Wildcraft Farm

SURPRISE IS HERE!

Did you grab a cuppa?  Remember I suggested last post you may need one to get through this news we have.

But first, purely by coincidence, today my new look blog appeared - what do you think?  My lovely friend Darlene offered to give me a new look, after I checked out her blog's new look.  I still have to do some tweeking (with a lot of help from Darlene), but more pretty features will be appearing over the next few weeks.  If you have a blog you would like updated, check out her blog to see how talented she is.

Okay, is the cuppa made yet?  This is what has been happening at Wildcraft Farm today ...... actually I should probably go back in time a little first.

I'm one of those people who loves to buy gifts for others.  I think I get more joy at Christmas watching others open the gifts I've given them, than any other part.  I try to get something I think they would like, I'm not one to buy something just cause it was on sale and maybe "Aunty Flo" might end up with it.  So today was the day the biggest gift EVER was revealed.

See this little girl, she was only about 2 weeks old when this was taken ... I've always loved this picture, I used to gaze at her while she slept, wondering what wonderful images she was dreaming about, she always had a beautiful smile while she slept.

 

A few years later (once she was making out clear sentences) we discovered she had an amazing love of animals, all types, however unicorns and horses were her top 2.  She first sat on a horse at 10 months, a few years later she had her first ride on her cousin's pony (lead by Daddy), so you can imagine how agonising it was to wait until she was 6 before she could start proper riding lessons.

Upon meeting Jessica, it only takes a minute or two before you discover she is horse MAD, loves all things about them, not just the riding, but even picking up poo.  It has been her constant dream that, one day, she would have a horse of her own at our farm.  A friend of mine and her daughter rode to our farm one day, they let Jessica jump on Liana's pony and ride up our long drive - when they left she held me so tight and whispered it was the happiest day of her life, she never thought the day would come when she would get to ride a horse on her farm.  (okay I'm off for a tissue ...... back again).

Today, her Father and I made all her Dream's Come True!!!!!!!!!

A wonderful friend of ours is having a "seachange", and after seeing Jessica ride both of their horses this past May, he offered them to us first.  Yes you read corrently THEM.  Jessica is now the proud owner of Delta and Bubs (Cherub).  We really drew the lucky straw with these 2 horses, it would have been terrible to separate them (so my husband keeps telling me, I just keep sending text messages to my horsey friends screaming aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!).

I always wanted to surprise Jessica, tell her to go outside and see what's in the drive .... that had been the plan.  But after being so ill I thought she needed something to look forward to and help plan.  So last Sunday, when our friend came over to scout out our fencing to ensure it was horse safe, we pretended he had come to see Farmer Rowe's new igloos.  We brought her outside to say hi ..... this is roughly how it went,

MUM: Why do you think Tony's here?

JESSICA:  To check out Dad's igloos.

MUM: Can you think of any other reason?

Silence, staring very hard into my eyes, didn't dare say anything.

MUM:  Well we've decided to add 2 new member's to our family, Delta and Bubs are going to belong to you.

HUGE smile, squealing, hugging, tears, more hugging, "I Love You So Much", "This Is The Happiest Day Of My Life", "I'm So Lucky", "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You".

So here is how we spent the happiest day of MY life - because I made my daughter's wish come true ...

 

Final preparation on the yard, this tree took over the entire area, it took 2 days of chainsawing and chipping to clear the branches (but now we have lots of wood for next winter).

 

It was the perfect day, we were blessed with wonderful weather ... can you see Farmer Rowe's igloo peaking out of the foliage paddock, it's actually HUGE, he's very proud of it.

 

And suddenly the dream was coming true, Delta arrived first ... that smile didn't leave Jessica's face all day.  Delta is a mare, 14.2hh, New Forest cross Stockhorse and is the older of the 2 at 20 years (she has a few grey hairs at her temple).  It was great that she arrived first because it gave Jessica the chance to groom, feed and play with her all day and of course to fall in love with her.  Delta is the companion horse and will probably be ridden by Farmer Rowe and myself (insert another aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!! here).

