Friday, March 16, 2007

We ARE Still Here!

And, life continues ~

I would like to thank everyone for their care, concern and prayers since our world took an unexpected turn in January. It has been a long struggle with Bill's health, but it has not been without many blessings along the way - and friends and family are surely right at the top of the list! God is good, and He is faithful. After nineteen days in the hospital (including a long stay in intensive care, with an hour drive both to and from) Bill is now at a live-in rehabilitation facility only a few minutes from home and we are looking forward to the day he will be able to be back here with us on the farm. I hope to be better at keeping up with things in coming days, and I look forward to visiting with many of you. This world is filled with wonderful people, and we are blessed to know so many!

In the midst of this all, we have dispersed our herd of Percheron horses - all but Sam and Lisa. These old girls will live out their days here. I am especially thankful for the new homes that Stella and Rochester will have, both are near by.

Lambing began and shearing was done in February. There are many adorable lambs and amazing fleeces:

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I am VERY slowly getting the fleeces skirted and on the way to their new homes, but with so many additional responsibilities it is slow going as you can imagine! I want to be sure to thank all of my wonderful customers for their understanding and patience with me, especially when (along with everything else going on!) my computer died and couldn't be resurrected for nearly three weeks! And for those who could not wait and needed to forego your fleece reservation, I want to sincerely apologize for any inconvenience my circumstances have caused. The good news is that this makes more fleece available to those of you who have been on the waiting list ;)

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My friend Theresa coined a phrase for my fiber...she calls it "Comfort Wool" and the sentiment has been echoed by many of my customers. I want to share a roving (pictured above) with you that is certainly deserving of that name! From a lovely little ewe named Bree (her picture is below with her 2007 lamb), this is so dense and so plush and so absolutely squeezable....it makes your heart and hands sing while you are spinning it! Rich, deep, dark brown.

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Another roving I just got back from Zeilingers is this blend I call Stone Soup:

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I was inspired to throw all kinds of wool together to have this one made after taking Letty Klein's Braided Roving Rug workshop - the intent being to have a nice felting roving to make some rugs with. Various amounts of things like Cotswold, Lincoln, Border & Blue Faced Leicester, Dorset, Columbia, Icelandic, Shetland and even some Alpaca, Llama and Corriedale - a real hodgepodge! Imagine my delight at how yummy the roving is and how beautifully it spins! I am currently spinning some of it up with the goal of a 3-ply sock yarn. Very soft yet with strength from the longwools and a neat tweedy oatmeal/grey, like Ragg Wool yarn!

Again, my love and thank you's to our friends and family who have kept in touch and had us in their prayers! A scripture that has echoed through my mind over and over in recent days is this one from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." It is a comforting feeling, to know that you are not alone when changes like these come our way!

7 comments:

Carissa said...

It is so good to have you posting again! I hope this means that you life it settling back down. We love you, and will keep sending love and prayers your way!

Stasia said...

I had no idea you had to find homes for your dear horses. So sorry! Wish we would have known and could have helped. If you find you need a good, permanent home for the remaining two, please let us know - they would be loved and coddled! Take care - have courage, have faith...

http://yarnandabarn.blogspot.com

Melissa said...

Cary, I hope Bill is able to come home to you and Alex real soon!

Prayerful Knitter - Shelly said...

Cary, I am praying for you and your family daily. I hope that Bill is regaining strength and that he recovers quickly and is soon home.

The lambs are adorable and the roving is wonderful.

Please take care and get plenty of rest.

Anonymous said...

Hi Cary! I'm glad to hear that things are slowly coming back together for you. You have been missed and in my thoughts often. I am hosting a KAL, and for my project, I am using the yarn you sent as my birthday prezzie...I LOVE it! I am hooked, converted, addicted, whatever you want to call it! :P I want more and will be ordering soon :) I have some pictures of the project on the KAL's blog and you can see them here:

http://knitavalon.blogspot.com/

I'll be putting pics on my blog shortly, I've just been super busy lately playing catch-up- I'm sure you know what I mean!

xo

Anonymous said...

Hi Cary! Annie, from Spin to Knit here! I don't know if I got the chance to thank you for the lovely skeins and roving that you sent me. =D They are very pretty and I can't wait to make something out of them.

I'm glad to hear that your husband is doing better! I can't imagine how hard the whole situation has been on you guys. I'll still keep you in my prayers. Have a great day!

-Annie

Emily said...

I missed you. I hope Bill is getting better. Having worked in the sector I know that people can recover quite a bit. I hope he does and can come home soon!

I whish I had the money right now for any of the fleeces you are selling (or were selling, I did read the message when you first posted it but I never commented) but I had just bought a lot of roving and I couldn't justify the expense.

Love!