GROUSE RIDGE FARM

Winter carrots

2012-01-28T08:11:00.000-08:00

Early last September I planted some winter carrots in my raised bed, along with lettuce and spinach seeds. When the weather turned colder we covered the beds with plastic hoop houses. We ate the last of the lettuce in December and ate a spinach salad last week. The spinach is still alive but done producing until warmer weather. On Monday I harvested these carrots for a chicken stew from our own stewing hens. I baked a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread to round out the meal. Yum, yum.

Maple syrup time

2012-01-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

Maple syrup time is just around the corner. With all our mild winter weather my husband has been able to get the sugar house up. My husband is a wood worker so with Eric Sloanes book "A Reverence for Wood" in hand, he fashioned hinges for the door out of black gum lumber he milled himself from our woods in the fall of 2010. Last year we had an evaporator welded up for boiling off the syrup. There is dry wood in the sugar house so let the sap flow. We only have 1 1/2 quarts left and that is from 3 gallons from last years run.

Small Business Saturday

2011-11-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know next Saturday Nov. 26th, is shop small business day. So don't forget to stop in your favorite small business and support them by purchasing something. This is my latest natural tanned lamb hide. It is tanned using no chemicals or bleach and is for sale on my etsy store.

Holiday Towels

2011-11-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

This is my latest set of handwoven towels. It is a viking twill pattern with a warp of one color and towels woven with different colors. they turned out very nice. I'm getting better at weaving towels, making sure my tension is correct and warp is wound on the back beam evenly. This all makes for very even weaving and an even end product. I will be selling these at the Christmas show here in my hometown and what doesn't sell , will be put on my etsy store.

Open Pollinated Corn Varieties

2011-11-01T17:01:00.000-07:00

With all the talk about GM(genetically modified) corn and grain seed and roundup ready alfalfa my husband and I decided to grow some heritage corn with the help of some Amish friends and Johnny's Selected seeds.The field corn at the top of the page is an open pollinated field corn we grew despite the late start and raccoons. This seed was given to us by an Amish friend who has been growing this variety for several years, organically. The white variety, below is an heirloom variety called Gourdseed Corn also given to us by our Amish friends. An article in the 2008 Oct/Nov. Mother Earth news lets you know all about the origins of this unusual dent corn used for cornmeal particularly in the south. The Bi-colored sweet corn to the right is called Double standard and is from Johnny's Selected Seeds. This sweet corn was not super sweet but had very good flavor and we have peace of mind knowing it is not GM corn.Please be aware of what these GM grains are doing to ourselves and our livestock and make wise choices so that in the future we will have choices.

Pinecone Peaks Mittens

2011-10-31T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at creating a mitten pattern for my naturally dyed DK weight yarn. Now to write up the pattern so others can knit it if they want. I've decided to go with a National Parks theme for my patterns because I was so inspired by the PBS series. My bucket list is to visit as many as I can.

Auction Finds

2011-10-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

This was one of my purchases at a local auction. I love things made of wood and who can resist an old stocking blocker at a whopping bid of $1. I also was able to snatch up two wooden butter paddles in great shape for $17.

Goat Milk?

2011-10-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

My two French Alpine does are still giving enough milk for soft goat cheese's like this French Chevre'. It is seasoned with herbs from my herb garden and rolled in cracked black pepper.

This our new herd sire Castle from Addi-Hill. We are excited to see his offspring in 2012. We will be offering doe kids and milkers for sale.

Dog Biscuits

2011-10-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Found a great dog biscuit recipe, Garlic and herb. I love making my own because I know what goes into them. I had these alphabet letter cookie cutters which worked out great.

Polygonum or Woad

2011-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, a friend Cathy and I took advantage of the beautiful weather and dyed some yarn with the woad I had grown. The day started with the intentions of dying with Japanese indigo which I picked early Friday morning. When I began reading Rita Buchanan's recipe for dying with my polygonum it stated that very little dye is present after the plant had bloomed. Well, I can undoubtably say how true this is. So, on to plan B. We picked about 1 and 1/2 lbs. of woad and proceeded with the dye recipe. We were able to dye two skeins of Cathy's alpaca and overdye two 4 oz. skeins of yarn, one previously dyed with goldenrod. The results were very beautiful skeins of yarn.

