Kettle Dye Pot

As I'm considering which dyes to use today for my dye pots, I can not find my other dyes that I had packed away so I will be using the RIT dyes. I know hold your breath. However, there are plenty of us that live in the boonies and the fiber store isn't around the corner to go get the dye we want much less if there was the chances of them having the color we want if we are doing a special project could be a passing thought.

My past dyeing experience was a few months ago. I found out that I didn't add enough vinegar to the solution. It really didn't clarify to what I was understanding. Today I have supervision and a translator with me as we will go through this process and decide exactly how we would like to get this all done. This should be fun!

Today it went rather well after we had finished the Border Leicester Dye Pot we decided to go ahead and do a Mohair Dye pot with the same dye. That was exciting!

This is the Mohair after thought! I'm glad we tried this as well!










What we learned was that I didn't add enough vinegar to the last kettle dye pots that I did. This time we revved it up a little with a couple of extras that I learned about to see if it would make a difference. From what I can tell in just this process it made a Significant difference in how it was all done!

Now to make things that much easier I need to build a bigger drying table or tables at the rate this is all going!

The lesson, you don't know until you try, ask as many questions as necessary and remember we all started somewhere. I've had a love for fiber for over 20 years and it wasn't until recently that I actually started to try to dye things.

The two of them drying. 


#kettledyeing #BorderLeicester #Mohair #CandyCherryRed #HeritageHillsHomestead #rawfiber #dontknowunlessyoutry #dyeinginthemoment #MontanaMade #MontanaGrown #MontanaProducts #CottageIndustries

Moving on Up!

 
Growth can be either exciting or rather intimidating. I think we all have experienced growing pains, and I don't mean in our bodies physically although we have done that throughout our lives as well.

I'll start with the updates first to give you an overall picture.

PayPal - we are now accepting PayPal for your convience. We also accept check and cash of course.

The Mealworms are transforming. I honestly thought I had killed them off but then to
realize that was them transforming over to the beetle stage. Thankfully. The investment in them wasn't a Significant one where I would have just kicked myself from here to there.

Lambing has begun around here for several shepherds. We have a few bum lambs which is rather impressive has these babies were either from Twins or Triples, except for one which was orphaned. :(  As we are getting in the swing of things with them it has been an educational process all over again. Can't help but look at them and enjoy the life that they are setting forth. When they call out it sounds like Mom when I'm going over to them. It reminds me of several Bible verses with the shepherds and ironically has brought back memories and new thoughts of what is to come.

Chickens I think they are confused or is it just the season. They are not too sure of what to think about the baaing that is going on over in the other part of the yard but they do their inspections as they have now decided to boost up egg production!  We have a coop to get built for them that can be transported. We will be making it out of repurposed lumber and pallets.

Fibers They are coming and going.  My love for fibers runs deep. I think because it encompasses so many things, the animals and the people that all have to work together to make it come together. It is a Symphony of making it all work. I believe that Montana is one of the best places for woolen fiber. As we experience all the seasons here and sometimes we are fortunate to experience those seasons all within a day. I've seen it and I've heard stories of long ago how dangerous it was when it happened then. As a result of experiencing the different seasons and that it could happen at anytime of the year, these animals are hardy that survive.  There is no room for error in this. As a result you will see less breakage in the wool, which would indicate an illness at sometime when the fleece was grown. More specifically where the break is when the lapse happened.  Montana has a large base of different breeds here to chose from and I find more each day. From Rambouillet, Merino, Cormo, Babydoll Southdown, Debouillet, Targhee, Border Leicester, Lincoln Longwools, Romney, Wensleydale, Jacob, Icelandic, Navajo-Churro, Friesian Milk Sheep, Finn,  Barbados Blackbelly,  Corridale, Suffolk, Columbia, Hampshire, Shropshire & I'm missing a few I'm Sure.  We also have Alpacas - Suri & Hucaya, Llamas, Camels, Angora Rabbits, Angora & Cashmere Goats.

I decided on my Mission that I will help people find their wool they want here in Montana, if for some reason I'm not able to find it here in Montana I have other valuable resourced people that I know I can find it from a good producer near by.  I'm striving to have Montana Grown and Montana Made Products here available for you.

