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Faithmead Yarns Blog

News page for Faithmead Yarns

 

Glynelwyn

Home to 'Faithmead Pedigree Livestock' and 'Faithmead Yarns'

 

2021

 

September

Hello everyone and hope you've all had a good summer. The weather here in Wales has been quite amazing although we've also had enough rain to make the grass grow and grow and grow which is fabulous, especially going into Winter.

Its a busy time here (I know, I keep saying that), not only with the farm but getting back into something of a more normal life after Covid restrictions. Our little holiday annexe 'The Hideaway' (www.thehideawayholiday.co.uk) has been fully booked and we've had quite a lot of visitors who booked way back in 2019 finally get to come for their stay.

We've also had lots of lovely holiday visitors to Wales make contact and then come to Glynelwyn to meet the sheep and take away some luscious Single Farm Yarn at the same time. At one point, I seemed to be skeining and dyeing yarns simply to try and replace stock which was an absolutely awesome feeling. However, it did mean I couldn't fulfil an order for a lovely yarn shop in North Wales, and so will be aiming to crack on with that before the Christmas rush. I've been experimenting with some new dyeing techniques and love the colourways that are coming out.

The sheep have coped with the incredibly hot weather very well and (fingers crossed) no casualities other than little Corriedale 'Sage' getting a touch of Flystrike due to rubbing his neck on the old roller and providing access for the dreaded Bluebottle. He's absolutely fine now though. We did however, lose my dear old Faithmead Dylan. He was a Greyface Dartmoor Ram with the kindest nature of almost any ram. He's been suffering from damaged lungs due to a bout of lung worm a few years ago and I think eventually caused his demise. He passed away early one morning whilst lying in one of his usual places.

OK, so that's it for now but will be back before Christmas with some offers; one of which will appear in a few weeks time, so keep popping back to check.

Thank you all again for your support; you have no idea just how much it means to me as a small business.

Take care.

 

Mandy

*****

 

April

Hello everyone and apologies for the very overdue update. Having said that, Winter is a very busy but quiet time. Busy in that there is a lot of work to do on the farm and made harder by the very wet weather followed by snow, followed by more wet weather and of course lack of daylight hours. Quiet, because there is no time to get on and do any Woolly things other than sit in front of the log burner in the evening and knit to my hearts content.

Anyway, Spring is here and Easter has come and gone. The daffodils have made a wonderful display this year and are spreading as each year passes. Shrubs and trees are coming into bud and nature is beginning to inspire me once again. The Primroses and their beautiful yellows are giving me ideas as well as the grass beginning to green up in the fields each time we have warm sun. Yellows and Greens are on my agenda for sure. I have had the dye pots in just recently and created some more very popular and luscious purples and pinks, so pop into the shop for a quick look (4 ply and DK).

I can't wait for the time when the horses can go out 24/7 and the sheep can easily sustain themselves on just lush grass. At the moment everything is still having addition feed and/or coming into their stables overnight. When that happens, it will coincide with even longer days and that blissful time of being in my studio with the doors open and the butterflies swarming on the Buddleia right outside. Won't be long now, fingers crossed.

Hope you are all well and have been busy indoors and away from this dreadful disease that has changed all our lives so much over the past year. We're almost through it now, so heads down and keep on knitting.

Catch up again soon.

 

Mandy

*****

 

 

2020

 

December

Christmas is almost upon us and I'm sure you've all been busy, busy, busy with crafting those extra special Christmas gifts.

Its been a busy time here on the farm with the shortened daylight hours and the wintery wet weather. The sheep are all as fat as butter mainly due to still having grass in the fields but also because they get their hayracks filled up with lush haylage twice a day too. The 'Diamond Geezers' (Angora goats) are full of fun and really aren't too bothered about wet and mud unlike the very 'precious' Anglo Nubian milking goats. The Geezers are generally up to mischief of some kind.

Due to the rules over keeping poultry and the current outbreaks of Avian Flu all over the country, the chooks are confined to their runs but thanks to Derek having clad the new Egloo Run with even MORE wire, not a single wild bird can get in, even a wren.

The woolly department has had to take a bit of a back seat this month due to so much going on but I will be back skeining and dyeing immediately Christmas is over. I think I'll be having withdrawal symptoms by then and will be itching to get my dye pots back out.

