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A Flock of Sheep!

A Flock of Sheep!

Some people get flocks of flamingos placed in their yards, I got a flock of (ceramic) sheep!  Aren’t they cute?

Tomorrow is the Fall Equinox. Cheers!

But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.   – James Whitcomb Riley

This is my favorite season – the pumpkins are piling up at the farmstands and in neighbor’s yards; the trees have a nice deep blush on them today; our winterberries have a bumper crop on them this year and should make the birds happy through the winter.  What are you doing to celebrate Fall?  I hope knitting or weaving are two of your activities – come by the shop for inspiration, and look at our Fall Class Schedule on the Community Page – we’re adding new classes weekly.

If you’re in the neighborhood, this weekend is the Fall Arts and Crafts Festival at Old Deerfield – just 2.5 miles north of Sheep & Shawl on Rtes 5/10.  Also, Saturday only, is the Annual Honey Festival at Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield.  Two wonderful events close by.  I hope I’ll see you!

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Posted on September 21, 2013 in Uncategorized

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Enjoying the world

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.  This makes it hard to plan the day.”  – E.B. White

I am sitting on one of the most northerly islands of Orkney off the north coast of Scotland – my second home of Papa Westray (locally called “Papay” and all of 4 miles square).  There is no way that I cannot enjoy the world when I am here – a community of 75 who “play well together” surrounded by the beauty of sea, sky, and farm fields.  (We just finished 3 days of the eighth annual Papay Fun Weekend, with children’s and adult’s games, contests, and creativity, sharing of food, music, and dance.)

In the field to my south I see three “fat” sheep (looking like they could fall over because their coats are so full).   OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI heard a shearer is due to fly in within the week, but the fog is delaying the 8-seater plane that services the island.  The sheep remind me of a strange advertisement I saw at the top of the extra-long Heathrow escalator last year.  3sheepadvert

Having worked in the environmental conservation field for 20 years, I now look forward to improving the world in my own small way by opening my yarn and crafts shop next month, sharing my passion for using natural yarns, knitting, and weaving, and hoping to help keep sustainable fiber farms alive and well.  In Orkney I like to knit with the local rare breed sheep’s wool (from North Ronaldsay sheep – shown on this website’s Home page – and Papay’s “Holmie Sheep”) and will work on designing a new knitting pattern for the shop.

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Posted on July 23, 2013 in sense of place

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