There is a family from Denmark staying at Cragley Cottage in West Burton this week and they have been making friends with the locals!!

This is a picture that they took from the back garden, with our little Max coming to say hello! 
They have turned it into a family postcard... Its brilliant and what a view!

Max is so confident these days that he came for some individual attention........ he always likes a stroke whenever there is one being offered.....    Nice one Max !

and Thank you to Brita Lee for sending these lovely pictures to me! Hope you have a great holiday again on your return visit to West Burton!  

........... especially when you bring this incredible weather with you!

I've spent the last couple of days in the shop, making sure that the finishing is as good as I can get on the rugs I've woven. 

I decided that one would have a turned hem at either end and the other would be fringed. 

As you can see, the turned edging gives a nice neat uniform look and the fringed is much softer.  I'm still doing the first row of knots, and will do 3 rows in total so it will be much more decorative, then both will be washed and brushed to soften the texture and get rid of any potential shrinkage. 
 

If you follow my blog you will know Peewee (Melody) very well, she was born in February 2013 and was lamb of the year....... the most mischievous and adorable little character I've ever had the pleasure to rear.  

She has grown up into a charismatic girl, who can still get her nose put out of joint if I spend too much time with another sheep but is also capable of being as needy and affectionate today as she was at only a few days old. She still likes to sit down on the ground when I ask her, with her head on my knee and we can spend too many hours in each other's company... lolling about for no other reason than to spend time together. 

..............And just look what she has presented me with, 18 months after her birth, a gift that only she could give, and for which I will be eternally grateful..... and what an acreage...... a fleece of fine soft dark chocolate with caramel tips.. its gorgeous and never to be repeated as its her first years baby lambs wool.

Yesterday I half filled a black plastic dustbin with hot water and added a very large helping of washing up liquid.. pushing the fleece into it gently until it was completely submerged. I left it to soak in the solution for 2 hours to release all the lanolin and dirt and then drained it out... adding fresh clean water at the same temperature until the water was coming through relatively clean. I take pains not to agitate it too much as I don't want it to felt at all.  I laid it all out on wire racking to dry slowly in the sunshine, turning it over this evening to reveal the beautiful caramel tips which have been naturally bleached in the weather over the fleeced lifetime while still growing on Pees....... I hope I can card it so not to loose this dramatic combination or colours, but it'll take some doing.  Thank you Peewee!  

We have been trying to mow a field all week, but the weather has been against us..... There has been the threat of storms and heavy showers so we haven't taken the plunge.

This morning we are going to make a start with a friend coming to mow in the next hour, as there seems to be a window with a few days of good weather coming up.  The odd light shower won't make much difference, but the sunshine in between should dry the cut and turn it into hay for us to bale. This field is to be turned into small bales so that I can use them without needing any help. They are so much more maneuverable that big bales, I can load them in and out of the pick-up and the trailer, and take them wherever the sheep are located. 

It's great for us this year, as during previous years we have had to buy a hay crop to feed our livestock over the winter, and it's never cheep, so being able to harvest our own will save money, we'll possibly be able to have some surplus to sell as well, and its really satisfying to be self sufficient.

I'm delighted with the results of my Axminster yarn rugs. I put on a 5 meter warp using some really earthy colours from bought from Texere in Bradford, good old internet, with a weft of berber bought at the same time...... they were really helpful when I described what I needed.  My initial idea was to make warp faced rugs, but I obviously didn't pack the warp tightly enough, something I can put right next time.  I always write notes about what I'm making, for future reference, but also to allow me to make adjustments if a design takes on a life of its own!!!

The length of warp has allowed me to make 2, 5 x 3 ft rugs to sell in the shop, with enough left to make a mat for our home, lovely to have something for ourselves, a sample to remind me of what I've created in the past.  

