Welcome
Welcome to Ba Ba Blacksheep a podcast hosted by BowPeep for all the fiberholics out there. I’m glad you dropped by and I hope you enjoy the show. Put yourself on the map.
Introduction
Hi, I’m BowPeep a shepherdess who is a fiberholic. I wish to remain anonymous, one…I’m not an expert and secondly I wish to protect the innocent.
I have learned a lot and want to “Pay it Forward” by sharing things I’ve learned along the way.
If you discover who I really am, please keep it a secret and instead experience the joy of “Pay it Forward“.
You can listen to this episode here.
NEW FEATURE – Bowpeep has her own website for the podcast to keep it all together. No more searching for the pieces to the Ba Ba Blacksheep podcast. It’s all here! Let me know how you like it.
Life on the Farm– updates on the cast and crew
Another chicken dies of old age. A chicken’s life span is only a few years, so it wasn’t unexpected. We’ve had her and the group of original chickens for three or four years. The garden is really producing and I’ve been making pickle relish, putting up tomatoes and freezing corn and other veggies. Busy time of year on the farm right now.
WIP – Works in progress, what’s on the needles, wheel or in the dyepot
Dyeing – what’s in the pot
Nothing right now in the dyeing department.
Panda - Dark Matter colorway
Spinning
Spumoni is actually finished now and Panda is on the wheel. It’s a Merino Superwash, bamboo and nylon blend, perfect for socks. It’s the colorway “Dark Matter” from Yarn Hollow.
Knitting
Hubby’s socks, almost finished now, just one more toe.
Weaving
ripsmatta rugs started
Started the weaving on my Ripsmatta rugs. Some rough starts, but I’m getting under way, despite the hiccups. You’ll hear all about the hiccups in “Greensleeves”. I’m a little further than this pictures shows, but not by much. I’ve been so busy with family and garden I haven’t had as much time for fiber crafts. Plenty of time for all of that when winter comes….oh, I don’t want to think about that yet.
It Had to Be Ewe– breed Information and the different types of wool
- Gotland
Gute sheep
Gotland revisited and Gute sheep introduced.
The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook
University of Oklahoma – Sheep Directory – Gute & Gotland
Fodder – Tips, Tricks and Techniques I’ve learned along the way (if you have suggestions, send them in…more on that later)
locks of Tara fleece 2011
Locks or pieces of a fleece each look different upon closer inspection. The lock on the right is from Tara’s neck wool, the lock in the middle is from her shoulder area and the left hand lock is from the hindquarters (hip area). If you look you can see the different crimp styles and understand how different the same fleece can be.
Pet Peeves
What bugs you?
Bad lighting can make a project more difficult, if not impossible, to do. Try to find lightbulbs that are “full spectrum” or “daylight” bulbs to get a truer light. Nothing is as good as natural sunlight to see the definition on darker yarns or when threading a loom.
Greensleeves and The Frog Pond– ripping, repairing and swearing (no swearing on the air though, it’s a family friendly show)
The tangles and hiccups of getting the ripsmatta rugs on the loom. There’s always something to fix when warping or threading a loom. At least for me there is. I still classify myself as a beginning weaver.
Say What?
Tidbits and terms used in spinning, knitting, dyeing, weaving
Lease sticks hold the cross
“Lease sticks” – these sticks hold the cross while warping and threading the loom. They are, in my opinion, the best tools a weaver can have.
More information about using lease sticks on Weavezine.
Book reviews – From My Bookshelf
Simply Beautiful Sweaters for Men by Linden Phelps and Beryl Hiatt
A pattern book full of nice sweaters that men would wear. Hubby like several in the book but decided on a vest pattern. His comment was it should be easy since it doesn’t have sleeves. True, and faster, especially on size US #15 needles in chunky yarn.
Barnyard Banter– slang expressions that originated on the farm
“The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts”.
Off topic Topics or Guests– Discussions on the various fiber crafts, each show will look closer at aspects of a particular craft or an occasional guest
All the pieces of life, planning a trip to a fiber festival, parts of my loom and getting to know them better, our spinning group comprised of individual members. Looking at the whole but seeing the sum of the parts and appreciating them too.
Ravelry Tips– ways to get the most out of Ravelry
Join Ravelry if you haven’t already.
Adding photos in Ravelry. New, Ravelry extras to make adding photos so much easier. Check out the main page on Ravelry for more information and videos on using these new features.
Songs to Spin By– some music to spin or knit by, featuring a new artist or song each show
“Little Pieces” by Uncle Seth
Courtesy of MusicAlley.com
Special announcements:
Bowpeep has her own website now that has links to everything in regards to the podcast and more! Check out the new website and let me know if you like it!
Greatful Thread II
Sneak peek at one of my fiber festival purchases, Greatful Thread II from Yarn Hollow.
Thank you Karen from California for your donation to the podcast. I couldn’t go on without your generous support.
Thank you for listening, see you next time.
Song Credits
- Wren Ross blog “Stories of Fiber“
Songs used in the show all by: Wren Ross
Ba Ba Blacksheep
It Had to Be Ewe
76 Stitches
Greensleeves
You can find more about Wren Ross at her blog
NEW FEATURE – Bowpeep has her own website for the podcast to keep it all together. No more searching for the pieces to the Ba Ba Blacksheep podcast. It’s all here! Let me know how you like it.
Blog and Show Notes: www.bowpeep.wordpress.com
Ravelry ID: BowPeep
Ravelry Group: BaBaBlacksheep
Send your questions or comments: blacksheep.bowpeep@gmail.com
Copyright 2011 by Ba Ba Blacksheep
Bowpeep's Blog 