Julia, TV, and Quarters Countdown #3

I know everyone is in a Downton Abbey frenzy. I really can't believe it but we are not watching it. We only have one television in our house and it seems the parents always cave to the child's wishes. Or is it that she knows how to use the clicker and neither of the parent's are really clear on how it works?

Julia is rather into anything to do with movies and television - she is a walking talking tv guide. When we go to the grocery store, she can be found catching up on People and Us and on the way home, I get a report on the latest celeb scandal. Instead of watching Downton Abbey, her choice for Sunday evening was "A Smile As Big as the Moon." And so watch it she and I did. What a great movie about a special education teacher who in the late 1980's challenged the popular wisdom of the times and fought to take his special ed class to "Space Camp." The movie starred John Corbett who Julia and I love in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and I crushed on from Northern Exposure days.

Many of you who are new to the blog perhaps don't know about Julia's history but she was born with hydrocephalus and has had many shunt surgeries at Tufts/New England Medical Center in Boston. In her first two years of life, it seems like we lived there. The Farmer and I are extremely grateful for all her good doctors and nurses did for her. For the past few years, she has had no medical complications (knocking on wood) from the hydrocephalus but it is always with us. Julia is not like a regular kid - she needs special help for most learning and  accomodation for her physical challenges. 

This year Julia moved up to the Middle School and I was terrified for her and for us. I did not know how she would do, how she would be taken care of (she also has juvenile diabetes). As I was watching and tearing up through "A Smile", I couldn't help but be amazed at how the public school system has changed for the better in educating our special kids. Julia's transition to Middle School has actually been incredibly good. She is thriving in the bigger school and has a wonderful one-on-one aide who is one of the keys to this transition. The sped team in our school district has been incredibly supportive and helpful. And for the second report card in a row, Julia has made the Highest Honor Roll. 

When I went to school, I did not have any contact with kids with special needs. Back then, we were split into what I (wrongly) thought as "smart, medium, and dumb" kids. As I watched "A Smile as Big as the Moon" I realized how sheltered I was as a teen from kids with special learning styles, kids that maybe didn't catch on as quick as I did to most subjects. In the movie, they showed the special class, the dis-order, the anxieties of these children and I thought about how different the education system is now for kids with learning challenges. We are lucky that Julia is a sped kid in 2012 vs 1989 or 1965.

In our school system, Julia is in a class with kids of all abilities. The kids are all taught the same things (with modifications for some). They are tested at the same time but the difference is they are tested to their ability. I write this to you all because I know that many of you either don't have children yet or are no longer in contact with what is going on in the schools now. Kids with learning challenges can still have successes and reach Highest Honor Roll. As a Mom with a sped kid (that's how Julia and I talk about her learning challenges - it is not a bad thing in our house, it is just what we deal with), I am so thankful that my daughter can feel successful. The pride she has in completing her homework, in doing well on a test is helping to boost her confidence and self-esteem. 

If you have a chance to watch "A Smile as Big as the Moon" or read the book, do. It will make you feel great and help you to conquer your latest obstacle, learning challenge, knitting project, or internal stumbling block. It will be running frequently on the Hallmark Channel if you can get that.

The photos on this blog post are of Julia over the past couple years wearing her various mommy-made Quarters Caps. I can't help but say that she too has "a smile as big as the moon." It is so much fun to look at her ever-present smile and cheerful personality as it shines through these photos. Julia might not be like most kids but she is happy and is finding her way. I feel so blessed to have had the gift of her life in mine and to have learned all she has taught me along the way.

You can purchase my Quarters Cap pattern on my website here or on Ravelry here. Until the Big Game is over on Sunday, I'll be donating 20% of the profits to Halos for Hope. Check out the Halos For Hope site here. 

Here's some Super Bowl hype that you will enjoy! Go Bev!

