New Adventure: Chickens, part 2

Well, we don't have the new adult chickens yet.  So it appears to have been a good move to get the 6 chicks to keep our lone surviving hen company.

They are growing fast.

They started to escape their trough last week, so I moved them out of it.

As of yesterday, they are exploring beyond their corner of the Chicken House and starting to run after little things that move.

I have not let them out into the larger coop yet.

Fluffy Face was crowing this morning.

I didn't know that hens crowed.  Apparently it's common and is related to claiming territory.  Since the chicks are getting larger and more interested in exploring, I think this makes sense.

The chicks are 3 weeks old as of yesterday.  I imagine another week or two and all of their baby fluff will have been replaced with feathers.

Fiber Arts Friday: New Normal Socks, part 2

Apparently I have not posted progress on my New Normal Socks since this initial post almost two years ago.

I did find some in-progress photos from about October 2020...

Toes/feet complete. Ready to begin the gusset.

Gusset is finished.

Then right about the time our move got into full swing, I realized the thicker yarn meant fewer stitches.  Which meant I did not have enough stitches to complete the heel in typical fashion.  I set this project aside to think about it... until about July of this year (2022).

Not only is winter coming and I would love to have a pair of thick/warm/hand-knit socks, but I also want to use these US3 needles for another project... So I sought to learn how to do an Afterthought Heel.

What I learned is these are called "Inserted Heels."  The ones I found are called Afterthought, Forethought, and Peasant.

Resources:

Louise Tilbrook - Afterthought Heel

Interweave - Inserted Heels; Afterthought and Peasant Heels

Peasant Heel Videos:

I really like the technique described in the second video...

Armed with the information above, I found some left-over black Cascade220 for the heels.  While it's not the same make of yarn, it is the same gauge and should look nice with my existing New Normal yarn.

I removed the gusset stitches and partial heel.  Fortunately I already had lifelines in place, so this part was easy.

Then I checked the length of the foot part of the sock against my ankle bone, using Louise Tilbrook's instructions above.  I needed to add ~2.5 inches.

With the extra ~2.5 inches, lifelines,

and and one row of pink waste yarn on the heel-side.

I will continue knitting the "tubes" until I run out of New Normal yarn, and then make the heels later.

I'm feeling much better now that this problem has a solution.  :-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Summer Cardigan, part 2

Summer Floral Cardi, Yarn Chicken Status...

• The Back Upper-Panel is complete at 92g with 20g of it's skein remaining.
• The Lower Panel is just shy of 50% complete and has consumed one full skein, 118g.
• The first Front Upper-Panel is also nearly 50% complete and has used 14g thus far with 101g remaining.

Therefore I expect to need the following in order to finish this project:

• Lower Panel (118+small %): 120g
• Front Panels (14x3): 42g
• Stitching four panels together and making sleeve caps: UNK

At this moment, I have 20+101g or 121g remaining.  Which means I am at least 41g short in my initial purchase of yarn.

So I am very happy to have received the additional yarn, but will likely only use half of one skein.  I really(!) like working with this yarn... so the extra 4.5 skeins bought in late July will not go to waste.

I've also run into a point of confusion on the first Front Upper Panel... I believe I have crocheted everything correctly up to this point, but the instructions on Row 10 don't jive with the stitches in Row 9.  There are no errata available at the time of this writing.  So this will require more study.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

New Adventure: Chickens, part 1

As part of our new place, we inherited a flock of chickens.  Which means the Alpacamundo Farm currently has Alpaca, Tibetan Mastiffs, Nigerian Dwarf Goats, and Chickens.

The First Year with Chickens

There were 16.  Three of which were Roosters.

The ratio should be closer to 1 Rooster per 15 Hens.  So the laying hens had large bald spots due to being over-bred by too many roosters and the roosters had been fighting with each other.

With the help of a Chicken Farmer Friend we identified which Rooster to keep, and began making plans to cull the other two.   However, due to a series of predation events we lost 2 roosters, including the one we wanted to keep, and gave the third to our neighbor.

The good news is that this all happened in time for the remaining hen-flock to re-grow feathers before the cold weather of winter.

I spent the winter improving the health of the flock.... adding calcium, grit, and higher protein organic feed, as well as treating for mites.

By the time laying resumed in the spring, the egg shells were quite hard for all but one of the hens, and everyone was looking good.

We had a lovely summer with the flock of 8 hens.  They did a great job of keeping the grass hopper and other bug populations under control.  As well as pooping all over the sidewalk and being a great source of entertainment.  :-)

Making Plans for the Future Flock

A couple of weeks ago, Hubba and I started talking about adding birds to the flock.  We began studying the Livestock Conservancy's Priority List to start figuring out which breeds would be good for our area and goals.  The plan was to add chicks in November/December so they would be old enough to start laying in the spring.

