Lambing Season Has Begun!!!

Spring lambing has just begun!  Prepare for some major cuteness.  :)

 

The first ewe to kick off lambing season was Marlena, and she meant business.  Marlena gave our flock its first ever TRIPLETS!   Yep, triplets!  The first lambs to kick off 2018 were Mae, Maddie and Mario.  As you can see, our Shepherdess is right in the mix of things making sure all is well.  Mother and babies are doing fine.... And without any need for outside relief.  Although tonight, the little ones (at one day old) were pawing and bouncing all over Mom.  God bless Marlena.  She is heading for Sainthood!

 



 

Maddie took after Marlena in markings, along with her brother Mario.  They look like mini fawns.  They are so innocent when their tired.  LOL

Marlena's colors have shifted to grays.  I never realized how much until last year's coat was removed.

 

 

Our Shepherdess went out yesterday to check on the triplets and found Helen with her twins!  They are her very first lambs. The little black one with a touch of white is Hector.

 



And our little Hannah is almost an exact duplicate of her Grandpa Maximillian.  :) 

Our newest baby arrived this afternoon.  Here he is with his mother Trixie.  One really big boy!  He is so new, he hasn't been named.

I believe their are 4 more ewes expecting.  So stay tuned!  :)

Review of the Instant Pot



Other than my obsession of finding the perfect baking pans, I have been very diligent in not purchasing kitchen gadgets.  The criteria for letting one through the door is set extremely high.  A house only has so much storage space.  So if the gadget doesn't fill a strong need, I leave it on the store shelf.   So where did this Instant Pot come from you ask?  It was a Christmas present from the kids.  I know!  I was surprised.  My daughter in law was sure I wanted one.  She couldn't have been more wrong.  This is going to sound strange, since you all know how much I love canning and food preservation, but here is the truth of the matter:  I am horrified of pressure cookers!!!  Okay, now it is out there for everyone to read.  And I do mean horrified.  So much so, that it took 3 1/2 months for me to give this baby a whirl.   I just wanted to get my original feelings out there prior to this review.  Maybe it will be important to someone else not wanting one of these contraptions.

 

The instruction manual for this machine is very brief and to the point.  I thought it was a little scant.  But honestly, there really isn't a whole lot to this gadget.  For real!   The main points are:  listen to the sounds of the lid locking, keep your hands and face away from the vent, make sure the dial is set on seal for pressure cooking, and know if you either need to do a 15 minute natural release or a quick release prior to opening.  The rest is simply pushing a cooking cycle or setting a time when working with a recipe.  It was ridiculously simple.... Well except for my innate fear of  being steam burnt  or having the appliance blow me up into pieces that is! ;)   Which is why I chose to do a quick release AFTER my recipe had me do a natural release for 15 minutes... Better safe than sorry, I say!

 

Alright, alright.  What did I really think of this cooker?  I can honestly say, "It is one of the coolest machines in my arsenal."  Trust me, I am not saying this to make my daughter in law happy.  She isn't the kind of girl that weeps over the truth.  I am just floored at how fast this unit can cook meat crazy tender in minutes.  It would be an asset to any busy household.  Although I must be strong in saying, this IS a seriously dangerous device if you do NOT respect the pressure cooking release procedures.   Plus, it is not a machine to leave in the reach of children, as with all kitchen cookers.  (Please accept this advice from an experienced cook who ignorantly gave herself a second degree burn in her childhood when removing a lid in the wrong direction over a boiling pot on a stove.)

 

This machine has been designed to be user friendly.  The digital settings and instant settings make pressure cooking a breeze.  It creates some wonderful food entrees and makes me forget about being blown up.  LOL  I cannot believe that I almost didn't own one of these fine machines. 

 

The recipe book included with the machine did not impress me at all.  It wasn't for me.  But if one goes out on the web, there are literally hundreds of great recipes out there.  My first dish was corned beef and cabbage.  It took a little less than a hour and a half for the corned beef to be completely finished (includes the pressure build and release.)  The potatoes, carrots and cabbage took only an additional 16 minutes... start to finish.  Plus to Mr. Hollow's delight, the smell was kept to a minimum. :) 

 

 

 

Here is a chuck roast fresh out of the Instant Pot.  It is falling apart.  Exactly how I love it.  I would have let this go in the oven for 3 to 4 hours.  In the Instant pot, it cooked start to finish in 96 minutes. 
And again to my hubby's happiness, no smell wafting through out the house.  Although I personally never minded it!

The gravy was flavorful too!

Now this just knocked me off my feet,  a six pound chicken cooked from start to finish in 50 minutes.   Holey Toledo, I can have baked meat in the summer without sweating profusely in my kitchen.  :)  If you follow the recipe and sear the top of the chicken, it is hard to make out that this bird didn't come out of an oven.  It was flavorful, juicy and falling off the bone.  It was at the moment this bird was done that I realized... This appliance was a keeper!! 

