3 Fiber Arts Tools That Changed My Art in 2019

I've been a fiber artist for more than 50 years. Yep, that long. My grandma Augustine taught me to crochet when I was eight, and I've been obsessed since then. In that time I've developed a style that is me, designs I like, and a few that I've published. I've taught classes in places ranging from The Wool Festival at Taos to the Ozark Folk Center State Park. And I have learned so much and moved so far ahead in my craft in 2019. Always keep learning!

Part of it was driven by changes in my body. Treadling a spinning wheel or standing at a loom can wear out your joints. I have a master weaver friend who quit weaving because, as she said, her body could no longer take being part of the machine. But, fiber arts is me, so I started looking at different tools, and that learning has opened up so many doors.

My Spinolution Firefly with the 32 oz
bobbin. Lockspun hand dyed alpaca fleece.

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Spinolution Firefly - The Spinolution Firefly is an electric spinning wheel. I raise our sheep and goats for their wonderful fiber, that I spin into yarn and weave beautiful things. That's my passion. I've been spinning and treadling a spinning wheel daily for more than 20 years. My ankles and hips have joint issues, in part because of spinning. I tried electric spinning wheels off and on since 2006, and didn't like them. I love to spin from the locks, spin raw fleece, spin dyed blends, and spin lots of yarn. The Ashford Country Spinner was one of my very favorite wheels. and I couldn't comfortably treadle it any longer.

At the 2018 Arkansas Craft Guild Christmas Showcase, my dear friend and fiber cohort loaned me her Spinolution Firefly. I spun on it the whole show, and broke it! After desperate panicked calls to their tech support, we learned it was a blown fuse, and learned how to replace it. After that experience, I was sold on their tech support. And Leigh is such a dear friend, that even after that experience, she let me take her Firefly home with me to spin more.

There is a huge learning curve to an electric wheel, it's not something you can just pick up and do, even after 20 years of spinning. But I spun 3 of our homegrown fleeces, one alpaca (first, because that's easiest), one Jacob sheep (also easy), and one kid mohair (still a challenge today, but my favorite fiber) before I returned her wheel to her. Then, with my parents' help, I ordered my own. They are pricey, but for me, it has been worth it. I can spin so much more yarn, so much faster. And I have learned so much already, in just one year with this wheel. My Firefly is a good teacher.

I love spinning yarn. I love dyeing our fleeces into bright colors and blending those to make soft, luscious yarns. I've developed a unique style of yarn that I love making from our fleeces with the Spinolution Firefly. I've sold some of that yarn, but I wanted to make it accessible to people who don't do fiber arts. Of course, people can wear skeins, but that's not a real option for most people. I'm still in the process of designing yarn jewelry, look for that, maybe, in 2020. I tried crocheting scarves, and that seemed to hide the beauty of this yarn, as well as take forever. I tried big needle knitting, and just didn't like doing it. (I don't knit) I tried weaving a scarf on my 24-inch rigid heddle loom, and did a nice one, but the sizing was awkward. But that look I got from the weaving led me to looking at the "silly little starter looms." I love the Ashford products for their durability and versatility. As a weaving teacher, I try to get my students to think about where they want to go with their weaving, and then steer them to the right loom.

Kanger wishes I would spend more
time dog petting than weaving. Low
water immersion dyed/chain plied alpaca
warp, lock spun Nigel's mohair weft.

So, in taking my own advice, I knew I wanted to weave scarves. My tools need to stand up to farm life, demonstrating, teaching, traveling, and lots of use. One consideration is that I travel a good bit, and I take my fiber arts with me. A friend offered to loan me an older style small loom that she had so I could try the size, but that loom was no longer made. So, I jumped right in and bought a ten-inch Ashford SampleIt Loom. 

Sampleit Loom - My yarns are my palette and my passion. I want to share their beauty and comfort with everyone. I want to wrap people in a hug and make them smile every time they look down and see the flash of color draped down their chest. I want people to share my happiness in my fibers. The Sampleit loom lets me do that quickly. In two hours I can go from a naked loom to a scarf ready to hem and fringe. I can go from dyed and dried fiber to a finished scarf in less than 6 hours. That's lightning speed in fiber arts! I wove a scarf a day for a month and I am in love with that little loom!

