Six of us (Harold, Georgiana, Natalya, Brighton, Eliot and me) arrived quite early to get started.
After a long, hard day yesterday, the Wool Show is finally set up! Today is the opening day, and the day when we all get to enjoy the "fruits of our labour". I'm going to post a bunch of photos today showing yesterday's set up time. Hope you enjoy this sneak peek of the fun coming tomorrow. Six of us (Harold, Georgiana, Natalya, Brighton, Eliot and me) arrived quite early to get started. There certainly was a lot of scope for decorating in the shop area, so the girls and I started bringing in the various bins of wool and items to sell. It's a good thing that wool is just bulky and not heavy! Brighton was having a little trouble staying focused, because she wanted to look at and feel every ball of wool we carried in (she says her Mom calls it "geeking over wool"). While we were busy inside, Harold and Eliot started getting some tables and benches set up outside. Just then, Brandon showed up with the recycle and trash bins to set up around the place. With so many friends to help, the shop set-up went quickly. Boy, there was a lot of wool to sort onto shelves and into the correct baskets. I hope we have enough for everyone to get what they want! By now, Brighton was really "geeking" over the fiber. I think she was on a bit of overload . . . The morning was wearing away when Mabel arrived to help. She'd volunteered to set up lunch for all the workers, and everyone was thrilled to see her! It was an amazing spread, and we all certainly appreciated the break. (Eydie had been called to help, because Mabel was having trouble telling one sandwich from another. Even with her glasses, Mabel has trouble with small close-up details, and you wouldn't want egg salad on your grilled cheese sandwich.) Eliot especially loved the Cornish pasties, but the morning's work had been too much for him. While everyone else was still eating, he fell asleep on one of the benches. All that driving back and forth on his scooter can really exhaust a boy, you know . . . After lunch, Mina showed up to help with some of the outside preparations (sorry, no more sneak peeks in the shop area). While Brandon worked on the refuse cans, Harold and Mina strung lights over the animal pens. It's a good thing that Harold is so tall! The shop is all ready, and the animals pens are waiting . . . only one more day to go! See you tomorrow at the Wool Show!
0 Comments
Today is the day that we're actually setting up the Wool Show and getting ready for opening day, which means that I don't have a lot of time for blogging -- but the most wonderful thing happened last night, and I have to share it this morning! While Eliot and I were relaxing after all that computer trouble, we got a call that there was a package waiting for us at the train station that needed to be picked up right away. Eliot hopped on his scooter and ran over to get it, while I washed up the dinner dishes. I heard him return and went to see what was so urgent. To my sheer delight, my dear friend BRIGHTON (from Wisconsin) was getting off the scooter! She explained that she and two other out-of-town penpal friends had decided to make a surprise visit to help out (and probably do some shopping at the show). The others were still at the train station, since Eliot could only bring them home one at a time. (The scooter only seats two, not to mention the luggage that a girl carries). I couldn't believe it! Brighton and I finally got to meet! She's totally crazy about wool . . . even has a fiber studio of her own . . . and beautiful red hair! While we were waiting for the others to arrive, Brighton enjoyed a quick tour of my bedroom. We'd been writing for so long that she felt like she knew where everything was and what it would look like. I think she liked Mr Longwool best. I sure hope her suitcase is big enough for everything she's going to buy . . . it looks pretty small . . . A few minutes later, the sound of Eliot's scooter again, and there was GEORGIANA walking in! She's from Colorado and helps out at her family's tea room. The two of us had met before, when she came to Islandshire last year for a big party, but we hadn't seen each other since. We're actually distant cousins, you know. She's a lot of fun, likes to dress up . . . and, oh, I must not forget to mention that she has red hair. Time flew by, introducing the first two and getting everyone's luggage stowed in a safe place, and it seemed just minutes later when we all heard Eliot's scooter again. I could not believe my eyes! NATALYA walked in! We've been pen pals for a long time, but this is the first time we've actually met. She's from Oregon, comes from a large family and is particularly fond of cherries . . . and, oh, she has red hair. What an amazing feeling to be all standing together in my room. I was so happy! Something did strike me which I had never stopped to think about it, but all of my penpals have red hair! Quick introductions and everyone started chattering all at once. (Eliot never came in, having found himself a quiet place in the other end of the house.) It was like we were together all the time! As it was getting late (and we'd need all the energy we could muster for today's work), we almost immediately set to working out sleeping