Still Here

It's just been a rather rough start to the new year for me. Losing two of my sheep so close together was quite the shock. Then I've been dealing with a few health issues. I guess life figured it was time to see if I would rise up to the challenges or allow myself to be buried. So far I've been meeting each new challenge head on and dealing with it the best I know how.

It hasn't been all doom and gloom around here. There have been those bright spots. Like discovering that two of my ewes will be lambing sometime in March. Or seeing how big last fall's lambs are getting. Carrie's twins are still on the small side but both are very healthy and active. Stu, the ram lamb twin, is very affectionate. He will be wethered within the week. He is staying here as a fiber pet. His twin, June Bug, has surprised me by growing a pair of small horns. Hope, Gracie's ewe lamb, is also sporting a nice pair of horns. I will keep an eye on both ewe lambs to make sure their horns are growing properly. It's about time I tried to get some photos of the lambs. It might be a bit challenging to get photos of Raven and her ram lamb. He has gotten quite big. He's nearly as large as his mama....and he's sporting a really nice set of horns already. I had to put both out in pasture as he was "bothering" the ewes.....and making a rather cute "fish face" in the process.

Christmas was nice. Everyone loved their gifts. It's always nice when things you have made by hand are loved and appreciated. This is the queen sized quilt I made for my youngest and her husband. They LOVE it.  :) I quilted words in it.....love, laughter, joy.....to hopefully remind them of the brighter side of life when things get a bit challenging. They had fun looking for the words.  :)

This little guy I made for my youngest. She loves owls. I used all handspun for it. The photo isn't the best but it's the only one I got of him. He never left her hands once he was unwrapped.  :)

As for myself....well I got spoiled after the holidays. My loving hubby surprised me with a new sewing machine. And it was a HUGE surprise! In more ways than one....

We were in one of my favorite fabric/yarn shops. I was looking for needles for a project. Anyway, I was standing there admiring their new display wall of Berninas when my loving hubby says,"Pick one out." My first reaction was "What?!? Are you kidding??" He said,"No. Pick one out. Get what you want." Oh my gosh!!! We were there for quite some time. It was almost overwhelming. There were so many to pick from. I finally decided on the Bernina 750 Quilters Edition. It has all the features I was looking for plus some. 

It is considerably larger than my old Bernina...as you can see from the photos. It came with a nice accessory case, which I have just about filled up already.....a nice selection of feet, and a lovely soft case. It's a sheer dream to sew on. It's so quiet and has a very lovely stitch. I LOVE sewing on it! As for my old Bernina....it has been lovingly packed away. I can't imagine parting with it. It was my workhorse for almost 15 years. Never had a single problem with it. I hope to enjoy my new Bernina for just as long, if not longer.  :)