An assortment!!

Hello. Sorry I haven't been blogging for ages!!

Still hopefully I shall be back on track.

Lily and I dropped Jasper off at a camp thing in Exmoor and then we set off for a short break in Wales (at the small holding on the right hand side of my page). When I say short, I mean over night and a day. But Hey!! That's a holiday for me!


I also wanted to give Lily some livestock manner lessons. Cliff has an assortment of animals, three lovely dogs and chickens!! http://www.smallholdinglife.co.uk/ And it is chickens that I really need to get Lily used to. She met them on Saturday evening (bearing in mind my heart was in my mouth, even though she was on the lead) By Sunday afternoon Cliff suggested I let her off the lead. (GULP!) I am a Mum and there are many times when I have been so so proud, nothing compared to how I felt when my wee blonde girl behaved her self so so well!! Sad I know! (sorry Jose and Jasper) You could really see that her concentration did have a limited span, and I needed to keep on top of her, almost thinking her next thought, but she was so good.

She watched the pigs but I have no idea what she thought of them. She was just so busy playing and really enjoying the space to run. (it did make me realise how much I really miss living on a smallholding, raising my own meat and enjoying the general way of life.) Still one day at a time, maybe I will get there again, albeit on a small Colette sized scale.

I came home with two lovey Jacob fleeces, and have washed and carded some already. I even gave Cliff a felt making and carding lesson. Not sure if he thought I was a good teacher but he did end up with an amazing piece of felt from his own sheep.

Mistletoe is the most pretty calf I think I have ever seen. She really thinks of herself as one of Cliff's dogs.

And this is Mark, a British White calf. First one born at Ffos Yr Ewig. The brown markings seem to be a bit of a puzzle. They should be black.

See what I mean by so pretty.

And rare breed pigs

Friends to play with. Last time I was up there is was Daz enjoying the space. How life can change in such a short while.

And of course WATER!!!! This girl can find water a mile away. Stagnate or fresh, she loves it!

So that brings me to now...... On Saturday I went to Fibrefest in Devon. Wow!!! What a way to spend a day. Fleece, wool, spinners. I came home with some amazing spun wool, all for 50p a ball. The mill ends, but so soft and best of all cheap!! And a day out with Jenny. Please have a look at her blog, http://milkweedandteasel.blogspot.com/ Jen is married to a game keeper in Mapperton, near Beaminster in Dorset. This woman is amazing. She is this fountain of knowledge and skills. But has a lovely way of saying stuff. Like you would love a teacher to have been at school when you were a child. She makes it interesting, so you learn without realising it. (she puts me to shame, as being a country girl I realise I have little or no knowledge of the country ways.) If you follow her blog you will see how the country ways have been kept alive. Weather you agree with the country sports or not, the fact is they have been around for so long and the traditions involved in it are fascinating.

It was Jenny who has in the last few months taught me to spin. Something that I am so grateful for.

Peg looms (rug size) I would really like to use some of the fleece I have got to make a rug for my hall way.

The natural colours of fleece, especially the cream and brown of the Jacob, lends itself to being made into one.

And it is a great way to use up what isn't great to spin with or make into felt. Handy as I have been given another MASSIVE fleece.

______________________________

These are all made from Shetland fleece. Small sheep with a wide range of colour in the fleece.

Lots of Ideas (like I really need more to fill my head with!)

The small squares are the natural colours of the fleece. Pretty amazing or what!

Not sure if I would wear it of hang it on my wall......

This is made by wet felting. The lady I asked didn't know if the detail was added by needle felting, but it is amazing.

Poppy Cottage has undergone a bit of a transformation. I have handed my notice in and should be starting my new job soon. I brought some tiles for the floor in the hall. OK, maybe not the colour I would have chosen, but actually brilliant. You see, I am a terracotta girl, don't show the dirt, wet muddy Lily prints but these are cream, but in fact make the hall way seem so much lighter and bigger. And I have re-painted the walls and I am determined to really have a sort out. I spend so much time when I could be making stuff, looking for things, moving things around and doing 'house work' that I have decided that if I get tidy now, before I start my new job, I will make a real effort to try and stay that way!!

What do you think???????

So I start the volunteer arts and craft post on the 3rd of September. We are going to be making felt badges. So I need to pull my finger out and make some samples. I am really looking forward to it but also really scared. Not the worlds most confident person. Also until I go down, I don't know the abilities of the people I will have. I don't want to do something too simple that it becomes boring, or too complicated that it makes it unenjoyable. But at least I can play at 'lesson planning'.

I'm 37 next month, and I think I have finally decided what I want to do when I grow up. The new job, the volunteer post are all steps along that path. It is quite nice to finally see that I can get my head a little straight and see the wood for the trees.

Can I ask, if anyone has any ideas of things I can do at the day centre can you e-mail me at poppycottage18@yahoo.co.uk Simple things that take a couple of hours, look effective and are fun to do.

I should get my camera back from Jose at the weekend she has gone to camp) so I shall be back on to the craft making stuff.

Blimey, what another waffle filled post!