Orange

Orange is the color of the day here on Halloween in the States. I love the color orange - it is positively warm and beautiful. It inspires my knitting, my home, and our clothing.

 

So nice to be surrounded by it in nature, if only for a brief time in October. This photo was taken a couple weeks ago. There is barely a leaf left on the trees now.

This year's chicks are grown. I chose orange Buff Orpingtons and they are beginning to lay now.

The turning leaves from the hills behind the growing lamb looks like a painting, doesn't it?

For all you spinners out there, you can see what all the rain has done to this lamb's fleece. I'm wondering how other farmers wool has fared through this crazy weather.

Scotch Broth Soup

They are predicting 8 to 12 inches of snow for Saturday night! Needless to say - we aren't exactly prepared for winter. That much snow in October? Crazy!

Saturday we are off to the Amherst Farmers Market. It is supposed to be a high of 40 and we'll be standing there shivering. I'll be dreaming of warm and cozy soup - one of my favorite winter lunch and dinner foods. Continuing on with the Scottish and British theme of the past few weeks, here's a new soup recipe for you to try. If you can't find lamb, you can use beef - but it won't be the same.

When I was a kid, I ate a lot of canned Campbell's soup. It was something I could make myself for lunch - heck all I had to do was use a can opener, pour it in a pan and light the stove. I loved soup, still do. When I moved out on my own, I learned to cook my own soup from scratch. My freezer is full of leftover chicken carcasses and lamb bones that I pull out and make stock with. One of my very favorite soups was Campbell's Scotch Broth Soup (immortalized by Andy Warhol and print available here). (Sadly, I hear Campbell's Scotch Broth Soup is no longer available in the States but it is still for sale in Canada.) 

When we started with sheep way back when, I knew I had to find out how to make my own Scotch Broth from scratch. And so I did. I make this soup several times in the fall and winter. Boy is it yummy and comforting. Of course you could substitute beef but take it from me, it will not be the same.

Scotch Broth Soup

A fall and winter favorite here at our farm, Scotch Broth Soup is total comfort food. The smooth taste of the lamb stock mixed with winter root veggies can’t be beat. I use our shoulder chops for the meat and add a few extra bones if I have them to make a richer stock. Resist the temptation to increase the barley - you don’t need a lot and it will swell by the second day. In fact, when re-heating, you may find it necessary to add a little water. This soup also freezes well.

1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil

1 pound lamb stew meat or shoulder chops (the bones add extra flavor)

2 leeks – white part only sliced thin

1 onion

2 sticks celery

2 large potatoes or 4 small

2 small turnips or parsnips (or both!)

3 – 4 large carrots

1/ 2 cup pearl barley

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the stew meat in a large soup pot. Dice the onion and add it to the meat in pan. Cut the leek into thin slices. Add to the meat and onions. Chop the celery and add to the browning meat mixture.

While meat mixture is browning, peel the turnips, carrots, and potatoes. Chop turnips, carrots and potatoes into pieces all the same size so they will cook at an equal rate.

Once the meat is thoroughly browned, cover with water. Bring to a boil, then lower immediately to a simmer.  After five minutes, add the barley, root veggies, herbs and salt and pepper. Cover and cook until barley is tender - about 45 minutes. Remove bones from shoulder chops if necessary. (They may have fallen out so look in the pot - or warn your guests.) 

Serve immediately. This soup, as with most, will taste better the second day. It will be necessary to add some water when re-heating as the barley will swell. This soup freezes nicely too.

 

 Print this recipe.

Jane Brocket's Gentle Art of Knitting + a Giveaway

Jane Brocket is an internet crush of mine. Her Yarnstorm was the first blog I stumbled upon many years ago. I didn't know what a blog was and I have no clue how I got there but I fell in love with her tulip photography and writing about all the domestic things she loves and does. Reading Jane's blog gave me the feeling that I had found a soul sister - someone else who shared my passions, love of color, handmade things, family, wine, chocolate, baked goods, and travel. I have never met Jane but we have written back and forth a few times. I admire her and what she does and how she writes about knitting, baking, and more and her colorful photographs.