I hate a naked loom, so, like most weavers, I have the next 2 or 3 projects planned while I'm finishing the one I'm working on. This solid little loom is a work horse, and I continued to weave four scarves a week on it from my handspun and dyed yarns from our critters here on Havencroft Farm.

Speaking of Dyed & Dried...

Spin Dryer - Fiber arts is a craft of lots of tools and tweaks. Many of them you create yourself, many of them exist and you just have to find them. Again, enter my dear friend and amazing fiber artist, Leigh. She is a creative explorer, maker and user of fiber arts tools. Check out her Twining Vine Designs web site here. She's a great teacher and an incredibly talented felter and jeweler. She is also very generous sharing her exploration of fiber arts equipment. When she upgrades equipment, she sometimes offers the prior one to the local fiber artists. So when she had a little spin dryer that need a new home, I thought I'd give it a try.

Scarves and dyed fiber drying in my dye room, aka the back porch.

I wash all my fiber for dyeing and blending. I dye most of my fiber and wash and rinse out all my dyed yarns and fiber. I wet finish all my spun yarns and woven goods. I spend a lot of time hand washing wool, mohair, and alpaca. And it takes forever to dry in the humidity of the Ozarks.

The spin dryer has been amazing. It pulls more water out than you could get out any other way, and in 12 hours I have dry yarn, fibers or scarves. I now can't imagine finishing my fiber arts without one. Thanks again Leigh!

2019 has been an amazing year of learning and growing. Following Focus & Finish has pushed me to find tools and systems to allow me to expand and improve my fiber arts. Now I'm looking forward to building on this base by #PushingBoundaries2020.

Sheep Farming - A Labor of Love

I am a shepherd.

Havencroft Higgledy-Piggledy (Higgs) grows fleeces for
some of my best wild rugs, has awesome lambs, and loves
to get scratched under her wool. She wags her tail when
you get the right spot, just like a dog. She passes that
unique trait on to her children.

My heart, my soul and my passion are -

• the land that supports my sheep and goats; 
• the healthy flocks that greet me every time I look out the window or step outside; 
• the milk, wool, mohair, alpaca, llama and dog fiber they provide for my fiber arts; 
• the spinning, weaving, felting and crochet that I do with the fleeces from my animals; 
• the cheese that I make from the goat's milk; 
• the connections I make with the people who buy the things I craft; 
• and the relationships that those folks build with our animals and land.

It's a lot of hard work, and it is truly a labor of love.

HF Hocus Pocus is mildly annoyed at her son for climbing on her.
HF Finesse ("Nessie" - Thyme's last lamb and Canoe Lake Sonic Boom's first
on our land), is on the right is with her two 2018 ram lambs. We retired her
with those two boys. She's only nine, but she had trouble lambing.
Our retired sheep, now six of them, ranging in age from 9 to 16,
live in a big paddock with trees and a deep bedded shelter
on the west side of our land.

I frequently get asked if I make a living farming. I have learned to school my expression and not laugh maniacally at the question. There was a time when I thought I could live sustainable as a farmer, and there are people who do. I don't. As my tax preparer says, "You have a hobby farm." It's a lot of hard work for a "hobby". It is a labor of love.

So, it's tax time again and as I was figuring things up, I thought I'd share some numbers. Every farm is different and costs vary every year. The weather is also a big factor. Some years we can graze seven months. Some years we feed hay all year.

These numbers aren't meant to prove anything. They are just some business numbers from Havencroft Farm in the Arkansas Ozarks.

Like many Americans, we have a mortgage, utilities, gas, groceries, medical bills and insurance. We are lucky enough to have jobs to pay for all of that. Our jobs and help from our folks cover infrastructure like roofs, fencing, and barns; and equipment upgrades like my new Spinolution Firefly, an electric production spinning wheel that allows me to keep spinning the yarns I love as my body ages.

I love this picture of the sheep grazing out front fall of 2018.
Left to right are HF Judith, HF Hester, HF Ipswich (Dapper Dan's last daughter),
HF Magic, HF Nexxus, and HF Natalie.