 

So off they went to check out the boundary fences, poor horse didn't have time to take off her travelling bandages, Jessica was in such a rush to show her around.

 

Jessica looks so wee here, showing Delta that the house was close by, she only needs to "neigh" out if she needs anything at night.

 

Finally a stop to get those socks off, and a chance to yet again say "Thank You, Thank You, Thank You"!

 

One of the best things to do with your horse, a good brush and cuddle.

 

Then time to turn her out into her new home, a final pat before her head stall comes off so she can frolic in our spring grass.

Ummmmmmmmmmmm, if you believe that then you've never been a horse mad 10 year old, that poor horse was groomed and cuddled until it was time to feed it, groom again and put on her rugs for the night.  With lots of hugs and kisses goodnight.

Wow, what could be better than being 10 years old and getting your first horse, all your dreams finally coming true?

 ........... that's easy, being the Parents who were overjoyed to make that dream come true.

The 2nd horse, Bubs, is also now here, but I'll save her photo till tomorrow.

If you have been following our surprise this past week, and have actually made it to the end of this post, well I have a little surprise, I have 8 "Kit In A Card's" to give away, the design is the one featured with Jessica's baby picture.  Inside the greeting card is the screenprinted panel, DMC threads and floral fabric for you to stitch and complete as you wish.

Simply tell me what was your dream when you were a little girl, whether it came true or not, I'd love to hear .... Jessica, Delta and Bubs will randomly select the winners on Wednesday.

Thanks for letting me indulge, this has been a very very happy day, I know that Jessica, her Dad and I will remember it forever.

Happy dreams, Janet xxx

ONLY ONE MORE SLEEP

Okay, one of you is half right!  We are up at 6.15am tomorrow for the completed surprise, so I think I need to hit the pillow a little earlier than usual tonight.

I was starting to think I had blown this whole thing out of proportion .... then I thought "Naaaa" it's who we are, lots of friends and family are just as excited, no reason my dear blog friends can't share in the suspense.

I must say, some of the emails I have received (those not featured here in blog comments) are certainly showing the "naughty" side of some of you, lots of chuckles here, and happy to report that other friends have choked on their food after reading that I "wasn't" pregnant ... today there was great discussion about just how old are a 43 year old's eggs ..... seriously, we all need to get back to stitching, I promise promise promise a lovely tale tomorrow and loads of photos, can I suggest you grab a cuppa, you know me, no way I can tell you in 3 words or less!!!!!!

Sleep tight and wishing you loads of happy dreams, Janet xx

TEAR DUCTS WORKING OVERTIME!

Have you ever had a dream?

Something that you have wanted more than anything, but knew that you would be incredibly lucky if it ever came to be?

Some of your ideas on our big surprise have caused great laughter in this household, many giggles at the idea that finally we could solve the neverending dilema of getting the toilet seat to stay down - that was from Lisa, Sandra thinks we may have won the lottery, many of you hinted I might be pregnant, Claudia is sure I'm off to the States for a holiday ... so many lovely ideas ................. NOT EVEN CLOSE LADIES!!!!!!!!!!

But imagine back to when you were a little girl, here's Jessica at 4 years

 

What dream might you have had, hidden behind that smile?

We have only hours to go before the tears of joy will be flowing, I'm the worst one, I tear up everytime I tell anyone, or even think about it - for the preservation of my tear ducts which are working overtime with teary eyes, we so desperately want to share our joy with you.

But in the meantime, share with us what long awaited dreams you have had.

I haven't got many left, two of my dreams are ...

1. To finally learn how to cartwheel

2. To play a duet with Jessica on the piano, playing Heart & Soul (unfortunately neither us us currently know how to play a note)

Oh, and one dream that has a greater chance of coming true, to take my darling daughter back to Northern Ireland (place of my birth) to show her the most amazing place, meet all our wonderful relatives and let her spend a week on a horseriding holiday, riding all around Ireland ... fingers crossed that might only be a couple of years away.

