Hopalong Hollow....

Hopalong Hollow, where the Blueberries grow sweet, and the moss feels soft beneath your feet.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool?

 
.   Yes maam yes maam , three bags full....WOOL !
 I got MORE than a basketful  from my ladies in the barn, Margaret, Beatrix and Sophia. I've had these girls for about 12 years.
.


And I received these huge bags of soft, luxurious Alpaca wool from my good good friend, Deborah. 

. Thanks so much,  ALL of you ladies!

I used to hire a 4-H boy  to shear my sheep, but he was careless and my ladies would be left with cuts and slices. I would cringe as his hot/electric shears whirred across the wool gouging  their skin every few minutes; poor girls! I figured I could do a better job of it myself and now i do all the shearing with a heavy duty pair of Kitchen Shears. I shear in May, and although we've only 3 sheep, it takes hours and hours. Believe it or not, I like this job.

After shearing, even the best bits of sheep's wool seems rather unappealing with debris and vegetable matter permeating the fibers. It takes some time to remove the most offensive parts by hand. This is last  years batch before being picked over.
 After a few rounds of washing and rinsing,
this silvery grey wool from  Sophia, and the buff colored wool from Beatrix and Margaret smells of Ivory soap and only needs carding.


 Carding is something I have learned to enjoy.

 My wool needn't be perfect, because it is not for spinning, but for needle felting.  Before I learned needle felting, I used to gift all my piles of wool to fiber artists. I have many wonderful creations from artist Penny White, and I never gave a thought to trying the craft  myself; until I did a fiber show. The lady in the booth next to mine just happened to be a Needle felter who made hats and clothing. She also sold ALL the necessary tools of the trade. She gave me a brief felting lesson and I was hooked. Now, I can put my own sheep's wool to use in my own way.

Working with Wool just feels good.

  Mohair fabric in shades of fur and feathers
is also very pleasant to work with,I have found.
To make the creatures of the Hollow,
. I spend many hours designing and redesigning patterns.
 Studying the shapes and sizes of heads and bodies helps with  the proper perspective.
Working in chapters, I will cut out all my patterns at once.

.
Place them in  tidy piles,
  and then I'll bag the body parts that belong to the heads I have already created until I am ready to stitch them.
Time to stitch.

.
This week I've worked on sheep. I felt I owed it to the girls to have representatives of their breeds .
   This is Beatrix, she hates the idea of being shorn. Once, when we were trying to catch her for shearing, she jumped over a 5 foot fence, just like that!
 
.
 However, once she's tethered, she'll stand still as a stone for me.

 Margaret is a Suffolk, I love her Roman nose and long eyelashes. She is quite good about shearing, because she loves attention and thinks I am petting her with the scissors as I try to be gentle. All the girls stay calm with a bag of corn within reach.
 .



          Sophia is a Lincoln Finn. She was pitch black when I bought her as a lamb, and stayed that way for many years. She IS a baa-baa black sheep. Now, at 12 years old, her wool has turned a lovely silvery gray.
She is feisty and difficult to shear, because the length of her wool is astounding; but it is truly beautiful, curly and soft. The lanolin in the wool makes my hands quite oily as I cut away, but it has such a nice scent.



 More little sheeps are in in the works, maybe some tiny lambs too....I am just learning.

It's fun!
BAAAAAAAAAA!


 

40 comments:

  1. Jeri, your talents astonish me! I love the little sheep you create from your own sheep. I wanted to pick a favorite, but how could I? The little lamb on the pincushion is quite adorable! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  2. oh your girls are loverly!
    our Finn ewe Esther {aka 'Mommy'} and her Jacob-Finn ram/son Bobby {'baaa-bee'}
    offer us thee most beautiful wools ~ loving your creations as well my talented friend!
    L

    ReplyDelete
  3. these are all so perfect! i wish i could felt a little teddy! i am dying to learn how to felt. right now i am driving myself crazy learning to embroider and bead. i am really not good at this stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Jeri ~ Your works are truly amazing! They have such personality and are happy looking. I love Beatrix on the pincushion. There she looks so demure, not like she would leap a 5 ft. high fence.

