Get that Man a Hat! and Maybe a New Jacket

This is in response to all the comments I got the other day about this post. You guys must be getting to me. Last night I got home and Mark (as he is sometimes known as) aka the Farmer was standing there in the kitchen in one of his old plaid shirts, albeit a nice plaid J. Crew shirt, a gift from my sister Jenn. I said to him “So where have you been?” Yes, he had a clean shirt on and he had been to the bank. I have gotten so used to him wearing that old and very stained Carhart insulated jumpsuit and jacket that I don’t even notice the shear tatteredness of it any more. I thought about getting him a new one for Christmas but since money was tight and I wanted to buy Julia some cute new clothes, I decided against it. After all, it just would have gotten stained (lamb poopy, after-birth, sileage, etc.) and trashed in a day. Not even the best stain remover can compete (not to say I try too hard). Maybe next year, I’ll feel more flushed with cash and buy him a new jumpsuit. But at least he is warm.

That said, I have also tried to make him wear handknit hats. I knit him a rather nice multi-colored one last year and he wore it a bit and then left it somewhere so it rotted into the ground in a pile of manure. I found it not long ago and gave up. As for the gloves, if they aren’t leather and insulated, they don’t last. Manure and sileage are nasty things. So I give up there also. It's hard to dress The Farmer in handknits - unless it's for dress-up. He does have one aran sweater that he wears for special occassions.

Truth be told, when he needs a hat on the tractor, he wears the most disgusting acrylic bright orange hat so the hunters don’t shoot him. I have commented to him in the past about the ugliness of the thing but I gave up there too. Evidently the fluorescent orange hat is nice and loose and comfortable. Thank goodness most people around here don’t know what The Farmer’s Wife does!

There's been some fun stuff I've been alerted to by internet friends. Here's an amazing crop circle made of sheep! Thanks Diane. My guess is that there was food involved. Here's a photo of my Farmer with a grain bucket nearly being swept off his feet by the sheep. He is experimenting with feeding dried corn to the mama ewes (instead of the grain pellets he sometimes feeds). The cost of grain has skyrocketed and this is a little more economical. For a few days, they wouldn't eat it but now, it's a mad rush to put down the corn and move before they knock him over.


This rooster is too cute! I suggested to Storey, my publisher, that perhaps they should introduce a line of knitted farm animal patterns. After all, they are the leading publisher of books for country living, farmers and farmer wannabees. Check it out!

A Surprise for All of Us

The other day, upon arriving at the barn, I found Cora, Julia’s bottle lamb from last year, back against the wall of the barn. I said to The Farmer “ Hey, maybe Cora is going to lamb soon.” His reply was, “No, Cora is just being Cora - crazy as she is.” (Her nickname is “Crazy Cora.”) Cora is just a year old and usually yearlings don't lamb here until they are about 16 months and up to 2 years old.

But lo and behold, Saturday she had a lamb! Thankfully the lamb is a girl (which means she will live a long life here on the farm).


Julia is beside herself with delight. She has named Cora's lamb Mora. (She’s got a long list of names for future Cora-babies whenever they are born.) We kept Cora and Mora in a little enclosure for a day so we could try to tame Mora. They escaped - no surprise. Mora is the cutest little thing. Spunky with a zest for life. She’s big for a yearling ewe’s lamb. I doubt she’ll have quite the personality of her mom since Cora is nursing her so beautifully. This does give us a special reason to visit the barn which is fun for all of us.


Julia says this makes her a grandmother and me a great-grandmother. Considering I won’t get that chance in my life, I think I will take a lamb great-granddaughter anyday.

Observing

A while back, I asked The Farmer what's the most important job he plays as a shepherd during lambing season. I expected him to say something like pulling out a live lamb during a difficult birth. But no, not my calm, mild mannered, quiet Farmer. He told me his most important job is observing.

He spends all day and parts of the evening with the sheep. Lots of the time he is moving feed around - it takes a long time to feed 150 ewes and over 100 lambs. Once he is done with morning chores, he gets a little break for a quick lunch. Then it's back to the greenhouse barn to feed some more.

Often, when I arrive for a quick peek at what's going on, he'll be standing there, just looking. I think to myself, oh, he's doing the big part of his job - observing! He miraculously knows which ewe lambed the night before. He can tell you which lamb belongs to which sheep and if it is a single or a twin. He can tell if a ewe is in trouble and needs help with a delivery. It boggles my mind that he can tell them all apart. I can tell what breed one of the sheep is or perhaps about how old it is. I can guess how old a lamb is within reason. I can tell you if a ewe is having trouble lambing but the other stuff, not a prayer.

I guess it's a lot like a knitter going into a large yarn store. I can tell one fiber from another. I can pick out just the perfect ocean teal blue from one that is just not right. I can feel the difference between a superwash wool and a beautifully soft merino wool. I can guess which yarn might have mohair or alpaca in it.

I guess it's the same for all of us. We explore our passions and learn as much as we can. Then we observe and make decisions. But tell me, could you tell which sheep is the mother of which lamb?

