The Great Susonnni Will Reveal All...

It seems like I just did an FAQ but Erin and I are getting many emails asking the same questions over and over again,which means that lots of you are unclear on the same things and this seems like the best place to bring everybody up to speed.

1. Where's my yarn/roving/fleece? I bought a Fall Share...why didn't I get my yarn in the fall?

If you have a Fall 2008 share what you own is a share of the fall 2008 Shearing. The "fall 2008" is referring to the shearing date, not the delivery date of the yarn.

We did the Fall 2008 shearing on October 25th. After the fleece is sheared we deliver it to the mill to be processed. At that point, the control I have over when we will get our washed fleece/roving/yarn back ends. That's really, really hard for a control freak like me. So I spend a lot of time choosing a mill to process each shearing and turn-around time is a HUGE factor in which mill I choose. The mill we are using now had an estimated turnaround of 12 weeks when we dropped our fiber off. 

That does not mean that the mill went right to work on our fiber. There were people in line ahead of us, and the truth is that no matter where you take your fiber, the majority of the time at the mill the fleeces are sitting patiently awaiting their turn. When last I spoke with the mill, they had gotten behind during the holidays and said they would give me a new ETA sometime next week. Personally, I want them to do the job well, rather than quickly. Once the fleece is processed there is no turning back, you know?

As soon as I know more about when to expect the yarn I will post it here. Promise. Cross my heart and hope to die. We know your anxious- we're anxious too! Just believe that we want you to have your yarn as much as you want you to have your yarn, okay?

2. What did you decide to name the church/yarn shop?

Unfortunately, we have had to put the yarn church project on hold due to the fact that we can't get anyone to install heat until the spring. We purchased three wood stove waaaaay back in September and spent more than three months trying to first get on the an installer's schedule, then waiting for one to show up for an appointment. One guy stood us up five times. Five flippin' times. The next company we engaged gave us an estimate 200% higher than Mr. No Show and couldn't do the work until February anyway. At which point I gave up, curled into a ball under the covers and started hitting the bourbon. 

The thing is, with everything else we have going on right now- the book, the new website, the Hudson Valley CSA, the new ewes-  it felt a bit like we were trying to force the yarn shop too quickly and against too long of odds. We will revisit the idea in the late summer for opening next fall. In the meantime we have turned our heated, glassed-in porch into a smallish shop and you are more than welcome to by and fondle the yarn when you're in town.

As for the name, there are one or two I am trying to decide between. But I haven't decided just yet.

3. Will you be moving back to Martha's Vineyard?

Of course! We have a our spring shearing schedule for April 18th and we are lonesome for the Island. We still have a lease on Tisbury Meadows, our Vineyard Haven farm, but are looking for more grazing land. If we can't manage to work out all the details, we will be moving a smaller number of animals back, but I don't think it will come to that.

4. When are the Spring Shearings?

The Martha's Vineyard Shearing will be held in conjunction with the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Fest like last year on April 18th. The Hudson Valley Shearing Day Celebration will be held on May 9th. Anyone can come to either or both. Yes you can bring your family, your friends, your knitting group, a blind date, small children, large children, you guru, your hypnotherapist and your facialist. Only dogs and rodeo clowns are unwelcome. Don't get me started on rodeo clowns...

5. When is the new website going to be up? Where's our lambcam? 

So glad you asked. The new website is schedule to be up on January 15th with a new online shop, your favorite blog and a reader's photo gallery. And that's it. 

Just kidding! The lambcam (or "lambcamb" as Rebecca Blood's husband brilliantly named it) will be up and running too. If this stupid storm that is beating the crap out of the Northeast lets up, that is. We were supposed to be setting the cameras up today (and worming the nanny goats, and picking up hay, and getting the oil changed, and, and, and...) but the falling snow made that impossible. Hopefully we will be able to get it all set up before I leave on Tuesday.

We are also going to be doing some spectacular giveaways to celebrate the new site launch so be sure and visit everyday and comment for your chance to win.

Shearing Day Photos

With Patrick out of town for the weekend, Erin and I were on our own for shearing day. We got up at five to start rounding up the goats and setting up the shearing pens.

We used Andy Rice this year instead of Jeff, our regular shearer. We sheared the first goat, Roquefort, at 7 a.m. over at Tisbury Meadows.

Shareholder Jenny and her cousin Leslie made the trip from Boston.

Erin couldn't resists holding Chipotle, her favorite little peanut of a goat, after his haircut.

We all took a break for lunch- Thanksgiving sandwiches with pumpkin cake and brownies for dessert.

I'm always astonished by how clean the goats are after shearing. This is Hannah after her turn in the barber's chair.

We were a little worried about the little kids being cold after the shearing and with rain in the forecast we didn't want to take any chances. We gave all the peewees their own shelter and penned them in. We also put sweaters on some of the smallest kids.

Cini doesn't like changes in routine and pouted all day after the shearing. 

It was a lovely day all around! Erin and I worked our behinds off. The shearer didn't do anything but shear, leaving all of the goat "management" to us. That meant we had to catch each animal, pass them to him, take them after he finished, worm them, delouse them and give all the kids vitamins and iron. 

By the end of the day we were beat! And we still had to do our regular farm chores. We got home around 7:30 p.m., about the time Patrick was getting home for New York. Then we collapsed.

Thanks to everyone who came for the shearing. The Spring Shearing will once again be part of the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Fest on April 18th, 2009. Mark your calendars and start looking for cheap plane tickets because this year's festival is going to be even bigger and better than last year. 

