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

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

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!