Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Hello friends!

It is finally crisp and cool weather here in the desert!  We've even had rainy days.  This is a treat and a retreat from the HOT weather we had been having.

One of the things that will be happening soon is the sheep returning to the lower pastures.  When we first moved to AZ many years ago, sheep were driven down Ray Road in Chandler which is now a major Road with heavy traffic.  It was so much fun to see the sheep, so it was a pleasant surprise when we moved to this area that the sheep are wintered close by.

Notice the black sheep was not cooperating and showed me his back side!

There is an irrigation ditch and a fence separating me from these lovely wool batts er, sheep.

Have you ever used a wool batt?

These sheep are lovely to look at and willingly (?) give us their wool for clothing and batts.  Isn't that nice of them?

This year I hope to get photos of the baby lambs shortly after they are born.  I missed the opportunity last year.  Soon they will be bringing the sheep down and shortly after that they separate the mamas and babies from the rest of the sheep.

There is that stubborn black sheep turning his back on me again!

The sheep are moved from one fenced off area to another as they eat the alfalfa from the fields.  You can see the ridges that help keep the irrigation waters in the sections that need watered.

Too many kids only see sheep this way -- fenced in a small area in a petting zoo.

These lambs have already been shorn and their wool on it's way to becoming batting or clothing.

Wool batting is really nice to work with, although I've only used it a couple of times.  I love the feel of the Hobbs wool batting.  It is also preshrunk which is a bonus!  (No affiliation with Hobbs, I just like their batting products.)

A good way to see if you like to use any batt is to try samples side by side in one project.  I've participated in this kind of project a couple of times.  The batting companies change the types of batts available from time to time so it's good to test new types.  Put strips of batting side by side and sandwich it between a plain back and a plain or pieced top -- small, not a large quilt. Make a map of which batt is located where and proceed to quilt.  This is especially helpful if you are a hand quilter.  Once you have evaluated the batting products, you will know which ones you like to use and which ones are harder to use.  Be sure to include a wool batt.  I think you'll like it!

It's quilting season -- get busy and quilt!

Thank you for stopping by!  See you next time.

xoxoXOXOxoxo,

Lois