A Bonnet for Evelyn (and some cute pics!

Yesterday I knitted up a cute little hat for Evvie's one month birthday.  It was super-easy and very quick!  The pattern I used is from Purl Soho, and you can find it here. :)

I think she likes it. :)

Bessie

Goat News

I haven't posted about my goats in awhile, mostly because it has been cold and wet and I have been pregnant/postpartum and simply have not felt like going outside and snapping goat pics.  We have also had quite a tragic time lately in regards to our small herd--within the stretch of three weeks we lost three of our goats--two to deer worm, one we are not sure about.  We only had five anyway, so it was quite a devastating loss.  

The first to go was Truitt.

This is truitt when he was a kid.  I couldn't find any good adult pics of him.  He was a cutie!

When I first got him, he followed Dean around like a shadow and drove him crazy.  It was quite humorous.

Now I was actually wanting to get rid of Truitt anyway, but I would have rather found him a new home than he die.  He passed away while I was in the hospital with Evvie.  We have no idea what happened--Davy just found him dead upon coming home to feed the animals.  

The next to die was one of my favorite (and first) goats, my beautiful buck Dean.  

Ol' Dino.  He was one of my very first goaties.  :(

Now that was really a sad loss.  Not only was he a sweet, friendly, well-tempered guy, but he was my herdsire and had absolutely stunning fiber.  He passed away a few days after I came home with Evvie, and you can imagine that his death, combined with postpartum emotions, made for quite a depressing day with lots of crying.

Last we lost Buttercream, one of my does. 

Buttercream last winter, pregnant with Hana.

She is another goat that I was wanting to find a home for, but again, very sad to have lost her.  Especially since I am pretty sure she was pregnant. :( 

*Side note: In case you were wondering, deer worm is a meningeal worm that is passed from infected deer to, of all things, snails.  Goats will often ingest snails and slugs when they eat foliage, especially when it is rainy and wet.  Once a goat ingests an infected snail, the parasite gets into the spinal cord of the animal and travels fairly quickly to the brain.  Infected animals will show neurological symptoms, such as falling down and not getting up, or not being able to walk/move normally.  It is a fast killer, and even if you are able to catch it before it kills, the animal will likely have irreversible neurological damage.* 

So anywho, that leaves us with two goaties left: Irma and Hana.  

Miss Irma last spring. :)

Hana, a day or two after she was born last February. 

Hana, all grown up!  She wouldn't look at the camera, but you can see her pretty crimpy fiber. 

Irma, with her full coat.  She wiggled a little and made my picture blurry. ;) She is looking absolutely gorgeous.

I am so very thankful that Irma was spared--she is my favorite. :)  Both of the girls are pregnant by Dean, too, which is cool.  They are due sometime in March--not sure exactly when, as I put Dean with the girls for the entire month of October and didn't really monitor the goings-on as far as when the deed was done, if you know what I mean.  I am hoping they both give me girls. 

So that is what has been going on with our goats!  Now I have to figure out what I am going to do about acquiring a new buck.  I want one that I can breed to both girls--I don't want to EVER have two bucks again, at least not until we have a lot more space.  I'd love to find a Nigora buck who comes from registered lines and has nice fiber, but that is difficult to find.  I suppose we'll just get through this kidding season and see what happens.

Have a lovely weekend!

~Bessie

I Love My Husband

Since having Evvie, I obviously have taken a break from my usual weekly thrifting.  Davy has been the sole thrifter in our family for the past four weeks.  As much as I miss accompanying him, I must say it has been fun seeing what he brings home from his shopping trips!  Sometimes he even brings home something special just for me. :)  One such gift he found for me recently was pretty amazing (prepare to be jealous!)....seven boxes of vintage mid-century Christmas ornaments!  Yes, seven. SEVEN!!!

As I know most of you are vintage enthusiasts like me, allow me to share the Christmas ornament glory with you. :)

Ever seen toppers like these?

I love this one--in case you can't read it for the shine, it says "Merry Christmas."

Oh, and here is another goodie he picked up for me:

Cute or what??  I think it's from the 50's or 60's.  The boy and dog are made of felt!  This is going up in Evvie's room.

Have a lovely weekend!

~Bessie (and Evvie)

Sweet Moment

I found this sweet picture while perusing through my husband's iPhone.  What a precious moment--I am so glad that he captured it!

Bessie

New Items In The Shop!

Added some neat new things to the shop yesterday!  Here are a few...

Mid-century Peanuts ceramic figurines

 An awesome old Champ fedora

 Antique box of embroidery floss

 Lots of vintage hosiery, still in the package!

 Some Care Bear drinking glasses

 And a couple neat old souvenir glasses--I love this one from France!

Lastly, I have gotten back on track with my by-the-month pattern sales!  This month all patterns from the 70's-80's are 20% off.  Check 'em out here!  Oh, and don't forget my special discount code for blog followers: BLOGGIN15

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In other news, this baby is awesome!

She really is.  The kid practically sleeps through the night already.  I feel very fortunate!

As far as sewing goes, I have been diligently working on quilting Evvie's quilt.  I'm about 25% done with it now, and try to pick it up and stitch whenever I get a moment in-between feeding the baby and holding the baby. ;)  It is coming along nicely!  

I am very inspired to work on some spring outfits.  I really thought my inspiration/motivation to sew and craft would die a bit after having a baby, but I have actually been more motivated to create since she was born than I have in a long time.  Interesting how that works!  Hopefully I will be able to take advantage of it...

Have a lovely week!

Bessie