Our flocks of 25 adult Jacob Sheep, 4 angora goats, 3 alpacas, and five dairy goats mostly pay for their own food, supplements and medical bills.

This last year, expenses were

Hay - (thanks for wonderful friends in a very weird growing year), $1,350

Grain - $4,680

Supplements - salt blocks, kelp, selenium - $800

Vet - (supplies like wormers and visits - and we have an awesome vet. Thanks Doc Nixon!) - $900

Total expenses  - $7,730

This year my goal is to weave all my

shawls from yarns spun out of 

fleece grown on our 

Havencroft Farm by our beloved

sheep, goats, and alpaca.

That's part of the reason I've 

enjoyed dyeing so much this winter.

Income from sales of products I make by hand from milk and fleeces from our animals -

Goat's milk - $384 (family drinks most of it, or eats the cheese I make from the milk, this number is just direct sales to customers.)

Sales from the Havencroft Farm etsy store, $1,200 (I hope to build that back up this coming year)

Sales of Fleecyful rugs, Havencroft Homestead Handspun yarns, and handwoven shawls - $4,300

Sales of ram lambs and extra ewe lambs - $1,500

Total income - $7,384

So, the cost to our homestead budget of having the sheep and goats that I love so much is $346, this past year.

They're worth it, to me, and I hope to those of you who love the things you treasure from the fleeces they grow. Its truly a labor of love.

I love to spin yarn from the fleeces of my sheep, and to be able to watch them
playing out the window as I spin. I love how the yarn seems to have the
characteristics of the sheep or goat who is growing it, sometimes sweet and
soft, sometimes michevous, sometimes elegant. This yarn is
HF Luna's (Moose Mountain Jacob x HF Imbri)
spun as a whole fleece, right from the pillowcase we put the fleece in after
shearing. Luna started out shy, but she has grown to be one of our boss ewes.

Each Fleecyful rug that I weave is from the whole fleece
of one of our Jacob Sheep, angora goats, or alpacas.
I usually weave with the raw fleece, right out of the bag
it's put in a shearing, letting the natural colors of the
animals design the pattern of the rug. 

Pondering giveaways

August 2012 is the month of giveaways here in my little corner of the Ozarks.

First, Shawn had the idea to give away an item each day in the Craft Village at the Ozark Folk Center State Park as a way to thank our visitors for coming to see us. Every craftsperson was very generous. Some created unique items just to give away. Others donated several items to give to visitors on their featured day.

Almost every item went to someone who appreciated and loved it. There was one 13-year-old-girl who was visiting for her birthday. When she won the turquoise earrings designed and created by Linda Widmer she was ecstatic. Her parents agreed to let her get her ears pierced that day as a birthday present.

Nita Reuter of Hot Springs, Arkansas, loved the broom made by Shawn
Hoefer that she won in the August Craft Village Giveaway.

Or Nita Reuter of Hot Springs who just glowed with happiness when she won the Tom Turkey Wing broom made by Shawn. "I've been praying so hard that I'd win," she said. "I've never won anything in my whole life." She hugged her broom around the whole craft village for the rest of the day.

These little presents have added a bright spot to our quiet August days.

Then along came the Arkansas Women Blogger's Unplugged (#AWBU). There were giveaways on top of giveaways. Every session started off with drawings for items donated by sponsors. Every attendee received a bag of gifts from sponsors. Every woman there got a free pair of boots from Country Outfitter and is getting another free pair of boots to give away on her blog. (sneak peak - I'll be giving mine away in October). Obviously, free giveaways are a good way to promote your business, product, web site or blog.

With this experience in mind, I am working on creating a giveaway to promote the Off The Beaten Path Studio Tour.  The tour is coming up Sept. 14-16, and I want to get as many people as possible to come to as many studios as possible - including ours. I want to get people to pick up the tabloid publication that talks about the tour and has each artisan's contact information. I want to encourage people to visit and get to know these talented artists. I'm just not quite sure how to put it together, yet.

