Cooke Creek Sheep Co. Farm Journal

Wyoming Flowers Inspire The Dyepot

2010-06-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

On the hike up at Happy Jack, were some spectacular blooming cacti and flowers. We tried to name them but, for accuracy's sake, I won't do that here because I am sure we are way off. I was surprised to know that cacti grew so abundantly in Wyoming. I guess they are an adaptable sort of plant that can grow in lots of places. You probably all know this but I had fun being delighted by such a revelation. My simple mind can be delighted fairly easily...in fact, the simpler pleasures I enjoy the most as I get older. This must be why the AARP keeps sending me membership applications, cause I'm getting so old and wise?LOLLL.

Okay, onto the flora pics. By the way, I might just have to show you the new roving colorways I was inspired to dye from these flower photos (next post, too many pics today). They will be offered for sale at our booth at the Kittitas Valley Farmers Market this Saturday, June 19th. I'd love to see your shining face there so if you make it, please stop by and say hello!

Whew! Happy trails...I'm outta here!

Spring Road Trip - photo intensive

2010-06-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! I got the pictures of our road trip to Laramie, Wyoming off of my camera. Thought I'd share some gorgeous shots taken 2 weeks ago. Some are truly out the car window shots and others we actually stopped to shoot. When you drive 2,200 miles in 5 days (including the family visiting time), pretty soon, the hubby says "we've got to keep driving!" The drive to Wyoming from Washington (we take 2 different routes for variety to and fro) is truly a gorgeous one. The west is a fantastic landscape and although I am always saying I want to move to Ireland or some such craziness, I would not live anywhere else than the west. It's the wide open spaces for this girl!

And awayyyyyy we go....next post I'll show you some flora and fauna close ups!

Happy trails.

Fresh from the Studio - "Windbreaker" Scarf

2010-05-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

I get plenty of inspiration to create from the sheep and the colors of the seasons on the farm. Also, the weather...not sure if it's inspiration or necessity-- is the mother of invention and here in Ellensburg the wind blows A LOT. Not much in the winter but every other season it does blow much of the time. I don't like wearing a coat so instead I wear scarves and a vest. My arms are free thataway. A girl's gotta be able to move around freely, well this girl anyhow.

Now I see that every clothing catalog coming in the mail lately, yes, even the summer ones, have the models wearing scarves. Linen, viscose...those look pretty and all but they do not keep you warm. They are accessories, not necessities.

Introducing....drum roll.......the "Windbreaker Scarf". Using wool and fabric in a sewing project makes me happy. Added in some different ric-rac trims and it's extra fun. Here are a couple of designs so far.

These scarves remind me of a mullett (spelling) haircut....you know the saying about "business in the front; party in the back"? That's so corny really but makes me giggle nonetheless. Wellllll, these scarves are party on the outside and business on the inside although the wool felt is dyed to coordinate the fabric so they aren't too far from "party" either. Maybe I should have called them Mul.....nevermind. Way too weird.

I will be listing some soon on the website and on Etsy and they will be for sale at the farmer's market in Ellensburg if we get accepted. I just put in an application. Keep your fingers crossed.

Happy trails until next time.

Meet "Socks", the Border Leicester ram

2010-05-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

This post is all about sheep today and dog puke. Prepare thyself accordingly.

I would like to introduce you to my Mother's Day gift to me..."Socks!" No, not a new pair of socks but they are looming in my future! Took a trip across the valley yesterday to Starshire Ranch and picked up this lovely little guy. He's about 2-1/2 months old. He has a twin brother who is equally as cute but had a teensy bit of black on his face and I have a thing about having my flock of all-white sheep, not for any silly prejudicial reason but for common sheep-sense reasons...can't sell meat lambs to Superior Packing with black fleeces. Marks on the face are okay but I like to avoid any possibility of black whenever possible due to that.

So, Socks came alone to the farm and as you know, sheep are not alone kind of critters. They must have companionship to eliminate stress and help them adjust. But, we have a pretty strict health policy around here of a 3-week quarantine time for new sheep on the farm away from our flock. So, we grabbed "Rosebud", a yearling ewe that because of being a bottle lamb is very tame and was easy to catch. Threw her in with Socks and she was not a happy critter! She thinks boys have cooties (I can't say I disagree some days) and his pestering did not help. He's already showing signs of his future job around here...surprised me! DH said...won't THAT be interesting to have fall lambs. Not! I am sure Socks is free of any sheep diseases and in 3 weeks will be put out with the ewes (along with Rosebud) and lambs until we wean in June and then he will go in with the ram lambs. The older rams are WAY too big and ornery for this cute baby. In fact, since being out on pasture they have ballooned into gargantuan rams. My goodness.