So, have a very Merry (and safe) Christmas everyone. Take care of yourselves and your nearest and dearest in your bubbles and I'll catch up with you all soon.

 

Mandy and The Faithmead Flock x

*****

 

November

Hello everyone and hope you're all staying safe and well during these continuing difficult times.

First of all, I have just opened a SALE in the on-line shop and the code word at checkout is WOVEMBER.

Life is as busy as ever on our little Welsh Farm, and with the very short days we have to cram in all the chores as best we can. With the benefit of lights in the stables and the goat sheds and amazing head light torches, nothing is impossible. Having said that, Winter brings about lots of additional work in the form of stables to muck out for some elderly horses, and the goats are in most of the time so there are a lot of goat pens to muck out too. My life is one long round of wheelbarrowing dung!!

The yarns in all their glorious hand dyed colours brighten my day every time I open the door to my studio. The latest batch of yarn is due to arrive tomorrow and is ALL Gotland from my Gorgeous Gotland Gang, so I'll have lots to skein/ball up and hand dye. Pure Gotland comes in such fabulous natural shades from almost pure white through to almost jet black. Their silvery fleeces are just spectacular on the sheep, and when they come off they are like silk to handle whilst I'm cleaning them of any vegetable matter before they go off to the Mill. By coincidence, the Gotland Gang had their Autumn shear just last week and so there is another stash of silky fleeces bagged up, labelled and waiting for me to sort them out.

Also sheared just a couple of weeks ago were the 3 dear little Angora boys, and I now have several kilos of beautifully soft Mohair also waiting for me pick them over. I've yet to decide just how I'm going to have these precious fleeces processed.

Christmas is not far off and I'm making Peg loomed Christmas Trees to hang on the wall - perfect for the small space. They will appear in the shop very soon and will be £25 each or £30 if you'd like a little string of LED lights on them too. Also available are hand felted mini Christmas Stockings (already in the shop) which can come with a selection of mini balls of gorgeous yarns - ideal present for the knitter; or just the stocking on its own. I had intended to do Advent Calendars too, but time has run away rather and I've not managed to get anything together.

It has certainly been a year to remember and will go down in history for sure. Small businesses have suffered terribly through this pandemic; some never to re-surface which is very sad. Working from home does have its benefits especially when a small business 'lives' at home anyway. We too have suffered although we are still here and we're managing to tick along. There will be a lot of hand made Christmas Gifts this year for friends and family, but you know what - HAND MADE IS BEST.

Catch up again soon and don't forget the WOVEMBER SALE

 

Mandy

*****

 

QUICK UPDATE
Very busy week as the amazing #3535press has put together a fabulous week of wool ONLY aimed at BRITISH wool. Each day has been taken up with a new 'Challenge' #verybritishwoolweekchallenge and so lots of work going into getting the word out there about our fabulous British sheep and the wool they produce. If you're on Instagram, do go take a look.

Full catch up soon.

Mandy

*****

 

August

Hello everyone.

Hope you're all managing to stay fit and well during these times. We're still ticking along much as normal here, although having said that, I've been very full on with the yarn these past few weeks.

The first batch of yarn arrived back from the Mill and this time all undyed and on cones. I've been in my element skeining up my yarns and having great fun hand dyeing lots of it. Experimenting with colour combination is very interesting and I'm learning a lot about what goes with what and what NOT to maybe try again.

We have updated the Shop with some of the newly dyed yarns.

This batch included the lovely Dorset Down from Aeronwy, Branwen and Eleri, all of whom have actually moved to a new home a few miles away. I rarely sell sheep these days but this little gang are a great future breeding unit of this Rare Breed and I didn't feel I was doing them justice. I may still very well be allowed to have their fleeces coming shearing time next year, but to be honest, I think we have quite a variety here that are kept solely for their stunning, beautiful and unusual fleeces.

On other farm issues, all this years goat kids have gone to wonderful new homes and I couldn't be happier. Due to the very ODD weather, some of the Does were coming into season a few weeks ago which is very early, and this meant "Faithmead Jitterbug" was getting rather anxious about wanting to cover them!!! Both the girls and the boy were rather upset when I told them that JULY was far too early for mating and kids born in December was not something I relished. The weather has yet again changed from the ridiculous to the bizarre with the hottest August and thus the goats have decided it is really is summer again and mating is the last thing on their minds.

