How to Make Felted Soaps: Part Two

This post is over due because of the blizzard, but that is behind us now, not to much longer until Spring! So onto how to make felted soaps...go back to the previous post where I list the supplies you will need. First select some wool and fiber, use wool as your base.

Begin wrapping the wool around the bar of soap as tight as possible. I was working with heart shapes here which was a little bit difficult...

Honeybee and Alpaca Rescue from their Snow Prison!

When you have a storm of epic proportion like Blizzard "Charlotte", you really have to deal with priorities. Each day you face and do what you are physically able to do. This morning I would set out to free my bees. I was so worried about them. Their hives buried in the snow and I was afraid it was very bleak. 

 I dug and dug and checked for life. Even banging on the side of the hives to irritate them and get them to come out...and then, there was life! I was so happy to see them!

Next task was to dig a trench in the 3 foot of snow to free the Alpacas from the hill where they rode out the storm. Tim has been able to trudge through the snow to get hay to them but they would not even attempt the snow.

 I was helped by my two wonderful companions, Jesse and Autumn who tried in vain to get them to follow them...

My dug path was at least 100 feet long and looking back I was pretty impressed with what me and the dogs had done. I can't take all the credit for it, they blazed and I dug!

 I just had to take this picture when I got to the other side of the gate. If you remember the previous post where the snow was up to the gate...

and then, the last shovel full! I was done! Victory was mine!

The "boys" finally decided to come down when they heard the grain bucket, using the trail dug for them. Even awnry old "Royal", pictured there on the right, was a bit thankful!

The Epic Blizzard of 2013!

We have been just a little busy here with 3 feet of snow! When we awoke on Saturday morning we went to the front door, ah nope...

 so we tried the back door, no there too! So back to the front door, the priority for us was to get to the animals!

Timmy's car was under there somewhere! That is him in the foreground...

 Tim's truck suddenly had a larger cab and is under there as well!

This is our road, or what used to be the road. I used a small groove in the snow to get thru so I could get to the barn.

Jesse and Autumn thought this new tunnel was really cool! hey ran up and down it many times!

My Greenhouse and chicken coop was holding up a lot of snow but it's construction is sound so I wasn't too worried.

 After all that shoveling I had had it! However I found that snow is very comfortable, my back felt great!

This was the path dug and you can see how high the snow is beyond that gate. That is our next task is getting to the Alpacas. 

 Many breaks were taken and we found that snow makes a wonderful cooler for beer!

Boys and their toys! This was Tim's first time out with the Quad and plow and the snow was just too high for the plow. It was great for taking layers off, maybe next storm!

Felting Soap:Part One

 This post is going to be in two parts. I will post the next part in a day or two so you can get the things you need to do this wonderful craft! They are ideal for gift giving and adds fun to the bathroom!
So to start you will need some soap. In my case I had some old soaps hanging around in the shape of hearts and rectangles.

 The next thing you will need is an old stocking. A knee high is good but you can cut an old one as well.

Some very hot water. I fill my sink as well as work over a hot running stream of water, hot enough to stand.

And last but not least a Felting Needle for embellishing and to fix some of the straggly fiber that does not come together. You can get these on line, at the craft stores or my good friend Pam from Dream Come True Farm in Oxford, CT is a great source. She sells the Ashford's which by far are the very best in felting needles. A link to her blog is on the right column of this blog.
And of course some roving and fiber which I forgot to picture here! I will be back in a day or two to show you how I make these fabulous novelty soaps!

Getting ready for Maple Sugarin'

I just love this time of year! It's sugarin' time! We have been busy getting the equipment cleaned and sterilized. Here we are boiling the spiles...

 and cleaning the hoses and hooks...

the buckets have been scrubbed and cleaned. They get stinky in the basement all year. We will begin to tap tomorrow and get sugarin' season underway!

Very cool finds...

So I was browsing in a store last week, one of those hit or miss stores and I came across this very cool find for just $4.00 each! As I continued to look I found this forged stork pair of embroidery scissors as well.

This pair was my favorite, very old fashioned looking. If you message me and want to know where I got them I'd be glad to inbox you and share my find! I have already put them to good use!





                                                                                                                                      

Egg Laying in January~wow!

So do chickens get bored in the winter? It's too cold to come out of the coop, today it snowed and yucked from the sky. so they took to laying eggs. Out of 25 chickens, I got 22 eggs today! Girls slow down! Needless to say folks, we have eggs!

