Hello Fiber Friends! Things are new here. You know how one thing ends and then new possibilities seem to be everywhere - when you leave a job or move to a new place? Or when little things can sometimes make you feel like a whole new person?
We are now People Who Make Found Fences and Dye Variegated Yarn. Oh! And who have a new baby goat…but we often have them, so that probably doesn’t count.
I also know what a turnbuckle is, which is something I didn’t previously know, so that’s new too.
First, the shop news! There is currently an automatic discount for free shipping within the US on orders of $75 or more. No code needed.
And, I’ve added some new things! There are project bags in fun fabrics. I’m not really a fancy dress and pretty rooms kind of girl, but I am a sucker for beautiful fabric, and I would totally become a Jane Austen character if I could wear these pinks. The prints feel like the Regency era to me, but I’ve thrown in some modern dots too.
There are also new cat bags! I only had small scraps of this fabric, but the cats are still the center of attention.
I’ve added some yarn to the shop. I spent an afternoon playing with dyes and color in a new way. I handpainted some skeins, which came out fairly consistent. I also threw color around in a pot, creating yarns that were wildly different, even though they were all in the same “dyelot.”
There are fingering and DK weight skeins available. Because this is totally new, the yarns are listed at a discounted price. I really like the skeins and would keep all of them to see how they knit up, but I’m trying to be realistic about our summer. We’ve already made big strides in regaining our farm capabilities, which brings me to:
Found Fences!
It’s not very glamorous, but fences are one of the three pillars of farming (water and poop management being the other two). Before we can get our seedlings into the ground, we need to make sure the chickens and goats can be convinced to leave them alone. Note: the sheep would never disturb our garden because sheep are sweet creatures, while goats and chickens are masters of destruction.
I built a fence using garbage! We have a lot of old, leaky drip tape that was used to irrigate previous gardens, and I wove it into the Classiest Goat Excluder you’ve ever seen! In the background you can also see our new tunnel - soon to hold cold-tolerant plants. It is also largely made from reclaimed materials, including big cattle panels that were here when we moved in, and have already lived 16 different lives. My favorite was using them to make a bean tunnel! Green beans are the best reason to farm. The best reason, except for baby goats…
This is Daffodil Leah Bean, commonly known as Dilly Bean. She is a very confident and bouncy girl born recently to Peaches. She might have some cousins on the way soon, but until then, she seems pretty happy being the center of everyone’s attention.
Finally, I am in the early stages of a papermaking journey. Do any of you have papermaking experience? I have read all the books in the Indiana library system about making paper with plants (it’s four books. And two of them are the exact same book with different titles). I hope to report more soon!
That’s all the news from here! The free shipping on orders of $75+ will last until the end of the month. The discount is automatic for US shipping.
Please keep in touch, knitters! I’m off social media, but love to see your photos and project updates. Email me anytime at jsmoskal@gmail.com
Be well,
JoAnna (and Bill and Dilly Bean)
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