The sheep have quite a bit of fleece on them again already, but as pure wool is totally self regulating, they are not suffering as a result. Wool is such an AWESOME fibre.

I'm just about to launch a new Christmas idea which is a mini wet felted re-usable Christmas Stocking that will be filled with either 5 x 50gm balls or 10 x 25gm balls of yarn, each wrapped in coloured tissue paper. The stocking can be almost any colour and the 'locks' likewise - just email me and ask. The perfect Christmas Gift for the Knitting or Crochet enthusiast with a little stocking that can be used again and again.

Now available on Christmas tab in Shop

 

Don't forget to sign up for the Newsletter to get advanced notice of anything new.

 

That's about it for now.
Catch you all soon.

Mandy

*****

 

June

Hello all,

Hope you're all keeping well and have stayed safe during these past couple of months and of course, have been knitting, knitting, knitting.

I now have my new piece of kit from Oregon USA. Its a fabulous handmade, adjustable wooden swift complete with counter and I'm loving practicing with it. I can hopefully start to produce 'Mini skeins' of yarn as well as the usual 50gm and 100gm sizes. Very excited.

 

The Mill is open once again and a box of wool is currently with them and may have even started being processed. This time I am working on producing some 'sock yarn' as sock knitting has had such a revival. I'm also back into sock knitting myself having been re-inspired by my Sister who is a fantastic knitter and crocheter and is knocking out pairs of gorgeous socks in the blink of an eye. The yarn for these socks with be from the one and only Bella and Ruby, the two older Bluefaced Leicester girls and a little bit of Tanya Leicester Longwool to give strength and durability. The yarn will also have an extra twist to it to reduce any fuzziness.

There will also be some 'Chunky' Leicester Longwool for those winter projects A new addition this time around is from Aeronwy, Branwen and Eleri, the 3 Rare Breed Dorset Down ewes, although Eleri's is a first shear, so ultra soft.

This time the yarn is being spun onto cones so that I can skein off into whatever sizes we need. Also, I will be home dyeing it myself and have been practicing with different types of dyeing methods as well as colour combinations.

I'm already thinking Christmas and have some ideas for gift ideas which will pop up sometime within the next 2 months.

Don't forget to sign up for the Newsletter to get advanced notice of anything new.

Otherwise everything is ticking along much as normal and the sheep are fit and well. If anyone has any special requests/suggestions for any specific yarn, please do get in touch.

Signing off for this time. Stay safe.

 

Mandy

*****

 

May

Hello everyone. Just a quick update.

The Online International Fibre Festival run by Anne Frost was amazing. An 8 day virtual tour which took in America, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, Wales, Shetland, Finland and Australia/New Zealand. Anne's podcast can be found here https://oiff.familypodcasts.com/ Its well worth spending time watching each podcast and very inspiring too.

Anyway, it was fabulous for us and we've sold out of a lot of the yarns, which will be making their way around the world next week. This means that stocks are a little on the limited side and due to the Mill being shut, there will be a delay in having more of the lush fleeces processed into yarn. I shall however be sending some off in the next week or so and will let you all know when it comes back.

Trying out something a little different on this occasion which is the Dorset Down family fleece. Dorset Down is a dense and resilient wool which is perfect for all kinds of hand knitted items including sweaters. It also has the added advantage of not felting easily. It takes dye well and I shall be hand dyeing it here at Glynelwyn as I have recently been re-inspired (mainly due to lock down) and am loving the results.

 
If there is any specific wool anyone would like, then do please let me know via email, Fb messenger or Instagram message. It would be great to have some feedback on what people would like.

 

Thanks all. Catch up again soon. Stay safe.

*****

 

April

We're still here and very much locked away in our bid to help rid the planet of this dreadful virus. Our thoughts are constantly with those front line workers who are truly wonderful individuals and we salute every single one of them (and personally, most especially my Sister who works in administration in her local hospital and my Brother who couldn't be more front line as a clinical worker in ICU).

Our life however, goes on pretty much the same. The shearing of some of the more precious fleeces of the Teeswaters and the Wensleydales took place 10 days ago and rest of the bunch are all being sheared this coming Thursday (30th April).

