Serendipity

The other day, when I was paying for tin to put a roof on the chicken run, a little voice said, 
"Seriously?  Should you be spending money on this?"
But I felt that it needed to be done, for the comfort of Bart and the chickie girls, so they could have a space sheltered from the snow this winter.  I worry about them.

Then that very night, after sending out my email newsletter, an old customer, let's call her K, emailed me and bought the first SEVEN mohair throws off the loom.
New roof on the chicken run paid for.
No worries.
Sometimes, the universe has a way of evening things out, when you least expect it.
Mostly, you just have to be open to it.
My husband would call it "flying by the seat of my pants".
Same thing.

I asked "K" if this would complete her Christmas shopping.
She replied," ..... tell you the truth I don't know who all of the recipients will be, because I like to surprise people who would not expect a gift.  It's my favorite thing to do at Christmas!  But each one will know how special your weaving is!"

She went on to say that she would gift someone who has been going through chemo, someone who always gives to others, and never herself, someone who has  been supportive of her for many years.

I love this........to me, this is what Christmas is about, should be about.  Giving without any expectation at all.

This first batch of mohair throws are done, I started dyeing them today.
The first one is 'caramel'.

 They'll soon be on their way to Georgia.
   

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.  

Steve Jobs

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Spoiled Chickens

And no, that's not a casserole.........that's the state of affairs at Crazy as a Loom.

Today I had a roof put on the outside chicken run.

It's a little unconventional.  But that's how we roll.

Now Bart and the girls can go outside and be protected from the elements.

 Hopefully, we will get some warmer weather, and the snow in their run will melt.

They are spoiled.  Spoiled rotten.
And to think I wanted to get rid of them.
Perish the thought.

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Busy, busy

There has been a lot going on at the studio..........the oldest part of the house, circa 1790, has been getting an uplift.

First the door, and yesterday, new windows.

These windows will actually OPEN, and can be washed.

They really cut down on the noise of traffic on Rte 4.

 What, says MISS PUSS??????
No drafts??????

Wh

The light they let in is lovely.

I take all the changes I make in this old house, very seriously.
I don't throw out the old stuff lightly.

But sometimes, it's time for a change.  The old windows that were in here did their job, for 200+ years.

History, after all, is in the making.

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Sampler Quilt finish

A year-long project, done. I enjoyed every minute making this quilt, from finding patterns to fabric selection to piecing to quilting to photographing. We took advantage of a beautiful autumn day and late afternoon light yesterday to snap some pics.

I shared more info about the quilt and the blocks here.

Now I can just sit back and enjoy the results of all the fun work...

In the white area between each block, I quilted a simple feather design, custom drawn to fit in the odd shaped space. Each block was custom quilted - which sounds pretty fancy, but basically I quilted designs in each block with no predetermined plan.

Backing and binding to finish it off...

A personal treasure.

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C'mon December.

One thing about the Life Estate thing I talked about in my last post,   my lawyer told me that if I have all the receipts for all the work I've had done on the house for all the time I've owned it, my kids will be able to use that to cut down on how much capital gain they will have to pay, if they should want to sell it someday.
 And over the last 10 years, I have put some major money into the studio.


A while back, I ordered some white mohair from one of my yarn suppliers.
I thought I ordered FIVE pounds.
Imagine my surprise when a very large box came, and I realized that it was FIFTY pounds of mohair.
Hmm.
I assumed right away that he had made a mistake, so I went and fetched my email to him.
Nope, not his mistake.
It was ME.

I did order FIFTY pounds of mohair.
So you know what they say about making lemonade when you get lemons???

Yup, lots of mohair throws coming.

I ordered some dye, because I think that the cream color is going to grow old.

 That will be a project coming up!!!

Anyway, the throw is 40" x 110", so if you fold it over, it is a perfect cover up for laying on the couch, and it is so warm.

I was amazed at how it "fulled" after it was washed, and how incredibly SOFT it is.

I think it will make a great Christmas gift.

I have been weaving them in front of the fireplace.

I have company most of the time.

Sydney.

SYDNEY!!!

She is sound asleep.  I guess the fire will do that for you.

 

Karen at thisoldhousetoo.blogspot.com  got me hooked on the Watercolor app on my iPhone.

So sometimes, when I am of the mind, I play with it.

A couple of fresh eggs.

Weaving by the fire.

A cuppa hot soup.

 

I have decided not to hate winter this year.  I know.  I know.  It's going to be a struggle.....but I am determined.
It's all about state of mind, isn't it??
I have a new down jacket that DH bought me, new gloves, and I am working on my new attitude.
Sigh.

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Looking ahead.

 Making pies for Thanksgiving made me miss my mother.  She used to sit at the counter the last 10 years of her life that she lived with us, and help me.
She would hand me things, open containers, stir when I needed her to.   I didn't really "need" the help, but it made my heart sing to see how much she loved to do it.

We're all going to die.  It's a fact of life.  It's part of life.

We try to forget it, until it comes waltzing into our world, in one way or another.

We read about old school friends and acquaintance in the obits.
Sometimes, we read about people all too young, that we don't even know, but it somehow
makes us catch our breaths.
I have watched my cousin and her husband, dealing with getting older, and also with that dreaded, nasty thing they call Alzheimers.  They should call it something else.  I call it something else.

My cousin, is 13 years older than I am, but she has always amazed me with her energy, and how much she does not LOOK or ACT her age.  Her husband was the same, until a few years ago.
It started gradually, and then by the time it was given a name, it was in high gear.
It is tragic, to see him still there.  In body.  Knowing full well that he is gone.
I am so distressed by it, I cannot sometimes imagine what it is like for her.

But at any rate, it has spurred me to think of how old age and all that it can bring, sneaks up on us all.
I hear so many people say, "oh, I've got lots of time."
Yeah, well, maybe you do.
And maybe you don't.
No one really knows.

So I did something that has been on my mind for a long time.  Something that I felt needed to be done.
I went to my lawyer, and had him transfer the deed to the studio to my three daughters.   My husband and I have "life estate", which means we can live there and do what we want to it, for as long as we live.  But when we are gone, it is theirs, no will, no hassle, no probate, nothing to do.

And if, in 5 years, I should be incapacitated, and need nursing home care, the house belongs to them, and cannot be taken to pay for my care.

I asked my lawyer if there was any down side to this.  He said there was only one.  If you think someday you might want to sell it, then you will have to have your daughters sign it back over to you.   But if you are pretty sure you never want to sell, then there is no reason.  In fact, he said, I don't really know why more people don't do it, it makes such sense, and makes things so much easier for your heirs.
Anyway, it's done.  And I feel relieved.  I may stick around for a long time, or not.  But either way, my girls own the studio, and all my hard work is safe. 

Oh, I know they probably won't love it like I do.  They'll probably sell it, and split the proceeds.
But then, I won't be worrying about it, either way.
And maybe in some way, it will make their lives easier.  That makes me happy, now.

Because family and friends is what really matters, after all.







mm

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Happy Thanksgiving.

Making changes, and doing the Hudson Mohawk Weavers' Guild show has kept us pretty busy.




 Here's a mohair warp going on the Schacht.

I perused Craigslist, and found myself a great new sewing table.
$50.00

I also bought a brand new Rowenta iron and ironing board, both for $20.00.

I took 10 of these towels to the show, and they are gone.
I have a few more on the loom, and then it's time for yet another warp.

I am working on weaving to sew.
Not sure I like this at all, but it was good practice.

Tomorrow I'll be making pies for Thanksgiving dinner with my kids, and we're expecting 9" of snow.

What's wrong with that picture???

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