Ethnic Knitting and Just Plain Knitting

A while back, I was interviewed for an on-line magazine called Black Purl. The tag line for the magazine title is Sharing the Passion and Soul of Needlecraft. This resonated with me because this is what I do - whether it is with my books or my blog or whatever. It's an interesting collection of articles so make sure you check out the back issues. The article has just gone on-line and now I see what it was all about. L’Tanya Durante interviewed six different knitwear designers about how they see ethnic knitting. I was included along with Marianne Isager, Gina Griffin, Donna Druchunas, Sahara Briscoe, and Susan Lazear. It’s really interesting to see how each takes the word ethnic and makes it the basis of their textile art. Some of us have similar answers to the questions but others take the questions other places. Check it out here.

When I was thinking of what kind of visual image I could use for this post, I did some browsing through my massive iPhoto library on my computer and I found this little patchwork quilt-ish image. These are swatches that were knit for the color section of Kristin Knits and they illustrate how combining different colors gives different effects. They also happen to be colored in what I consider very ethnic colorways - although that wasn't the point of the swatches at all. They were knit to illustrate how different colors play against each other. When they are grouped together, they give a very bright and happy feeling - the same feeling I get when I look at an ethnic textile from far away lands. Someday, I should seam them and make a patchwork pillow. I’ll just add that to that long and growing list………

Going out to booksignings is good for me. I don’t do it very often because I live so far from everything. When I do, it helps me meet who I am working for. Working for perhaps is an odd way to put it but it’s pretty true. I am working for whoever will buy one of my books or designs and invest their precious time and money in yarn to knit one of my designs. I know most knitters don’t have lots of spare time and they have way more ideas than the hours will spare. If a knitter makes a project I am thrilled. If they make it out of my Julia Yarn, I am even more thrilled.

My new book Kristin Knits has been out now for about two months. I’ve heard from lots of people knitting things from it and I’ve seen projects in progress posted on blogs. It makes me happy that knitters are actually making the things I thought about so carefully and that they are having success. I just heard from Storey, my publisher, that the book went back to press which is really great news.

I’d love to have a place for people to post projects – finished and in progress. I welcome your feedback on this one. Should I start a blog on blogspot or a flickr pool of KristinKnits projects. I don’t have a lot of extra time in my day though for lots of administrative type stuff and you all know about my slow dial-up situation. I'm afraid the blogspot thing would be just too much for me and besides, does anyone host knitalongs anymore? Would a flickr pool be good or do knitters not go there? I think there is something started on Ravelry about my book but I haven’t joined yet. I know I should but I just don't have enough time in my day to do it all. It's all I can do to keep this blog going. What do you think I should do? I welcome your comments here or by email.

Knit and Crochet Today

If you have been reading this blog for over a year, you may remember that I flew to Detroit on New Year's Day 2007. Detroit PBS was taping a new t.v. show called Knit and Crochet Today. I did three segments - one on embroidery on knits, one on socks and one on felting.

The other night my good friend Linda who lives close to Boston called me practically jumping through the phone. "You're on WGBH now!" Wow - how exciting to hear that the show is finally airing and in a big market like Boston. It was on their "Creates" channel where they also show cooking, gardening, woodworking and more. How perfect! I was anxious, of course. She said I did a good job and didn't sound dumb. Thank goodness.

From what I hear, Knit and Crochet Today is going to be on lots of major PBS t.v. stations this winter. So check your local listings and tune in! I have heard they will be taping another season's worth of shows which is great news, isn't it?

And if Knit and Crochet Today isn't playing on your local PBS station, don't be shy. Ask them to feature it. Here's a handy form to use. We knitters and crocheters have got to be vocal about our craft, otherwise media outlets don't know how many of us there are that are interested!

If you are a retailer, approach your local PBS station about sponsoring Knit and Crochet Today. It is very reasonable and certainly will give your store a higher profile by being connected to PBS.

Here are some crocheted flowers to brighten up your winter day. You can read more about them here. Hard to believe that summer will ever be back again. Our temperatures have been below zero for a few days. The seed catalogs are arriving and it's about time to start browsing and ordering. It is never too cold to think about sunflowers and zinnias.


What are you knitting or crocheting today?

Winter Grass

Busy weekend for us, even if it was a holiday weekend. On Saturday, Julia and I went to the Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley for a talk and a booksigning. My plans for childcare fell through at the last moment so I had to bring her along. Luckily, Amy Greeman, Director of Publicity at Storey, brought her 11 year old son to the talk. Amy took Ben and Julia to the children’s book section (which by the way is very nice) while I talked about the projects in my book. Thank goodness Amy was there because Julia was going to steal the show. Thanks Amy so much!

The Farmer had to get up crazy early because he was going to a “Grazing Conference” way up in Vermont. First, barn chores and then a long drive to Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center. It is organized by University of Vermont’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Vermont Grass Farmers’ Association.