We've had the most glorious weather for the past month, but it has now finally start to rain and goodness, do we need it. The grass ceased to grow and we've had to continue feeding haylage to the stock and the horses. With luck, these few days of fine rain will push that lovely grass through for them.

We took part in the 'Virtual Wonderwool Show' which was last weekend and which should have been the weekend of the actual show. The organisers worked their socks off putting it all together and what a great job they did too. Our next On-line presence will be in the "Online International Fibre Festival" which is 1st-8th May. Check out the following link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-3y1BPKHL0&t=5s

 I'm very excited about this one as was 'chosen' as one of 5 people to represent Wales in this International Event.

With The Mill being closed for several weeks we missed one of our slots for delivering fleece for processing and so the next little batch of yarns is not likely to appear until much later in the year, sadly. A lot of suppliers of yarn will buy in huge quantities of processed yarn and still be able to do all their own hand dyeing. Due to us specialising in ONLY producing yarns from our own sheep, it does throw up some problems occasionally but then again, "Wool with Provenance" is and always will be our Motto.

 

The goats and their kids are all doing fine and you can follow the farm on Fb with this link https://www.facebook.com/glynelwyn.faithmead/

 

I finally got around to planting some veggie seeds in the poly tunnel and we do at least have some beans, tomato and salad leaves coming up. The mollie lambs are completely adorable and nutty in equal measures. They're off all milk and just on grass and their 'creep' feed now, so growing well.

 

Hens are laying eggs like they're going out of fashion and so am giving them away to local friends. Ducks too seemed to finally got back in the groove and laying 2 eggs a day. The oldest one sadly died a few weeks ago, but she was very old.

 

Anyway, that's it for the moment. Will update again after the International Festival. The Yarn Sale will CLOSE on 9th May, so if you need a bargain, you don't have long. Stay HOME, stay SAFE and catch up again very soon.

*****

 

March

How the world has changed here in a few short weeks. A virus that has affected the entire planet. I wonder if Mother Earth has had enough of our self destruction of ourselves and our planet? Is she now fighting back and telling us that if we can't do something about it, she will? The air pollution has reduced dramatically and without doubt due to the reduction is air traffic, the reduction in road traffic and not a single reduction in the number of cows - funny that.

Anyway, life goes on here on our little farm. The lambs are all doing really well and goat kids have popped out of the 3 of the Does. They've all had a single kid this year and 2 more due to pop over the next couple of months.

 

 

Wonderwool Wales has been cancelled this year for obvious reasons and so the "Show Offer" I had planned to have has been applied to the On-line shop. A massive 25% on the majority of yarns has been deducted. Keep knitting and crocheting and creating in these difficult times. I plan to learn how to Crochet (properly) and will follow good old You Tube who have several good videos.

 

The chooks are still laying well and the ducks have finally come back into lay, so 2 duck eggs a day are very welcome. They not only taste delicious as fried egg, in omelette, in scrambled egg as well as in baking. Such richness adds a wonderful depth of flavour.

 

 

Spring is certainly here and lots of things in the garden are bursting into bud. The daffodils have been amazing this year as have the snowdrops. The rhododendrons have beautiful big buds on them and will be looking magnificent in May.

 

With so many activities postponed or cancelled, I shall be out running with my dogs around the lanes which are pretty empty in normal times and keeping myself and them fit for when normality returns - which it will, if we're all sensible.

 

As they say, "Stay Safe Everyone"

*****

 

February

Mornin' all.

There's a very nippy Easterly wind out there today and the forecast is for Storm Ciara to hit us with a vengeance on Sunday. Where DO they get these names from ?? So, it will be batten down the hatches time and keep your fingers crossed.

A very loyal customer of Faithmead Yarns who lives in Canada has sent me a photo of the latest "Magic, Sparkle, Bella and Ruby" blend of gorgeous yarn on her needles. The temperature in her area of the world is a little bit colder than we have in Wales and she's a great knitter of sweaters to keep that cold out. This particular one was hand dyed as always and is a fantastic Petrol Blue colour.

LOVE seeing photos of the yarns in use and in finished products.

We are very excited to announce that for the first time ever, Faithmead Yarns will be for sale in a brand new shop in Carmarthen called "The Yarn Cwtch".   They open tomorrow (Saturday 8th February) and with a bit of luck we will be able to pop in for the opening.