On my first Special order Request. I asked a Friend what she was looking for. She told me Navajo-Churro Fleece. I said, give me a week and I will find it.  When I said I would find it I should have said we would find it. As it took a network of individuals knowing different people and we came up with a sustainable source to choose from.  I asked a local fiber group I belong to and the women chimed in like it was Christmas. I Just Love the Ladies! I was able to contact the owner of the sheep to see if they had any fleece for sale. They said they did and they were able to email me some beautiful pictures and I was able to pass them along. The Fleece was sold Pending inspection. The fleece was shipped off this past Friday.

 Fiber Trips & Sustainable Lives

Our first fiber trip for business aspects was last Sunday.  Yes, It has taken me this long to 'digest' all of what has gone on during that time. Several lessons learned in the process and long the way there after. One, when traveling with teenagers Always, Always pack the night before.  Add a few bum lambs to that mixture and expect departure to be hours later than what you had expected to originally done had you just gone by yourself.  Our first stop to find nipples for the bums as they were not liking the ones that I had for them. Off to the Ranch store and Nope they didn't have the pitchered nipples! I would think for as many sheep are around the area that they couldn't afford not to carry them especially now. Then to Wal-Mart out of all places. We got baby bottles with different nipple ages for them. Found a lamb nipple for the bigger calf bottle.  Then we are off on the road again. Co-pilot feeding the lambs as I go down the road.

We arrive to the friends home which is going to show us to the locations that we are to visit. A Brief moment of relaxation as we figure out exactly how this is all going to go for the rest of the day. We head to the first farm where I will be taking pictures of the fleece there as I have people whom are interested in Romney fleece. It's always interesting to have a brief look into how people do things for their herds. There is a beautiful fleece laying out on the skirting table.  This is two fold for me as I've not seen a skirting table like this before and I'm liking the advantages that this presents and the fleece I have a clear view of the quality it has in it. Very little VM (Vegetable Matter) and even crimps throughout the fleece.  She proceeds to show us several other fleeces as well as a scale sample of the fleeces that she has so we can see the quality and the length on them. Did I mention the colors. Oh the Beautiful Natural colors. I Love seeing deep Natural Colors in a Fleece. Of course White is always Great too. She has classic white, Deep Silver, Steely Silver, Light Grey, Cream, Brown & Black.  I had to tell myself I'm there for the photos for the customers and not for getting fleece for myself. I came home with a ram fleece that has multiple colors in it from Silver, Steely Silver, Grey, Cream and Tan. His staple length is a solid 6 to 8 inches in appropriate spots. The texture of this fleece for a ram is Superb, the crimps are uniform and consistently throughout the entire fleece like the other fleeces that I inspected. So much for looking for the customers.

After such a lovely adventure I was parched! Probably from all of the drool. We ran to the store to get something to drink and process all that we just experienced.  From there we met at the friends house to take a few and go through their fleeces that had the same consistency as it's from the same flock. There is something to be said for flock management when you can see the fiber and the improvements that it's working towards in the fleece that comes from it no matter where you turn.  After I took several pictures of those beautiful fleeces and we were off to the next farm visit.

Mind you I'm going to look at the Navajo-Churro fleece. I mean they wouldn't dare have any other animals there would they?  As we drove up I felt like I was in some sort of dream as I could see what they were doing. There were the Traditional Devon Cattle, then the sheep both Navajo-Churro and Jacob, followed by the Beautiful Muscovy Ducks in array of colors, to pull further ahead to see the Vibrant Peacock Males. I do not think I've ever seen Peacock males in such Prime condition. Their colors were Phenomenal!  We were greeted by the owners and they graciously showed us around explaining what they are doing and I was beaming. We made it to where the fleece are stored and I was again in Awe.. That day was defined by 'Awesomeness'.

I've had the chance to wash some of the Romney ram Fleece that I got and I was once again in love with what it brought to the table. To think with the first wash I got a brillant shine to it and it pulled apart so well that I will not put it into rovings but will be able to spin directly from the way I hand picked through it and washed it. To me that is success in a fleece. How much handling I have to do to it in order to make it to the loom or spinning wheel.

