Today is Bender’s tenth birthday! I really can’t believe he’s ten already, although his face is starting to show his years.
Look at those adorable white eyebrows.
We didn’t do anything too special to celebrate, other than our usual daily walks. But I did make him a birthday cake after our evening walk.
Here’s the basic recipe, but I doctored it up a bit and added bananas and oats, and omitted the carrots since I didn’t have any on hand. It’s pretty tasty and the dogs love it!
After our morning walk in the rain I headed out for three hours of pickleball! And I had a blast! I think I played the best ever had. I even had one game where I played with three guys who are much better than I am and my team won!!! It was a long and well fought game! And so much fun! I also tried out some brand new pickleball shoes and I love them! My feet and toes felt so comfy the entire time.
I did get a few things done in my sewing room over the weekend. Yesterday I had a pretty lazy day but managed to get four Wensleydale blocks made. Then I got another four made today.
That makes a total of 37 blocks done. I’m pretty sure I’m going to make the full 60 blocks for this quilt. So that means 23 more blocks to go. That’s not very many.
I’ve ordered a couple of batiks that are similar to the lightest ones in these blocks because I think is needs more of that really light for contrast. It will take a few days for it to get here so after the few kits I have left to sew, I’ll probably take a bit of a break on this.
And here’s all eight blocks from this weekend, just because I like to look at the details of each one.
I just love that every block is unique. It keeps it interesting when making so many of the same block.
Rico had a good snooze in my sewing room tonight. It’s very unusual for him to even come into the room, let alone take a nap there.
He has been a little clingy the last few days. Unusual.
It’s been a rainy weekend but more and more things are blooming every day. The cherry trees here in Portland are gorgeous and just starting to bloom.
They are not quite at their full glory.
I also saw this on the trail today. I think it’s a red blooming current.
I also saw the first rhododendron in bloom today.
Mine still has a good white before it blooms.
Back to work tomorrow. My budgets are due at the end of this week so I’ll have a really busy week.
What a crazy Friday at work. I was in zoom meetings from 9:30 am until 3:00… with barely enough time to pee between meetings. I finally got the boys out for a walk around 3:30. And by the time I got home I had worn a blister on the big toe on my left foot. I was ready to take them for a walk after dinner, but it was just too uncomfortable.
So, instead, I tossed a ball in the back yard until they nearly passed out.
Once they were nice and worn out I hit my sewing room and dug in on making four more Wensleydale blocks. And since I have a big stack of kits made I didn’t wast any time prepping.
Here’s what I ended up with.
Here’s all four of them together.
And all 29 blocks up on the design wall. Just nineteen blocks to go!!
I’ve started thinking about my next set of fabrics for the final blocks and I really think I need to pull out some dark, dark indigo batiks. I feel like it could use more dark fabrics. And, more truly light fabrics. So I’ll be a little more intentional with the last set of fabrics.
When I finished up and left my sewing room, my faithful campaign was waiting patiently for me.
It still doesn’t feel like full blown spring yet. But I’m happy to see that some new bloomers have arrived. The blooms on my flowering plum tree are opening up.
This is typically one of the first trees to bloom every spring. And in a few days it will all be gone. These blooms just don’t last very long — a good rain storm or a stiff wind will make short work of it.
My flowering pear trees are also starting to bloom.
I love these trees! I love them so much I’ve planted 11 of them in my back yard over the years.
I saw this Camellia tree on our walk this afternoon. I love the carpet of petals on the ground.
A couple of the blue batiks I purchased recently for my Wensleydale quilt had a little more color in them than the rest of the blue batiks I have. I’ve been itching too see them in blocks.
Since I cut enough of the blue batiks the other night to make 18 blocks, I dug in tonight and divided them all into kits and added KFC scraps.
Then I dug in and made two more blocks… just because I wanted to see how they looked with the pops of color.
That really is a deep indigo background behind the green paisley of that first one. And I love it! And I have to say, I LOVE that diamond shape in the light blues, aquas and purples on the right! It glows!
Hmmm. Maybe I’ve been working with blues too long. I’m craving color!
Let’s see how that looks with the other blocks.
Both new blocks are in there… can you see them? Center column, second from the bottom and second from the top.
Here’s a closer look. Ooh. That pop of green is really nice!
I’m pretty happy with how they look. Interesting to see how it looks with more pops of that color here and there. I guess I’d better get sewing!