We will of course be at Wonderwool Wales at the end of April but are waiting with baited breath to find out if we've got a place at the amazing Southern Wool Show in September. They have had an astonishing amount of requests for stalls this year and are sadly having to disappoint 40 staffholders. We should hear in the next day or two. Their criteria for selection is very fair and of course they have to look after those who have supported the show since its conception.

On the farming side, the Gotland gang are still snuggled up in the big shed waiting for those fleeces to grow back and they are coming through.

The only one suffering is Lily who is the oldest and although a has a nice big rotund belly on her and plenty of flesh, the cold seems to be getting to her a little. This morning she was clearly very cold although not shivering. Everyone else had to wait for breakfast whilst I made a quick temperature check (very low), got her a nice thick jacket and sectioned her off from the other 8. She snuffled down a bowl of sugar beet and barley and was then able to stand up. I think she'd been sitting in the same place all night!) . Within half an hour she looked heaps better and was happily tucking into her hay rack.

All the other animals are just biding their time and waiting for Spring....as are we. The snowdrops are beginning to flower and the daffodils are well on their way and I should be able to pick some for the house this weekend. I do LOVE Daffodils on the kitchen table.

 

*****

 

January

Belated Happy New Year everyone. Its been slightly monsoon'ish weather here and I think for the whole of the UK in fact. However, TODAY, the sun is out, we had an amazing frost and by lunchtime the sun had so much heat in it, I could put washed fleeces out to dry. Long may it last......although I think 3 days is forecast.

 

Our brilliant Shearer is coming on Monday to shear the 10 Gotlands. Lost majority of their fleeces last year due to the weather and so am whipping them in now whilst they are still looking wonderful.

 

Talking of fleeces, there will be a new section in the shop which will be entitled "Lock and Fleece". There will be Raw Fleeces and Longwool Locks available at different times throughout the year. As each fleece will vary in weight, orders will be via email so that I can calculate the postage. Fleeces and locks can be sent 'tracked' Worldwide PROVIDED the country in question has no restrictions.

 

*****

 

2019

 

December

Sorry for the delay in update but its such a busy time of year this Christmas stuff, isn't it? Anyway, we had a wonderful Christmas Day and probably the most relaxed we've had in years which was fantastic. Plus the weather was FAB-EWE-LUSS. Blue skies and sunshine all day; and if its not going to Snow, then Blue skies is perfect.

 

So, in a few days I need to extricate the little trio of Dorset Down Ewes from the rest of the flock and section them off into the small goat paddock where they will have access to the newly roofed goat shed. This is where they'll lamb - hopefully in February - but in the interim they need to start having some hard feed (concentrates) and a mineral bucket to get lots of nutrition into them ready for lambing.

 

 

I also need to divide off the 10 Gotlands who need to come into the big shed and be bedded down for a week or two, be fully DRY in readiness for shearing. Their fleeces have taken a bit of a battering with the weather of late, but I think they're holding out well. The other longwools are looking rather sumptuous and I'm planning on leaving their shearing just a bit longer in the hopes for a longer staple this time around. All in the lap of the weather once again as a sudden warm spell like we had last Easter could destroy them, but I think we're pretty safe at the moment.

 

The 2 weaner pigs are having a high old time digging up their big pen. They certainly need the exercise as I've spoilt them with a little too much food and they're looking just a tiny bit podgy.

 

The goats are glowing and I think I have 6 of the 5 Does in-kid, although 2 of those were not planned but "Bug" managed to jump his stable door and have some fun whilst my back was turned !!! Heyho, lesson learned. A higher bar is needed!

 

On the woolly front the latest batch of yarns arrived a few days before Christmas. The Mill unfortunately had a problem with spinning the Corriedale / BFL blend and so I have some gorgeous bouncy, soft, caramel coloured yarn but it does have some slubs and some unspun bits in it and so will be going into the shop as "Seconds" . The "Magic and Sparkle" blended with "Bella and Ruby" (that's dark Wensleydale blended with Bluefaced Leicester) has come out beautiful although I was hoping for a little bit more of a tweed effect but I suspect the darkness of the Wensleydale has overpowered the white of the BFL. None the less it is super soft and gorgeous. We will get these in the shop in the next few days. I need some decent daylight to take proper photos and with the constant drizzle at the moment, that's not an easy task.

