Category Archives: Uncategorized

Unknown's avatar

Sewing Victory!

by

I decided that since the temperature wasn’t going to get very high and it was going to rain all weekend I could justify dedicating the entire weekend to sewing.

I’m so glad I did – it’s been glorious!

The first project I worked on was a dress I had started last summer for Oona and figured I had better finish before it was too small!

03.30.14a

The pattern is Oliver & S’s “Family Reunion”.

I don’t remember where the fabric is from, unfortunately.  I bought it quite awhile ago.

03.30.14b

The only modifications I made to the pattern are that I did not add little decorative  buttons on the front tab , and I did not topstitch the hem.

03.30.14c

I had to fight my sewing machine to get the automatic buttonhole feature working properly.  It took two needle changes, a cleaning out of the bobbin casing (lots of lint!) and a change of thread.  Sometimes it’s just fussy things like that.

The buttons on this are vintage ones that were my grandmother’s.  They match perfectly, don’t they?

03.30.14d

I just adore this fabric!

03.30.14e

03.30.14f

She wore it all day and wouldn’t even remove it for bedtime.

I’ve moved on to my next projects: The Lady Skater Dress in a red cotton and The Renfrew shirt in a blue Ponte de Roma knit (its a poly/rayon blend I normally wouldn’t go for, but it’s very nice and drapey.

I have plenty of Harney and Sons tea to fortify me (and Neve made chocolate chip cookies), so hopefully I will have progress photos soon!

 

Unknown's avatar

Snow Day Pretzels

by

Yesterday we got a late-season snow day.  It wasn’t a whole lot: maybe 4 or so inches before it was all said and done, but it was a sloppy, wet snow that mixed in with the already-present mud and was just……..meh.

I am still optimistic, however, that all of the polar-vortexing and snow that we’ve had this winter will make this summer’s bug population less than explosive.

But back to yesterday’s snow.

I spent extra time out with the ewes in the morning, making sure they had enough good hay and a little extra grain.  I wanted to be sure no one was shivering or hunchy-looking from the wet snow.  They continue to look fine, though, and if the weather continues to be dry I may just put them back in with everyone else today or tomorrow.

Once I was back in the house it was clear that everyone’s motivation to do any school work was below zero.  Neve and Oona were playing nicely and quietly by the fire (and that in itself is so unusual I was loathe to interrupt it).  Emily was reading. I just wanted to knit and catch up on The Walking Dead.

In the end, Emily watched some video lectures from The Khan Academy and the younger girls and I made soft pretzels (hooray for home ec!).

Because who doesn’t love a nice, warm soft pretzel on a cold and snowy day?

03.26.14a

03.26.14c

The recipe we used comes from Sweet Paul Magazine and can be found HERE.

It’s one of the easiest and quickest pretzel recipes I’ve tried.

03.26.14d

03.26.14e

The dough consists of water, yeast, brown sugar and flour. It sits for 45 minutes after mixing, and then it gets rolled out.

The raw pretzels get bathed in boiling water with baking soda for ten seconds and then sprinkled with salt and baked.

Simple!

03.26.14f

This is the third time we’ve made them, and they’re always a hit.

03.26.14b

Afterwards I parked myself in the chair by the fire with my knitting (and Gulliver, who insisted on being on top of me all day) and enjoyed the view from inside for a change.

Unknown's avatar

All The Naked Ladies

by

Yesterday our friend Emily came down to shear the ewes in advance of lambing.  I’ve been around for lambings done with wool still on and with wool removed, and I can tell you I FAR prefer them to be sheared before they lamb.  It makes it soooo much easier to see what’s going on, and much cleaner as well, without all that dirty wool hanging over their back ends.

What I love about Emily is she not only shears them; she clips their hooves and gives me an idea of how healthy she thinks they are.  Susan and I were  happy to hear (and see!) that they all look great, and she thinks all but two are bred. Emily handles countless flocks of sheep all through the year, so her opinion carries a lot of weight around here.

The rest of the flock will be sheared at the big shearing party on April 5; we didn’t want to move the ewes to the park that far into their pregnancies, though.

03.24.14a

It was chilly when we went out at 8, but sunny, and bright.

03.24.14b

03.24.14c

We stuffed them into the mini barn the day before so they wouldn’t get wet in the rain; and I do mean they were stuffed in there.

03.24.14d

As the wool came off, however, they had so much more room!  It’s amazing how much less space they take up when they’ve been shorn.

03.24.14e

03.24.14f

They’ve been getting extra grain and hay so they stay warm.  I elected to keep them near the barn since we’ve got snow today, but they are happily munching their hay and chewing their cud, more or less oblivious to the white stuff.

