It's not Monticello but...

Garden has been positioned, beds built with straw, manure, seaweed and composted maple leaves. Wet down then covered with tarp or plastic. I laid the builders paper down first for most of it. I have ordered some rolled split bamboo fencing, 39 inches high. It will provide the visual barrier I need to keep it "looking protestant." I am planning on two gates. Built a z frame red cedar gate yesterday. Spent some time today researching speakeasy grilles, I think one would be fun at the kids level. They are expensive though so I am thinking of substitute grille such as decorative floor vents. I'll be finishing the gates in a tung oil/turpentine finish. Gate pictures coming soon but it's night and pouring rain at the moment.



New emerald green arborvitaes planted where the future small sun patio will be. Ornamental grasses will join the fun.


















Can you see the turkey in this picture? We saw him walking through the neighbor's yard. Close on his heels was little Saki, a hilarious scene if ever there was one. The kids and I all saw it laughed for a good long while. Saki is 1/5th the size of this bird.

Spring is a frantic time!

For the Gardener that is. I never have trouble sleeping, except on occasion. Now is one of those times where my mind is racing with possibilities. A new garden to build! DH will just faint when it comes together. He has no idea. But if the White House can break ground for a kitchen garden then surely I can expand my humble plot! I CAN'T WAIT to be off on vacation next week. Granted, the kids will be off and I will want to spend time with them but fortunately they enjoy my jaunts to the beach, the woods, stables. Lots of free stuff to be had. I should get a drip irrigation set up. Will have to check the home centers. Looked last weekend and there was Nada. Probably because we are not a drought ridden area? Who knows. Growing in the greenhouse just now are the lettuce transplants I picked up this past Sunday.

The other side holds the rosemary (I have forgotten the variety), potatoes in grow bags and the fig. It was planted in the ground over the Winter, probably is dead but the greenhouse will let me know that. I planted some spindly lettuce and kale starts I had but the rain today and chill weather tonight don't bode well for them. It will be time to direct seed (if it isn't already).























Meanwhile their brethren lay in wait in the basement:

First, a tribute to my good lifetime friend Willie, aka Willicent P. McPhee who passed into kitty heaven on 13-MAR-09. We won't forget you lad! Willie ran into our life around 14 years ago. A thoughtless neighbor had allowed their female cat to have a litter (in their garage). Willie was one of those kittens who, one afternoon, flew across the street and straight through our open door. There he stayed. He purred on my stomach when I was pregnant with my son and became his wonderful friend as he grew. He was always gentle, always affectionate. Last year he made his first and last trip to the family house on Martha's Vineyard. Would that I had known he was ill. He should have gotten tons more hugs that last year. Hug those you love folks, furry or not. As I held him in my arms at the vets I told him to save me a seat on the other side.

Of late my thoughts have turned to gardening, another love of mine. Specifically vegetable gardening because it goes along with eating. There is nothing like the convenience of dashing out the door to gather yummy veggies for meals. I won't say that it's a cost savings for us. It might be but I generally end up spending a bit on the garden. For instance here is a poly greenhouse (it was on sale). It has a 3 year warranty and I certainly hope I get more time out of it. Right now it only houses a rosemary that I overwintered in the house. It's doing an admirable job of it!

The trash bags in front of it are filled with seaweed which I collected yesterday. I have been nervously plotting (no pun intended, OK, pun intended as it's April fools), to expand the veggie garden. The man of the house objects to a yard appearance that isn't neat. He feels I won't be able to keep up with it all. That may be true but there are techniques to help one succeed in this respect. Heavy organic mulches. Impermeable strips to keep down weeds under the fence. Yes, I even plan to erect a "temporary" fence around my new plot. I am using my classic approach of amassing the materials needed then erecting the new entity in a day or 2 to avoid sour expressions aimed in my direction. Here is a view of the proposed location:
I will have to dig up the sage and lavender (assuming it made it through the winter). Better to pot those for now. You may be able to see the beach stones I have started to amass. They will be good for a rough patio area at one end of the garden. I have a Hardy Chicago fig tree on order thanks to feeling jolly last Sat night after 2 glasses of a nice Cabernet. Actually, most of this is all Eliot Coleman's fault or rather the fault of Four Season Harvest which he wrote. He keeps a fig or 2 in amongst his patio stones under his poly greenhouse. An admirable book, I encourage all who are interested in gardening to read it. We are on the same parallel as Northern Italy, Southern France. Any veggies they can overwinter there we can here IF we modify our climate. We have the same amount of Winter sun.

