Three Cardigans

This pattern is from knitty and is knit with Peace Fleece for the body and Slubby Nubby for the cuffs and collar. It's a really comfy cardigan and looks great closed with a sweater pin or stick. It was a breeze to knit and I love the contrast in texture of the Slubby against the body of the sweater.



I finally knit an entire sweater out of my Tango yarn, a soft 70/30 blend of wool and mohair, worsted weight. This color arrangement (I'm trying to get away from 'colorway' as I've read people are sick of hearing that word!) is 'Seaside' and the pattern comes from a Design Source book that I have in stock. It has a ribbed patterning on the sleeves and on the bottom of the pullover which forms an interesting "V" desgin in the front and back. The collar can hang open like shown or be fastened with a fashionable pin.



My 'Briar Patch' cardigan is a Peace Fleece pattern, the Everyday Cardigan. This will be one sweater that I can see wearing every day. It's a basic design, easy to knit out of Tango yarn. I've only had it on briefly as it's way too hot to wear it yet. I had to shoot this photo quickly as Nicole was becoming 'faint' from the heat. Oh, the annoyances of being a model!

Things We Do in the Country

After years of feeding sheep in front of the barn and them hanging out there most of the time, a great deal of sheep poo and composted hay had accumulated. My son, Forrest had been pitchforking it into the garden cart and hauling it to the gardens. I saw where this could take maybe a year to do, working 8 hours a day. Light bulb moment! Call my neighbor Terry with his wonderful Kubota tractor.

Terry hauled 20 loads in less than an hour. He would get a scoop and I would direct him where in the garden to dump it. By the end I was out of gardens and was just dumping it around shrubs.


This is the area up close and personal, quite a mess. I had to move the water trough out of the way and saw there was a huge toad underneath. She hopped out of the way and about a dozen teeny weeny perfect little baby toads no bigger than 1/4 inch (!) started hopping too, but not out of the way. Terry and I were down on our knees scooping up baby toads so they wouldn't get scooped up and deposited underneath a mountain of poo. I said to Terry that I bet he didn't think this was part of the job of hauling manure.



In the pic above notice our dog, Casey, inspecting what dropped off the bucket. He decided it smelled just fine and proceeded to roll in it. He definitely tore up his inside card for that night! Now I really have my work cut out for me spreading this around. I'll be hauling manure 'till the cows come home' or in my case, sheep.

Knit, knit, knitting Away

It seems I've been knitting these socks for forever! It's only been a week, but on size 2 needles it takes so much longer than size 6 needles. This is my new 'Sock Hop' merino yarn, great for the old footsies. It's soft, stretchy and machine washable, yeah! I'm sorta making the pattern up, with a nice little yarnover row for added interest. I'll have the pattern available in the fall.



Then.... my next project will be this delicious little ruffly cardigan from a new book I just got in, 'The Sublime Merino Hand knit Book.' I'll be knitting the body with my Salsa yarn and the ruffle in my Loopy mohair boucle in the color 'Mermaid.' Can't wait to get started!



And I may start on the purse pictured below out of this delightful new book that my UPS driver delivered. Whenever I hear the big brown truck, I run to the door because whatever Paul delivers is wonderful! Thanks Paul!

Camouflaged in Paisley

I went to the monthly Spinning Tales gathering Monday morning, my first in many, many months. We were celebrating Lizou's retirement from work at the Holocaust Museum in D.C. She was a textile curator and restorer for years at the museum. Congratulations Lizou! She has shared her knowledge of textiles from all over the world, especially South American textiles. That's Lizou hidden in her paisley covered papasan chair. Apparently she got a fabulous bargain on 12 yards of burgundy paisley fabric and has made a shirt, a skirt, curtains, a chair covering and still has yards left. Appropriately her farm is called "Paisley Fields."


Everyone brought incredible food for lunch. A few of the members are trying the 'Buy Everything Local' movement (except coffee, tea and rice) so most all the food came from farmer's markets or personal gardens. I love the summer bounty.

Big Shot and Mabel

I really did miss my chickens. That may seem weird but I like going out in the morning to feed them and as soon as I open the door, they come running in to see what I have for them. Gladys is especially friendly, and Molly is very shy, always in the back. And Big Shot is, well, loud. They cackle, cluck, chatter, chortle and prattle and make me smile. And they lay beautiful eggs.



I had forgotten about the rooster crowing at day break. Our first night home, I heard "errrr errrr errrr errrrrr" at 4:30 a.m. and awoke wondering where I was. Then I remembered Big Shot and his 'Purple Haze' sound of crowing. He's the only rooster I've had that sounds like the intro to Jimi Hendrix' song, 'Purple Haze'. We want to record it and do a remix of the song.

While in Robin Hood Bay, England, Garrett bought this wonderful old book of poems written by Walter De La Mare in 1913. (He was going to draw in the book until he started reading the poems and now he can't bear to.) The book is entitled 'Peacock Pie' and I was captivated by the poem 'Chicken.'
Clapping her platter stood plump Bess,
And all across the green
Came scampering in, on wing and claw,
Chicken fat and lean.
Dorking, Spaniard, Cochin, China,
Bantams sleek and small,
Like feathers blowing in a great wind,
They came at Bessie's call.

Party On!

The first night back we hosted our Sunset Party. Neighbors drop by with food and wine and we catch up on what's happening in our lives and lives around the world. Great fun! The sunset that night was fabulous, it went on and on displaying it's myriad of beautiful colors into the night. Then the fireflies took over as the light show. It's great to be back with old friends and the comfort of the farm.


Saturday night Tina and Jim had our welcome home party. They also hosted our going away party in February. I'm not sure what the whoosh is, but it brought good party vibes!



This looks like a carousel ride whirring around, but it's just my shaky hand.



This is Tina and Jim's porch where I spent most of the evening. It's an outdoor living room and very charming and cozy.



Looking from the back porch to Tina's studio. It's an old log cabin that has been relocated onto their property. Tina does her magical paintings in there and is part of our Countryside Artisans Studio Tour.



I gave this key holder to Seal and also got one for myself. "I only have this kitchen because it came with the house!" We both hate to cook.

Almost Outta Here

Had to post one more photo of us leaving. This is 5 months worth of our stuff (plus we had 2 smaller bags sent home with friends). Can't believe we got it all to fit, even my 6 paintings and ALL my jewelry! and beading stuff and knitting stuff and all Houston's electronics. Whew!