Hearts & Hands to Sendai Block

I pieced my "Hearts & Hands to Sendai" block last night and gathered a lot of trims etc... My block will have LOTS of hearts when done plus a large elaborate fan which is still in the planning stage.. But it is a small enough piece I can work on it in the plane and layovers in airports...

It's still dark but as soon as it's light I'll go out to check on "pseudo mother"... Ruby still hadn't birthed Her absconded lamb is fat and happy and she hovers over it all the time. Ruby is lactacing which I found hard to believe but the lamb nursing was enough stimulation... All the while I was holding it to check it, Ruby had her head on my lap also.. She was hardly moving and pawing at the straw so it will be soon... Pitiful Pearl looks like a tank...

I made umpteen trips back and forth to the old greenhouse where I keep the ewes for lambing. Even though I have seen many, it's still always a thrill for me to see a birth. I manage it at least once or twice every season. So since this will be my last season I am constantly checking... When I had a lot of sheep it was hard NOT to see a birth.. but with only three left ... not so easy.

But the yesterday was productive on the packing front and I gathered tons of stuff for these two blocks.. Probably way more than I needed. So I am prepared for the 3-day workshop with Sharon Boggon and will start gathering stuff for Allie's and Betty's workshop... The bad news was the repair man said it would cost more than it's worth to fix the refrigerator... It's only 6 years old and I've just loved it.. So I am going to look for a cheap used one as at this point as I can't be sure how much longer we can stay on the farm...

Serious packing and chatelaine...

I am seriously into packing today. In fact a one point I was actually thinking for a moment about how much space and weight I would save if I cut all the labels out of my clothes...ROFLOL

I even gave my chatelaine a sponge bath...It is so worn and looking rather shabby. I'll have to think about making a new one... It has lots of history and has been on so many planes, to so many countries, and in constant use at home and in the car... I did make a couple changes...

I added the button I painted recently of my dear sweet Morris whom I will miss... There will be no one to mess up my sewing supplies...
This will be the first time I've been separated from him since I got him...




The other addition is an enamel button that was a gift from Susan Elliott... I wanted to wear it and my first thought was to make it into a composite jewelry piece because it is so beautiful.. but I realized I would be wearing so much more often if it was on my chatelaine so on it went....


I changed my mind often on what to do for the motif swap and this is what I finally did... 10 of them.. I painted the buttons, beaded around them and attached them to a crocheted medallion..

The refrigerator repair man was just here and said it would cost more to repair ours than buying a new one... not what I wanted to hear... I have to do it before I leave... one more unexpected thing on the list.

A case of kidnapping

Well it is actually lambnapping... When I went back out to freshen up the bedding I started taking a closer look at what was happening and decided that Topaz DID indeed have twins and Ruby had stolen one... Ruby is still pregnant. This is called mismothering and is relatively common... especially when a ewe has lost a lamb or is just prior to parturition (giving birth) herself..

My biggest problem now is that Ruby might reject her own baby in favor of the twin OR accept her own baby and reject the stolen one... Either way I'd end up with a bottle baby... So I'm hope Ruby will be giving birth at any time and think she has twins... If I had caught it right away I would have penned Topaz up with both babies but the bonding has occurred and would be stressful for all concerned to intervene now..... High drama on the farm!!!!

Finally.....lambs

New mama Ruby on the left and new mama Topaz below.. on their own time...

I always put Randy Andy in with the ewes Oct. 1 and have lambs the last week in March. Since I've knew I was leaving April 2nd.. I put him in Sept 1st... to have lambs the last week in February... a plan...right????

Well Randy Andy chased those ewes around a whole month trying.... but they were having none of his arduous advances until THEY were in the mood and so I am still having lambs the last week in March... But not because Andy didn't give it his best shot..(no pun intended..)


Topaz is by far the most beautiful ewe I've ever had and she also has the sweetest and most gentle disposition.. Her greetings brighten my every day!!! If I lower my head she loves to smell my hair and nuzzle my cheek and ear... She had twins last year so still may have another lamb yet this morning..

Taking a break!!

Trying to make extra minutes in the day to get ready for "THE TRIP" and finish all my spring chores....so time at the computer is the obvious choice... Watch for me when I return!!!!