The little white flags are the outline for the dog's electric fence perimeter. I have yet to train him in it. He has a pretty good sense of boundry, not surprising since he is a sheltie.

As for the seaweed, I read somewhere that mixing blood meal and humus with it will result in a finished compost in 2 weeks. Trouble is, no ratios were given. My daughter takes horse riding lessons at a small farm up the road. I plan on hauling some manure home soon. Seaweed, manure, blood meal and leaves mixed with compost from last fall...that should make a nice base for the new garden.

So I spent some money on the poly greenhouse. In many other ways I am saving. I have become alert to scrounge opportunities. I recently sifted through a pile if discarded lumber only to find some ipe (it might even be teak) offcuts and some nice solid hardwood flooring offcuts. GREAT for garden projects such as beds or greenhouse shelving. I honestly tried to disassemble pallet wood but it was quite a lot of work and my time is at a premium. I may go back to it if I get a better saw. I have found some very nice pallet projects on the web. This is a beaut Shed from recycled pallets
It even has a chimney. And this chicken coop if built in my yard would be turned into a guest house! I am all for greener living. Wish me luck in my pursuit.

Beginning of reflections

I’ve decided that I need to use this blog for simply writing about life in general instead of keeping it knitting specific. Life is crazy and writing is something I like to do.

These are, in essence, scary times. Most of us probably feel we are on the edge financially (I know I do). There is tremendous pressure at work to perform above and beyond. We are being asked to raise the bar, step it up, work to new, demanding standards. We are doing much more to just keep our job and I know for me my job could be cut any time.

There is pressure at home to find new ways to save money by eliminating old habits. No more dinners out. We make homemade pizza. We have cut items from grocery shopping that used to be considered essentials. We economize on car trips by grouping errands together. Gone are kids activities that we used to be happy to pay for. Swimming lessons, acting/voice. We have kept my daughter’s riding lessons as she gets so much pleasure from them, but they will be cancelled as needed. We have considered cutting our phone land line. We use the cheapest pay-as-you-go cell phones we can find and use them only when essential. I rarely, RARELY go clothes shopping any more. One of my favorite sweaters was purchased at a Goodwill store.

We compost, plant a small veggie garden with plants grown at home from seeds. Activities with the kids are generally free: parks, bike riding, walks, hikes, reading. We utilize our public libraries nearly every week. I am so very thankful that we have them! They enrich our lives. Vacations are taken at home or we have stayed for free at a relative’s vacation home (lucky us). The list could go on.

All of this bears a striking resemblance to times I experienced growing up in the 1970’s. Minus the work part of course. I’m no economist, I’m a scientist. It seems to me that economic hard times are cyclical. While I can’t wait until I start hearing good economic news on NPR stations during my daily commute (assuming I still have one), I also try to stop and praise the here and now. My family is numbered among the fortunate, we are still squeaking by financially. Both my husband and I still have our jobs. We have our health, such a critical component of happiness. Our kids are bright and energetic. They, like me growing up, don’t feel a sense of deprivation. Life is rich enough when you dwell on the simple treasures. They are there for free.

Some more recent shots of my favorite doggy! Piper is about 10 months old here. For anyone who is interested he came from a breeder on Long Island - her website is here: http://www.ginagardenskennel.com/

Lots of German Shepherds but don't neglect the sheltie link on the sidebar!

I've finished 2 sleeves from "Marie." Started the ribbing for the body. And in the meantime started the wool peddlers shawl from "Folk Shawls." I very badly need to take pictures of all my WIPs. As usual the schedule of life makes it difficult. I also have the Kureyon "Weasley" blanket still going from time to time. Biggest news for me is that I started Medifast and lost 18 pounds already. Yippee! If I can keep with it I plan to lose up to 40 pounds. It was high time for this change. Will post knitting pics ASAP.

