New Member of the Gang

It’s been a crazy few weeks for me. Upon returning from Detroit, it was spring vacation for Julia. I don’t even try to get any type of professional work done when vacation time rolls around. We took a bunch of day trips to The Carle (did you see the write-up on it in the most recent Home Companion?) and Boston. It was a rather uneventful week but Julia and I had a great time spending time together. The Farmer was very busy doing all his farming things – when the weather finally warms up, there literally aren’t enough hours in the day.

We had ordered a new ram back in January after we had heard about him on the “shearer’s grapevine.” The "SGV" is a great place to find new additions for our flock because sheep shearers know flocks all over New England. We picked him up from a small flock owner in New Hampshire. He’s a Border Leicester which is a new breed for us. He’s very tall and has an open face (no top knot between the ears like the rest of our sheep have). He came with the name Big Boy. I've always thought that Border Leicesters in full fleece were quite handsome

The Farmer subscribes to Farmer’s Weekly from the UK. It’s one of his only indulgences because it is quite pricey to get it stateside. But every week, when it arrives, we lose him to the pages of all things farming across the pond. He really likes it because there is “sheep coverage” every week and it’s real farming sheep information, as opposed to many of the sheep publications in the States which cater to hobby farmers with a flock of twenty sheep. From the pages of Farmer’s Weekly, he has learned that many hill farmers in Scotland commonly use a Border Leicester ram for producing some very nice ewes that do well on hill pastures. So that’s why we ended up with “Big Boy.”


The only glitch with Big Boy is a small one. He was shorn after we decided on the pick-up date. The shearer found he and all of this farm’s sheep had sheep lice. He was treated at his old place but now we have to quarantine him in separate quarters on our place awaiting his second treatment the second week of May. I feel bad for him because he is lonely but it’s better than getting our whole flock infected with sheep lice – something we really don’t want to have to deal with….

In two week, Big Boy gets to meet his new family. In the meantime, he’s living the highlife with hay and corn in his very own little fenced in yard. He’s quite friendly (or just plain lonely). Every time we walk out the door, he baaaaahs and we talk to him.

Diego in Detroit

I was in Detroit a short while ago taping Knit and Crochet Today at Detroit PBS. While there, I was lucky to find a new friend. Karen Kendrick-Hands, Owner of City Knits in The Fisher Building, became my fabulous tour guide. How lucky was I? Karen knew that I would love seeing the Courtyard of the Detroit Institute of Arts. With barely a minute to spare before going to the airport for my flight to Hartford, Karen and I flew in quickly to look at one of Diego Rivera's famous murals. Wow, was I blown away. This link will take you to the two major walls of the murals. Below, are images of some of the smaller sections of the mural which I was able to capture.

The murals were funded by Edsel Ford and painted between 1932 and 1933. They were very controversial and were almost destroyed. Thank goodness they weren't! Edsel Ford is portrayed in a section of the canvas along with William Valentiner, the Director of the Detroit Institute of Art.

Throughout the murals, there are many famous Detroit industrial leaders captured in fresco including Henry Ford. There are also many regular people portrayed as they worked for the auto, airline, and pharmaceutical industries which were based in Detroit. Rivera believed that art should be for all people and through his painting of murals, his work did indeed reach many people.

The murals were painted in the traditional fresco technique which means that each section was painted with pigments on freshly spread plaster. The painting had to be completed while the plaster was wet so that it would seep into the wall. This makes the frescos waterproof. Rivera's assistants would mix pigments, apply plaster and then he would paint a section at a time. It is said that he liked the pressure that this technique put on him - making him more spontaneous and creative each day.

Here are some of the photos I was able to get on my very quick visit. There was a film which I wish I had time for - maybe next time! If you want to learn more, I suggest this book by Linda Bank Downs which tells about the conception, creation, and execution of the Detroit Industry Murals.

This is one of two images of nude women with their arms full of fruit and wheat honoring the earth and agriculture of the State of Michigan. Evidently, in 1932, these nudes were rather controversial.


