve pink in fingering weight, carribean blue in sock weight, camo green in sock weight and coral in fingering weight. All yarns are 100% superwash merino.

Coral Hedgerow socks

2007-12-03T07:22:00.001-05:00

Coral Hedgerow socks
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

I dyed this superwash Merino fingering weight for a pair of Hedgerow socks. I'm really happy with the way the colors turned out. The sock is knitting up beautifully.

Dyeing can't get more natural than this!

2007-12-02T10:08:00.001-05:00

Dyeing can't get more natural than this!
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Mother nature doing some of her dyeing. The pokeberry bush berries burst onto the snow, dyeing the snow a beautiful red violet. I prefer to dye inside during this kind of weather!

Thought I killed the cat!

2007-11-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

The other day I turned on the jeep to take the neighbor home and I heard a thud. I turned the motor off immediately, not knowing what it was. My neighbor said he thought it was a cat in the motor and I got out and my husband confirmed that one of our cats went limping VERY FAST into the barn. Oh my stars....I killed the cat!

He was hiding between the wall and the stack of hay bales and of course my DH had just stacked 25 new bales into the barn. The neighbor, Jeff and DH moved bales until we found the cat. I could tell where he was by the blood he left on the wall of the barn.

I pulled him out of his hiding place and fortunately he was not dead, there was some blood but not much. He had a rear leg that definitely was broken and the bone was doubled up where it moved after breaking. I found out when I called the vet they would charge about $600 to fix his leg, it would need surgery and pins. I love my animals, but $600 is about $600 more than I could afford to spend.

My friend Cindy and I decided to set the broken leg and see what happens. Well, actually Cindy set the leg, I was just the assitant. Hopefully Casey will be able to use his leg without more than a slight gimp. The only other options were to put him down or amputation. The vet told me that even spending $600 didn't guarantee that it would fix. Sometimes the vet ends up amputating the limb anyway.

Shannon

2007-11-25T16:56:00.001-05:00

Shannon
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

This is Shannon, my goofy, loveable Alpine goat. She's always looking for attention and this picture is no exception. Shannon's job is to produce enough milk to feed the extra lambs...and we'd like some milk too! I'm hoping she has twins this year, but a really good milk supply would be great too.

Samson

2007-11-25T16:53:00.001-05:00

Samson_full
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Samson is my handsome CVM ram. He's a drop-dead gorgeous ram with a really nice fleece on him. He is currently in the pasture with Delilah and Dakota. Samson knows what to do, just waiting on the girls....as usual.

Daisy and the girls

2007-11-25T16:50:00.001-05:00

the_girls
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Daisy is the ewe that is looking straight at the camera. She's the alpha ewe here at Bella Vita Farm & Fiber. She likes to push her weight around, especially at the feeding trough. Daisy has the most personality of all the sheep and her fleece is to die....or should I say dye for? Well both apply...she's a Finnish Landrace sheep, often referred to as Finns. Finns lamb in litters (8 lambs have been recorded) and I'm hoping that Daisy has a nice one of her own. Daisy came from a set of quads and her two sisters, Dolly and Dot, are the black sheep on the left side of the picture.

Dakota

2007-11-25T16:46:00.001-05:00

Dakota_head
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Dakota is a Romeldale ewe. The Romeldale breed is where the CVM (California Variegated Mutant) breed started out of. The CVM's have the badger faced markings which were different than the Romeldale's solid colors.

Dakota is a shy girl with a very big foghorn sounding baa. She has beautiful, soft, white fleece that a baby could wear.

Delilah

2007-11-25T16:43:00.001-05:00

Delilah_front
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

She's my beautiful CVM ewe at Bella Vita Farm & Fiber. She likes to eat her hay.

My new Strauch drum carder has arrived!

2007-10-28T09:41:00.001-04:00

My carder arrived from Strauch on Friday. I spent the rest of the day carding my Shetland and Llama fleece. On Saturday I blended them 50/50 which makes a very soft, durable yarn. I also had some roving that if I remember right is BFL which I had experimented with my new Lanaset dyes. I did one roving in warm colors, one roving in cool colors and then a third in various greens. I carded each of those rovings separately and got some beautiful blends. I have batts lying all over the family room that I took over for my fiber addiction!

Finished spinning roving from NW Michigan Fiberfest

2007-10-23T18:24:00.000-04:00

I finished spinning and plying the roving I bought at the NW Michigan Wool and Fiber Fest last month. It turned out pretty cool, huh?

I got my stock dyes all mixed and the secondary colors. Then I realized I didn't order the Lanaset orange for some reason. I ordered the orange and the rest of the main colors I didn't get the first time. That order should be here tomorrow and I can finish mixing up all my colors.

My drumcarder is shipping from Strauch's tomorrow...yipppppppeeeeee! I can't wait to get my hands on my new drumcarder and get my fiber ready for dyeing and spinning. Let's have a dye party next week...I'll be ready!

Tired

2007-10-19T00:25:00.000-04:00

I'm so tired right now but I noticed that I haven't posted for over a month. Where does the time go? Just because I'm working three jobs, reading 3 books and a magazine, knitting half a dozen projects AND trying to keep my house clean doesn't mean I don't have plenty of spare time - HA! and you thought you were busy? I guess we'll just turn our shirts inside out and wear them another day because I didn't get the laundry done...got to blog. Wear the darker ones they don't show the dirt.

