Photography Class

Had a little fun on our third class taking photos during class

I am very thankful for my teacher who keeps showing me such great things that I can do with my camera!

Project Report

Not much to report, except, of course, some ears on a little bunny I've named: 

Gwendolyn the Grey Bunny

You can read about her Farm Adventure here.

Bunny Adapted From: Nursery Baby in a Bunny Suit
Clothes and ears are of my own design.
Bunny was knit from: Cascade Cotton Rich on US size 5 needles
Clothes were knit from various cotton I had kicking around the knitting basket

I haven't decided where her future home will be. I have some ideas, but for now I will keep them a secret. I also have plans for a few more outfits and accessories, but I will work on those at a later date. 

Pattern: Let's Play Knit Vest
Yarn: Loops and Threads Impeccable

I am in the process of making a vest for a birthday boy who is one this month (not my little guy he will be 2 in Sept!). The pattern is very basic and I didn't have enough of one color, so I made it into stripes. I added some length to the rib at the bottom. I am fairly certain that he is long in the torso, given his genetics, and I wanted it to fit more than a week. Since taking the above photo I have finished the front, sewn the two sides together, and added ribbing around the neck. The next time I knit this I will be knitting it in the round and not making the neck such a deep "V", other than that the vest is a good pattern. I have today to finish the arms during my husbands "small" birthday gathering. Wonder if I will finish it....

When I am done I will return to the gauntlets of death..I mean, my Little Sisters Gloves. I hope to have them finished before she returns from her vacation in FL August 6th. Wish me luck!

Saturday Farm Journal :: Green Tomato Relish

The batteries in the camera died right before I could show you the two gallons of relish I made Friday night. All the green tomatoes are from our garden. The peppers in the photo are from our garden, but the onion is from the store. I ended up purchasing onions and peppers from the store, but maybe the last batch of relish will have some from our garden. The story is the same with the garden, many weeds, few things to report. We are fairly certain we are not going to get the 5lbs of seed potatoes back in produce. We are hoping to break even. The good news is that the ducks are now taking care of the potato bugs for us, check out  this post for the all the waddling fun!

The tomatoes are doing awesome, regardless of their floppy, bushy state. Jason did manage to stake a few. He tossed some branches into the horses paddock, which is beside the garden, believing that the horse didn't like tomatoes. Wrong! The next day the horse helped himself to some plants and ruined some tomatoes! Gah! Luckily, there are tons of tomatoes so the horse can have a few.

Mom did manage to weed one row of potatoes in the last week. We have picked green beans twice, but haven't been able to put any up for winter because we're eating them. We have stored up four gallons of blueberries in the freezer. My sister in law picked about a gallon of blueberries yesterday and we have probably have eaten a gallon. That's six gallons of blueberries from three bushes! God is good! 

Last weeks list:

• weed: cabbage and tomatoes
• stake tomatoes
• pick tomatoes
• make relish
• pick blueberries

This weeks list:

• pick blueberries
• pick green beans
• weed something
• stake tomatoes

Guest Post

Guest blogging over at Hambergs in the Kitchen this week, pop by and take a look...

[...] Here is the problem. Did you know that one stick of butter is equal to 1/2 cup not 1/4? Well, I momentarily forgot that fact and instead of putting in 1/2 cup of butter I put in 1 cup. Then, still not realizing my mistake I decided to increase the amount of caramel by 1/2 and so added what I thought was 1/4 cup of butter--another whole stick. As the third stick is melting in the pot and I am adding in the karo syrup I realized my mistake--I put in to much butter. [...]

Read all about the tasty mistake and make some correctly for yourself!

Ducks

Did I tell you that the farm has eleven ducks?

Today they learned a new skill.

Read about it on the Farm's Blog!

Or click the page link: Back to the Farm

Bunny Visitor

On a warm, sunny day in July, a little bunny stopped by the farm. "Hello," she said, "I'm Gwendolyn the Grey Bunny. I am looking for a forever home, I think this might be the place."

"We'd love it if you would stay," we replied, "come on over to the farm and take a look around."

"This is our pear tree we like to climb, what do you think?"

The little grey bunny climbed up, up, up in the tree to admire the tasty fruit. "The pears do look yummy, but I think I'm stuck!" Brushing the bark off her pretty dress the bunny said, "I don't think climbing pear trees are for me, what else can we do?"

"Are you hungry? Do you like to pick blueberries?"

"I am hungry." she agreed rubbing her little belly. "I'll try picking some berries." The little bunny climbed up to the top of the fence to reach the yummy berries. After a few minutes in the hot sun she said, "I don't like the hot sun and the berries might stain my dress, is there something else we can do?"

