Saturday Sky...and Presents!

Snowy Saturday Morning in March

OK, so I know now that Mother Nature was only kidding with those gorgeous days early in the week. This morning the wind is howling and snow is blowing wildly across the fields. The wild birds were all huddled in the sweet shrub right outside the window early, waiting for me to bring out sunflower seeds and goodies! Water had to be hauled to the rabbits but otherwise they don't seem to be minding the cold, in spite of a few short coats!


Gifted!

When I was at Sandra's she showed me these gorgeous glasses she had found recently, and I supposed my eyes lit up too much because she graciously gave me these two. I absolutely adore them and am thinking to keep them here at the shop so that they will be safe from Dad, TJ and dust! How about y'all coming by one evening for a glass of wine?

And Maggie from Maggie's Farm sent the collection of wonderful scented soaps! I worked on her business web page for her and had admired the homemade bars, all nicely wrapped in beautiful quilt material. I guess my broad hint for lavender was taken! The scent is delightful and I'm going to really enjoy using these.

Winter Slipping Back In

Girl Time (Photo by David Bricker)

It has been a gorgeous week with lots of sunshine and warm temperatures. I've been busy setting up the shop and shearing rabbits while the weather was warm enough, sure that this sudden spring was a trick of Mother Nature. Sure enough, cold temperatures are heading our way again, and we're enjoying a very, very rainy day today!

I've spent most of the winter here on the farm, with lots of spinning and crocheting time, and a few little trips to town with a special lady. I enjoy those "ladies' day out" adventures a lot but am usually quite content with my quiet days here. But sometimes it's a great boost to see like minded people, and I've had a wonderful week with some special Fiber Femmes!


New Shop Yarns (Wild Iris Wool and Thistle Cove Farm)

Linda of Wild Iris Wool came by the shop this weekend to bring her fun yarns that reflect a lot of Linda's delightful personality. There are sparkles and shimmers and lots of energy in Wild Iris Wool yarn! We had a terrific visit catching up on all the news with Linda. While she was here we finished setting up the shop while she labeled her yarn. There's no nicer way to spend an afternoon!


Fiber on the Mountain Yarns

Jane of Fiber on the Mountain came up on Tuesday, and I would love to just crawl onto the shelf with her beautiful soft yarns and wonderful colors! It was great to spend some time with Jane, who I met through my partner Sandra and liked immediately in the short time we spent together at the Shenandoah Fiber Festival. Jane is wonderfully creative, very down to earth and lives in a beautiful part of North Carolina not all that far away!


Working in the Sunshine (Photo by David Bricker)

Wednesday was a wonderful day, overcast at first but then sunny and warm. I tended the creatures and left early to travel across the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains to Tazewell, to visit with friends David and Sandra and enjoy their hospitality and beautiful farm. I had a terrific time as we all discussed the future of Fiber Femmes. Dave had some terrific suggestions and insights and gave us a great deal to think about. We settled into the comfortable kitchen of the beautiful old farmhouse and talked and talked, then had a lovely lunch of homemade soup and cheese bread, followed by a special pie for dessert! (I heard later that the pie disappeared while we were busy outside, and a sad dog complained of tummy ache all afternoon!) The dogs romped around us and the cats purred nearby, making for a homey and easy atmosphere. Through the windows I could catch glimpses of the beautiful farm and mountains.

We finished our project, which involved lots of pictures by patient Dave and teetering on the sides of hills with spinning wheels. Sandra has enrolled us in the Chicken Soup for the Soul Magazine Friendship Train, and it was a lot of fun getting together and doing fiber things while Dave snapped away at us with three cameras.

We enticed the sheep over to appear in the photos and a horse watched our antics curiously from a nearby field. Occasionally a cat got into the picture, and the dogs enjoyed roaming around and checking out all the activity. All too soon I had to head for home, leaving behind special friends but taking along special memories of a day well spent!

Maybe Winter Is Over...

Pussy willows in the garden!

and I can start blogging again! I've really missed making my entries, and even more I've missed all the other blogs that I usually read every morning! I can't wait to get back into my blog routine, but there are a few more weeks ahead before I can really settle into that. I've made a few sporadic visits lately but not many!

What have I been doing? Some fun things, really. Maggie Alexander from Maggie's Farm in New York asked me to redesign her web page. It was a lot of fun, especially since Maggie is a wonderful photographer and her pictures of the farm and animals really make the page. Go on over and check it out; she has stuff for sale! I'm especially looking forward to trying out some of her lavender soap!

I also had fun designing another web page; this one for a friend in Richmond that is selling log home kits. So if you're in the market for a gorgeous log cabin, go visit her new web site. And even if you don't have a log cabin in your immediate future, the pictures are lovely!


Two little purses, a chenille scarf and a basket of hand spun Corriedale

And we got the March/April 2007 issue of Fiber Femmes up, a couple of days late because Sandra and I were both fighting the plague. Sandra did an amazing job as usual of getting great articles and patterns together. My contribution was the pattern for the little purple purse in the photo above.

And I made another little purse, plus a scarf for me from Dovetail Farms chenille (I think they did the dyeing) and I spun up the last of the Corriedale roving I had. This will go into the dye pot later when I have some more spinning completed.


Jacob Wool from Avillion Farm

Most mornings I'm spending up here at the shop, with afternoons reserved for harvesting some gorgeous angora wool on rabbits that are due for shearing again. I try to get most of them done in December so that in the coldest months, January and February, they have a nice coat. But now everyone is going to need to be sheared in March and April. The good thing is that the does will have short coats when they have bunnies in May! And in the evenings I'm spinning, of course; right now some fun Jacob wool that should make some interesting yarn. I'm still working on filling my booth spaces at the shop; we have some shelving up and more to do this weekend.


Early Daffodils

I've been seeing signs of spring all around the farm, although we still take our morning walks in chilly breezes. Robins have been hopping around the fields for quite awhile, but yesterday a flock of red-winged blackbirds carpeted the ground under the apple tree in search of sunflower seeds dropped from the feeders. The old-fashioned daffodils are starting to bloom, and there are buds on every tree limb around the place. The cats are enjoying the warmth of the sun as the day goes on; I find them stretched out in warm nooks all over the farm.


And of course these two are still...on the couch!