The Instant Pot is also a steamer, slow cooker, yogurt maker, sautéing device and rice cooker.   It also can be put on a timer.  Or if you have to leave, the contents can finish and keep warm for hours.   I know, this is nothing revolutionary.  It is a pressure cooking device, but the new digital bells and whistles are a whole lot more appealing.  So if you are on the fence about this machine, you might want to give it a try.  I am certainly going to do some serious food experiments with it for years to come.  I am hooked!

Got to go... Mr. Hollow will be home in an hour, and I have a whole chicken to cook.  Gotta get the Instant Pot cooking!  :)

Sewing with the Grinch

I spent the last few months working on selling off some of my wool stash and was able to clear my studio floor of fleece filled bundles.  :)  As with most of my artistic ventures, I cannot start anything new without an organized work space.  Clutter can stop me in my tracks.  My reward for  all of the hard work in the studio was this nifty quilt kit starring none other than -- the Grinch.  Did you ever watch "Halloween is Grinch Night"?  It was one of my son's favorite Halloween movies.  The Grinch was a real naughty character.  My son loved him.  Kind of scary really!  LOL  I have decided to jump back into quilting with this kit.  Of course a hundred other projects are in the wings, but this one was too darling to pass up!

 

 



Hubby and I went shopping, and this darling "Hello Kitty" mug made its way to our home.  It makes me think of our black cat, Mew.  I would always hold her up to the TV when the "Hello Kitty" balloon was shown on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Funny enough, Mew never seemed interested.  Never the less, I tried every year, and it became a Thanksgiving tradition handed down to the new Fuzzies... with the same lack of interest.  *sigh*

Of course, I nearly flipped at Christmastime when seeing the Janome RED "Hello Kitty" sewing machine.  I know, a plastic machine???  But it was just to darn cute to pass up!  It will not be used on the Grinch quilt, but I will piece a few smaller items on it to test it out.   The machine has received various favorable reviews.  It will be coming out for a test run this month, and I will share my thoughts.  Great to see some products to encourage young people (and adults) to sew.  :)

Kitty Kickerz Cat Toys ~ Etsy Store Review

Such a busy time!  Farmerboy's shearer decided to arrive last Friday to kick off the weekend.  I have been frantically listing last year's fleece in an effort to make some Shetland space.  (Okay, I got rid of some of my hoarded stock purchases as well... only a little!)   Now, I have to get a game plan for this year's haul.  *Yikes!*

Then it occurred to me, Easter is right around the corner.  Luckily, I made a pact with a fellow coworker to give up packaged candy.  No reason to trot down the candy isle for me! ;)  I will eventually pick up something for the kids and something small for Mr. Hollow and myself.  But holy smokes, I almost forgot about the fur babies!   I decided to go to an Etsy store that is very popular with Gabby and Izzie:  Kitty Kickerz Cat Toys.   The shop is operated by a wonderful lady named Tara.  She creates an assortment of fabric cat toy Kickerz filled with organic catnip.  They were a huge hit with the little ladies at Christmas.  :) 

Santa brought each of them and their nephew Elliot a 12 inch kicker.
 

 

 

 

Here are the photos after they were wore out from playing.  I must congratulate Santa on being savvy enough NOT to put them under the tree!  LOL

 



The Kickerz are put up on a shelf in between plays.  The ladies know where they are at and call out their request looking fondly up at them.  These Kickerz have taken a beating and no rips yet!

Tara is currently running a 10% sale off of purchases of $25.00.  I took full advantage of the discount and was surprised to find she had some play mats, too.  Of course, I had to get a few of them to try out.  If your cats are crazy for catnip like mine, these Kickers are a great deal at $7.95 a piece.   I am not going to lie.  I was skeptical about how well they would hold together.  My ladies still have their back claws and can bunny kick up a storm, but they seriously have withstood several play sessions. If you are looking for a last minute gift for your darling little feline, check out Tara's store KittyKickerzCatToys on Etsy.  Tara's creations definitely get a shining review from myself and the ladies, too... Well, once they get done with their afternoon nap anyways!  ;)

Passing the Time in January ~ Wool Roving

January is coming to a close, and cold temps are making their way back into the forecast again.  I have been spending my free time getting a workout combing and drum carding wool from my son's Shetlands .  It is a relaxing past time. :)   Makes me feel like the sheep are close by.

 

Here are the black and variegated grays of Marlena.  She has the softest fleece.  I call her my big bunny!

 

A few of my purchases snuck their way into the line up.  This is some stretchy and lofty Gulf Coast Native fleece.  It is going to make some excellent sock yarn.  It has some canary staining which gives it a nice lemon color.  How is that for natural coloring?  LOL

I save some of this lot for myself.  (Okay, I saved a fleece of Marlena for myself too!)   It is from Blackie and is created from a 1st shearing.  The coveted lamb fleece.  Blackie was black from root to tip.  You could dive into the wonderful jet black depths.  Not gonna lie... I wish I wouldn't have sold the majority of the fleece.