    Happy Valentine's week ~ FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh to have your talent ! I absolutely love reading and seeing all your animals and make believe animals.Do you ever just sit and do nothing? !

    ReplyDelete
  6. I used to raise sheep and my kids showed them in 4-H. I miss having animals and a farm.
    I like your approach to making patterns. Fun to see the parts bagged with their heads. Love all the felted sheep!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my gosh Jeri , does your talent never end .
    I am always so impressed with the wonder that is you .
    Awesome just awesome !!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. OMG Jeri! You little sheep's are magnificent! You are such a wonder.. I continue to be in awe of your varied talents... I am blown away at the amount of work you can produce... I just now finished the bear.. I knew you would enjoy needle felting, and no need to buy much wool... I still have a little of Sophia's wool left that you had gifted me.. Don't you just love the feel of working with wool...
    Great post, Jeri...
    Love ya!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think what I love most about your felted sheep is that they are made from the wool of your own sheep that you sheared yourself! That makes them even more special. It reminds me of one of my favorite stories, The Oxcart Man. How the whole family made things from what they'd grown, then sold them to buy the things they could not make. I think that is the way life was meant to be--so close to the land, to God's creation.

    ReplyDelete
  10. My goodness, Jeri....You say you are just learning, but your work is magnificent. You have such a talent for getting the perspective right...all the while bringing personality to your creation. I am amazed by this process and the beautiful end result. I may have to try a little of this when my lambs become full grown sheep!!! I can hardly wait!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am speechless! How amazing, how do you fit so much into your week? Your creations are works of art.

    ReplyDelete
  12. YES, ME TOO, I AM SPEECHLESS!

    Jeri Landers, you are an art angel...you are not human! teehheee - I mean, you are extraterrestrial, not of this world! For a split second there when I saw your first photo of the felted sheep, I thought it was one your your REAL (shhhh) sheep...then I saw the size...

    What blows my mind is your fine attention to the reality of each curve and crevice and proportion to make your creations like the REAL thing...

    You are so close to nature. This is living one of the facets of human existence to the hilt. How many of us long to be this close to nature and to be able to use the gifts of the earth and heavens to weave such magic. Thank you for this gift you share, and I am in line for my wool creature when you are ready to open up shop!!!!!

    LOVE! Anita

    ReplyDelete
  13. As a spinner myself, I looked, I drooled, I drooled some more and ended up being utterly enchanted by your sheep. I love the fact that Sophia's coat has turned silver with age - it's never occurred to me that the aging process in sheep works that way also! Brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jeri, you have mastered felting!!!! These sheep are beyond unbelievable - your ability out does itself with each creation, I am blown away. I am saving my thrift store $$$, I just have to have one I can't even imagine how you do this. They are precious. Love you, Deborah Rogers Mercy

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Cousin Jeri,

    What wonderful sheep you made! They look so like your flock of ladies Beatrix, Margaret and Sophia! I love how the black wool goes to grey over the years. I love working with a fleece in the grease, too. The feel and the smell of the lanolin is so comforting!

    Besides the hand sheep shears, we have used an old cow clipper to shear with which has worked pretty good.

    Your cousins,
    Diane and daughter Sarah, and the dolls and Tillie Tinkham the seamstress mouse at Corgyncombe

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jeri,
    Problem fixed with my blog... (I think) Sent you an email. When you have time, go see if you can see it.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Your little felted sheep are just wonderful! I am amazed that you do the shearing of your "real" sheep. I always thought it took a big, hefty, strong man to do that job. I bet, though, that the fact that they know you and trust you makes the job a great deal easier than for a stranger coming in, grabbing them up and turning on those buzzing clippers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Vicr, I'm lucky that my sheep are pretty docile once caught. They just stand with a halter, tied to a tree and give the occasional feeble kick if I touch them in a sensitive area.

      Delete
  18. Jeri,
    I just cannot get over the realism of these sheep... Such beautiful work...

