Bleak November Days and Heading Towards Even Shorter Days....

We're almost done with November and the colors have gone from those beautiful autumn tones to just plain old gray. Yesterday was the grayest day that even I who am pretty upbeat most of the time just got weighed down by the dreariness of it all. Every day gets shorter and it makes it harder and harder to get much done outside. This time of year really gets to The Farmer just because of that. It seems we have barely taken the dogs on their morning walks around the fencelines before the sun has even poked over the mountain....

....than we turn around and the sun is setting in the west. I don't have those seasonal problems with lack of light but I live with someone who does. Mostly I think it is is his frustration with the lack of time to get things done. His days are filled with moving hay from various fields up to the winter barns, picking up portable fencing that is spread all over the town, and trying to get the barns ready for lambing. I actually can't wait until the lambs start coming because it will give him something to focus on! 

Seems like forever ago I have had any photos on here of sheep. They are still grazing what's left of the grass on various hayfields. Here are the adult ewes - all starting to show signs of pregnant bellies. Looks like a lot of sheep, doesn't it? There are about 230 ewes and 4 rams within that flock. That is going to be a lot of birthing!

And here is Eeyore being friendly to all the onlookers on the Thanksgiving hayride.

I feel fortunate that I have my knitting to occupy my evenings. I actually get rather charged up this time of year trying to fit everything in. Project ideas start flowing and it is impossible to get them all knit. But I try. I feel a bit burned out on cooking now and just want to eat soup that I can let simmer so I can knit instead of prepping meals. 

I heard from Debi, one of my regular readers who is crazily making flowers. She was having trouble with the seaming of the flowers so I snapped her a photo of before and after seaming. I'll share them with you here in case anyone else had the same concern. Her concern was that the centers didn't look round enough. You can see that mine don't either (photo on left). Photo on right shows after seaming when the funny looking piece turns into a center. Hope this helps!

You can buy the pattern on my Shop Page Here or on Ravelry here. (Sorry for the broken record but I know that lots of readers don't scroll down to older posts.)

I'll leave you with a photo of our house with the two Great Pyrenees puppies out front. The sheep had moved into the pastures yesterday morning and these guys took up their posts within the fences. These dogs are working dogs and will be living with the sheep their entire lives. They have very thick coats and should do fine. They have shelter in the form of a calf hutch with a hay bed but I haven't seen them in there for weeks. Every night they bark and bark and bark - good thing we don't have close neighbors. Their breed goes back thousands of years and they were bred to protect flocks of sheep in Asia and then moved to Europe. You can read more about Great Pyrenees dogs on this website if you are interested. I really think they are going to help our coyote predation problem. They have enormous barks that I think would scare anyone away.

 Good day everyone!

Craft Day after Thanksgiving chez Nancy + A Puppy Update

Hope you all are recovering from your Thanksgiving festivities. It seems so long ago already considering how much we have packed in. Julia is back at school, Mom left for home yesterday, and I'm trying to figure out my new computer. Now I remember why I don't update programs and eek out to the very last day a computer. I hate those changes because I find them so frustrating because things never work the same! I will get through it....

My sister Nancy is the Queen of birch bark. This year's craft project was wrapping candles in the bark she collected in the woods near her home. This is super simple to do.... Wrap the bark around the candle giving a decent size overlap (at least 1"). Then glue gun the bark pieces together so they form a cylinder that the candle sits in. Trim the bark so it is even at the top and bottom with heavy scissors. You can add odd bits of funky shaped bark for interest. It takes all of about 15 minutes - the hardest part is finding the bark.

They do look pretty burning, don't they?

After we finished the candle project, out came my new knitting pattern for Zinnias and Sunflowers. Most of my sisters and nieces know how to knit which is pretty cool. They don't have a lot of time in their lives so their knitting hobby comes and goes with the cycles of their lives. They were inspired to make the flowers for gifts for teachers and friends.

I had such a fun time teaching them all how to make them. This is Laurie and her daughter Olivia who has just begun university in Pennsylvania.

This is my wonderful Mom Nancy smiling, sister Nancy concentrating hard and her daughter Lillian who began a garter stitch scarf.

Here's the happy cousins minus one who ran off to a basketball game. What a nice day!

I got an email this morning from a reader who was just beginning her Zinnia Flowers from my new PDF pattern. She wanted to know how I made the flowers I featured on my Thanksgiving napkin rings. 

