I returned home to a very distressed toddler - poor Iggy was not happy at all about the few days I was gone, so I spent the next week providing as much boring routine as possible to help prepare her for what came next - a move across town! (I feel like the Price is Right announcer here..) We lived in a gorgeous remodeled barn on the outskirts of Shippensburg for nearly 5 years, but with a second baby on the way, the open layout of the barn was no longer going to be a convenient or safe layout for our little family. Now we've got much more space, though this new spacious and more cost-effective home is a temporary blip in our efforts to save up for a home to purchase within the next two years.
The move took much much longer than we anticipated - I had to do the bulk of packing and organizing since my husband was busy with odd hours at his job and an exciting radio gig on the side. I pushed for a heavy de-stashing of everything we owned to help speed up the process, and even slimmed my book collection by over 80% - which feels deliciously refreshing!
Just after settling and unpacking and restoring comfort and routine to my sensitive toddler again, another big event - my parents flew out West to be with family during a rough time and had a last minute emergency crisis with their dog requiring a sitter/kennel. He was missing just one of the vaccines required for a stay at a kennel, so I've been dog-sitting/house-sitting for the past week and a half, living between homes with a re-frazzled toddler, spending 2-3 hours each day with the commute. You can probably now imagine why the studio has remained mostly untouched for a full month! Also, it's probably not hard to imagine how anxious I am to shut myself into my new basement cave of floor-to-ceiling fibers and freshly washed fleeces.
I have so many wickedly good ideas on what to do with my newly bolstered stash - the fleeces I brought home from Maryland Sheep and Wool along with some delicious BFL fleeces I ordered from one of my absolute favorite farms - they're all divine! I bought a couple of natural colored fleeces that will absolutely not be dyed, and you'll know why once you see the sweet milk chocolate brown rambouillet and the multi-tonal silvers and charcoals in my ribbon-winning leicester longwool fleece. As usual though, I can't stay away from high contrast bolds and brights, so the natural colors will be a fun spin on the typical Hobbledehoy crankings.
Because of all of these events, it's been very difficult to find the right times to have or schedule updates - usually after a long day with a clingy toddler, I fall asleep while tucking her in! I do have more product to list from MDSW to continue to add, but I also have a full bin of fresh batts and rovings for this weekend's update. Stay tuned, and stay flexible! I'll make sure that a newsletter goes out with my update info ONLY AFTER I'm totally sure that an update is happening that day :)