From her little blog, Jane has moved onto other things. Her blog morphed into her first book The Gentle Art of Domesticity which was picked up by STC in the States. She got lots of press (mostly in the UK) - both good and bad - which had to have its ups and downs and highs and lows. When you put so much of yourself out there like Jane did in that book and the press and people have strong opinions about it..... well, let's just say, it had to be stressful. But ink is ink and the book sold. (BTW - that book is now OOP and crazily expensive on the web!)

Jane has written several more books including one on quilting (The Gentle Art of Quilting), some children's books, a baking book, a kids project and games book and now for all of us knitters - a knitting book called The Gentle Art of Knitting. It is lovely. Full of beautiful photos and colors and funky projects that are "vintage" looking even if when you knit them they are brand new.

Jane used my now sadly discontinued Julia Yarn in one of the great projects in her lovely new book - The  School Colors Scarf and Blanket. How nice it is to see my colors knit up and shown in such a special project and book. For this blanket, Jane used double moss stitch and knit five "scarves" that were then sewn into one big blanket. I cannot imagine how beautiful this blanket would be to snuggle under. All that wool, alpaca, and mohair loveliness and drape and texture. Yum. (Check out the close-out on the Julia over on the Webs page.)

Other fun retro projects include the obligatory "hottie" or as we say in the states "hot water bottle cosy." "Hottie" sounds much more fun doesn't it?

I love the retro feeling "Wheel of Colour Cushions" which are made using a short row technique. My Aunt Boots used to have pillows like this on her sofa (she called it the settee). Are they not fab?

I've always had a penchant for luxurious handmade coverings for wooden hangers. How decadent to actually cover a hanger with handknit stitches. What a great way to treat your clothes. And what a nice shower present these would make.

It's pretty hard to resist the cuteness of Jane's knit "bunting." Although this isn't really an American kind of thing, it sure is cute. It would make great Christmas garland. Great photo - love all those plates on the shelves. 

On Yarnstorm, Jane has written a lot about making crochet ripple afghans. Her book gives the basic pattern she uses (in crochet, not knit). The timing is absolutely perfect (as are the colors) with all the fever about Target and their Missoni Collection (which I never even saw!) 

Each project is introduced with a page of text including her inspiration and back story to the pattern. These are my favorite parts of her book. Most publishers give an author a paragraph to wax on about the project. At least this publisher had the sense to let Jane do what she does beautifully - write about handmade things and the act of making them. This is not a sweater book although there is one easy to knit basic design. There are a few scarf, sock, hat and glove patterns but what this book really celebrates is the handknit object for the home. The projects are vintage-inspired and fun and would make great gifts for the holidays. Congratulations to Jane on her latest big project. May she have many more.

And now that you have gotten to the end of this post, I've got great news for you all. See, it pays to read to the end, doesn't it? Jane's British publisher is going to send a copy of The Gentle Art of Knitting to the winner of this Giveaway! Here's how you enter......

Answer this question in the comments section of this post: In keeping with the title of Jane's first book, What is your favorite "gentle art of domesticity" and why? Thanks for reading, as always.

PLEASE LEAVE AN EASY WAY TO GET A HOLD OF YOU.

Contest ends Wednesday November 2nd at 11:59 p.m.

Contest closed. The winner was Kristin Farrell. Congrats! Your book is coming from the UK.

Meet Winston and Archie and their New Morning Duties

So sorry this has been such a long time in coming but things have been busy. Thanks so much for all the name suggestions for our two new pups. Our family decision was to stick with "Archie" for one of the pups. This decision came with approval from my Mom who thought Daddy would have liked to have a dog named after him - considering he was such a dog lover. The choice of Winston (after Mr. Churchill) was unanimous with the three of us here. Thanks to all of you for all the awesome name ideas! We had to choose names that could be called out across a field and which would sound different. 