I’m sure most of you are wondering what the heck they talk about at a grazing conference. It’s quite similar to going to a Stitches or TKGA Conference for knitters but it is for farmers and not nearly as expensive to attend. Farmers from throughout the area drive in and take classes on subjects that you probably haven’t thought about. The Keynote Speaker was Greg Judy who flew in from Missouri and spoke on “The Wonderful Grass Machine: Using Livestock to Restore Fallow Land.” This guy travels the continent speaking about his 2,000 head of cattle and how they harvest his and his neighbor's grass! I think listening to him may be similar to a knitter hearing Kaffe Fassett speak.

The Farmer was very excited about all that he learned at the different classes. He has attended this conference for years and brings back interesting tid-bits of knowledge. I quizzed him the other day so I might have something profound to report to you all. He's not much for flowery descriptions (that is my department). His comment was that it was nice to meet like-minded individuals who were trying in their own small way to preseve the bucolic (not his word, mine) farmlands of New England.


As you can imagine, the conference has to be in the winter when fields are not growing and being harvested. He said it is lots of fun to hear what other farmers are doing in their operations which include beef, dairy cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, and turkeys. He feels part of a small but hopefully growing movement, alternative as it is, to help do his part to keep the landscape of New England open, beautiful, and productive.


Our sheep are primarily grass fed. This means they eat grass in the spring, summer, and fall and hay (or preserved grass) in the winter. (Our larger lambs are just starting to pick at the hay.) Rotational grazing is an efficient way to harvest grass and turn it into a by-product (lamb and wool). But you have to stay right on top of the sheep and the grass so that they don’t over-graze a field. Overgrazing puts stress on the root systems of the plants and they can’t recover. Here are some of the other good side effects of rotational grazing:
•Permanent pastures provide habitat for grassland birds.
•Pastured animals are much healthier than any kept in typical feedlot situations, hence healthier to eat.
•Naturally applied manure reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
•Less fuel needed to harvest the food and thereby reduces the carbon footprint.
•Reduces (or eliminates) the need for feeding of grain grown other places far away.
•Small farms whose fields are often abandoned can remain in agricultural production if grazing animals are used to keep the pastures from reverting to woodlands.
•And probably a knitter’s favorite reason for rotational grazing – a field full of sheep is just so darn beautiful.

I bet not much of this information was on your mind this morning. If you want to learn more about agriculture and food in the United States, I highly recomment Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. It's a fascinating look at large and small agriculture and the source of your food.

It's a Steek Tutorial

I learned to sew before I learned to knit. At first I tried handsewing with my mom and grandmother. When I was nine, my mom decided I was ready to give the sewing machine a go. Brilliantly, she handed me over to our teenage babysitter Robin C. who lived across the street from us. Both Robin and her sister Ellen sewed beautifully and although my mother was a wonderful seamstress herself, she knew it would be much easier if someone else, not her, taught me to sew. And besides, we Nicholas Girls idolized those Cashen Girls. My first project was an a-line mini-floral print dress with a lilac faux tab front and a zipper in the back. I wore that dress in my 4th grade picture and mostly likely until I couldn't squeeze into it anymore.

So what, you ask, does this have anything to do with steeks? If you haven't guessed by now, I went on to have a long sewing career making most of my clothes through my teen years and beyond. When I eventually learned to knit proficiently, I was in college majoring in Textiles and Clothing. Knitting was something I picked up for fun. I could do it on the train or the bus going back and forth to college.

Eventually my interest in knitting began to take over my sewing hobby. I started spinning wool. And then I had all this yarn which I couldn't find a pattern for. A professor of mine wisely recommended some books including Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears. I started designing my own patterns for my own handspun yarns following the sage advice of the wonderful EZ. I noticed the word steek but I was into "knit in the round" sweaters. A year or so later, I picked up a book called Knitting in the Nordic Tradition and saw the steek technique again. I decided to give it a go and haven't turned back since. I knit most of my sweaters in the round and cut them and sew the sleeves in. I'm not afraid and you should not be either.

When I was working on Kristin Knits and I got to the section on sweaters, I thought long and hard about "knitting in the round" vs. "knitting back and forth." I have written patterns both ways. When I worked for TYC, I always wrote my patterns for back and forth knitting. We didn't feel our shopowner customers were interested in "steeking." We were afraid we would turn them off to certain knit in the round and steeked patterns and then sit with a warehouse full of them. We realized the LYS-owners didn't have a lot of extra time in their day and wouldn't want to be bothered with helping their customers learn about and make and finish steeks.

But my book was my own thing. I could do whatever I wanted, within reason. I asked a lot of knitting friends what they thought. I asked some shopowners. I was torn. In the end, with the decision making help of my wonderful editor Gwen, I decided to present two of the five sweaters included in the book to be worked in the round with steeks. The photo shown here is a steeked sweater from Kristin Knits. (The lovely alternative photo was not used in the book and it is by Kevin Kennefick.) This sweater has steeks at both the neckline and the armholes.