This weekend, if the expected storms allow, I hope to wash Peewee's fleece using my dustbin method and then to get it dry on my makeshift wire rack hung between two dining room chairs on the patio. With a bit of sunshine it doesn't take long. Just need lots of hot water and washing up liquid to gently soak out the lanolin. With very little agitation and time to let everything cool slowly it won't get felted.  Then I can start to card it on my drum carder to align the fibers and remove any remaining bits of "field" and then spin for England. It's one of the most satisfying and relaxing pastimes producing in this case, miles of naturally coloured chocolate brown yarn... yum! 

I also want to re-warp the loom, using my newly learned "tie on" method which saves so much time. I have a commission of 6 cushions to make with my Ryeland wool, so I'll probably make double, with some to sell in the shop.

I've also just acquired another loom, the smallest Varpapuu, the same manufacturer as the big loom in my studio, from Marion, who is downsizing hers. I want to clear the dining room of all my junk, and redecorate it so we can start having friends round for meals again, and to be able to give lessons in weaving. With 2 small floor looms to use in a nice relaxed, calm atmosphere, it should be ideal! It'll be nice to pass on the skills I have learned and the omeet some like minded folk!

You won't be aware of this because I haven't mentioned it for reasons of privacy, but we have had a real time of it over the last year with aged relations... I'll mention no names as its not right, but they are now safe and sound to live out the rest of their lives in safety and comfort, so Nigel and I can try to get back to normal and I can start to spend more time in my lovely shop, with our animals, and our friends and talking to you guys, one of my real pleasures.

We finally sheared the last 7 of our sheep, and took Peewee and her gang to the field we use in North Walden. Its a beautiful spot on a steep hillside, the owner asked us if we'd like to use it last summer. I popped up there at the weekend to see our 11 reprobates, who saw me coming through the gate and charged down to see me, a considerable distance....... I gave them a treat of nuts and a spray of fly repellent as its the time of year, they can be a real nuisance. We had already given them an application on their backs to prevent fly strike, but this doesn't stop flies buzzing round, which drives them to distraction!

Then I had a cuddle with my lovely Peewee, and one by one they all came for some individual attention, ending up with the boy Jonty, who just leans his head on my chest so we can be as close as we can....... then Misty started to leap about like a lamb just behind me, Jonty joined in, although he was standing between my legs at the time, but he was really careful not to land on me... finally they all joined in and then charged up and down and round and round for the sheer fun of it. I remained on the ground laughing and the more I laughed the more they ran, round behind me, then away and then straight for me.. knowing that I was having as much fun as they were...... it was pure joy. Fully grown sheep do look hilarious when they behave like charging lambs!

Peewee has darkened down and looks more like a velvet covered goat now she's been sheered and her fleece is incredible, her first, never be as soft again as its her lambs wool.  It is a deep chocolate brown, with a really long staple, and I can't wait to get it clean and then spun into yarn... a job I can do in the evenings in front of the telly..... there will be tonnes of it, so I will have to make something really special.... perhaps something to wear... as well as some soft furnishings for our home...... Ooooh the possibilities are endless!

This weekend we will be spaining our lambs from their mums, and I'll be introducing Daisy-May to her new companions, Winkle, Dinkle and Socks. The boys are getting too boisterous for her, and Mitsie has obviously lost control of the situation so its time for a change. We can't keep all the lads this year, just Eric probably, as he is turning into a rather good tup, with a wonderfully playful attitude, just like his father Dudley and Uncle Vincent, and could be useful. Bertie, Bob and Max will have to get used to the main group, but they'll still get my special attention! 

The Yorkshire Dales are all back to normal after the most bonkers weekend with the Le Tour De Yorkshire passing through.  Literally thousands of people turned out, although not as many as had been forecast by Welcome to Yorkshire.  If you watched on T.V. it seemed that a high percentage of spectators managed to make their way to the Buttertubs..... what a spectacle it was.

We had thought ahead and removed most of our sheep from the course. There are 7 fields that we use which were en-route, as we didn't want anyone opening gates or jumping in with our girls and their lambs..... I would hate any of them to be frightened by people that they are not familiar with......

it was really only Vincent and Dudley who were left to their own devices and they like to sit at the top of their field away from the road anyway.  Mitsie had been put into the top of Home field above the camper's village at the bottom, to babysit my pets........ They were weaned a few weeks ago, but still need to have a reassuring cuddle, and a snack of creep feed twice a day.... 

