lambing

So, how farmerish are you feeling today....apparently you want more lamb pictures. Do you like your lambie pics all clean and white like these?

-who I watched enter the world about 15 minutes before this shot? I', thinking they would be a cute card.

They are very fortunate and had a lovely mother who cleaned them up straight away with a little judicious licking and presented them to me all beautiful for pictures.

These next pictures may not be quite so pretty, I found this little darling next to her dead mother.

I was on foot so I put my gloves on, out of a desire to not catch any dodgy animal diseases rather than the gross factor, and headed across the paddock for home.

I already have 5 lots of ewes and lambs "rebonding" in the sheep yards and wool shed, and I am feeding two so I wasn't that keen on adding to the collection. They are always much better on a real mother.

I spotted a motherly looking ewe who had just delivered and while her back was turned I raced up and rubbed my lamb against hers for the smell, then raced off to spy from the tussocks.

These are my spycam shots, notice how she is smelling them both? Something seems wrong from when she turned around but she can't quite put her finger on it.....(the darker is the imposter)

Still investigating.....

-and off we go!

I love a happy ending, don't you? Even if they aren't all clean and white!

Look at this big fellow I saw on my travels...it is Spring, last year's pet lamb, who has featured widely in the past 12 months, often draped in quilts. He is a head taller than the other sheep....grossly overindulged!

I still haven't gone around and caught up all my favourite blogs, don't think I have given up on you, it's just these little darlings, my 10 calves, my 97 chooks, my kids, my husband and associated resposibilities seem to be demanding a large amount of time.

Here's a comment from me anyway, on my latest favourite card and a big seller at our recent market. Have a great day, Tracey

Opal sock yarn

Hi, some info. for the knitters amongst you.
I have spoken to Robyn, the computer generated sock yarn is "Opal" sock yarn. Here is a sample website but just put it in Google and you may find something closer to you. http://beadopalwoolqueen.com.au/store.html
I am up to my arm pits in ewes and lambs after an inch and a half of rain....my son now knows WAY too much about child/lamb birth! He says he is staying home for the rest of the week to keep helping me! Back soon, Tracey
OOps, just added it the link sorry about that!!!

To Market...and beyond!

Serious house cleaning going on here, no time to sew so I will share some good things from Quilters on Friday instead. First though....remember my sister's baby blanket I nearly binned...she wonders if I will take orders from her friends!? Go figure!

Helen received this pack of hand dyeds from a friend in Queensland-fabulous colours. We had a play with different arrangements for putting them together.




Robyn was working on her socks. You may have seen this wool before with the computer generated pattern in the wool-all you have to do is knit and it looks like fair isle.





My lovely quilters spent most of their time helping me wrap boxes of hedgehog and pots of succulents for the market....and doing the stuffing and stitching for heart cushions and chooks! we had a real little factory happening!


Now, to the market.

The organisation of it works that there is a co-ordinator, which was me, then convenors in charge of the different areas, eg, flower bouquets, Mother's day Craft, confectionary, bbq, hot potatoes, children's activities/show bags,Cafe, Bakehouse, trash'n treasure, 2nd hand kids books and toys and a Farmer's Market.
I do all the initial work and get the helpers, advertise etc, then the helpers are allocated to the convenors and they put their actual section in place. They do a fabulous job. We give each School family a baker ID number for food handling and that goes on all their baking and jams for traceability.

School and Church people all contribute to the stalls, we used to hold it at the Schools but felt we mainly got School and Church people, so we now run it in the Senior Citizen's hall down the main street...adjacent to the supermarket car park. We are getting a lot more town's people calling in that way and find we don't have to make everything AND buy it!
So, the grand figure...our little market took $8500!!! hopefully only $1000 in expenses so $2000 up on last year...not bad for a 100 family School.
Here are some pics I thought you may like.....

some craft from our craft days......recognise any trademark Tracey???

I paid some girls on commission to sell my cards while they sold their jewellery, they sold $120 worth!

The bouquets bought in over $1500, 8-10 talented women put them all together on Friday, they get a lot of natives donated and everyone cleans out their gardens so no outlays at all!

So a great community day all around.

Have a good day, Tracey

Blankets and babies.

Kids have been home and "fluey" again so I haven't quite had the week of decadence I hoped for. Finally well enough to go and see my sister and baby today, I finished the blanket at 1 am this morning. It is chenille on fleecy.

I thought I would just pillow case it like I have done before with blankets, unfortunately that was with one cotton layer, one fleecy. This was double fleecy and it stretched a little top and bottom. I covered up the stretch as well as possible with chenille edges but I was still ready to throw it out at 1 am...luckily I didn't as my non-sewing sister could see nothing but perfection-she is a great sister! She copped a feature in her local paper as her sister in law gave birth in the same hospital on Mother's day as well. I managed to get my photo in our local paper today for the market and my girl got her Mother's day letter picked for the local paper's feature...want to read it? Here it is-

Wonder if she will still feel like that in 4-5 years!

