Yarn Along :: Christmas Pile

Joining Ginny for a Yarn Along. Reading and Knitting, what could make a better pair?

Fancy Mug Cozy

Ribbed Hat and Spiked

Cabled Mug Cozy

I have been knitting like a maniac lately, okay, maybe not like a maniac because I still manage to read, but I have trying my best to knuckle down.

I am on ribbed hat #4, just cast on today. I really like a ribbed hat. It has a lot of stretch and for growing kids will last for more than one year.

My other stash busting kick is knitting up mug cozy's. Not sure if anyone will use them, but they are fun to use and it uses up the bits of yarn kicking around.

I have at least one more pair of fingerless mittens in my future. Everything I am knitting these days is for Christmas.

I have been enjoying a few books no and then too. My librarian showed me the series Among the Hidden, they are short books, but riveting. The first book I didn't want to finish, I was afraid of what was going to happen! The other series I am working through is Divergent. I stayed up to one in the morning a couple of times reading these books.

Turkey Day

The turkeys have reached maturity. If you have been following along on Facebook, then you already know that the biggest so far was 22lbs and the smallest 14lbs. We had lots of help on "the day", the kids were looking forward to helping and watching. They did a great job helping out. We are very proud of them.

We have only processed four turkeys, the other five are waiting to be taken to the local slaughter house. Hunting Season is upon us and understandably the hunter doesn't want to spend his free time elbow deep in turkey. Mom and I are taking them in November while Dad is at work and Jason is hunting. Dad asked if there would be someone there to help us ladies unload. The man on the other end responded: "Are there attachment issues? Sometimes people have a hard time letting their turkeys go." Not to worry, we are looking forward to eating one of these beauties!

The pear trees are done, found someone strong enough to climb up and shake them down. Sent the cat up recently to get the last pear down, but she didn't understand. Thought I sent her up there to cut some teeth!

This is the look of deep concentration: "Don't drop it, don't drop it, don't drop it."

Sponsor Highlight :: Agape Angoras

Several months ago I approached a friend of mine about sponsoring my blog. I suggested that she allow me the pleasure of testing out some of her hand plucked and home spun angora yarn in order to review it on my blog. She agreed and gave me this: a skein of angora yarn from one black bunny and one white bunny.

The wheels started working immediately in my head. What do I with one skein of this luxurious yarn? I spent many hours on raverly trying to find the perfect pattern that would show off the yarn. In the end I decided to just wing it and I cast on for a loose cowl. 

I didn't know what to expect. I've never used angora yarn or hand spun fibers. I cast on several stitches and began. The first thing I noticed was how soft it was. It was knitting with a finely spun cloud. I tried my best to savor every stitch (since I only had the one skein) as I worked my way through the ball. The skein I received had thick spot and thin spots, but knit up uniformly over all. I'm not sure if it was intentional, but the yarn almost self stripes. The results are quite stunning. 

One of these skeins would make a great Christmas present! If you would like a skein you can click the link on the left for her email address.

Next week I will post a pattern on how to make your own simple cowl from a single skein of yarn.

Take a moment and get to know Jessica from this interview: Sponsor Interview: Agape Angoras

Fingerless

I wouldn't want you to think that my fingers have been lazy, so here it was I've been working on. They are all Christmas presents.

Swirling Gauntlets - adult

I made the finger cuff a little long so that they could be folded down. I also used a smaller needle for both cuffs for a tighter fit. The swirling rib pattern of the body knit up a little tight for me so I went up a couple needle sizes.

Bus Stop Mismatched - child

I will be using this pattern again. It was very straightforward and there is lots of room for modification and adaptations. 

Chilly Truck Mitts - toddler

We'll see if he keeps these on. I knit the finger rib long in hopes that his fingers might stay warm in the truck. Thankfully the truck warms up fast so he won't have to keep them on long. I am also hoping he can get at his thumb. Time will tell!

Currently on my needles is a pair of plain fingerless mittens that I will be adding dino spikes to. Including the Star Mittens I made for Stomper it makes the fifth pair of hand related knitted items. I'm a little tired of knitting in the round, but I did get smart and I've been knitting them "two at a time" so that I don't get "second mitt" syndrome. My fingerless mitten making is not finished, I still have at least one more pair to knit before I'm done. After that a few hats. On a positive note, everyone will get a little something knit by me this year!

Around Here

We've been keeping busy around the farm. Between picking up pears, peeling pears, canning pears, and eating pears we've been making salsa, playing with our turkeys, and receiving a new batch of broilers in the mail. Nothing like a little work to make your day go faster!

Stomper loves pears. He eats four a day when he's outside. It's a treat for me to watch him pick one up from the ground and just take a big bite. The pears have really cut down on the grocery bill! The turkeys really like the pears too. If we throw just one in they will chase each other to get it! It's pretty funny. I feel certain that one of the reasons God gave us animals was for entertainment purposes. We love to watch our turkeys run. Mom thinks they look prehistoric and I agree!

We bought a second batch of broilers. Our freezer has one chicken left in it, we are saving it for our Harvest Party in November. Mom has a chicken soup recipe she wants to try and it will be perfect for our harvest celebration!

This week-end marked the first day in preparing for a new adventure. Dad would like to try and raise sheep. The first step is to clear the field. We rented a bush hog and set aside two days to cut, trim, and clear the field. The men managed to clear about half the field. The rest they will work on as they have time. Maybe, just maybe, in a year we will have sheep!

Turkey Race

Post by Hamberg Family Farm.