arrangements. It was a unanimous decision to squeeze into my room and sort of camp out together. Georgiana and I spread out one sleeping bag, while Natalya and Brighton got another. The train ride had been long and arrived late, so it was hard to keep Georgiana and Natalya from just dropping in their tracks. Brighton and I had a hard time convincing them that we should all get in pajamas before going to sleep. I think the only thing that convinced them to get up was the promise of hot chocolate in the bedroom. That didn't quite work out, though, because the cocoa and comfy jammies made us all so happy and content that we just couldn't stop talking. Everyone was so interested in the others that it was hard to know what to talk about next. Lots of time to make up for . . . and four redheads in one room promised a lot of lively conversation. Needs must, though, and an exhausting couple of days for all of us finally took its toll. The girls started getting sleepy and drifting off one by one, until there was only happy little me left awake. Oh, my, they were so tired that they didn't even bother to cover themselves! I gently covered them with my own quilt, afraid to wake them, but they never even moved. Well, they might have been able to sleep, but I sure couldn't. It was more than I could ever have hoped for. There were my three friends right there, in my own room, and we were going to set the Wool Show up together . . . I eventually drifted off, and no one stirred until morning, when we heard the sound of Eliot's scooter moving around outside. Today is a big day, and we're busy setting everything up for the official opening of the show on Wednesday. Sorry, gotta run . . .
Preparations for the Wool Show are going quite well, but this is my last day to make sure that everything is in order for the real work that begins tomorrow. The only thing which had to be done today is the printing of the competition applications and paperwork. My thumb is feeling better (still a little achy, but the bandage is history), and everything else is packed up and waiting to be hauled over to the barn. The printing wasn't supposed to take long, and Eliot didn't mind "helping". Honestly, his plan was to just "supervise" from the sofa while I did the actual work. Everything was going along so well (I only needed to print the entry forms for the animal contest before finishing for the day) when the computer just STOPPED WORKING! No matter what I tried, nothing would print! Argggggh! Despite all my grumbling and protests, the computer just sat there. Quiet as a cat asleep in a sunray. And Eliot was no help. He never heard a thing. Asleep on the sofa! Arggggh! WAKE UP! What are you doing?! With his usual helpful attitude (I'll give him credit, he's never grumpy), Eliot came over to see what he could do. His advice, you ask? "Broken? Buy a new one!" Thanks, Eliot. Really helpful. Not. "Okay, okay. Let's just "keep calm" here. Why don't you ask someone who really knows about these things -- like Jill?" Jill is Islandshire's P.I. (that's Private Investigator) and president of the local mystery and game club, so she knows quite a bit about the techy side of life. What a great idea! One quick call, and Jill came right over. What a relief! Sorry for his earlier shortness, Eliot had been trying his hand at fixing the problem and was so engrossed in his button pushing that he didn't even hear us come in. He was a bit startled (lots of emotion for my brother) when I tapped him on the shoulder and told him to let Jill sit down at the desk. His reluctance to let her in seemed strangely out of character. He had an odd sort of look on his face -- like there was something he didn't want us to see. Oh, great! Now -- instead of a printer error -- there was a blank screen! Oh, Eliot . . . Let Jill in . . . It was obvious this was going to take a lot of work, and my "short day" was quickly fading. Somehow, Eliot managed to disappear, and it wasn't long before we heard the sound of his scooter running around outside. Jill took a deep breath and started concentrating, which seemed like a good time for me to get lunch started. By the time I returned to the old Schoolroom, Jill had the computer rebooting. Eliot always knows how to get something fixed (call someone else in to work on it), and Jill was the perfect person for this job! We held our breath as the computer came back on and the printing program opened. Everything seemed to be working again, and I could hardly wait to see what happened when Jill hit the Print button. Yea! It worked! Job well done! While the rest of the forms printed, we enjoyed a nice visit with our lunch. Jill stayed long enough to help me finish all of the printing and promised to see us at the Wool Show. What a relief to know that everything was ready and packed. Just as quietly as he'd left, Eliot seemed to reappear when the trouble was sorted out. There he was on the sofa again, back to reading his "Memories of Three Reigns" as if nothing had happened. I took the opportunity of pointing out the advantages of fixing what you have instead of taking the easy (but not always best) way out and buying new. Eliot said "I suppose you're right . . . maybe . . . now where was I?" How exciting! Only one more evening to go before we actually set up for the Wool Show!