"We can feed the chickens. Do you like chickens?"

The little bunny walked over to the chicken yard, but refused to climb in. "They are very big and scary looking for a bunny of my size. I think I'd like to just watch the chickens, is there something else we could do?"

"I'm sorry Gwendolyn, but on the farm we play and work. We get hot, messy, sticky, and do things that are scary at first. Maybe this isn't the place for you."

The little bunny cried, "But I am so lonely, I don't want to keep looking for a forever home."

With out even pausing to think we replied, "Oh, sweet little bunny, you can stay with us until we can find you a home! You can live in our home and we will care for you. We promise to find you a forever home one day!"

The little bunny wiped her tears away, "You'll let me stay?"

"Yes!"

And so, the little bunny found a cozy place to sit in Delia's knitting basket to sit, wait, and dream of her forever home.

~Delia  @ www.deliasknittedthings.blogspot.com

Project Report

No progress on the gloves this week. I got really involved in the clothes for the bunny. At first I had a feather and fan lace pattern on the skirt, but it failed, terrible. I ripped it out and knitted the skirt in my previous post, but that too wasn't quite right. I knitted a sweater, but it also didn't work quite the way I wanted to. Serves me right for winging it I guess! *sigh*

On Thursday I was bound and determined to make my failures into something fantastic. I picked up the ribbed stitches of the skirt and made it into a sundress (pictured last) it is still not "perfect" but it is "just right". The sweater I ripped out the last few rows and restarted it. I knit it into a sweater dress and again, though I don't consider it "perfect" it is still "just right". 

Next for the bunny is ears, I started them on Friday. Then I will put her aside for a little while and pause my list to make a gift for a birthday I was just invited to. He is turning one, any ideas?

Thank you for all the lovely comments on the last post. Your comments really push me to have something to show for you for my next post!

Yarn Along: Bunny

As promised photos of my bunny in progress. Since taking these photos I finished her skirt and decided that it didn't work. It was too large for her and not long enough. After testing out a brilliant idea of my husbands to attach the skirt to the sweater (the skirt was smaller than the sweater and didn't look right), I have since come up with a new plan. I am going to rip out the bottom of the sweater and make it into a dress or maybe make a pair of pants, haven't really decided. The skirt I will pick up stitches along the top and make it into a sun dress.  

As for reading I have just finished reading "The Help". If you haven't read this book, you should. It was especially eye opening for me since I have had little contact with anyone of another ethnicity. I realize of course that it was a work of fiction, but I think the story is plausible. There is a lot of tension and suspense, but it is not contrived or forced. I read it in a few days, I had to stay up to 3am a few times, but it was well worth it!

Linking up with Ginny today! Feel free to leave a link in the comments to your own WIP's or Yarn Alongs's

On Photography

Many years ago, during the dawn of man, ok, digital photography, it wasn't all that great. My parents bought me my first ever SLR camera (not digital) with not one, but two lenses. I was in photography heaven. I read and studied and learned all I could on my own about taking photos. I understood the rudimentary parts of aperture and shutter speed, but not enough to do anything with all those bells and whistles on my camera. I did enjoy using my lenses and took a lot of great photos with them.

When Jason and I were getting married we decided that we'd use our bridal shower money to purchase a decent camera to capture our soon to be wedded bliss. Jason wanted to get one with lenses and lot of bells and whistles but that one cost more money. I wanted a simple, small point and shoot, we settled on something in-between.

Our camera does posses bells and whistles. The ones I usually use are: macro, sport, fireworks, and of course auto. I have always wanted to know what the other settings did, but it is hard sometimes to understand those manuals.

The other day I saw an add on Facebook: Free Photography Class! So I jumped at the opportunity. Yesterday was our first class, I have now learned what some of those settings are and how to use them! I also discovered my new favorite setting: Super Macro.

This is our teacher. She is riding her childs bike so that we can practice panning.

Figured out what the ISO button does. The first picture is with the ISO set high, 

the second is set much lower. ..one is more grainier/noisier than the other.

 And now, my favorite setting: Super Macro!

Project Report

Pattern: Sweater Christmas Ornament Knitting Pattern

After finishing my fingerless gloves I needed another win that was mostly mindless so I cast on for the first of the advent ornaments. This tiny sweater is knit with the same yarn I used to knit him a sweater this summer. It is not supposed to be a zero on the shirt but an "O" for his name. I may go back and cleverly adjust the "O".