I thought more of you might be curious too. I followed the basic instructions for the Small Zinnia with Short Petals making six petals each. I did a combination of small and large centers depending on the mood I was in. Some of the flowers had the Bobbled Edge. The ones that didn't have the bobbles were decorated with alternating colors of French Knots (the instructions for the French Knots are in the Sunflower section of the pattern). I made all of these in 3 nights and felted them twice in my front-loading washer. The petals for both the Sunflowers and Zinnias are done by working "short rows." If you have never done "short rows" I suggest in the pattern that you mark where your short rows originate.

If I were teaching this as a class, I would have my students make one of each flower size. Then I would suggest they make up their own variations by changing the number of stitches in the short row sections. That's what my sisters and Mom are doing. And it is okay if you just want to follow the exact instructions. Just know that there is lots of room for creativity if you can find it in your holiday hectic life! You can buy the pattern on my Shop Page Here or on Ravelry Here. 

And now for a puppy update! Man oh man, are Archie and Winston growing like weeds. When they arrived, they were half the size of the Border Collies. Now they are the same size. And the growing hasn't stopped yet. They will most likely be twice as big as the Collies! They have lovely tempermants and giant barks! 

 

I'm loving watching their personalities develop. Their demeanor is incredibly different than the Border Collies we have had for years and years. There's nothing like the joy in a puppy!

Scenes from our Thanksgiving Holiday + Felted Flower Napkin Ring/Pin Favors

Thanksgiving has come and gone. What a wonderful day we had here at our farmhouse. It was full of family, good food and drink, and laughter. It sure is a lot of work getting this house in shape. Mom came on Tuesday and helped out (Thank you Mom!). Here is our dining room the morning of the day. Normally this room is my shipping room and the spot we keep all our farmers market supplies. The table is never clear. But that morning it was.

After the turkeys went into the ovens, we started working on the table. I know - all of this is supposed to be done the day before. But not in my lifetime. I piled on my Indian block printed tablecloths/bedspreads (like these) and then collected some ethnic fabrics from my stash. Since Thanksgiving is "my" holiday, I put few little turkeys ......

amongst some moss and added an obligatory farmer and his sheep statue.  After all, this is a sheep farm....

We collected some bittersweet from the orchard - love the color this time of year even if it is invasive as all get-out! and plopped it into some old green glass bottles with some faded sunflower heads....

 

Candles lit.....

Ready to go!

I'm not much for lots of planning of parties. In fact, this is almost the only party I throw all year with the exception of Julia's b-day and my Getting Stitched on the Farm Retreat Dinners. My sisters are great at planning and throwing parties but since I am the most disorganized person on the planet, it's not in my DNA. But this year, I did do a bit in advance. Since I have been in the Knitted Flower Mood, I decided to knit all the sisters, moms, and cousins a flower. It took me three nights and I made extras but it was a fun project. Here they are before felting....

 

I sewed pin backs from the craft store onto the back of each flower after felting. Then I made napkin rings out of green wool fabric that I had hanging around. 

Thanksgiving morning I set them all up with their napkins on the table for their beauty shot.

There was a flurry of excitement as everyone chose their favorite flower color. 

And now they all have a pretty little pin to wear on their winter coats to remember the day by! I sent the extra napkin rings and flowers off to family members who couldn't make the trip and a good friend/knitter who is in rehab after a stroke (get well soon Peggy!). 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Now onto the next! 

If you want to do the same kind of project for your Christmas festivities, you can order the Sunflower and Zinnia to Knit and Felt new pattern available on the Shop Page of my website here or on Ravelry.

Happy Crafty Friday After Thanksgiving + Sunflowers and Zinnias to Knit and Felt - A New PDF Download Pattern

It's Crafty Friday for our family - a perfect way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. Julia and I are off to my sister Nancy's to spend it with cousins, sisters and Mom. We'll be working on getting rid of all that turkey, stuffing, and the leftover desserts. I'm hoping that a nice little walk on their country road will also happen.

It's also launch day is here for my new Sunflowers and Zinnias to Knit and Felt! And just in time for Christmas knitting! Read all about the pattern here on my website.

Grab some wool yarn that felts and some #9 needles. (I used my Julia Yarn which is still available at Webs here. There are still some beautiful flower colors left.) Buy the PDF Instant Download Pattern on my online store or over on Ravelry.

That's it - all you need for gazillions of Christmas Gifts. The pattern is 22 pages long and full of ideas for how to use the flowers and 50 photos and costs $6.00. They are easy to knit in garter stitch. The shaping happens with short rows. Seriously addicting fun gift knitting!