Daisy-May who is the youngest is so beautiful, she is very demure, much softer than the others who are all boys. She is used to their protection and has evolved a much more "thinking" strategy to getting what she wants...... she is always the first to come running towards me when I enter the field, and walks with a shoulder touching me boots when we walk along.  I no longer pick her up as she is too heavy and it's not so comfortable for her either, so now I sit down and we spend ages with her entire head in my cupped hands and my cheek gently resting against the "ryeland" fringe which is slowly sprouting from her forehead.......... She is Dudley's daughter, crossed with Freckle, who is more mule, hence her wonderful nature..... She looks completely different from her brother, who is still with his mum....... and is definitely my little girl!......... 

I wonder how Peewee will react if they are ever in the same field?........... more about her and the reprobates soon!

It started early with setting up the field behind the Reading Rooms with the table, food, bar-b-q and straw bales for the days festivities.... Thanks everyone and to Pete for the instant seating!.... and then after a more relaxed cuppa, we all went down onto the road below to wait for the entourage to drive past. There were hundreds of people lining the course......  All waiting for the main event... 

Eventually there was a cry from someone, "Here they come" The riders could be seen from way up the road as they came over the hill having completed the first speed race to The Street Head Inn at Newbiggin... There was the sound of helicopters above, and then the leader came past in a flash... There was a long pause... followed about 3 mins later by all the other racers... There was so much noise... with whooping from the crowd and then some people started to run with the cycles... they were so closely bunched that it was to imagine how there aren't more accidents.......

I was on the verge sitting down as close to the edge of the road as I could and it was thrilling to see all the main group speeding towards us... they were on top of us and then past so quickly that it was hard to make the decision to watch or to photograph........ They were followed by all the back-up vehicles carrying spare bikes and parts, there were dozens of them all trying to keep up with their team members......... so exciting!

When it had all gone past we retreated back to the field for an afternoon of champagne, beer and delicious food......  

....oh and lots of great company... 

When the roads opened again I popped over to see if Daisy-May and the others were ok... We had taken them to the top of Home field so they were away from the crowds.... and I also went round to open the gate at the top of Mrs Whaley's field so that the sheep could come down close to the road again...  They were all fine............ Tonight we have a beer festival in the village and then we can all get back to normal.............. what a brilliant day!!!

It's Friday.3rd July...... the day before the true madness of the Tour de France in Yorkshire starts........ although we have already had some moments..........

Home Field, which is usually filled with sheep has been turned into a small village filled with some rather lovely "Glampers" from London....... We hired the field out originally to accommodate 30 campers with 2 portaloos.......... however, this has grown over time as the whole booking took on a life of it's own.... we ended up handing the whole thing over to the incredibly organised Nicole and her team......... they really are fantastic!

We now have 6 portable showers with their own hot water supply, 6 portaloos, 2 for girls and 4 for the boys... more lads to accommodate now, and the girls wanted them kept separate for obvious reasons, several thousand liters of drinking water, a catering wagon, a marquee with furniture for eating and music, and lots of little matching red tents.......... looks great actually......... even with the enormous divots where most of the delivery vehicles got stuck in one place or another........ hey ho... have tractor will drag!

Most of the sheep have been moved off the course to more gentle surroundings as we don't want them frightened...... or let loose for that matter.... however Mitsie and her 5 little charges are fastened into the top of home field so that Nanny McHawkins and her grandchildren can give them some TLC as we won't be able to get to them for 24 hour once the roads are closed........... with Sammy and her gang fastened into the top of Mrs Whaley's Field, with Dudley and Vincent next door........... They will all be fine!

Saturday for us will be spent overlooking the race in the garth behind the reading rooms where we have an enormous Bar-b-q organised... Champagne to start, tons of food, hot and cold, and gallons of booze.. should be a really good day with fine weather forecast............. Just can't wait!!!!