With the fiber all bagged up and a busy week ahead of us, we thought it was time for an easier day. The boys got the day off (to do whatever boys do in their spare time), and I spent yesterday packaging my Lanolin Cream for the show. So, today I'm going to show you how to make your own jar of Lanolin Cream. You don't need many supplies, and it's pretty quick and easy. Lanolin is the natural wax from a sheep's skin that coats its wool (also called "wool grease"), and it's used in a variety of skin care products and lotions. My lanolin came from some of Berengaria's wool. I didn't make it myself, but I gave the wool to Amabel over at The Mango Tree (Islandshire's health food shop), and she boiled it and made the Lanolin Cream for me. All I had to do was to print some labels and seal up the jars. This is pure Lanolin Cream, which you can apply directly to your skin or use as an ingredient when in your own creams and salves. For those of you who are wondering about the bandage on my right hand . . . Well, it was a good thing that there wasn't quite so much to do yesterday (and part of what prompted us to take it easy). After all the cutting and folding the day before, my thumb was sprained and very numb. I bandaged it all up, but cutting out all the lanolin labels was more than I should have done. Seemed like a good time to take a short break and let some blood rush back into my fingers. No doughnuts, though, because the boys found the box this morning . . . When I came back into the kitchen a few minutes later, what a wonderful surprise met me! Mabel and Toni had popped in and brought a beautiful basket of flowers. Harold told them how hard we'd been working, so they thought they'd brighten the kitchen a bit for me. And I do so miss my garden right now! This was the first time that I'd met Mabel Irene, our newest arrival to Islandshire! Toni was taking her around to meet everyone and get acquainted with the area. She's very friendly and loves to sew . . . I wonder if she likes to work with wool? After we finished our quick visit, it was back to work for me! Time to glue the labels onto the jars . . . Once the jars were all finished and stacked, it was nice to take a deep breath and enjoy the beautiful flowers. Now I'll show you how to make your own jars of Lanolin Cream . . . First, you'll need a few supplies. Scissors, glue stick, printables (keep reading to download those), white Crayola "Magic Model" clay, and some small plastic boxes for the jars.
To print your own labels and stickers for the jars (these are sized for the containers found at the link above), simply download this image and follow the printing instructions below. Once you've downloaded the image above, open it in Windows Explorer and press Ctrl+P. Print this on normal paper (photo paper will be too thick to glue onto the container) at 4x6" size. Be sure that the "Fit Picture to Frame" box is NOT checked. I've made this printable with six labels and matching stickers, because you may want to make more than one jar -- plus it gives room to make some mistakes! (Don't worry, because I ruined three labels before figuring out how I was going to do this.) Once your papers are printed and dry, go ahead and cut the labels and stickers out without leaving white rims along any edges. (Do not cut so many at once that you sprain your thumb!) Now you're ready to fill your jar. Take a small amount of the white clay and roll it in your hands a couple of times to make it soft and squishy (this doesn't take much more than a couple quick rolls). Start pushing the clay down into the container. This can take a little while, because you don't want any air pockets, bubbles or wrinkles to show on the bottom, sides or top. Try to make the top look a little "lumpy" like a jar of cream. When you've got the clay in the jar, it should look something like these: This is air-drying clay, and it took about four or five days for mine to dry. You can wait to put the labels on until after your clay has dried, or you can do it all at once. You'll need to leave the container sitting open to dry, so don't put the lid on right away. After your clay has dried, It's time to get your glue stick and the labels and stickers. (I tried this with liquid Elmer's School Glue, and it just slid all over the container and soaked the label -- Elmer's glue stick definitely worked a lot better!) Glue the back of the long label with a thick coating of glue all the way to the edges. I found that these particular plastic containers are not exactly round, so you will usually have a small wrinkle or two in order to get the label to meet up in a straight line at the back. Just make sure the wrinkles are on the sides of the jar and not on the very front where it would be noticeable. The labels will dry in place pretty quickly. Do the same thing with the small round stickers for the top of the lids. Glue the back all over with your glue stick and center them on the lid. Your pieces should now look like this. If your clay is still drying, just set these pieces aside (lids off the containers) for a few days until the clay is totally dry. If you've already done that, it's time to cap up your containers. Congratulations, you've got your very own doll-sized Lanolin Cream! See you tomorrow with more Wool Show preparations and fun!