In case you're wondering, I have broken down and bought some sheep coats and begun the process of coating our Coopworth and now BL sheep. Makes cleaning them up for processing a breeze and their value more as well. It's a pain in the brain as the coats have to be changed as their wool grows but hopefully it's going to be worth it. I HATE skirting fleeces! It's boring, back breaking and tedious and BORING. I have a very short attention span for this sort of work. I'd rather be dyeing, spinning, carding, anything but skirting.

Anyhoooo, Socks is going to be bred to all of our old Coopworth ewes this fall in hopes that we will get a nice bunch of BL/Coop replacement ewes next spring. Coops are a breed developed from BL/Romney breeds so this cross is going to be hard to tell from a purebred BL. With our scrapie certification status, it's difficult to find other pure Coopworth ewes to buy. It's nice being certified but it's a pain for bringing in new bloodlines. Hard to always rely on rams to do that for us. Also, BL have wool that is very very nice for sock yarn....can't wait for his first shearing next year and the babies to come!

And now folks, I promised you I would write about dog vomit and I will not let you down. I must go and clean up the dog barf that Daisy just deposited on 2 rugs and put the comforter in the dryer that she proceeded to urp on earlier! This happens always after the farrier visits...because she insists on over-indulging on hoof pieces. Life on the farm....and dogs in the house. On that happy and distasteful note....off I go!

Happy trails.

Check out this cute "new" sewing machine

2010-05-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm driving home from town yesterday...see a bright pink "sale" sign on a telephone pole pointing to a dead end road. Wouldn't you know, my truck took the turn automatically so I had no choice but to stop in? There was the usual household stuff. I asked if they had any old sewing machines for sale and the gentleman said, "like an old treadle or something like that?" I told him, "nope, something electric." He said he did have one that they hadn't used in a long time and he hadn't thought of selling it. Went back to a room and came out with this cutie pie, a Sewmor 606, a Singer clone from the 50's, made in Japan. All metal. She's a straight stitch only machine in great condition and the stitch quality is excellent. He made me a deal I couldn't refuse. Just set her up in the old Singer cabinet, a family heirloom/gift from my MIL, Pat. Fits perfectly. Might have to keep her? (meaning the machine...of course I'm keeping my MIL. Ha!) I have a thing for machines as you might know by now. I cleaned her all up, oiled all of the parts that you oil and she purrs like a little kitten. Don't you love the little cubby where the thread sits? There are a few paint chips on the bed but otherwise, perfect condition! And this color! The picture doesn't do it justice...more of a green than this turquoise in the picture. Two-toned green...I could drive an old pickup this color from the 50's...how come everything from then has the cute factor going for it? : )

Well, that's my find for the month. I've been sewing a ton lately with the crummo wind cranked up like a banshee, staying inside more than usual. The lambs and ewes are out on pasture full-time and are out the window of my studio...an enjoyable sight for sure. I'll get a picture soon and you can see too!

Over and out for now. Happy trails.

Lambing 2010

2010-04-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

When A Man Loves a Farmgirl....

2010-03-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

He brings her flowers and she smiles. He takes her on a surprise destination anniversary trip every year and she's happy. He catches her horse for her when she wants to go for a ride and she's pleased. He is up in the night with her lambing and she's comforted. But he makes her swoon when....

after busting her shovel handle off transplanting overgrown bushes, he comes home and says "there's a surprise for you out in the garage." And there leaning against the wall so seductively is a handsome and steely new fiberglass handled gardening partner just for me! Oh be still my heart...he's a keeper...yes, the shovel, but the hubby first and foremost. He gets me like no one else.

More Home Projects

2010-03-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still plugging away at doing some improvements around the home with a fairly tight budget in mind. A while back I was feeling sick of the leather couch syndrome we've got. When hubby and I got married, we brought into the marriage 2 dogs each, 2 horses each, 2 kids for me and 2 leather couches in addition to everything else. Of course, regarding the couches, they didn't exactly match but we are make-do kind of people so no big deal. Well, kids have flown the nest, only have one of the original dogs from that crew left and after we redid the laminate floors this winter, the leather couches just seem so EWWWWW. Getting on my nerves. Leather wears out very slowly and while this is a good quality, you're stuck with it for a verrrrryyyy long time. But with the budget in mind I put my thinking cap on. First off, got a new rug from Costco for $70 on sale. Nice find with their coupon and it's nice and big. Brightened up the dark leather/wood floor thing we've got going on along with the newly painted light colored walls. OK, would make new throw pillows...cheap and I can choose just about any bright fun fabric. When I got into the fabric store in town, The Sewing Corral I fell in deep like with this Anna Marie Horner (if I remember right!) decorator fabric and it was on sale so came home and got started on covering the ottoman.

See the difference in color tones of the leather? It seems more noticeable in this picture than in real life.

