We got our storm

The storm that was predicted for day after Christmas, the day all my kids would be traveling to us, came like predicted.

Wednesday it started snowing. 

The kids all made it Wednesday evening - winter weather driving made the drives unpleasant but doable.  I'm really glad the kids from the SE part of the state decided to come Wednesday night instead of Thursday morning, as they wouldn't have made it then.

Thursday morning Leah's husband helped my brother do chores and then we went to the horses to water and check them.  They were offered water, but they didn't leave the shelter to come to the water - it was blowing and cold!

I haven't been to see them since....

By Friday morning we had 12.5 inches of snow that was blown about by high gusty winds.

Photo from the warmth of the house...

My brother started pushing snow and by about 1 PM the driveway was cleared out so my kids to continue on to their father's for that Christmas get together.  I and the son in law helped my brother do chores that we could do - hauling feed buckets to the pens we could and checking to make sure waterers were open and unfrozen.  All but two we could get to without crawling through deep drifts, those two pens we could see the cows had plenty of hay, so they would be ok.

I helped feed again Friday evening and we brought 3 cows down to the barn that need to calve yet.  It got cold overnight, - 20 or so.  Ugh!  Brother was out all day moving snow so we could get closer to the other pens and to the hay.

This morning I went out right away, fed all bucket chores while more snow was being moved so we could get hay to the pens.  I filled and carried 16 - 5 gallon buckets of corn ration to 5 different pens - through snow and drifts :)   I'm tired...

We finally got all the cows with fresh hay and everyone grained - we decided to leave the 3 cows in overnight again, so they got watered and fed some hay, too.

After lunch, I went to the neighbors and fed their lone horse, while my brother started on the drive up to the barn and my horses.  If all goes as planned, I should get to them this afternoon.

All for now,

JULIE

PS.  I wish I lived in a barn that was all stocked and prepared for weather such as this - that I wouldn't need to leave until it's warm again :)

Merry Christmas

It's been a quiet day today. 

The family get together is Thursday - my kids are coming if the weather doesn't alter the plan.

My parents and I drove to my childhood church about an hour away - met my sister there and attended their childrens program and candlelight service.

After, we went to my aunt and uncles - dad's brother - and had a light supper.  There were 22 people there from church or family -  Just an intimate get together!

It was an enjoyable evening, I got to see the house I grew up in, and some cousins I don't see often.

Of course we were the last to leave, that is a family trait and normal for my parents.  :)

The other day I beamed on my next warp -

I wanted neutral so that I can use the varied wefts I have prepared.

But I just can't seem to use just black and white.

So...  The 'white' sections have natural, gray, heather and tan.

The 'black' sections have charcoal, black, maroon and purple.

We will see how well these play with the weft strips coming down the pipe.

Today I finished threading the loom.

So now I'm ready to start weaving again.

The next few days will be grocery shopping and some food prep prior to the kids coming Wednesday evening. 

That is if the weather doesn't keep them away.  There is noise that we can expect up to 20 inches of snow.  Lord, I hope that isn't what happens!

I have to get to the barn where my loom is each day to take care of the my horses.  The plan had been to move them to the main place, but so far we haven't found an empty lot for them there.  It's been good for them to be there tho, as I am able to step inside with Queenie when it's time change bandages on her injury.  The other location we would have to walk some ways to get to that darker barn that is not as wind/weather tight.

I took the ponies a little treat of homegrown apples.  They got a fresh bale of hay 2 days ago and have a shed to get into if they choose when and if the snow starts.  Daily I get to draw water for them - if there is snow they would survive if they had to, but it's not ideal so I will get there if at all possible. 


Someday I want to have a stable that is just for them.  It may be an impossible dream, but I still have it :)

All for now,
JULIE

All done!

Twenty seven finished rugs, all with tans, browns, greens in them.

They came off this warp...

This warp came about because 1. I had very few greens, browns and tans in finished rugs in inventory, and 2.  I had alot of tans, browns and greens in the weft stash material. and 3. I have been fixated on warp based stripes lately. 



The last batch off the loom, I tried to use up some old materials that I inherited and that have been hanging around in my stash for awhile.

This one turned out really fun -

It used up many different dibs and dabs of twill type materials.



