Elmlea Farm

Winter is coming

2011-12-08T14:00:00.000-08:00

Doesn't seem that long ago I was enjoying the sun and heat of summer and now it is just two weeks until Christmas.
We have our Alpaca rugs in store and all of our delicious coloured mohair.Ice Blue,Sage green,Cranberry,Royal purple,
This Saturday and next come and see us at the Lindsay Farmer's Market Christmas Craft Sale.At the Armories in Lindsay.

Summer

2011-09-11T05:38:00.000-07:00

Well it was 7 out when we got up this morning.I'm in the middle of finishing up some wild apple butter in the slow cooker. After we pour some more cement this afternoon to try and get closer to finishing the stone wall that collapsed this spring,I think I'll spin this afternoon. There are some alpaca/cashgora batts that I want to finish and also a light fawn very fine alpaca fleece that when knit looks pink.
I'm finally catching up and getting all this year's fibre looked after. This fall I will have some awesome felt rugs and a good selection of batts,rovings and socks.
Come and visit us at the Norwood Fair on Thanksgiving weekend.

New puppy pics

2011-06-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

Well we only have 3 puppies left. 2 males and 1 female.

Shearing

2011-06-13T06:10:00.000-07:00

Shearing is done.Even better,I can walk again to-day.Now the fun starts. We have 70 bags and 1 barrel of fibre that needs to be grouped,skirted,and then I need to decide outside processing,for sale as raw fibre, or do I process it myself.Don't think I'm ready for that to-day.
We also confirmed that we will have at least 3 more babies. Yeh!

Old English Babydoll Southdown

2011-05-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

My new babies are arriving tomorrow. Inkspot is a little black ram and whiteout is a white girl.

New kid on The Block

2011-05-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Another new baby. Our first coloured angora. A very healthy little boy,faded red with a wide white belt. Can't tell what his fibre is yet,but if it has the Angora characteristics I'm one happy goat owner.
Our puppies are going to get their initial vet visit to-day and then Watson will go to his new home. The litter is in the process of being registered and then I can list the remaining babies on the CKC website.

New puppy pictures

2011-05-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

The puppies are growing by the day and are finding that their favorite thing to do is play in the grass. They have discovered kibble and Mom only feeds them once or maybe twice for short periods of time each day.
They will be ready for their new homes after they have had their first shots.

KIDS

2011-05-10T06:22:00.001-07:00

The first kids have arrived!These two Angora x Cashmere bucklings are everything I had hoped for. They have the mohair fibre characteristics with some cashmere finesse. They are healthy,happy and sooo much fun. But because we 3 bucks already they are for sale $150.00 each.

Mohair rovings

2011-05-05T05:20:00.000-07:00

I tried spinning fat mohair rovings last night with the bulky spinner on my Ashford Traditional. They are soft,lofty and what a shine! I can't wait to make a big huggy scarf with it. I'll post a pic when I get it made.

Babies

2011-05-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

The windstorm passed and we only lost our power for a couple of hours. Just down the road they were out for 4 days.
Almost finished shearing the goats. One left. The first Cashgorra babies were born yesterday and at the same time Mama Muscovy brought her flock of 12 ducklings out. Over the next month we will be busting out babies on a regular basis.
Looking forward to doing a felting demo at the Celebrate Havelock show on the 14th. of this month.
The puppies are now on puppy kibble and water. Mama really doesn't want anything to do with them unless she can play with them outside.

Spring puppies

2011-04-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

Emmi,Maggie,Nessa,Kenna,Duff,Watson,Hamish are looking for their new forever homes. They are now 4weeks old and will be ready to go in another 4 weeks. They will have had their first shots,be de-wormed,registered and come with a full medical history. We also give a one year health guarantee excluding environmental circumstances. They will bring with them their own puppy packs.

Spinning Cotton (Download) - Interweave

2011-04-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining and tomorrow my granddaughters are coming to visit. Perfect Easter weather,which now leads me to think about lighter fibres. I'm intrigued by cotton. It is so fine and soft and to be able to take those little bolls and using the spindle or the charka or maybe your spinning wheel is quite amazing. I've found an e-book download that looks like something I might be tempted to give a try.

Spinning Cotton (Download) - Interweave

Herd update

2011-03-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

Spring is here! Well maybe. The shearing has started and we are now looking forward to the new babies. This also means we need to evaluate our fibre needs and decide what we want to do this coming year.
We have decided to offer for sale some good quality animals whose fibre and conformation is above average and compatible so you will be getting the most for your money.

PIPPIN: Reg.# Can. 28174..... fibre:07 / 25.6 ..... light fawn........proven herdsire........ $800.00

ELMLEA MARY: Reg.# Can. 34288-H Fancy/Multi.... fibre:08/22.2.....multi-rosegrey....... $1200.00(preg.)

TRU DIAMOND: Reg.#Can.34187-H White ...... fibre:10/22.8 ........ $1200.00(preg.)