After the ottoman cover. Better huh? It's a start. Next are new throw pillows and curtains for that big front window. Got them done, just got to get pics. I had actually given some thought to recovering one of the couches but decided against it. These wipe up so nicely and we live on a farm so wipeable surfaces are pretty important. And I'm not feeling THAT ambitious...

So, here we are with the new pillows in lighter more modern fabrics. I can live with this. That's pretty much my option right now anyhow. : )

Now...I have to show you a lamp I inherited from my Aunt Betty. You decorating divas will cringe but it's a lamp I love because it's so unique. However, I've had the shade that I found at Goodwill for $1 for about 8 years or so, as long as I've had the lamp! It's so ugly and with the whiter tone I've got going, I did recently replace it. Here's a pic of the lamp. It's a farrier or horseshoer. Ceramic. Don't know anything about it other than that as far as history of it.

The shade actually fit the lamp pretty well I thought when I bought it years ago, but here's the new improved version, an Ikea shade we found on our trip a couple of weekends ago. Now I am going to paint the pole part of the lamp black because it's in pretty bad shape. I won't mess with the ceramic parts of the lamp. It's a classic! : ) If Antiques Road Show ever comes close, I really should take this thing in and see what we've got here. Now you've seen it folks, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Happy trails until the next project is done...

Trip to Port Townsend

2010-03-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

Enjoyed a weekend away not this weekend but last, for our anniversary trip. Each year we go to the ocean but this year it was actually Puget Sound which isn't actually the ocean but is saltwater!

Anyhow, Port Townsend was lots of fun with its quaint little downtown full of old buildings and fun shops, etc. Of course, we ate seafood (mmmmm) and did some exploring.

Had coffee at a "beatnik" underground coffee spot that was super unique and fun! We played tourist. Went on a driving tour of all of the historical buildings throughout the neighborhoods including churches, the Post Office, courthouse and just houses too. The hotel had a map of them all with a bit of history written for each one. Some were now bed and breakfast type places. Also visited Fort Hadlock which was really interesting too just about 15 miles from Port Townsend. Not sure if i have pics of that. Sorry about the dark "thing" in the lower portion of the pics. I took these out of the sunroof of the car and the rack on top kept getting in the way.

Here are some of the neat buildings of which all were on some registry for being historical. Again, not sure which registry or if there's only one. They were just cool, okay? : ) At Fort Hadlock we saw these 2 eagles, a male and female (don't ask how I know that...just trust me, chicks are on the way) and they were very tolerant of people and vehicles.

This is the courthouse, isn't it impressive? Spectacular. Can't remember the year on it, 1800's?

This one was spectacular as the lawn went right down to the water. Most of these were used as homes. Pretty cool huh?

The tour was fun. If you get the chance or need a weekend getaway, try out Port Townsend and area. Lots of fun and history in the area. I did not include all of the pictures. The self-drive tour takes about a half hour or so depending on how long you sit and "lookie-lou."

We had a nice getaway. Start lambing this coming Friday...got all of the sheep moved today and into the "drop pen" and we bagged up 52 fleeces into the big wool pool bags...and yes, we got 3 bags full! LOL.

Shearing 2010

2010-03-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Got behind in my blog posts. Been BUSYYYYY. Sheared the flock, went on a sewing extravaganza girls getaway and then an anniversary trip to Port Townsend over the weekend. It's the calm before the storm of lambing when I am homebound and can't go anywhere for a while. Great fun though! Oh, and a first birthday for my nephew, River, too! Gosh, it was just too much fun.

I have pics from shearing. Martin is a great shearer. Now I have 50 fleeces in the garage waiting for some attention. They are bagged and labeled but not skirted or washed yet. If anyone wants to purchase a fleece, now is the time before I put too much time into them. You can do the work and get a very good deal. $20 each, I'll quick skirt them and you can do the tedious stuff. They seem very clean to me with not nearly as much vegetable matter as you might think.

BEFORE

STERLING WATCHING OVER HIS GIRLS

THE DREADED MACHINE!!!!

MARTIN DOING HIS THANG

NOW THAT WASN'T SO BAD WAS IT?

"Tin" Backsplash, finished?

2010-02-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

Ta-da, wa-la! It is finished. Took 2 coats of the paint and shines pretty well when the lighting is good but when it's gloomy it's kind of dark....so, jury is out on if it will stay as-is or get a makeover....as in a lighter coat of paint matching the walls and "wiped" over before it's dry for an antique effect. I think it would look nice with the tin color showing through the paint making it look old and worn. We all have more character when we're old and worn, right?

Here's mine. In triplicate. Not sure if it needs a coat of polyurethane (acrylic) or not for some wipeability? We'll see. I have more home improvements to show you but got a busy week going with work and preparing for shearing this coming weekend. They'll wait for now.