"The Boys" as we have been calling them have begun learning their territory. Every morning, shortly before sunrise, they get fed and then it is time for them to go to work learning their boundaries. The other morning I tagged along. The sun was just peaking over the mountain.

 

The electric fence got turned off and opened up. 

Out went the sheep to graze.

Archie and Winston followed The Farmer around the inside of the night pasture. 

 Then it was time to walk the other pastures.

We have one very open pasture and two other fenced pastures that are abandoned apple orchards. Over the past couple years we have had permanent fencing put in to protect the sheep from the wildlife that are their predators. Until a month ago, things had been fine. And then this..... 

Each morning, all four dogs walk the fences with their boss.

They walk down towards Glen Brook....

 

Along the way, we found one of many tunnels the coyotes have been working on. 

Archie and Winston had a good sniff.

 

More walking.....

 All four dogs seem to be loving this new morning ritual. 

 And more walking....

By the time we came up out of the lower orchard, the sun was shining.

The boys are growing so fast. I can't believe how much bigger they are since this photo was taken last week. 

Thanks again for all your help with the names. Get ready for more puppy photos as the boys grow.

Teaching at Stitches East Hartford and Upcoming Classes at VKLive

I'm back from teaching a couple of classes at Stitches East in Hartford. As always, it is great for me to see many old friends, meet new ones, and meet many blog readers. My classes were at the beginning of the convention so the students were fresh and ready to learn - not exhausted from knitting overload. Here is a montage of the embroidery samplers the students did in my Friday a.m. class. 

I used this cool app called PicFrame to compose the collage on my iPhone. If you don't know it, check it out here. 

Here's a really cute photo of all some of my students. They were so serious and quiet (it was 8:30) and worked so hard. At the end of the class, we placed all the swatches on a table and they all climbed up on chairs to take photos. Really sweet - don't you love it?!

The highlight of my weekend was Julia and my Sunday afternoon lunch date with the fabulously talented color genius Anna Zilboorg. If there is one author I really admire in the current knitting world, it is Anna. Eating lunch with her, sharing our tales of author-ship, publishing, and life in general is my favorite memory of the weekend. I have a small collection of Anna books that I treasure dearly. My favorite is her self-published title "Knitting for Anarchists." Do you know it? Lots of writing about knitting.

Her "Magnificent Mittens" has just been re-published by XRX. It was Anna's idea. The book was selling on Amazon and eBay for huge amounts of money and Anna didn't think it was fair that newish knitters couldn't buy it reasonably. She added an entire section on socks and it is now called "Magnificent Mittens and Socks" and is a paperback book. If you don't own it, make sure you add it to your library. A truly beautiful book.

You can listen to a podcast with Anna here on the FiberBeat podcast. I haven't listened yet but plan to later when I have some knitting to do. She has a lovely voice - so soothing. And such a wise woman.

I have one more fall event to do. I'm the featured speaker at the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild up in Shelburne, VT. The meeting is being held at the Shelburne Museum.  It will be wonderful to speak about color to rug-hookers. I hope I don't come home with another craft I want to try.

The registration is open for VK Live in NYC January 14 - 16. The roster is loaded with lots and lots of fabulous teachers. Should be a really great time. Let's hope there isn't a big snowstorm but I will get there somehow. Can't wait to meet some of you there. Check it out - the Big Apple in January..... What could be better?