As I took that trip that day there were several things that came to mind. First off was, Oh this is going to be a ride with the lambs. It was but it really did go well. The lambs didn't run off when let out and they were very happy with the new nipples.  The fortune of having good friends show you to places unknown and willing to be there throughout the whole process was a Blessing that is so Appreciated. For the Wonderful People I did get to meet for the first time and their patience and willingness to tell me more and for those I didn't get to meet this time around as I have a feeling this will be a repeat area with plenty of growth potential that needs to be tapped into.  The one thing that I had asked myself over and over again. Am I going into the right business? I had that answered a few times over and over and that was YES!  There is something about seeing things come full circle. Where you build interpersonal relationships with people and you let them know you are there and not for you but for them and their success as well. I've always enjoyed watching someone learn something new and that has carried over to this as I have been able to help people get their products sold to people whom have been looking for them but I get to talk about some of the most important things in life.. That is from the Foundation up is how you build.

We now are accepting PayPal and I'm informed I need to start an Instagram account.. Let's Grow together!

#HeritageHillsHomestead  #RawWool #Romney #Navajo-Churro #RoadTrip #Fiberfetish #EweSayBa #Natualfibers #Spinning #MontanaGrown #MontanaMade #MontanaHome #

Garden Itch

I Love PERMACULTURE!  I Love it so much because it is about Resolutions and Creating Bounty.  Our weather here has been Wonderful which has me thinking about planting. So it's the fall back on what I know. So often I get excuses of I can't have a garden in town.. I don't have a thingy that digs up the ground... You Don't need a thingy (Tiller) to have a successful garden in town. There are several other options to do that are quick and easy

1. Quick Garden by Geoff Lawton
2. Straw Bale Gardening - He let the bales winter over before he used them for his gardening. Most of us haven't thought that far ahead. You can start it this year and you could ask a farmer/rancher if they have old Square Hay Bales they want to get rid of instead.
3. Forest Gardening -

If people realized working with the land and the area that was around them instead of trying to have it all conform them that they would have that much more success in gardening I'm convinced that there would be more gardens in every yard that produced food!

Raw Fiber For Sale

Targhee -

This has Beautiful crimp throughout the Fleece. It has not been Micron Tested Yet. The price below reflects that.
Staple length: 3"
Condition: Raw
Amount: 10 Pounds
Price: $ 7 a pound  + Shipping and Handling

East Friesian
B2 

 I Love this Fleece! It has distinction and will be a joy to work with. (Yes, I kept some for myself)
Staple Length: 3 to 4"
Condition: Raw
Amount: 3 Pounds
Price: $10 per pound + Shipping and Handling.

Roll with it

As we all know Excitement can be Positive and Of Course it can be Negative as well. When the negative ones come sometimes we naturally wonder why? I joke about how it wasn't planned for this week and if I were to plan it, it would never come into my schedule. The Actuality of it is that Negative Excitement/Lessons teach us alot about situations and ourselves if we allow it to.  Just make a plan and watch while G-d and the Angels laugh, that was a moto of mine for a long time. Now I just say that if they need relief for the day they go to my channel and watch for a little while then they can go back to what they need to do.  Laughing at yourself is healthy. I mean seriously if you took yourself serious all the time you would lose some very valuable points in your life that will help your foundation.

Today, as I sit here and laugh at that I was going to get all these fleeces listed this week. I could beat myself up about it but the thing is really, Life happens. Starting last Saturday I had gotten a nail in my sidewall of my tire. Concerned about the expense of getting a new tire on not even thinking about road hazard on the tires themselves.. I went to the neighbors and they aired up my tire and said you know, we could plug it. After several questions from me on how long the plug will last and what not, the plug was in and we were good to go. I didn't have to get a tire that day. Sunday past no flat tire. Monday Morning when we are heading out the door to the bus stop, the tire flat. Called the neighbor to see if they were home. They were and they were able to come over with their portable air compressor to air up the tire as my air tank had leaked out. Dropped of kids at school and to town I went. The dealership replaced the whole tire for me as I had forgotten about road hazard on the tires! Tuesday, flat tire afternoon, back to town, didn't find a whole. Wednesday, flat tire mid morning. I aired it up and wasn't going into town as I had things to get done that were not able to get done the other 2 days I had to be in town for several hours. Called dealership and told them I would be in the following day.  Yesterday, tire flat, filled up and went into town. There is no whole in the tire or the stem. The whole was in the rim! Ordered a new rim and it shall be here sometime next week. I had to smile as Yes, it was annoying as all get out. Throughout the whole process the dealership was kind, considerate and patient. They were just as baffled as I was about the tire going flat.  They figured it out and saved me a Good $500 for a rim by sending me to a place that can get them from anywhere in the US. What a Relief!