    Ok... Bear post is up, and all should be working fine... Drop in when you have a moment..
    Love ya!

    ReplyDelete
  19. from shear to gorgeous stuffed animals
    that honor your friends with complete dignity, fun and beauty
    wow!
    it would be hard for me to watch my critters get nicked also!
    wishing you a sweet Valentine's day

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dear Jeri, I think ewe's just plain wonderful! Love your increasing flock!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Just blown away by your amazing talent! They are perfect portraits of your lovely ladies. They must be so proud!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ohh!
    Jeri I am smitten by the Pretty Lambies (and their sweet grey noses) and your creations!!! (My o my)!!!!
    I am taking a quick break (painting and flooring the laundry room) I must come back and take more of this in!!!
    xo Linnie

    ReplyDelete
  23. Unbelievably wonderful. All wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  24. It is hard to read your blog as you make me feel like the most inadequate, least- talented chick around.Geez, you are like a super woman!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hardly that! I'm only good at one thing, art... and I am a fair gardener. Good to see you here!

      Delete
  25. Hi Jeri,
    I came back to visit again :-) (taking a break from the almost finished laundry room re-do)
    My very best all time ever sheep was a suffolk named Sammy. He was all personality and such a joyous guy. We just loved that boy to pieces! So I turned to mush when I saw your Margret!
    I think that the Suffolks are the best looking sheep of them all)!

    Jeri your felted lambies are wonderful!! I just love their charm!!! I am so glad I came back to look again!!
    Sending love and warmth, many blessings, Linnie

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks Linnie, Margaret is my favorite too, I love those suffolk faces and they seem to have the most personality.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Jeri,
    Boy, all this wool... I feel like a kid in a candy store... I am carding some more of dear Sophia's wool.. I am working on a very young raccoon, and her wool is just perfect for it.
    I can't get over the great job you have done on these sheep!
    Thank you for visiting Mary and her lamb again.. I thought you would remember her.
    You know it never occurred to me why lambs had their tails docked, until I researched it.. I like to put a little tail..
    Have a great week!
    fondly,
    Penny

    ReplyDelete
  28. Dear Jeri - just fabulous these little felted sheep - what beautiful girls you have and I so admire you for doing your own shearing. I had sheep when I was growing up and Dad would work hours in the spring with some other farmers getting them sheared. Your post evoked a flood of wonderful memories. As always your talent is overwhelming friend. Hope you have a delightful week.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I love this post, Jeri!

    Also, I received your card and I'm sorry the blouse doesn't fit. It's so cute, maybe you can use it as a prop somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh my, I agree with above, you manage to fit in so much. I loooved everything about this post, your lovely wooly girls, the fact that you shear them yourself and then turn their gorgeous wool into such stunning creations, all beautiful !

    ReplyDelete
  31. Is there anything you can't do Jeri? I looooooooooooooooooooooooove all of this!!!!! You are truly amazing and one day I have to come visit the hollow.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Just learning?......my dear, you are a consummate pro....with a sensitive heart and a vision
    not many possess. Bringing to life your hollow companions so beautifully - start to finish -is a challenging task... and Beatrix.... oh my.... I want a Beatrix, I want a Beatrix...when next you
    create her...Let me know ....Miss you, dear one...my best to James.

    ReplyDelete
  33. The sheep are so beautiful, Jeri. It is so wonderful to come by and see what you have created next!

    I pray for you often as I go to bed at night. You just seem to come to my mind, so I do. : )

    Lily

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thank you Lily, that is so good of you, we all need prayers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome. It started several years ago... God must have a reason. Bless you, Friend.
      Love,
      Lily

      Delete
  35. Jeri! These sheep are so perfectly precious! I got hooked on Needle felting, as well…back in 2013. So many irons in the fire, but I hope to get back to it. When I created little Hyacinth Hedgehog, I giggled as she came to life…they do develop such adorable little personalities, don't they? Much love to you and James!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Christie, It is addicting, because wool is such a comforting medium, isn't it?!

    ReplyDelete

Please do leave a word or two, we SO like to hear from you!