And then this rug happened with what was left of the twill materials.  I was hoping it wouldn't look too random and unplanned :)

There was still warp on the loom, but I can never tell what's left with any certainty.  So it's hard to do a planned pattern - so I did this and ended up with an "eclectic" rug.   It is ok, but not one I would choose - we'll see how long it takes to sell!  It is made of corduroy that was gifted already in strips.

Next warp is in my mind -- something that I can put any color of weft on, and yes, I'm still fixated on stripes.   Not sure when I will get that warp on the loom with the holiday and kids coming to visit, but I can't wait to weave some of the strips I have prepared. 

All for now, 

JULIE

Textile Photography Struggle

I've been exposed enough to photography and what makes a good photo through the 4-H program.  I can tell a good one from a poor one.

I think I do alright, but it's not a passion for me, like it is for my daughter...

I really struggle with photos of my textile based rugs.  I can never seem to get the look that I see in real life.

Could be that I'm never real satisfied as I am in the real world a "toucher".   I hate buying thru catalogs or online.  I NEED to touch and feel!

The latest finished rugs are challenging me.  They are exciting to me in real life and I've been taking pictures, but I haven't been happy with them so far. 

Could be the harsh winter lighting?

I tried different floors in the house.  Open curtains, closed curtains.  Lights on, lights off.

Finally decided this is the best location.  Just no flat area to take a normal picture :)

This rug is made from twill/khaki pants.  This grouping is from the darker end of the spectrum of the pants that I had sourced.  I included greens and browns and green based tans.  I REALLY like these :)

This photo shows the colors the closest to true life. 

I have two fringed rugs of this, and 3 hemmed ones. 

Another rug that was difficult to shoot is this one of a kind.

This is a lighter weight rug made from bedsheets.   Kind of a greige color with stripes of green/tan - I think the warp pattern really helps this rug.

There is another pair that was done weaving, but as I was taking them off the loom, I realized one of them I had failed to put in fringe spacer... That one gets to be rewoven today.

Guess my mind was on other things while it should have been paying better attention.

Some days I struggle :)

All for now,
JULIE

More finishes

 Some of my favorite rugs are made from corduroy.  These two are from the same batch of mixed materials from pants and sewing scraps.  I've got another corduroy rug finished, but it was from the last of the material after I ran out of some of the colors from these.  Planning Fail!  I didn't get the plan to work like it wanted it to.  :)  

 This rug is from bed sheets.  I have to work hard to pay attention to get stripe detail done the way I want it to.  I get in a groove and forget to watch my length.

Can you tell this rug shares some fabric as the previous one?  This is bed sheet.  I have been trying to measure my rugs as I work on them.  It seems some of my rugs get somewhat large - and more expensive to sell- so I am trying to stop basic rugs at about 42 inches.  That means I have some smaller amounts of random material left over that I can incorporate into patterned rugs.

I'm stretching my normal mode of operation.  I seem to get into ruts and do alot one way and I don't see other opportunities sometimes.  Right now I seem to prefer the look of hemmed rugs.  Used to be I really didn't like them!

This morning I was awake again at 5 AM.  Maybe I am getting back to somewhat normal.  It wasn't that long ago that I was sleeping until 8 or later every morning.  Twelve hour nights!  Now I'm down to the 8 - 9 hours horizontal and then feeling the need to get up and get going.  I'm just not sure if I should be trying to stay up later, or be ok with the early hours!

All for now,
JULIE

Sore muscles

I got that loom set up, and all excited as I was, I set right in to weaving.

I'm. Sore.  :)

The sore kind you get in muscles that are being used more than they have been used lately.

I've got something to show for it, tho.

A pair of neutral rugs made from a bed coverlet.  I kind of like these!

 Another pair of rugs made from flannel sheets.  I think I remember they had mallard ducks on them.

 Now these rugs, I'm almost thinking about keeping them.  The color may be close to the old sage green that are on kitchen utensil handles.   Which I have as collectables stashed somewhere in my trailer. Next time I come across those I will compare and decide to sell or keep for the day I have a kitchen of my own again.  Of course I didn't plan well enough in advance to end up with two matching rugs, but they resemble each other anyway.

This rug is from bed sheets.  It turned out to be a lighter weight rug. I followed the warp pattern with weft material and I like how it looks like plaid. 

Each day I try to weave at least one rug, and sometimes I get on a roll and 2, maybe three happen. 