National Spinning and Weaving Week

2011-10-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

October 3-9 is National Spinning and Weaving Week. So I've been continueing my stash busting quest in honor of all my fellow spinners and weavers. The fiber of choice is if course BFL and BFL blends. Left to right is BFL/alpaca chunky yarn, BFL/suri(soft and light), BFL/suri with a silk single, plied.

Stash busting

2011-09-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Now that my time outside in the garden is slowing down, I have more time to spin, knit and weave. I have been going through my fiber to see what i can create with what I have. I found some dyed roving and gray mohair and carded batts to spin up in a chunky yarn. I am also finishing a sock and a mitten to complete it's mate. I am warping up my HD studio loom with 8/2 cotton to weave some more towels for Christmas gifts.

A Wool Gathering

2011-09-23T07:31:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful weekend for a fiber festival. Young's Dairy does a very good job pulling this event off. A very family oriented time for everyone, including the vendors like myself. Of course my favorite thing to do is to watch the herding demo, but talking to people all over the area is fun too! I took a little survey and learned that people come from far and near like, Tennessee and just down the road in Kettering. This was my first time setting up at this festival with my friend Cathy Moore. Our little vendor space was packed, all with products from our own farms and processed in Ohio. Thanks all for supporting our small farm businesses.

Honey Bees

2011-08-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

What beautiful weather we're having. Time to rob the bees for the last time this year. My TTH checked for varroa mites and found a few weird wings on some bees so we will be treating with a natural product this fall called Vita-life Var.Despite all the rainfall, and swarms our honey production has been very good. Honey is one of those natural sweeteners that can be good for you and dietbetics can use it in moderation. I put a tablespoon in a glass of my raw goats milk and drink it before I go to bed.

BFL/Shetland Mule Roving

2011-08-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last week I recieved my roving back from OVNF(Ohio Valley Natural Fiber), and is it soft. A blending of white BFL, Shetland Mule and Colored BFL. The color is an oatmeal when spun. I will have this for sale at the Wool Gathering in Yellow Springs on Sept. 17-18. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

Stinging Nettle

2011-07-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

Stinging Nettle is one of those wild plants that you try to avoid when hiking or walking through the woods and creeks, but to the herbalist it is a plant very rich in chlorophyll and has tonic properties for hair and skin. When gathering, long sleeves and gloves are needed but after it is dried or cooked it can be handled with no problems. It can be found growing close to streams and creeks and prefers shady moist conditions. My eight year old border collie, Kate has developed some skin allergies so I will use the dried nettle on her food to help. Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable by Juliette Levy has more information for it's use if anyone is curious.

Dyers Coreopsis

2011-06-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

The dyers coreopsis(calliopsis tinctoria) is starting to bloom. This is it's second year so it is 4 ft. tall. I will pick the flowers off every other day and dry them in a paper sack. The dried flowers are soaked and simmered for less than an hour and then yarn is added after being mordanted with chrome.4 oz. of dried floweres will dye 1 pound of yarn or fiber to a nice brick red.

Kitchen garden update

2011-06-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here is the Kitchen Garden that I said would be finished this spring. I still haven't transplanted all my herbs but am in the process.My THH(turkey hunting husband) did a wonderful job on the fence. One of the best features NO DOGS!

Goat's milk ricotta

2011-06-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

With all the fresh goat milk I'm getting, I've been making alot of soft goat cheeses. An easy one to make is ricotta. Ricotta is made from the fresh whey of cheese that you have just finished, in this case goat milk cheddar. The whey is heated to 195 degrees when another quart of fresh milk is added and then heated back to 195 degrees. The tiny Ricotta particles come to the top and it is ready to drain. I let it drain for about an hour, add a little salt and voila'. I think some homemade lasagna with some fresh spinach will be on the menu this week.

Silk Scarves and sisters

2010-11-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

Last week my twin sister and one of her daughters and my oldest sister and her daughter(who live in Illinois), were at my house along with Paige to dye some silk scarves. I mixed up some dyes and my neice cut up the bannana bread she baked and we dyed and ate ourselves into creative bliss. This is an inexpensive and fun way to make handmade gifts.

corn shucking time

2010-10-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted, what can I say,computer problems. The cold is finally giving me some rest from the outside responsibilities and time to spin and knit. Today my husband and I shucked our field corn that we have grown for cornmeal and brought it into the barn. What we don't want to keep we will feed to the chickens and turkeys. We planted the garlic last week and I sowed lettuce and spinach in the cold frame. The late cauliflower and brussel sprouts are almost ready and none to soon.

