Amber Beck Fiber Arts

Lots of yarn, and a puppy too :)

2008-05-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

I'm horrible about updating this blog, and am still not quite sure how I feel about these things. I admire the people who blog as a part of their business, and are contstantly updating with wonderful pictures and info. I think I've been way too sick this year to keep up with this! Here I am recovering from an illness again :(

I did manage to get some spinning done, though! Once I felt well enough to sit for a while, it was really nice to spin. Don't worry ladies, I won't be sending any cooties with the yarn. There's one custom that I won't show you, but probably next week ;)

This yarn turned out great. I still have to spin 2 ounces of matching trim, but the main colorway is all done. This is from the soft blend (merino, targhee, rambouillet). I love how "fluffy" this fiber is. Of course, I'm a big targhee fan. I know that knitters sometimes don't like it, because it is a little dense. I think that this is a nice blend, and makes it much more enjoyable to work with.

I can't wait to see how it knits up!

Well, this next one was a little bit of a mistake. It all started with buying the roving. I ordered a few things, and expected to get an e-mail invoice, but never did. Well, I put so many things in and out of my cart, that I couldn't remember what I ordered. Thank goodness the bags would be marked, and there would be an invoice in the box! Well, no such luck. I ordered 5 things, and all were marked, except this fiber! It is sooooo soft and wonderful. I have come to the conclusion that it is a merino/silk blend. Process of elimination really. It seemed to soak up the dye, but it came out VERY light. Sometimes I feel like a real idiot. Was I not paying attention? Maybe I've just been dying too much BFL. I guess I'm spoiled.

So, I got a gorgeous yarn, but it won't be right for this custom. Back to the dying table.........

I had a spur of the moment fund raiser for my favorite horse rescue the other day. We raised $124 for the horses! They went to an auction today to buy horses. I really hope to go and lend a hand one of these days.

Since I seem to be completely obsessed at this point with the horse rescue, I also came up with a new colorway. I hope to debut it soon, and list it on my site once a month. Those of you who contacted me about participating in an upcoming fundraiser, Thanks again! I will be getting things sorted out soon. If you can donate just $10 a month, you could really help out! Here is their site: http://www.norcalequinerescue.com/

Oh yes, we got a puppy. She's tooo cute:

TWINS!

2008-03-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

My other ewe lambed at around 4:30 today. She is the smaller ewe, and she did appear rather wide, but I wasn't getting my hopes up for twins. This was such a different birth than the other ewe. She was so layed back, and you could hardly tell she was giving birth. I didn't know what to think of the red thing in this picture (to the right of the nose):

Well, it is her tongue. Luckily my wise mother was with me. It appeared that I would get my white lambs this time!

The lambs are 1/2 merino, 1/4 perendale and 1/4 romeldale. The other lamb is the same, and she turned out looking very cvm (the colored version of romeldale). Angelina has a pretty uneven fleece, already apparent. She also has some fleece traits just like her mother, which I'm not crazy about. BUT, she's still too cute, and I might end up liking her wool.

Anyway, I have two MERINO lambs. They are adorable!!!!

First Born: Angel

Second: Anaka

Here is Angel again:

So, there we go. Finished until next year. I will be getting a couple (at least) BFL ewes this year, to breed to my merino ram. Maybe a BFL ram also.

2008-03-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

Well, here is the whole lamb birth, in pictures. I decided to do photographs unstead of video. She had no problems - a text book lambing. Yay!!

Please excuse the horrible, messy straw. All we seem to be able to get lately is this crap, which is basically grain.

Getting Ready......

Better get her to the barn!

We got her to the barn, and her water just broke...

Hooves!!

Hmmm, a black nose. I was expecting a white lamb.... But what a cute little nose!!!

.................................

Here SHE is!

Almost all cleaned off, and trying to stand for the first time.

Only about 1 hour old! Isn't she cute??

5 days old.... Angelina. The first lamb born here on our land.

Thanks for looking! Hope you enjoyed the birth :)

It's about time!!

2008-03-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

My first ewe finally lambed tonight! At 7:10 this evening she had a beautiful, and strong little ewe lamb :) I will write tomorrow, when I'm not exhausted.

New site, new name, new blog..

2008-03-16T14:11:00.001-07:00

I finally have gotten around to creating a new blog. I hope to post my WIP here, along with other stuff, of course.

I am expecting lambs anytime now, actually, last week! I am really excited to post their pictures, and am hoping they make their appearance soon! As I write this, one of my ewes seems to be obsessed with her stall, just standing in there (possibly eating the straw). I'm hoping this is a sign, but I've imagined many in the last couple weeks.