Kit Mitchell - A Fellow Lover of All Things Scottish Countryside

I have long been a fan of British produced domestic goods, woolens, fabrics, pottery, china..... the list goes on and on. I think the first really special British thing I remember purchasing was my first Yardley of London Lipstick (remember these?). My sister Lynn and I walked to downtown Dover to one of the old-fashioned pharmacies. I bought peach and she bought pink. I still can feel the excitement as I dialed up that shiny, frosty stick from that bright pink, orange, black and white mod tube. Oh, did I feel like a grown-up glamour girl in all of my seventh grade duds complete with 70's style frosted lips. (I have also been reliving that moment this fall as Julia has delved into the world of lip glosses! So cute.) That was it - I was hooked on the British thing. Mary Quant followed not long after. When I began to sew, I discovered the incredible Jean Muir through her sewing patterns licensed to Vogue Patterns. And who can forget Pringle's of Scotland Fair Isle Yoke woolen sweaters - I wore them all through college.

The year that The Farmer and I got married, we took our first trip to the UK. We were in the beginning years of our sheep farm and together we drove through the Yorkshire Moors and the Borders of Scotland, falling in love with the Scottish and English countryside. A few years later, we traveled farther north in Scotland - visiting the Isle of Skye. On that trip, we took a ferry to the Isle of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. This had always been a dream of mine. I had always known about Harris Tweed fabric because Dad used to wear sport coats made of it. I loved learning about the making of the fabric, the crofters who wove it in their weaving sheds. I was desperate to actually see the fabric being woven, experience the weather, the smell of peat fires, and hoped to purchase some authentic Harris Tweed from the source.

All of the memories of our trips to Scotland have rushed back to me with the arrival of my new Harris Tweed bag and polka dot wool and cashmere scarf! Aren't they just incredible?

They came from Kit Mitchell, an on-line business which is owned by fellow knitter and friend Kathleen Mitchell. We met through odd circumstances. Kit was featured in The Farmer's UMass Alumni Magazine several years ago. I often leaf through it because there are always interesting stories of what folks do after college. This article caught my eye because Kathleen was working with knitters in Bosnia, developing a line of handknit sweaters to be sold in the US through her business Snow Cabin Goods. I sent the article to Melanie Falick who in turn sent it to Betty Christianson, the author of Knitting for Peace. Long story short, Kathleen was featured in the book and in an interview in Interweave Knits.

Fast forward a few years later and Kathleen and I ran into each other again - this time at a Book Signing she organized at The Wellesley Booksmith. Kit and I have kept in touch over the years - mostly through emails, our blogs and knitting. I always think of these passings as a bit of serendipity. That's why I want to share her site with you here.

Kit is such a soul sister. She loves handmade things, fine textiles, and all things Scottish Country. She writes a really nice blog about beautiful things and her travels (with an awesome sidebar of great links). And on top of it all, she imports to the States some of the most beautiful domestic goods you could ever want to have in your home. All of these are available on her on-line store. Kit's business is one of those undiscovered gems - not in the main stream whatsoever. Going through her site makes me dream of the places I would like to go and the objects I would seek out if I could travel again. She seeks objects that are not in the mainstream which is so refreshing to me. I don't have a lot of money to buy things for our home but when I do I look for beautiful linens, luxurious handmade soaps (like the ones made by The Beekman Boys), and woolen throws like the ones Kit sells. I especially love these...... They would look fabulous in our house. (We can never have enough Scottish made throws as far as I am concerned.)

One thing I never seem to get enough of is knitting bags. This year, I have one from Kit Mitchell to add my collection made out of my favorite sturdy Harris Tweed. It is a bit small for larger projects so I am going to save up for a larger one like this. The handles are gorgeous leather and the inside is lined in strong canvas with a zippered pocket.

It's so nice to see independent business women who are passionate about what they do getting out there, working hard and succeeding, isn't it? And it's funny too how so many things intersect with my knitting and wool-y life. I'm on my way to teach at Stitches East down in Hartford. My classes are full but maybe I'll run into some of you on the market floor. I'll be back to you about the Great Pyrenees names next week. Life is busy. If you get a minute, check out Kit Mitchell.