Here are the tiles you can buy and I see these are cheaper than the ones I saw at Dome Hepot, but I'm happy enough with the Paintable Solutions solution. No big commitment and it was a fun project. Happy trails...

"Tin" Backsplash Day 1

2010-02-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

As you know by now, I'm in full swing on doing some updates to the house. This all started out with the laminate/wood flooring we installed throughout the main living area of the house this winter. We had 2 colors of carpeting which included the dining room and old mobile home type linoleum in our kitchens and baths, so the new floor was a big undertaking for us. It was worth it...I really like it a lot. While the carpet was torn out and we were prepping for the laminate (which we installed ourselves), DH said "do you want to paint the walls while the floor is torn out?" Why, sure...all while my mom was ill....

So, I painted ahead of hubby laying the new floor. My mom was a "doer" type of person too so she enjoyed listening to our project progress during each visit. That would be her first question..."got the floor done yet?" We would laugh and say "nope, not yet." I brought her pictures on the digital camera to show her our progress. Once the floor was all laid, we took a hiatus on the baseboard trim. We're waiting for warmer weather to paint it all in the garage. So, here we sit with bare newly painted walls and a clean slate so to speak. We went from colorful, deep chocolate and wallpaper bordered and sponge-painted walls (in different rooms of course) to "fresh linen" eggshell finish paint. It's off-white and everywhere! Aaahhh, simple and fresh. The kitchen needs SOMETHING more but not much. I fell in deep like with the tin backsplash panels at Dome Hepot and decided they cost too much at about $31 a pop (18" x 18" I think). I was thinking "backsplash" in the kitchen. Hubby's raised eyebrows made me rethink that one...no way Jose. We just put in new floors and painted. No budget for a fancy backspash.

Enter Stage Right (yes sitting on the new floor too!).....Paintable Solutions and Ralph Lauren's metallic paint! An 11 yard roll of this paintable embossed, self-pasted wallpaper cost a mere $12, yes. The paint cost more than the paper at $12.99 a quart! That's enough paper to backsplash my whole kitchen and then some.

The paint mixer lady at Dome Hepot helped me choose a color and told me "I had thought about doing that...tell me how it works out." So, doubt she knows about this blog, so she's probably out of luck.

Here's what I did on Day 1 of this project and keep in mind, I'm doing a test wall first...straight shot with one outlet to work around. If I don't like it, down it is coming and we'll do a Plan B. But here's what it has taken so far. First, I did a swatch sample on the wall to make sure the pre-pasted glue would be enough to stick to the eggshell paint finish which is pretty slick. It worked fine. Then I took a square of the paper and painted it to see if I liked it even a tad...I did. Moving on....

Measured the wall area. Paper is 20" tall or so. My backsplash area between counter and cupboards is almost 15". Length was 84" so I cut 87" and will cut off the excess. Since the paper looks like a square tin, there is a whole tin that starts at the bottom and I wanted that to be at the counter top edge as I would end up with a partial square due to my measurements up toward the upper cupboard side.

I rolled out the paper, paste side up and marked 15" from the edge I described above (whole square) at regular intervals in pencil. Then I used a yardstick to join the marks and make a straight line. Then I cut with sharp scissors on this line. This particular brand called for a 5-second soak in water, unroll out of this bath and "book" for 10 minutes before hanging. I just used my kitchen sink instead of a wallpaper water bath thingy. Booking the paper is folding it paste-side together in the middle from both sides equally and then upon itself a couple of times. Like this (above.)

BEFORE ABOVE --This is a pretty long piece to work with all at once but I didn't want any seams showing. But guess what? When this stuff gets wet it's pretty fragile. I ripped it unrolling it. Oh well, we'll see how it dries and I won't quit now! Nor waste the paper to start over. Started on the corner wall and kept the paper very even with the counter top edge. Went up great, fixed the tear fine (it was up top toward the cupboard so no worries) and here it all is drying. Note that it is darker than its dried state and it's sort of cool looking like this but about 3 hours later it was all white again as in when we started. Day 2 will bring the paint job. Wish me luck! AFTER ABOVE RIGHT

Oh, by the way, while working the wallpaper up on the wall, I use a clean small paint roller, paint pads and sponges. I couldn't find my wallpaper brush tool so improvised. Worked great to "burp" out the air pockets with the paint pad. I worked the bottom edge up towards the cupboard edge burping out the air.

Pre-Lambing Ewe Care

2010-02-12T08:42:00.001-08:00

ewesfeeder
Originally uploaded by cookecreeksheep

The Baa'dgirls are fed hay throughout the winter months but don't start getting grain until the last 6 weeks or so of their pregnancies. We do this for 2 reasons - 1) They are getting so full of babies that their rumen cannot hold enough hay to give proper nutrition to the growing lambs especially with multiples and 2) grain really helps get a nice full bag of colostrum built up for the lambs. In lambing, colostrum is what makes the world go round. Like breakfast for humans, it's the most important meal of a lamb's first day of life.