My friend who visited in January (we made her Aboriginal 16 patch together) send me photos of the snow she got at her house in Salt Lake City a couple of days ago… two feet of snow in one day!
They’ve had so much snow this winter! My friend is ready for spring… even more ready than I am!
Here’s Bender’s brother, in the back, and Rico’s half brother, in the front, enjoying the snow! Dogs do love snow!
I would love to have this for about 30 minutes and then I’d be done with it!
For now, I’d like some sun instead of all the rain we have coming up.
I have put it off long enough. I absolutely had to get my tax materials together and off to my accountant tonight. He always saves a slot for me among his late actors. I’m grateful for this.
So after getting them all collected, photo copied, bundled up and sent off at the post office, I had a little bit of time to spend in my sewing room.
Since I sewed all the Wensleydale block kits that I had put together last week, it was time to cut a bunch of blue batiks so I can build more kits. I selected nine fabrics from my stash of blue batiks — three dark, three medium, and three light.
I’m excited to see these little pops of color in amongst all these blocks!
One of the things I love about cutting fabrics is just looking at the fabrics. This one from this set is a standout. Makes me remember why I love batiks the way I do!
The photo does’t do the colors justice. it’s pretty spectacular.
When I got down to the last four fabrics I finally realized that I could cut multiple fabrics at one time. Why didn’t I think of this before?
Sure saved a LOT of time! I’ll remember that for the next set I cut. I’m all about efficiency!
I cut enough fabric to make 18 blocks. that will bring me up to a total of 39 blocks.
Actually, I found one kit on my sewing table tonight that I didn’t sew up. So that will make 40 total blocks. Only eight more to cut later. UNLESS… I decide to make this quilt a little bigger… which is entirely possible.
I will have to cut more KFC scraps to complete the kits.
I’m having so much fun making these Wensleydale blocks I decided to order another set of the papers… 60 more sheets! I am really wanting to make another one… not sure what I’m going to do but I’m thinking Australian Aboriginal fabrics. I have several ideas and want to make sure I have the papers in hand while they’re still available.
I needed to get this quilt top off my design wall to accommodate the Wensleydale blocks so I tossed it on my bed to see how it looks. I love it. It’s definitely bright! I hope my brother and his wife aren’t horrified by how bright it is.
Well… if they don’t like it I’ll have another quilt for MY bed!!!
It was a beautiful day here in Portland today. Regardless of what the weather forecast says, I know spring is here when we’re finishing up our walk at 8 pm in the last remnants of the evening light.
I had such a good sleep in this morning. I think my body really needed it. I slept more than ten hours and probably could have slept more.
Once I get up I didn’t expect I’d have a terribly productive day. I stayed around home all day. I did manage to wash and replace the bedding in my room and in my guest room. I also managed to take the. dogs for a walk late this afternoon.
I also managed to make nine of my Wensleydale quilt blocks.
I just love how each block is completely different. My favorite kind of quilt!
Before I started sewing these blocks I had to kit them all up using the fabrics I cut a few days ago.
Then I stacked up the paper plates and started sewing. I made these nine blocks in several different stints in my sewing room… interrupted by walks, meals, and breaks to sit on my butt!
I’m getting faster at making these blocks. I’ve built the habit of checking my coverage of the paper piecing template at specific places in the process by holding my block up to the light.
On one block I made today this step revealed that one area didn’t have full coverage of the seam allowance. So rather than junking the entire block, I sewed an extra piece of the fabric on.
You can see that little wedge sewn into the blue, right above that orange triangle. It’s a pretty good solution and will never be noticed when the quilt is done.
Here’s the 21 blocks that are done.
I’m really liking this more as I add more blocks.
I’m going to have to cut more fabrics before I sew any more blocks. Here’s what I’ve decided are in the “yes” pile.
that’s more fabric than I’ll need. I will need to decide how much variety I’m going to go for. I’ll probably start with two darks, two mediums, and two lights. Then I’ll cut more if that doesn’t make the remaining blocks. It likely won’t be the last group of fabrics I have to cut.
I have 12 blocks that still have the paper on the back. I was going to bring them with me into the living room tonight and pull the paper out as I watched TV, but I decided that I was too tired. So that will have to come later.
It looks like spring is definitely here. My daffodils are finally opening! it’s about time.
I saw a lot of other pretty blooming things around the neighborhood during our walk today.