Lambie Goings on and Guys' Quarters Cap Big Game Countdown #2

Thanks everyone for all your work yesterday regarding my lamb photo on Etsy which has been removed by the unscrupulous seller. I am pretty sure the seller's email box was jammed with all your messages. And the comments on FB were overwhelming, as in my comments section. Just found this post on a food writer's blog about copyright issues. It goes around, doesn't it? Here is a really good article about copyright and owner's rights which can of course be translated to the knitting world.

As promised, I am moving on today. Lambing has slowed down incredibly - in fact we have had a couple days without a lamb being born. This year we haven't had quite as many "house lambs" - thank goodness - although there has been a rotating crew. (The reason for this is The Farmer has used a heat lamp this year to warm the hypothermic lambs in the pen with the mamas so that, hopefully, after the lamb recovers - there will still be a maternal bond. If it works, it saves untold number of hours bottle feeding lambs and money on the milk replacer. The downside to this is heat lamps are incredibly dangerous. We usually only use them when someone is at the barn.) 

Someone please remind me that I shouldn't get a Border Collie puppy in the winter during lambing season. There has been a race track back and forth through the kitchen and living room as Kate the pup herded the two little house lambs to and fro. These two little guys were real goners when they arrived at the house. I really didn't think one of them would ever get up and move around (it took an entire week). We gave them time, warmth, lamb milk replacer and they healed and got up and about.

Kate our new Border Collie Pup with two lambs in the kitchen

Once it warmed up on Saturday from the negative temps, it was time for them to go be sheep. It went like this.... I walked into our television/library room on Friday evening and found the two lambs nestled in front of the woodstove happy as clams. If they had figured that out, it was time. Cute scene and all but they are sheep. Off they went to the barn on Saturday a.m. and I have been washing floors and walls ever since. Like I have time for such cleaning nonsense.....

The Farmer and one of the new lambs

I'm continuing with photos of some of my Quarters Caps I've made over the last couple years. I love this project because once you get the hang of the pattern, you can knit them at meetings and whenever you need a mindless project with just a bit of a challenge. It's also a real hit with the men and boys in my life. Above is a new one I made to match The Farmer's non-stop Carhart brown and denim blue wardrobe. He likes the Quarters Cap because it isn't too tight..... I like it because it has replaced his incredibly ugly hunter's orange acrylic hat. 

My nephews Francisco and Nicholas were the original poster boys for the Quarters Caps. I love this photo of the two of them in the snow. This photo is from January 2009. The boys are even more handsome now.... I bet they have lost these Quarters Caps by now. Better start knitting a couple more in shades of black and grey since they fancy themselves in the urban set.

Like I announced the other day, 20% of the net profit of all Quarters Caps PDF pattern sales will be going to this knitting/cancer charity cause. You can purchase my Quarters Cap pattern on my website here or on Ravelry here. It's a really quick knit and super addictive. Good day everyone! You are the best.

This is Plain Wrong

Yesterday, a concerned reader of my blog alerted me to the following: An Etsy seller named "youandmegogreen" is selling prints of my copyrighted image of my white lamb in a sweater. Here's what she say in her listing: in "about this item" description "Handmade by youandmegogreen and made to order."

Here is a screenshot of the listing. I am contacting the owner of the shop and telling her to take down the image which is clearly mine and copyrighted. I have already contacted Etsy about this. This image "White Lamb in Sweater with Crochet Flowers" is available as cards and postcards here on my website. I do not sell on Etsy at this time.

A few weeks ago, another friend sent me an email from a "nail salon." She told me a local Colorado beauty salon had used the same White Lamb in Sweater with Crochet Flowers image in their mailing. I didn't respond to their unauthorized use. I should have and I will today. They did not take my name nor copyright sign off the image. They should have asked me to use the image. I may have said yes. Now, I am just plain upset. They should have at least linked to my site.