I'll leave you with a photo collage of Celia wearing the flowers. The hat is my Quarters Cap sized for babies and adults also available in my shop or on Ravelry for $4.50 (another seriously addicting pattern). Have a great weekend everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving + Felted Flower Launch Tomorrow...

May all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day full of friends, family, and good food. May your table be colorful....

and your couch nice and cosy for that after the meal nap.

 

Thank you all for all the support you give us here at the farm. From my family to yours.....

Happy Thanksgiving.

Felted Flower Countdown - 3 Days to Go... + a Crafty Friday after Thanksgiving

When we first started our Thanksgiving Family Tradition here on the farm, my sisters, Mom and I planned a two day holiday - Thanksgiving and "The Day after Thanksgiving." We jointly decided that we would spend one day here at our house and the second Thanksgiving Day at my sister Nancy's house who lives about an hour from here in Jaffrey, NH. No "black Friday" shopping - just eating, laughing, telling stories and crafting of some kind. What began as a fluky, one time day has developed into a family tradition. We call it "Craft Day After Thanksgiving." We all drive to Nancy's and spend the day gathered around her dining room table making some kind of craft in between eating turkey sandwiches and soup. The first year we made wreaths, gathering the greens outside. The projects have varied over the years. One year we made Holiday Birch Houses. You can see my Tutorial for them here.....

The last two years we did needle felting and I discovered that there was something that had to do with wool that I didn't enjoy! Everyone was making fun of me but that was okay. Here's the photo of the little elves that the girls made.

Last year's Friday After Thanksgiving Craft Day Gnomes

I came home and knit up my own little elves and felted them in the washing machine. I much prefer knitting needles to felting needles. Here's that project FREE on Ravelry.

Knitted Felted Gnomes

I'm not sure what craft Nancy has planned for us but we will have a great day laughing and seeing how every project turns out. We'll be missing two sisters and two nephews but they will be in our thoughts and conversations. I can't wait to catch up with everyone.

I urge you all to take time to enjoy the day after Thanksgiving by making something - anything - with friends or family if possible. Or plan a special afternoon in December with friends making ornaments before Christmas. Like you all know, there's nothing better than doing things with your hands - much better than battling crowds and spending money just because the media and advertising agencies tell us we should. And sharing time with friends and family at the same time is a bonus.

Now onto the Countdown.... Here's niece Celia modeling a Felted Brooch that is part of the Sunflowers + Zinnias To Knit and Felt PDF pattern that is launching on Friday. Love the colors in the photo....

Niece Celia with a Felted Zinnia Brooch

Here is a Felted Sunflower on a cosy I made for The Farmer's iPad. I handsewed the sunflower over the closure area. Now his iPad is dressed and warm!

 

Come back tomorrow for Thanksgiving wishes and another preview of the new pattern which will launch on Friday.  If you want to be ready to knit, grab some worsted weight yarn (I used my Julia) and size 9 needles. Come back and download the pattern on Friday and you'll have your own knitting afternoon!

Felted Flower Countdown - 4 Days to Go... + Kitchen Chat

I spend most of my time in my kitchen these days. Good thing I just love our kitchen. I work on my laptop in a comfy wing chair. When we moved here, the original kitchen was in the basement. I am told basement kitchens are called "summer kitchens." Our house was renovated in the late 1940's by an architect and he added the ell off the original 1751 house. Not sure about his reasonings for a kitchen in the basement but he and his family only lived here during the summers and perhaps it was cooler. When we moved here we converted 3 rooms on the first floor ell into our present day kitchen. It was a mess of a lot of work and money but I am so glad we did it then. I turned the old kitchen into my studio and worked there. I still use that space but because I changed my computer from a standard desktop to a laptop, my work tends to travel around the house. 

Having the kitchen upstairs makes this house so much more livable. The kitchen is full of lots of my colorful pottery and antique china. It is the nerve center of our house - like most homes. The kitchen table is usually covered with stuff - magazines, The Farmer's iPad, old cups of coffee, a vase of flowers and usually a cat or two is sleeping on a chair. The light pours in nicely and I take many photos on the kitchen table - especially the food shots I have been taking lately. 