While I was sewing today a little thunderstorm came through. We don’t get a lot of thunder here. But when we do, Rico is very unhappy. I had his head in my lap as I sewed for a few minutes because he needed some reassurance that everything was ok.
oor kid. Look how scared he looks.
Once he relaxed a little, he retreated under my sewing table and stayed there for at least an hour.
Bender is not bothered by lightning. But he does like to be comfortable!
Not much planned for tomorrow. I’m playing pickleball in the afternoon. I would like to get the remaining borders on my quarter log cabin quilt to check off that box. Let’s see if it happens.
I arrived at Trudy’s a little before 9 am this morning and was greeted by this. “Oh, hello! It’s you again!”
By the time I got my rubber boots on, Trudy had arrived at the barn and we got moving.
Oh, and did I mention how necessary it is to HAVE rubber boots during lambing season in Northwest Oregon?
First thing we did was get busy feeding the ewes around the barn. I dug in and gave everyone in the barn a nice helping of grain — a mix of different grains with a little molasses mixed in. It looks and smells like granola and the sheep love it.
When the ewes see you walk through the gate with the grain they come running. They have their noses in the grain the minute it’s in the bucket.
Then everyone gets some nice leafy alfalfa. Trudy portioned it out for me and I fed the ewes in the barn.Mmmmm.
I was worried that she wasn’t coming up for air!
Then we both headed out to give some hay to the ewes in the paddocks around the barn. Everyone agrees that a little hay after your grain is a great way to start your morning.
Once everyone was fed we got started on the lambs that were born after I left yesterday. Trudy saved those two little ones for me to give ear tags, tail bands, and one needed to be castrated.
I felt much more adept at these tasks today. The ear tags go in pretty smoothly. You need to get the place correctly so you allow some room for growth, but in the right place so they don’t get torn off on gates and brambles.
It’s a lot like getting your ears pierced. The tag has a number on it that Trudy records with information about the lamb, if it’s a boy or girl, if it has any health issues, etc… and the mom’s number from her ear tag.
Trudy held the male while I tried to band his testicles, but I could not get the right one to fall into the scrotum. I tried several times before I handed him off to Trudy who was also not successful. She said the testicle hadn’t completely descended. She’ll give it another try tomorrow.
I have to say that castrating isn’t my favorite thing to do with lambs. I don’t hate it and it doesn’t make me squeamish. I’m just not very good at it. I’m getting better but I think I’m making it more difficult for the lamb than it needs to be. Trudy did give me lots of tips that makes it easier. But I found myself wishing each lamb was a female so I could skip this part.
But there’s an unintended benefit: I’m getting really good at spotting lamb testicles from a distance!
My last morning task was to give a ewe a shot of penicillin all by myself! It’s amazing how comfortable you get doing these things when you get a little experience under your belt.
When we finished these morning chores we packed up some hay and grain and headed out to the back pasture to feed the pregnant ewes and see if any lambs had been born overnight. When we got to the gate there was no Regina — one of the guard dogs. We took this as a good sign that she was out in the trees keeping a watchful eye on lambs.
And bam! We spotted this little ewe with one lamb. And there’s Regina!
We kept driving around near the trees and spotted another ewe with two lambs… one of them was pretty tiny. Both ewes had moved away from the rest of the flock and were in the trees on their own with their lambs.
We hadn’t taken the lamb wagon with us so we headed back to pick it up so we could go back and get those lambs transported to the barn. By the time we got back to the pasture, the two ewes with the lambs had moved out into the center of the pasture and were almost intermingled with the rest of the pregnant ewes. This near intermingling makes it more challenging to get the lambs and ewes out of the field in one, easy group.
Since this was a more challenging situation, I stayed in the four wheeler while Trudy caught the lambs and dealt with the ewes. This whole thing proved to be more challenging because the ewe with the single lamb is a cheviot cross. Cheviot is a breed of sheep that can be a little more nervous and difficult to deal with. The other ewe is a clun. They tend to be more easy going and not as bothered by things humans do.
In this next photo, the cheviot cross is closest to Trudy with the white lamb. The clun is further off to the left of the photo.
Trudy was able to catch all three lambs pretty easily and get them into the lamb wagon. The clun ewe was calm and just stood next to the wagon with her lambs in it.
The cheviot cross ewe was having none of it, and in spite of Trudy’s and Wyatt’s (her little black sheep dog) efforts, she was able to break and rejoin the other ewes. This meant that Trudy would have the tricky task of separating that ewe out from all the other ewes.