Our Sunday Afternoon Moving Sheep

When I was a kid, our Sunday afternoons were spent at one of our grandmother's houses for Sunday dinner. It was a really nice tradition that I'm sure some of you probably still continue today. Here at the farm, we don't have sit-down Sunday afternoon dinners. We do sheep chores as a family. There is always something that needs to be done and since Julia misses these chores since she is at school so much, I make sure that she gets included in some kind of sheep related activity on Sundays - our only day of the week when we (mostly) don't have off-farm responsibilities. I love this outdoorsy, farm-based tradition that Julia isn't aware is different than what many other families do on Sundays. She'll miss it someday, I'm sure.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in our corner of the world. One of those days when I just wanted to be outside all day long breathing the crisp air, enjoying the sunshine, and basking in all the gold and orange tones of the world around me.

I've put together a little photo essay for you of the work on the hill. After a lunch of Scotch Broth Soup (recipe coming later in the week), we headed up to the top of the hill where our adult ewes and summer born lambs have been grazing. Time to move the fences and the sheep, donkey, and llama into a fresh spot for some fall grass. When Julia and I arrived, The Farmer yelled to us to help find some ewes who had not followed most of the flock. He could hear them baaahing in the distance. Off we all went. 

As you can see, Phoebe was worried that her mother (that would be me) wasn't coming. Julia and I are always behind the sure footed dogs and their father. Slow is good sometimes. I spied these old bones from a cow who used to graze this pasture years ago. Looked like a giant dinosaur bone to me.

 

It was a gray day - a sign of things to come.

 

Before Julia and I got to where the sheep were, The Farmer and his collies had already gathered the errant sheep. 

I love to watch The Boss and his loyal dogs Phoebe and Nessie. There is just something beautiful about it - a shepherd and his dogs. Such a time-honored tradition of dependence between canines and humans. Amazing instincts Border Collies have.

 

Julia and I played back-up going around the empty barns with the dogs trying to round the sheep, Eeyore the Donkey and Jeremy the Llama back towards their new grazing.

Phoebe always has one eye on me and one on the sheep, not wanting to miss a move. Sweet dog.

 Nessie on the other hand is all business watching every move of her flock, even if from afar.

 

The sheep are all about food so they had to sneak some of the not yet mowed hay. We look at a lot of backsides of sheep around here.

Our donkey Eeyore always lags behind. He is just a bit stubborn. But he always goes eventually.

The fences were set up and it was time to move the sheep in.

Jeremy our Llama chowing down on a nice clump of green grass.

The animals were all fenced in for a few days in this pasture. It will be picked clean in a couple days and it will be time to move them again.

Nessie knows everything is right with her flock. We couldn't move this many sheep without both our collies. They are amazing dogs.

 

Keep Those Great Pyrenees Puppies Names Coming!

You guys are awesome! What a great batch of ideas for the names for the new Great Pyrenees Guard Dogs. We're going to print them out tonight and try to narrow the choices down. The puppies made it through the weekend beautifully. 

I spent a lot of time outside with them observing their behavior. It was fascinating. We've been a Border Collie family since 1990 so adopting two new puppies of a different breed gives us something new to learn. I think I am going to love these dogs even if they will live with the sheep their entire lives. We're trying to get them used to us, the Collies Phoebe and Nessie, the sheep, the chickens and the cats. So far so good. Next week, we plan to fence them in to a small pasture with a few of the sheep so they bond with their flock. We've been talking to lots of sheep and goat farmers who have guard dogs including Ann from Crystal Brook Goat Farm who does the Amherst Farmers Market with us on Saturdays.

Thanks so much to all of you for supporting this new farm acquistion through the purchase of patterns and the donations we received this weekend. We are overwhelmed with your generosity. I hope as you knit the patterns you purchased you think of us here on the farm, with our sheep, dogs, cats, and chickens. We so appreciate your support. 

Here's a cute shot of one of the puppies. If you want to learn more about Great Pyrenees, I found a good website full of all kinds of info. It has been fun to hear from so many of you who have had these gorgeous dogs in their lives. What a nice connection.