This image is of a pharmacist filling pill bottles surrounded by women typing in a typing pool.



An infant in a bulb surrounded by roots and layers of earth. This is said to be a possible testament to Rivera's wife Frida Kahlo and the baby she miscarried while they were in Detroit.



This image shows a surgeon removing a brain tumour.



I couldn't resist adding this lovely image of sunflowers and a crow.


It's amazing how beautiful Rivera could make subjects that would not seem visually beautiful look. That's the thing I came away with most - if composed beautifully and with feeling, almost anything can become a thing of beauty.

Tonight I am going to watch one of my favorite movies Frida and see if there is any mention of the murals he painted in Detroit.

The Detroit Institute of Arts is enormous. There looks to be so much to explore. If I ever get back to this city again, I'm going to try to add an extra day to explore this magnificent collection.

And thank you so much to Karen for making my trip to Detroit not all work but some cultural enlightenment!

Detroit Decorative Painting

More from the Fisher Building in Detroit. The other day I showed you some of the structural beauty of the place. On top of all that beautiful marble, mosaic, and brass decoration, there is an unbelieveable amount of decorative painting. The ceilings, the walls, the archways... it goes on and on - it is all decoratively detailed and magnificent. I hope you enjoy these images and if you are thinking of doing any decorative painting, perhaps you will get some ideas.

These are the elevator doors - in relief - such beautiful Art Deco motifs.


This brass railing was all along the balcony of the second floor of the building. Opposite, you can see one of the curved archways - each had a different subject matter illustrated in the classical style roof with columns. Subjects depicted included commerce, agriculture, peace, and more.



This is what each of the little archways looked like. It must have been gold or metallic paint because the light reflected off it making it difficult to photograph.

Borders on the curved archways - almost everyone was different.

The ceilings were decorated with animals, cherubs, birds, and all kinds of geometric designs. Here are two little sheep superimposed on a heart with a lovely undulating border.

Here's one of the figures. They too were different - all holding something else.

This bold eagle on the patterned background was one of the images above the vestibule for the Fisher Theatre. This was an immense section of painted decoration.


I loved this artichoke looking motif which was prevalent all over the building.

More flora from a section of ceiling.

My tour guide Karen found this little section of torn away canvas. I was thrilled to see it because it gave me the clue that all the painting was done on canvas and then applied later to the plaster walls.

This is the tiled bathroom floor in the basement.


I wish there was a book I could have bought to keep as a memory. The original cost of the building was 9 million dollars. It's out of another time and it's very unlikely that something like this will ever be built again.

I want to thank Karen Kendrick-Hands, owner of City Knits, for giving me such a fabulous tour of this great landmark. If you ever go near Detroit, I highly suggest a visit to this magnificent landmark.

Introducing......

Mr. Crowe.... That is Russell Crowe, the Rooster. By overwhelming popular demand and thanks to Kathy for coming up with such a fun name. Bernie said it was very appropriate because supposedly Russell knits. So I went looking on the web and found this funny photo. I really doubt he does but we can all pretend. Anyone want to sign up to give him a lesson?

And in keeping with the reputation of his namesake, my "Mr. Crowe" has moved back in with the ladies. For days I have been trying to get a decent photo of him. Sorry, this is the best I have come up with. Chickens move really fast, especially when food is involved.

Lewis N. Cluck was a close second..... Thanks to all who voted. What a fun contest. Thanks to Kathy and all who entered their clever names!

The Detroit I Never Knew Existed

Detroit PBS is located one block from one of the most amazing buildings I have ever visited in my life - The Fisher Building. Not only is the building incredible but it also houses a fabulously stocked yarn store called City Knits. On Monday night, I did a talk at City Knits and tried to inspire the knitters and crocheters who came. Needless to say, an enormous amount of inspiration was just outside the brass doors of the yarn store.