I learned a long time ago that if I have one thing after another come up, and believe me it has happened alot in my life. That the challenge is there to help you grow and think outside of the box. My question is what did I need to learn. In this particular case a few things. 1. I believe I want to find a full sized tire for a spare so that I have that. There is quite a bit of distance between us and the towns. 2. Always have a Plug and patch set in your vehicle and know how to use it. Chances are when you need to use it you will have NO SERVICE so watching a You Tube video to show you how to do it at that time Won't be happening. 3. Maintenance on your air tank is essential and not to be held off. I knew that my air tank leaked. I will be getting parts for it to get it working correctly so that it will not leak anymore. 4. Having a Grateful Heart always brings light to people instead of being grumpy. I knew this and I was glad that when I felt grumpy I made sure that when talking to the people that could be part of the solution I wasn't grumpy. I know they heard the frustration in my voice but they knew that it wasn't directed at them. 5. There is a time and a place for everything just not always on our scheduled time.  Ranching/Farming is alot like that, if you expected for things to happen exactly as planned you would be consistently disappointed in the process and not notice the big significant changes that were happening amidst the discontent of it not following your exact schedule. You can have a lot of outward success but miss it if you focus on the negative.  

This week was a successful week in so many ways. My page grew in likes, it reached more people this week all over the world hitting 11 different countries, it made people feel that they could communicate with me about questions or concerns which was Very Positive feedback for improvement and drum roll... I was able to connect a friend with a type of fleece that she wanted that was raised here in Montana and she will be getting this fleece after I pick it up, I have attentively sold the Targhee fleece I have pending delivery this next week and made more connections for other producers here in Montana for the world that awaits for Montana Made and Grown Products!  The week before I was helping a producer look at their options for growth in their operation to be more productive and have less over head costs but not compromise their product. I have to tell you, I Love what I do!  Why Not! I have a Deep Love for Alternative Agriculture and I Love watching someone that has tried so hard to make their living see that they can do something better and it was right there all along. SO often people think that they work the animals and they do. My position is to help you have your animals become your partners in a deeper sense with more profitability for sustainability,  now who couldn't like that?  That's a whole other subject for later.

I hope you all have a Great weekend ahead of you and that when you hit that bump that you wonder, what is it that I need to learn from this? 

Looking to make an order or get some help for diversification of your Farm or Ranch give us a call or email at: 406-992-4069 or Heritage Hills Homestead

Hand Made Products

1. Bun Cover Creme Colored Cotton $7.50
   has elastic to added to being able to hold the cover on.














*Special* passing on our savings to you.. 

2. Oak Peg Loom - 11 pegs, Pegs are 6", in a 5" span
    6 1/2" length
    $15.00

3. 1/2" Oak Peg Loom - 6 pegs, Pegs are 6", in a 5" span

    6 1/2" length

    $15.00

For ANY ORDERS or Requests PLEASE Call or Email at: 406-992-4069 or Heritage Hills Homestead

Raw Wool & Fiber -

I have several different raw fibers available to you.

Wool - Blue Faced Border Leicester, Border Leicester, Romney, Rambouillet, Shetland, Jacob, Finn, Targhee

Hair - Alpaca

Rabbit - French Angora, Giant Angora, English Angora

We will be offering Naturally colored Wool, Dyed, Rovings, Yarn and other specialties.

Comfrey Salve

Comfrey Salve, is a valuable asset on the Homestead used for both Humans and Creatures that are here. It is also known as the following : Comphrey, Symphytum , Symphytum asperum, Symphytum officinale & Bone Knitter

This is dedicated to information for the use of comfrey in your home/farm to help both 2 legged and 4 legged creatures.

One of my favorite uses for the salve is for cuts and bruises. When I add Arnica with it the bruises are gone before they show up it seems. To me it better than the triple antibiotic salve that everyone seems to use.