One of my latest projects is from the matriarch of our flock, Miss Lego.  She lends herself to the soft side of the Shetland spectrum.  The roving is from crazy long locks and is absolutely wonderful to handle.  I will be saving some for myself in the next batch!  ;)

Cocoa (a lovely dark brown Shetland) and Liam (the most indescribable color of lamb fleece I have EVER seen)  are currently on the combs.  Most of my winter's work was graciously purchased by the community on Ravelry.  It will greatly help the flock with feed and veterinarian costs.  It really is a labor of love.  :)

My goal for February is to start working on my New Year priorities, so tomorrow is D-day.   So much to do and so little time!  :) 

New Studio Area for the New Year!

Fall has always been a busy time for me at work and at home.  Last year was even worse... but with a great outcome.  I sacrificed my couple weeks of relaxing vacation to take on the task of renovating Farmerboy's bedroom into a new studio for myself.  Mr. Hollow was extremely skeptical on whether or not I could fit everything in there, but I managed to utilize every inch of wall space to its maximum ability.  I still have a ways to go with fine organizing, but I couldn't be more thrilled with the early results. :)   Plus, I can begin to create again!  Such a fabulous start to the New Year.

 

My first vacation in September was mainly dedicated to fixing and painting the vintage plaster walls.  The last remaining original plaster in the house.  :(   Then, the second vacation in October was spent painting... and painting... and painting trim.  The white trim took FOREVER.  I have made a mental note to listen to my daughter in law and buy the one coat coverage paint for the rest of the rooms.  ;)  Finally, Mr. Hollow and I ripped up and replaced the carpet.  I didn't want anything expensive in the room, so I went with a mid range carpet.  After all, a studio can be a very messy place at times. 

 

My favorite spot is the  huge island in the middle of the room.  It is just wonderful!  I purchased some inexpensive cube storage for the base.  It works perfectly for holding loads of fabric.  The top is actually the other half of our kitchen island.  I am so happy the gentlemen at our local Spahn and Rose talked us into paying only $20 more to get the wasted half of the island counter top finished.  It has been stored under our bed waiting to be used!  If you look closely, the island is big enough to house my wool combs and yarn winder.  They can be removed easily to transition the space over for painting, writing and cutting fabric for quilts.     

 

 

 

 

Mr. Hollow made a nice wood cabinet to set my floss bins into.  It really looks like a more finished and cohesive piece now, and the white really makes the colors pop. 

 



My huge drafting table has been stored for too many years to recall.  I was thrilled to finally give it a proper space to live.  Under it, I flipped a wood box to utilize as storage for all of my Prismacolor drawing pencils.  The wood filing cabinet, on the right, was left at home by Farmerboy.  It currently holds all of my DVDs.  The sectioned wood soda pop cartons are stacked on top and work great as cubbies for all of my various art supplies.  They use to hang in my old studio area, but I just can't see a point of mounting them on my walls.  The box in front of the drafting table is the fuzzie's mobile bed.  LOL

Each wall was suppose to have a purpose in the initial layout.  The photo above is the fine art station.  The photo below is the fleece and fiber station. This is where the carding machines reside for making roving.  Due to space constraints, I also have moveable carts parked there for the time being.  The first cart is for writing and sewing supplies.  The second cart can be rolled over to the drafting table and used as an art supply cart.

Since, I will be doing my Tole painting at the island.  I gave one of the walls over to storage.  My barnboard storage unit that Farmerboy made me fits neatly in the corner and is flanked by my reclaimed wool material cubbies. 

The final wall is the sewing area.  I purchased a sewing table on OverStock.com for quilting.  It was Mr. Hollow's idea to keep my other small industrial table for a second machine set up.   In the far corner, my barnboard pie safe sits filled with fabric.  I found a really cool vintage wood filing cabinet to use for patterns and set it on top.  To finish the wall off for now, Mr. Hollow mounted a television. 

I am sure there are some more changes coming in the future for the layout, but I am thrilled to be up and creating again.  Mr. Hollow will be finishing up the window trim, after he finishes the renovations in my old studio.  It is going to be a laundry/kitchen storage area.  I am really excited to get that finished too.  Not only will I be creating in my studio, but the kitchen storage area will make it so much easier to cook, bake and create in my kitchen as well!  :)

A Free Pattern for a Happy New Year!

Cold temps welcomed in the New Year of 2018 in Northern Illinois.  It also welcomes in a free quilting pattern from one of my favorite designers, Sindy of FatCat Patterns.  The new design is  appropriately named "Gnome for the Holiday".  This pattern is so darling and is just begging to be done in wool applique.  Sindy is so talented and generous.  I could imagine these blocks as mats and runners as well.  If you want to create along with all of Sindy's followers, you can download the instructions monthly here.  Please take the time to visit Sindy's shop.  I have purchased  some of her designs and am never disappointed.  

 

A huge "Thank - You" to Sindy for making this year kick off with quilting excitement.  :)  Below is a peek at Sindy's offering for the New Year 2018.

 



 

 

 

 

 

Wishes for a Joyful & Adventurous New Year!  :)