Then due to a mistake on my part, we lost all but one of our flock to predation just before dawn, on Monday.  FYI, this is a terrible way to be woken up.  :-(

Clearly we needed to make some process changes, and get a small flock together ASAP.  The one remaining chicken, Fluffy Face, was stressed being by herself.

Another friend offered to give us a few older-adult hens, but it would be a week before we could get together  So for the intervening week.... I found and purchased live chicks from a local ranch-supply store on Monday afternoon, and dove head first into caring for baby chickens.  ack.

Baby Chickens

My hope is that the chicks, while in their own area inside the coop, will be enough for Fluffy Face to feel more comfortable until the adults arrive next weekend.

Monday was a stressful day for her, with a lot of changes.  So she was suspicious of the new equipment in the coop.

I decided to watch the coop from the house, in order to give Fluffy Face some time and space.  Then went into the coop around dusk to turn the Heat Lamp on, and do my evening check.  I found Fluffy Face thinking about roosting, but still cautious of the new residents.... baby steps, but they are in the right direction.  :-)

For the Tuesday morning check, the Heat Lamp kept the chicks warm overnight, and everyone was vocal and active.  WooHoo!  Everyone survived the first night!!

At the midday Tuesday (yesterday) checks, Miss Fluffy Face was watching the chicks.  All of the chicks are eating and drinking.... and Miss Fluffy Face seems a bit more relaxed now too.

Day 3

Today is Wednesday and we have two nights under our belt.... Fluffy Face is becoming more interested in spending time with the chicks.

I've been handling the chicks a little each time I go out to the coop.  This is to encourage them to trust me and eventually be easy to catch and vet when needed.

As of today, the chicks are officially 1 week + 2 days old!

They are Rhode Island Red, which are on the Livestock Conservancy's Priority List.  Though, I suspect these are "industrially" produced.

At this point I don't know if I have hens, roosters, or a combination.  The producer endeavors to provide only hens, but it is not guaranteed.  According to what I've read, I should have a good idea by about 6-14 weeks.

Next time I, hopefully, will be able to talk about successfully introducing a flock of adult chickens.  *fingers crossed.*

Fiber Arts Friday: Organizing the Stash

On my To Do List since before we decided to move our house and farm has been to update and organize my Stash.

I'm generally pretty organized here, but with my Scrappy Palindrome and the recent Frogging of WIPs, I know that everything is not in my Ravelry Inventory nor is it in the proper bins.

I believe that all of my clean fiber has made it's way to this area of my studio since our move, but it's lack of order has been annoying me for a while now.  So I've been thinking a lot about how I'd like to organize this area...

I've noticed that Tapestry Weavers tend to organize by color.  Conversely, Knitwear Designers seem to organize more by weight (gauge).

Either display/organization strategy is nice to look at.  I especially like the gentle gradient of color across a wall of yarn. However, I don't think there's one best way to organize anything, as long as:

1. everything has it's place and
2. you can find what you're looking for when you're looking for it.

So, after contemplating these strategies for some time and then taking advantage of a few hours of alone time, I took the first step... emptying everything out of the bins.

I piled according to fiber content, then within each pile I sorted by color and format.

What I learned from this exercise is that I really don't have a lot of dyed fiber, that my formats are all over the place, and that I have a lot(!) of silk to spin.

So ultimately, I decided to stay organized by Fiber Content.

I don't love having a variety of bins stacked against the wall... but this is now taking up half the floor space.  Each bin is a unique fiber, labeled, see-through, and keeps the fiber free from dust and bugs.  So this is good for now.

Hopefully, I'll be able to find a beautiful armoire for fiber storage in the future.

I have not yet bounced my actual inventory against what I have recorded in Ravelry.  That will have to happen on another day, along with my tool consolidation.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Dog Show: Greeley Kennel Club, 2022

 Whelp, it's been a while since I've had a dog in a show...

Ramen and I went to Westminster last summer (2021), which was an amazing experience.

I had entered Wilma in the Greeley show a couple of months later (August 2021), but she had a cough the morning before, so we decided to keep her at home.  Kennel Cough is typically not serious, but it is highly contagious and we did not want to be the source of an outbreak.

Then our move started ramping up and we unexpectedly lost Ramen to cancer a few months later in December (2021).

***

Wilma and I went to a few classes in the recent Spring (2022), and I helped a friend with her puppies at the Laramie, Wyoming show in May (2022).

Laramie was my first time anywhere near a ring since losing Ramen.

While I was very happy to be able to help my friend with her new generation, I was feeling very sad and emotional about Ramen not being there to compete.  He just loved showing so much and it was our thing that we did together.

