2010 Calendar Update ...from a procrastinator

I am a procrastinator. Yep. It is true. I have projects due, deadlines to meet, and yet I can't seem to get out of my own way when I have weeks or even months to accomplish them. I have found that sticky -notes help keep me organised - when I don't misplace them. I write events and schedules down in a calendar, then I forget it at home. I have even begun scheduling things in my cell phone so that it reminds me the day before with a cute little "din-dong" sound.

But you know I figured something out about myself two years ago, and that is that I am at the top of my game and the peak of my creativeness when I work under pressure. I can't even wrap my brain around the end result of my work or how to even begin when I know I have time before it is due.

Take my calendar for example. I guess I have a bit of an excuse with that one, as I need seasonal pictures to fill the pages. I swore I would begin designing it in June ...well I stated it four weeks ago. I took pictures all winter, spring and summer looking for the perfect cover shot. I took that picture of Handsome Mike exactly four weeks ago. And isn't it just perfect!:)

Here are a few preview pages. Joker, my Olde Babydoll Southdown ram looking wintry and woolly.

My precious little Katie from a few days old until age two.

And here is Junior with those long fuzzy ears that some how end up in my hands everyday after he eats. I call them his daily ear massage ...he just loves it.

I signed the proof on Friday so the calendars, documenting a portion of my life that I love to share, are off to the printers. They will be available in early Nov so if you like, hop on my website and order. They usually sell quickly.

My new 3 ply yarn is in and it is just scrumptious! The good folks at Green Mountain Spinnery convinced me to try this method of spinning with the chocolaty yummy brown fleeces I brought them in early summer. It is light weight, lofty, and slightly heathered ....mmmmm mmmmmm good! I have thought of several projects I would like to make with this yarn, but I keep coming back to the Ascutney Mountian Hat & Earwarmer pattern in the new Green Mountian Spinnery book 99YARNS and Counting. I am also in love with Maureen's Cardigan on page 56 ( I love her hair too!!) This yarn is fantastic for cables and patterns, it is a light worsted weight - 258 yards/4 oz skein. Every color I pair it up with looks great! Ahhhh I need to go make something with this yarn !:):)

OOOPS ...almost forgot! :)

Well, how could I forget! Look who followed me home from New York!!!! Meet Paulie Walnuts and Silvio Dante! Two wether Angoras with Texas lines ...where they grow em' big!:)

I walked by their pen several times in Rhinebeck, thinking what nice firm little bodies they had and beautiful horns ...no trouble since they are wethers ( I convinced myself ) small and easy to bring home ....hmmmmm should I get one or two? Well you can't have just one since one gets left behind, so we loaded them up on Sunday and headed back to Maine with two sheep ( belonging to my friends Chrissy and Regina ) and three goats, my boys and a little doe for my friend Betty.

To answer a few questions about my wall hanging, Joe was completely needlefelted using his cap and face wool from this spring's shearing. His face and ears were felted with Babydoll since it is so full and lofty, to create depth.

Uma's face and ears were knit with hand spun wool/mohair yarn, her curls and horns were needle felted, and her nose and mouth were created with stitching yarn.

Mellow Yellow is needle felted from his own clip and his face and ears are crochet. Martha's face and ears are hooked with hand-spun yarn from her fleece (this picture doesn't do it any justice) and her fleece is needle felted on. The last sheep has a woven face and crochet ears.

I'll try and post better pictures this week!

18 HOURS, & 7 MINUTES & 2 SECONDS

8 hours of needle felting.

1 hour of applique.

1 hour of rug hooking.

2 hours of sewing.

30 minutes of knitting.

30 minutes of weaving

30 minutes of crocheting.

2 hours of fussing.

5 hours of driving to N.Y.

30 minutes of picking hay off ( after I dropped it in the horse trailer) heads and faces.

5 minutes of walking very fast to building E to make the deadline for entry.

2 seconds of shock and heartbreak from the words " your too late, the competition is closed."

1 minute of disbelief.

1 minute of pleading.

1 kind and understanding judge .....equal one BLUE RIBBON!

When I signed up for the HarborArts Show in April, of course it never occurred to me that it wouldn't be a bright, sunny, fall weekend to sit overlooking the harbor and spin or knit while shoppers perused my booth. Turns out it was quite the opposite! Saturday began overcast and the clouds loomed in my rear view mirror as I drove up the coast to my destination. Foolishly, I wore my favorite, beat-up pair of Keen shoes with a thin pair of socks, but I layered my upper end with my Joe sweater -had to show that off, and down vest. By noon, the rain began falling, it was a heavy mist for a few hours. Boats cruised in and out of the harbor, and people began raising their umbrellas. But you know ...they kept coming! And my booth ...in the dreary grey weather, glowed with bright colors ...and more people began to walk down the paths and into the hollow where I was set up. And the cold inspired folks to knit! Yarns for sweaters, yarns chosen in coordinated colors up for hats and mittens, yarns for ponchos and scarves and vests! Folks became excited and one lady who said she hadn't knit in years chose enough skeins of the bright Turkey Red to make herself a vest! The energy inside my booth was fantastic!By the end of the day I had finished my Weenie Hat, and began a pair of thrummed fingerless mittens. The visitors had inspired me as well.

On Sunday it was a quieter, slow-paced crowd. Fog and heavy mist slowly gave way to cloudy skies and warmer temperatures. The morning was quieter, and I opened up two sides of my EZ- UP tent and watched the bustle on the docks. You could smell breakfast cooking on the big yachts, and dog-lovers brought their dogs to the park for their morning fun. Yesterday I was back to work on my 2010 Calendar. I finished up last night and will send it off for proofs today. I sat on my computer last night cracking up over some of the pictures I found from years past. This project reminds me each year of how fortunate I am to live the life I live. Whether it is shots of my kids laughing and sledding in the snow, lambs bouncing around the paddock, or dogs chasing each other around the yard. It is a good, good life ...and I am so blessed.