Monday, February 16, 2009

~ Monday hodgepodge...........

Life is fairly quiet here at the moment. That is a good thing. The weather has been pleasant and we have finished several small barn projects. Now we are in a holding pattern until spring arrives other than babies will be here soon. Everything is ready for the mama goats to give birth. I love babies :)

This is Ribbon and Lace. They are Pygora goats ( pygmy x angora) and are both bred to our caramel colored Angora, Amos. This combination gave us chocolate babies with caramel points last year. I'm hoping to get at least one light colored kid this year. I have one other white doe that is due as well. Baby goats are so curious right from the get go - it's one of my favorite times of the year.
I followed the recipe for no-knead artisan bread in the new Mary Janes Farm magazine. The first batch did not come out well. The bread was very heavy and did not rise as it should have. The second time I made sure I measured the flour and water that you add each day exactly for what was called for. The dough was much thinner and stickier. I used two cups of the "mother" on Saturday and added salt, honey and flour. Let it rise in a pan on my warming shelf all day and baked before dinner. It was yummy! It really takes only a minute or so each day to add the flour and water. I'm going to try again this week and add herbs and garlic. I like the fact it does not need yeast in order to rise, the recipe doesn't call for sugar and you do not have to knead the dough. That and I can add anything I like to the dough before I bake it. My family was so anxious to eat it that I couldn't get a photo before they cut it. It looked similar to the photo above. We had warm bread with home made, fresh butter. I can only do this once a week. None of us need any more bread than that!
I've been slowly working on the new shawl. I've decided to over dye some of the gray yarn an elderberry color. I'm going to use the elderberry with the natural gray to weave a shawl using the pattern in the shawl below that I made a couple of years ago. I think the colors will complement each other well. I hope to get the yarn dyed this coming weekend. I'm anxious to get started.

I dusted off my spinning wheel and found time twice this past weekend to do some spinning. I'm spinning up four ounces of Gotland lambswool. Gotland sheep come from the Swedish Island of Gotland. They have long, lustrous curly fiber and its a dream to spin. Gotland fiber only comes in shades of gray from light to dark. Gotland sheep are not imported into this country. The American Gotland Sheep Society was founded in 2008 by a group of people interested in Gotland sheep and they began an artificial insemination program, inseminating specific foundation ewes with Gotland Ram semen. When the association was formed, less than 50 crossbred Gotland sheep existed in this country. If your interested in learning more about these great sheep, go to http://www.americangotlandsheep.com/.

Gotland lambswool

Tyler has a one hour Karate class each week and I try to have a "pocket project" to take with me. This week it's magic stripe socks. I have the hardest time making socks for myself - the patterns are always too big. I have a Tylerfarm Simply sock pattern that a I sell with my finn yarn and I re-worked the number of stitches and started this pair. I was so anxious to get one done and surprisingly - it fits!! The second is about half done. Now I'm anxious to wear them. I don't normally like to knit with this fine sock yarn, I get impatient - but it was a gift and I love the colors. I'm finding as I knit more, I'm getting more proficient and projects aren't taking so long.

~Wishing you all a great week ~

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ribbon and Lace are so cute.
I love the shawl. It is beautiful!

Soon, I plan on trying bread making again. Just as soon as I find time.
It is on my to do list.
Have a great day.
pam

Gayle said...

I would love to knit socks...I think it could be addicting, but I get confused just reading the pattern. Maybe I can find someone to walk me through it all. Your socks are beautiful!

Kara said...

Hi Debi! I got the ornament it is wonderful. Thank you!

Great post, can't wait to see the complete ornament exchange post.

Phill said...

Oh! So cool! I thought they were Angoras at first, but thought I might be somehow wrong. I've never seen a Pygora before - really cool! They are gorgeous. The knitting is just beautiful.

Yellow Jacket Ridge Angoras said...

They are quite lovely ladies in waiting :-)

Unknown said...

I love the word "hodgepodge"...it reminds me of the inside of my house! The pygora goats are just great. I am getting pretty excited about the Nigerians & Patty having babies....of course I will be a nervous wreck as the time gets really close. The bread sounds awesome; I have been wanting to try it, now I know I have too:) Love that magazine!!

threecollie said...

That shawl is gorgeous! What a fantastic color and pattern and it is amazing that you made it from start to finish. Awesome!

Carmen S. said...

Your farm is so beautiful and peaceful looking, I LOVE the pics of all your furry farm babies!

Deb said...

Pam,
Thank you :)
Finding time to do everything we want to do is the hardest part!

Gayle,
Socks are very addicting! Once you get the hang of it, you want to keep making them. The possibilities are endless. Good luck :)

Kara,
I'm glad the ornament reach you ok and that you like it.
I'm waiting for the rest of the photos and will do an "ornament post".

City Mouse,
Thank you :) - the pygoras are a nice cross. They stay a manageable size and give us a nice supply of fiber each year. They normally have twins or triplets without help and are gentle and friendly.

Yellow Jacket Ridge Angoras,
Thank you :) We love our girls; we love Mr. Amos as well. You would never know he's a buck, even during breeding season. Always the gentleman :)

Kristi,
I'm anxious for your babies too! Nothing to be nervous about - goats have been giving birth for centuries ;) Just watch and enjoy the ride. Being the "Grandma" is the very best part.
The bread was tasty but plain. I'm anxious to spice it up a little. Let us know when you give it a try.

Threecollie,
Thank you :) It really is amazing when I finish something! I sit and work on things in little bursts of free time. You know what thats like :) I was very happy with the finished product and am anxious to do another.

Carmen,
Thank you and thanks for visiting. I hope you stop in often.

Jennifer said...

I love those pygora goats, beautiful! Makes me want a couple of them!

Lisa said...

My husband has been trying to make bread for days now... its making him cranky ;)

Nice looking bread (and socks)