 

 

Anyway, hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you a Very Happy New Year.

 

 

Mandy

 

*****

November

Winter has most certainly arrived now. No snow yet, but the temperature has dropped significantly. The horses are now coming into their warm stables at night which of course means extra work with mucking out every day. Two of them are getting on a bit now and our lovely 'Laddie' is beginning to show signs of stiffening up in his joints a little, but he is nearly 28 now. Cello still bounces around at 26 and Shanty is a mere baby at rising 13.

 

The grass has been amazing this autumn and has kept growing and growing, so the sheep STILL have plenty to eat which means a saving on the haylage for the time being. Once the grass stops, which it will do now, and they start coming to the gate, that's the time to start filling up the haylage feeder. They are all incredibly fat and happy at the moment.

 

Wesley the Dorset Down Ram has now gone back to his owner having, hopefully, covered the 3 ewes. Lambs due in February (fingers crossed).

Derek has completely re-roofed one of the goat sheds which had needed doing for about a year. Its magnificent now and just awaiting some occupants. I'll be doing a shift around during the course of the winter in preparation for kidding in February time. The young buck 'Faithmead Jitterbug' has been 'working' well and is certainly keen!

A new batch of yarn is due from the Mill within the next couple of weeks. They have had an extremely busy October and so its a little later than planned. Excited to see what colours will come out as well as that amazing springiness and softness from these wonderful sheep. A new line in some 'tweed' type will be on offer too.

The Monthly Madness this month is a whopping 20% off this stunning natural coloured beautiful Aran yarn from Mother and Daughter "Gloria and Agneta" . Was £17 = £3.40 dis = £13.60 per skein.

 
Thank you to all my wonderful customers this year, without you I wouldn't be able to keep producing yarns from my very special flock.

*****

 October

Hello all First of all, the sheep are growing the most fabulous fleeces this year and so far, all are intact. Now that's probably the kiss of death and they'll begin to rub on trees etc but at the moment they are looking positively glowing. Look at this fabulous fleece on Toby the Teeswater. Awesome stuff. Don't forget the check out the MONTHLY MADNESS tab...….especially as Christmas is not far away.

Around the farm the new hens are still laying fairly well even though the daylight hours are reducing. The weather has been really quite reasonable and so has meant they can be let out to free range during the day time. If the weather is bad, they have to stay penned as the local fox population will be out in force! On the flip side, the ducks seem to think its far easier to lounge around, sunbathing, swimming, sitting on top of the pile of chopped nettles etc rather than bother laying eggs !

The goats too have been able to keep going out for a few hours a day. I leave them in until lunchtime no matter what, as I like to make sure they have a belly full of nice dry hay to soak up any wet grass etc they'll be munching on when they're out. This helps to prevent any potential bloat and also (hopefully) reduce the risk of possible liver fluke which I've never yet had in the goats. Derek has been busy stripping the roof off one of the spare houses (the last occupant being the late, great Bacchus).

Bracken and Oliver are happily shacked up together although there doesn't appear to be much 'action' going on. They may have to be officially retired before too much longer.

Right - I'm back to more fleece sorting as I have quite a few raw fleeces available for sale. The latest box of loveliness is already at the Mill and so I'm waiting to hear what they think of my ideas for this particular mixture. Keep checking back for updates.

*****

October

Another West Wales Wool Show under our belts - it's such a fabulous little event and although split into two venues, I think most people found their way from one to the other. We had lots and lots of people come to the 'Faithmead' stand and ask lots of questions (and buy some yarns too) about the sheep, the wool and the Dye process. Lots of ideas buzzing around in my head and engaging the genius of a spinning friend who is plying up as I type. Watch this space.

 

 

The weather has been rather grim and so the goats have all been mainly confined to barracks for the past few weeks with only the odd day of being able to trot off across the fields. The merest hint of rain and they're all back at the gate desperate to come back into their cosy bedrooms. As a result of more time in bedsits, it means much more mucking out !!!

Unfortunately it would appear that Bracken pig is/has having a phantom pregnancy which is a bit of a pain but on the plus side (and there is always a plus side), its not the ideal time of year for farrowing! She and Oliver are back together again and I'm on the look out for a young gilt (ideally in-pig) to join the herd.