Back to the grain story. Well, even though the Baa'dgirls are used to being fed hay, the addition of this grain the last couple of weeks has shown their "grain is chocolate" side. Now, whenever anyone goes outside near the gate to their pasture and feeders, they all look over and if they are out in the field, they come a'runnin! These girls can be bought....the hussies are easy, let me tell you! Here is a pic from the other day when this very thing happened. Unfortunately, I didn't get my camera quick enough to catch them all running in. Just caught the hard stares and the "where's the bucket" query.

This weekend we're giving pre-lambing shots to the Baa'dgirls. We give the shots 6 weeks out from lambing (although it's really only about 4 1/2 right now so we're late this year) so that the colostrum will carry the immunities through to the lambs. It really works well.

So, busy weekend here with sheep. Tess the border collie extraordinaire will love it...she gets to moooove sheep. She loves that!
Happy trails...

A good use for a pop box and thoughts on decorating

2010-02-11T14:34:00.000-08:00

Found this old Pepsi case in our storeroom and I saw this idea on another crafty blog and thought I'd try it out. All of my craft paints fit in the 12 partitions of the box and I've got it sitting on an antique Singer sewing table with drawers (no machine inside, yet) so I stored all of the brushes in the drawers. It is a good use for the box. One more box of "stuff" organized! I can step into my closet now but still got a bit of a ways to go until it's back to a walk-in closet! : )

I've been reading lots of blogs on crafts and decorating lately trying to get inspired for some of these updates I've been doing. Though they are all inspiring, as it's always fun to look at decorating ideas, many of them are too fancy for my taste or just plain too expensive to do the projects. Also, the beach house look is cute, but not my style either and this seems to be the new style at least on these blogs. I was asking a friend the other day what a simple farmhouse style is with not a lot of stuff sitting around to dust. She told me it's called Modern Country. Go figure. I'm going to call my style Modern Jami cause it's not a total style in and of itself...it's borne of pure laziness in my desire to not dust so much stuff sitting around. Floors and furniture I can do...a bunch of knick knacks...not so much! We don't have A/C so in the nicer months we have our windows open for fresh air and cool air and have I mentioned we live on a farm???? It's windy, dusty, dirty, sometimes smelly and downright farmy. Gotta dust almost every day. Honestly, in the nice weather, I'd rather be outside in the garden or yard or on a horse, so I'm over cutesy little stuff sitting around gathering dust while my stone has no moss on it. Ya know?
Well, I've rambled on enough today. I'm painting an old wooden fruit box tomorrow that I will be using for maybe a shelf or something. I'll include you in on the process just in case you've got some old wooden box around that you can transform into something useful that you're not embarrassed to have people see. : )

Happy trails until next time.

Studio Revamp

2010-02-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

I've been telling you about redoing my studio. I have some pics of the update thus far. Now, keep in mind, I'm not done as I'm using an old sheet to cover up a table until I make something.

So, I sold the fancy Viking machine. Using my old boat anchor Singer 15-91 and my old serger until I find the best industrial model for making the purses, bags, jeans, etc. In keeping with my simplifying motto, I got rid of my $1 desks that I got at the university surplus sale a couple of years back. They were great but used up too much room and I needed a less cluttered and packed looking space. I cannot and will not show you my closet at the moment though! LOLLL. It's BAAAAD. Excuse the sheep pun, but hey, it's all about sheep around here most of the time.
I did finish my cutting/work table idea. Got 2 Wally World $15 bookshelves and put them back to back under the 36" tall and 36" square thrift/vintage shop table I got for $75 with 2 stools. It's a really cute table and if I ever hit the Powerball winning numbers and buy some fancy schmancy setup, I will still enjoy this table possibly by the front door near a window to play chess at or do puzzles. Doesn't that sound quaint?

Anyhow, thought I'd show you some pictures and a vintage sheep poster from the American Sheep Industry years ago. I imagine not many people have this poster anymore so I'm proud to have it.

So far, I've recovered a lamp shade and that's about it. Just rearranged furniture and tables I had, got rid of a bunch of stash and trash and got the new table. Oh yea, put up a white board that is magnetic as well and I love that puppy! I can do "note to self" all i want. Even the pens are magnetic and stick to the board. I bought some magazine holders that are cardboard and covered them with fabric and labels using heat'n'bond ultra too. Handy stuff. Even painted my trash cans! Yes, they make a nice aerosol paint that covers plastic, Rustoleum brand.

Happy trails....

Busy Saturday

2010-02-06T15:59:00.000-08:00

Whoa, slow down Saturday! DH started out the day butchering a lamb for us as the freezer is empty. He ran it up to the meat locker to age and get cut and wrapped. That was one of those chores that just had to get done before the weather warms up.