Friday morning, after my PBS responsibilities were over, Karen Kendrick-Hands, the owner of City Knits gave me a special guided tour of the building. How lucky was I? It was built by The seven Fisher Brothers between 1927 and 1928 and designed by Albert Kahn, who offices are still across the street. Thank goodness they finished it before The Great Depression. It's decoration is mind-boggling. The marble, brass, mosaics, and more are worth a special trip to Detroit.


There are several mosaic tile pieces in the lobby.


Here's what the enormous lobby looks like from above.

The marble floors are remisicent of a patchwork quilt.

If you ever get a chance to visit Detroit, don't miss City Knits and The Fisher Building. And if you live in a suburb of Detroit, make sure you make a special trip to this great yarn store and fabulous building.

Another of Detroit's Crown Jewels is the Guardian Building. I had an evening tour of that building but wasn't able to snap any photos. Here you can see that one for yourself. City Knits has a small 220 square foot satellite store especially for downtown Detroit knitters in the former smokeshop in the lobby of this building. How lucky are those knitters to be able to go out at lunch time and snag some yarn.

Behind the Scenes

I am back from filming two seasons of episodes of PBS's Knit and Crochet Today. The production was done at Detroit PBS and produced by Candi Jensen (yes, that Candi Jensen - author of many crochet and knitting books). To say my last week has been interesting would be an understatement. I didn't know what I was in for but was up for anything. Thank goodness I have a laid back personality because last week was not the time to be uppity.

I won't spill the details but I thought it would be fun to show you some of the real behind the scenes things that make a t.v. show become a t.v. show. As knitters and crafters, I know you like to learn about what goes into a project. And this was a big project!

I stood at a table with the Host of the show Brett Bara. Brett is Editor in Chief of Crochet Today, a fabulous magazine full of fashionable and fun crochet projects. I demonstrated knitting - me being the "Knitting Expert" (?) that I am. When you are standing there, after being wired with a microphone under your shirt and out the top, this is what you look at..... This is a side view and not what I was looking at. A whole bunch of cameras and so many lights it makes you dizzy.


Here's a close-up of one of the cameras - as you can see there is a teleprompter in front of the camera - not for me but for Brett. They were counting on me to wing it all. It's a bit disconcerting because as you are taping, you don't see anyone. I barely even noticed Brett because I was so focused on my work hoping I wouldn't screw up so they would have to do a second take.


Here's the overhead camera. It's filming in close every stitch I took.


Here's the guy who runs the overhead camera. Looks like a skill to run the thing, doesn't it?


On the set, there was me, Brett, Fred (the floor manager letting us know how we were doing on time) and 4 cameras. All pointing and looking at us. Thank goodness they were so friendly and encouraging.

Behind the scenes is another story. Here's "the bridge" whatever that means.... There were eight people in there all doing something important including Candi Jensen, our Producer.


Here's the controls behind the bridge - another two people.


I guess it's like anything else - it takes a lot of people to make something that looks simple materialize. Besides all the behind the scenes people and Brett Bara, the Host, the other expert - who is a real "Crochet Expert" was Drew Emborsky - a.k.a. "The Crochet Dude." Both Drew and I were experiencing trial by fire and we developed quite a bit of comraderie. He really is quite the dude - fun, witty, smart, and a super talented crocheter. He's got some magic going on on the small screen - you all will love watching him.

I thank all the people at K&CT for asking me to come and putting up with me. I hope it all turns out fine and that people keep knitting and crocheting - as that is the point of the entire thing. I will let you all know when these episodes start airing - it should be sometime next fall.

Lucky Lady

I’m back from Detroit. What a different place I live in as compared to an urban city. Not a bad difference – just a difference.

