Mom started a new craft project that she has been dreaming about for a couple years.  She bought wool from a farmer who raises sheep for meat so it was only $1/lb.  She got 20 lbs in 2 dog food bags!  Fancy sheep wool for sweaters can go for $20 for a half pound.

She washes it, picks it apart, then cards it to get all the fibers going the same direction.

Then she spins 3 bobbins full, and plys them together.  It makes a rustic yarn which still has bits of hay in it!!

The plied yarn amounts to about 45 yards, which is then washed in hot water again to set the twist.  Then she cuts it into little pieces to work into a latch hook rug!  The 45 yards appears to result in 3" of the rug!!  Wonder if it will take longer to make a rug than it took to build a house??

 

The chickens have been staring inside.  They want the same rights as Me and Osker, that is, free run of the house.  They have been consistently laying 1-2 eggs per day all through winter, they don't eat much store bought feed, they're free-range, organic, and they know their eggs are going for $4.00/doz!!!  As you can imagine, I'm not into sharing my space.