Okay, I still can’t quite believe that something this cool could happen, but it seems that an entire starter flock of Babydoll Southdown sheep has been GIVEN to my mom’s friend Maren, and will live at my mom’s house. As in free. We’re talking about real, living, breathing, baa-ing, wooly, miniature sheep. We’re talking about FIVE of them: a ram, three unrelated ewes, and the yearling daughter of one of the ewes. All this is to say that they’re practically mine, because I get to have all of that wonderful wool for spinning, dyeing, and knitting. Yeah!

Apparently these beautiful beasts were someone’s 4-H project. The child got tired of them, and the mom gave them away. We’re working on getting them registered (they’re pure bred) and then
we’ll add the ram to the breeders registry. Isn’t he handsome? He’s the
fellow in the second photo foreground.

We are told that two of the ewes are pregnant, and due in about 6 weeks. We’re really sure which two, but my mom says two of them look a little heavier. The babies are apparently supposed to weigh between 3 and 7 pounds when born. Amazing.

My mom was telling Miss O about the sheep on the phone the other day, and three-year-old Olga has already determined that they are hers. "Baba, you got my sheep? Yeah! I like my sheep!"

A quick excerpt from the Babydoll Southdown Sheep registry:

The South Down breed of sheep originated in the South Down
(hills) of Sussex County, England. The English farms kept these sheep for their
flavorful meat and fine fleece. In the early 1800s the South Downs were imported
to the United States. With the arrival of refrigeration larger meat carcasses
were desired and the smaller sheep were crossed with bigger sheep to produce a
larger animal. They are the South Downs of modern day. Around 1990 small flocks
of the original smaller South Downs were rediscovered and labeled Olde English
Babydoll Miniature Sheep to differentiate them from the larger modern breed.

Currently people raise these docile sheep for their wool, as
pets, and grass trimmers perfect for today’s smaller acreage farms. They are one
of the oldest known down sheep. Today’s breeders believe breed preservation is
of utmost importance and strive to keep this wonderful breed of sheep from
forever being lost.

Last week I cut out a bunch of shoes, but I didn’t get a chance to work on them until last night.

I’ve got some brights, some vintage, and some Saint Patty’s Day shoes coming up. Some are already in my shop.

I’m also really looking forward to receiving a big ribbon order I put in recently for pretty grosgrain ribbon. It’s for my new style of fancy baby girl shoes.

I’ve tweaked the pattern just a little since I made this pair, to include a little bit of elastic in the heel. So not only are they totally adorable, but they’re just as practical as my original shoes. I’m loving the vintage/retro look for these, so I’m scouring my stash for tiny bright calicoes, tone on tone geometrics, and pindots. The eyelets are applied with my vintage Bates eyeleter, inherited from my Great Aunt Becky.

I’ve pulled together a few things to make the first thing
for the reconstruction project. Kate sent this wonderful velvet shirt and crinkly
houndstooth skirt. I pulled this wonderful wide ribbon out of my stash, along
with some sort of odd lace. It has a ridge just off center down the whole length, and I think it is meant to be folded in half and used as insertion. I
also found a lovely red lining fabric from my stash. This is going to be a baby
dress. The skirt will be the bodice, lined with the lining (duh), and the
velvet will be the gathered skirt. Buttons from the skirt will go down the
back, and I’ll use the lace and ribbon to dress everything up and tie it all
together. I’ll add a peter pan collar, too, I think.

I really love this project, and it’s making me think a lot about my own wardrobe. There are a lot of things I have in my closet that I can’t wear, but keep for other reasons. Many things I just don’t have the figure for (I can fit into them, I just can’t fill out the curvy bits). Some of them are delicious fabrics, but totally frumpy. And some are just too rough. Ever since my bout with shingles a couple years ago, I’m very sensitive to rough spots on fabrics. I especially notice rough seams, and I’ve had to throw away several things because I just couldn’t tolerate them. When I finish this project, I’m going to take a serious look at my own things, and see what I can remake out of them. Maybe I’ll finally be able to wear some of the things that have been in my closet for years.

1 March 2007 - Update: I’m putting these up in my shop after all. As soon as they’re all there, I’ll take down most of these pictures.

Here they are! There are only a few more that aren’t pictured, because they’re still on the ironing board getting their final touch ups. You can see an earlier post about these bibs here. Bibs are all quilt shop quality prints with a layer of warm & natural cotton batting inside. The back is white chenille from a damaged bedspread. They all have pearl snaps and rick rack. Most of the rick rack is vintage, too.

This is the first time I’ve tried posting anything for sale on my blog, so please bear with me while I figure out the best way to do things. For this round, you can either post a comment (the little link at the bottom of this post) with what you want, or send me an email at anniet at! backwoodshome.com, then I’ll email you a Paypal invoice.

$10 each, which includes first class US shipping. If you’re outside the US, you’ll have to chip in a little for that. I can send flat rate international mail to just about anywhere for $5.25.

One more thing, then I’ll show you the pictures… If you’d like me to add another snap to make these more adjustable, just let me know and I’ll do it for free!

You can click on any of the pictures to see a bigger view. Okay!

Paper Dolls - B
Pink rick rack, white pearl snap.

Stars and Stripes - A
White rick rack, red snap.

Fairy Kingdom - A
Red rick rack, red pearl snap.

Fairy Kingdom - B
Lavender rick rack, white pearl snap.

See Jane Golf - A

Red rick rack, red pearl snap.

At the Park  - B

Pink rick rack, white pearl snap.

Waves - A

Mint rick rack, white pearl snap.

Kitty Meow - A

Super vintage orange, black, and white rick rack, white pearl snap.