Wordless Wednesday

Silver Maples

Stella busy growing her wool

Jenna's wool is growing, too.
Seven more months until shearing time!

Leaves and walnuts are off the Walnut tree,
but check out the others! 

I loved the green of the Austrian Pine,
the yellow of the Althea,
and the red of the Burning Bush!

Hydrangea dead heads

Not all is dying. Some are still in bloom!

Sedum, just a darker shade!

No partridge in this Pear tree.

Imax deciding to take a walk on the wild side.

Burning Bush nearest the pond.  It's lost most of its leaves.

One of the Burning Bushes out front

Hillside. A bit blurry because sun is lower in the sky.

Clematis is still opening.  These may be the last of the blossoms.

Barn Quilt Square

Something so pretty about red and green together!!

Simple Gifts

What an incredibly gorgeous day it was today!

Relaxing in the afternoon sunshine.
Simple Gift!!

Late this afternoon as I was feeding grain to everyone on the farm, I began softly humming and then singing, Simple Gifts by Joseph Brackett, 1792-1882. It just seemed so fitting.

Horses happy there hasn't been a frost yet.
Simple Gift from Mother Nature.  (smiles)

The sun was warm and casting beautiful shadows on the fields, all the animals were calm and relaxing in the waning hours of that warmth, and I was feeling very fortunate to live in this awesome country.

Voyager happy to be in with the horses.
Such a Simple Gift to give.

After feeding everyone, instead of just sitting outside on the gate and watching them eat, I decided to run in and get the camera.  The pictures don't capture how beautiful it was, but I wanted to share them with you anyhow, and also the words to a song I really love. The tune is well known....sometimes I sing Lord of the Dance lyrics, but other times these that I've included below:

I opened the gate to back field.....
now everyone is going to be happy for a while.
It's those Simple Gifts that make life good!

  'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,   'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be.

Sedona's Simple Gift is access to the back field.
She's not as heavy as she looks there.

    And when we find ourselves in the place just right,    'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

Walking back through the field closer to home.
Imax can be seen at the fence guarding the yard!
A Simple Gift for me is to live in this great Country.

  'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be fair, 'Tis the gift to wake and breathe the morning air.

Zoom in on SweetPea through the trees.
Her Simple Gift is new extension to run-in shelter.

       And each day as we walk on the path we choose,  'Tis a gift we pray we shall never lose.

Sera looking through the extension on the run-in.
I need to finish painting and fully enclosing it.
That will be my Simple Gift to her.

                          Don't forget to take time to appreciate all the Simple Gifts in your life!

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Cast iron dinner bell!

Last year, a very dear friend of mine was cleaning out her barn and endowed me with her cast iron llama dinner bell. I couldn’t believe it; it was so beautiful!  I brought it home and couldn’t wait to hang it.  

I was nervous to hang it outside because although it should be weather proof (to some degree), the weather at our farm is pretty severe at times. Every weather condition that takes place throughout the county just seems 10x more intense here.  J

So, I began to scout out a place on the farm where I could enjoy and see it, but also where it would be somewhat protected from the elements.  All the while that I was looking for the perfect spot, never once did anyone suggest we mount it where the animals could hear it ring! J

While sneaking into the barn, I think I've been heard!

Feeding at my farm rarely entails much coaxing of the animals to partake.  I try to sneak out and get buckets filled and flakes of hay distributed before all the thundering of several tons of animal come galloping, leaping, and scampering to meet me.

I can't tell if he heard the camera click
or actually heard the barn door creak!!

I have found that it’s very difficult to be “sneaky” with a headlamp on! The spotlight beckons, “COME!” 

I keep the barn doors well greased so that they don’t squeak and give my whereabouts away. The thing about horses---they can be ¼ mile away and hear that barn door and come galloping up before I can get food ready.

Jenna isn't waiting anymore, she's going to go check out the noise.
She's certain she saw me head to the barn.

So, I try to get out to the barn, close the gates around the barn undetected, and THEN open the barn doors.

Summer feeding is different from winter feeding at our farm for all the animals to some extent. We have SO MUCH grass, and our fields are so lush that the grain quantity I offer to everyone tapers off substantially during the summer. Overfeeding in the summer causes as many problems as underfeeding in the winter. Because all situations are different, I won’t even suggest that what I do is perfect; however, it does work for my farm.  

Song is still listening to the Sheep get their food.
She knows it's her time next!

BUT, when the days grow shorter, and the fields lose their nutrient capabilities, the assisted feedings become more important. Those feedings are usually done in the morning and afternoon when the sun’s warmth is not so prevalent….so I wear my “barn jacket”. Through the years, my barn jacket has become synonymous with “DINNER TIME!” at the farm.  It doesn’t matter which animal sees me first, he/she will start running…..  and soon, they are ALL running back to the paddock nearest the house.