This morning I was awake at 5 am, so finally I got up and started in on the tubs of denim strips.

Almost 2/3 of the way through the first tub of strips - I'm going to have these ready for when I get my next blue warp on the loom.  Mostly ended up working denim now, because my mom cleaned out her and dad's closets and had a pile of jeans.  I ripped those up, and grabbed the tote from the trailer of strips I had stashed and mixed them all up together.

I still have a large tote of jean legs - or more - Some things I can't get to in the trailer without unloading a bunch and I'll just have to get to those totes when I get to them.

After my 5 AM start, I spent a couple hours outside helping my brother get the last 10 calves paired with their mommas and getting an ID tag put in their ears.  Glad that is done - weather is tolerable.  Not too cold - about 27 I think this morning and no wind.  Fresh inch of snow, but that didn't hinder us in any way.

Wove 2 rugs and have the plan for the next and now I'm back at the house to put my feet up for a bit.

I suppose I will sew on strips again some today - or I may decide to do nothing more today- but my parents are visiting my older brother in Canada, and frankly, it's nice to have the house to myself :)

All for now,
JULIE

A spot

I found a spot to set up a loom.

Not that I didn't know about that spot, just wasn't an option til just recently...

It's a bare bones spot.  Unfinished office space in a pole barn that my brother has been working on.

They decided since it's heated already - to 55 degrees- I might as well get some use from that heat.

No lighting yet.  No restrooms at this location.  But it's a space that is not being used so I went ahead and moved a loom in.

This is the warp I put on.

It should work with the browns, tans and greens materials that I have collected.

I've been threading the warp, but I can't seem to do alot at a time.  The lower back and hamstring tell me to stop for awhile.

So instead, I prep some more material.

Maybe will get it finished and ready tomorrow, but we will see how it goes.

All for now,
JULIE

Visualizing....

Since I still have no loom available to weave on, I am trying to trust my gut and my minds eye as I design toward rugs that I won't weave for awhile yet.  So I have to visualize.

Usually, I prep rags and weave them up immediately.  That way I can see what's working and what is not.

The large group of twill/khaki pants I acquired recently has been on the block.  First group I did the tans, greens, browns and tried to randomly place them in a somewhat predictable pattern.  If that is possible!

In that group of pants, there were also some colorful pieces.

These just kind of naturally grouped together.  I like random, but sometimes random doesn't end up working for me.  Colors pool, or I end up at the end without one of the key colors, or whatever.  So this time, I did a lay out so that the colors will last and be somewhat balanced throughout the pattern.

These light blues, turquoise, royal blue and purple will be placed one of these, with 4 of these...

All the light khaki's cut up.  Ending up being just enough strips to do 4 truly random choice from this basket between each 'blue' from the organized pile.

So this is what it looks like coming off the sewing machine!  This should be a lighter in color rug with the bright blues popping.  Might come off as slightly striped, depending on where the strips start in the rug.  Should be interesting in the end!

I am now down to dark navy blue and black twill legs, and one random rust/brown pair of pants that just wouldn't fit in with what I've been doing.  Not sure how I will come up with a plan for that yet.  No inspiration!  There are some other colors in the box, but since I bought about 5 large pieces of fabric - shower curtains, tablecloth, a window curtain that started life as a sheet, and a piece of yardage that is like a heavy canvas (bright yellow!) at the Salvation Army the other day, I can work on those instead :)

All for now.
JULIE

Better late than never....

So awhile ago, while I was feeling puny after my last surgery, I spent some time working on my daughters wedding gift.  I just couldn't share until it was gifted.

I had pieced the top before surgery, and had sent it away to be machine quilted.

Right before surgery day, I machine sewed the binding on so it would be ready to hand stitch down.

It took a few weeks after I got home until I felt well enough to do that, but it was nice to be able to be productive during that time, if only a little bit.

The quilt pattern started out as "H"s that ended up about 5 inches tall.  I decided early on that wasn't what I wanted to do for days and days.  So instead I did this.  The H stands for my Leah's new last name.

Bonus points were made as these H's were also made from new hubby's old button down shirts that somehow made it to my place. 

Confused them both for a minute, but Justin was the first to say, 'is that my shirt'?   Got some laughs and 'where did you get my shirts' questions.

