Bird Pods for Spring 2012

My good friend, Suzanne Higgs, shared her idea for bird pods well over a year ago.  After quite a delay the first one was made and hung but way too late in the breeding season to gain any winged tenants.  This year, the mostly warm winter has inspired me to prepare for spring much earlier.

Both pods are made with a green/white blended batt of merino and mohair.  The design work is embroidered after wet felting, this way I could be sure it would not appear too bright or unnatural and deter the birds.  The one on the left is 10 inches high and 7 inch wide at the base with the 1 1/4 inch entrance hole at 4 inches above the floor.   The second is 9 inches high and 7 inch wide at the base with the 3/4 inch entrance hole at 2 1/2  inches above the floor. 

I was surprised to discover bird pods are so much fun to felt, they seem so simple that I thought it would be boring but the challenge of trying to size them according to nest box dimensions makes them extremely interesting.  I am hoping to do more to dress up our and other wildlife neighborhoods.

Knit a Great Spring Coat

Long Hooded Cardigan

Probably most of you have enjoyed this wonderful, although strange for the midwest, winter. We have had so little snow and so much sunshine, all I wanted to do was sit on the porch and soak it up. Reality did set in a couple of weeks ago when our first lamb for the season was born. We now have 6 new babies in the barn and probably one more ewe to deliver. Now today is typical for Michigan, light snow and cold, time to look ahead to the season I love best.  This looks like the perfect spring coat; for the cool days and evenings you can wear the hood up and pull the coat closed to snuggle in or on the occasional warmer days, drop the hood to your back and open it up more as the picture shows. The pattern comes from the designers at Knitting Pure & Simple and is knit with worsted weight yarn from the hood down. Instructions are for 5 sizes.  You can read more details about the pattern on the webpage.

Happy 175th Birthday Michigan

On January 26, 1837, President Jackson signed a bill, officially making Michigan the nation's 26th state. That makes January 26th, 2012, our 175th anniversary.

We are very happy to join the celebration organized by Buy Michigan Now   You can go to this website and find events happening around the state in support of the anniversary.  There is also a link to officially join the event on Facebook and then invite your friends.

One of the things I love living in Michigan is the beautiful winter season.  Yes, it is cold and that is part of why I love it.  I can then more fully enjoy the miracle fiber -Wool.  It is natural that at Marr Haven we are celebrating Michigan's birthday with free wool felt pieces you will make by wet felting our Michigan raised fine grade wool roving.

You can make and take home a cat toy from organic, chemical free wool roving or a coaster for your coffee cup.  Come on out Thursday, January 26th, 2012 to at 11 am to 2 pm to learn more about Michigan wool and wet felting and help us celebrate.

The Twitter updates are posted with #Mich175

Yield to Mother Nature - Good News/Bad News

The good news is...this is January 11 and we have only had one snowfall this year.  New Year's Day we received about 6 inches at the farm.  The rest of the days have been very mild temps, mostly daytime 40's, with sunshine.  This is Michigan, this weather has been most unusual and appreciated.

The bad news, a winter storm is forecast to begin at noon tomorrow.  Since our first nuno felt scarf class was scheduled for 1 pm, I am yielding to Mother Nature and canceling tomorrow's class.  Fortunately we did have a 2nd class scheduled for Wed. January 25th from 1:00 to 3:30 pm also at the Pickle St School Studio. 

Maybe another good news could be for those who weren't able to plan for the first class, will be able to attend the 2nd class.  Sorry for the change but just let me know if you would like to be included on the 25th. 

Dyeing Scarves for Nuno Felt Class

This weekend I will be dyeing the silk gauze for next week's Nuno Felt Scarf Class. I'm thinking mostly pastels for the coming spring wardrobe. If you have a particular color you might like for your scarf background color, let me know and I will try to come up with it.

This is also a reminder to me that I should have noted "Pre-registration needed" at least, helpful. I want to make sure I have enough materials for everyone so if you are thinking about attending, please let me know.

I did add some driving directions from Allegan to the web page. I think you can also take the US 131 exit at Wayland ( 135th St), go west and the road makes a jog south and becomes 134th St.

January Class Schedule

Winter has arrived in southwest Michigan, the wind is blowing with probably 4 inches of snow on the ground. This is the time I like to have something to anticipate.

With that in mind, two nuno felting scarf classes will be held at the PICKLE STREET SCHOOL STUDIO Thursday afternoon Jan.12 and Wed. Jan. 25.

This is an example of a Nuno Felt Scarf.

The Pickle Street School Studio is located at 2980 134th Ave, between Allegan and Hopkins, Michigan. It is a working art studio located in scenic Monterey township offering a variety of art and enrichment classes.

The Nuno Felt Scarf Class will be from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm. You will create your own one of a kind Nuno Felt Scarf (aka Laminated Silk Scarf) somewhat like the one shown above. The materials provided include a 10 inch x 60 inch silk gauze material, either hand dyed by me or white. Your unique design will be made with merino wool fibers and silk fiber. Class fee is $50 which includes all materials.

You may contact me though this blog, on Facebook, phone 269-673-8800 or by e-mail at mhyarn@marrhaven.com or contact Joy Richmond at 616-896-9090 to reserve your place. Class size is limited. This will be a fun and creative afternoon to brighten our winter. I am looking forward to it and hope you will as well. The Farmers Almanac forecast both dates with clear skies, are you ready to give yourself a gift?

Merino Wool Batt NEW YEAR SPECIAL

Many of us who love working with fiber will spend the New Year's weekend planning for more projects in 2012. We certainly want to encourage more felting and spinning activity. We created 2 SPECIAL Merino Wool Batt with a very special price, only $16.50 for 8 ounces of fluffy soft fiber. The batts are a blend of natural white merino and dyed merino, the first with dyed green has a minute amount of natural white mohair in it.

The second batt is a blend of natural white merino and dyed black. The blend has been carded so you can separate it in layers or divide in strips to get more of a solid color. Of course, the blending gives many shades of pure white to dark and in between heathers. Our web page shows a larger picture and you can order from there with our secure shopping cart.

We hope you have a very Happy New Year and that we may serve you often in 2012.