I've taught a lot of knitters how to sew and cut a steek. I think the first thing to remember is that you must have no fear. If you are very timid, practice on an old swatch following the directions below. I promise you it isn't hard - it is mostly your fear of the unknown that is holding you back!

Enough of the chit-chat. Let's move on to how you do it.

First of all, what is a steek? Briefly, a steek is an extra set of stitches knit into a garment which will become a seam later on. A steek makes it possible to knit sweaters in the round (or anything for that matter) that later needs to be seamed or have a zipper or edging added to it. I knit my steeks in alternate colors (knit 1 dark, knit 1 light) so that the yarns are caught into the fabric and that it will be sturdy. On the next round, I swap the colors and a little check fabric will develop. (I also knit steeks on solid color sweaters so that I am always working on the right side but I'm not going to talk about that here.)

The biggest advantage of including a steek in your knitting is that you will always be knitting in the round. If you have dyslexic tendencies like I do, it is much easier to always see the right side of the knitting and follow a chart always from right to left. I can't be bothered with working colorwork back and forth and I even knit most of my swatches in the round on double pointed needles.

Here is a steek at the armhole of the sweater. Note that the steek begins after the fabric has been knit in a regular pattern until the armhole needs to start.


Here is a steek done at a neckline. You will notice a little pouch created by the bound-off stitches at the base of the neck. The gentle side neck shaping occurs at either side of the steek.


I use my trusty old Bernina sewing machine to stitch my steeks before cutting them. In these photos, I have used white thread. Set the machine to a straight stitch and sew between the stitches on the outside of the steek stitches. I call this "stitching in the ditch" and the machine stitching will actually disappear. Do this on either side of the steek - there will be 1 row of straight sewing machine stitches on either side of the steek.


Next, set your machine to a medium zig-zag stitch. My steek has 6 stitches in it. I am going to sew down the center of the two centermost stitches in the steek, making 2 rows of zig-zag. Locate stitch number 3 and sew a row of machine stitches over the the knit stitches. Next, locate stitch number 4 and sew a row of machine stitches over the knit stitches. The photo below shows the second row of zig-zag being stitched.


It is important to keep the knit fabric flat and neat while stitching. Do not pull on it as you sew or it will distort and ripple. Make sure you block and steam your knitting before doing the sewing machine work.

Now, take a deep breath and using a sharp pair of scissors, cut through the center of the two zig-zag rows of stitching. Be careful not to snip the sewing machine stitches (although nothing much will probably happen if you do). Be careful when you come to the end of the armhole steek so you don't inadvertedly clip the main part of your sweater. The following photo shows an armhole steek being cut.


That's all there is to it. Give it a try and see what you think. I have never had a steek fall apart and almost every sweater I have made has used steeks.

This series of photos was taken as a guide for the illustrations I did on Cutting a Steek in my new book Kristin Knits. I give full instruction in that book but as someone said, a picture is worth a thousand words.

If all else fails and you are still too timid to try, I suggest printing out this blog post and taking it to a local tailor or alterations expert along with your almost finished sweater. They will be able to do this for you quickly and easily and then you can get on with sewing the sleeves in and attaching the neckband and cardigan band.

Flights, Talks, Life and Books

I’m finally feeling more normal and ready to tackle everyday life after my trip. I’m not sure what happens to me but it just takes a while to settle in and even assess what needs to be done. The jet lag and very long and overly stimulating days and nights at the show just do me in. Extra sleep the past few days seems to have helped. I am very thankful I don’t have to go on one of those long, extended book trips like some authors are expected to!

That said, the trip to Minnesota is shaping up. Thanks to all who e-mailed with suggestions. It looks like the speech at the Textile Center is going to work out - probably for Friday evening, February 15 at 7 p.m. Margaret Miller, the lovely Executive Director, got back to me and said yes. You’ll have to check back here for specifics in a week. Now we (that’s you and me, guys and of course the publicity team at Storey) have to spread the word so there is a good turn-out and I don’t look like a fool! I’m going to get the Publicity Department to create a poster and I’ll tell you all when it is available.

Now it is back to real life on the farm. The nice thing about returning to a farm is that nothing changes. Lambs are still being born and The Farmer is still feeding them. Mud comes and then freezes again and becomes muddy ice which is much easier to walk through than boot-sucking mud. Snow comes and goes (and it is coming again tonight). Farmlife is all rather comforting in an odd way since it really isn’t very peaceful at all.


The older lambs are racing around after each other playing their lamby version of tag. The younger lambs are close to their mother’s sides nursing and sleeping, nursing and sleeping – very similar to a newborn baby’s activities. When they lose sight of their moms, a frantic little baaaaahhhh can be heard and then the mama answers back with her lower pitched, comforting baaaaahhh. They are quickly re-united. It is not unlike going to the grocery store and losing sight of your young child.

The lamb population has grown so much that we have given up counting. There are close to 100 lambs. It’s hard to take cute little pictures of cute little lambs and moms because it is mass hysteria with lambs running to and fro. I keep trying.