After all the hard work yesterday of getting the wool sorted into bags, it was time to attach printed toppers to each bag. (I stayed up way too late printing those toppers!) There were green ones for English Longwool, purple ones for other wool varieties, and gold ones for the exotic fibers. I woke up early (ahead of the boys) and carried tubs and tubs of wool into the kitchen, spread out all the uncut toppers and started cutting . . . and cutting . . . and cutting. The knock on the screen door startled me out of my wits. My hand had begun to cramp from all the cutting, so I sincerely hoped the loud bang at the door meant that help had arrived. Click photos to enlarge. It was Harold! Help had arrived! Always thoughtful and ready to help in more ways than one, he'd even stopped on the way over and picked up a box of doughnuts for all the "workers". The only problem was clearing enough space on the crowded table for the box . . . Harold was a bit nervous when he saw so many tubs of wool in the kitchen, but I told him not to worry. We were only going to be working on the bagged wool that day. The balls of roving were going to be displayed in tubs at the show, so they didn't need bags and toppers. (Can't afford to make your volunteer help nervous before you've even started working!) I couldn't resist a quick peek at what Harold had brought. Three flavours, including my favourite . . . nope, I'm not going to tell you which one it is . . . not yet . . . Boy, it sure is different to work with Harold than it is with Eliot. Harold was so ready to sit down and get to work that he didn't even have a doughnut! He just sat down and asked me what to do and how to do it. I could tell that we were going to get a lot done, but I thought the doughnuts need some attention first! While I cleared up the paper scraps and stacked up the toppers, Harold (who is always hungry) figured he might as well make sure that the doughnuts were "safe to eat". Ha! It's the chocolate that was calling him! Once the table was cleared for work and Harold had washed his hands (paper toppers don't react well to greasy sugar goo), we sat down to start folding. Harold opted for the wool varieties, while I folded the English Longwools and Exotics. In just minutes, we had a bunch of toppers folded and ready . . . . . . and it felt like no time at all before we had all the toppers finished! (My thumb is still a little sprained from all the hard pushing.) Next, we started attaching toppers to their bags. And, boy, did it take a lot of concentration to keep them all straight! What worked best for us was to line up all the folded toppers, sorted by colour. I made sure the stapler was filled, while Harold brought up the first tub of wool bags to work on. He's such a strong boy and good worker! Each bag had a scrap of paper inside with the name of the wool in that bag, so it was time to find the matching topper, remove the paper scrap and staple the topper onto the bag. In no time at all, with our great teamwork, we had a whole tub of bags ready for the show! I think it was the chocolate doughnut that gave Harold all this energy . . . Before we knew it, we had all of the bags ready, sorted and packed. Whew, what a day! It sure does look nice, though, and I'm so happy with how well we're coming along! Another day's work well done, and it was starting to feel like the wool show would be a reality after all. Harold and I decided to reward ourselves with a doughnut and some hot chocolate. While Harold ate another chocolate one, I had one with strawberry icing -- my favorite! With all this great help from the boys over the past few days, things are really rolling along. There are some more fun preparations going on today, but I don't need the boys for anything. Check back tomorrow for a fun DIY tutorial! Hmm . . . would another doughnut be too bad? I sure would like to take off my shoes and relax . . .