I drove down our road to find Julia waiting by the door and my sister Lynn with a handful of eggs emerging from my chicken coop. What a sight – totally out of “Green Acres.” Once in a while, we joke with the neighbors that The Farmer and I are completely out of Green Acres. But the fact of the matter is I am no Eva Gabor. Not a prayer I could ever be. I’m just a person full of lots of common sense and practicalness in my everyday life loving living where I do with a kid and a very great husband. Not a bit of glamour in me except for some daily mascara and lipgloss. But my sister Lynn - she is defitnitely Eva. She was dressed in a floral low-cut top complete with cleavage and some kind of knit pants, her arms and neckline covered in piles of gold jewelry. It was quite a site and one I hope I will remember forever.

Here Lynn is with one of my Polish Chickens. She has been caring for them all week long – collecting eggs – feeding the chickens. She just had major surgery which coincided with my crazy trip to Detroit PBS. She came up with my wonderful mother Nancy to help The Farmer care for Julia – get her to school, carry her around to appointments so the business side of this place could continue. Fact of the matter is, Lynn came for rehab from surgery. When I left on Sunday, she was a mess – in severe pain and feeling incredibly awful and on pain pills. By my Friday return, she was feeling much better and said that our place was worth $500/day for re-hab.

I didn’t worry much about Julia while I was gone. If Mom and my sister were around, I knew she would be safe. Mom’s got lots of experience with diabetes care and they all get along and laugh a lot. Truth be told, I was envious I was missing all the laughing. Julia’s Dad was there for the common sensicalness of it all – the part I usually am in charge of. Except for the excess of Hannah Montana-ish junk they bought her, it all worked out great.

I am indeed very lucky that Mom would take a week out of her life to pitch in and drive far and help take care of Julia. The fact that Lynn could be here to recuperate was an added bonus. Lynn has two sons so the time she spends with Julia is extra special as they really are on similar wave lengths.

Hay.... What's for Dinner?

"Hay, hay, hay.... that's all we get to eat. Isn't it about time you fed us something else?"

That's what I imagine our sheep are asking The Farmer just about now. Although they never go on strike and say "No, I won't eat." They wait patiently and then chow down in earnest.

The lambs run on the outside of the feeding fence because they are small enough to sneak through. They're also too small to fight off the larger ewes. And of course they are growing fast and need lots of food besides the milk their mothers are making.

By next week, some of the sheep will move out to pasture if the grass is well established. It's important that they don't eat the grass down to the root system. If they do, it takes a lot longer for it to re-grow. The Farmer is very anxious to get them on the hillsides. And I can imagine, the sheep are pretty anxious for some fresh greens since they have been eating pickled grass for several months now.

Mr. Rooster - Now It's Up to You

We've gotten so many great ideas for names for our rooster. I don't have room (well let's say, I'm running out of time) to post them all but read through the comments from last post if you want a chuckle. We had a little family meeting and we picked out our favorites. Now it's up to you.

Vote for your favorite in the comments section. By the time I come back from Detroit, your votes will have spoken!

1. Lewis N. Cluck (Julia likes this one because they are learning about the famous explorers at school this spring)

2. Russell Crowe

3. E.B. White

4. Whitey (Bulger who's been "on the lamb")

5. Reginald (several of you suggested this regal name)

6. John Quincy Adams (evidently our rooster looks a bit like the man)

Voting ends April 18th! And thanks a lot!

Embroidered Kitty Love

Sometimes I really wonder why I write needlework books. It certainly isn't for the pay - don't let anyone tell you craft authors get rich. But money isn't everything to me - personal satisfaction and creative fulfillment have a lot to do with why I do what I am doing right now. My sisters and friends are begging me to go back to my pottery because they miss collecting pieces. Unforunately, I don't have a dirty studio for my wheel right now. With pottery, a dirty studio is necessary. Fabric, yarn and clay really don't mix. Maybe someday, somewhere. Painting with oils and gouache - yes, that calls me on other days. But there's a whole other set of marketing challenges.

So for now, I toil on knitting and stitching. I've got a reputation that I have built over the years and it seems a shame to throw it away. One of the reasons I fell into this author gig is that it fits in with my current life of raising a little girl out in the boonies and tending to bunches of farm animals and farm activities. My family is the most important thing in my life - work has got to fit around our little family.

