The ermine doe's litter has been weaned. They are now 5 1/2 weeks old. It is a bit earlier than I normally do this process, but it is her 3rd litter and I want her recovered for the coming spring warmup and summer heat. She is such a sweet thing.
I weaned a week earlier than normal and did it over a period of about a week. I am now giving her fresh peppermint to help dry her up. During the weaning period, the biggest 3 kits were removed and then over a period of days kits were gradually removed based on size. The kits are doing great. Strong and healthy. Even the runt has survived and thrived. Speaking of the runt. It is so small and yet so active and lively. It really is amazing to see it push its way to the feed bowl for it's turn.
The weather is very north Texas spring. Thundershowers and beautiful green plants everywhere. We even had fresh dandelion leaves with our evening meal last night. They were delicious. The rabbits really love them as well.
On the pet yarn front:
Warren has gone home to his owner. She was happy to see his yarn. I am glad I separated him into two levels of softness.
Currently, I am working on Reva and Toby, standard poodles. I am carding and spinning Toby as I go along. His hair is extremely short, less than 1/2 inch for the most part. His coat is fairly coarse. I thought I might have to put in wool , but he has enough undercoat to hold things together with a lot of twist. I am 3/4 through spinning him up. So I am pleased at that.
On the dyeing front:
I carded and spun 4 oz of my superwash Merino & Tencel blend for a friend. Then I dyed it a dark blue in my natural Indigo vat. It turned out really nice. She said she will knit into a small shoulder shawl. She has some of my sw Merino & Tencel (acid dyed) that she knit into socks and she says they are the best wearing socks she has. It is a great compliment coming from her since she once told me she thought a batch of my Christmas cookies weren't too good. She really is honest in her comments.
I have acid dyed a number of sw merino & Tencel batches. Still need to get a darker blue in the mix.
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