With everyone excited about holding a Wool Show, it was time to get to work. Eliot always wakes up nice and early, so we had a quick breakfast before then I hesitantly announced that it was time to get to work. (For those of you who don't know Eliot, he is a bit . . . um . . . a bit of a thinker. He's my brother, so I love him the most, but he isn't what you'd particularly call motivated to burn calories.) You could have knocked me over when Eliot said "Great! Let's get going!" He even took his jacket off and pushed up his sleeves, like he was actually going to work! Since Albie is so young, I won't be able to shear him for quite a while -- but I really wanted to offer Leicester Longwool locks at the show. Eliot came up with the idea to ride over to Albie's home farm, where he picked up a whole tub of locks from Albie's father (a full grown ram with long locks). It didn't take him long to get back, so we were able to get started in the same day with our sorting and washing. Some of the really curly locks needed to be set aside and bagged later for special projects like doll hair and beards. It turns out that Eliot is really good at sorting wool curls! The wool had already been washed after shearing, but we thought some of it still needed another good soak. The dirty wool went into the wash tub with some soap and water . . . . . . while we pulled up our chairs and got ready to start putting the clean wool into bags to sell at the Wool Show. It didn't take long to spread everything on the kitchen table and decide how much would go into each bag. (It's important to fill them nice and full, since you want everyone to get plenty of wool for their projects.) Click photos to enlarge. It takes longer, though, to actually do the work, and I only had Eliot for help today. To my amazement, Eliot filled a lot of bags. (I think he might even be faster than me, but that's probably because he doesn't talk much.) Click photos to enlarge. It took us hours to get all the bags filled, because I have a lot of wool and fiber for the show! We had a nice time, though, and I really enjoyed the many hours spent with my brother. When we were all finished, it was time for dinner and a rest. (Eliot says this was his very favorite part of the day!) Yum . . . there's nothing like Cornish Pasties, Devonshire Apple Cake and Sheep Cheese to end a long, hard day of work. Job well done! It was a good thing that Harold had already volunteered to come back tomorrow to help with the work, because I really didn't want to explain to Eliot that today had been the beginning of many long, hard days of work. Besides, it's always fun to spend the day with a good friend. More fun tomorrow -- see you then!
After Albie arrived, everything settled down to a nice and peaceful normal. It was a few days later that Harold came to spend the night with us, and he brought his baby sister, Truannie, with him. She's a beautiful baby! Practically perfect in every way (as Mary Poppins would say)! She's also my Godchild, which makes her even more special. Harold and Eliot decided to poke around in the attic in search of some family memorabilia from the Crimean War, so I took Truannie upstairs into the old Schoolroom -- my favorite place for thinking and relaxing. Click to enlarge photos. I brought some snacks and toys, along with Truannie's fleecy blanket and fuzzy rabbit. We played for awhile, but after Fuzzy Rabbit lost his attractiveness, I pulled out my Mr. Longwool. Truannie really liked him, and I can tell she's going to grow up to love wool! Click to enlarge photos. Truannie was hungry by the time we finished playing with all the toys, so we took time out for a snack. And then, of course, everybody knows what a baby needs after she eats . . . Once she was ready to go to sleep, it was time to tuck Truannie into her stroller . . . which is also her travelling bassinet. Boy, was I ready for a little of that relaxation. Time to think about a little snack for myself . . . . . . and a little light reading. There's not much nicer than cuddling up with The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook! Click to enlarge photos. Hmm. Wouldn't it be nice to share all this info with others? But how? The answer was hanging on my bulletin board, and a great idea popped into my head! We could have a wool show during Wool Week -- and the proceeds could go to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust conservation fund! I had to call Eliot and Harold down from the attic to see what they thought about this idea . . . We could have an animal competition, a sheep dog exhibition (if Alton is willing), a fiber competition, door prizes, all kinds of fiber for sale . . . and even a Bran Tub! Harold volunteered to be the fiber and sheep judge, since his family has raised Delaine Merinos for years. Eliot volunteered to be the patron of the event and let us use his large piece of land for the event . . . maybe I can even talk him into doing a little work later on (if I break it to him gently). And that's how the idea for the wool show got started! We were up for awhile making plans, because this would take a lot of work from all of us . . . even Eliot (who has an aversion to even spelling the word). Truannie had no voice in the matter, because she just slept through all the excitement. Check back for the next blog entry to see the preparations get under way! Meanwhile, the boys need a snack, too . . .
Hi, everyone! After posting all those photos of Albie's arrival, I've gotten a lot of questions about him and my sheep, so today's entry will be all about the three of them! Eliot and I decided to take Albie out to meet Berengaria and Sheepie on the afternoon after Albie's arrival. I wasn't really sure if they would take to him, but they absolutely love him! Berengaria thinks he's her own lamb, and Sheepie seems to think he's a great new playmate. They were all really excited to be together. Do you know what it feels like to have two excited sheep and a lamb come running at you? Getting them to stand still for a group photo was a bit of a challenge, but after they had played together for a while they didn't mind standing still. These are three very special sheep, all UK Native Conservation breeds on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) list. So that everyone will know who they are, let me introduce you to my sheep. Berengaria |
About BuntyHi! My name is Harriet Constance Emily . . . but everyone just calls me "Bunty". Find out more at the About Bunty page. Archives
February 2021
Categories
All
|