Cozy at Home ~ Stormy Day Crafting

Tuesday tea time in November is usually a quietly busy time . It is raining ferociously outside so I am sipping hot tea as I craft indoors. Listening to the high wind gusts and knowing the huge trees surrounding Cedar Pond  are rooted in very soggy soil and prone to topple over bringing down power lines gives me cause to consider my preparation for power outages , frequent events for us during the fall and winter season.

I have water for drinking , candles, flash-light, battery powered radio, plenty of food, and crafting to keep me busy indoors. Yes, we're ready . The lights have already flickered a few times and finishing this post today is even in question if the power goes out .

I am working on a different type of Wee Little Sheep . I decided after many years of making at least a thousand little sheep I would have some fun changing things a bit and experimenting. I am giving some of them horns , spots, and different facial markings . More like my real flock of Jacob Sheep.

I have been doing a lot of spinning wool too, especially when I watch television with my husband. When I am spinning wool I can justify just sitting around because I am still getting something productive done .

The winds have picked up , I can hear them outside as I work and blog. I am going to make another pot of black tea now and shut down the computer before the power goes out. I hope you're having a cozy tea time indoors and I will catch up with my tea-time friends after the storm passes by, hopefully tonight ! I am so blessed and thankful to be cozy at home while the storms rage by. Please check out the links below as you sip your tea , cozy at home.

 Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage. *

Bernideen ' Tea time Cottage and Garden Blog Party. *

Pink Fluffy Clouds of Wool !

Pink, fluffy clouds of wool to spin up into yarn.

The morning I took this picture the sun was streaming into our living room belying the very cold temperatures outside. It was not a hard decision to make about what I would do on this morning.

I am going to sip coffee , spin the pink fluffy clouds of wool into yarn, and enjoy the quiet. ( With my cat Blizzard keeping me company.)

Finished ~ Into the Peace Of The Done

I finally finished weaving the 8th rug on my loom. I am happy with the colorful rugs , all with a bit of turquoise in them, and all for our home use. Usually I have in mind the option of selling some of my rugs after weaving, but this batch of rugs is for personal happiness ~ because the colors make me happy !

I have also finished spinning , plying, & dyeing several skeins of yarn from the wool fleeces of my Jacob sheep. There is such a feeling of satisfaction when I have raised the sheep that produce the wool fleeces I have sheared and turn into yarn .

My sheep are due to have their lambs within the next 2 months and that has me excited with anticipation. Every year brings it's own joys and excitement, and new lambs rate pretty high on my scale in achieving that.

Anyway, I have finally finished some things that have been in the works for awhile around here and have the tangible proof for all to see that yes, I really do finish my projects and goals. "Motivation is when you see your dreams put on work clothes." AU  and "Out of the strain of the doing , into the peace of the done." Julia Woodruff

All This & Heaven Too

 Ella & Fella, my Sebastopol geese, were enjoying sunshine this past week. Warm sunshine untypical of our usual January weather. But no worries for us, the rain and high winds are back tonight. "It was a dark and stormy night".

 I cleaned out the goat pen on that rare sunny day and rewarded Thorin with his favorite treat after I was done hauling out 3 wheelbarrows full of manure. Something seems amiss here though, I did the work and he got the treat ? Oh well, he is a very old goat, going on 12 years of age.

 My husband finished the 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle we received as a Christmas present. Do you see that all the pieces are in varying shades of black & white ? The puzzle became an obsession with him. He would drink his morning coffee while working on it, eat dinner while working on it , and go to bed way too late because he could not let it go. The puzzle dominated our home for a little over 2 weeks. But look, it is done ! I am now declaring we will only have jigsaw puzzles to work on over the Thanksgiving through Christmas season. ( He finished a 1,000 piece Christmas puzzle on Christmas day,then quickly began this one.)

 

 I cleaned two sheep pens last week during sunny and rainy weather , after I cleaned the goat's pen.

I finished weaving 2 rugs ( not shown ) and spun up several skeins of yarn. This is some of my hand-dyed Jacob Sheep wool. I also spun up a few skeins of natural color Jacob Sheep wool, then set the ply . Maybe I'll sell this wool yarn, maybe not. I can think of a few weaving projects this wool might be perfect for.

January has thus far been both restful and hard work. I love the feeling I get after a very hard day of physical work, even if I do smell like sheep and I hurt all over. I love seeing my baskets and bins fill up with the yarn I spin up from the wool of the sheep I love. I love seeing the rugs I weave especially after I cut them off the loom and finish the ends. I love having work to do that is not really work because I still count it all a blessing and a privilege to be able to do these things. And I really love a hot bath after a day of working here on Cedar Pond, and then spinning up yarn on my spinning wheel as I spend a quiet evening with my husband, watching our favorite shows and simply being together. I love my husband. Thank-you God for all these blessings. " All this and Heaven too." au

"The sleep of the working man is pleasant whether he eats little or much." Proverbs 5:12

Savour The Moment ~ Tea-Time Tuesday

 



It was a surprisingly sunny day on Cedar Pond, and very cold. Although it looked like a work outside in the garden type of day, the immediate cold to the bones set in and I decided it was really a work inside the house and look out the window type of day. As I worked I was reflecting on Sandi's* theme for today and knew I would take time to truly savour the moment.