I often get asked what it is like to live on a farm. I think most people have a rather romantic notion of the whole farm thing. But as you can tell, by reading this blog, there’s mostly hard work which is sometimes dirty and smelly and sad. There are lots of beautiful photo opportunities which are fun to capture and share. There’s a lot to deal with which the normal American person probably doesn’t want to hear or think about.

I have compiled a list of some very good books that we have enjoyed reading and which you (those farmer wannabees) may too. It is a combined list made by The Farmer and me and it is no particular order - just as they came off the stack. Some of them may be out of print and the British ones may only be available from British booksellers. Enjoy.

Hill Shepherd, A Photographic Essay by John and Eliza Forder, 1989, Frank Peters Publishing, Cumbria, England - lovely photos and a bit of words documenting hill farms in the Dales and Lake District of England.

Little Heathens by Mildred Amstrong Kalish. Bantam Books, 2007. A new book written by an octogenarian about growing up on a farm in Iowa during the depression. Not much about livestock but this overview of farmlife is very matter of fact and enjoyable to read. No sugar coating. It was reviewed in the NYTimes Book Review and was one of their "10 Most Notable Books of 2007."

Sylvia's Farm by Sylvia Jorrin. Bloomsbury, 2004. A little hard to get into (I started it, stopped it for about a year, and then eventually finished it). It might be a little sugar coated and a bit too flowery but a nice read. And Sylvia is a knitter.

Harvest by Nicola Smith. The Lyon's Press, 2004. Very real story about bringing back and aging farm organically. Not all about animals, some crops and flower farming too. Lovely photos by Geoff Hansen.

A Shepherd's Watch by David Kennard, Headline Book Publishing (UK), 2004.
Dogs of Windcutter Down also by David Kennard. Both of these books are very well written and so true to what it really is to raise a large flock of sheep. The author lives in England and tells it exactly as it is. As I was reading it, I kept saying to myself, "oh, that happens to them also." His sheepdogs play a major part in the book.

The Last Shepherds by Charles Bowden. Granada (UK), 2004. The subtitle of this book is "A Vanishing Way of Life on Britain's Traditional Hill Farms. The Farmer really liked this book and I've got it on my stack to be read this year.

Storey's Guide to Raising Sheep by Paula Simmons and Carol Ekarius. Storey Publishing, 2000. This book has been in print forever and we have at least four copies in various states of disrepair. It covers lots of the basic information you will need if you want to start raising sheep.

James Herriott's books and the BBC t.v. series All Creatures Great and Small. We enjoy reading and watching all of the work this prolific vet did. Can't miss with the humour and descriptions of a time gone by.

Need Help in Minnesota in February!

I'm coming to Minnesota in February - as you can see on my sidebar. I'll be at the Mall of America doing two days of booksignings and some little demos on the 16th and 17th. But here's my conundrum.... and I am hoping some of you fine knitters in Minnesota can help me out.

The thing at the Mall of America will be fine but I want to give a lecture on how I see and use color. I did a similiar lecture at Stitches East in Maryland in October and it was an astounding success. It was so much fun to do and everyone loved it. I would like to share it with the knitters, stitchers, and quilters of Minnesota. There isn't a good space at the MofA which will be dark and quiet. I will bring my laptop with the lecture on it but I'll need a screen and a computer hook-up which can project my photos. The date I am hoping to do it on is Friday the 15th, 2008.

First I contacted the Knitting Guild of Minnesota and their meeting is February 24th, the week after I will be in town. Doesn't work. I've talked with Karen at Needlework Unlimited to see if she had any ideas. She suggested that I contact the Textile Center at the University of Minnesota. I've got a call in there but no response yet. She said the space there is lovely for lectures.

Do any of you have any pull with them? Does anyone else have any other ideas. I really want to do this to spread my word about my books, my colors, and how I see textile design. If you can help, please email me by clicking the email button on my sidebar! Thanks so much. If this works out and someone out there reading my blog puts this all together for me, I will be further impressed by the powers of cyberspace. Fingers crossed!

I don't want to leave you today without a visual image. Here's my photo of the gloves I did for the current Winter issue of Interweave Knits. They're intended to be fun and playful. Each is knit with the same colors but I swapped around the ribs and the base colors. I used a pretty very dark green for all the colorwork. The fingers were knit with the same colors but I placed them different on each hand. My way of breaking up the boredom and making people do a double-take. Boy, do I wish they would send them back to me so I could wear them to Minnesota!

I'm Back

I’m back from Long Beach and I was very lucky to get home before the big snowstorm. I fear many of my friends who were also at the show were stranded in airports throughout the country. I had a wonderful time seeing old friends and meeting some new ones. I had a very successful booksigning at the Unicorn Booth. It’s been about 8 years since I have attended one of these winter shows. I was amazed to observe that so many of the retailers’ faces are new. Most of the shopowners I met weren’t in business 8 years ago. I’m sure there are many longtime shops still going – it’s just that I didn’t meet them this trip.

