The Arbolog |

Update; I have no more socks left. If you want socks, you can email the sheep farmer directly at vallely@telus.net.

One of the projects I’ve been working on and waiting on has finally come to fruition. As some of you may recall, I have a good friend who has a sheep farm in the interior of BC. I went up there when I was pregnant and visited with the sheepies and while it might not look like much while covered in bits of hay and snow and being worn by its producer, the sheep has some very lovely wool.

From Miscellaneous

In any event, after a lot of organizing and waiting, I am super excited to report that I am now selling 100% wool socks and am calling them Naked Ewe Socks. These socks are made with fleece from the lovely sheep you see above whose name is Rita, as well a number of her friends. The fleece has then been sent to a wool mill in Alberta, where the wool is cleaned, carded, spun, and then woven using a very cool old Komet sock machine from the 60s that can produce a sock in about three minutes.

From Miscellaneous

We also chose to produce four different sizes: 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-15, and in some sizes, we have both an ankle length and the regular length you see above.

These aren’t super soft but they aren’t itchy. I’m wearing a pair right now and find them really comfy.

Why wool? Wool is an amazing natural product. In order to maintain a sheep’s health, you have to shear them. That product then becomes a marketable byproduct of a sheep. Wool is naturally odor absorbing, naturally water repelling, and can be made into everything from diaper covers to sweaters. It’s strong, durable and warm. I use wool socks when I am hiking and in the winter. Often people who have allergies to synthetic fibers have the choice of silk (lovely but expensive), cotton (wear out pretty fast as a sock) or wool.

Why these socks? Well, for years, I have spent a lot of money on socks from Mountain Equipment Co-op, socks that are made in the USA (no offense American friends) rather than here in Canada. I loved those socks, but I thought, wouldn’t it be better to buy socks made here in Canada? Out of wool from sheep raised right here in BC?  We’ve also elected not to colour the socks, because not everyone wants red or blue or whatever socks and I am selling them with minimal packaging as well to reduce my impact on the earth.

So, enough of the sales pitch – if you’re interested, I am selling these for $20 a pair plus shipping, plus I’ll give you discounts if you buy more than one pair. I’ve set up an email address for these socks: nakedewesocks@gmail.com and you can email me or leave a note in the comments in you want. Thanks for supporting me!

I have no more socks left. If you are interested in socks, please email the sheep farmer directly at vallely@telus.net

Hi.

I’m a Keebler Elf.

From Kale

Kale and I went “visiting” yesterday. We went to my workplace’s head office, and also my workplace. It was a long day for Kale, and I suspect I may have pushed it a tad too far. I so seldom get the car that I wanted to cram in as much stuff as possible. It was great though, to show off my lovely baby and get out of the house. But I think I was as frazzled as Kale by the end of the day and we both had some relaxing downtime when we got home.

The outfit Kale is wearing is sort of his current “socializing” outfit. At home, he is usually in a onesie and socks and if its chily, some pants. I don’t ever really care if they match or if they are stained – we are just at home. But when we go out, I make a point of dressing Kale in some of the many adorable outfits he was given before he was born and the one above is a favorite as it has all sorts of co-ordinating seperates. There are two other onesies and also a striped pair of pants and they all match. Under those bootie things are a pair of socks and I just want to show you a picture before I continue:

From Kale

Why exactly do infants need grippy feet on their socks? Is it just for show? Or do they think that there are super babies out there who are walking at 2 months? Seriously. What is that all about?

Today Kale and I are expecting visitors – a dear friend of mine and her family are coming over. Karina and I have known one another for ages and her and I have really enjoyed comparing notes because we were both pregnant at the same time and her son Caden was born a week after Kale. So this is the first time the boys are meeting and I am looking forward to seeing them all.

One last thing: Melanie, you will be excited to know that I am well on my way to creating those felt toys – I am buying a die cutter (a manual machine, used, off Craigslist, just for a trial) and am going to build a little set of the felt toys. I am also trying to find out if Mrs. Lois Allan can sue me if I start making my own version of Fuzzy Felt under another name? I also found a company that makes a die cutter machine that hooks up to your computer so you can program it to cut ANY shape and if the felt toys I plan on making take off, I will be buying that machine. I just can’t justify buying it quite yet though. Does anyone want to volunteer to be a toy tester? I’m going to make ten sets and would like kids to try them out and report back.