Goodness gracious garlic

2010-07-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Last week I harvested my late garlic, which is a stiff neck variety call Chesnok Red. My early garlic game out about a week and half earlier and it is a soft necked silver skinned(don't know the variety). Soft necked garlics keep better than the hard neck so I want to test this theory this winter and see. As you can see by the photo the hard neck did very well, some are as big as baseballs. I will be preparing the garlic bed for planting this fall by adding compost and rock phosphate. I will be planting early, mid-season and late season garlics. I'm not sure of the variety yet but I really like the Chesnok Red.

Kitchen Gardens

2010-07-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

"I content myself then with an Humble Cottage, and a simple Potagere,"(a kitchen garden)-John Evelyn (1620-1706). "The kitchen garden is the best of gardens" is an old adage. My kitchen garden consists of three raised beds with culinary herbs, aromatic herbs and a sallet garden or salad garden. It should be small enough to tend with hand tools and close to the kitchen. Which is the very reason I will be moving my kitchen garden this fall to a plot next to my kitchen. Kitchen gardens from the earliest of times were kept by the women of the household to provide fresh greens for her table. Martha Washington took care of her own kitchen garden. This is what my kitchen gardens look like now but I will keep you posted of my new garden.

Ram and mule

2010-06-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

On Sat. morning my husband and I set off to York, PA to pick up a BFL ram and shetland mule ewe lamb. Our destination was Kathy Davidson's farm and a side trip to Gettysburg. We were not expecting the pleasant welcome of Kathy and her family not to mention the awe inspiring time we had at Gettysburg. The temperature soared to 94 on Sun. but this did not daunt our determination to enjoy our PA trip. Our lambs are safely home and enjoying the new pasture. They will be added to the rest of the flock in a week.

English Roses

2010-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite flowers are roses, pinks and pansies. But not just any roses, my favorite are David Austin English Roses. They are hardy, repeat flowering and the fragrances are hard to describe. The one on the left is called The Pilgrim, but my favorite is Abrahm Darby(below right). A vase of these roses and the fragrance fills the room.

Honey Bees

2010-05-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? Between lambing, kidding and getting early veggies in the garden there seems to be very little time for posting. The first week of May we recieved our shipment of bees. In each package there were 3 lbs of bees and a queen. It was raining when we got them and putting them in the hive body was challenging. They are now pulling comb and foraging for pollen. We feed them sugar water and a pollen patty with vitamins. The honey flow is coming and we need to get the hive ready for gathering by giving them all the help we can.

Towels

2010-05-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

Well I finally finished the waffle weave towels I started over a month ago. It took me over 2 weeks to warp and less than a week to weave 2 towels. I liked how fast the weaving went with my new boat shuttle. I will definately weave more but my next project will be a table runner.

Got Kids

2010-03-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our daughter came over with the grandkids. They love coming to grandpa and grandma's, can you guess why? This is Mya our 6 year old granddaughter who loves the baby goats, and it apppears that they like her too!

Lambs and border collies

2010-03-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

Although the lambs could care less about the dogs their moms react a little differently. They are very protective and will charge a dog. We have put our older dog on the moms and lambs and she took a wide circle around the flock. She has been butted before. One of our 2 year old male dogs brought the sheep in off of some wheat my husband let them graze on and he did real good. It doesn't matter how small of job it is to the dogs it is all work.

French Alpine Kids

2010-03-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

On Thursday my 7 year old alpine Annie had triplets, 2 bucks and 1 tiny doe. All are healthy and doing fine. It will be good to have goats milk again. I plan on making some swiss cheese this year too. My husband is making me a cheese press.

Carrots in March

2010-03-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Yesturday Dave and I went out to look over the garden. He was looking at the rich soil that 10 years of composting goat manure has made and I was pruning grape vines. I walked over to a spot where last fall I had planted some carrots. I had left some in the ground planning to mulch but never got around to it. There they were just as crisp as ever. All that snow had done the job for me. So Dave grabbed the garden fork and I cleaned the mud off and took them inside and washed them off. Boy are they ever sweet and crisp. That was a nice surprise. Don't they look good.

Spring Renews Faith

2010-03-10T05:24:00.000-08:00

Cold frames are excellent for wintering over spinach and greens that are hardy enough to take the cold. Seeds can be started in late fall and then mulched to help keep them from freezing until now. I have to admit that I forgot to cover mine with mulch before the freeze but the good Lord provided lots of protection with the snow. Won't be long and we will be eating fresh greens. The cairn(a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark) that sits in my culinary herb garden is a landmark that reminds me of the faithful ness of God for our Grouse Ridge Farm.