Fun reaction, just what I'd hoped for.  It's the type of quilt you can use for a cover for it's looks, or just use it for warm.  I made it queen size, so it should work on the bed.

I've got another quilt top ready to be quilted that I made some time ago on a whim.  I've been feeling like i should call and see if the long arm quilt lady has some time to do this one, too.

All for now,
JULIE

Always challenges

Last week Thursday was a traumatic day. 

For one of my mares, and for me, too.

I found her out in pasture with a fence wire wrapped tightly around one hind leg.  She was hurting and needed my help.  Those kind of situations make you get an awful feeling in the pit of your stomach.

The challenge right then was to get her help.  To do that, I would need to get a trailer deep into a rough pasture, load her, and get to a vet - by the time I would get that done, it would be after hours.

First I had to unload household goods from my horse trailer ( my dad's trailer was nowhere to be found - neighbor borrowed it I guess)

Then drive it out to her in a rough, hilly, gully, stone strewn pasture.

The hardest part was getting her into a trailer while she was on three legs and hurting.

But we got it done...

This is at the vet's waiting to wake up enough to trailer back home.  We had to sedate, do a nerve block on the leg, remove wire, clean, medicate and wrap.  A little over 2 hours at the vet clinic.


I could post some graphic photos, but I won't.  She is doing better, she will put some weight on the leg while she moves about, but we are looking at 6-8 weeks of every other day dressing changes.  Good thing she is a sweetheart and lets me do it, even tho I can tell she is uncomfortable during the process.

Otherwise, I have been feeling like doing stuff - my stuff...

The challenge is finding something of 'mine' that I can get to with tools and a space.

I've been systematically working on large garbage bags full of pants that I recently got from a large church rummage sale.  They let me take as much of this as I wanted - for free.  This is my 3rd bag -- mostly white and colored denims and twills.

Here are the "boned out" legs of twill pants in colors from very light khaki all the way thru green, brown, blue and black.  Once I'm thru all the bags, I will sort these into batches and try to figure out a plan :) Yup, my bed is my workspace.

The weather has moderated and is feeling like fall again here in NE South Dakota.  I'm glad, winter can get pretty long here even when it doesn't start in early October!

All for now, 
JULIE

Maybe a little bit of Fall

Finally today it feels like my favorite season --- Fall!

It was somewhere in the mid 60's, not much wind and sunny~  Oh for a longer fall season :)


This was a bumper crop year for apples around here.  We have trees that have been sorely neglected for about 30 years.   One looks like it's about to die - has for a few years.  This year it threw out a small crop of apples for the first time in a couple seasons.

The tubs are the ones that came off the tree without hitting the ground first.  The bags and small bucket were ones that fell and we picked up from the ground.  Many are left yet that will get thrown out to the cows.  They love them :)

 Here's the tree we are working on now,  Many apples left that we can't reach.

Here's the backside of the tree.  Poor thing was so heavy with apples it was breaking limbs. Plus the heavy snow last week added to the stress.  We cut a big limb out of the middle, and lost another on the way down.  There are still smaller ones that I can't reach but those will wait.

 Here's the next tree we will try to get to.  My parents didn't even know it was there until I found it fall of 2016.  No lie, it's at least 30 feet tall! 

See, lots and lots of apples.  It's just gonna be almost impossible to get these picked.  We can't drive a vehicle into this area because of wet ground, and we stand downhill, also.  I'm not sure if it's even possible to prune a tree this so far gone!  Anyone know?  If I start cutting, I may kill it.

My dad tells me there is another tree over by the south pasture, but I haven't gone and checked it out.

Not sure I wanna deal with that many apples :)   Not sure what to make next.   I've done pies that are in the freezer, apple sauce, pie filling, apple butter, apple crisp, apple bars, apple bread, etc, etc, etc.  :)  Plus we give away bags to anyone that drives up to the house --- not yet sneaking them into cars, but that may happen, haha.

And to top it all off, I picked some crab apples and made jelly --- that's my fave.

All for now, JULIE

Where did fall go?

The last month or so has been wet here.  Lots of rain days.

Hard to do outdoor projects when it's raining, raining, raining.

Today we skipped over cool, crisp, dry fall weather to this....

It's wet heavy stuff that's been coming down all day.