I do get a certain sense of enjoyment and fulfillment proposing a book, designing and making the projects, working with my knitters and editors, and seeing the book in the printed form. By the time I am done with one book, I usually have an idea for another and so I just go on. My books are like giant art and craft projects and you know how fun that can be. At least for now....

And then there are days like the other day when I found this post written by Susan of Making Do. Her daughter Shaylin made this adorable felt kitty using instructions in my book Kids' Embroidery. I contacted her and asked her if it would be alright to write about her project. Susan said Shaylin made the entire kitty herself and has plans for more kitties. Her favorite part was tying on the whiskers. This just made my day. It's one of the reasons that I do books. Sharing my skills with others in book form helps me spread the stitching knowledge I have enjoyed for my entire life. When I see such success and know that Shaylin may stitch the rest of her life, that is better than a million dollars.

Blueberries Someday

Have you ever eaten low bush blueberries? They're very tiny and sweet and grow in the wild, mostly in Maine. There are some fields of native blueberries in Massachusetts - mostly on the tops of mountains that are rocky. One happens to be in the town we live in. Although the blueberries are native, it takes some farming to keep the fields bearing.

Yesterday, this was the biggest news in our little town - the blueberry fields were burning. It was very exciting because they haven't been burned in almost a decade and haven't been harvested in quite a while.

This is how it happens. They get a burning permit and pick a day when there is no wind. It helps if the ground is still wet which it was yesterday. They light a brush fire and the field slowly starts burning.


There are lots of rakes and just in case large tanks of water.


The fire slowly spreads. The leaves and the stalks of the berry plants burn. The goal is to only burn the plants. If the fire spreads to the roots, it takes longer for the plants to recover. When it is done, the field looks charred.


The plants won't start bearing until 2009. We all are looking forward to lots of fresh sweet berries soon.

Turkey Dance

The scene as I awoke this morning way down in the pasture. Spring is finally here. The toms were putting on quite a show for thirteen hens. I hope they accomplished their task because hunting season starts the end of April for bearded turkeys. The hunters have been circling and looking to see where the birds are.

Detroit - Here I Come

Monday, April 14th, I'll be presenting a talk called "The Joy of Color" at City Knits in Detroit. The talk starts at 5:30 and will run approximatley 1 1/2 hours. I hope some of you can come. For more information, call 313 872 9665. The announcement isn't on their website quite yet. City Knits is located in the fabulous Fisher Building - complete with incredible murals. I've got to get some photos of the lobby - it is just so stunning - a real jewel hidden amongst the city streets.

The reason for this talk is that I'll be in Detroit all week at the PBS station. I'm filming 13 episodes of Knit and Crochet Today. They will air on many PBS stations over the next two years (they are taping 2 seasons at once). I went out last year and filmed 3 episodes and by the end, I wasn't feeling too anxious or nervous. I'm hoping I'll be relaxed and natural and not look like a "deer in head-lights!"

Knit and Crochet Today will be hosted by the lovely Brett Bara who is editor of the magazine Crochet Today. Brett is such a wonderful editor and craftsperson. I think she's a natural to guide all the guests through their projects. I'm actually looking forward to talking with her. The folks at Detroit PBS are very nice and professional and make someone like me feel comfortable.

It's all a little hard to believe that my knitting has led me to PBS t.v. If I have to be on television, PBS is definitely the place I prefer to be. It's so accessible to every home in the USA. In a couple months, I'll ask you all to hound your PBS station so they will air this show.

Posting here will be a bit slow over the next week - so please be patient with me. I'll try to take some pictures of the set and post them if they let me.

