Greasy winner!

Beverly wins! And you were all so close. I am impressed.
The actual weight of the sheep coat in full grease was 28 oz. Beverly came closest at 29 ounces. Congratulations! More fun and games to follow.

I just returned Saturday night from a week in Seattle working with Earthues and a small group of natural dyers on some interesting projects. Our group was diverse and incredibly talented and I was honored to be amongst them. We made our own handpainted silk ribbon yarns...


and worked through some basic but stunning dyes on two yummy substrates, did some handpainting on shibori scarves, did overdyeing with woad and spent considerable time on current trend colors and their relationships on fabric and yarn.

As always the Pacific Northwest holds a special beauty and this was one such evening on Puget Sound.

Thank you all for your thoughts on the loss of David Hinman, our sheep shearer and friend. I received the news from Jack while I was in Seattle and I was quite set aback while so far away. Our community is small here and such a loss is profound and personal. Jack was able to attend the memorial service atop a hill on David's land in Acworth. 100's attended and it was a fitting farewell to a both unique and authentic man.

In Memory of David Hinman

...our shearer and friend suffered a heart attack and died Monday. He has sheared our flock for 10 years.



God speed. We will miss you.

Greasy!

Phew! It's been four weeks since I returned from France and I am apologetic as all get-out to my loyal readers! I returned in the dark, and I mean dark of the night, from France. I missed my connecting flight from Paris to Boston. I had an hour to connect from my flight into Paris from Toulouse to the flight to Boston but I was in the back of the plane and by the time I got from the gate around the airport on a bus to the right terminal I missed checkpoint security by 5 minutes! So after much hemming, hawing and tears I found a flight into JFK that night with a connector to Boston due in at midnight. I rescheduled my transport from Logan to the farm (hooray for Ken's Transportation in the Southern NH area!!) and arrived back at Long Ridge Farm at 3AM, May 22st. It turned into a full 24 hours of awakeness and I crashed.
Up that morning at 7AM...afterall it was 1PM in France and I was thinking isn't it time for some great food and a splash of wine? After stumbling through that glaring disappointment for a few days (the one where I wasn't in France, eating great food, drinking scrumptious wines and leaning over dyepots or viewing yet another incredible vista) I grappled with my reality and saw my responsibilities looming.
But Luna and Kalie were just happy as could be!

It was time to get the sheep's hooves trimmed, coats changed, de-worming done and some lamb vaccinations, ram lamb castrations, not to mention setting up pasture fencing for summer and a few farm improvements. Here is Lilly, the bottle lamb, having gained 12 pounds in my absence!

And the sheep have moved to pasture....ahhhh.

The baby chicks had leaped forward into young chickhood, the lambs were all chewing cud and boldly moving about further from their moms.



Bianca, our lone adult hen was managing to cover the farm from front steps to the field edges in grand style and overall the farm was bursting forth since my departure to France.
We got the vegetable garden planted with Bianca's help by Memorial Day.

Then two weeks ago an awful spell of weather came through and we had reports of tornado warnings among the thunderstoms rolling through. It was a pretty hot spell and I was delighted to see it go. The weather alerts were pretty ominous so we stayed close to the radio. We got the animals secure in their pastures and barns, tucked in the chickens and waited. It got darker and darker and then the rain came. The weather radio gave us a direction for the storm but it appeared to be headed a bit south of us. And so it was. Averted. But not for Harrisville.

Harrisville, NH is our prior home town and not only holds many fond memories but still many dear friends. I learned that, now what has been coined a microburst, touched down along a route near Wellscroft Farm to Silver Lake to Child's Bog and on to Cabot Rd and Tolman Rd in Nelson.


We took a drive over the next day and saw the force of nature with fury unfurled. Even after 24 hours and 80 trucks and men working many roads were still closed but we did travel along the Nelson Rd to Child's Bog to see one touchtown and back on the Chesham Rd where the destruction was shocking.



Folks endure these storms in all parts of the country but I am always in awe as I stare at the ruins, and think how frightening the moments were before, during and after the fury was inleashed.

Back to chores, as I was washing sheep coats I thought what fun to try your hand at weights and measures! Here I am holding an amazingly greasy sheep coat.


Here's the game:
How much does this coat weigh "in the grease"? Dry and clean this particular coat weighs a mere 8 ounces.

Two part answer: 1) your answer within 1 ounce of the grease weight
2) Share this post with one other blogger and post their blog address along with your answer.

The prize is the Long Ridge Farm Cascadia Mitt kit in Chameleon (green) or Rubia (shown) just released at the spring shows, designed by Jennifer Chase- Rappaport. It's an awesome mitt knit up with my fingering weight Romeldale/mohair yarn.

Game open until 6/27 so spread the word and I'll be posting the winner 6/28! Good luck!

Nanette's last stop

I am in the Bordeaux region. It is absoulutely stunning country. It is the region I feel most at home in since arriving. Having said that, there have been welcoming villages, inns and people all along the trip. But Bordeaux is to behold! Mile after mile of farmland where it is planting time for many crops. Beautiful stone homes and chateaus dot the hillsides. The population is sparse to the amount of land with small villages that accomodate the residents rather than travelers. It is peaceful and agricultural.