Feathered Friends

2010-02-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

Late February and early March is an excellent time to clean out those bluebird houses and make ready for the arriving bluebird pairs. Our houses can be opened from the top by a couple of screws and put back very easily. The houses are about 4 feet off the ground and about 100-200 ft. from our garden. Behind the houses is a woods and in front open yard and pastures. Many times I can see them perched on the fence around our garden or on an electric line directly over our fruit trees. We also have a Baltimore Oriole who builds it's nest in our walnut tree every year. This year I also plan to put out more houses for the wrens, because last spring I counted 5 pairs nesting near the house.

Feathered Friends

2010-02-24T08:41:00.001-08:00

Dyeing to Dye

2010-02-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

What to do when there are 10-12 inches of snow outside? DYE! I had some cochineal in my dye stash so I dug out my recipes and found one that I thought would suit my need. Skeins from left to right: cochineal, indigo overdyed w/cochineal, indigo overdyed w/weld. The recipe I used was from a handout I got from Carol Leigh at Maryland when I purchased the cochineal. The same basic recipe is in Liles book on scarlet red with cochineal. I used cream of tartar and tin as mordants and put them right in the dye bath. The dark reddish, purplish, ground cochineal turned scarlet as soon as I added the cream of tartar to the dye bath. This recipe was easy and I would recommend it for a got scarlet. The indigo skeins were some I had from last spring and since I had a cochineal bath going I just added the two skeins of indigo. The third skein of indigo was from an appalachian vat recipe, probably 6 dunks and the weld was grown in my garden two summers ago. I had dried it for just this purpose. I used two ozs. of dried weld simmered it for and hour, strained out the weld and added the wetted skein with no mordant. The green is more forest than kelley which I get when I use black oak bark dye over indigo.

Wonderful Wool

2010-02-10T16:59:00.000-08:00

With all the snow we have been getting, it has left me with alot of inside time. Last spring I spun up a three ply light worsted yarn from my BFL roving with intentions of knitting a cardigan this past fall. Well here it is! I started knitting on it in September and fininshed it last month, and is it ever warm. Just in time for all the cold and snowy weather. I am not a fast knitter but I am persistant. Hope this winter has you happily knitting too.

Canned Venison

2010-01-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

With deer hunting season finish until next fall, I am freezing, smoking and canning venison. Canning meat is very simple and easy if you own a pressure canner. I would recommend getting one if you are considering canning anything. We purchased one over 25 years ago and it is still working without any repairs needed. If my memory serves me right I think it cost about $65, not bad for a 25 year investment. A Ball Blue book is invaluable for canning recipes and time tables for both pressure and hot water bath canning. Mine has seen better days but I always know where it is when I need it. Pack fresh cubed venison in sterilized jars, a teaspoon of salt, place lid with ring on and into the pressure canner it goes. Can at 10 pounds pressure for 1 hour and 15 minutes and you have preserved meat.

Woodstove Cooking

2010-01-14T17:27:00.000-08:00

A few years after my husband and I were married we purchased this cookstove at an auction in Indiana where we were living at the time. This was our second attempt to buy a wood cookstove at an auction, because two weeks prior a similar one sold for over $400. This was our day, not only was this stove in better shape but we bought it for $250. It has two warming ovens on the back and a 10 gallon water resevoir, for heating water. That was over 25 years ago and I'm happy to say it is still doing it's job. With all the cold weather we've been having it has been especially nice to have this baby fired up. It has an honored place in our home, hence the name Home Comfort.

Looking Ahead

2009-12-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

As we take this time to look back over the year and what we might do different in the coming year, my thoughts and plans turn to next summer's garden. The new year is when we gather all the seed catalogues and make our choices for next years garden. What varieties did good for us and what ones didn't. As I make these selections I will post them for you, so you too can know what varieties have proved themselves year after year in our own garden. We plant hybrid and heirloom seed. One we plan to try this spring is an heirloom open pollinated sweet corn and letting it dry on the ear for grinding into corn meal. Fruit trees can also be pruned now although late fall and early winter are better for the trees. Even though there is not alot to do outside, we can minimize the business of spring by being prepared now. Sharpen the hoe, take care of broken handles, (my husband custom makes hickory handles) oil in sand makes a good preservative and cleaner for hoe heads, forks and shovels. Let's be ready.