If you have ideas for a giveaway that would work to promote the tour, let me know. I think I'll go weave a bit before bed. My brain gets its best ideas when I let it go off to play while I weave.

Boot retirement

While I was in the process of preparing for the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged (#AWBU) conference and shopping Country Outfitter for my boots, my old boots developed a crack in the sidewall. Not a big crack, but a definite crack through the leather. That helped me decide that I wanted to replace them with the same make and model of boot. I love my old boots.

My beloved decade old Ariats have developed a crack
in the side.

I've worn my old boots hard for more than a decade, and I hate to admit, I don't take the best care of them. I've worn them out in the rain and not saddle soaped or oiled them. I wore them when my whole family went trail riding in the snow above Blue Mesa.
When they were almost new, I wore them riding Jahim at Parelli Camp. I galloped Nefisa, Legend, Misata, Ghoti and my beloved Aliya in those boots.

I packed with llamas in the Colorado canyon lands in those boots and had adventures around Taos while wearing them. I built many, many miles of fence in my Ariats.

When we moved to Arkansas, I wore them in self-defense against briars and ticks and copperheads. And when I got my job as Craft Director at the Ozark Folk Center, those boots carried me hundreds of miles on the pavement. I wore a pedometer for a while. One day I did eleven miles on the concrete sidewalks and wooden stairs of the Craft Village. I decided I didn't need the pedometer to tell me I walked a lot. But I did need my boots.

Old meets new - My brand new Heritage Lacers
from Country Outfitter.

I tried to replace them two years ago with a pretty pair of women's Ariat lacers. My feet are too wide for their women's boots, so the pretty new pair stays pretty and I wear them when I need to look a little more refined. On most days, when I need to stride around the village at high speed, I wear my old, faithful, original Ariats.

Thanks to the #AWBU promotion by Country Outfitter, I was at a boot party with a grand new pair of boots. I had decided as I dressed for the party in my green velvet skirt that this was going to be the retirement party for my old boots. In my mind, all these people were gathered to help me send my dear old boots off into the sunset. I wore them to the party.

Old boots went into the box, waiting for retirement.

As the evening progressed, I became aware that this party was something different to every person there. It was a photo shoot and promotion for boots; and adventure for many who had never tried boots; a birthday party; and most especially, an engagement party. It didn't seem right for it to be the retirement party for my boots, too.

I changed into my new boots for the photo shoot and then the jig dancing class with Clancey Ferguson. The new boots are good, they are comfortable. They look very nice and fit very well.
Gently, I tucked my old boots in to the Ariat box. Eventually, I'll find the right way to retire them. They are so much more than boots. Those soles hold a decade of my memories.

If you have an idea for an appropriate retirement for beloved old boots, please share it with me here.

AWBU, boot virgins and perceptions

"What's a blog?" asked one of the guys at the crafter's meeting at the Ozark Folk Center two weeks ago. He was just yanking my chain, because I know he reads the popular media. He might even have a television.

But I patiently explained that "Blog" was short for web log and was a form of an online magazine, often written by one person. This was important because the Arkansas Women Bloggers were having their Unplugged (AWBU) conference at the Center. As you know if you are reading this, I am an Arkansas woman blogger.

I took annual leave so that I could attend the conference. It took a bit of work to pretend to be a visitor at home, but it did offer a different perspective. Most people were happy to play along, though a few were really confused to see me in a tshirt.

The advance survey had me worried. I had never heard of Klout and was not signed up on Twitter. I use Facebook mostly to communicate with family. The survey wanted me to categorize myself as a "Mommy, Craft or Foodie" blogger. Yeah, I've been blogging since 2005, but it's just something I do for me and my family. Is there a category for that? I read through the posts on the AWB site, read the profiles and posts from the women and decided that it sounded like a useful conference. Besides, it was at home, and I could certainly learn a few things. I signed up for Twitter @jlonthefarm. I signed up for Klout.

I decided it was just a good constructive use of my time. And then the sponsors started rolling in. Suddenly I was reading the preconference posts and getting excited.

The ladies gathered in front of the Bois d'Arc Center
before the party. This is where I first heard the term
"boot virgin."

