Hand Dyed Yarn to date

I work in "spurts" at my fiber loves; perhaps felting a number of different pieces one after another.  Then no felting for awhile but knitting or dyeing wool/yarn takes front stage.  The  weather also adjusts my production, or at least what was planned in my head.

The past few weeks have been productive both inside and out.  The sheep are sheared, their wool has been processed into roving and that is now in the shop, new fences set up to keep the lambs corralled, snow peas are up in the garden and several new hand dyed yarn skeins are ready.

This is the latest one added to the shop and website, called New Greens, inspired by the many tree leaves that are out so early.   Earlier 2 other colors in the purple/blue range were added and almost ready is a teal combo and a brown.  Of course, if you have viewed my hand dyed yarn or wool before, you know there is never a solid color (or rarely) I love playing with colors.

Needle Felt Purse

I always enjoy seeing the finished projects of our customers; especially ones that are first creations in a new wool art form for them. Teri Jackson of Georgia certainly did not disappoint.

 It is obvious from the photo that she has very firmly needle felted the merino wool; the design features are well embedded.  She said to make sure the handles were joined completely she needled them until she felt her hand was going to fall off.  She was going to do a little wet felting to insure the handle strength. I think she should be very proud of her work and will enjoy her new purse.

Before and After Sheep Shearing

The unusually warm weather we experienced so far this year probably made the ewes look forward to removing their wool coats.  Fortunately the few days before the shearing date, the weather cooled and the photo taken the day before, they look very comfortable.

The month old lambs tend to "hang" together.

Lunch time.

The day after shearing, sun feels sooo good!

Merino rambouillet Yarn Special for St Patrick's Day

To honor my long ago Irish ancestry I enjoy celebrating St. Patrick's Day.  This year our green heather merino rambouillet yarns can be a celebration for you, too.

For St. Patrick’s Day, the Green Heather sport cones and Green Heather worsted skeins are 17% off. A one pound sport cone is $28.22 and 4 ounce skein is $7.05 for this week. Go to http://www.marrhaven.com/yarn.html#special to order.

Fiber Art & Painted Art

Sally Goins owner of Starry Night Studio & Gallery thought it would be fun for both of us to do the same subject in our own medium. 

She had just finished the daisy with bee drawing in colored pen and ink  pointillism;  a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form an image. 

I printed her picture and began layout with merino and silk fibers.  This is about midway through the layout. 

The original size was 16 inches by 20 inches, after felting it was about 12 x 15 inches.  I forgot to photograph it after felting, before I gave it to Sally to take to the Gallery.

Of course, the layered fiber colors blended and softened with felting so I think I was fairly close to her design.   It was a fun project.

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 used the chart on the Wild Bird Watching site to try and get the size appropriate.  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.