Secondly, Leroy, an almost yearling ram, got picked up today by his new owner and is on his way to Idaho. He is a real nice boy and will sire some nice crossbred Texel meat lambs. So, 2 less sheep mouths to feed. That's a good thing.

My fellow shepherd friends are beginning to think about shearing so been selling a few wool sacks from the bundle I got from Will at Utah Wool Marketing. And of course, when we shepherds get together, we've got to take some time to talk sheep.

Sold a sewing machine I had listed on craigslist today too. More visitors.

Usually I don't see any humans besides DH and the gal in the mirror over the weekends but today was a revolving door. I need a cup of tea and a nap. : )

Daisy the Boston Terrier would agree. She gets excited when I sit down on the couch....and if I get the blanket, she's in doggie heaven cuddling up so close I can't move.

Been working on redoing my studio as well. I am trying to prioritize and focus more on my studio business and get things setup for more production oriented sewing. I am getting rid of a ton of stash...everywhere through the house. That was one of my resolutions at the beginning of the year was to simplify and prioritize...make my time count on the stuff that I need and want to do and let the rest gooooooo for a long ride somewhere and not return.

Hoping all is well with my traveling friends and my recovering from surgery friends and in particular with my friend whose mother-in-law is dealing with end-stage cancer. Can it be that mom has been gone 2 months already? Yeppers, it can be and it is. My heart breaks for my friend going through this. If I could take it from her I would.

Hey, I'm going to post pics of my studio re-do next week. Got a couple of fun projects to show you in the kitchen too....one is going to blow your socks off!

Happy trails.

Fake Fur Laptop Case. Purrrfect!

2010-01-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

Boy howdy, was this a project. First, I had decided that I needed a case for my laptop which was a Christmas present from my DH. I love the new laptop as it can go with me into the studio and I can be techno girl and sew at the same time!

Figured a case doesn't have to be boring and black and I didn't need anything too secure as I don't plan on flying with this or anything. Remember, I'm a homebody sort of girl or got my truck with me wherever I go. Anyhoooo, I used up some fabric we got at the Pacific Fabrics Outlet store on 4th Avenue in Seattle. That's a fun store right there! Used fleece scraps for the inside so as to not scratch the computer and to use some of my stash. I love to use it up! (So I can buy more? Nawwwww.)

It has a snap closure and a front pocket to store the mouse and power cord and that's all I wanted. Store-bought handles connected with some vinyl scraps sewn to the bag finish off the bag. Those vinyl scraps I bought at Pacific Fabrics have been really useful. I made the gusset around the bag with this same brown vinyl as well.

I guess you might not think a fur-look would be my style but I like it. Now I have to go vacuum my sewing room. The fur went flying when I did any cutting on it. *Giggles*

So, I am thinking of making a few of these to put in my Etsy shop. What do you think? Happy trails until next time.

How to Fix a Felt Purse Handle

2010-01-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

So, you've made a handmade purse for your sister-in-law for a Christmas gift. She looooves the purse and tells you she gets lots of compliments on it. Makes you very happy, right? One problem, she's a shorter stature type of person and the handle stretches out and pretty soon the purse is hanging past her hip.

I say, hmmm, send it back...I'll figure out something.
So, I cut the handle off...ouch that hurt after spending so much time knitting it and then felting it. But, I took some O-rings (made for purses, not for car repairs) out of my stash and cut the handle length down to fit my SIL and sewed the short ends around the O-ring. Now, how would I keep the handle from stretching in the future? Got some 'pleather' out of my stash (aren't stashes great?) and sewed it to the bottom side of the center piece, sewed that whole thing back to the other sides of the O-rings. Well, here you can see what I mean. It's a good fix and think it will work and it's kind of a cute design with the rings splitting up the felt. I think I might do it on the next one I make. Where there's a will, there's a way...and now you see why I need an industrial sewing machine. I only broke one needle sewing through all of the layers on my boat anchor Singer, a #18 needle!

Happy trails until next time.

Lamb Coats ready and waiting

2010-01-26T12:57:00.001-08:00

lambcoats_1
Originally uploaded by cookecreeksheep

I spent Saturday sewing on some fleece lamb coats from scraps. I made 11 in all to add to my arsenal from last year. These are super simple to make and I think they do a nice job of keeping the lambs warmed up for the first couple of days of life during our cold springs. I at first did think it was rather hokey for lambs to wear coats but I was also pretty happy with how warm they felt underneath them last year so I'm making more! This shepherdess is happy to learn a new trick! They wash up nicely. There is one seam and 2 cuts for the legs on the double-thickness of fabric with a rotary cutter. A super quick project.

Aren't they cute wearing them?