It was a spring show so most of the yarns shown were cottons, linens and blends. I don’t enjoy knitting with cotton nearly as much as I do wool so the yarns didn’t really interest me. What I did have fun with was meeting some authors I had never met including Susan B. Anderson of “Itty Bitty” fame and Melissa Morgan-Oakes who has a new book out called Two at a Time Socks. I got to re-connect with my old friends at Vogue Knitting, Interweave, and Knitters Magazines. I think I picked up some upcoming projects for which I am thankful and excited about.

The trip was fast and furious – 2 days on planes and 2 days at the show with 3 dinners. It seems that I went out there to eat and meet and greet book distributors. Amy Greeman and Kim Corey at Storey did a great organizational job and it all was totally painless and a bit of fun.


Getting back to my real life always has a bit of de-combustion involved. My family survived but both The Farmer and Julia are really happy I am back. I must say, even the cats are happy I am back. Lambing season isn’t exactly the best time for me to leave this place. Lambing is more than a full-time job and as good of a dad as Mark is, he found it extraordinarily hard to do a good job at both sheep farming and child-rearing. Homework didn't get done (don't ask me why?)! Driving a tractor with a little kid on your lap proved so difficult that he broke a board on the feeding rack and all the sheep escaped. Mass hysteria ensued but luckily his brother and his daughter stopped by unexpectedly and helped round the sheep back up into the pen and fix the fence. Julia spent a little more time at the barn than she really cared to and The Farmer found out just how much energy and time it takes to care for a child all day and night long.

I went to college in the late 70’s during the height of the women’s movement. I always have considered myself a feminist at heart. Luckily, I found a partner who had grown up in a family of boys being raised by a widowed woman. Betty made an example to her boys that there really wasn’t anything a woman couldn’t do. The Farmer has never had any expectations of gender roles in our marriage and for that I am thankful.

But when Julia was born and had her various health issues, surgeries, etc. I was the one who stayed home from work and took over the primary childcare. I wanted to and needed to. I often questioned my choice and asked myself why I was doing it. The choice was financial as well as logistical. I chose to leave a good job and career to take care of Julia. As life bobbled along, I didn’t have much time to become philosophical about the decision nor the need to do it.

Since we moved here to the farm and I began working free-lance, we have somehow fallen into the normal stereotypical male and female roles. I take care of the house, the meals, the gardens and the child. He (The Farmer) takes care of the farm and his business. For now it is working. But I want to be an good example to my daughter. I want her to know that yes, women do work – both inside and outside the home. Women’s work, no matter what it is, is and should be valued. I want her to know that when she grows up and moves out on her own, she can be responsible for herself – both emotionally and financially. I may be worrying about all this before I should (Julia is 9) but after this weekend away, I can’t help but think about it. I’m hoping by going away a few more times this spring for business purposes, it will help her see that yes, I really do work and generate some income that helps to run this here farm.

With two parents who work for themselves, we are an odd example for a child. We feel fortunate that right now, neither of us goes to a typical office and has co-workers. We fit in working around our lives and somehow we are surviving.

Successful Signing and Hoping for Another

Last Saturday, I did a Book Signing at my local yarn shop - Northern Woolies - in Greenfield, MA. Julia has been begging to come to one of these - I'm not sure what all the intrigue is about, but I'm not nine years old. Since this was a local one and I know Christine Copeland - the owner of the store - quite well, I felt it would be safe to bring her along.

Julia had a blast (as did I). Mary Brenner, a very talented local knitter who made the lovely "Coleus Scarf" for the book, came and asked Julia and I to sign her book. Here's a cute photo of Julia so proud of being involved and included. She put a lot of thought into what she wrote and actually left me a little room to sign too.


The signing was well attended and lots of fun. Many enthusiastic knitters - including two men! Wow - how fun! I try to stay well-hidden in the hills here and don't frequent yarn shops very often. I was glad people were excited about the book and my yarn Julia which Northern Woolies is now carrying.

We (that means Northern Woolies and I) are thinking about having a party in a couple months. The reason for the party is to celebrate finished objects from Kristin Knits - or objects inspired by my new book. Anyone local interested? Look for more about it right here on my blog and on the Northern Woolies site.

I'm doing a book signing this Saturday at The National Needlework Association's semi-annual trade show in Long Beach, California. Attendees are all shop-owners. It should be fun to meet a lot of new shop-owners and re-acquaint myself with old friends. And of course, to spread the word about my book. I'm also hoping to talk with lots of designers and authors including Susan B. Anderson who did that wonderful review of my book on her blog!

I'll be back early next week. If you are having "farm withdrawl" (I know I will be - it pains me to leave this wonderful place and my family and be faced with the hustle and bustle of airports, buses, hotels, and trade shows), check out this blog, written by Jon Katz, which I stumbled upon and have been enjoying lately.

If you need a book sent out, don't worry - I'll ship it next week! And thanks to all of you who have ordered from me recently- we all sincerely appreciate it!

