I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted here. I'm so sorry to all of you and appreciate you being patient with me while I readjusted to a new computer. It's not even that I needed to adjust to the new computer as much as I honestly had some activity on my calendar almost every single day for over 6 weeks. It just seemed as though I never could quite make it to the blog before the end of the day.
I'm not sure how I got that busy, but I'll try and recap it all for you now. One of the big items that was a "time sucker" was the quilt show I became involved in for Cumberland County Piecemakers (CCP). CCP is a quilt guild I joined shortly after moving here to the farm. This June was their biennial quilt show at the county fairgrounds. Of course I volunteered to help with the set up as I had never participated in a show before and wanted to see how it all came together.
Welllllllll, a quilt show is a lot of work, requires tons of preplanning and energy, but it is also loads of fun, too. This was also the first time I entered any quilt that I had made in a show. I figured this was a nice, smaller, local show and no one would notice much what I did.....I guess I felt "safe" entering my quilts in this venue where I might not receive too harsh of a judgement for my work.
Surprise! I won a blue ribbon for first place for a white quilt I hand quilted. I couldn't believe it! And a check for $100 accompanied the blue ribbon. Woo-hoo! My second quilt got honorable mention, a yellow ribbon. Not too bad, right?
While I was at the quilt show, a woman approached me and began asking questions about finishing a quilt for her that her deceased mother had started years ago. We exchanged names and phone numbers and contacted each other the following week. It turns out we have a tremendous amount in common and after only a few phone calls and visits to each others' homes, already began to feel like old friends.
Her name is Martha. And Martha is a spinner. Not on a stationary bike. She spins yarn from fleece she has sheared from her very own sheep in her pasture. Oh. My. Goodness. I have been wanting to learn how to do just that for probably 15 years now and couldn't find anyone to teach me in Florida. And, bonus! Martha and her husband live pretty close to our farm, making our visits even easier. We have introduced our husbands and each given the other tours of our farms.....I see a friendship developing here.
Well, it gets better. Martha invited me to a group that meets every other week and sits and spins. I showed up and was immediately mesmerized by all these women sitting around, gently pumping the treadles on their spinning wheels as they used their hands to magically transform raw fleece into yarn.
After watching for over an hour, one of the ladies asked me if I wanted to try it for myself. I hesitated because it looks a little complicated....sorta like patting your head as your rub your tummy...you know what I mean?
Her name was Barb, and she quietly instructed me what to do with my hands as she pumped the treadle which makes the wheel go around in a constant rhythm. And I was able to do it! What a thrill to try my hand at this ancient task. Ok, now I'm hooked. And Martha invited me back to her house a few days later and says she has an extra spinning wheel she wants to sell. You can guess what happened next. Yup, I bought it and have been happily spinning away ever since. It's so much fun. And now I can spin yarn to knit items for us next winter.
Martha and her husband have an alpaca, a llama, several sheep, chickens and a cow all roaming the bucolic pasture behind their home. She had her animals sheared this spring and shared some of the fleece with me so I could practice spinning. I remarked that I'd love to have some "critters" of my own on our farm. The lady who gave me my first spinning lesson, Barb, emailed me about a woman an hour away who had alpaca and needed to sell her business as her husband has serious health issues which are preventing him from assisting her any longer on their farm.
Ok, so, here it comes. We are acquiring their entire operation. Yes! 17 male and female alpacas and all the equipment necessary to raise them will be moving to our farm in the near future. I could write a book about what all has been involved in preparing our farm for our new arrivals, but you can use your imagination. It involves fencing, lots and lots of fencing, some cement for 2 areas of our barn, storage for tack and meds, and tons more paraphernalia.
Our heads are spinning(no pun intended), but we're both giddy about our new venture. Joel is especially tickled as he plans on being in charge of the breeding operation and will put his science background to good use. What a blessing that we are both equally excited about this new direction for our farm. And we can use our individual talents to bring it all into fruition.
There's so much more, of course, but you get the gist, right? While all this has been going on, Jarrad, Dawn and the boys stopped here 5 weeks ago and stayed with us a few days before they began their whirlwind tour of the western United States in a pop-up camper. They arrived back here 2 days ago and left this morning for their home. What an adventure they have had! They could write a book about all they have seen and done, and all the hilarious situations they got themselves into.
So, there you have it. Our life is taking another twist as Joel and I begin a completely new venture. There will be loads of pics and posts to come, I'm sure. Thanks for checking in on me and stay tuned.....it's going to get real interesting real soon.
Busy, busy Farm Chick,
Debbie