2010-01-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Remember I told you I would tell you about photo editing in Flickr? Well, here's an example of what I have done so far with my freebie account. You can round the edges, add "stickers" and borders and bling and then text. I am going to be testing it out more here soon when I get some new decent pictures. Right now it's not so pretty outside and the sheep are dirty and horses are hairy with some mud. Anyhow, go have fun with this if you want to try it. When you open one of your photos after creating a free account and uploading them, it opens up Picnik for editing. It's pretty fun.

Felted Purse

2010-01-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

I have been working on this purse for an order. I used some different weight yarns and this is what happened....it turned out with a cinched up "waist" portion instead of the round shape of the pattern. Kind of funky but I kinda like it too. Well, heck, what other choice do I have? Once it's felted, it's a done deal. She's a jeans and T-shirt or turtleneck (this time of year) type of gal and loves loves loves wool. These are the clients a shepherdess loves! It's almost time to shear again and I still have some wool in the garage to get processed. Now that I'm getting back into the saddle, it's time to get moving on some projects and that wool.

UnfeltedFelted

This morning I saw 4 bald eagles in the same pasture on my way home from town. One flew right over the top of my truck and I got a close-up view. They are cool birds for sure. So, I need to get to work. Enjoy your weekend and happy trails until next time.

Pita bread results

2010-01-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Continuation of the pita pockets from this great recipe site ...

They turned out super! Soft and substantial, big enough to make a real sandwich and hearty enough (hardy?) to not fall apart when you stuff them. I do have to tell you I thought of the people in Colorado's "balloon" stunt when I saw them baking in the oven though. LOL! Maybe they should be called space ship pitas?

This is a keeper recipe and did take more steps than the first one I tried that the dogs enjoyed. Now I know, right? You do 2 risings just like making loaf yeast breads.

They bake on metal cooling racks which I use for cookies and such.

You grab them out of the oven (they only bake for 5 minutes!) and throw into a damp cloth until cool. This keeps them soft. Then I put them in a recycled bread sack and store them in the fridge. I'm having one for lunch today and it's delicious. Wayyyy better than store-bought.

They flatten out after you bag them up, by the way.

So, got a question for you. Have any of you read The Sheepfarmer's Daughter by E. Moon? I heard it's good but I'd like a recommendation before I start hunting it down.

Think I'll tell you more about the Flickr picture editor next time. I need to get to the rest of this day. Trying to stick to more of a schedule for myself. I love working at home but it's easy for the day to be dawdled away on "diversions"....you know how it goes.

Happy trails until next time.

Time marches on....

2010-01-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

Howdy friends. Time does heal us up pretty well, ya know. I am feeling good and getting my mojo back. We got through the holidays and now it's time to forge on. Don't get me wrong, it's important to take some time to mourn our losses but I'm not much of a pitty-party kind of girl so it's time to continue on the trail I'm blazing. Time marches on and we need to spend it wisely.

So, along with probably half of the world I am "turning over a new leaf" for 2010. Not only did I turn 50 on the 1st...yikes! That along with the loss of my mom made me feel that a double-take of my life was necessary. So, I have been reading lots, evaluating priorities and sticking to new schedules I've created and getting organized and....yes....I'm on a diet. Several reasons, health, feeling good, getting my fat behind on my new horse, Molly, in the spring, and now...cancer. All studies reveal obesity is a contributor to the cancer equation and with my family history, it's more of a reality for me than a "someday" type of thing. Ouch. So, time to get a few pounds off and keep them off.

Goodness but dieting is a chore...I know, you're not supposed to call it a diet. It's a WAY OF LIFE from now on. Just drag me behind on a car on a gravel road, why don't you? Ha ha. It's that much fun.

Both DH and I are following the eating plan in The Belly Fat Cure. It's basically the same thing as other low carbohydrate diets you've seen out there. No sugar and not too many carbs although this has enough to keep me satisfied. There are some great simple recipes in the book too. Right now I'm raising pita pocket bread in preparation for baking. The pizzas in the book using these for crusts are great. I am having a hard time finding them at any grocery store in town, the whole wheat, no sugar variety....so I found this recipe here and so far, so good. First recipe I tried yesterday....well, let's just say the dogs are STILL chewing on them! Ha.

So, they are rising now under this towel. I'll post how they bake up tomorrow along with some some fun I've been having playing with pictures on Flickr. You can edit your pics and frame them and put captions and text, etc. In this edit mode it uses another program. Again, manana.

Happy trails until then.

Baking on the Back Burner

2009-12-09T15:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry no recipe postings for Day 4, 5, and 6....my mom did pass away on Saturday evening and it has taken the mojo right out of me. On Saturday DH and I spent the day with her and from all appearances and the Hospice nurse's comments, time was close and she was right. Four hours after we headed back home mom peacefully left that cancerous broken body behind and headed up to greener pastures. We shall meet again in heaven but for now I am trying to get my groove back and my sister-in-law said I could do what Stella did but DH probably wouldn't approve. I've not seen the movie but now I'm curious about it. Probably not an option.