Pattern: Gillaspie Gothic Gauntlets

I am so thrilled with how quickly this glove is knitting up the second time! I haven't worked on it in a few days, but I will again this week. I visited a friend this past week and while our kids frolicked I did quite a bit of knitting then.

I am almost finished a bunny made from this pattern. I have knit this little doll probably twelve times. I even made four bears. It is quick and the pattern is well written. If you like knitting toys I highly recommend checking out TwinsKnit. They have quite the variety of dolls, bears, foxes, bunnies, and more! 

Now that the bunny is all put together I get to do the fun part: clothes! I am working on some clothes for her (free hand and no pattern) and finished a skirt with feather and fan lace and I am working on a cardigan that may end up being a dress instead, I haven't decided. Once her clothes are finished I'll figure out what I want to do about her ears. I'm not sure if I want them floppy or straight or how to achieve it--any ideas?

I neglected to take her photo, but if you check back this week there may be one up of her finished and with clothes!

You can find my updated project list on the tab marked: Year of Projects

{this moment}

A moment from our week that I want to pause, savor, and remember

inspired by soulemama

feel free to leave a link to your moment!

Vacation

We had a great vacation. Monday and Tuesday we went exploring and the other days we stayed around home to get some work done and to relax. A very kind friend of ours allowed us to borrow her van so that three couples and one little guy could go on a drive north. We wound up at  the Mooselookmeguntic over look out on Rt 16, I renamed it Mooselookmegunkiss in honor of our smooches. Stompers look is so funny in these pictures. The funniest part is that he usually encourages our kissing. When Jason is saying good-bye to us before work, he holds us and gives each of us a kiss. After we kiss Stomper almost always puts one hand on either of our heads and pushes us together!

We ended our Monday trip with a walk down memory lane. We drove up to Blueberry Mt Bible Camp (my childhood home) and took a look around. Some things never change: the smell of the building, the coolness of the dining room, the view out all the lake view windows, and the walk to the field. But some things do change: there is a new nurses station to comply with codes, an archery range, a giant gazebo in the woods, and new faces that work there. 

(Smalls Falls)

On Tuesday we packed three cars (Thanks again to Mimi for lending us hers) for a trip to the coast. My parents, my sister, and my teenage cousin rode in the lead car; my brother, his girlfriend, her daughter, and a nephew in the middle, and then our family of three in the rear. We first drove to Thomas Point Beach. We choose it for several reasons: 1. It wasn't Reed State Park and Jason asked that we try a different beach and 2. It had a playground 3. It had 400 picnic tables. The grassy areas were awesome. We drove right up to our picnic table in the shade and unloaded our stuff. The kids and us got on our suits and headed for the very chilly water. The water was very calm since it was an inlet and didn't frighten Stomper, and there was plenty of sand to play in.

Of course Stomper didn't nap in the car on the way down so after a bit of swimming he was ready to eat and take a nap. We left the beach to have some lunch and a nap. Dad napped in his chair and Stomper, after a lot of fussing, slept in the back of Mimi's SUV. While we were munching, resting, and digesting the ocean was going back out to sea. I didn't put two and two together when choosing this beach to visit. I had read that Thomas Point is one of the largest clam beds in Maine, but didn't fully understand what that meant. Can you guess what happened when the water went away?

Mud, lots of mud. Mud with snails on it so that it crunched when you walked across it. Mud that spit back at you. Mud and no water to play in. If I had known I would have had them pack boots to wear in the muck. There were many interesting finds in the mud, but it was very revolting to go looking. The kids were pretty disappointed and upset. A new plan was formed and we headed to Popham Beach to find us some waves!

At Popham we had to walk a mile almost to reach the waves (it was still low tide), but once we got there we all had a great time. Stomper thought it was great that the ground was covered in water. He kept splashing around and running. He did play in the waves, but where it was low tide the waves didn't crash into him, just lapped around his ankles.

We ended our vacation (minus Jason, he wasn't on vacation and Stomper, he went to visit Mimi) with a trip to Industry, ME for fireworks. My parents had never been and it is sort of a local secret. There are no signs when you get there, just a random path cut into the bushes. I told my Dad: "It's the next left after the fire department" and then in the next breath I said, "There, right there." To which he replied, "This doesn't look like a field." I answered, "No, the field is in there behind the bushes."

We drove in to a nearly empty field and had our pick of spots. We unloaded our cars and waited. We played games, read, played video games, ate fried dough and french fries, played with toys, and enjoyed each other company. Five hours after arriving the display began.

(Fourth of July Fireworks in Industry, Me)

Next year I hope Jason can come with us and bring his truck. I have this dream of making our tailgating party complete with hot dogs and burgers off the grill -- yum!