The longwool sheep fleeces are looking absolutely fantastic. Long, lustrous curls of wonderous wool. I'm aiming for a January shear but weather is the all important factor and having lost all the Gotland fleeces last Spring due to weather, it could be anytime within the next 3 months.

The new chickens that we took on from the local Rescue centre are laying like mad. No where near enough passing trade to sell all the eggs and so lots of omelettes for us. The older girls hardly lay an egg twice a week between them these days. We very sadly lost our dear old "Guinea" (a guinea fowl!) a few weeks ago who at 11 years old, was a lovely boy who was our early warning system when there were any Foxes about.

 

*****

September

Just over 3 weeks to the fabulous West Wales Wool Show. Still lots of preparation to do and updating of all the yarn bands and such like due to the recent re-branding. There will be a "SHOW OFFER" discount, so DO COME ALONG and see us. Our stand will be in the Plas Hyfred Hotel which is the 2nd location of the show. The 1st location is in the Queens Hall in Narberth and Plas Hydred is just a little further up the road. As you come OUT of the Queens Hall, hang a left and follow the YARN BOMBING up the road and around the corner and you'll see the Hotel on the opposite side of the road.

Wesley and his wives are chilling out in their field, although I do hope some action is happening too, but they seem to be rather too laid back at the moment! I'm sure come February there will be the patter of tiny little lamb hooves but will of course keep you updated.

 

Our Agility season is almost at an end now but a lot of extra farming work takes over. The horses are all still outside 24/7 but when the weather changes they will start to come in at night which means morning mucking out of 3 stables on top of the goat mucking out too. Talking of goats, I am still milking at the moment although the quantity is dropping and by the beginning of December will no doubt be down to a thimble full and that's when I stop until kidding again next Spring. Keeping "Faithmead Jitterbug", was without doubt the right decision. He's turning into a stunning looking, well built young buck and is now of course, the 'main man', not that he's aware of that yet.

 

On a slightly different note, we've lived here at Glynelwyn now for about eleven and a half years. We've (obviously) met the previous owners whom we bought from and the owners prior to them .... and the owner prior to them .... and even some of the relatives of the family that lived here way, way back. Its been fascinating trying to piece together the history of the place and one day we'll put together a sort of Family Tree of the property. The fields haven't changed in at least a hundred years and the original plot is STILL the original plot as far as we can ascertain. Its been a well loved and cherished home full of memories for all sorts of people and we feel truly honoured that so many of those people or their children who have stayed here, have come by, sat in our kitchen and told us so much of its history and their own.

 

*****

August

Where did August go? In fact where did the Summer go? More to the point, where did the whole year go? Well, if like me, you feel time is racing past, I put my speeding year down to the fact that we FILL it with so much STUFF. The little farm is always busy one way or another. The list of "To Do" jobs never actually gets any less even though we cross things off, because more things are added.

Life is for LIVING and we decided a year ago to just ease off a little bit and have a bit of 'us' time, so what do we do? We do Dog Agility. It is a fantastic sport and Pip and I love it.

"We bought a little caravan at the beginning of the year and we pack it up ready for each event and off we trundle for 3 days (2 nights) of fun and frolicks away from the farm. The caravan is great. We have a little awning that goes on the side and we also have a wonderful contraption called a Tailgater Awning which fits over the rear of the car and is where all the doggy stuff goes. We even have a 'garden' which is an elaborate name for the fenced in area that the dogs can play safely in and get some freedom rather than just being out on a lead. ….."

 

Tig, the Pup, is now nearly 11 months old and in her short life she's already had to have an operation but she's cracking on with life none the less and is currently having weekly Hydrotherapy sessions which she just loves.

 

 I'm also a little bit addicted to running. I started in October last year in order to get fitter for the Dog Agility but what happened? Cani-X happened. What could be better than to combine running with taking your trusty pooch with you.

 Pip and I run 2 or 3 times a week and mainly a round trip of about 5km to check on the sheep up the road. I occasionally increase it to 7 or 8 km and in fact in mid August went on my first 10K organised run in the fabulous Brechfa Forrest but sadly couldn't take Pip. However, our first Cani-X for this winter is end of November and its a toughie ..... I'll let you know nearer the time.