So far we aren't having problems with power yet, but the town west of here about 40 miles, where I used to live, has enough of the stuff that trees are going down and causing problems with power lines.  It's really early to have a snow day at school, but they had their first today!

I've filled my day with finishing up with a batch of flyswatters. Yes, that's my bed they are on.  My work area is also my office, living room, bedroom and storage...  You can see Cooper pup hanging out in my recliner.

These fit in my booth with my re'New theme, because I use leather that I have salvaged from old jackets, pants, skirts, purses, etc.  One side of the swat is made from vinyl that was a rummage sale find... a whole roll for just a few bucks years ago.  Something I couldn't leave behind, haha.   I try to not go to many sales right now.  I have no where to store any 'finds' that I can't leave behind.

Now that I have this batch finished, the tote of leather type tools can go back to the trailer and I will continue on with strip preparation.

Here's a start for the next tote that will get stashed away until I have a place to get the loom set up.

The other day I scored 3 large garbage bags full of assorted khaki/twill slacks.  I think I may start prepping those next.   Unless I find that bag of tableclothes my friend sent over....

Got a call this morning from a local, wondering if I had a runner of a certain size.   I don't, but conversation led to finding out she has a loom that she bought 20+ years ago at an auction, and has never found the time to figure it out.   I may have found a weaving buddy to help her figure out her loom :)

On the health front.... so far so good...   no signs of infection recurring.   I'm feeling a bit better, but still get fatigued alot and obvious signs of my system trying to reset itself.    Still don't feel like I'm out of the woods with this whole ordeal, but it will just take time I guess.

All for now, 
JULIE

A great feeling

A while ago, unbeknownst to me,  I was nominated for the South Dakota 4-H Hall of Fame.

A couple weeks ago, I was notified that I had been chosen to be inducted into that Hall at this year's State Fair.

If you would like to read the article in the home town paper, here is the link....


Four Named Hall Of Famers: Four long-time 4-H leaders from Marshall County will become Hall of Fame members on Monday at the State Fair in Huron. Mike and Rose Kraft of Britton and Julie Symens

I can't believe how the years have gone by.  Thirty one years as a leader is mind blowing to me :)

Each year was focused on and accomplished and it's added up to many youth, adults, and groups that I've been involved with.  Couldn't be prouder.  It's a great feeling to know that others have noticed.

All for now.
JULIE

A beautiful day

I've returned from my trip to Colorado.

My daughter got married!

Beautiful cool day for an outdoor wedding with a couple of sprinkles to shower blessings on them.
The local sheriff was the officiant - he did a wonderful job for the newlyweds.

The location was near the river in a grove.  Justin made the arch, and Leah put together the decorated steer horns.  You can tell it is an agriculture community.

My daughter Leah and my new son, Justin.  This is the ONE PHOTO I took all week :)

We had a good time at the reception.  Simple decor of white tableclothes with mini cowhide centerpieces with wooden boxes, succulents and silk flowers.  Roping dummies for the kids to mess with, and a DJ for dancing by the adults.

The venue was the 4-H barn where the fair was held last week :)  Very appropriate!

I struggled a bit the early part of the week with fatigue and some muscle pain in the left hip.  I had to have my mom bring more pain pills as I hadn't thought I'd need them.  I was still taking 2 antibiotics all through the trip, so the stomach didn't always cooperate.  Finally took the last dose of one yesterday, and tomorrow afternoon the other kind will be gone, too.  

After that will be the time to hope.  Hope that all bacteria inside has been taken out.  Hope that I don't have a relapse. Hope that this has finally taken care of it all. 

I believe I will attempt a small craft event in a couple weeks.  It's a first time event, but it's close and it's inexpensive.  I have to get back to doing life.

All for now,  JULIE

Bright spots

I've been trying to find a bright spot in every day.

Post surgical has been rough.

My hamstring and incision aren't so bad. 

I left hospital with a picc line - twice a day infusions of an antibiotic.

Please no contact with cows and horses, and outdoorsy types of things was the doctors request.

A week later, they added another antibiotic orally.

The two together have been, how shall I put it,   HELL.