The Day The Cows Went Away

We bought our farm ten years ago - three months before Julia was born. The Farmer and I had always wanted to live in an old house on a bit of land. The fact that this particular farm was just over the mountain from where he grew up was a plus. We already had a sheep barn, woodland, and sheep pastures on that side of the mountain. We needed a place to live and we both liked old houses. We jumped when this farmhouse came up for sale. Our friend Will called The Farmer and told him it was for sale. The minute we drove up, I said “Okay, let’s make an offer now – I don’t need to see what the house is like.” Mind you, The Farmer wanted to buy the place without me even looking at it. We didn’t think about how or when we would live there, we just knew we had to get a mortgage somehow and buy the place.

As things went, we sold our place in eastern Massachusetts when Julia was ten months old and moved here in 1999. For The Farmer, it was moving home. He was regarded as that Duprey boy from Boston who had married a city slicker from New Jersey. “Oh, how did he ever marry a woman from there?” I assumed they all were thinking. For me, moving here was a new adventure. I had “played country” in our home in eastern Massachusetts - keeping my exotic chickens and an occassional lamb or two in the chicken pen when it needed nursing. But I knew this place would be real country. I anticipated all the interesting new things I would learn about and new friends I would make. We were both happy and excited to raise our little girl here in rural western Massachusetts.

Our farm is set halfway down a rather large hill. Our road was the old stage route. It’s all so hard to imagine now – stagecoaches, Indians, the Revolutionary War, subsistence farming, clearing woodlands for pastures, building stone walls. We were just taking over the land the colonists had tamed and home they had built. How they ever made it through a winter boggles my mind. I’m just glad our house survived and am thankful to live in it.

There aren’t many houses nearby. In fact, just a handful of houses are close enough to be considered official neighbors. Living in this town, most of our fellow townspeople are considered neighbors, even if we don’t know them all.

Up the road from us, not too far, there is a farm that has been owned by one family for a very long time. This farm encompasses almost 1000 acres greatly contributing to the ruralness of our little town. Although that may not seem like a lot of land to some, it is a lot of land to own in Massachusetts. The family is dairy farmers, raising Brown Swiss and Holstein cows. Three brothers own and run the farm. The Farmer knows all of the brothers. His mother and father were friends of their father and mother. I was accepted into the neighborhood because I was married to him, maybe at arm’s length and skeptically, but accepted.

As with almost all New England dairy farms, the last few decades on this particular farm have been a real struggle. Keeping up with the times, staying current, paying taxes, and the general daily slog of farming dairy cattle can wear anyone down. You could see the place and the people were tired. There was no money for repairs and improvements.


When we moved here, we knew there was a chance that this neighboring farm might be sold and split up. Every day as I traveled the hill by foot or auto, I tried to breathe in the rural character of this dairy farm, the rough countryside, the decaying barns. To me, there is a real beauty in things like this. A history that is fast slipping away. People in the year 2008 don’t want to work as hard as a dairy farmer works anymore. They don’t want to go in debt to keep the farm going only to never get a vacation and have a retirement. I lived in fear of what would happen to this beautiful piece of earth, landscape, and agricultural lifestyle.

We kept hearing scuttlebutt and town-wide gossip. The Farmer and I didn’t want to ask any questions. We didn’t want to pry into our neighbors’ business. I kept walking the beautiful old-fashioned dirt road and landscape, delighting with my dogs in every critter be they farm or wild animal, big or small. We looked to see if the cows were waiting by the milk room door or if they were out in the field munching happily away on some hay. We checked the pastures to see which field they were grazing, watching the cows’ huge lumbering bodies gently climbing up and over the hillside pastures. We talked to the cows like friends, looking into their big brown eyes, trying to imagine what they were thinking.


And then it happened. I heard through the wind that is a small town that the cows might be leaving one day last January. With regret in my heart, I walked up the hill to visit the cows one last time. I took these photos that day. An hour later they all were gone. It makes me cry even today to think about that day. Less than an hour later I drove past the farm as the cattle truck was loading the animals. The cows were sold at auction to go to other farms and live out their lives as milk producers. I can’t help but think they weren’t in as lovely a spot. The cows had lived on the top of the world, wandering over the fields with a 270 degree view of three states. They obviously didn’t know this nor how lucky they were. But I’m sure they loved their hill and home.