 

 

I have been fuming about this for over 24 hours now. What should I do? Write about it on my blog or just let it go away and forget about it. But I have decided I just can't let it go. I sell cards of this image here on my website. My website is the only place the image is and should be sold. I do not wholesale the cards and image - they are exclusive to my site and my work. The little lamb is our lamb. I knit the sweater, crocheted the flowers, stood in the snow to photograph and get exactly the right shot (three separate days to get it just right). I processed the image and it is clearly mine. Why should this woman named Laura at "youandmegogreen" make a profit from my work? She shouldn't.

 

So why am I bothering to bore all of you with this problem? Here's the thing, I have many loyal readers out there, many kind people. They write to me asking if they can use an image of mine for their screensaver. I usually say yes. You all support me by buying my cards, my handknitting patterns. My family and I work very hard to keep this place going - just like most artists and farmers out there in the world. We have to pay our own health insurance and it is not cheap. We have a child with special needs and precarious health issues. We have to pay our taxes just like everyone else. I am not complaining about this - It just irks me to no end that people can take the image that My Farmer grew, I knit, photographed and composed, edited, and printed and say it is theirs and sell it.

I have had publishers ask me if they could use that same image. I have told them no. Seriously, do I need their $50? I would rather keep the image as my own for my future work. Once it goes into print in their book, my future publishers will no longer want me to use it. 

So the moral of today's post is... please think about using other people's images. They are theirs. If you do use them, ask them, credit them, link them. It is only fair. None of us are getting rich on this. At least give the owner of the image proper credit and do the right thing by asking.

I thank all of you for your awesome support over the past years - of my knitting, designing, authoring, photography, farming and teaching. You all are fabulous. Back to regular programming tomorrow. Off to hug the sheep and puppy.

Stitching, Teaching and Big Game Quarters Countdown #1 and a Good Cause

Busy weekend here as in your home, I'm sure. I spent Saturday at Webs in Northampton teaching embroidery and colorful edgings. What a great day. Excited and talented students willing to learn and ready to go. My embroidery class was jammed and it was exhausting for me.... but look what they made! Gorgeous swatches full of lots of stitches. Some students traveled a great distance and made me so happy that they would drive so far for a class with me.

Here's a stand-out swatch by Karen (kmcfet on Ravelry) who took both classes. She added a beautiful edging with embellished embroidery too. 

Here in New England, people are going nuts about the Patriots in the Super Bowl. We're not much for watching sports here at the farm but we do watch the big games. A couple weeks ago, Pam Haschke, one of my FB friends, wrote about using my Quarters Cap for her project Halos for Hope. The post was so cleverly written - comparing the knitting of the Quarters Cap to a football game. Here's what she wrote: 

"What could be more perfect for football knitting? The hat is worked garter stitch and flat.  In other words, not in the round.  Much like a football game, you kick off (cast on) and knit all the way to the end zone.  After your second row, you begin a series of plays (short rows), with each sequential short row creating the shaping of the crown.  Once you're at the 50 yard line (or worked half of the stitches in your row shaping the crown), you start a new quarter.  Upon completion of four quarters, your game (cap) is finished!"

Wow, what could be a better endorsement for one of my patterns. With the game coming, I thought this would be a perfect tie-in for running a promo for the Quarters Cap pattern. So here is what I'm going to do. I will be donating 20% of the net profits of the sales of my Quarters Cap this week to Halos for Hope. If you have already purchased my pattern, hop on over to the Halos of Hope blog now and donate to this great knitter's cause. 

This week, along with my regular farm posting, I'll be re-visiting the Quarters Caps I have made over the past couple years - for inspiration. Today's photo is of some of the first caps I made for Julia and her cousins. I love these little portraits. Looking back on them has shown me how much the girls have grown. Sweet girls. Love them all..... 

 

You can purchase my Quarters Cap pattern on my website here or on Ravelry here. It's a really quick knit and super addictive. Here's a bunch of projects on Ravelry. And check out the Halos For Hope site here. Good week everyone - keep knitting!