Ziploc sent cases of containers for the foodie bloggers to test and talk about. Count me in, I love Ziploc, really, especially the new Versaglass line. Yarnell's sent ice cream, Farm Bureau, Healthy Families and Petit Jean Meats sent food and treats. Mrs. Meyers gave everybody cleaning supplies and Tammy Sue sent soap.  I'm sure there's more in the swag bag that I forgot, but the crowning glory was BOOTS.

Country Outfitter, a Fayetteville Arkansas company, offered every woman attending not only a pair of boots, but also a pair to give away to her readers. As the conference neared, the Stephanies set up a Pinterest board and everybody shared their shopping experience on the Country Outfitter web site. I found several pairs that I liked and finally settled on my old fav's, the Ariat Heritage Lacers, just like the faithful pair that I've worn for a decade.

It was like Christmas when we were all finally
let into the room where the boots were
set up along the walls boxes open.

After a two days of great workshops, we all gathered together for the boot party and photo shoot. As everybody waited outside, we talked of our blogs and other things. Several ladies said they had never worn a pair of boots! They were boot virgins. Hard to imagine...

We all sat down for a nice cookout of Petit Jean hot dogs, sausages and burgers. Like the rest of the conference, there was tons of great food. It was hard to get everyone to quiet down for the presentations during dinner as the table conversations were so enjoyable. But, everybody did settle to listen. Gina, of desperately seeking {gina} started talking about how she started her blog as "desperately seeking {Thom}" to find an old flame. She was halfway through her story of love lost and found when Thom came through the door and in front of 75 women, proposed to Gina. Thank goodness she said "Yes".

 Then we all got to go into the other room and find our boots. It was really like Christmas. As I found my boots and listened around the room, I heard Stephanie McCratic say that what everybody didn't know was that she was pretending this was her birthday party. That got me wondering how everybody else was perceiving this party - engagement party, birthday party, boots-for-the-first-time party?

Each pair was nicely arranged in the box, with a nice card
with our names on them.

I had my own "story" for this party, but you'll have to read tomorrow's post to find out what it is.

Boot virgins no more! We all went outside for a photo
shoot with Joe's tractor.

Countdown to Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour

Boot party at Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged,
thanks to Country Outfitter

I took today off, mostly.

I did clean out the fridge. And I did the dishes, both from the second Yarnell's ice cream social at the Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged (AWBU) and from not being home for a week. And I unpacked and did my laundry from two conventions, and Shawn's from being home on the farm.

I am making a really good vegetable soup with garlic bread for dinner.

But mostly, today, I read a book.

Need to wind a warp that I have skeined and dyed. Six hours winding
16 hours warping, two hours weaving. 24 hours before being ready for
Studio tour on this loom.

Lisa Brochu and Tim Merriman, who I had the pleasure to take an interpreter training workshop from last August, have written several books. At the class, I got a copy of their book, "The Leopard Tree." I started reading it then, but the workshop was intense. One of the other attendees was headed out of country and she really wanted to read the book, so I gave it to her. But I didn't forget it.

This past weekend, while I was caught up in the whirlwind of the AWBU, I saw that Lisa and Tim had their book for free download on Amazon, just for the weekend. So, I joined the thousands of people who added it to their kindle lists. It's not a long book, only 185 pages of adventure. I can see Lisa shining through the story. In between everything else today I read up through chapter 10. I might finish it yet tonight.

But I have a few things I need to catch up on, before I finish the book. I need to haul grain around from the car, and finish retarping the hay stack. I need to get some paperwork organized for work tomorrow. I need to put clean sheets on the bed. I need to figure out how many days I have until to finish what projects before Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour and I haven't written today's blog post yet. So, I'll combine the two.
These are the items I really need to finish before tour. There are some other things I want to work on, but finishing these comes first.

Studio Tour is Sept. 14-16. Today is August 27. Good thing August has 31 days. Four, plus 13 equals 17 days or 408 hours. I'll be at work for at least 100 of those hours and I should sleep 136. I'll do farm chores a minimum of 34 hours in those 17 days.

Handspun, woven and felted Gizmo mohair purse,
edged with recycled sari silk yarn. Two hours to
sew in lining to finish.