Then Ramen's sister, Aspen, got sick and we lost her in July (2022) to a different cancer... heartbreaking.  But at least we knew it was coming and took the opportunity to spoil her.

Add in a long work trip and a couple of injuries... and well, it's been a while.

***

I'm finally in a place where I can go on this journey with Wilma, and not regret that Ramen is not here to participate... So first up is the Greeley Kennel Club Show.

Wilma and I started going to class again in early-August (2022) and I felt happy about getting ready to compete.  We practice at a couple of venues; one indoors and one in a nearby park.

She really enjoys going to class and seeing her doggie and human friends, as do I.  :-)  The different venues provide exposure to different surfaces, dogs, judges, and potential distractions.  All good stuff in my book.

The day before the show, I took Wilma to Tractor Supply for a bath.  They provide everything.... shampoo, towels, high-velocity dryer, warm water, and a tub for about $10.  Even though we brought our own shampoo, this is seriously a great value for the do-it-yourself-er.

Then I went to the venue to set up our grooming space and help a friend organize trophies for another event.

Late August in Greeley is typically hot and we show outside, generally close to noon.  So I had been preparing ice, fans, and cooling mats to help keep Miss Wilma cool.

This year, however, we had earlier ring times and cooler weather, coupled with excellent use of shade by the Kennel Club.  It was quite comfortable.

Wilma showed extremely well and was willing to work in the ring, even when she was tired... from watching where we'd been on the drive over.

And keeping an eye on what everyone else was doing.

On the last day, she barely started to relax.  

It's hard for a guardian who wants to be aware of everything that's going on.  :-)

Wilma was awarded Winner's Bitch (WB) all three days.  This is the best, female, class dog of the day.  Class means non-champion.

She also received Best of Winners (BOW) on the first day.  Meaning she was also the best over the boy class dogs that day.

On the second day, one of the class boys won Best of Breed, so he was also BOW and no boys were present on the third day so BOW was not awarded.

We also had an impromptu Judge's Mentoring Session.  We answered questions, discussed the most important characteristics of the breed, and let the Judge-in-training get her hands on Wilma.  Educating people about Tibetan Mastiffs is probably one of my favorite things to do.

Wilma watched where we'd been the entire way home, even though she had to sit closer to the front because the grooming/kennel equipment was in the way-back.  lol.

Finally, she was delighted to visit with her alpaca before I put her to bed for a good, long, nap.  :-)

Wilma now has 3 points toward her Championship Title and we have a couple of things to work on before the next event.

The Greeley Kennel Club Show is one of my favorites.  It was the first show I ever attended.  It's convenient to our location and the venue is excellent.  This year's Saturday Group Competitions were broadcast live on AKC.tv and available to stream now.

Fiber Arts Friday: Summer Cardigan, part 1

I had been thinking about this project for some time.  I love the simpleness and subtle feminine feel of this design.

I also liked the idea of working this in cotton as the pattern calls for.  However I did not want a 100% cotton yarn, which can be tiring to work with since it does not have much give... and a 100% cotton will sag if the garment is too heavy.

I found the perfect yarn at Yarn Fest earlier this year and bought 3 skeins.

The yarn is a Merino + Pima Cotton blend, all grown and milled in California.  This is a natural (un-dyed) yarn with loads of character.

I have done very little crochet in recent years and have done even less to a written pattern that needs to be a specific size when finished.  So this entire project is an experiment for me.

The written instructions for the Floral Array in the top portion of the cardigan was confusing...  Specifically the Horizontal Petal.  I just did not understand what it was telling me to do.

So I bought a copy of the dictionary that the stitch pattern came from... which didn't help much, other than making it clear that the cardigan pattern was written correctly, and that my trouble was me.

I finally found this YouTube video, which is for a different but related stitch.  After watching it a few times, and going back to the schematic in the book, it finally started to make sense.

After a few more tries, I got the Horizontal Petal figured out and was then able to move forward relatively quickly.

It doesn't look too bad in this photo, but this pattern will benefit from blocking, which I will do before stitching the four panels together.

The nice thing about having a pattern that is constructed in sections is that I was able to work on the lower piece which is only double-crochet and practice consistent tension while I contemplated the Floral Array.

At the moment, the lower piece is about 30% complete and the Floral Panel is about 50% complete.  The two upper-front panels are not-started.

In weighing my progress and remaining yarn, my concern about not having enough yarn is growing, so I ordered a few more skeins in late July.  The pattern calls for 880 yards for the size I am making and I have 900 yards.

So, if we assume that I am crocheting at the same tension as the author and that each of my skeins are exact in their measurement... this is going to be very close.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!