 

So, more beautiful yarns arrived end of last week and are now in the on-line shop. I STILL have more to add, but it takes an age to get the photos correct and certain colours are a nightmare. I'm beginning to get my stock organised for the West Wales Wool Show in early October, and if you're in the area, DO drop in, its a fantastic event and the coffee in Plas Hyfred (where my stand will be) is delicious.

  

 

I'm also beginning to think "Christmas" . I know, I know, its 4 months away, but that time is going to go in a flash and so I need to start thinking of woolly things that people might like to buy as presents for their nearest and dearest.

"Wesley" the Dorset Down Ram arrived yesterday and another job on the top of the list is to round up his girls tomorrow (Mad Daisy, Aeronwy and Branwen) so that he can join them out in the stream field along with the horses for the time being. I love lambing the Dorsets because they lamb easily (generally) are excellent mothers and the lambs arrive black and slowly turn white as they get older. SO cute.

All for now. Catch up with you again very soon.

****

Hello everyone

Well what a blast we had at this years Pembrokeshire County Show. We entered 6 fleeces in the British Wool Marketing Board annual Fleece competition and came out with Champion AND Reserve Champion Fleeces. Champion was a Leicester Longwool once again, only this time is was "Tamzin" and she scored a full house of 100 points. This fleece has now gone off to the Welsh Depot to join all the other Champions from across Wales. Reserve was the beautiful Coloured Bluefaced Leicester fleece from "Faith" with a score of 99. Also getting a 99 was my ever lovely little Ryeland "Thumbelina". I will have a lot of these fleeces for sale very soon and if anyone is interested, please do get in touch.

Champion Leicester Longwool Fleece and

Reserve Champion Coloured Bluefaced Leicester Fleece

 

Elsewhere on the farm we have had a LOT of new fencing done over the past few weeks and everything is now totally secure once again. There was never any risk of anything escaping but GOATS do like to climb.

 

Bracken, our Berkshire Sow has still not farrowed and is keeping us on tenterhooks. She is one BIG girl right now and I can't believe she's still gently cooking them away in there.

 

Half of the sheep have now moved up to the fresh pasture that we took our recent and lush crop of haylage from. Its a lovely flat field and the grass is growing exceptionally well. In fact, its so lush that Charlotte the Corriedale got so fat, she managed to get stuck on her back twice. She's now back in the sloping home fields !!

 

New arrivals in the Chook department are 6 ex commercial Black Rock hens. All 6 are chucking out eggs like there is no tomorrow. Great girls and a new and extended life for them.

Doing some Dog Agility events coming up but its less than 2 months now until our fantastic "West Wales Wool Show" at Narberth in October. The Faithmead Yarns stand will most definitely be there. Come and find us in Plas Hyfryd.

 

*****

 

Well here we are at LAST, the new website, new easier to use domain name, the new logo, the new look but still the same GORGEOUS, wonderful, luscious yarn from my equally gorgeous, wonderful, luscious sheep.

There will be a "season change offer" of some kind. It might be '6 for the price of 5', it might be a packet of Sheepy Stitch Markers, it might be a 'discount', who knows, so keep coming back to check.

The sheep are all in fine fettle at the moment and we're set for Winter. The haylage is in, so the winter fodder is ready.

The field shelters have been dug out and are ready for the deluge of rain that we will no doubt get sooner or later.

The other animals are all doing well and the summer weather has indeed been kind to them too this year. The goat herd love to be turned out every morning and disappear across the fields for the day. They appear around about 4pm to sit down by the gate waiting to be let back in to their pens for their dinner and to settle down for the night.

The hens and ducks have been on/off lay just lately but that's just the cycle of their feathery lives.

As a lot of you know, we have a little holiday annexe here called "The Hideaway" (www.thehideawayholiday.co.uk) which has been full on busy this summer, which is great.

We've had many returners who become friends more than holiday visitors and we love the fact they get out and about and then come 'home' tired but full of all the wonderful places they've been that day. This area of South West Wales is the BEST, but then we would say that.

The tomatoes are ripening; the courgettes are growing (into marrows!) and the beans are spreading their tentacles far and wide in the polytunnel.

Fresh veg - who doesn't love veg straight from the ground?