With the dispersal of the dairy cows, the agricultural, working lifestyle of the hill slowly disappeared. A working farm can never be replaced. The animals, the rhythms of their lives from sun-up to sun-down, grazing the hills, munching the hay and silage they were fed, being milked twice a day, every day of the year.... The harvesting of the hay for them..... All of the off-farm people who visit -- the cattle breeder, the grain truck, the vet…. When the animals leave, the agricultural soul of a farm dies away. Left are the empty buildings bearing witness to their past rugged and utilitarian usage. Slowly they fall away into the ground. Roofs cave in when there is no reason to keep spending money on them to shelter animals.

Around town, not much was said (or else noone said anything to me). I never mentioned the cows' leaving to anyone but my family. It was like a neighbor being ill. If noone talked about it, maybe it would go away. And so the wait was on. What was going to happen to this large piece of beautiful, wild land. What would it mean for all the people living on our road, in our town. All we could do was wait and see.

The “For Sale” signs went up and we waited. And we wondered. I kept sending good thoughts to the place we considered our own. Saying my own little silent prayers. I wasn’t born in this town nor on this hill but it’s the place I have come to consider my home. I didn’t want to see it change. I wanted my daughter to delight in the natural beauty and agricultural cycles of the year… to learn about where milk and hay come from. It felt like it was all crumbling away. Rumours of developers looking at the maps at the town hall spread like wildfire. Any vehicle seen on our road from out of town was considered a threat. We all lived in fear.

And now today, we have new neighbors. The Farmers who owned the land are still living in the old houses they have always lived in. Through the work of several different organizations and with the cooperation of the farmers, the land is now owned by others. Some of the land was purchased by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game for wildlife management. Some of the land has been sold to one of the brothers for him and his family to farm and will always be preserved for agricultural usage. And the last piece of land, where the cows slept each night, has been put into farmland preservation too.

I breathe a sigh of relief every time I take a walk up our road. I feel so fortunate that I can keep enjoying the pristine beauty of nature. If I have to share it with a bunch of out of state hunters once in a while that is okay. We’ve already noticed a large increase in the wildlife population. More deer, bobcats, coyotes. With the cows gone, others move in. We’ll all co-exist.

It’s a bit of a bittersweet ending and beginning for our neighbors. They aren’t farming cows anymore. Their lives have changed. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it is for them -- carving out a new niche in the world for themselves. Farmers are always farmers. I know this – I married one. The land will change also -- new species of plants and woodland and forest will grow up over the pastures. It will all take time and new things will settle in.


I feel fortunate that I was able to witness this hillside the way it was farmed for many, many years. I'll try not to forget it. We have the farmers and their family before them to thank for this beautiful piece of land my family and many other families enjoy. They cared for the pastures and woodlands for generations keeping it whole until it became impossible. Without their concern and love for the land, we might not be so fortunate.

Ask Me A Question Please – Deadline April 4, 2008

My friends over at Nashua Handknits / Westminster Fibers are going to publish a full-fledged magazine this coming fall. It will be full of beautiful sweater designs and some special features. That’s what all the brouhaha was about the photo shoot last week at our farm and house. They are going to feature a few pages with my designs and an article about me. Rather fun and exciting. And our sheep were great props for their sweaters.

So here’s the catch. Nashua would like my blog readers to help them with the article. They are asking you to send them questions for me to answer which you would find interesting. The questions can be about anything – my knitting, our farm, my art, our sheep…. Whatever you can think of that would be appropriate for publication and that you would find fun. They won’t have room for all the questions so don’t be disappointed if your isn’t chosen. (But I must say, they would give me ideas for things to post about on the blog!) The readers who submit the questions that are chosen will receive a thank-you gift. So think hard and send your “Kristin Questions” to:

Susan.MILLS@westminsterfibers.com

Or directly to me at my email on my sidebar at left and I will forward to Susan. And thanks in advance for your help.