Okay I'm off to get teary again and make final preparations ... Sleep tight, Janet xxx

I'm NOT pregnant

WARNING, BLOGS CAN HURT YOUR HEALTH!!!!!

Imagine eating your breakfast and casually reading through your morning emails ... when suddenly you begin to see a pattern emerging from comments and emails from lovely blog friends, choking on my banana/ricotta/honey on toast, I then had a fit of the giggles.

I'm so sorry if the idea of a wonderful surprise lead you to believe I was with child ......... I do promise to reveal all when I get the all clear, hopefully tomorrow.

I just had to post this quickly, as my dinner nearly didn't make it down when I just read a few more lovely, caring emails.  Sorry, but believe me, our surprise is something we never dreamed would happen - now can you guess????????

To all of you who are with child, congratulations, to the rest of you ... get back to your stitching!!!!! Have a great day, Janet xxx

BIG SURPRISE IN STORE ... AND A GIVEAWAY COMING UP

Wow, being a Mummy is the toughest (and most enjoyable and rewarding) job that was ever created.  After all our little dramas, my darling Jessica decided to throw us a curve ball, and get sick ... I mean REALLY sick.  Most of the past 10 days I have been unable to leave her side, even Farmer Rowe offered to sleep on the camp bed in the lounge room so she could sleep with me (although neither of US slept), but she is now on the mend, except that she sounds like she's coughing up a lung - be careful of the dreaded lurgies going around at the moment, some of them are whoppers.

We have had a HUGE surprise brewing here at Wildcraft Farm, all very top secret, I think I'm not allowed to spill the beans for about another day or so, but I promise to fill you in (and supply photos) the moment I can - every time I think about it I get all teary ... with overwhelming joy, can you guess????????

Just before I became Nurse Mummy, I was madly sewing some new projects for all the Kit In A Card lovers out there.  I've given a couple of them a facelift, and over the next few months will be re-releasing some of the dozens of designs in the range.  Here's a sneak peak ... I promise to show a little more once the product is finalised, then it will be time for a giveaway, so stay tuned ...

 

This design is completed in a brown thread on a gorgeous cream/caramel tone-on-tone stripe, something for a dear old friend, maybe?

 

A combination applique and stitchery, with a variety of complimentary coloured prints displayed on a mint green homespun .. maybe something for a lover of all things in the garden?

 

It's all finished now, but this photo was taken while trying desperately to work out the main thread colour.  For all those who love good friends and a good brew ..... mmmmm sounds familiar!

And by the way, back to MADE WITH LOVE, thank you to all those lovely kindhearted ladies who have been ringing Kim after seeing the first ads in Homespun and Quilter's Companion and saying that they must sign up because the quilt is so beautiful.  I just want to send out a huge hug, Kim has been passing on those touching comments to me.  Can I be perfectly honest, the photos in the magazine are hard to show the real warmth and colours, along with the amazing quilting that finished it off perfectly.  The quilt is suitable for either a beginner or an experienced quilter, I dissected the quilt (using my pointing finger, not my unpicker!!!!!) to show a friend, who is very much the novice, just how the quilt comes together, it was like watching one of those old cartoons when the lightbulb lights up above the character's head, she got it! and now has to have it - although after laying it on her queen size bed, I had to retreave it hours later ... silly Heather thought I might forget to take it home, silly silly woman!

I have recently had a lot of visitors and emails from new blog readers who do not usually read English speaking blogs, so I am very pleased you have popped by, I've decided that I MUST get a translator attached to the blog, that will be my mission tomorrow.

I hope you have an amazing day, ours is full of much anticipation, promise to share asap ... Janet xxx

I HATE COFFEE

Sorry, I was on a bit of a roll there with my regular blogging ... unfortunately there have been a couple of accidents around here, blogging has had to take a step aside.