 



 The table-covering is an old wool rug my husband's Aunt Marion made many years ago. I remember visiting her apartment in Everett, WA . She invited us for dinner and to watch her alma mater's football game on t.v. The U of W Huskies against her team, WSU's Cougars. This rug she hooked herself was one of many covering the hardwood floors in her apartment. Her home was filled with her handmade rugs, wall-hangings, quilts, and special mementos of her many travels world-wide. Aunt Marion was an independent single woman in a time many years ago when being a single woman was considered a handicap. She was well educated and became a teacher.

 I decided it was a perfect day to spin up another skein of wool yarn and savour the moments of a quiet time at home doing something I dearly love to do. The wool rug my husband's aunt hooked from sample books of wool fabrics that were sent to the school where she taught home-economics was probably a project she worked on in front of her t.v. on the many cold and rainy days Everett, Washington is known for. Do you think she savoured the moments she spent in her cozy apartment with a view of the Everett waterfront ? Nearby you can see my spinning wheel. I was finishing up the plying of another skein of wool yarn. ( This means I was combining and twisting together strands of wool yarn I had already spun up . I combined 2 strands of yarn making this a 2 PLY yarn)

 In the center of the table on the rug Aunt Marion hooked sits a basket full of my hand spun wool yarn. The basket was woven by a local basket weaver. The basket weaver told me she sat down in a forest , picked up the branch handle and wove the basket there. Do you think she savoured the moments she worked in a forest and quietly, probably reflectively, wove this basket ?

 The longer I look at this rug the more I appreciate Aunt Marion's choices and flair for design.

 The wood bowl once belonged to Aunt Marion. I wonder if the person who made the wooden bowl savoured the moments spent in a shop filled with beloved tools and the scent of wood shavings, thinking about this bowl and the many creations to be carved out of precious chunks of wood surrounding the work space.

The last little bit of two-plyed yarn is done and I am ready to transfer my yarn to a winding reel.

 This winding reel was given to me by a friend who's job requires her to crawl under people's homes. She found the winding reel and an old home-made spinning wheel I hope to restore someday outside an abandoned home. The winding reel has been an amazing help to me. I did not know I needed one until I used it. I simply wind my newly spun and plyed yarn onto this reel. Each wind around to the peg ( inside the reel where a small strand of  the yarn is tied) measures 2 yards. I count the winds thus giving me the yardage of each skein of yarn. Do you think the person who made this winding reel savoured the moments crafting it? Do you think he ( it was most likely a man) was thinking of the person he was crafting it for and savouring the anticipation of excitement and appreciation he expected?

The teacup is a lovely blue lustre-ware with a honey gold color inside and was made in Japan many years ago. The chocolate cake was made by me from scratch and I added everything the recipe called for. Real butter, sour cream, real vanilla, fine- ground good quality chocolate ,fresh eggs from my own flock of chickens, and love. I also made the chocolate buttercream frosting.Do you think I savoured the moments making, baking, and frosting this cake? Do you think I savoured eating this piece of cake? Yes indeed . Savour the moments of your life! If you don't, who will? Learn to savour the moments with a grateful heart.

I am joining Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for this day to Savour The Moment* and the rest of the Tea-Time Tuesday ladies.

• Terri at Artful Affirmations*
• Martha's Favorites*
• Bernideen's Tea Time Blog*
• Antiques & Teacups*

Yarn & So Much More

My heart has been bursting with the joy of these Autumn days, sunshiny and crisp, how can it not? Perfect for spinning my wool up into yarn as I sit on the porch.I can enjoy birdsong and bird squabbles over the feeders full of sunflower seeds .I take in the changing colors of the leaves, I watch my sheep from my porch.There is time to be quiet, to think. Look at this beautiful wool. It is from my ram, Goth. Who knew such a bashingly bad ram could give me such lustrous, soft fleece. My husband has been very patient with me as I keep showing him this wool while I spin it up. "Look at this! Isn't it beautiful?Look how much wool I got from Goth! Look at the long staple, isn't the color scrumptious...yadda, yadda."Sometimes I even push the lovely wool into his hands or make him sniff it! ( What a patient husband I have.) Can you see just a little bit from this picture how pretty Goth's wool is?The variations of black and white.His black is fading into a very sweet shade of blue-gray. What is the point of this post, well....I am happy and thankful for my sheep, for the ability to use their wool AND enjoy watching them. I am thankful for my husband who builds all the pens and housing for the sheep, even though he would prefer to have NO sheep.I am thankful for a husband who will let me fill a room with wool, loom, spinning wheels~ and not begrudge me the time to use it all. I am thankful for the time to meditate on The Shepherd, who watches over me, one of His sheep. I pray He allows the wool of this sheep ( me) to be spun up into even a tiny strand of wool yarn to be knit and woven into the fabric of a life glorifying Him, all else is but fodder for moths. To God be the Glory, forever and ever!