So we drove the lamb wagon and parked it outside the gate. The clun ewe followed along nicely. Then Trudy and Wyatt headed down to the bottom of the pasture to bring all those ewes up to the gate where Trudy would sort out the cheviot cross mom.
In sorting out the one ewe, Trudy had Wyatt hold the sheep close to the gate while she moved back and forth to spread the sheep out so they’re not in a big clump right at the gate.
Then a lot of magic appears to happen and the ewe in question slips through the gate all by herself, leaving the rest of the flock behind. And we were on our way back to the barn with three new lambs in the wagon and two ewes in tow… all making colossal amounts of noise the entire time!
Success!
Then it was time to get busy with these lambs. We got all three’s ears tagged, tails banded, and one lamb castrated. The teeny tiny lamb laying down in that crate is a male, but his private parts were so small they were hard to find to get banded. Trudy will try again tomorrow.
Since that male was so tiny, Trudy decided we should tube feed him to make sure he gets a good start. So Trudy held him while I put the tube into his mouth and kept feeding it in. In no time he had a full stomach!
Here’s a look at that tube so you can see how far into the lamb it goes.
He had no idea what was about to happen to him. But he put on his big boy pants and handled it like a champ!
Next, we got these new moms and their lambs all settled in their pens in the barn.
Then I grabbed Rico and moved that same group of sheep to that same pasture as yesterday. Rico was so happy to get to do his part!
Those sheep are crafty and knew exactly where they were going and were already at the gate by the time Rico and I had walked a few yards. Once we got closer to the sheep, I sent Rico on a come-by flank (clockwise from my side), had him lie down and stay so he could hold the sheep while I walked toward them to open the gate. He did his job beautifully and the sheep were trotting into the tall, delicious grass in no time.
Then rico got a quick dip in the pond before lunch.
And a quick swim after his work.
It was now time for lunch and after a quick bite, Rico got to go out into the big field and work the sheep again. And he was brilliant again!
Then we went and grabbed Bender out of the car so we could get a nice field run before we went back to work.
I told Trudy that I was pretty sure that what I had done the most over the last two days was open and close gates! Every paddock and pen and pasture has a gate. And when you go through or open a gate, you close it. That’s good farm practice. I think I must have opened and closed at least 50 gates today!
When I got back to the barn Trudy was busy moving sheep and lambs and freeing up space in the barn for the brand new lambs. She got the lambs in the paddocks near the barn moved into a pasture that has good shelter since a storm was roaring in this afternoon.
After getting the dogs back in the car I helped make sure the pens in the barn all had fresh water and then I was done. Trudy offered to let me work Rico on the sheep one more time, but I was pretty tired by this time and decided to get cleaned up a little and hit the road for home right at 3:00.
I’ve been looking forward to these two days for months and they didn’t disappoint. I had better luck with new lambs every day… just enough to keep us busy but not overwhelm us. What a great two days with great weather in beautiful countryside. Plus good company and lots of lambs and work to do.
I’m so lucky! Thanks to Trudy for letting me come again and for taking the time to teach me so much and let me learn by doing. What a great experience!
I just took some Advil PM and when it takes effect I’m going to go to bed and I’m not going to set an alarm.
I woke up early today and was on the road right before 8 am. It was a beautiful morning drive and when I arrived at my friend Trudy’s place, I was greeted by this guy… he was born yesterday afternoon.
Before we got started dealing with this new lamb and a few ewes, we went and fed all the sheep (the ewes with lambs) in the paddocks near the barn. Then we headed out to the back pasture where all the pregnant ewes are kept.
We were greeted at the gate by Regina, one of Trudy’s guard dogs. Trudy said the fact that Regina was at the gate instead of with the sheep probably meant that there were no lambs.
That’s Regina and Elsa. They were playing and wresting with each other… so cute!
And she was right. So we fed the ewes grain and alfalfa and planned to come back later in the day to check on them.
Then we headed back to the barn and got busy.
First off I got to band the tail, attach an ear tag, and castrate that little lamb above. Most of the lamb’s tail is removed for health reasons. They’re left with a few inches. To do this, you use a special pair of pliers to place a thick but narrow rubber band on the tail. It will fall off in a week or so. Castration is done the same way. The same band is placed at the base of the scrotum… you have to make sure you’ve actually captured the testicles inside… they are slippery little devils and can suck right back up into the abdomen! And in a few seconds, it’s done. These little bits, too, will fall off in a week or so. I was so busy I didn’t get any photos of this banding process.