The past two days we have all been learning about Woad (Isatis Tinctoria), the European blue. Woad is a plant, native to Europe and belongs to the family of cabbage, broccolli and rape seed.

It has been my first time dyeing with woad and I must say the blue shades we obtained are spectacular.


We are being wined and dined by Kate Hill at her lovely farm on a river.

There are chickens pecking about with a big handsome rooster.Baby chicks are hatching as well as ducks. Recently Kate aquuired two ewes, about 6 months old now.


For the final fling....who am I learning how to dye Woad with? And what breed of sheep does Kate Hill own?

Previous winners welcome....and thank you for traveling along with me! Back to the states tomorrow. Au revoir!

Where's Nanette now?

It's been a non-stop trip so far. Our group of seven are veteran travelers, shoppers and full of the desire to learn and try new things!

We spent three full days in Saigon and traveled to Lauris each day to study in the atelier of Michel Garcia, natural dye expert and former president of the Association Couleur Garance, the French natural dye organization. The course was entitled Printing on Fabric with Natural Coulors From Plants. It was absolutely great to work with Michel. He taught us how to achieve a range of colours from one plant material by adjusting the mordant variable on cloth. It was an intensive but we also enjoyed lunch together each day at Michel's favorite eateries. And the French enjoy food and wine! Wine was included as part of every meal where we ate. That is not always the case but Lauris served with style.

Then we travelled by private transfer to a new auberge a bit further south with our wonderful tour guide Marlene. She knows Provence like the back of her hand and as we had some time after we left Michel until our next destination she drove us to Rousillion so we could see the ochre quarry and also do a bit of shopping. We also toured the ochre museum to see how ochres were mined and created. Rousillion is a beautiful village sitting atop a hill. It has narrow streets, beautiful vistas and small shops dotted everywhere.


We have spent the last three days in another area sightseeing both known and less known attractions.

Where's Nanette?

Atop a rocky outcrop crowned with a castle ruins. The Mistral winds are blowing and it was extremely difficult to navigate the rugged terrain with a constant wind speed in excess of 40mph and gusts up to 70mph. What was discovered there which would be of interest to a natural dyer?

One note.....you only have one chance to win during this series. When I return from France I will get in touch with the winners about mailing your token from France!

Where's Nanette?

Bonjour! I arrived in Paris early Tuesday morning and after a bit of confusion found the gent that would drive me from the airport to the train where I would go to meet up with the rest of my group. However the traffic was a complete logjam and it took far longer than expected. He was very kind and took me into the station which is quite large and got me to the ticket line as I had to cancel and buy a new ticket. Within time I had a new ticket on the marvelous TGV. We departed at 11:15 and I took a seat in the upper level. The TGV quietly travels though the French countryside at about 180mph, I believe! I had lunch in the cafe and listened to music, napped and with a few hours was at my next spot. Here I was supposed to join everyone but they had a glitch also and so I took a cab about 45 minutes to where they were having lunch.

Where's Nanette?

An absolutely beautiful village in the south of France. Within the village was a quarry known for ochre production up until the 1940's. It still serves as a museum and educational center for the history of ochres at this quarry.

Internet communications are a bit of a challenge so bear with me as I travel this incredible journey.

The first person (not privy to my whereabouts) to guess my correct whereabouts will receive a small gift from my travels! Good luck!

Bonne nuit ~ Au revoir

For the bonne nuit part...I am home from the NH Sheep and Wool Festival and as always it was just a great show. The weather was challenging with driving rains on Saturday, leaky roofs and an overall damp feeling. Today it was dry but a gray sky loomed with a cold wind. However that is the best conditions for us fiber folk who love wool! It may sound like a broken record but I love seeing you all....just the comraderie, hugs, smiles and happy faces work for me! Is this a pair of happy faces or what?

They came down the isle by my booth and I just couldn't resist this baby face, or the Mom! 5 months old and just so happy she was, as was her mom on Mother's Day today.

There were a couple of difficult moments in my building...Josie and Tom had to close yesterday as she was rushed to the hospital with a medical problem and then Lars Garrison's wife, Gail, suffered a heart attack late yesterday and her prognosis is unclear. I spoke with Lars this morning and he was more than concerned for her recovery. Please say a prayer for them all, they are mainstays in the New England fiber community.


As for the Au revoir part....I depart for France tomorrow for a 2 week journey with Earthues and friends working with two French natural dyers along with days of sights relevant to the natural dye world. Very exciting and a once in a lifetime trip!

Because I enjoy your company on my blog and would wish you could take this same trip with me I am doing the best next option....

I will be posting blog entries here and there entitled "Where's Nanette?" I will show a photo and a clue as to where I am. It will be your job to determine where I am in France. The first correct entry posted on the blog post will win a token gift from the area in France I am located.

This is for the fun of it....it will take a few days for me to get settled and of course the internet connection challenge exists. If all else fails I will still post the game on my return. The geography challenge exists! Good luck and be well!