2012 Kristin Nicholas Leyden Glen Farm Calendars - Something Free For All of You!

I've spent a bit of time over the past month and a half looking through my 2011 photos. I think it is always a good idea to look back on past projects because then you know how much your style has improved, changed, or stayed the same. I think of this blog as one big project - a visual diary of our lives here on the farm and my knitting and designing life and work. In 2011, I took over 10,000 photos - most of them not good enough to share here but part of the process of improving my skills. Thank goodness for digital photography! I also acquired a couple new lenses for my Canon DSLR which really helped improve my photos and to get me headed where I want to go for this blog and you all. I now use the following lenses for my still life product and animal photos - this 50 mm lens and this 85 mm "portrait" lens. 

In 2011, I worked a lot of my still life photography, mostly taking product photos of my knitting and some of my lamb recipes for our Leyden Glen Farm Lamb business and also for Real Pickles (a local pickle company). (BTW, Real Pickles just won their second "Good Food" award. Congrats Dan and Addie! You can check out my photos on their website here.)  I decided to offer TWO 2012 CALENDARS FOR FREE to you all, my blog readers. If you want to leave a donation for my time and help me to cover my different costs associated with photography and keeping this blog running, feel free to. There's a DONATE link below. But please don't feel obligated.

I hope you all enjoy the two different versions of this year's Kristin Nicholas/Leyden Glen Farm calendars. Both are formated at 8 1/2 x 11" and feature a color photo on each page along with the month's days. Download away. Print out the pages and enjoy. To fasten the pages together you have several options -

1)  Take the pages to a copy shop and have them spiral bound.

2)  Punch 2 holes at the top of the pages and thread some pretty yarn through the pages for hanging.

3)  Attach a bulldog clip which has a hole on the top of it and hang it on a nail.

For THE ANIMALS OF LEYDEN GLEN FARM, click here. This calendar features sheep, lambs, dogs and kittens.
 

For THE COLORS OF LEYDEN GLEN FARM, click here. This calendar features still lives and interior shots.

The file will download automatically to your computer in PDF format. Each calendar is 14 pages long. I suggest printing them out on heavy card stock or on a glossy photo paper. If you don't have a color printer, put the file on a flash drive and take it to your local copy shop. They can print the calendars for you. Or ask a tech savvy friend with a printer to help you out.

If you want to donate, click on the button below

Enjoy everyone -- spread the word so your friends can enjoy the seasons, the animals and the colors of Leyden Glen Farm. Hang the calendars in your office, your knitting room, your barn, or your kitchen.

All our best for 2012,

Kristin, Mark and Julia

Our Day at the Barn

Lambing has slowed down quite a bit - thank goodness. Instead of 20 lambs being born in a day they are dribbling out at 1 to 4 a day. There are still ewes waiting to lamb but it isn't quite as frenetic as it has been the past couple weeks. 

Today The Farmer had to make a delivery for his real business and so left me in charge of all the sheep. Yikes, I like to be in charge of things but not in charge of the sheep during lambing season! Luckily, our friend Terri said she would help me. We got chores done in record time and without incident. We were just getting ready to leave when I noticed a ewe who looked to be in labor.

Sure enough, a yearling ewe was straining up on the hill. When we got there, I could see that the nose was poking out but no legs. That isn't what you want to see because it means the ewe will need help. Lucky for me, Terri's real job is as a maternity nurse at the local hospital. I knew what to do but I wasn't too keen about sticking my arm up into the ewe. Terri was enthusiastically smiling though. I knew she could do it! As a nurse, I knew that she would relish the chance to deliver a mal-presented lamb. Real official lambing vs. feeding and watering and walking around in cruddy muck. Sure would make a good story at the hospital too! Terri fished around inside and found one leg but couldn't find the other. I have watched this many times and knew that if she pushed the head back in, she'd be able to find both legs. I held the ewe as she was straining which made it more difficult for Terri to pull. 

And then she pulled and there it was!

And here's Terri with the brand new ram lamb and a giant smile on her face. Thank you Terri! We are so lucky to have friends like you.

Sweet Lamb of the Day

Things are still busy. Up to 204 lambs. Here's another not even a day old lamb.... Love those airplane ears.