I did make caramels on Friday, 2 batches in fact. The first batch I overcooked and it turned out between the consistency of very chewy caramels and hard candy...teeth breakers if you start biting them. I switched to a new recipe and tried second-guessing my candy thermometer and they did come out better but a teensy bit on the soft side. Kind of drove me nuts so I decided not to post either recipe. I had the fail-success scenario making them last year as well. Need a new candy thermometer it seems!

Last night I made another batch of peanut butter balls...the first one was GONE! They are just too good. I took some up to dad on Saturday and he raved over them so I made some more and maybe they will last until I see him in a few days to share some more.

Still haven't gotten a tree. Did a bit of online shopping in protest but I cannot get motivated to get sewing so I have no choice but to purchase a few things. As I said...I have no motivation other than to work, make peanut butter balls and do a bit of knitting on this crazy cool felted purse pattern that I'll show you when it's done.

And it's colder than a witch's......well you know! It's too cold for men nor beast. Crazy when 32 degrees is downright "balmy" and we're looking forward to those temps to return on the weekend according to the weather man.

So, I'm abandoning the Bake-A-Thon while I take an I-miss-my-mommy "breather." If you only try one of the recipes I have posted so far, please do the PB balls. I promise this is a keeper recipe if you have a family that loves PB and chocolate like I do. I'll try to get the tree up this weekend. And the beat goes on....and I'll be baaaaack and don't take any wooden nickels. : )

In Between Baking - some sewing!

2009-12-03T14:05:00.001-08:00

I have been wanting to share this purse made up from a pattern and fabric purchased during a fabric shop-a-thon that my friend, Stacey, and I did a few weeks back. We found this pattern at Nancy's Sewing Basket in Seattle. I won't mention the pattern designer right now as I can't remember the proper spelling of her name for one thing and for another, I am not sure I recommend her patterns. More on that later. Back to Nancy's - this is a super fabric store, lots of cool buttons and fabrics for garment sewing, over the top stuff really and all in a nice little "hole-in-the-wall'ish" shop with friendly but leave-you-alone type of staff, helpful when needed but not in your face and over your shoulder. I LOVE those kinds of stores where you can visit and talk and feel fabric the live-long day and not feel like you're in a chain store full of stuff that isn't about sewing. Anyhoooo.....I bought some pleather at another fabric store on our trip and a pattern from this new designer at Nancy's because the sample bags at the store were ADORABLE. But in all honesty the bag construction directions were confusing, over-done and construction not logical yet some cool techniques for interfacing. Mixed bag! Excuse the pun. Hand-drawn and written diagrams added to the confusion with messy handwriting that was difficult to read. I find Amy Butler sewing directions in her patterns to be too verbose for me also but at least they are easy to read and you can just skip over the details to the main components and get through to a finished product. I guess I've been sewing too long and I can figure out an easier way to do almost everything but getting there through the verbose scribblings and meanderings of a designer can be the hard part. You start thinking the designer knows way more than you because they are, after all, a DESIGNER and you're an idiot to not understand a thing they are going on and on about in the instructions! NOT! Anyhow, Stacey felt the same way but we have managed to sew up some of these bags. Here's my first attempt...

Daughter-in-law, Emili, got this one for her birthday in November and I believe she actually liked it! I have seen her using it...cool. I am working on one for DD for Christmas but she has requested a larger one so it's still in the cutting out stage.

With my mom's illness, I haven't sewn like I normally do. Heading up tomorrow to see her again, God willing she is still with us and the pass doesn't get snowed on heavily to prevent my going. Her time is short and our visits are very quiet and sweet now. She sleeps most of the time...lots of morphine on board right now. Cancer is a sad thing to watch progress but thank goodness there are drugs to help people get to the other side of it. Glad we don't have to take our earthly bodies up to heaven with us.

Back to the purse (I know, this has been my state of mind the last few months....can't keep focused on anything for long!) Isn't the trim around the top edge cute? We found that at Pacific Fabrics outlet store on 4th Avenue in Seattle. Again, it's a pleather and you know I love natural fibers but this pleather is fun and affordable and really classy looking with the trims and coordinating glitzy fabrics. Plus my Black Beauty old 1954 Singer sails right through it with a 20 gauge needle (yes, I do remember how to spell gauge after all!). The greatest thing about this design is the inside pockets. Em told me it's the most organized purse she's ever owned because of the nice innards.

I have a couple of wool purses I've been working on too but they are gifts and I can't display them here or might spoil some surprises.....later on those.

Off to make tomorrow's recipe...homemade caramels! Get some heavy cream and corn syrup on hand for this one....until then, happy trails.