Candy Boards and A New Year...

Well it's a New Year and I am approaching it with great caution and respect. Today, Rob the young man I am mentoring for his Senior Project as well as his Grandfather, who is an aspiring Beekeeper set out to make Candy Boards to feed the bees. We started with a proven recipe...

we poured the sugar into the boiling water and went to work making them as they learned how important it is to feed the bees through the winter...

I had many more pictures but Blogger did not want to upload them tonight. So we prepared the Candy Boards and installed them. I went up later, low and behold the bees went to eating the Candy, Honey B Healthy and Pollen Patties. So this is their time to rest, eat and await Spring to thrive once again.

Hail and Farewell 2012...

Hail and Farewell 2012, a year who has brought me to my knees in sadness, grief, struggle, betrayal and most of all knowing who is really there for me. The loss of my sister ripped my heart out and I will never be the same for that. The loss of a job who taught me just how horrible people and a corporation can really be. There was so much loss, it is hard to focus on the good things that happened this year. So as I have reflected all day, all there is left to do is to move on from here and leave this year behind, moving forward and hoping that life takes a reprieve from heart break and brings peace to us all...Happy 2013 everyone!

Coil Spun Dreamin'

Now that the holidays are over, it's time to get back to work. I did this before the Holidays and it was still sitting on the wheel.

Unfortunately I got the flu on Christmas morning and have not been myself for a few days. This evening I am feeling like myself again so I pulled this off and put it on my Niddy Noddy to set...

 What is great about Coil Spinning is you can use those yarns that didn't turn out right or some excess you may have as your core.

This is made from Llama, "Babydoll" Wool and Alpaca with pink dyed Corriedale Locks. I call it "Roses in the Darkness", think it may be the topper for some gloves, but not quite sure yet...

A Practice Egg!

Our little chicks from our July rescue have given us their first "practice egg"! I found it in the coop just a little while ago. It's half the size of a normal egg. Usually most chickens will lay their first egg right around 4 months but these little gals are 5 months old. I guess with the cold and late moult they are right on time for their time of year. Tim just made them two very nice nesting boxes made from milk crate idea a friend had forwared. Our other chickens have even started laying more as well!

Our Comminites loss and our Security Team!

As many of you know, Coon Hollow Farm is located in Connecticut, just one town over from the Horrible tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It has affected our Community as well as personally touched us. I have created this post as a way of maybe putting a little smile on every ones face. We pray for the families and people and hope that they can gain strength from each other and their memories of loved ones past. The healing process will be a long one hard one... 

Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy, Safe Holiday Season from Coon Hollow Farm and it's Security Team(LOL) (who you can't get past without a kiss!).

Putting the bees to bed for the Winter...

This weekend we put the bees to bed for the winter with these very cool bottom boards

 Tim made these which we also use as Candy Boards to feed the bees during the winter...

It was a beautiful day this past Saturday and the bees were out enjoying the sun.

However, I had a little help from a new aspiring beekeeper, Rob. He has chosen beekeeping as his Senior Project in High School and is coming over learning the ropes. I hope he becomes inspired to become a good beekeeper, love bees as much as I do and realize their importance on our agriculture as well as the mark they make in our world.

It may be cold, but I am warm inside...

There is nothing better, than sitting by a wood burning stove and knitting a scarf with some beautiful hand spun yarn...warms my soul...we all need to take the time to keep our inner peace fullfilled. No matter how sad I get, or how stressed I am, this takes me to another place, what takes you there?

Crockpot Dying!

I am so exited to share crockpot dying with everyone! All you need is an old crockpot (you can buy them at yard sales, or in my case I got a new one last year and have been using this old one) some fleece or fiber, some vinegar and dye.

 Soak your fiber in hot water and a teaspoon of vinegar for about an hour, oopps I got a little dye on it before hand in this picture!

Start your crockpot up ahead of time while you are waiting for your fiber to soak, add vinegar and your dye and let it get hot on the highest setting, add your fiber and give at least a couple of hours to "cook".

 I am also going to show you how to over dye a darker fiber. I have some locks here in dark gray soaking in vinegar for an hour...

and here is the finished product! On the left the darker locks take on a more burgundy color while the wool on the right took on the Cherry Red dye I was going for with white wool.
I am terribly behind on my post and will post again some techniques I figured out. I was trying to make a long locks scarf and wanted to only half dye the locks and my journey to figure it out was a funny one and turned out to be an easy solution!