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.

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.