Lamb Count - 60
Lambs in the House - 0

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Sometimes when I think about what I do all day, so much has to do with preparing food, serving food, and cleaning up after the food. I think every person with a family feels overwhelmed by the feeding thing once in a while. That's why convenience foods have become so popular. And then when you add a baby to the whole pile of family work, it totally overwhelms any mother. I remember back when Julia was an infant - I felt totally overwhelmed with it all - the bottle and the formula, the dirty laundry, the changing of the diapers. (Yes, I said "overwhelmed" twice - but there really isn't another word for it, is there?) Even making a cup of coffee was hard to accomplish. How to get boiling water into a coffee pot without scalding a young thing - it was all so difficult. I really am glad that stage is over with child-rearing. Trust me - those of you reading this with an infant - it will be over - and you will come out the other side. It's hard to believe, but it does happen.


The Farmer is doing a wonderful job with all his animal baby-rearing. In another month he is going to be plum exhausted. He came home the other night after a late night lamb-check looking a bit weary. Quick to bed to say the least. You see - it is all about food for the sheep and lambs now. It's a delicate balance - feeding hay at the right time and the right amount so the sheep don't waste it. Having enough hay to make it through the winter until the grass starts growing again. Starting to supplement the hay with some kind of grain so the ewes will milk better. But if he supplements too early, he'll have lots of big single lambs that sometimes can't be born easily and end up not making it. It's all a delicate balance but he does a great job! Here are some scenes of lunch at the barn.

Looking at these photos makes baby cereal mixed with a little milk look like a breeze, doesn't it?

Cora and Julia

Last year we had a couple bottle lambs Julia named Cora and Elise. Instead of keeping them at our house, we fed them at the barn so that they would know they were sheep and when they grew and no longer needed milk, they would easily assimilate into the flock. We had learned to do this from past year's experience. The year before last, we kept four lambs here and they decided they didn't want to be sheep. All summer, two in particular kept running into the house whenever the door was open. They kept trying to escape the electric fence and baaahed incessantly whenever they were "punished" by being put with the flock. We eventually had to find other homes for them. Since then, I have gotten a screen door but The Farmer and I decided that raising bottle lambs with the rest of the flock is best for all - sheep, us, and the house.

One of the bottle lambs from last year was named Cora and she was always a little different. She was very friendly and would run up to us whenever we arrived at the barn - feeding time or not. This isn't unusual for a bottle lamb since they count on their person for their food and "motherly" interactions. She would hang around, even after her bottle was finished. She especially liked Julia and any other small children who came to visit. As she grew, she became a sheep and grazed with the flock and did all that a sheep is supposed to do.

Sunday, during our extended stay at the barn, Cora started hanging around us again. She remembered Julia. It was so incredibly cute. I took these photos of the two of them - happy as any re-united friends.


Friends Forever?


Thanks for all the astute observations about the lamb in the house number! You guys are actually reading this thing! As some of you surmised, the little lamb from last week wasn't claimed by anyone. He came up here and had two rough days where he was very weak. The Farmer didn't think he would make it - but he did pull through. He figured out how to suck on a bottle and after a few more days of TLC, he was looking sprite. I woke up a few times in the night to hear the little pitter-patter or clumpety-clump (depending on how you hear it) of his hooves running around the living room.

This morning, on his way back to the farm to become a real sheep, I took the bottle lamb to school to share with the kids. I do what I can to spread the farming word. Julia is the only child in the entire school who has farm animals and lives on a bonafide farm. I feel it is my duty to teach the kids that their food doesn't come from plastic wrapped packages. It's a tough battle but some of them get it and are interested. Others could care less.

Lamb Count - 49 (it was a very busy day at the barn but at least it was warm!)
Lambs in the House - 0

Sunday Lambing

I have wanted to go see the new movie Water Horse and planned to take Julia on Sunday afternoon. Has anyone seen it? Life got in the way. New life, that is.

Julia and I went to check on the progress at the barn early in the afternoon - something we do together during lambing season. If we don't go to the barn, she doesn't get to see here Dad as much as he likes. He's very busy this time of year - feeding sheep, lambs and helping out when someone needs it.

Upon arrival, we saw a brand new lamb and there was another ewe in labor. It was our lucky day - it isn't often we get to see lambs being born. The barn was relatively warm so we sat down and waited. The ewe wasn't too pleased to have human company so we kept our distance.

The ewe was large and definitely experienced with birthing and raising lambs so we weren't too worried about her. Here she is making a nest by pawing at the hay.


We kept waiting patiently, talking amongst ourselves and with Jeremy the llama who was also quite interested in the new life that would be soon appearing. He loves the little lambs.

The ewe continued in labor. Here she is pushing.


This went on for quite awhile. I thought to myself it was taking awhile but The Farmer knows best. And so we kept waiting patiently.

After an hour and a half of her pushing, the sun began to go lower in the sky. We would have to leave soon. Finally a leg and the tip of a nose appeared.