Next, I gave penicillin shots to two ewes with mastitis. Basically, an infection of the mammary glands.
Then Trudy milked the ewe above to get the infection out. It all looked so much better than it did yesterday. Fingers crossed this ewe is on the mend.
After that I tried my hand at milking a ewe who is producing a lot of milk but only has one lamb. The milk will be used to supplement lambs who are competing with twins or triplets for food. Once we had the rich milk in a bottle, I used a syringe with a flexible rubber tube attached to feed two lambs that needed extra nutrients. I fed the flexible tube into their mouths and down their throat…all the way into their stomach. the lambs sort of chew on and swallow the tube. Then I pushed the plunger on the syringe to send the milk into their stomach.
Here’s some cute lambs to let you imagine how happy they are will full stomachs!
Somewhere around this time I helped Trudy move a bunch of ewes with lambs from a paddock near the barn to a field where they could eat lots of lovely green spring grass. Trudy’s dog Wyatt helped us.
Trudy and Wyatt…
Before we took a break for lunch, Trudy had be get Rico out of the car and move about 20 sheep (not moms, and no lambs) from a pen near the barn to a field about 150 yards and several gates away. It wasn’t terribly difficult, but it’s really amazing to have a dog help with practical tasks instead of training exercises. It’s so fun to see all that training play out in a real l life situation.
They’re all waiting for me to open that gate. Rico is off to my left holding them… keeping them from running away. He was such a good dog.
After a nice lunch of a peanut butter and raspberry-jalapeno jelly, I worked Rico on some of Trudy’s sheep in her big field. We don’t get the opportunity to work in a big field like this very often. Rico was so amazing! I can’t believe how well he’s doing the last few weeks. We’re both having a blast. Here’s a video from our training session today.
What a good boy!
Even on a cool day like today, dogs get pretty heated up when they work sheep. Luckily, there’s a lovely pond right there to cool off.
It’s so much fun to live with happy dogs!
Ridiculously happy!
Then Trudy said I could take Bender and Rico into her pasture with a lot of trees to let them have a good run before we started back to work. Bender was very happy to get out of the car and stretch his legs.
They ran and ran and ran. And then they ran some more!
The didn’t want to stop, but when their tongues were on the ground, it was time to get back to work.
Once we finished lunch and training and a nice field run, we headed up to the back pasture again to see if any lambs had arrived since we checked this morning. And when we got to the gate, there was Regina… away from the sheep. Disappointed, we drove in and started taking a tour of the pasture. We noticed one ewe that was alone in the trees, away from the rest of the flock. A sure sign she either had a lamb or was in the process. No lambs with her.
But I looked along the fence line and I noticed a ewe up there by herself and I was SURE I saw some little legs among her legs.
But before we went to check on that ewe, we wanted to get the ewe in the trees to the other side of the fence so we could bring her down to the barn area since we knew she would have her lambs soon. It took a little while. Trudy and her dog Alice worked together to get the ewe separated from the rest of the flock, up the hill and out the gate.
On the left is Trudy trying to move that ewe who did not want to move. On the right you can see Regina, the guard dog.
Once that ewe was on the other side of the fence we headed off to find the ewe with the lambs. And there she was!!!
Those lambs are just a couple hours old! There’s a boy and a girl.
So now we had to get those lambs and their mom down to the barn. So we moved them along the fence line until we came to the “lamb wagon,” a small trailer with a wire dog crate strapped to it. The lambs go into the dog crate and the ewe follows along as you slowly drive through the field.
But first, I had to get a selfie with this cutie pie fresh lamb!
Ok… now onto the lamb wagon…
Isaac helped us move the two ewes and two lambs up the field. Who needs a herding dog when a guard dog can do the job?
Isaac also helped us load those lambs into the wagon.
There’s my boyfriend Isaac… the guard dog! He’s the sweetest thing! And I swear he’s part polar bear!
The ewe followed along nicely, and the other ewe that had been in the trees who should lamb any moment, came along with us. Trudy’s dog Alice followed along behind to keep it all moving along.
That’s Alice checking out one of those lambs.
Once we got them down to the barn I had the honor of castrating the male. Welcome to the world boy lamb!!! And I banded the tails on both of them and tagged their ears. The boy fell asleep in my arms… being born and getting castrated is hard work!
After all that trauma, mom and babies were reunited in a nice warm pen and both lambs fell asleep quickly.
