Monday, February 01, 2016

Things have Changed

It's been a busy winter! I signed a purchase agreement on my house at the end of October and closed on December 1st. After 28 years living in that house, there was an unbelievable amount of stuff to move, toss, or give away. Thanks to the people who helped me (Sid, Robbie, Mike, Paul, Kerry, and my sons, Matt and Alex).  It was a huge task and I'm still not all unpacked. But what a relief it is to have all my things here in Ogilvie now!
Had to get a photo of my son's "Club House rules" sign in the loft of little red barn at my old house: no stealing, no bullies, no name calling, no swearing, no kicking, etc., etc.

My new studio space is filled with boxes of my paintings, wax resist eggs, empty frames, matboard, art supplies, spinning wheels, and tons of WOOL.  I have high hopes of hosting monthly fiber days and lots of classes in that space.

Sid and I are completely remodeling the lower level of the house.  We put in a new bathroom, laundry room, and pantry last fall.  Now it's the entry, kitchen, living room, and office/guest room. Ceilings, drywall, and some lights went in last week.
Hopefully this week we will get the ceilings and walls primed and install the new kitchen cabinets.  They've been out in my studio all summer -- I can't wait to have them in place!
Sid and I took a nomadic felt rug class at the Textile Center this past weekend. It was good to get away since the house is all disrupted. I haven't had time to make much felt with all the housing issues, so it was a welcome relieve to get my hands wet and soapy again. Mary Riechert did a great job teaching the class and we had more than enough time to finish our small rugs. Mine turned out to be a  birch tree landscape so it will probably be a wall hanging. I plan to needlefelt a few details.  Sid did our cat, Richard Parker, laying on his rug.  He's going to bring out some more details with needlefelting on his too.
Lambing will begin in about 6 weeks, I exposed 10 ewes to Jester, the Teeswater ram. Roxie (BFL/Finn) is due on March 15th. She had beautiful triplet ewe lambs last year (her first lambing), so I expect we'll see some ram lambs out of her this year.
These are Wanda's twin ewe lambs from 2015. They are Teeswater/Wensleydale and a little BFL. I clipped the wool from their faces so they could see.






Getting ready for Christmas Markets!

  I'll be doing two Christmas markets this year. The first one is at Sapsucker Farms in Brook Park, MN Nov. 18-19th. And the second one ...