If you’re wondering, Emily wrote up an excellent post about shearing sheep and cold weather HERE.

 

Unknown's avatar

The Very First Goat

by

Back in late 2009 I brought home my first goat, along with a llama, to add to my menagerie of chickens.  I wasn’t admitting to having a farming problem then, but the bug had surely bitten me, and once I started, there was no going back.

I had only planned on bringing home a llama that day; I had read they were excellent guard animals (HA!!!) that were preferable to dogs (no barking, cleaner poo).  Instead I fell in love with a small yearling doe and she came home along with Jerry.  In the car Emily decided we’d call her “Milkshakes”.

03.16.14a

In short order we had a small farm and learned our doe was a soon-to-be-mommy.  This was, incidentally, how I really met Susan.  I was inexperienced and terrified, and discovered that the well-known shepherd whose blog I read actually lived just up the road (the rest, as they say, is history!).

It’s taken me a week to work up to writing this post because I needed to get my head straight and not still be too emotional; I needed the telling of it to be therapeutic, and I think I’ve reached that place.  You see, we lost our infamous Milkshakes last weekend.

We don’t really know what exactly happened, or why.  One moment she was fine and bratty, the next she was not.  Animals like this can sometimes give you precious little to go on.  What was clear is that it was the end of an era, so to speak.  She was our “old reliable” in a way.  She never had the parasite problems we’ve struggled through with the rest of the flock, and she mothered like a dream.  It just didn’t seem possible she could leave us.  But, she had a great life surrounded by companions and all she could eat.

03.16.14b

03.16.14c

03.16.14d

03.16.14e

03.16.14f

03.16.14g

03.16.14h03.16.14i

03.16.14k

This is the hardest part of animal husbandry.  As Susan always reminds me, if you have livestock, you’ll have deadstock.  It’s a fact, but it doesn’t make it a whole lot easier when you’re attached to your flock the way we are.  Every loss is hard; every loss shakes your resolve and confidence just a little bit. They’re like family, and if they hang around long enough, the loss is that much more keenly felt.

We’ll miss you, you crazy broad.  May you only know sunshine and the freshest green grass wherever you are.

 

Unknown's avatar

Seed Season!

by

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday!

03.11.14a

We order all of our seeds from Baker Creek – they sell only heirloom varieties.  This means no GMO’s, and no ties to Monsanto. For the last few years I have been studiously avoiding any and all seeds from companies that you would generally find in places like Target or Lowes, as these are almost guaranteed to be connected somehow to them.  The only thing I cheat a bit with are herbs – I tend to buy herb plants at Lowes since we don’t have a lot of other options.

I am now officially impatient for spring (which means we’ll get one last huge snowstorm to close out the winter, right?).

Some years by this time I’ve had my earliest spring seeds already in the ground, but this year has been colder and snowier (there were still patches of mounded snow on the ground as of yesterday).  I’m feeling pretty confident, though, that soon – very soon – I’ll be putting these first seeds in:

03.11.14b

Here’s hoping for a fruitful and easy year of growing!

 

Unknown's avatar

Lose An Hour, Gain An Hour?

by

As everyone knows, we sprang forward this weekend.  And it hurt.  But, that’s what happens when you’re still awake at two a.m., socializing and playing Settlers of Catan with friends (it’s quite possible we didn’t get to bed until around 5 this morning…….but if that were true I definitely wouldn’t admit it!).

The morning end of this change is not great; it means it’s a bit darker in the mornings for awhile.

On the evening end, though, it feels like we’ve won more weekend.  We can push back evening feeding an hour or two, making the overnight stretch between feedings shorter.

Despite our lack of a full night’s sleep, Paul found inspiration and energy to get outside and do some yard work (which is very, very sorely needed right now!), and Oona kept him busy playing with her in between chores.  Having the gift of  a very warm day certainly helped.

03.09.14a

Tevye, the rooster.

03.09.14b

Orzo and the other dogs were enjoying the sun and warmth as well.  He is turning out to be the same kind of perpetual happy that defines his half-sister, Sabine.

03.09.14c

We even spied some daffodil bulbs starting to push up!  I got some ranunculus bulbs to plant in there this spring, and I submitted my order to Baker Creek for our gardens this spring.  We’re due for a decent gardening season, right???

03.09.14d

Last year’s lambs have gotten big! Rosamund back there is almost as big as Cosmo now.

03.09.14e

Darby.

03.09.14f

Hopefully spring sticks around for awhile and summer doesn’t push in too soon or strong.

Unknown's avatar

Another Glorious Snow Day

by

We got several inches of snow yesterday and Paul’s office was closed, so I declared an actual snow day for the kids.  Normally we have school no matter what the weather, but it looked so blizzardy, and inside was so cozy with the fireplace (and having Paul home throws off our routine anyway), so I let everyone curl up under their blankets and just relax all day.