KRINGLE: Companion Silver grey............$400.00

SILVERMAN:Reg.#Can.39274-H Steel Grey........gelded male..........$400.00

ELMLEADIAMONTE MOCHA: Reg.#Can.36199-H Brown.....mahogany brown.....fibre:10/22.2....$1200.00

SNAP Northumberland West - The Fibre Artists Collective Show & Sale

2010-12-02T05:46:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas is getting closer,so trying to keep up with the demand is getting to be more fun all the time.
We'll be in Lyndsay at the Armory on Dec.11 and 18 at the craft sale.
Our sale in Port Hope was quiet but the people that came out were very appreciative of the quality of items at the tables.
You can still buy gifts from any of the artists by contacting them or me.
I've posted a story and some pics of that day.

SNAP Northumberland West - The Fibre Artists Collective Show & Sale

Craftworks and flat I-cord

2009-10-18T04:32:00.000-07:00

Well Thanksgiving is over. The Norwood Fair was a busy pl;ace in spite of the cold. Our 15 minutes of fame on CHEX TV went well.
We now have our product at Craftworks in Peterborough(www.peterboroughcraftworks.com/). The booth looks good and the building has been really well renovated.
I've found a quick and easy method for knitting scarves. You use flat I-cord(knit one,purl two, knit one),when the cord is as long as you want your scarf to be,take a med. size crochet hook and crochet two rows of double crochet around the I-cord. At the corners crochet a double crochet,one single crochet and then another double crochet into each corner to square them off.
I've also been busy taking some of the neutral Alpaca yarn and Mohair and dyeing them with food colouring to create some accent yarns for the scarves and mitts.

Mad September week

2009-09-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

One show,one fall fair, TV taping of a Thanksgiving dinner, write up some minutes for an Executive meeting, and Thanksgiving dinner in Kingston. If we survive this week with no major screw ups we can survive anything.
Come see our booth at the Norwood Fall Fair Thanksgiving weekend.
We'll have yarn,felt insoles, rovings and batts. I'm also knitting and crocheting like crazy. All made with the lovely soft fleece from our alpacas.
With any luck we'll also have mohair products for sale that weekend.
It is getting colder so it is also time to shear the rest of the goats,before it's too cold.

SEPTEMBER

2009-09-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back!!! It's been a busy summer. With four new babies and 1200 bales of hay to put in time flew. Everybody is saying what a horrible summer,I found the cooler temps far easier to handle and was able to accomplish more.
Trying to bottle feed a cria and a kid goat took up a fair part of the day.
After much experimentation I finally discovered that a combination of KID GROW/1tbls. plain yogurt/1tbls. corn syrup and 1/4 c. 35% cream per 1 litre of water, gave the babe what she needed using ingredients that were readily available.
I'm going to the Norwood Fair on Thanksgiving weekend,The Fibre Artists Collective "Touchable" show Nov.7 10am to 8pm. and that same weekend I'll be in Peterborough at the "From the Hand of Man" show at the Memorial Center Nov. 6,7,8 2009.

2009-07-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Still haven't got the fleece sorted for the mill,but I think the house in Eganville has been sold and we did get the first hay in without any rain.
My grandkids will be here Sunday until Friday. Yippee!!!!!
Still waiting for two more cria,I can't understand why they all need to wait the full year. I'll post pics when they're all hear.
I need to look for a good fingerless mitts pattern to knit. I'm almost finished my first hand spun,hand dyed knit scarf.

Canada Day

2009-06-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

I'll be spending CAnada Day at the Havelock Legion craft and bake sale. We'll see if people are interested in wooly and warm items in the summer! Maybe somebody will be looking to buy some cuddly alpacas or even better a herd of Angora goats.
We start cutting hay Friday and it would be nice to not have to cut as much.
My wonderful second son is delivering my corner buffet tomorrow and getting some of the wiring done at the barn.
Welcome Amy! Maybe we can keep in touch this way.

2009-06-27T06:43:00.000-07:00

Found a great new pattern for knitting a lace shawl @ knitting daily. This site is a gold mine for patterns and info. I also find that Ravelry.com has many useful groups and is a good place to get any knitting or spinning questions I have answered.
It's truly amazing the amount of info and the network of people that I didn't even know existed until I started this journey into the world of natural fibre manipulation.
Now if I could only find somebody that could teach me a method by which I could remember were I am in my lace knitting pattern,life would be complete.

2009-06-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

How come nobody can figure out what the weather is going to be more then 12 hours ahead?
Trying to cut hay when the weather forecast changes every 8 hours or less,is almost like trying to figure out what the stock market is going to do!
Still waiting for two more babies(cria)! Maybe this change in air pressure will push them out.

June 2009

2009-06-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

June 24th. 2009
My first blog post.
This should be interesting! With hay to make and fences to build, I have no sense of how much time I will have to update this blog.