It's been ages

I have been knitting though. There were several scarves for Christmas presents (wool: ribbed, basket weave). There was a pair of fetchings for a friend. After Christmas there was a prayer shawl made for another friend who had just unexpectedly lost her Mom. NO PICTURES! As always life's demands are overwhelming. Kids keep me extra busy, there is the writing for children class and my full time job as always. I am also involved with some Block Print exchanges, one themed "rat" for the Chinese New Year and another is a Winter Solstice print exchange. I have carved my rat block but haven't printed yet. Need to get "sick" one of these days so I can get something accomplished at home! I rarely ever do that....

WIPs remain the Kureyon blanket that I might finish by the time I'm 90. It's at least 4.5 feet wide and getting to be 3 feet in length. This time of year working with Kureyon is definitely color therapy. And speaking of color therapy I have aquired some books: "Latvian Mittens" and
"Selbuvotter, Biography of a Knitting Tradition." Fair Isle has been calling my name again. To have something to work with I also broke my yarn diet and ordered some heather fingering and sport weight wools from Knitpicks. I cast on for a mitten last weekend but I was starting too many new things at once. I was learning to knit using magic loop, knitting an edge that would become a hem and knitting my first mitten. I sratched that and instead pulled out some Lopi-lite that I have had for 15+ years (!!!!) and knit my first basic mitten to felt. Finished it last weekend and attepted to felt but it wasn't going quickly enough so have laid it aside. Yes, one usually knits 2 but, well, mine was a narrow mitten and somewhat longer than the B+W image in the book and I wanted to see how much it could shrink. Will utilize the washer/dryer sometime.

Today's project lust has centered around a shawl/scarf based on this blogger's shawl. Thanks KnitDad! Sounds easy with a look somewhat like entrelac but easier for a fractured mom to put down then pick up, put down then pick up...

Last but not least our wee pup is growing up! Piper is now 7 months old and a young gentleman. He is a wonderful addition to the family! See Piper's pup-page here. Cheers.

Welcome Piper!

Piper went to the beach

Cat card

No knitting this Summer. I will have to remember next year how busy Summer can be. My co-workers are the best, they presented me with this card, worth posting here for a laugh!

Almost May

Wanted to post some FOS, humble they are. A simple, rustic scarf made from the hand spun pictured before as a ball. A basketweave stitch scarf made from Dune yarn that is really rather scratchy, the photo is pathetic.

Color work ogling

Haven't made an entry in a while. I can only offer up a link to someone elses pictures:

http://www.knittingbeyondthehebrides.org/color.html

But what wonderful finished works they are!

My current WIP is not a lizard ridge but I am using all of my Kureyon for a plain stocking stitch afgan with a moss stitch border. I keep thinking of it as my "Weasly" afgan as it seems like something Mrs. Weasly would have clicking away in the background at her home, very bold and rustic, almost shocking! I cast on oh, maybe almost 300 stitches on a size 9 60" circular. The thing will be the size of a twin blanket if I ever finish. This initiative was started after I spent a couple of hours one afternoon cataloging my stash. It's currently a 3 page hand written list (that would be legal not letter size!), someday to be converted into an MS Excel file for easy sorting by weight, manufacturer or whatever. My balls of Kureyon numbered in the 20's. I will probably need 30 for this afghan. Maybe I'll sneak in some solids to try and avoid more yarn purchases. I have some GORGEOUS Beaverslide Farm aran skeins. I think cascade 200 would be too light weight. The Ecowool would be the right weight but they are all natural sheepy colors which would look odd next to the vibrant kureyon.

I can only hope to make a dent in the stash which is the other reason for the catalog. If I have proof of all of the potential projects in front of me I will be less likely to buy more yarn.

Along the lines of stash reduction I did finish a St Pattys day scarf made from two long-ago purchased balls of Trendsetter Dune in the forest green colorway. That leaves me with 1 and 1/2 balls left. It's pretty scratchy stuff. Not REALLY the best choice for a scarf but it looks nice. Almost wore it to see the Chieftans in Hartford but another outfit won out :-)

Also finished a simple ribbed scarf made from handspun purchased off of Etsy. Pics are at home, need to upload sometime. Dune scarf was difficult to photograph. Handspun is gorgeous.