408-270=138 hours left to eat, brush my teeth and weave. There's only 43 hours worth of projects on this page, I have plenty of time left.

Wait... I've committed to write a blog post daily, too. It's gonna be a busy two weeks.

And looking at the pictures on this page, I did learn how to improve my photography with my Iphone in the AWBU workshop. But, I don't think the "focusing on the point of your blog" workshop helped at all.

Oh, and if you ever think I should add something or want to request something, or just want to say "Hi", feel free to leave a comment here on my blog. I do moderate them, but I'll see it and get it published within a day or so.

On to eat vegi soup.

Green handpainted wool shawl with recycled sari silk
highlighted. Six hours weaving left, 1 hour finishing
with no fringe. Seven hours before Tour.

Wool shawl suggested/requested by Colleen. About half woven, another 8-10
hours to finish, before tour.

7 ways to prevent conference fatigue

I'm at the end of two back-to-back, intense three-day conferences. I am tired. Just one more day left and I can relax, or do laundry and dishes before heading back to work on Tuesday. I do quite a few conferences every year, and present at many of them. I've developed some strategies to stay alert and keep my strength up and stay healthy.

1. Figure out what time of day your best business is done at the conference, and be there, but forego times that don't work for you. For example, I am a morning person. I can visit with people over coffee in the morning and shine at the morning sessions. I do good business during morning breaks and at lunch. But except for obligatory evening events, I go back to my room at night, to organize, unwind and relax.

2. Take what you need with you to sleep. If it's your own pillow, a scent you spray on the hotel pillows, melatonin or an eye cover. Good sleep is a priority to staying alert the next day and coming home healthy.

3. Eat as best you can. Request whole grains and green lettuces. Look for fresh fruit for breakfast. You know what keeps your body happy at home. Do your best to eat it at conferences.

4. Bring your own tea or coffee. Then you'll have the morning wake-up you are accustomed to and your whole day will be easier.

5. Take an mid-day break to refresh and regroup. If you can, go for a walk, go swim or go to the hotel workout room. Then take a quick shower and get back to networking.

6. Wear good shoes. Nothing will wear you out faster than sore feet.

7. Take your vitamins. I double up on mine at a conference, especially the vitamin B. I used to not even take them with me, but now I rely on them to support me while I am pushing physical boundaries at a conference.

These are the things I've learned to do to get the most out of conferences. Then I can come home and organized all the good things I've learned and get back to the business of making my world a better place.

A tale of two stories or Mary's Lunker

Tonight, Mary Gillihan did a program connecting the the stories of the past and the present for the Arkansas Women Blogger's Unplugged (#AWBU) conference. This conference is an amazing blend of urban and rural - yesterday, today and tomorrow. These women from all over Arkansas have come together in the Ozark hills. They traveled the winding roads to Mountain View and had adventures with deer, ground hogs and possums getting here. And now, these women - usually linked by modern technology - are sharing ideas and energy and friendship - face to face. It's the best of the old and the new, here at the Ozark Folk Center.

Mary Gillihan is an incredible performer, interpreter, musician, friend and fisherwoman. In addition to being the interpreter at the Ozark Folk Center since 1974, she is also part of the folk music trio Harmony; she and her husband perform their music together; and she shares programs that tell stories of her life here in the Ozarks. Some of the stories she shares were written by Charley Sandage and others come out of her life here in the hills.

Mary Gillihan, the ballad singer

Now, Mary is a serious fisherwoman. The great majority of her Thursday's are spent at HER spot on Mirror Lake. If you're really nice to her, she might show you where the Lake is, but her spot is sacred. Like all fisherpeople, Mary has some great stories. She gets the usual teasing, "Just how big was that fish?"

But we all watch her eating fish for lunch everyday at work, so, we know she is mostly telling the truth.

One of the things I am passionate about is the living traditions of these Ozark Hills. The stories, craftsmanship, values and beliefs of these hills are as unique now as they were 100 years ago. Mary's stories of her life today are as fascinating and unique as those she shares from Almeda Riddle, Jean Jennings and other women ballad singers of the Ozark past.