There were shepherds abiding in the fields

2009-12-21T16:58:00.000-08:00

With Christmas just days away, may we stop and remember what the true meaning of the season is. Glory to God in the highest,on earth, peace and good will to men. Merry Christmas to all.

Yarn

2009-12-18T16:16:00.002-08:00

I've been blending and dyeing some fibers to create some new skeins of yarn. This first skein is Suri and BFL it has a nice demi luster and drape. This dye combination I call Envy.

This second skein was created by drum carding strips of solid color BFL/mohair fiber side by side on my carder and spinning a singles yarn starting at the same end of the batt to create a consistent pattern. Then I plyed it with a singles white BFL. This dye combination I call Festival.

Farmers Market

2009-12-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

Most Saturdays you'll find me at the River City Farmers Market in Marietta, Ohio, selling yarn and woven rugs. I really appreciate all you knitters out there who have purchased yarn and have encouraged me with your compliments. I will begin posting dates of when I will be at the market for your convenience. My yarns are handspun and are one of a kind. Wool yarns are from my BFL sheep and the alpaca yarns are from local alpaca breeders in Monroe and Washington Co. I am always warping up my rug loom for new and different rugs using recycled clothing. This Saturday the farmers Market( located at Washington Co. fairgrounds) will be open from 9-2 for all you shopping for handmade Christmas gifts. Free raffle tickets will be handed out for items donated by vendors and drawings will be made this Saturday, so come on out and see what the more than 45 vendors have to sell.

Winter Fare

2009-12-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

Deer meat is now plentiful in our household and two favorite ways to prepare it are either jerked or made into salami. I have had a few comments on my salami recipe and I am considering marketing packets of the spices to mix yourself. Since I am new to this sort of thing I am getting advice from someone who is marketing her own spice mixes and condiments. My goal is to have it ready by next deer season(2010).

Well winter has set in and that means no more greens from the garden. I have no greenhouse(yet), so getting fresh greens in our diet can become challenging. I get tired of lettuce from the grocery store so I am sprouting seeds. Through the process of sprouting, the starches and proteins in grains and beans are broken down into simple sugars and amino acids, which are simpler for the body to digest, and their high enzymatic value makes them arguably the healthiest fresh food on the planet. (Fresh Food from Small Spaces) I think alfalfa are my favorite. It takes only 4-7 days to sprout most seeds and they keep well in the fridge.

border collies

2009-11-24T05:59:00.000-08:00

What can I say about this versitile breed. About 7 years ago a 4 month old border collie pup was given to me, and since that day Kate as we call her has been a worthy helper. As soon as she settled and learned her name the training began. I can say that I've been training dogs in obedience for many years but nothing could have prepared me for this experience. It wasn't long and Kate was training me. Since then we have gotten a litter of pups from Kate and I am training a couple of them. The 23rd Psalm has a whole new meaning to me.

Spindles and Soap

2009-10-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

This past month I've been making goats milk soap with lard from our neighbors hog they butchered and our lovely goats milk. The oatmeal/almond/ylang ylang helps exfoliate helping make hands soft and smooth for spinning. The lavender/clary sage is anticeptic for those dirty gardening(or barn) hands. I've also been painting more folk art spindles to sell with my Lunch Bag Spindle Kits. Check out the leaping lambs and what about that border collie herding them around, literally. These kits have been a big hit at the farmers market. Priced right and portable.

Natural Tanning

2009-10-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Last week we butchered a lamb and instead of using a commmercial tanning solution, I decided to try my hand at brain tanning like the indians did. As the photo's show, I first scraped the hide and then washed it. After spinning the hide in the washer, I applied the brain (which had been mashed and mixed with 1/2 cup water) to the skin side working it in with a flat stone. I then folded it over skin to skin and placed it in a plastic bag for 6-7 hours. When I removed the hide from the bag, I let it begin to dry and as it dried I streatched and pulled the hide to make it soft. I like the result better than the commercial tan. The finished product show the lock formation and more of the true color of the fleece. I'm happy!

Putting to bed

2009-10-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Today I planted my pink daffodil bulbs. I have also dug the madder and dried it in the loft of the barn. The last of the veggies, brussel sprouts, broccoli, fennel, carrots and cabbage occupy their corner of the garden and the rest of the garden has been sowed with wheat. I will mulch the garlic bed with shredded leaves or put it to bed as they say. In the cold frame, I will sow lettuce and dig a hole for the rosemary pot and mulch it with straw to winter over. The border collie dogs are getting some work taking the sheep to the pasture on the hill in the morning and bringing them home at night, keeping the pasture close to home for later this winter.