Sweet Lamb of the Day

Could not resist this sweet little face. Good weekend everyone......

Back from Vogue Knitting Live in NY

Someone asked me in the comments yesterday about my trip to NYC to the Second VK Live held at the Hilton on 53rd and Sixth Ave. It's funny but it seems like a lifetime ago that I was there, so much has happened here on the lamb front. I didn't take too many photos, nor was I there very long but my time was fulfilling. To get to NYC, I took a bus from Northampton. It's an easy ride and doesn't take long to get to NYC. The best thing was I didn't have to drive and I knit the entire trip. Pure heaven. I never get 3 hours in a row to knit - never. I arrived in time to have dinner with a bunch of very good friends who I don't get the chance to see very often anymore. After a dinner of Indian food and lots of story-telling and catching up, I found my way to the Hilton. 

I taught 2 classes on Saturday - one on edgings and the second on embroidery on knits. The students were so eager and ready to learn. That's what happens when you get them when they are fresh! Here's a photo of all the samplers the students made in my embroidery class. Didn't they do a fabulous job?

The classrooms were much better this year - more spacious classes, decent light. It's a learning curve throwing one of these big conferences and the staff at Soho/VK really did throw one heck of a party. Thank you Soho, for inviting me to share my passions with so many other passionate knitters.

On Saturday evening, I attended the Banquet held in the Trianon Ballroom. The room was painted a lovely shade of turquoise and it was covered with all kinds of fancy white fluorishes on the walls and ceilings. Add to it tables crammed with excited knitters and it was such a fun time. There were about 30 tables and each table had a teacher sitting with them - a fun concept. The only thing is the tables were so huge and round that I could only speak with the knitters directly around me. I was sorry I couldn't chat with those across the table. There were goodie bags loaded with great stuff although I didn't get one because someone took mine (bummer - I wanted those Addi needles!). The highlight of the evening was an inspirational talk by Alice Starmore who came expressly for VK Live. How do you like that fuzzy photo below? It is from Alice's slide show taken on my iPhone but what I like about it is the colors and the feeling you get from the landscape and the model in the sweater.

Alice did a colorful slide presentation about her work and her life on the Isle of Lewis and Harris (the Outer Hebrides of Scotland) where she lives and designs. It was quite wonderful hearing her Scottish accent and seeing what inspires her. I didn't realize that besides knitwear design Alice also paints and weaves. I wasn't surprised to hear it but I was because I had never seen samples of her other work before. What a treat the talk was. Check out her amazing website here. She sells her gorgeous yarn, knitting packs, and books. Funny story too - my friend Linda and I were chatting after the event and Linda who is a pretty big deal in the yarn world decided we should say hi to Alice. We waited in a little line and then introduced ourselves. I told Alice that I took a class with her back in the 1980's - at a TKGA meeting. She said that yes, she remembered me and that the meeting was in New Orleans. What a memory! I asked her how the heck she could remember that and she said it was because I knit funny. And she is correct - I do knit funny (I knit the same way Annie Modesitt does). The class was on charting lace and as she watched me, she noticed that I was doing the opposite of what she would do - or something like that. I explained it was because I knit my purls backwards and that on the right side I had to do the opposite. I was shocked she remembered. Like really shocked. I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast!

Here's some good news..... Many of Alice Starmore's out-of-print titles are now back in print. If you are a knitter who missed the first wave of Alice books in the 1980's, I highly recommend anything she has written. My favorites are "Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting" and "Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting" because they are what I called books for designers as opposed to pattern books. Check them out. And here's some other good gossip - Alice and her daughter Jade are leading a fabulous Vogue Knitting Trip through Scotland and Iceland. Check that out here. 

After Alice's fabulous speech, we were all treated to a fabulous fashion show LIVE from the pages of Vogue Knitting. Gorgeous sweaters on gorgeous tall leggy runway models. It was a great evening.