 

The photo above shows you one of my favorite spots in the kitchen. It is the little window beside the stove and next to the trash can. Do you see the different colored glass in the windows? All of the old windows in the house have tinted glass in shades of lavender, green, and clear with bubbles and lines through them. Love that! The windows are not efficient but I will have a hard time replacing them. Our friend Bob and I built the shelves one weekend and I store all my tea on the little shelves. If you look closely, I have added a Sunflower Garland above one of the shelves made out of the upcoming Sunflower and Zinnia Pattern. This shot was tricky to get with all the backlight pouring in. I've been working hard on trying to master my camera and figure out how to actually get a photo like this to work. I've been enjoying the Photography Section on The Pioneer Woman's website. There are all kinds of fun tips and trick. Check it out here.

Our kitchen will be having quite a work-out this week beginning today. Mom arrives for Thanksgiving tonight. The turkeys have been purchased and the cooking will begin and pies will be baked. Mom makes a gorgeous pie. I can't wait - Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday because it is all about the food and friendship and there is no gift pressure. I love sharing our house with our family and friends, whether it is a small dinner or big over the top holiday shindig.

Like I wrote about yesterday, I use handmade wool potholders exclusively. And now I have two new ones shown above! I made them out of two of the Felted Sunflower and Zinnias. I am including the instructions on how to make the potholders in the pattern that launches on Friday. Here's another view. 

Which photo do you like best? The hanging potholders or the potholders on the black background?

Felted Flower Countdown - 5 Days to Go + Mom's B-Day Gift

My friend and tech editor Lori and I have been working like crazy on the upcoming Sunflowers and Zinnia pattern. It should launch by noon on Friday. Had a bit of a snafu with my over 4 year old Mac Book Pro on Sunday - just when I was closing in on the finishing of the pattern. All of a sudden the screen went black. I couldn't revive it. To say panic ensued would be mild. Off I went to Brown Computer Solutions in Brattleboro this morning and somehow it was revived miraculously (at no charge - that place is really wonderful). They told me not to trust it though and it looks like I'm going to be in the market for a new Mac Book Pro shortly. Oh, how I hate to spend the money on it but my computer has become my life - crazy as that seems..... I've got a good back-up and will religiously back it up every day now, knowing this old thing's days are numbered. I hope I can make it to the new year on this one.

Lori and I were talking about the PDF Download Pattern Collection that has been developing here on the blog and website. It has grown organically, depending on what I wanted to knit and design at any particular time. I didn't realize it but at least half the patterns are felted. Guess I like felting. Wondering about all of you. Do you still like to felt your knitting? Someone - don't remember who - told me felting was over. I'm not inclined to agree with that though. I just love the fabric that is produced when I felt wool - it is so thick and textural and gorgeous. I love it for home decorating and home products. I just finished a set of potholders for my Mom's birthday. I'll be giving them to her at Thanksgiving (late, as usual - her birthday is in October). 

These are potholders from my Swirly Twirly Pattern which is available on my website here and on Ravelry here. They are a really fun knit. Here they are before felting.

Mom's birthday present before felting

I lined Mom's potholders with a pretty colorful check. It isn't necessary to line them though but I know my mom and I think she would like them lined. They actually would be more fire-proof if they weren't lined. Here they are in different views via PicFrame app on my iPhone... 

Have you ever used wool potholders? I can't tell you how super fantabulous they are! They don't catch on fire pretty much ever - you have to leave them on top of a pot for a long time in order for that to happen. I will not lie - I have scorched them but sometimes I am a careless cook! The Swirly Twirly Potholders are nice and thick and it's pretty impossible to burn yourself. I only use wool potholders - never cotton. If you have a Christmas gift to knit for someone who loves to cook, this is a great pattern.

Now onto the next preview of the Sunflower and Zinnia Pattern..... Here's gorgeous niece Celia modeling a tweed scarf.....

I hand-stitched two different color flowers to the bottom of a piece of wool tweed fabric from my fabric stash that I ripped into scarf size.

Close-up of the bottom edge of the scarf

I love how this photo came out. It was a cloudy, grey day and I used the sky as a backdrop for Celia. Pop back everyday this week for another preview - that is if my computer keeps working! The pattern will be live by noon on Friday.

