Carding and Felting

Tone carding wool. The word carding comes form latin 'cardus' and it means thistle. If you haven't seen a carder, there are bent bristles (like a stiff hair brush) on it. Carding is to comb the wool to make it soft and fluffy. The carders we are using have been used on the island for at least 70 years.

Tone and I are new in the game, but after trying for a while, it went better and better. We were preparing wool for the kids to felt sitting pads. A journalist came from the local newspaper and made a story on the private 'off school' program we have.

Here is some already carded wool.

Kirsten and Tone went to a meeting with a group of women, who take care of old Norwegian traditional hand crafts (Husflidslag), to practice hand felting before we showed the kids. In this photo, the wool is arranged before the felting process starts.

Here is Kirsten working on her piece. Hand felting is lots of work.

Tone done with her finished piece.

The day has come for the journalist to visit, and we are ready for the kids to card and felt their own sitting pads. Jonas and Axel preparing veggies (and fruit) for snacks while we are working.

Marcus and Barbara in the kitchen. (Note: the kids ate ALL the fruits and veggies).

We tested how wool doesn't burn. Jonas holding matches and a piece of wool we tried to burn.

This is a 'rough' carder. You turn the crank, the drums (with bristles on)  spin and the biggest knots come out. The kids really liked this 'contraption'....

Tone talking about how wool is safe when around fire. It doesn't get stuck to your skin and burn like polyester and other man made fabrics. She told a story of some boys (whom she knows) who played with fire and the only part on their bodies that didn't get severely burned was where they had wool underwear on. Wool is used in seating and other fabrics in buses, airplanes and so on.

Veronica carding wool for her sitting pad.

Here is Veronica's sitting pad almost done.

After you have gained the shape you want on your piece, you have to 'throw' it; smack it hard onto a floor or counter. Barbara and Sigrid hard at work.

After felting, it was time to check out the newborn lambs. A little cleaner and nicer than the day before.

The little ones are just too cute.

In the background, Tina, the journalist who came to write a story on the kids.

April 21, 2009 - The first lambs were born!

The first lambs of the season were born today. Here is Ola (sorry to cut your head off!!) putting on iodine on the umbilical cord. After 24 hours (to make sure they are strong enough to survive), the lambs are given vaccination shots. The lamb season is controlled where the farmer takes the rams into the sheep heard and leaves them there for about 3 weeks. That confines the very hectic lambing season to 3 weeks. Tone and Ola go 24/7 on shift checking on the sheep; separating newborn and their moms, vaccinating and sleeping in the barn when it is their turn. Pretty crazy time for them.

These lambs are pretty small, but they made it! Originally there were three, but one was way smaller than these and didn't make it. The sheep have a 'gestation' period of about 5 months. Labor takes about 1-3 hours depending on breed and the lambs usually stand up within one hour of birth.

Everyone is a little curious. 

The mother is a one-year-old. Haven't had lamb before so the farmer has to help her with the nursing part. The sheep is tied so it can't sit down for a couple of days because it could just lay right on top of the lamb and suffocate it.  The lambs did great on their end with the nursing. They are also kept separate form the rest of the sheep so that non of the others will hurt the newborn. The perfect litter is 2 lambs, but many times the older sheep have larger litters.

Barbara cleaned up the stables while waiting for mom to take photos of the lambs.

Plenty of work to do on the farm.

The last snow creature of the year (we hope!)

4-20-09

An elephant lurking around outside our house.....

The sun melts away the snow in the day and it freezes overnight. Veronica had fun taking photos.

Spring Snow

On 4/16 og 4/17 we recieved lots of snow - about a foot in all. Here is a photo of the sheep farm  - Altevik Gård - covered in snow. When the sun came out, it was just gorgeous!

Here is a view from our porch. The fence is a deck area made for coffee breaks, but not today!

Making Potato Lefse with SFO, April 15, 2009

Potato Lefse is a traditional Norwegian Food made of cooked potatoes, a little bit of flour and some salt. They look like fajitas tortillas, but taste a little different. Way back when, corn wasn't readily available all over Norway, so potatoes were used. From the left: Barbara, Sigrid, Jonas, Marcus mashing the cooked (and peeled) potatoes. Today people make sweet lefse with flour.

Time for rolling out the dough. We divided the dough into smaller pieces and the rolling began.

It lasted for a while, but making 50 of them took a while and I helped finish the project.

Sigrid at work!

Marcus enjoying his lunch!

We used the potato lefse for hot dog buns. You can also make a coffee treat or dessert of it by adding butter, sugar and cinnamon or put Norwegian brown cheese in it. 

Here is the 'gang' in the lavvo grilling hot dogs.

After a good meal, time for work! We made bows and arrows and shot at targets. A fun day outside in the snow.

Five brave girls spent the night in a Lavvo (Sami tent) Easter Sunday.

From the left: Sigrid, Veronica, Rebecca, Barbara. In the tent, just got out of bed.

Here is the lavvo from the outside. Ola put tarp on the snow and then they had sheep skins underneath in addition to sleeping pads, sleeping bags and full winter gear. A couple of them got a little cold, but they survived!  :-) It was a rainy and very windy night, but the lavvo was put up in a very sheltered area.

Marte was there, too.

TWO GIRLS - ONE CAMERA

ENJOY!

Barbara and Rebecca.