Heat is on - FREE SHIPPING starts tomorrow

The HEAT has gotten to me ---  I am offering FREE SHIPPING in both of my shops for the whole month of August.  Yep you read that right !!!

Go to www.larkspurfunnyfarm.artfire.com and you will get FREE SHIPPING for US and Canada customers with NO minimum purchase amount by using the code ( AugFreeShip ) when checking out.  There is also not limit as to how many times you can use the code through the month.

Next go to www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com and you will get FREE SHIPPING for US customers with only a $12.00 minimum purchase amount by using the code ( AugFreeShip ) which checking out.  There is also not limit as to how many times you can use the code through the month.

I hope you will pop over and grab up some goodies because the holiday season will soon be upon us and you PROMISED last year you would get started earlier this year... Don't back out now....  Don't Delay and Happy Shopping

Another Batty Night

Are you ready???  This gal who never sleeps enough had put herself into bed early Tuesday after spending the day cleaning and reorganizing the freezer/pantry room and was determined to get caught up a bit.  Off into sleep land I went and was just about to create a dream when I hear "Grace, there is a bat in the living room"  I really was hoping this was just the start of a strange dream but then I heard those words again.  I opened my eyes and there was Sheri telling me there was a bat in the living room.

Yep, the universe really does not like this gal to sleep.  So I get up and walked out to the living room and YES, there was a bat flying around.  The big dog who is frightened of so many things was freaking out and I was not even really awake as Sheri is explaining how the dog was freaking out and she was worried it would get upstairs.  Trying to think of what to do to get it out I grabbed a long towel and after several swirls around my head I got the silly bat to come over to me and then as it flew by several times I managed to gently stun it and when it landed on the floor I took the tongs and gently walked it outside.  Placed it in the ferns and shut the door.  Problem done.

Got back into bed hoping to catch that dream wave but NOPE... This gal was up till the wee hours of the mourning wide awake.  Sheri informs me that she has only had one bat in a long long time and now with Grace around we have had 4 in under a month.  Told you folks I am one with the wild creatures.  At my farm my Kitchen Bat came in and out the kitchen door and would watch and visit me but I never had to remove him - he would remove himself without a problem.  However, I also did not have a big wimp of a dog in the house creating all sorts of panic. 

So I wonder if tonight I might have the chance to sleep????  I might just go back to being a creature of the night - with the heat going on here I would rather be working through the night when the air is cool and the energies are calm but that really is not possible.   So tonight we will see if any of my batty friends pay us a visit.....

Side Challenge in the Tour de Fleece

I am excited to be involved in the Tour de Fleece event this year and having loads of fun.  There is a side challenge which was to make a yarn that represents the number one song hit of the day and year of your birth.  My song is "Come Softly To Me" from The Fleetwoods.. I took a day to think what that would mean to me and here is the process and the finished yarn - hope you like...

It all started with me stringing Pearls.  Why?  Because just about every women of that time had a strand of pearls and worn them proudly.  It is also a custom in my German Family that the infant girls received pearl earring on their birth.  I still have mine.

 

I found some amazing pale pale pink silk thread to string them on which spoke to me of the innocence of the era and collective mind. It also reminded me of a lovely blanket my Grandmother crocheted for my birth and sent to us in the US all the way from Frankfurt Germany.  I have seen pictures of it but no one knows where it went after I was two years old.

 

 

Next I took some hand painted Cashmere/Silk of my sweet goats that is a lush coral pink - I created this for a dear customer and had a tad left to keep just for myself.  This is representing the female energy that I came into this world with while also speaking to the love one holds within their being the moment they hit this planet.  No worries, paing or sadness.

 

 

I also took some pure white Merino Lamb's Wool and Bamboo roving that just melts in your hands.  It reminds me of my mother's pale pink coat with the white rabbit fur collar that she wore when I was just a baby.  She would tell me how I would bury my face into the collar and rub back and forth till she thought I would rub the fur right off.  Guess I was an fiber/fur lover at birth.

 

 

Next came Kid Mohair Boucle Yarn - The tiny loopy curls is what I came into the world with and my Mother spoke of how I had such a sheen to my tiny locks that folks would comment.  The only difference is that my hair was strawberry red but I think we can skip that.

 

 

Now comes the fun parts.  I layered the Merino/Bamboo and Cashmere/Silk into thin wisps of layers - not to blend too much but not to have big chucks of coral.  I then spun a baby weight/ lacy weight single that moved quickly and softly through my hands.  Such joy and I admit the song ran through my brain as I treadled.  I should have never watched the Dick Clark Video of them singing the song.

 

 

Then comes  the tricky part and the hands have to be willing.  As I am plying the three different strands together the unthinkable happened - the silk thread with the pearls broke.  I did not say words softly at this point nor did I have a song in my heart as I picked up all the pearls and restrung them again.  Have no idea how it broke because it shouldn't - that is why I picked silk thread.  Oh well, small bump in the road.  Once back on track the hands hit it groove and we soon had the dance steps down path... Crap it broke a second time...  but I never give up.

 

 

The bobbin is filling and I am remembering all the stories of my first year on the planet.  I reviewed and released because most where not happy one's - not the best of beginnings but also I believe that we can choose to see the light and this yarn gives me that strength to know that SOFTLY is not always my style but I am proud of myself and my newest yarn creation.

 

 

I finished the yarn - 78 yards in total and I am happy with the outcome.  It was an honor to join in the side challenge and hope that you enjoyed the journey with me.  There are many more days in the challenge.  I hope to be sharing more.