Best Tess

2009-10-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Oct. 7 I said goodby to my faithful and loyal corgi Tess. She died in her sleep while I was away. I wasn't expecting this of course, because I thought she would live forever, after all she was a corgi and only 11 years old. I guess that is old in dog years. I still find myself looking for her when I go outside or come home or rattle the milk bucket. She lived in true corgi style and died that way, being the boss(or Welsh as we say). This post is in memory of Tess, truely this farmers friend. I'll post a picture as soon as I am able.

Collections

2009-10-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

My husband's Aunt Johnie is an avid collector of all things nostalgic. She has a collection of anything imaginable.... and unimgainable. She always brings out her latest collection at our family reunion, which this year, was an array of old aprons celebrating textiles from by-gone years. Looking amoung her collections of odds and ends, my daugher photographed a few interesting items that brought back memories, and a few laughs.

This particular photo (above) remineded me of my cheerleading days at Talawanda Highschool in Oxford.

This car looks so 70's.

This is the nostalgic part I was talking about....

Family reunion

2009-10-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

On Friday Oct. 2nd we went back to Indiana for a family reunion. Our trip took us past Ohio Valley Natural Fibers, so I was able to pick up my roving. Now, I have almost 5 lbs. of soft BFL roving to spin. Even though we arrived at non-business hours, Kent Ferguson opened shop and gave us a grand tour of the mill. These people love what they are doing and it shows in the end product. Corn fields and soybean fields were ready to harvest and those Indiana sunsets are always a treat.
Being able to see my husband's mother, aunts and uncles, cousins, brothers and sister-in-laws took away any homesickness I had recently acquired. As we headed toward home and into those beautiful SE Ohio hills, the fall colors were abundant. I needed to take that fall road trip, and it left me more than satisfied.

Herding video

2009-09-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

This is me working our one of our Border Collie pups, Ty.

Autumn Dyeing

2009-09-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

I love to dye in the fall. The crisp air and the nice breezes to dry skeins of newly dyed yarn. Today I dyed 2-ply suri alpaca in rich fall colors. I am using commercial acid dyes and creating my own mixes. I plan to get my roving back from OVNF this week and can spin up some DK weight yarn and dye with natural dyes. I will also dig up my madder this week if rain doesn't stop me and dry it. Colored knitting is beautiful with natural dyed yarn. I started knitting a cabled cardigan in 3-ply Blue-Face Leicester yarn that I handspun last Spring and Summer. The cables pop out very nicely.

Farmers Market

2009-07-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

For the last month on Saturday mornings,

I've been taking produce and fiber products to

the farmers market in Marietta OH. I've had

good success with my items and have sold out

of my all natural produce. It's been a little hot

to push the yarn, but I have sold roving, yarn

and homemade spindles.

I have quite a clientele who visit my stand weekly. I try to have one item every week made from fresh herbs on hand.

My lavender shortbread was a big hit! Yes, it is eatable!

Dairy Goats

2009-06-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Our small herd of French Alpine dairy goats provides us with sweet milk and homemade cheese and soap. Our milkers consist of 2-3 does producing a gallon or more of milk a day. This spring has brought lots of milk so I have tried my hand at making goats milk cheddar and colby cheese."Goats Produce too" is an excellent book for anything about goatmilk.

My woven rugs

2009-06-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

I have been weaving rugs for about 8 years. I have a two-harness rug loom, and a four-harness HD studio loom. I like to create my own designs, but I also enjoy weaving traditional Mennonite rug patterns. My rugs are made of 8/4 cotton warp with wool and cotton rags as weft. In the future I plan to weave towels and runners.

Comments and/or new ideas are appreciated!

About Grouse Ridge Woolens

2009-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

We are a small natural homestead located in SE Appalachian Ohio. Our life consists of a small flock of cross-bred sheep and Alpine dairy goats. We also specialize in working and training Border Collies for use on stock. I have had a growing passion for natural living that has inspired me to create a small home buisness of fiber preparations, weaving and gardening. This also includes raising and homeschooling seven children as part of our christian lifestyle. An old Shaker saying "Hands to work, hearts to God" has influenced my husband and I to teach our children to not be afraid of hard work and to work as unto the Lord.