Knits n Goats

I made some socks based on a pattern out of the book Stitch n' Bitch.

It was for knee socks, but I started at the end of the calf decreases.

They knit up quickly and the pattern was easy to understand. This is a great book! It also has the pattern for a doggie sweater that can be modified to fit any size dog.

This is Boscoe enjoying his wooly sweater. He has short hair and does not like to be cold.

The sweater is made of two knit pieces, the back and the "front" (his belly) that are then sewn together, with openings left for the legs. The collar is knit in the round, connecting the two pieces.

Stewie, however, has so much hair that I have to cut it every 6 months or so. I have been saving it and I want to spin it into yarn someday, probably mixed with some wool.

Stu can run with the goats now and gives them respect. They give him a wide berth and will butt heads with him if he gets in too close. Having gotten in the way of a goat's head a couple times myself, I can tell you that it is like being punched with an anvil.

Barney is being studded out right now. He got to ride the ferry and will hopefully return to the herd at some point! The girls bleated for him when he left.

This is Barney getting a hug from Firefly. I think that Firefly is carrying kids from another billy goat.

All of the other gals are having Barney's babies. I am looking forward to meeting the kids! Barney has really thick, soft fur. I considered breeding my girls with an angora goat to get more spinning material but I want to be able to sell the kids as bred to be successful milking goats.

I'm leaning towards the notion of dis-budding the kids, which means to stop their horns from growing as soon as they start to show. I think goat horns are really beautiful and none of my goats have EVER hurt me with their horns, or my tiny little child that likes to roam with them. They are gentle. I got in the way of Bessie Mae during feeding time and that is why I collided with her head.

However, I am planning on selling some kids to keep a small herd and some people prefer goats without horns. 4-H won't accept a horned goat at all. So I'm thinking about getting the right equipment and doing some home veterinary.

In other news, it is not snowy these days, but rainy.

With some dry spells.

Thanks for reading!