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.  :)

Velkrys Sophie

April 2, 2004 - January 18, 2015

Cedar Haven Maxmilian

                                     March 29, 2007 - January 9, 2015

Year of the Sheep

.....is starting off with lots of snow.  :)  It's also starting off with me convalescing from a bad ankle/foot sprain which I acquired New Year's Eve by slipping on some icy snow.

2014 was a good year. It had its ups and downs but that's life. Overall, it was good. My loving hubby and I celebrated another year together, which is always a good thing. Our kids are more settled. It's nice knowing that we can finally breathe and not have to worry about them so much. 

2014 saw the addition of a new Great Dane/Bloodhound puppy (Moose), as well as a new Shetland ram (Max). It also saw the birth of fall lambs. The first lambs that have been born here in several years....and hopefully not the last. I discovered that I really enjoy having lambs around.

2014 also saw the closing of my etsy shop. After seven years of stress and struggle to make it successful I finally said "enough". While there were sales and repeat customers (thank you!) it really never got going. It was more stress than fun. While I wanted a successful online shop it just wasn't worth it.  Not to me. The day I closed my etsy shop I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. It felt wonderful!

The new year has started and I find myself happily content with life. No resolutions. No changing this or doing that. I just want to enjoy each day as it comes. I want to continue being happily content with life. It's good for the soul.  :)

Snow!!!

We didn't have any for Christmas, but got plenty today. Things look real pretty around here. Postcard pretty in places.

Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May your holiday be filled with lots of love, laughter, and joy.

Taking a Breather

Amidst all the holiday gift making craziness there was a small space of calm. This was spent making a winter themed pincushion for myself. It's not real big, but it gave me a much needed breather from all the gift making and allowed me to satisfy the overwhelming need to make something just for me.

I had a bit of fun with it and embellished it with Swarovski crystals.

The gift making is coming along. I had to re-evaluate my to-do list to see which things I could get done and which would have to wait. Not the easiest thing to do...especially when I feel the need to make everything that was asked for. But it's done and I don't feel so hurried now.

Here is the wall hanging I made for my mother. Just need to get it ready for mailing. It's a simple quilt but I think she will love it because of its gardening theme....and she's really into gardening. Plus she will like the crystals I embellished it with.

Along with all the gift making I managed to squeeze in time to make a few fleece throws for my dogs. I ended up making four of these in all. I love fleece throws for the dogs! There's no worry about raveling of any sort. They wash up nice. The dogs seem to really enjoy using them. Plus I can have them out on the furniture and they look nice.

Spinning has been non-existent since the gift making frenzy started but here are a couple of photos of yarn that I finished before the craziness started.

2-ply core spun suri alpaca/ bamboo blend with a commercially spun over twisted shetland yarn for the core. Turned out really nice. It's a bulky weight yarn. Super soft to the touch.

Shetland/Huacaya alpaca blend. Light fingering weight 2- ply. Was hoping I would have enough for a lace project I want to do but I don't. I'm about 100 yards shy. This will be put aside until spring when it will be warm enough for me to wash fiber outside.