Mary and her Lunker

Mary wove her storytelling magic as the Ballad Singer of times past. Then, right before our eyes, she changed into the modern Mary, complete with fishing sneakers and a tackle vest. The Mary Gillihan of today told her wild fishing stories. These were stories of a women enjoying the waters, hills and resources of this little slice of heaven called Stone County, Arkansas. She told stories of fishing and the biggest fish she ever caught - the story of "Mary's Lunker."

 In case you're searching for the answers to the quiz - Mary's Lunker was 2 1/2 pounds, 5 ounces. It was 17 3/4 - inches long and 7 3/8 - inches wide.

I wonder, did it taste good?

These boots are...

The Arkansas Women Blogger's Unplugged meeting is at the Ozark Folk Center starting tomorrow. I am expecting to learn an incredible amount of useful information from this conference. One of the things I want to learn is about sponsors and sponsored blog posts. This is a sponsored post.

There are many companies sponsoring the conference. Ziplock just delivered 118 cases of really cool storage devices for the foodie bloggers to test and promote. Healthy Families is one sponsor, and that brought up a really good idea with our interpretive team that I'll talk about in a future blog post. Petite Jean meats is providing us with all kinds of treats. And Country Outfitter is giving us boots!

I walk miles in the Ozark Folk Center Craft Village every day in my Ariats.

You all know I live in my boots.
When we first moved to Arkansas, much like any settlers who moved here before us, we learned that boots were indispensable as footwear. They protect you from briars, ticks, chiggers and snakebite. Why would anyone wear anything else?
I lived in boots in Colorado when I trained horses and rode daily. In fact, I bought my first pair of Ariats in 2002 at the Horse Expo in Denver. I spent a pretty penny on them, and they were a wise investment, I still wear them almost every day. For me to get a decade of wear out of a pair of boots is unimaginable. I've tried other types of boots, but the Ariats just wear well, fit well and are comfortable.
The boots in the picture above are my second pair of Ariats. They are my dress boots, to wear with my nice ruffled dress. Boots are not only practical, they are pretty, too. What I discovered though is that with as much clomping around on concrete as I do, the men's boots are more comfortable on my feet. So I'll keep the pretty lady lacers for pretty.
Now I've ordered a third pair of Ariats. I took a picture of my first pair. I didn't realize how sad they were looking until I looked at the picture. When the new ones get here, my old boots will find a place of honor where ever it is that beloved old boots go.

Do you love boots? Well, if so, stay tuned, because Country Outfitter is giving away a pair of boots to one of my wonderful readers. After I learn all these new, wonderful things at the AWBU conference about promotions and giveaways, I'll post the details here and let you know what you have to do to sign up to win your very own pair of brand new boots!

DISCLOSURE: CountryOutfitter, a retailer of Ariat Boots, is giving me my new pair  Ariat Heritage Lacer Roper boots  to review.

Wow, I feel honored!

I often have a love/hate relationship with writing. I can do it well, but deadlines and expectations really stress me out. For that reason, and many others, I love writing this blog.

Here, I write when I feel inspired, I write when I have the time. I write my blog for my parents and to keep other friends and family somewhat up to date with my busy life. I write to share the great things that are going on at the farm, in my workshop and sometimes at work.

Last fall, I heard about Arkansas Women Bloggers from Stephanie Buckley and I went right home and checked out the group. I really enjoyed reading through some of the blogs and getting to glimpse bit of life from other real women sharing their real lives. I put in my application to join and got accepted.

Other than work email and writing this blog and googling research questions, I don't spend much time on the web. I only look at facebook when I need to get in touch with someone, or to share out info. Pinterest still baffles me. So, I was amazed and honored when Julie Kohl of Arkansas Women Bloggers got in touch with me and asked if I would be interested in being their featured Blogger of the Month for April. Wow, my blog about sheep and gardens and sheep and some craft stuff and more sheep - really?

She said "really" and so, I wrote my first post for AWB this morning. Many of you will get a kick out of this irony - the topic of the month for April is -  "Spring Cleaning - Tell us about all the ways you keep your “house” – not just your home – in order!"