My niece Celia modeling the tweed scarf

Felted Flower Countdown - 6 Days to Go... and Amherst Farmer's Market Ends for 2011

Yesterday was the last day of the Saturday Amherst Farmer's Market. It was cold and raw but great fun seeing our customers for the last time outside this year. We were very lucky to be included in this market for the 35 Saturdays it ran in 2011. Besides selling lots of our farm-raised lamb, we met so many new friends in the vendors including Julie and Deanna from Bread Euphoria in Haydenville (do you know about chocolate bouchons - Julia's favorite), Ann from Crystal Brook Farm (yummy goat cheese), Jeanette Fellows from Chase Hill Farm (fabulous organic cheese and veal), Roxanne and Maureen from Austin Brothers Farm (beef and pork and a corn maze!) and many more. Everyone needs a break and the winters here in New England are when farmers typically re-charge their batteries...... unless you are a sheep farmer and you lamb in the winter months of January, February and March like we do. Olympia, our paper mache mascot needs a bit of repair..... her ears have really had a hard time surviving the rides in the back of the truck.

Here's my little family staying warm in their Quarters Caps made by moi. This pattern is such a fun quick knit and is available on my webpage for PDF Download or on Ravelry. My Farmer is really picky about his hats. He doesn't like them too tight and this design is great because the garter stitch stretches really nice. It's a great choice for those of you just beginning your knitting career. $4.50 and sized for babies to adults and made with my (sadly discontinued but still available at Webs) Julia worsted weight yarn.

Here's Sneak Peek #2 of my new Sunflowers and Zinnias To Knit and Felt Pattern which is launching Friday, Novemer 25th. I couldn't stop knitting these things. And using them on all kinds of accessories including this new Harris Tweed bag I sewed last week. 

And a detail shot.....

Have you seen what this French knitter/blogger is doing? She makes statements about politics by knitting up little figures depicting political figureheads and cleverly photographing them in miniature scenes. She began with the hotel scandal back in May and keeps going. You can read more about it here. Craft Political Activism for sure. You never know where knitting will go next, do you?

Felted Flower Countdown - 7 Days to Go + Lamb Curry with Old Friends Farm Turmeric

Today is the last day of the Amherst Farmers Market. It is the day to stock up on all those beautiful farm-raised veggies from all our vendor friends. I'm going to be picking up a bit of fresh ginger from Old Friends Farm which I will keep in the freezer. Missy and Casey also grow a bit of turmeric. Crazy huh? Didn't you think it only came as powder from the spice aisle? Here's what the roots look like.

With it, I'll be making some lamb curry. I must admit, curried meat dishes are not something that The Farmer nor I were ever served as a child. It took our first visit to a visit to an Indian restaurant in Great Britain in 1980 to learn how lovely they are. The Brits are so lucky to have Indian fare on every street corner in every small town, aren’t they? 

The closest Indian restaurant to our farm is 30 minutes away so I had to teach myself how to make my own lamb curry.  And much to my amazement, it wasn’t hard - it just took a visit to the spice aisle at the food coop to stock up on some spices that weren’t in my American spice cabinet.

Grating fresh turmeric

 There's nothing quite like a pot of curry simmering on the stove when you walk in the door. What a fabulous aroma! This is my basic curry recipe which will serve 4 people. Double it if want leftovers or something for the freezer. I have given dry spice measurements for the turmeric knowing that most of you won't be able to get fresh roots.

Lamb Curry

2 Tablespoons olive oil       

1 large onion, chopped

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. lamb shoulder roast or shoulder chops - bone-in or 1 pound stew meat

9 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced   

1 large knob fresh ginger - grated (2 Tablespoons grated)

1 Tablespoon ground cumin       

1 small knob turmeric - grated or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 Tablespoon paprika           

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 cloves               

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 pods green cardoman       

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste (if you want it spicy)

1 small 14 oz. can tomatoes       

1 teaspoon salt

Brown the onions and the lamb in the oil. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, paprika, nutmet, cloves, cinnamon, cardoman pods, coriander and optional cayenne pepper and brown for a couple of minutes, taking care not to burn.  Add the tomatoes, salt and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and immediately then turn down to low. Simmer on the top of the stove over low heat for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is falling apart and off the bone.

If you have time, let the curry sit to let the flavors develop. Serve over basmati rice or rice pilaf. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Flower Countdown - 7 Days til Launch!

Here's your first preview of the Felted Flowers Pattern which is launching in 7 days. I've really gone overboard with this pattern! It's been hard not to reveal all the fun things I've been knitting, felting and photographing. Here's my kitchen table with Sunflower Coasters. How fun! 

Keep stopping back each day - I will show you a new project that will be featured in the Felted Flower Pattern which will be available next Friday November 25th - just in time for quick gift knitting.