Early on Sunday morning I got back on the bus and headed back home to go back to our farm, join my family who I left in the depths of lambing. I was greeted by this little lamb who was feeling very poorly and getting warm at Julia's feet in the car.

Luckily the lamb (No. 55) made a complete recovery and is now running around the kitchen being terrorized by Kate the Border Collie puppy. We certainly are living in a funny farm. Looking forward to it warming up so the 3 bottle lambs in the kitchen now can go back to the barn. During lambing season, I have learned not to plan any social occasions at our farmhouse!

Little Video of Mama and Lamb and Olympia's First Lambs

A little Cheviot cross-bred lamb

Yesterday I was at the barn for the large part of the day. There were new lambs arriving left and right. I caught this lamb's arrival just as the Mama was cleaning her off. Thought some of you might like to share it with your children so that they can see how animals take care of their young. 

Most of our mamas deliver their lambs without any help at all. We only intervene if the mama is in labor for an extra long time or if there seems to be a problem with how the lamb is coming out. Our experience has told us that it is best to let nature take over and not interfere with the bonding process of mama and baby. (I used to help clean off the lambs with a towel but have since decided that is a bad idea.) The only thing we do is clear the sack from the lamb's mouth and then let the mama clean the baby off. Then we move them into a bonding pen if it seems necessary. Usually sets of twins get moved and put into a pen - because it is harder for a mama to keep track of them although they do.

Big news. Remember Olympia?

She is the bottle lamb who modeled and had "Olympia's Knit and Crochet Flowers" named after her. You can see and buy the flower pattern here or on Ravelry here. Olympia is two now and she had her first set of twins. She did good although it was a cold day and we put the twin girls under some heat lamps. It's always fun when a bottle lamb has a baby and when they turn out to be great mamas.

Got an email from a photographer friend who spent 10 months at Hallmark Photography School in nearby Turners Falls. She photographed sheep at our farm last year. Check out all her gorgeous photos of lambs taken last spring and summer here. Thanks Sarah for posting them. All that green grass! Seems so far away.

Just Born

Up to 162 lambs. This baby was just born. Trying mobile blogging. We will se how this goes.

New Lambs and Kate Meets The Snow, The Chickens and The Boys

Lambing continues - 19 lambs born yesterday - 9 sets of twins and 1 single. Good day but a busy one for The Farmer.

I have not been much help since I have been trying to tie up lots of loose ends before I leave for VKLive in NYC Friday afternoon. I'll be back on Sunday but you know how it goes - get odds and ends done before a trip because even three days sets you back.

Kate, our new Border Collie pup, has settled in nicely. Julia thinks she is a terror and is a bit jealous of all the attention she is getting. It's a lot of work having a puppy in the winter - all the in and out but we're falling in love with her spunky personality. All signs point to her being a great sheep dog. Every day, she goes outside with Phoebe, Ness, and I to feed the chickens. It's the highlight of their day when there isn't any official sheep work going on, like most of the time in the winter.

Today in the snow, it was especially pretty. All the brown dirt was covered with fresh fallen snow.

Today Kate ventured into the pen when the chickens were feeding. She has figured out that if she chases, they will run. And she likes to see them move.

After the little chicken adventure, I decided to take her to see The Boys. She has been to see them a couple times but on a leash. Today I felt like it was time to see how they would get along.

The Boys are really interested in the little ball of fire.

First a little intro through the fence. That went well.

Then on in to the sheep pasture. All the normal doggy meet doggy stuff.

And then Kate started running circles around them.

She's a tough one....

And man is she fast!

I think we are all friends now.

Snowy Day

A surprise snowstorm arrived today during lambing season. I've got so much to do to get ready to leave for NYC but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for photos in the snow. It doesn't happen often and it is so gorgeous. These three guinea fowl had escaped the coop.

Nessie brought the sheep in.

The snow kept coming down, unexpectedly. The kids had a late school opening but it should have been called off, it was so treacherous.

 

Winston and Archie looked over all of them.

Cute Moment at the Sheep Barn