She kept pushing but things weren't progressing. We grabbed a halter and caught the ewe. The next sequence of photos happened extremely fast.

Here The Farmer is pulling out the first leg.


Look hard and you will see the next leg under the first.


With one gentle tug, the lamb began to appear.


The mom is inspecting her new baby and The Farmer is cleaning out the mouth so it can breathe.


The mom is cleaning off the baby and her milk is starting to come down.


Here's the lamb as he is opening his eyes for the first time. He was a monster lamb - huge - and she probably would not have been able to deliver him without help. Lucky we were there.


On his feet after a few minutes and looking for lunch.


Julia inspecting the new member of the flock.


Lamb count - 39
Lambs in the House - 1

Four Below Zero

It is so cold out today. Everything has a blue cast to it. No wonder blue is considered a cool color. It just makes me shiver looking at this photo of the beautiful hill above my brother-in-law's barns.


On days like these, I feel quite apprehensive arriving at the barn. I never know what the cold has brought. I also feel great anticipation. The Farmer is the one who cares mostly for the sheep. I am the moral support and emergency help mostly. Lambing time is a very exciting time to be living on a farm. Okay, maybe not your kind of excitement, but it is exciting for us.


This morning there were five new lambs. One is small and it’s mother is in question. That is – we don’t know who it’s mother is because noone is claiming it. There are two suspects. Could be a problem. Hope not. By the end of the day, we hope it will be sorted out, one way or the other.

One ewe died last night. She was an old sheep and the weather mostly likely stressed her. Old sheep and brutally cold do not make a good combination.

Lamb Count at the Barn – 37
Lamb Count in the House - 0

Back to Normal - Almost

The holidays are over and the humans on this farm are all finding it difficult to revert back to the normal day-to-day business of life. Back to school. Back to business. How quickly the holiday euphoria slips away.

Our animals, smart as they are, didn’t get caught up in the over-indulging, the merrying and the harried-ness. (I must admit though that I did slip them all a bunch of goodies cooked especially for them on several occassions.) Our kitten Otto is putting it all in perspective here – he’s found a nice warm spot under a chair which is covered with snow. It's like a mini-igloo. He’s waiting out the winter here – at least for a little while.


Today, after I dropped Julia off at school, I went to the barn to see what was going on. There was a black ewe in labor. I left her alone, partly because it was dark and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get good photos of the birth for you, and also because she seemed quite skittish.

The sheep aren’t as accustomed to me poking around the barn. The Farmer is the most regular visitor. Here he is driving an 800 lb. bale of hay into the greenhouse barn to feed the sheep.


The sheep are eating snow right now for their water intake. They line up along the barn and eat the fresh fallen snow as it plummets off the roof of the barn. You can see them in the photo below along with the others lounging in the sun.


I went back in the the barn and the ewe had lambed. Here’s the new black lamb - quite a big one for the size of the mother. She was up on her feet in no time. It never ceases to amaze me. The white ewe had a lamb yesterday but was still quite interested in the new arrival.



And yes, that is steam rising from the lamb. It was cold and she was very warm.

Very Local Book Signing This Saturday

For any local knitters in western Massachusetts, I'll be doing a book signing at Northern Woolies in Greenfield, this Saturday, January 5th from 10 to noon. I'll have projects from Kristin Knits, Colorful Stitchery, and Kids Embroidery with me. Please stop by if you can fit it into your day. I'd love to chat!

The address is 24 Miles Street, Greenfield, Massachusetts, 01301.
Phone is 413-774-3999

Hope to see some of you there!

2007 becomes 2008

As the Year 2007 turns to the Year 2008, everyone thinks of new beginnings. I do not get overly sentimental about the new year. Knowing my tendencies, I do not expect any new and great changes from myself nor The Farmer. We are pretty much the same people we have been for many years, just adapting to life as it rolls along.

Living on a farm we are perhaps a bit more atuned to the natural calendar of the year. Not that we get overly poetic and spiritual. It is as it is. The days become shorter and we adapt. The days eventually will become longer and we will adapt again and change the things that we do to live as we do.

Three days before Christmas, this little lamb appeared.


Today, a Tuesday and New Year’s Day 2008, was lovely. We had a beautiful light and fluffy snowstorm, the second since Sunday. Julia and I have been away visiting relatives. The night before we were to leave my mom's home in New Jersey, I started to dream about the farm and the sheep and the lambs. I knew it was time we both got back here.


Today, in the early afternoon, we drove to the sheep barn. (It is five miles from our farmhouse.) The snow was rapidly falling and there were 23 brand new lambs to meet and inspect since Julia and I had left. The ewes have been incredibly busy. It was a lovely scene with everyone healthy and happy. The moms were all fed and munching on hay. The lambs were all taking good care of their babies.


In the next few weeks, there will be many more born. There will be some sadness and lots of joy. That is what it is like on a farm. We take the good with the bad and carry on.


I hope you and yours enjoy all that is new and special in 2008 and enjoy what has always been.