Yarn Production

I hate to complain about our weather, when everyone in the east half of this country seems to be suffering from record heat, but it is wet and humid here, and I'm getting tired of this.  I wish I could send the rain to Colorado to put an end to those awful fires.  And the coolness to you in the East.

I have all of my windows and doors open to try to get some air, and I have spent my day carding wool to spin.

I borrowed my friend's drum carder, since mine are toast.

Here it is, with a supply of fiber to comb.

Here is the container full of fiber that I dyed a couple of months ago. 

I'm having fun blending colors and am looking forward to seeing the yarn I make out of these "roulags".

And here is the latest yarn I am spinning.  What a little workhorse my spinner is.  My yarns are selling well, so I need to pick up my production.

This skein is the last one I finished, made from whatever was left on my bobbins.

What is Your Purpose?

I know many of you will remember the vintage quilt I acquired and have been researching for the past three years.  I traced the origin of it to my very own church!!!  Today, during the service, I will be presenting the quilt to the Nooksack Christian Fellowship.  The woman for whom this friendship quilt was made was from Montana.  She and her family of 10 traveled to Nooksack to attend a Tent Revival at the Campground in Nooksack.  They fell in love with the area and bought a farm nearby.  In 1931, Etta Aldrich realized she could no longer run the farm by herself after her husband had died and her children were all raised.  She made the decision to move to Port Angeles to live with one of her daughters.  This quilt was made by the members of her church and presented to her as a farewell gift.

I am so glad to have a home for it, and have found it a true honor to have visited the past and learned so much about the history of my area and those who settled it.

And now Nooksack is 100 years old and I am the chairperson of the Nooksack Centennial Celebration.  My, what a circle of life.  How did this all happen?  Certainly not by coincidence.

Now in a more serious note, my week in Hawaii provided me with some extensive relaxation and introspection.  It was a good time for me to review my life and see if I could come up with a plan for my next chapter.  A week later, I came to the realization that I have been so distraught and desperate because I had no purpose in my day to day life.  I have always had important rolls in my work and personal life, and now I find myself unfulfilled.

Yes, I have many friends, and I am involved in many activities within my community, but somehow this does not give me direction.

Many of you are familiar with Empty Nest Syndrome.  I never had to deal with it, since as soon as my boys left home, we acquired alpacas, and all of my energy was immersed in them.  Those years with the alpacas were my Glory Days.  I built a successful business, I practiced animal husbandry, and took great pride in the accomplishments I achieved here on the farm.

Now, with the loss of my husband, and the sale of my alpacas, I am overwhelmed.

I have had a hard year and a half, running away from my fears, acting impulsively, looking for something to fill this gaping hole in my life.  As Oprah would say, my "Ah Ha Moment" has given me clarity and a goal.

As usual, I talk to everyone I can about my concerns, and of course I pray.  God has not let me down and direction is coming my way.  I have been contacted by a local organic farmer regarding a really special program that I may be able to get involved in.  I also have some volunteer work lined up.  I can't disclose at this time what the particulars are, but I will be sharing them with you as they come to be.

KoOlina, Place of Joy

 I was in Hawaii for the wedding of my niece, and what more appropriate place than one named KoOlina, the Place of Joy.  My brother officiated, and he delivered such a moving message, he had even the men in tears.  He's an amazing man, and I'm so happy to have him for my brother.

 He showed a few of us this picture before the ceremony, but here is the story.  When my two nieces were 6 & 4, they dressed up as brides and went downstairs to tell their Mom and Dad this story.  "We love you Mama, and we love you, Papa, and we love our home so much.  When we grow up, we are going to get married and have lots of children and live here with you."

This is the site of the wedding.  Actually, it rained shortly after the ceremony, so food and dancing was moved to a grass shelter by the beach.  A more fairytale setting could not be found.

Here I am with my son Michael on the left.  He's the only one there wearing a tie, but it was appropriate since it had tiny hula girls all over it.  I must have packed for this trip 10 times.  I bought three dresses, too them all back, and wore this one I already had.  I took half the stuff out of my suitcase before I left, and glad I did.

Earlier in the day I went to one of the activities the resort puts on.  This was Bingo and Sundaes.  I had the worst card, but did enjoy about 1/4 of my Sundae.  It was HUGE.

The next day, I learned to make a lei out of leaves from the Ti plant.  As we got started, I realized it was the same as spinning!!!  You just do it with your fingers.

Then, a couple of nights later I learned to braid this headband out of leaves from the Coconut tree.  A big, burly Samoan man who is a dancer with the Fie Fie performance helped me.  I was all thumbs.  I will write more about Fie Fie tomorrow.