Good Morning

Good morning, how about a little tour and update? We have a few new faces around the farm. The sun was perfect this morning and so after chores I took my camera out to take a few snapshots. 

You can see one of the four Toms slightly puffed up on the far right. Yes, you read that right, four toms. Out of nine turkeys we figure that four of them are male. Daily they strut their stuff to figure out who is boss, but they don't fight. We are hoping that Thanksgiving will come before they feel like fighting. Otherwise we will deal with them accordingly.

The pumpkins are growing, but we did not get as many as we wanted. Dad was really hoping for enough to let the daycare kiddos come out and pick their own. It looks like we will have just enough for our own needs. Jason's grandfather (who is an exceptional gardener) says that his didn't do too well either and wonders if we wound up with too many male plants. 

This is our rooster, Charcoal. Neighbors down the street from us had two roosters and didn't want any fights and asked if we'd like one. We were hoping to get a rooster in the batch of six that we bought this spring and so we happily said "Yes." Little Sister named him Charcoal after the black plumes on his tail. He is adjusting well to having so many ladies to himself, but he has not asserted himself yet over the older twelve hens.

This last month we added in the new six layers, the rooster, and removed a chicken who was pecking the others and it stressed out our flock quite a bit. They aren't laying as much as they used to, but they still are laying. We are getting between 6-9 eggs a day which is just enough for us to eat and sell a few on the side. Hopefully in the next week everyone will relax and get back to laying. The six new hens won't be laying until mid-September or early October.

The hens have not reduced their pen to dirt which has surprised us. They don't eat everything in sight either. The turkeys will eat everything down to stubble, but it seems like our hens are a little more picky. It has been interesting to learn which birds will eat what. For instance: the turkeys devour apples, the chickens just peck at them and the chickens devour bread while the turkeys just peck at them. Also the turkeys don't put themselves to bed a night we have to go out and encourage them into their coop, but the chickens go in as soon as the sun goes down.

 

This is Kee-La-La, Elle's kitty. The kitty is living here on the farm until my brother and his wife find a new apartment. She isn't too sure about the farm animals or my dog Vinnie. This morning she called me to her and I obliged in pets and rubs.

The garden is doing all right. We got sidetracked with our trip to MI and NY and then the wedding so it didn't get tended to well. We have a nice crop of tomatoes and I will be making salsa this year and some spaghetti sauce. It will be a nice change to do some canning around here. The pear trees are loaded so we will also be making tons of pear sauce. We have really missed pear sauce over the last year, since last years crop didn't do so great. We cannot complain since we don't prune, spray, or pick them, just let nature take its course.

This has been a summer of change and loss for us. Little Sisters kitty passed away in the beginning of the summer and her bunny passed away this week. One evening Jason came home with the above bunny for the daycare kiddos. The kids really enjoyed feeding Sara bunny so I thought it would be nice to continue to keep a bunny for them. Jason's bosses kids participate in 4H and one of the boys raises bunnies. He gave this one to us. Mom named her York Peppermint Patty.

I hope your day is lovely. I'm off to check for eggs and make lunch!

If You Don't Like the Weather

There is a saying, and I'm sure it's true for many parts of the world, it goes something like this: "If you don't like the weather, just wait awhile." The sentiment is that the weather is unpredictable and constantly changing.

Maine sure did prove that on Thursday.

I went out in the morning to see if the duck's gate was unfrozen enough so I could open it. It was sunny and the pond had a foot of water over it and I thought they might enjoy a splashing around in it. Sadly the gate was frozen pretty much solid in ice and snow and I was unable to pry it loose. 

While I was out there I snapped a few photos.

"The Big Dog" :: Rusty

"Old Grandma Kitty" :: Pheonix

Beautiful, sunny, warm, and smelling of spring.. wait isn't it the last day of January?

Two hours later, the weather remembered that it wasn't spring....

Two hours! This is the same tree in the photo with the blue sky.

Thankfully little boys, bunnies, and kitties don't mind the change in weather. Just as long as Mommy or God has dressed them up warm.

It didn't show up in the photos, but when these last photos were taken it was snowing.

Kisses for Sarah Bunny

"Welcome to Maine, if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute..."

Year of Projects: UFO #1

I have started my first UFO, a mitten, and I am having problems with it. At first I was knitting it using the two needle method, but that wasn't working out quite right with my stripes so now I am knitting it flat. My advice: self striping and variegated yarn for mittens if you want your life easier. My next option it to locate dpn's in the correct size and give that a try. My fear is that if I knit them flat the size will be off since I knit tighter in the round.

the first mitten

I polished off three very cute projects for a baby shower, you can check them out on my pinterest board, and so I haven't really worked on my beret. I managed a few rounds while watching Total Recall (the new one) with the hubs and it is quite possible that I'll have it finished in time to not need it.