These little guys, and 3 more, made an appearance.  Momma cat is quite wild, but has decided we are a nice source of food.  I can't say they are tame, but they are getting used to people and that we have yummy food to share.  Fun to watch and on occasion I get an opportunity to nab one and snuggle.  Only a few hisses :)

I didn't quite get to 3 weeks on the IV drug, before side effects made the doctor agree for a discontinuation.  Thing is, he added a different oral antibiotic to replace it.   So I'm still taking 2 different drugs.   Suffice it to say, my stomach is not happy, my head is not happy - headaches- and my general overall state of affairs is ICK.  

Tomorrow I have a recheck and I am going to campaign for a drug break at least so that I can maybe enjoy my trip to my daughters wedding.  I waited a bit too long to book flights - I was feeling so crappy, I couldn't begin to focus on it- and now I'm gonna pay through the nose for my tickets.   Oh, well. It is what it is.

Every couple days, I've found a bit of energy to check my horses water source and last night, the calves and cows came over to see what I was doing.  

I think they are so cute with their curious ways.

It always makes me smile when i get to watch these little guys.

Plans, what are those?

I'm a planner and contingency maker.  I don't really care to fly by the seat of my pants.

I at least like to have thought about how I'd like things to go, and a few alternatives if that's not possible.

So this week, plans were thrown out.

Monday I went in for same day surgery to remove the metal anchors that seem to be the starting point for my hamstring issues.

I ended up being in hospital until Thursday late afternoon. URG

Original plan was a friend drive me to and from for the day and recuperate at home.  I sent her home and spent the 4 days alone at the hospital ---

Finally, enough cultures and test results came in, and enough details for my medicinal plan were ironed out and I could call and find a ride home.

So now, I have the wound in the buttocks area to handle, plus twice a day antibiotic home infusions for the next 4-5 weeks.

I also have to visit a facility once a week for blood tests to check on med levels and get dressing changes on my pic line.

I've been told weaving probably not a good idea while the line is in.   No cattle, no horses, no going to work.  Right now I'm not feeling like doing any of those, so it's not driving me too crazy yet. 

I'm just hoping this is all over and done with before my daughters wedding out of state!

All for now,
JULIE

Checking pairs

This morning I drove out to check pairs.

Cow calf pairs, to be precise.

This is something we try to get done each day.

The bulls are out with the groups.

The cows are harvesting grass that makes milk to feed their babies.

What I'm checking for is any obvious distress.

Mamas looking for a lost baby.

Someone not feeling well.

Making sure the bull is attentive and doing his job.

This morning I found an extra calf in our group....

Not sure where he came from - we'll have to call neighbors.

How can we tell he's an 'extra'?

Each calf has an eartag with his mama's number, and 

this calf had a tag that was a different color than 

what we use.  He didn't seem too worried, so maybe

he was just visiting for a bit.

Summer is busy - my son took some days off from his work and is helping

us replace the roof on our detached garage.  It had it's original 

wood shake roof.  I spent time on the roof pulling staples

to prep for the new roof.  We are going with a metal roof.

Only reason I've been able to help at all, is because the surgeon that is going to

do the procedure to try again to fix me, went on vacation. I'm scheduled for Monday

to finally take the original hardware out, clean up the area and start over.

I'm thinking it's gonna be a little tougher after than the previous revision surgeries...

All for now,

JULIE

Changes

 

I find it fascinating watching what colors do.

 

What colors pop when put against another color.

 

Or disappear against another.

 

Sometimes a warp color will look totally different,

 

depending on what it is put against.

 

Things change depending on circumstance.

True in life, too, I guess.

I'm currently waiting on scheduling for another surgery.

The last one looked like it did the trick, but nope, 

just in hiding for awhile.

My surgeon has washed his hands of me and sent me to someone else.... says I need fresh eyes on it.

So new facilities, people, and how to manage everything will need to be figured out.

Location will be the opposite direction and away from my kids who help me with day of surgery stuff.

Will need to figure out who can help, and who will.

All for now,

 JULIE

Pretty Good Guess

 From this sectional warping of 70 revolutions per section...

And three baskets of weft possibilities... (two baskets actually consumed)

 

I produced these 26 runners,

plus 2 that have already gone to their new home,

and one DUD that is going to be taken apart.

I had guessed, when asked, that I would get about 30 runners from my warping.

Dang, pretty close!

If the last one had worked like I wanted it to, I would have had 29 finished runners.  

And in reality, that last one was way longer than I usually weave -

So I should have gotten 30...

Just what I guessed :)

All for now, JULIE