After this couple hours of work I worked Rico again on the sheep. He was equally brilliant this afternoon. Once we were done we took the four sheep we had been working and took them through a few gates and into a pen near the barn. Trudy wanted them there to do some dog training after we left.
We were hoping that the ewe we thought would lamb would be having babies any moment, but the stress of moving had her thinking about other things. So I headed home, tired, hungry and a little cold.
When I got home, Trudy sent me this photo… that ewe had had her two lambs by about 7 pm. You can just see her two lambs in the dark corner off her left shoulder.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for lots of lambs in the morning. There are about 15 ewes left to lamb. The weather looks a little trickier tomorrow. Today was cloudy but dry all day. Tomorrow has rain starting around noon. All my rain and mud gear is in the car so I’m ready!
I’m so excited to see lambs tomorrow! it looks like the weather is going to be good, but all my rain gear is in the car just in case. So I have to go to bed earlier tonight. So here’s quick post.
After a dreary wet day yesterday, today was gorgeous! I had my sliding door open for a few hours this afternoon. I love that first day in the spring when you can leave the door open.
What a glorious spring day! It felt so good!
The skies tonight were pretty spectacular too.
More signs of spring popping up everywhere around my neighborhood. Forsythia are in full bloom now. the azaleas are just starting to bloom. Daffodils are pretty much everywhere. Mine are just starting to open.
After work tonight I hit my sewing room and cut the KFC centers for a bunch of Wensleydale blocks.
After our evening walk and getting a few things ready for my day of lambs tomorrow, I sewed three more Wensleydale blocks.
I didn’t have time to pull the papers off tonight so I pinned them up on the design wall with the other blocks.
I just love these multiple diamond patterns that are emerging. It will be fun to see what it looks like when it’s done.
So I have 12 blocks. I’m thinking I want 48 so I’m 1/4 done! And I’m loving where this is going.
I was thinking about my new backing fabric for my jumble starburst quilt. I’m going to have to sew a strip of something between the two sections of fabric in order for it to be big enough. So I thought some bright color of jumble would work. So I think this will be it.
I have a fun little addition to my back yard tonight. I saw these little mason jar lights at a friend’s place the other night and fell in love with them. The solar panel is built into the lid and the lights are a string of led lights on wire.
I got them on Amazon and there were 10 in the package. I’m going to need to pick up some mason jars. Don’t have enough of that size.
It just makes me happy to look outside and see these bright lights in the dark.
The sale fabric I ordered for the backing for my jumble sunburst quilt a couple of weeks ago was finally delivered to my doorstep this afternoon. And it’s absolutely perfect!
I sort of took a leap of faith when I ordered this online. I pulled the photo up on my computer and held it next to this quilt top and it seemed like it would work. This quilt top really needed something deep and saturated with lots of red.
That leap of faith was definitely worth it. I just love this!!! I’m so glad I didn’t settle for any of the other options I considered. Extra cool that I got it on sale.
It was a very dreary and rainy day today. I had a day full of meetings and didn’t get outside at all until after dinner tonight. It had stopped raining and was quite balmy outside. I’m always a little surprised that I can walk three miles on an evening like that and not see one other person out walking. It’s such a perfect time to be out and about.
I had dinner sort of late tonight so started our evening walk late. So I didn’t have a lot of time left to get any sewing done. But I did get some stuff done.
I decided that I wanted to get a good number of pieces cut for my Wensleydale blocks so I hunkered down and started cutting.
I went through all my blue batiks and grabbed a pile that aI want to start cutting on for variation. It will be fun to see some of that color start showing up in the blocks.
I cut up some of the pieces left over from the other day and cut up a couple of new pieces too.
I got enough cut for at least fourteen blocks.
I still need to combine them into 14 different “kits” for blocks. I also need to dig into my KFC scraps and cut the pieces for the centers of the blocks. I’ll do that tomorrow night and maybe get a couple of blocks sewn.
Spring keeps trying to poke its head out but it just can’t make it. My flowering pears are so close to blooming. I keep thinking any day now but winter just doesn’t want to leave.
I saw my first Hyacinth yesterday.
The azaleas are starting bloom too. So are the camellias. This one is absolutely covered in blooms!
I’m counting down to lambs. One more work day and then I’ll be up to my neck in spring lambs! I can’t wait! My friend already has 52 lambs born! There are 20 more ewes that are pregnant. Fingers crossed for brand new lambs on Thursday and Friday.
agilejack 