It had her first name and School-everyone said the first line gave it away anyway! I was very touched .

The little darlings have been enjoying the pet lamb-the enclosure did not last long, he is now at my door!

-at least until the morning when I get to construct something for him.

Like his bow?...he is considering speaking to his union about the indignity of it!

He is sleeping in Archie's dog kennel as well.

Why can't I ever have normal pets.... NOT like these?

I missed the best pic...when the calf nibbled on the rooster and it was eating so intently it almost lost a wing!

I suppose you have to get in while the going's good.

Almost forgot, kids and I discussed the winner of the chook competition-it ended up being related to number 1, he is my boy's favourite. He loved that the people who chose him all gave names, Dr. Spock, Rod Stewart, John Howard and Dame Edna!! John Howard was the lucky recipient, that really tickled my boy's fancy and the rooster has been saved from the pot and will be Johnny hereafter! So Lissa jane you can drop me a line...and I take it from your comment that you do NOT want him mailed to you! Darn, shall have to think of something else!

Here he is if you missed him....

have a great day, Tracey

"Mothering" Day

Mother's day here in Australia, and lots of places around the world.
I became an Auntie again today-, after a brief but potent brush with pre-eclampsia all is well for my sister and I have a Daisy Lou to make quilts for ...how big do you think the temptation is to try to whip up a big appliqued daisy blanket before I go to see her on Tuesday?????

Mothering in all forms is highly prized here, not just the human type, because on a farm good mothering is even a criteria for choosing stock.

Not everyone here is as capable as the Isabelle the cat.
She is going for mother of the year-well, breeder of the year anyway, but we wont talk about that!
We have been lambing for about a week. DH is busy in the tractor so I have been looking after the stock. I walk around them as much as possible, I like exercise with a purpose and it is less disturbing for the sheep...also means I can carry the camera easily.
You see a lot of stuff-
You run into the mother's who are just too tired to get up-

And then, you get her up and she runs away across the paddock so she has to be reminded of her duties by a day in the tank....

which would definitely make me pull my socks up!

Then when you have sorted that out you find the ones that the mother just forgot....
This one took a shine to Archie! I can see why....

We often try to foster these onto a mother who has lost her lamb, but as we are only lambing one mob so far and the weather has been kind, there aren't a lot losing their babies....

-which means it has to come home, where the junior "I am going to by my own farm" worker takes over the mothering!

The lamb spent the night in the kids cubby (!!) then both little darlings spent a large proportion of this afternoon trying to make it a yard before their father blew a foofer valve over it sitting squawking and doing whatever else at the back door. They dragged in the broken rose climber and threaded it with string...and pegs, and extra string. Great fun!
So this is not just Happy Mother's day from me, it is have a great day to all those out there who are carers in every shape and form-well done!

I am contemplating ending a lovely day with a bit of Stephanie Plum reading in a bubble bath-does it get much better than that? - I survived yesterday's market and you will get a report for ideas but I will do that separately for all those googlers that come searching and don't need to know everything!.
Here is a little bit of appropriate stitching my very caring quilt friends helped me finish on Friday night,

Have a great day, and here's to a peaceful week where I get to visit you all for a catch-up! Tracey

The next survivor series...

Sorry, but I have to share this...apologies to all those incredibly capable dads -but it is Mother's day! And I can't get the spaces at the top and bottom to go, but you will manage.

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks. Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes There is no fast food. Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week. Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives. Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to Emergency. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function. Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house. The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done. The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewellery, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed. During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must attend weekly school meetings, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting. They will need to read a book with the children each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am. A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name. Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labour, each child's favourite colour, middle name, favourite snack, favourite song, favourite drink, favourite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up. The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice. If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!

Requests

Hi, need to ice a heap of slice with chocolate icing and I need to know what chocolate icing recipe you use to get a shiny icing that is still cutable-mine tends to crack or lose its shine, mine is a predominantly melted cooking chocolate plus a bit of butter recipe.

Also, who had the tutorial or even the picture of that cute round pincushion you make, then you whip DMC type thread around to kind of quarter it? (all the DMC threads come up through the middle) Around the diameter of a coffee cup or however big you want to go.

I don't know what it is called and writing all that in Google will not get results!

Now, for the information of the competition enterers and whoever else is interested, here are the chook vital statistics.

#1 -a silky/barred plymouth rock cross rooster
#2 -silky/pekin cross rooster
#3-purebred bush chook rooster!!
#4-predominantly pekin hen with a tiny bit of silky
#5-bush chook frizzle cross hen
#6-bush chook frizzle cross hen (the rooster is very virile and easy to pick his kids!)
#7-silky pekin cross rooster
#8-THE frizzle rooster...he may be small......but it's the quiet ones you need to watch!
#9-silky hen
#10-frizzle silky cross hen
#11-silky pekin cross rooster
#12-frizzle rooster crossed with bush chook.

