Show This Weekend!

Wild Rose Farm at Pioneer Craft Days

Yes, we're still out and about here at Wild Rose Farm!  We had a replacement window and siding project on this old farmhouse over the summer. Lots of other family activities and travel and now 2 shows recently. This weekend we are at Pioneer Craft Days at Beaver Creek State Park.
This show features all homemade/handcrafted items and antiques.

Antiques & Wool Quilt Batts

The antiques were good sellers today and the table thinned out by the time I remembered to take a picture. The antique Canadian sock form got a lot of attention as a curiosity to the non-knitters in the crowd … We also have an antique Pearce wool blanket & a nice Pendleton red plaid shirt available.
Come see the show tomorrow if you're in the area!

Soaking Black Walnuts For Our Next Dyebath!

We sold some lovely brown combed top dyed with black walnuts at the shows and we're sold out of indigo dyed combed top at the moment. A fresh walnut dyebath is soaking as we speak … it will be next up followed by a batch of indigo.

Antique Coverlet - Pearce Blanket - Pendleton Shirt Jacket

1st Place Rambouillet Fleece

Black Walnut Dyeing ...

Wild Rose Farm Walnut Dyed Rambouillet 2-Ply Yarn & Combed Top

Goldenrod Dyed 2-Ply 

We've done some dyeing over the winter. Black walnuts harvested here on the farm were soaked for several weeks and then boiled to extract the dye. The yarns were done first and then we followed up with the combed top. We created several shades of brown and down through caramel as the natural dye bath was exhausted. The Rambouillet wool combed top would also be excellent for felting projects!

Pollinators & Gathering Goldenrod!

Wild Rose Farm - Lots of Bees Here!

There were plenty of honeybees & other native pollinators buzzing around as I gathered more goldenrod for more natural dyeing projects. This picture came from a clump of flowering goldenrod stems next to the roadway. I ended up leaving one of the "not fully opened" stems for the bees ... feeling a little guilty, I guess!  There are also a TON of black walnuts falling everywhere right now. Every walnut that I gather from along the driveway goes right into the pot of water to soak for a dye bath.
We've finally gotten a bit of rain, but not as much as we'd like. Take a look at how dry the soil is here as we broke a little ground for a small garden next year.  The soil test sample has been sent off to the lab at Penn State and we're waiting for the results & soil pH to come back.

Talk About DRY Soil! 

Red Squirrel Caught In The Act!

Wild Rose Farm Evening Feeding

I had just taken the photo above from the house when a flash of movement near the bird feeders caught my eye.  There he was, the busy red squirrel stashing away walnuts at sunset ...

Red Squirrel Nibbling On A Black Walnut!

He ran across the rail fence and stopped to chew off the walnut hull.  Then he scampered to the ground and busied himself digging a hole and burying the nut.

Digging To Bury The Walnut ...

Wonder what a boiled walnut tastes like?  He was picking up the spent boiled nuts that had been used for a dye bath. We dump them onto the mulch under the spruce trees when I'm done with them.
Yes, he's a quick little fellow ... I thought that I lost him in the glare, but it's just that my focus was a fraction of a second too late.  I never noticed the mourning dove, but that's him in a blur on the bottom left! :~0

Uhhh ... Which Way Did He Go?