I forgot to add a few things to my list. I want to write a sweater pattern (for a baby) and a toy. I already knit the prototype for the toy. It is a little bunny rattle (perfect for Easter Baskets!). I have the rough draft of the pattern worked out I just need to reknit it to make sure I got it right and then I'll test it on rav. If you are interested in testing let me know (message me on Rav: DeliaMae) and I'll tell you how testing works. Here is a link to the bunny toy and a video of her sweet "song". I am having issues getting my vision of the sweater onto the needles. I think I may need a few designing books: suggestions?

Belle Bottom Bunny

My other projects are beckoning me in my list, but I still only have the two hands. I think I'll accept a little startitius and cast on a sock and some Easter stuff next.

Belle Bottom Bunny

I needed a toy that would whip up in a moment to finish off the gift my mother and I are putting together for a shower. I didn't want to add legs or arms and I didn't want to spend a long time knitting it. I also wanted to incorporate a bell I've had kicking around for a year or so waiting for the perfect toy. I wound up knitting Belle Bottom Bunny. She has a soft head, an i-cord loop for attaching a link, and a sweet jingle bell in her bottom. Best of all she only took 2hrs of furious knitting to make up.

Check out the video to hear her sing!

Project Report

In my absence there has been knitting. I think I have three projects on the needles right now (a scarf, a cowl, and a sock), and some flying off!

I finished the Christmas Bell a while ago. I think I'll add a bell before I declare it 100% finished. The goal is to have two more ornaments knit before December 1st!

I started the Sock for Jason for the second time. This time not in secret. I had him try it on, and it fits! Cue the music! I have turned the heel and now I am started the foot. The plan it to knit just the one at first while I work on other projects. 

I knit a farmer for my son for Christmas, I've named him Charlie. The pattern is from Spud and Chloe at the Farm by Susan B Anderson. I like the pattern, all by the legs. You can find my notes on Rav.

Unfortunately all my Christmas knitting has been put on pause until I can finish a paying gig. A relative of someone at my church is paying me to duplicate a Christmas Stocking. I spent an hour or so creating a chart to match and now I need to buy yarn. It should be an interesting knit. 

I've been thinking about my own Christmas Stocking and I'm not sure how to proceed. I'll be looking through some patterns to find one, but I'm leading towards this one wouldn't that be awesome looking with presents stuffed inside it?

I think after the holidays are over I will need to re-evaluate my list and add to it. If I get done what I plan to before Christmas most of my list will be done!

Charlie

I recently knit up the doll "Chloe" from Spud and Chloe at the Farm. I am a huge Susan B Anderson fan, she has never knit or created anything that I haven't immediately loved. This doll is not the first toy I have knit from her patterns. I have knit "Tuck" quite a few times and the cow from the farm book.  I like the ease of the construction and how quickly s/he came together. It is knit in the round, as most of her toys are, and once you are done all that is left is to assemble. All that being said, I am not in love with this doll.

I don't like the legs.

I am debating taking them off and knitting them again, but I probably won't.

The legs, they are like toothpicks. They sort of just stick out looking uncomfortable and unnatural. Maybe it's because I made her into a boy? I will be making a face for him, but I will do that the week before Christmas so that I am not tempted to give it to him before then. Once his face is on he will have some real personality.

I used the stitch from the sheep (in the book) to make the hair and it came out super cute. I knit a wig and then attached it, I will be doing that from now on when I make a doll. Making hair that way is so much easier, why didn't I do that before?!?!

I knit his overalls with out a pattern and didn't do too bad. Next time I won't start with so man stitches because by the time I got up to the waist it was too big. Not sure if I should make some more clothes for him or not. If I was knitting this for a girl I'd make a bunch of clothes, but a boy won't be as interested in getting it dress and re-dressed, I think. I may make a sweater or pj's or something so that he can change it if he wants to.

I had to hide him from Stomper because every time he saw the farmer he shouted, "Baby!" and scooped him up. Gwendolyn got a new dress too. I was going to make her a little shrug, but it's turning into a scarf for an adult instead, unless I get tired of it, then it may become a shrug after all!

I am so excited for Christmas!

Pears, Eggs, and Wolf

Despite our best efforts we lost all the kits. We have gained valuable information and found a contact who can help us in the future. Jason bred the two rabbits on Sunday so with any luck in about a month we will get another try and raising some meat rabbits. 

The pear trees didn't produce like they have in the past. We are disappointed that we won't be having pear sauce all winter. We did manage to pull a few squashes out of the garden and we intend on visiting a local farm to get some pumpkins and apples to put up for the winter.

This is Wolf, our new pet. He is an angora-jersey mix. He was a gift from a friend. Isn't he just the cutest thing! He is just what our hearts needed after loosing all those kits!

The daycare kids are thrilled and keep asking us when we are going to put him outside with Sarah our other pet bunny.

A couple of weeks ago we spied Fluffernutter and a couple of his gals out front of the house. Too close to the road for us! The chickens were all ushered back to the barn where they spent their first few weeks of life and given a few nesting boxes, just in case they might lay.

And they did! We have found four small little eggs so far (the white one is a store bought egg). We estimate that in a few more weeks everyone will be laying normal sized eggs. Yum! We are so encouraged that at least one thing is working right!

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