Silver is excited that the buckets are now making their way to her paddock.
She's just not sure she likes the look of a camera up at my face.

When my daughters head outside, without me, with their own barn jackets on, it doesn’t create the same effect. We never really had noticed that until on one occasion one had grabbed my jacket as a quick throw on. She hadn’t gotten more than 10 paces off the back deck before all the animals had broken into a full gallop to come up for “DINNER TIME!”.  We have apples and pears on a few of the trees nearest that fence line for just that occasion!  J 

Everyone deciding that life is good.

Meal time at the farm is an important part of animal care. During the time they are eating, you can look them over, evaluate their chewing capabilities, look at feet/hooves, check for ticks, look for scrapes/cuts, remove brambles, and know which one will have to stay behind after meal time to be checked out further. 

Song and Silver are wondering, "is there more where that came from?"

I don’t feed my farm all at once.  It’s too impossible.  I feed one group of animals at a time so that I can spend time with everyone. Believe it or not, everyone is patient. They weren’t always that way, but through the years, they have learned that I will get to everyone eventually.

Decided to check out the treat bucket for herself

In the winter when morning lights and heat get turned on, the horses whinny and sheep begin to baa in anticipation of the morning feeding. As much as I’d like to stay inside and grab a cup of tea first, I usually throw on my coat and head to the barn.

Dinner Bell not yet mounted.

So, as much as I’d like to actually ring the dinner bell and watch all the animals come, at this point in time, the dinner bell will just be for my enjoyment!  And enjoy it, I do!!  J

No Worries, We've Got it Covered!

One of my helpers pretending
she's enjoying the task!

A friend stopped me yesterday and said, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, is re-upholstering difficult?”

It took me only few seconds to give my profound answer.  “It depends”, I said.

Wow, that was an intelligent response!  L  But, in all actuality, it was truthful.  These questions must be answered:  

This is showing the worst cushion for photo purposes.
Usually it was able to be flipped upside down and not look bad.

1) Do you sew?  

2) Is the furniture in good enough shape to make it worthwhile?Do you need to fix springs, etc? 

3) Are you willing to spend money on good quality new fabric? 

4) Do you have time? 

5) Do you have somewhere else to sit while it is being done? 

6) Is there a back-up plan? J

There are so many fabrics available.
Choose one that you'll love for many years to come.
This was durable but soft.

She had seen a status post of mine earlier this summer on Facebook. It showed progress on a couch I was re-upholstering. I think she may have been dreaming of giving her couch ‘new life’ ever since!  She has young children and now that they’ve out grown some spills, it may be the right time to have a couch make-over.

We were able to save and re-use zippers, piping, and foam.

Many of us have furniture that we had bought ages ago. The quality is good, even if the upholstery fabric has seen better days. So maybe re-upholstering would work for you, too.  We aren’t tough on our furniture, but wear and tear, and a few moves are bound to have taken their toll.

Once everything was off of the couch,
we were able to inspect and evaluate the "bones".

 I had looked for new furniture for quite some time.  Everything I had been seeing was so oversized, or too soft, or too hard….I felt like Goldilocks trying to find the one that was “just right”. It wasn’t happening, so I decided to re-do the one that I already had and loved.

During the project, one of my helpers took time out to
bake a pie for her grandfather in order to keep him placated. 

I had the couch and matching chair, but I decided to tackle the couch first, in case I really bombed out.  I didn’t need both furniture pieces ruined.  

As it was starting to get pieced back together,
I wanted to be sure I'd like "the look".  

My parents were coming for a visit and so were cousins a few days later.  My mother had offered to help me tackle my project in hopes that we’d get it completed before our “company” came.  So, I had 72 hours to transform the couch, feed my house guests, mow the lawn, and sleep!

We did finish, and the bottom cushions even
match the striping on the back.
Although, I didn't replace buttons or skirt.

We did finish the job, and I love it. I even did matching cornice boards for the window treatments, and matching dining room chairs.

Even had fabric to add to dining room chairs.

In doing this project together, we will have memories and stories to share for another 50 years! We finished in plenty of time and welcomed the cousins through the doors just hours later.

Enjoying some songs from yesteryear! 

A Spinning "Yarn"

                I wanted to share a bit of a spinning “yarn” (story) with you.  

The sheep roving coming onto the spinning wheel
and loading onto the bobbin.

Winter is my season for spinning and quilting.  All summer long I am outside working on the farm every available moment. Fields to mow, jams to make, fields to mow, pickles to make, fields to mow, gardens to weed, fields to mow, fences to paint, fields to mow…..you get the message! 

Lazy Kate with bobbins.
Middle one is new, the other two are left over from previous plying.
(Note various thicknesses)
When I add another full bobbin, I will ply them.
Holds bobbins for 2-ply or 3-ply yarns.

