Fiber Arts Friday: Packing Up Again

Now that we've been living in our new place for a year, we have been getting ready for a remodel.

The kitchen will be gutted, the laundry room modified slightly, and all of the flooring replaced, except the bathrooms which will be updated at a later time.

We have secured temporary housing nearby so the animals are all staying put and we will be checking on them constantly.

This also means that I have a new Box of Incomplete and Queueing Projects... Most of these are in the planning stage, rather than the in-work but stalled stage.  So that's good.  :-)

While this bin is larger than the last one, it also includes all of the mending projects I have queued as well as materials for a large weaving project.  Including this half-measured warp that has been returned to it's spool.

I am leaving this table loom project as is.  I think there is still a chance to repair it... once I have several hours of quiet time and brain space available.  ;-)

My wheels, other looms, and all of my books have also been packed away.

It was nice having a mostly organized studio/office for a while.  I love my space and plan to arrange it a bit differently when we move back in.  Honestly, I am so excited about our remodel project, that I am willing to tolerate being in transition for a few more months.

I have been trying to keep the total in-work number closer to two or three and the queue at one or two... Especially since two of these are sweaters.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday... and Happy New Year!

Alpacamundo Monday: On the Other Side

I was hoping that I would be able to make a We're Done! Post, but that really depends on what the definition of done means.  :-)

When we embarked upon the challenge of moving our home and farm during a pandemic, 18 months ago, my definition of done was fully moved in, unpacked, and organized.

In the engineering world, we often ask... "Are you done or are you done-done?"

We are done.

There's a lot more to do, but we are on the downslope of this project.

It took some time to find a place that met our requirements... a single story that was indeed a single story, no stairs, no basement, appropriate zoning and facility set up, in the right location., with a style we liked, at a price we could afford....  We had a few of false-starts, but we finally found our new place this time last year.  Though, work had to be accomplished before we could move in. 

As of mid-winter, all of the animals were moved and we were working from and sleeping at the new place.... and as of the last few weeks, our former home/farm has closed it's sale.

This means that were are now only maintaining one property and not driving between two properties daily.  This alone, makes life more simple.

We have taken a few days to rest and begun to decompress from the last 18 months.  But it's spring, and there is a lot to do right now.  So as of this past weekend, we are mostly spring-cleaned, significantly unpacked, and reasonably organized with the things that are unpacked.

The goats and chickens that came with the new place trust us and have accepted our cat, Ruby.  The dog introductions will resume later this year.

The sprinkler system is working (just in time to get some rain) and the chickens are laying eggs again.

The alpacas and goats have forced some interim fence work and a deep freeze unveiled some less-than-ideal plumbing.

There is more unpacking and organizing to do, shearing to prepare for, dog and goat shed to collect, and high-priority improvements to begin.  So we may not achieve done-done for quite a while.

I think I'm ok with that, because there is also time now being taken for things like yoga, running, knitting, and sleeping... and we've been able to spend more time preparing delicious foods to nourish ourselves.

Life is good and on the right track.  :)

Fiber Arts Friday: New Studio, part 2

Slowly, my Studio is coming together.

Over a recent weekend, we got my floor loom and shelves assembled.

I mentioned in January, that I've been working my Day Job from this space for a while.  So to have the other big pieces together makes me exceedingly happy.

The work needed at our old place has been is winding down, so we have been able to spend time and energy making our new place the way we want, rather than just functional.

Most of the furniture is now in place.  So we will just be with it for a while before we start hanging art.

In the meantime, I am very excited to be to the point of unpacking and organizing books.

I expect it will be some time before I warp my loom, but wow.... I just love it when a project starts to wrap up.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!!

Fiber Arts Friday: Milestone

Now that we are closer to the end than the beginning of our moving process, I want to highlight an important milestone here...

The last of my raw and skirted alpaca fleeces have been moved to our new house.

It's going to be some time before I have the next batch ready for the mill, but wow.... I am excited about this!

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!