References:
1. Comfrey Central - Clearing House for information

2. Comfrey the Miracle Herb -

3. Medical Review of Comfrey -Pub Med. gov


Where to buy it:

1. Heritage Hills Homestead - Yep Right from us here just email at: Heritage Hills Homestead

2. Mountain Rose Herbs - Comfrey

Mealworm Adventure

 

As one of the many projects here on the Homestead, sustainability is one of the utmost priorities for all of us here, both 2 legged and 4 legged.

Mealworms are expensive to buy in the bag to feed to our chickens.. I started looking at redworms for composing and then mealworms also came into play. After watching a few mealworm videos Meal Worm Beginning Video 1 and the ones after that I have modeled my set up from those videos.  The toilet paper rolls cut in half are for them to escape the light, the carrots are for moisture, the rolled oats are for their food. They are in the middle drawer for now.  I had gotten the drawer setup at the Goodwill in town. The whole set up was approximately $20.00 for all of it. 

$3.00 for the drawer set up

$5.50 for the 100 meal worms

$7.00 for the screen on the top, although it obviously will not use all the screen roll

$5.00 for rolled oats, depending on if you want to use organic or regular.

need to use tape, hot glue and box cutters

We shall see how this looks in a week.

The other reason why I wanted to switch to mealworms in the winter is to keep the predator load down.. I feed kitchen scraps which include everything that is extra. That smell of meat in the air could be a potential problem with predators.

#mealworms #Sustainable

 

The above two pictures are dated for 1/23/2016, they are thriving! How exciting is that?! I should have measured them to show the difference in the time that we had gotten them to now. I do believe that we have lost some of them to death. Which will be fed to the chickens, obviously no loss then. It will be exciting to see how long it will take for them to get to the beetle stage now.

Excitement Everywhere?

As I was talking with a girlfriend this morning about things she of course pointed out the obvious to me and she actually used an example I have in the past.. I was talking to her about the looms that I make. I was over excited about it. She was looking for a peg loom and I responded.  She asked me about sizes and what not, for me to reply I don't have one ready right now.. I told her I was so excited about things that I didn't even take pictures of it. She made the comment, "hahaha, it's fun to see an adult act like a kid in a candy shop! I can feel your excitement!" I share her same passion! I Love it when you get to see that excitement come back to a person. It is a Joy that we need to see more of! Of course I'm feeling rather goofy at that point as well as the realization when I told her I make looms and to order that I didn't have any on hand at the moment to sell. Open Mouth insert foot.

I Love all the possibilities of the growth that we are experiencing. IT just confirms that being in fear of the unknown just is a waste of energy and time. I was afraid to dye fiber. Something that I'm sure I've never done before. So far.. Great Success, maybe in not the way that I thought it would be but then again have you ever met a quilter that can't spot their first flaw on their quilt? I haven't. Then to carding and blending what I had. Boy I was surprised yet again. No different then when I built my first rug loom. Boy was that a rough draft but that allowed me to get out and learn so much more about what I would and didn't want to do.  My point, Embrace that of what is new and go forward. Do what you must but go forward in any case. You never know until you try what kind of art you will create. More importantly do it like the kid in the candy shop jumping up and down, who cares who is watching! You live life only once! Embrace what you have been given!

Border Leicester Wool Washing

Here is a Step by Step guide to wash sheep's wool by hand.

 Raw Border Leicester Fleece, Unskirted, Unwashed  

                                                                                               Upclose

 

1. Water needs to be 120 degrees or warmer than just warm so it doesn't cool off fast. (I do not have a thermometer to test the temperature) I pick the big debris or VM (Veggie Matter from the fiber before going into the wash)
You can use Ovus Paste which you can find at a ranch store, Eco Soap or Dawn. Today I used Dawn. Placed the fiber in the water and did not agitate it, just pressed down on it.

2. Dump Water from the wash into a bucket if you want to keep the Lanolin.. When it cools off you will have top Lanolin. DO NOT pour the water down the drain so that doesn't cause clots in the pipes

3. First wash

 4.Some of the VM that I didn't get from just placing in the water

 5. Rinsed in the same temp water without agitating  
                           6. Repeat steps 1 through 5

The Fiber on the Left is the washed fiber from the fiber on the right. Can you believe they are one in the same?