Adios

Lame blogger

Turns out I am not the best candidate for blogging. Too busy with the full time job and being a mom. That's OK as I still seem to maintain the blog entity despite not posting.

I did manage to knit a sweater vest as a Christmas gift and here it is. It was a symbolic gift. I don't think sweater vests are the most practical garments. It did however end up being my first sweater, first in the round completed project, first cable project. Yarn is Noro Kochoran, pattern is "Boogie" by Knitty. I departed from the pattern in that I knit it in the round to the v neck then knit the back and both sides back and forth. I had not realized that the neckline includes these dead end corners that sort of flap about. Am not pleased with the color on the right front shoulder differing so much from the left but I did not have enough of the yarn to play with. Used 3 skeins. The yarn had alot of the farm in it which could be scratchy. Hope mom can see the zen of it all LOL. Click on the pics for the big picture and have a great day!





















































And finally some good cheer for the eyes, some sunny homespun that I got from etsy...

Not much time for posting but here goes. I tried my spindle out last night but wasn't able to draft. Definitely not worried though, just need more practice.

Currently working on a top down pattern from Pure and Simple patterns, that has to be my big WIP now as it should be a holiday gift.

Without further blab here is a better picture of the natural dyed yarn.

Starmore Kit

Here's a pic of the Alice Starmore "Grant Ave." kit I ordered. I don't know how I'll ever knit it up! Never done steeks. Never even made an entire sweater. Not very good at keeping my place in patterns or charts. But I can never say never and I will, come hell or high water, make this vest. May take awhile but I will try. Goal is to complete other projects as skill builders.

Swatched up my natural dyed yarn this weekend. Tough to find a fair isle pattern to showcase the colors. Keep thinking I should have reds. Perhaps I will make the background color the natural off white of the Dale and use my colors to pattern. By the time I'm done with natural dying experiments I'll probably have enough to make a larger project.

10 NOV Advanced Life Forms

Okay, someone tell me how to do it. This must be a world with super-humans scattered among us. I perceive that so many are accomplishing so much. They must have power over time. My daily schedule:

5am ARISE
6am Arrive at work (outside home)
2pm leave work (no lunch break)
2:30 – 3:50pm FREE CHOICE
3:50 – 9pm Kids present
9pm – 9:30, maybe 10: finish chores, collapse in bed, maybe read a few knitting book pages

The competing tasks for FREE CHOICE would include but not be limited to: exercise, knitting while watching HGTV, starting dinner, reading, putting away laundry, yard work, cleaning (what’s that?). Well, you get it.

My question is how everyone else manages to get it done? How can there be so many fit, working, productive, crafty, blogging, beautiful knitters out there?

OK, just to prove that I do here’s a shot of an in-progress:


I leave you free to enlighten me about advanced life form time management....

Lizards, not Lizard Ridge

A FO. This hat is giant, made for my 9 yo son who has a New Caledonian Crested Gecko. This chameleon chart came from the book Tap Dancing Lizards. I guess you would call it intarsia but let me tell you it's not elegant on the inside. I just cut the red at the end of each motif row and ended up weaving in a million ends - AFTER I showed it to DS to make sure he loved it enough for me to continue. It has a fair amount of ribbing, all folded inside in this photo. Think I may sew it in on the inside permanantly.

November 8th 2006

I've been wanting to create a blog for a while to share and express my various passions. At present this amounts to a fiber obsession in the form of knitting. Mom taught me to knit, I think I was a young teen. It never took off as an obsession until the last few years. Well, the details of my particular existance can wait. Here are some photos.

My grandmother's cedar chest holds much of my yarn stash. Found some plain undyed Dale Helios and another skein of natural wool.

What I found to dye, Dale Helios. The Candide will be for another time:

Vinegar soak:

Tumeric, waaaay concentrated and Hibiscus tea on the right:

I also used black walnut powder to create a brown dye. No picture.

Results, tumeric on the left was a vibrant saffron yellow. I ended up tossing the rest of the tumeric dye in with the black walnut (right). Result is an alpaca brown. Better daylight pictures are needed. Hibiscus tea was turning out a pretty beige. I added 1/4 bottle red wine to the dye bath and decided to let it sit. I'll either get a darker shade or wooly wine.