Anticipation
By the calendar of daffodils and plum blossoms, of robins and frog song, of gravid ewes and greening fields, spring is now at Oak Knoll Farm. We’re lambing a little later than our neighbors this year, at the end of March and into April, and this time I wanted to be sure to shear the flock before the mamas go through the stress and mess of birthing and raising youngsters. Shearer Nich McElroy was in the area in February, so we booked him to come over for a long day to tackle the forty lads and lasses who were ready for a clip—all but the Finn-cross lambs we sheared in September.
Nich giving Chervil his first haircut
We had a fine crew of helpers, from babies to grandparents. Here’s Dan holding Zenobia for a quick pedicure.
Speaking of the Finn-BFL cross lambs, those little buddies produced some gorgeous fleece and Abundant Earth Fiber Mill made it into a delightful yarn we’re calling Spyhop.
Spyhop comes in mostly white with waves of silver and in black with glints of silver throughout. Both yarns are DK weight and knit well on US #4-6 needles. They have Finn softness and longwool luster; they’re lively yarns that want to tell their story to your fingers and they were so much fun to swatch.
Tomorrow I head down to the mill to pick up all the yarn from our 2019 clips—it’s a big day! We’ll have the two Spyhops, the new batch of Haven—our North Country Cheviot DK—and another new yarn: we separated the North Country lambswool from the adult fleeces this time, and the lambs became the Haven line while the adults contributed to a chunky 4-ply I’m calling Luff. Do you know this word? It’s a sailing term. To luff is to turn your boat right into the wind in order to rest or change direction. I love the symbolism of putting your face directly into the weather in order to blunt its power or choose how to work with it. There you sit in your little boat, sail flapping while the worst gusts pass harmlessly by, and then you ease your tiller and fill the canvas again to carry you into your next tack. I hope knitting is like that for you—a place of rest and decision—and I love the softness and fullness of the word luff for a big, airy yarn. I must also tell you that the sheep did well last year and Lydia worked some real magic at the mill. I thought Luff would be coarser, a good yarn for slippers or mittens, but it’s actually lovely and I think most people will find it soft enough to wear against the skin. I’ll do a proper feature on its qualities when I’ve swatched it; for now I’m just huffing and fondling a little two-yard sample that still smells pleasingly of sheep.
When will all this good stuff be available? Well, I was supposed to be taking the new stock to Vogue Knitting Live in Seattle tomorrow. But thanks to COVID-19, the conference has been postponed indefinitely. If I sell the new yarn online, there’s a risk that VKL will be rescheduled before I can take the 2020 clip to the mill and Lydia can make more. My current plan is to update the shop with the last of the Shearing School Special this weekend, but hold the new stock until there are some dates floating around for VKL. If the show is going to be way off in the future, I’ll know it’s safe to sell the Spyhop and still have time to make more from the clip we’ll shear in May. It seems that you all like color, so I’ll plan to dye a bunch of the Haven and Luff… but that means sowing seeds and waiting patiently for blooms.
This is turning out to be a season of anticipation and patience and just turning into the wind to ride things out for all of us, isn’t it? Meanwhile, remember we have crocuses. Lambs will be arriving in two short weeks. Keep calm, practice mindful hygiene, and take good care of each other.
Elaine, Olwen, Guinevere, and Morgan have made their contributions to the 2020 batch of Selkie yarn!