I've ordered some Lanaset dyes that I can't wait to break into and start mixing up colors, but I'm reading Deb Menz's - Color in Spinning first and my latest issue of Spin Off before diving in head first. I've also been out in the yard picking up leaves, not raking, just collecting for my color inspirations. One of my first projects will be - you guessed it, autumn leaves.

Oh, and I've got my new drum carder ordered which should be here next week and I can hardly wait to get started with that. I've got boxes of fleece that will finally get carded up, dyed and spun, what a concept.

I'm going to sleep and dream about my fiber addiction and how much fun I'm going to have in the coming days, weeks, months, years...lifetime.

Sockpile

2007-09-11T11:21:00.000-04:00

My sock pile is growing, so many socks and so little time!

I'm currently working on a pair of socks for my daughter. I told her that if she wants more, she'll need to learn to knit socks!

I have at least 3 other projects to finish at any given time. I don't want to have UFOs (Unfinished Objects) lying around my house.

Mordant and Dyeing Times

2007-09-07T17:14:00.000-04:00

The natural dyes previously listed in the blog are all done with the following methods. All mordants were mixed in pot of water and brought to a simmer. The skeins of yarn were then added and allowed to simmer for one hour. Then the heat source was turned off and the yarn was allowed to soak overnight in the mordant solution.

The dyestuff was used at a 2:1 ratio, twice the amount of dye material to the wool weight (often referred to as WOG - weight of goods). This was brought to a simmer and allowed to continue simmering for 30 minutes. The dyestuff was strained off and the strained dyewater was poured back into the pot. The yarn was added and allowed to simmer for 30 minutes. After the yarn was removed it was spun to remove excess water then rinsed in clear water and spun again before hanging to dry. When I refer to spun, basically spin the hank of yarn around your wrist to sling out excess water.

The brazilwood and logwood were purchased from a supplier. All other materials were gathered locally, mostly from my property. The brazilwood chips were added to a pot of water and allowed to soak overnight before proceeding with the usual dyeing procedure. The logwood was an extract (purple) and was just mixed in a pot of water before using. No presoaking was necessary for the extract.

Brazilwood

2007-09-07T15:27:00.000-04:00

Brazilwood bark extract was used.

Pre-mordants used were L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on Shetland white wool.

No assists were used.

First two samples show Alum pre-mordant with 15 minutes in dyebath and second was 30 minutes.

Goldenrod - leaves and stems

2007-09-07T15:25:00.000-04:00

Goldenrod - leaves and stems were used.

Pre-mordants used L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, None

Dyed on Shetland white wool.

No assists were used.

Goldenrod - flowers

2007-09-07T15:22:00.000-04:00

Goldenrod flowers were used.

Pre-mordants used L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, None

Dyed on Shetland white wool.

No assists were used.

Zinnia

2007-09-07T09:50:00.000-04:00

Zinnia using the flowers.

Pre-mordants L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on Shetland white wool.

No assists were used.

Tansy

2007-09-07T09:48:00.000-04:00

Tansy using the flowers.

Pre-mordants used L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, None

Dyed on Shetland white wool.

No assists were used.

Staghorn Sumac

2007-09-07T09:46:00.000-04:00

Staghorn Sumac using berries.

Pre-mordant L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on Rambouillet white wool

No assists were used.

St. John's Wort

2007-09-07T09:44:00.000-04:00

St. John's Wort flowers were used.

Pre-mordant used L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on Shetland white wool

No assists were used.

Logwood

2007-09-07T09:41:00.000-04:00

Logwood using bark extract - purple.

Pre-mordants used L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on Shetland white wool

No assists were used.

Two left samples were both Alum, one in dyebath 15 minutes and the right for 30 minutes.

Madder

2007-09-07T09:38:00.001-04:00

Madder using roots.

Pre-mordants used L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on Shetland white wool

No assists were used.

Marigold

2007-09-07T09:36:00.001-04:00

Marigold using flowers.

Pre-mordants L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on white rambouillet wool

No assists were used.

Mullein

2007-09-07T09:32:00.000-04:00

Mullein dyed using the leaves and stems.

Pre-mordants used from L-R: Alum, Tin, Copper, Iron

Dyed on white rambouillet wool

No assists were used

County Fair

2007-09-05T21:10:00.001-04:00

This is the Spirit of the Woods Garden Club exhibit at the Manistee County Fair 2007. We won a first place blue ribbon and a Best in Show!

Natural Dyeing Intro

2007-09-05T21:05:00.000-04:00

Well it's my first attempt at blogging...never thought I'd start a blog. Lately I've been doing some natural dyeing with the wool from my sheep on my farm and I thought I'd post pictures of some of the results. I chaired the project for the county fair for the garden club, "Plants to Dye For" and we got a blue ribbon and Best in Show. I've discovered that a lot of others that are into natural dyeing want to see the color results, so a blog seemed like the way to go. I hope you like what I have to share. I'll be getting into some acid dyes soon and I'll post those adventures too.