"The web of our life is but a mingled yarn, good and ill together." Shakespeare

"Charm is deceitful, beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:30 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14

Lacamas Community Fair

Lacamas Community Fair is our local fair, and is a family tradition. Our children were showing rabbits here 20 years ago, then as they grew and were more involved in 4H they showed dairy goats, sheep, chickens, and entered baked goods, art, produce....and also helped put on the fairs,judging activities, setting up, cleaning up. For many years our summer revolved around fairs. Starting with the Pierce County Fair, then 2 or 3 weeks later the Lacamas Community Fair, and in September, 3 weeks of the Puyallup Fair, our State Fair. Our kids would show open classes, 4H and FFA animal and judging competitions, and volunteer in various needed positions at the fair. After the Puyallup Fair we were exhausted, and then after a short break, we would begin the planning for the next year's 4H and FFA projects. The theme for Lacamas Community Fair is "You Have To Bee Here" and ths picture above is the quilt block competition . I like this bee square that looks pretty cheery on the walls of Lacamas Hall.

I was one of the volunteer spinners on Sunday. I love to spin wool at the fairs and events. I meet so many interesting people and they in turn are introduced to spinning wheels and fiber art. ( I spin bare-footed)

I do not get around the fair to see what is going on when I am spinning , but did manage to see the horse costume contest. I love these quirky contests where the kids get to costume themselves and their animals. Isn't this pair of bees cute?

And this black fairy with her blue dragon?

Of course there are the usual guy hang- outs, or should I say "manly-man" hang-outs ? Tractors and classic cars, my youngest grandson Little J headed for this exhibit right away. Look at these purses. They are made of plastic shopping bags! Aren't they nice? Who knew you could take those junky plastic bags and make them attractive and more useful?

Later another spinner and her knitting friend joined me. I had a wonderful time, met more interesting people, and got a lot of yarn spun up while doing this. Our daughter and her family were there and 2 of our grandchildren entered a few things in the fair. To see another take on Lacamas Fair check out her blog, A.Joy At Home.

"In the fall of 1929, at a meeting of the Lacamas Community Club, a few members brought samples of fruit and vegetables , which they arranged on a long table. Those were lean years and everyone depended upon the produce from their gardens to supplement the small incomes of the Depression days. That was the beginning of the Lacamas Community Fair, which, with the exception of the war years, has been an annual event ever since.

No admission has ever been charged. In fact, it was once said that "you don't spend a dime at the Lacamas Community Fair except to eat." The expense of the fair has been defrayed by local activities and support of local businesses, merchants and individuals." Lacamas Fair Book

Spot on Dye Day at Reflection Farm

This is Thor, sheep guard dog ( Maremma ) in training. He is only 4-5 months old and he is very friendly. He also wants to be with us as we dye and spin wool. He did spend a lot of time with the ladies but Alice , shepherdess of Reflection Farm, sent him back into the pasture with the sheep he is supposed to bond with and protect. Isn't he cute? Don't you just want to cuddle this big floppy puppy? One of Alice's sheep. Alice jackets all her sheep to protect their wool. Alice's sheep produce beautiful wool that is pretty near free of the debris you will find in the wool of my au' naturel sheep, and her wool is prized by hand-spinners and knitters. The third Monday of every July is 'Dye Day' at Reflection Farm. We ladies bring our dye pots and kettles, propane stoves, a dish to share potluck style and some handwork. As you can see, while kettles simmered most of us spun wool and visited. Alice's other dog, Kellee, sniffs for hidden snacks amidst the spinning wheels.

Look at the wool just pulled out of the dye pots and drying on a sheet in the sun.

More of Alice's sheep, wearing their jackets.

My just - dyed wool fleece drying on a hot metal fence near my sheep, shortly after bringing it home. Look at the fuchsia ,violet, and lavender wool fleece to be spun into yarn, can't wait!

I also dyed some yarn I had already spun up, in the same dye bath as the fleece.

Joey Cat enjoying the comfort of a plush wool bed.

We had a good time under the trees at Alice's. Alice's shop is where ladies ( or men so inclined ) can gather the third Monday evening of every month to spin wool into yarn or work on any handwork of their choice while we visit and share our knowledge ( or lack thereof ) of wool working and sheep raising and whatever else comes to mind. Some ladies bring their knitting or crocheting. Sometimes I work on a rug...some ladies just visit for awhile. A nice evening out.

Start With A Lamb...

~This ( above ) is where my yarn begins. The birth of a lamb.~

~My homespun yarn. A work of love. Though it hardly seems like work, because I love it.~

~Here are the natural, not-dyed colors of my sheep. The brown is from my Romney / Jacob cross sheep, Delilah. The rest of the grays are the wool of my Jacob sheep.~

~The turquoise wool is also the wool of my Jacob sheep, dyed in a kettle on my stove. I never tire of the seeming magic of my wool, that I can start with a wee lamb, take the wool from it when it is grown, spin it into yarn, dye it and weave it into fabric and create..? Whatever my imagination and heart dream up! The creativity we are all given can be expressed in so many ways...baking, decorating, singing, writing........

CREATE : "To produce as a new construction out of existing materials; make a new form of preexisting substances..."Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary