Projects, projects, and more projects. I'm working on some knit and crochet projects for sale at a salon starting mid-October. I'm expecting some 15-17 Icelandic sheep around the first week of October to add to my already small flock of sheep and my alpacas, though I may sell all, but the registered Icelandics to buy more registered Icelandic sheep or more alpacas for their fiber. I don't want to breed the alpacas, but I'd like to breed the sheep.

We're in the process of building shelters for the sheep/alpacas for this winter, in addition to buying 4 tons of hay to last the winter (grass goes dormant in Eastern Washington, unlike in Northern and Southern California or in Western Washington). Luckily, the Finnsheep and the Icelandic sheep thrive on hay/grass, so that will work out fine. The main thing is this: the Pacific Northwest is selenium deficient and to have healthy animals with great fiber, they need selenium. Since I found out about that, I have bought a salt supplement with selenium in it. It seems to work out fine for the most part...I've had the sheep since May and the alpacas since June and none have died and that is the best sign in the world.

I've got a lot of projects going on and I'm working my tail off trying to finish them. I need to have them done by the end of the second week in October, so wish me luck.

I'm going to the NwRSA board meeting in Vancouver, WA, on Saturday, so that will be fun. I haven't been a part of any group since I worked in Seattle for the Maple Leaf Community Council and the Liaison to the North Precinct Advisory Committee to help the community get their needs met via the police. It helped, but I couldn't attend the meetings regularly, especially after I married Lance and moved to Southern California. Live happens in spite of everything else we have planned.

Take care, everyone. Have a great week!

Hello Friends,

I'm Jet. My friends have called me Jet for over 25 years...It's an acronym made from my initials that I'd sign my paintings with.

My husband, Lance, and I moved to Celtic Crossroads at the end of April. We bought two ewe Finnsheep in May and two male alpacas in June. All are registered. We moved here for the peace and quiet and my husband's job electronics consulting--he's self employed, as I am. I'm a fiber artist AKA fiberist, depending on whom you ask.

I spin (2+ years), knit (since 6 yo--hand, less than 1 month--machine), crochet (since 8 yo), embroider (4 yo), needlepoint (since 20 yo), dyeing (1 year), felting (less than 1 year) and sewing/serging (since I was 5-ish). I've been involved with fiber and textiles since I was 4 yo and wanted to live in the "back to the land" manner since I was 8 yo. Sometime in between, I made clothes for my Barbie and Ken dolls from old scraps of faux fur from the stuffed animal factory around the corner from where I lived as a kid, as well as knitting, crocheting and sewing them clothes also. I also made them house hold furnishings well before Barbie's Dream House (TM) ever came out. There was also an electric repair shop close by and I would pick up washers, wires and other items I found and make other things for Barbie--jewelry, purses with clasps, etc. I enjoyed doing that a lot...creating new and fun things for my dolls and myself.

My fiber pursuits and "back to the land" movement go hand in hand because the animals I raise will be my fiber in the spring when they're sheared. I also teach classes in knitting, crocheting, spinning and dyeing. I've taught at Lambtown USA in Dixon, CA (http://www.lambtown.com), for the last two years--Beginners' Spinning. The men and women who've taken my class seem to like it. I also did really well in the competitions in Lambtown. In 2002, I won third place for my skein of alpaca yarn and in 2003, I won 2 first places & prizes (a skein of alpaca yarn and a hand spun/hand knit alpaca baby hat/bootie set), 1-second place (a skein of 2-ply yarn with 1 ply being wool and the other being dragon waste, a many fiber type roving), and 1-third place (a preemie baby hat made out of 2-ply, 1 ply wool and the other ply alpaca). So, next year I will enter a few more things and teach another spinning class.

This year I also joined some professional organizations: The NwRSA (Northwest Regional Spinners' Association), the TKGA (The Knitting Guild of America), and the Blue Mountain Weaving and Spinning Guild which is a local chapter of a National organization. I'm going to learn to weave at some point in time as well.

Lance and I will have been married six years on Valentine's Day. We met through Match.com (though I'm not sure if I'd recommend it since it was taken over by Citibank and Ticketmaster) the year before we got married and were friends throughout that year. I believe it's very important to be friends with people you date and if it gets serious and you begin to love that person, then you have that friendship and love throughout your marriage. We're still very happy. Of course, there's always the seven year itch, but I don't think that will happen to us. I know because it happened to me during the first year we were married, when I realized I was no longer single and did I really want to live over 1K miles away from my friends. But after I thought about it longer, I was glad I had married Lance. I could call or visit my friends anytime I wanted. After having been single for over 12 years, I felt freed somehow. I could still have a life and be married, too. We're both happy with who we are, we both enjoy time alone and we really enjoy our time together. ;> We are planning on being married for 50 years and then if things work out, we'll get married again for another 50. LOL

So, I hope all of you enjoy my blog. Next installment will be about the animals and my projects.

Hugs,
Jet