And finally, because this is meant to be a quilting blog (!!!) here is the little stitchery I made for last Sunday. It is attached to a card with double sided tape so can be hung after the event. I stitched it during a report at convention-I like to have something to stitch, stops me from falling asleep!
Have a great day, please drop me a line asap with the queries, Thanks, Tracey

Pick your chook!

I have been asked many times just how many chooks (or chickens for you o/s people) that I have.

My husband quite often asks the same question as well....usually when they have been in his sheds.
So the other night I did a count of the ones that roost in the shed or somewhere I can find them and I have a number for you.....just don't tell my husband though, promise, have you promised? Ok then,
it's 97!!!!
And seeing life is busy this week with minimal sewing I am going to introduce you to Tracey's top 10 ...or 12...of the most unusual. I breed for unusuality. We may as well call it a competition, just for fun, and one lucky voter might just win a prize! You can get all creative and even name the ugly one of your choice -or who it reminds you of. That will keep me entertained when i need a break from strudel..or jam..or slice...or making pot holders!! Have fun, you have until Saturday, 10th May!

#1


#2


#3

#4

#5

#6

#7



#8

#9


#10


#11

#12

Have fun! Tracey

What Did You Do All Day?

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pyjamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pyjamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?'

She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'

'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

_____________________________________________________________

Well, you know what, come next week i may just not do it either!!

This email I received summed up my week-fed an extra 4 for a few days while they shore off the wool around the sheep's bottoms prior to lambing, madly sewed, cooked and made organizng phonecalls for the School market, tried to remember to blog at least once and hoped that people will forgive me for my lack of comments...(I'll be back next week!!) and stayed up late into every night getting organized so i could skip town on the family for Friday and Saturday to attend the Church Ladies convention 5 hours away on the bus! We are holding it here next year and as President I had to go and see how it ran and receive the banner etc. My scariest moment was climbing on the mini bus and taking my seat...near a woman called Valda....and fearing that I was just like Mrs. Hoggett on Babe!!! Remember her going off to CWA on the bus fearing for Hooggett's sanity?-Well, i feared for mine! but I had a perfectly fine time..I kept remembering my parents credo for life-"you have to learn to make your own fun!"

I bought some great books which I will share, sewed a heap of redwork, ate some great slice and enjoyed being treated pretty much as the pet...because I was a good 20 years younger than everyone else! My family survived and appreciated me so much more when I wandered back -so all in all a good result.

I can't be bothered walking down to the woolshed tonight to get my camera, so photos of interesting happenings will have to wait-hopefully see you soon, have a good day, Tracey

A new day.

Phew...... It is 12.01 am on May 1st, and I just put the last stitch in my Four Seasons swap quilt so it WILL be mailed on time.

So it is a double celebration, because today we took possession of the farm next door. Well, we kind of took over a few weeks ago, it is all completely burnt and most ploughed ready to put lots of that beautiful yellow canola in, but today was the official changeover. The owner is retiring, but staying in the beautiful old house indefinitely, we don't need it...yet.

My girl has decided that it is to be her farm and she is entertaining us hugely with her plans to make money to buy it off us and then her changes and what she is going to farm! She paid for two of the latest calves with her pocket money and birthday money-people gave her birthday money and asked what toy she would get, you should have seen the jaws drop when she answered, "a farm!" She thinks if she buys and sells over the next 8 years she should have farm money and a herd!

We went through the house the other day and she is madly working out where her stuff will go and how many pets she can jam into the formal lounge (??)

She has had a remarkable turnaround since Monday, assisted by a phone consultation with the woman who fixed her in December...so I am still trying to be an alternative therapy believer-it is hard not to be when your daughter is now dancing around the house and intending going to football tomorrow night. So some of the stress is gone from our house for now.

I am hoping she lets me pick fruit from her fig tree when she takes over, I have never had a prolific one and I think I am going to love the new farm's one..

I just love figs-and fig jam. The owner can remember eating figs from it when he was a boy so it is quite old but still fruit bearing. The walnut tree beside it looks good as well.

I am trying to work out how I can ask to keep this, it looks great!

But this will definitely stay-you can't beat a good windmill at dusk.

My lovely friend, Susan who has now been on the other side of the country for nearly a year, sent me some pics tonight. Remember when I auditioned sashing ideas for her Roman Holiday, well here it is with the red I sent her, i think she has done a great job.

She also made a red quilt for a friend of a friend with cancer in her town, i liked this as well.

I think if you click on it you could see the stitcheries better. Susan does great stitcheries...and a happy slightly belated birthday Susan as well-still miss you!

Now it is 12.26 am, where does the day go? Have a good one, wherever you are, Tracey