03.04.14a

It worked out well for me; I got the front right half of my Shepherd sweater done!

03.04.14g

It worked out well for Gulliver, as well – he had Paul’s lap all day.

03.04.14b

No one, though, seemed to enjoy the snow more than Gnocchi.

03.04.14c

03.04.14d

He  had his goofy self a grand time while the snow fell.

03.04.14e

While Cosmo and the smallest lambs enjoyed the dryness of the shelter with a few chicken friends and the pigs.

03.04.14f

But, the day that had begun so snowy and stormy finished out sunny, and they all came out to enjoy some hay.

03.04.14h

It’s hard to believe that two days ago it was 73 degrees, and that a few weeks from now is the first day of spring.  It’s still rather frigid outside and the snow has not begun to melt yet.  Soon enough it will, though, and we will be installing a heat lamp into the big chicken coop for the arrival next week of our ducklings!  Winter may have some life left in it, but spring is nearly upon us!

 

 

Unknown's avatar

Getting Too Ambitious

by

It’s almost March.  March means St. Patrick’s Day.  It means my wedding anniversary.  It means it’s almost spring.

We’ve already started digging out our books about Irish folklore for school, and searching out just the right shade of green polish for our toenails.  My iTunes playlist has been updated with plenty of Irish artists (John Cunningham is a favorite).

We’re starting to think about watching Darby O’Gill And The Little People.

We’re craving the look of green grass and the sound of new lambs bleating and sproinging around in the fields.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

March is a month of contradiction.  It heralds the vernal equinox but it also usually is the month of our biggest snows. Actual spring is still a ways off.  Even though my spring seed list is complete it is too early to start them just yet.

For now we must content ourselves with mostly indoor projects and finish those things we can before we move on to the outdoor ones.  And in doing so, it’s been difficult not to be overly ambitious.  After all, I have had some wonderful things lined up for quite awhile awaiting my time.

02.27.14a

These two fabrics just scream “early spring” for me.  They’ve been sitting on a shelf for several years now, patiently waiting to become a quilt.  I’m hoping I can start some cutting on it today.

02.27.14b

And then there’s this incredible llama-themed fabric Susan bought me last year for my birthday.  I am just as smitten with it today as I was when I first saw it (look at the llamas!  And the knitting needles with balls of yarn!!!), and I can’t wait for the perfect quilt project for it.

02.27.14c

Let’s not forget this adorable British-themed fabric I have been collecting in small bits here and there over the last year.  Just looking at it makes me want to go pour myself a cup of tea and look through one of my British Country Living magazines.

See?  Fairly overwhelmed with sewing possibilities!

But what about knitting?  I have about a million and one projects lined up to go on the needles, but for now I am thrilled to be moving along nicely with my Shepherd Sweater:

02.27.14d

I’ve reached that magical point in knitting it where I can begin to split out for the sleeves and the front.

02.27.14e

The most miraculous part? I am not even remotely bored with this yet.  I don’t know if it’s the yarn, the pattern or the combination of both, but this is still thoroughly enjoyable knitting.  I can see myself casting on another one as soon as this one is complete.  No, I am not even kidding. Maybe I can use some of my cream-colored Aran weight yarn?  Or the teal blue one?

Either way I need more hours in my day.  And more months before spring, apparently.

Unknown's avatar

Olympic Winter Knitting

by

We’ve been thrilled around here to once again have the Winter Olympics on tv to enjoy.  Even better, we’ve had actual winter weather to go along with it!

And so, there has been much knitting.

02.16.14b

This is the Cypress Cowl from the JMF Marlowe pattern book.  I also knitted the matching hat for my friend Julianne, but sadly forgot to take pictures because I was in such a hurry to get it sent off to her.

02.16.14c

I also knitted up the Amalthea Cowl from the JMF Moonshine pattern book.

02.16.14d

This is the Cypress Cowl again to show detail – I just love how it looks, and the yarn (Marlowe) might be my new favorite silky soft yarn to knit with.  I want to make a massive blanket from it with which to wrap myself up!

02.16.14e

I’m also spending a lot of Olympic viewing time working on my Shepherd sweater.  There’s a knit-a-long going on on Ravelry and seeing everyone’s progress has really pushed me to try and get further along.

02.16.14f

I just love the cables.  It might be slow going for me, but it’s incredibly enjoyable in the meantime!
I’m hoping to be able to wear it at least once before winter is totally over, but I am not counting on it.  I’m just thrilled we’ve actually finally HAD a winter this year!  We’re trying to enjoy every moment of it.

02.16.14a