In no particular order, we had my Dad have an accident in a carpark, he was stationary and someone rammed into the back of him ... a very expensive bump, he was fine, just a little shaken.

Then we have Jessica ... I had the call that you don't want to get from the school.  "Ummmm Jessica has had a rather nasty fall on the playground equipment and we really think you should come up right away".  Apparently the massive lump on her shin started as a grapefruit size, I saw it at about egg size, but it has now reduced to just a very sore bone, surrounding tissue and a nasty gash.  There were a lot of tears, but she was very brave, she was so lucky to have wonderful friends to look after her until I got to the school.

Then one of our blog friends, Darlene from Bee Sew Whimsical decided to top everyone off in the drama stakes, she had a terrible accident earlier this week, I suppose if you can walk away from a bad one then it's "good" but there were broken bones, pins inserted, stitches, loads of bruising ... so if you are a friend of hers, please drop by her blog and wish her well.

And then there is me ... as the title says "I hate coffee".  I don't drink it, but I do love the smell of freshly ground beans.  So it was quite surprising for many that I lashed out and bought Farmer Rowe one of those fancy Expresso Machines.  As long as it made hot frothy milk for our Hot Chocolates, I wasn't too fussed on what other gadgets it had.  So I decided to watch the accompanying DVD carefully, read all the literature and then made my first cappucino for my husband ... unfortunately I got the mix of pure coffee wrong, instead of 25ml of liquid through the coffee grounds, I gave him about half a cup, then the creamy milk on top, apparently it was "a little bit" strong.

So when my Dad popped down an hour later for a cappucino, I was pretty sure I knew what to do.  Now I'm not going to give you all the exact details, that would be too graphic, but basically it went like this:

Put the grounds in the hand thingy, put a little expresso cup underneath to catch the right amount, not coming out properly, got my face really close to check the colour of the coffee liquid, BIG BANG, my face was hit with hand thingy and boiling coffee, coffee grounds all over me, cup smashed, parts of machine blew off, machine making really big noise, finally I splashed water on my face to get coffee grounds off, felt searing pain on left side of face.

So basically I have burnt my face, it's gone through the cycle of pain etc, now I'm trying to cover with Vitamin E creme to reduce scarring.  I keep forgetting what I look like and have had a few conscerned looks at the local shops, I've given up explaining.

Anyway by the end of the day my face aches from lots of movement of my face muscles (I find talking without moving my muscles just too hard), so I've just been resting.

So I promise that now I'm feeling a bit better I will get back on track.  Want to share the Homespun ad with you ... boy they can stuff up an ad given half a chance, but I'll show you that tomorrow.

Night night, stay away from the dreaded coffee machines, Janet xxx

(ps, sorry to all those who have sent emails during past week, I am now making my way through and answering them all)

FINALLY ... Made With love

It appears I've misread my calendar, I thought I would finally get the chance to unveil my first major quilt design next week, then I realised that all of you who subscribe to Australian Homespun will be catching a glimpse any day, so I wanted to be the first to let you see it.

So here is 4 years of designing, doodling, stitching, ripping apart, sewing to my finger, tears, screams, starting over again, "oh my god, what have I done", oh ... I think Ithink I'm on the right path finally, to the final ... I LOVE IT, so here is something that was "MADE WITH LOVE",

 

I know you can get an idea from all the blocks I've previewed so far (now all sitting in the photo album on the sidebar), but I personally think that it really looks quite different when it is all put together.

I know that quite a few of you are already wanting to sew this quilt, you cannot begin to know how that makes me feel.  I have been designing and happily selling my designs since 2000 - but this is a great achievement for me (I'm a small project girl, so to make a 68"x82" quilt as my first quilt pattern was a massive effort).  I appreciate all the lovely comments that have been left concerning the individual blocks.  I hope MADE WITH LOVE will be able to touch some other's hearts as it has touched mine.

I'm off to have a little tear or two ... take care, Janet xxx