Shearing Day Rescheduled

The Fall Shearing Day Celebration has officially been rescheduled for Saturday, October 25. The only caveat is that we will have to stay on top of the weather forecast because the rain could wreck everything again. I will keep looking at weather.com and let you know how things are looking.

Fall Shearing Day Postponed Due to Weather

Very bad news everybody. The forecast for the weekend has changed from rain all day Saturday to rain Thursday, Friday Saturday and Sunday. We could barn the goats for up to 24 hours to keep them dry for the shearing but it would be a health risk to keep them indoors long enough to get them sheared this weekend. Sadly, we just made the decision to postpone the shearing until the end of October, which is the shearer's next availability. I will post here as soon as we confirm the new date with him.
I know some people may have non-refundable travel plans, so we will be doing a farm day on Saturday for those who still want to come. I have to warn you , though, to wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty in, boots and a rain jacket. Just let me know if you would like to come.
I am so sorry about this. I was so looking forward to meeting some of you and seeing some old friends again.
I am going to send this out as a constant contact email now, so you will see it again in your mailbox.

Mark Your Calendar

Our Fall Shearing Day Celebration is scheduled for Saturday, September 27th. And it's going to be a blast! 

We are joining forces with the Ag Society's Live Local Day and Annual Potluck Harvest Dinner Dance. The potluck is my very favorite event of the whole year on the Island and I'd love it if you all can stay for it. I promise, you will love it!

The only catch is that everyone who come to the potluck has to bring a dish to feed at least six people. Now, I know most of you will be coming from off-Island and won't have access to a kitchen. But if we can get a really good r.s.v.p. count Patrick and I can make arrangements to bring enough for everyone. So I will definitely need to know if you are coming in advance. These people don't mess around when it comes to their potluck.

If you can stay overnight and will need a place to stay the MV Chamber of Commerce (remember, I used to work there?) is a great place to start. Don't let anyone tell you that there are only expensive places to stay on MV- there are all kinds of price ranges and late September is generally considered "shoulder season." I will work on getting some special deals for all of you and I'll post them here.

You can save money (and a lot of headaches) by coming over without a car. There is a pretty good public bus system and there are plenty of cabs available too.

The Spring Shearing Day Celebration will be April 19th

Hooray! We have a date. Finally we have gotten the okay from our amazing and talented shearer, Jeff Traver, and from the MV Ag Society. I apologize for taking so long to finalize the date for this- getting everybody to commit to a date was like trying to keep kittens in a box.
Now we can get to work on the details and there will be gazillions of them. We are inviting all of the other sheep and goat farms on the Island to participate, so there will be a great selection of handspun yarns for you to buy if you are interested. I am also putting together a schedule of classes- nothing super formal, just things you can drop in on. I have already spoken to Rebecca Gilbert about doing a dyeing class and I believe their will be someone doing rug hooking as well, something I know nothing about but would love to learn.
The Ag Society fair grounds are such an amazing place to hold our Shearing Day. The Ag Fair, held there every August is an important Vineyard tradition and so much fun. It's very innocent and wholesome without being at all kitchy. It is absolutely my favorite Vineyard event of the year.
Until now, of course.
Pat and I go to the Sheep and Wool Show in Rhinebeck every year because a) it's near our house in New York b) our friend Sara is the president of the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Growers Association that puts the show on and c) we run the Angora goat show. Pat is the M.C. and I tell everybody where to stand. We love helping out at the show and we almost always buy some sheep equipment from the vendors that we only see once a year, and we love seeing and sometimes buying animals there. But, otherwise, I find the whole festival overwhelming. There are sooooo many vendors selling beautiful yarn and roving and sooooo many people in line to buy beautiful yarn and roving. It's like the mall just before Christmas. I just can't focus.
I'm hoping we can make Shearing Day into a small fiber festival with the feel of our Ag Fair.
If you can find a cheap place ticket to Boston for that weekend- BUY IT! I can't wait to meet everybody.
In other news, my camera broke today. Well, not the camera exactly, the lens. I am really bummed out about it, first, because I like to take lots of pictures during kidding and the timing just couldn't be worse, but also because the lens broke in the exact same way in September. It took two months to get it back from Nikon last time.
I love my camera (Nikon D40) but the service is terrible. Beyond terrible actually.
I ordered a new, longer lens from Amazon that will be here on Tuesday but in the meantime I am without a digital camera. I may shoot some film if we have any new kids this weekend but I won't be able to get it developed and digitized until next week anyway.
The three kids, Thyme, Sage and Chive are doing beautifully! Sage and his Mom (Formerly known as 15, now named Maria Von Trapp) were released from their kidding pen today. I decided to keep Chive in for another 24 for hours. She is doing much better, she has lots of energy and is eating well, but she is still a little weaker than the others and I want to be sure she will be able to find her Mama (formerly #8, now Fran Fine) when they join the herd.

Isn't she a beauty? The orange band around her neck is something we are trying for the first time this year. When the kids come out of the kidding pens they tend to sleep together in a little pile of goats. Its absolutely adorable but, because they get their scent all over each other, occasionally their moms loose track of whose kid is whose. It can lead to two nannies fighting over a kid or a kid being abandoned. This hasn't happened to us, but you hear stories and we wanted to avoid it. (Pretty much everything that can go wrong with sheep and goats has happened to us; I always assume that the rest will soon.)
The neck bands are great, because you can write the kid's name and mom's number on them and it's easy to tell from a distance who you are looking at. I decided to make it even easier by putting orange tags on the doelings and green on the bucklings.