Author: denisemor

Washout Weekend

denisemor 0 October 1, 2017

It’s been quite a rainy couple of days.
But that’s October. And we needed it. So no hard feelings 😉

But the sheep are still being difficult with regards to sharing space with Esther, so there has been some drama in the shed during the downpour. I think it’s slowly getting better, but sometimes it seems like one step forward, two steps back.
Kind of frustrating.

Anyway, this week i tried out another ornament pattern, Christmas Balls.

It has three designs, and i chose to work the Kilim chart.

Its a cute pattern, and i think it turned out ok, but i the design probably would show more clearly if I’d used a two-ply yarn, or if i could have figured out a way to block it properly.

I like it well enough that I’d knit it again, but I found it kind of fiddly doing stranded colorwork on double pointed needles, so it took me forever to make this little guy. Not really a quick project.

So i think I’m going back to making tiny birds (and finishing my shawl!)

Tiny Birds

denisemor 1 September 24, 2017

This week I have been knitting tiny birds.

They are fun to make- lots of interesting little shaping sections. I’ve started with the Bluebird of Happiness pattern and changed the tail shaping a so it fans out a little bit rather than coming to a point.

The plan is that they will get eyes, and perhaps little additional embellishment and become holiday ornaments.

They look really sharp against some koolaid reds (on taupe colored Griff yarn) I dyed on the run this morning (that’s fruit punch on the left, black cherry on the right)

so perhaps they’ll each get a red tassel or something.

I’m also trying out a stranded colorwork bauble-type ornament.
Just in the early stages on that one, so no pics yet.

In other news, our baby chicken girls are just starting to lay, so that’s cool.
I love the cute little “starter eggs” (one the left)

Not really miniature, just kind of petite. And all the ones I’ve found so far are green-ish, so that’s neat.

Getting to Know Gustavo

denisemor 2 September 17, 2017

New pup in the ‘hood-
Meet Gus!

Gus did a brief stint at the Humane Society of Skagit Valley after having been picked up as a stray, and is now happy to be learning the ropes here at the homestead.

Everything is still very new, and he’s a little too excited about chickens right now, but he’s a smart boy, and I think that with time and supervised/controlled exposure, he’ll become a little more savvy about these things.

He’s also making good progress on his “couch dog” skills

In other news, I’m pleased to have been accepted to participate in the Bow Farmers Market Holiday Festival, which will be 10 am- 4 pm Saturday, Nov 11 at Beau Lodge.

I’ll have handspun yarn, hats, carded fiber, and holiday ornaments (still in the works, pictures soon!)

Parched

denisemor 2 September 4, 2017

We got some sprinkles of rain on Thursday, but it didn’t amount to much.
So things are still dry and crunchy.

But I’m looking forward to Fall, and the return of moisture to the landscape.

We’re planning on changing up the configuration of the chicken side of the shed before winter, and implemented the first of the upgrades this weekend- new PVC feeders.

We’re hoping that these help reduce the amount of spillage and waste. Once they get used to the new setup we’ll probably make two more to replace the other feeder, so we can make sure there is enough access for everyone.

The pasture is mostly dried up now, and the sheepers get pretty darned excited at the prospect of fresh-cut apple branches. It’s a surefire way to bring everyone together

And I’m all about making the sheepers happy 🙂

And if there is one thing that this weather has been good for it’s drying yarn.

I have been getting a some spinning done lately, a little Chone and a little Dottie.

And I think that I’m going to want/need to shear Dottie again this fall. She’s already got about 3 1/2- 4″ of fleece grown since spring, and is a bit prone to felting over the winter.

Everyone else should be good ’til spring I think.