But, during the winter, with its shorter days, I find myself able to get caught up with many inside projects while my fields “hibernate”. So, now instead of the noise of my mower, I get to listen to the whorl of the spinning wheel, the beating of the loom, and the hum of my sewing machine.  Maybe I ought to wear earplugs in the winter, too!  J

Light Brown, Grey, Brown- Llama
Whites- Sheep
Note the comparison of thicknesses between light brown and dark brown.

I recently evaluated my wool “stash”, and realized I had a problem. I have POUNDS of wool that I have to do SOMETHING with before spring and the next shearing! So, I began hauling out the bags of clean and processed wool, and put them in the spinning room.  I suddenly felt like the miller’s daughter with a huge spinning task ahead of me!

Icelandic Sheep
Note comparison of thicknesses.
This is an example of "spinning for the project you are making"
These were NOT used for same project.

So, I decided to mark each bag of wool with the project I wanted it to be used for.  Now I have bags for spinning, felting, weaving.  Problem is:  I still have POUNDS of wool that I have to do SOMETHING with before spring and the next shearing!!

Lt. Brown- llama
White- Icelandic Sheep
Note the comparison of thicknesses.
All are excellent for what they will be used for.
I use the light brown for the string hanger
on my felted Christmas ornaments.

I am going to take one large bag of wool and use it as batting for a quilt that I’ve recently finished piecing the top together. The batting will be between the top and bottom and then I will quilt the whole thing.  Wool is excellent as batting, because it breathes.  So it is cool in the summer, cozy in the winter, and if that’s not enough, it’s flame retardant as a bonus!

Batting being made for the quilt.
There is nothing quite like the feel and comfort of a wool batt quilt.

Well, that’s one bag down…..good! But, I still have POUNDS of wool…… (Say it with me this time!)….that I have to do SOMETHING with before spring and the next shearing!

Black on the left is adult llama.
Black on the right is Shetland sheep lamb fleece.
I spun the llama very thinly for one project and
spun the sheep average to thick for another project.
Of each yarn, I had spun over 300 yds.

So, I’ve begun to spin, and SPIN, and SPIN and SPIN!  My fingers needed a break, so I decided to type my blog instead!  J  (ouch!)

Scarf knitted from spun Icelandic lamb fleece.
Incredibly pristine, warm, and comforting!

I shouldn’t complain.  I really do love all that I’ve made in the last few weeks.  I’ve made a few quilt tops, several skeins of yarn, and I about to start an interesting project on the loom (wimpy, but interesting).

Tri-colored yarn. (3-ply)
Used white (llama), dark teal (alpaca), and purple (sheep), all of which I'd spun
very, very thinly. Not a lot of crimp because of llama and alpaca, but very soft.

I still get plenty of outside time….there is morning and evening feedings on the farm, plus water troughs to fill, paddocks to muck, and believe it or not…..I mowed earlier this week! CRAZY! Even crazier is the fact that the Clematis is blooming again, as well as Hydrangea, Weigela, and a few dandylions.  Plus, the Dahlias and Cannas haven’t stopped! I am counting each day like this past week as a reprieve from the winter forecast that I am dreading.

Dahlias just keep blooming.
So pretty to see each day.....!

Spinning is fairly simple. For one thing, even if you don’t spin well, the yarn should be able to be used for something!  But, to make it easier and more enjoyable for you, start with good wool. Half the battle should NOT be trying to make something lovely out of a “difficult to spin” wool or fiber. 

First attempt at spinning.
It was llama fiber and is incredibly soft!
There is some variance in size of yarn throughout,
by no means perfect.

I learned on llama and alpaca fiber. I found it to be SO much simpler than some wool that I'd been originally given. The yarn that I spun as my first project is fairly uniform (by beginner's standard only) and I attribute that to the fact that the fiber was easy to work with. I remember learning to gauge my drafting (pulling the wool) differently when I began to spin sheep wool.  I still enjoy both and would not pick one over the other.  

Spinning Wheel with a few bags
of clean wool waiting to be spun.

I will say that I used to overspin (making it too tight, not as soft as it could be). A friend who is a very talented spinner and knitter would critique my work and send me back to the spinning wheel to fix it.  L   

Yarn beginning to go on bobbin.
The color underneath is the lead thread.
You can see the drive band coming up to meet the whorl.

But, I will say that I learned and am happy with that.  There’s always something to learn and I am nowhere near where I’d like to be talent-wise, but for the time that I can spend on it, I’m content with my skill level (for now).

Red and Green 2-ply yarn that I'd spun for a Christmas project - 2006
Made knitted table mats (wished they'd been woven).
Definitely NOT fancy, but it was my first attempt at
completing a project with yarn that I'd spun.

                       I will share the projects that I do this winter on other posts.