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March has arrived, and garden work has commenced in earnest. It’s been great yardwork weather, and I’ve found it really satisfying spending time outside and getting things order.

Fruit trees out back are pruned

as are all the roses

but there’s still a lot of work to be done on Big Apple

Today we distributed a bunch of our compost around to various growing locations-

Looks like a really nice rich, well-cooked batch. I’m hoping that it will set us up for a productive garden season!

I’ve also chosen my tomato varieties for the year: Cuor di Bue Albenga, German Pink, Jaune Flamme, Brad’s Atomic Grape, Cherokee Purple, Martino’s Roma

I’m starting seeds a little later this year, as last year I think that my peppers and eggplants got off to really slow starts due to cold weather. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s only early March, even if it’s been 50F outside the last couple of days!

Indoor pursuits are coming along as well- Candelaria is well on it’s way to having one sleeve

Another band completed-

And dove into the embroidery floss stash to come up with a plan for the next!

Bringing a little rainbow energy to the band weaving this week. 🙂

Still enamored with my new toy 🙂

I worked my way through the first warp this week, getting a feel for the weaving process on the Inkle loom. Here is my first finished object- about 8 feet of a simple green and orange silk band.

I was excited to try something with a few colors- so I looked online for some resources on creating a draft for an Inkle loom and came across a pattern generator at The Carolingian Realm that made it so easy to plan a new project with the yarns I had on hand.

So I’m back in business!

Meanwhile, my knitting attention was commandeered this week by a hat project- as much as I’m anxious to keep the Candelaria project moving forward, I just wasn’t in the mood to be working on size 1 needles.

It’s a improvised original, which, now that it’s complete, looks very mushroom-y. With the long ribbed “stem” and brioche textured cap, it makes me think of a morel.

It should be quite warm, as the ribbed brim is folded back and very thick and cushy. (Can you tell I enjoy knitting ribbing?) 🙂

Took me a little while to figure out how to do the crown shaping in brioche stitch, but I’m really happy with how it worked out. So I might write it up and put in Ravelry for reference. It’s a good odds and ends type of project. Dive into the stash, and cast on!

It being band weaving.

I’d stalled out a while back on my most recent band project because I found that my warp had some tension issues. Been meaning to re-beam it on the floor loom, but hadn’t quite gotten around to it.

Then I went to the February Spindrifters meeting, where one longtime member was seeking to re-home a bunch of crafting tools and supplies to the group. And I came away with an Inkle Loom!

It came with a brochure that gave me a general idea of how to get it set up, but it was a for a different brand that had a slightly different configuration. I did some searching online for the brand

but didn’t get any hits, so I’m thinking that they must not still be in business. I did find some looms with a similar tension setup, and was able to transfer most of my warp from the floor loom onto this little guy.

And here are the first few inches of my band

I think this is going to be fun- and it’s nice that it’s portable! I’m just getting a feel for how it works, and hopefully will be able to work quicker and more smoothly with some practice.

Also making progress on Candelaria. Body is complete, and I did a quick wet block and try on to make sure I was still on track sizing-wise. Also got another bobbin of Esther singles spun and washed, so I’m ready to tackle the sleeves.

In sheepy news, Fiona and Daphne are out of lockdown, and their hooves are showing improvement, so I am relieved about that. Neither of them seems particularly interested in the Pat Coleby mineral mix, but I’m leaving it out as an option. Dottie is still in her separate accommodations, but they get together frequently to chat through the fence. It seems to me that she is using the injured leg a bit more these days, but the progress is very slow.

The snow is gone, and things are pretty saturated and will likely stay that way throughout the spring. I am finding that greenery from fallen fir branches works pretty well to keep high-traffic areas from getting too mucky, and are fairly easy to clear and refresh. No shortage of evergreen material around here!

Alrighty folks. Have a good week- Nolite te bastardes carborundorum!

We have snow. ick.

But we also have seeds! yay!

It will be a while yet before any of these guys get planted, but these little packets contain hopes of strong stems, lush leaves, and bountiful fruits. All things that lift the spirit on dark winter days.

And we have sweater progress!

I have finally made up the length that I ripped back, plus a little bit I think. Took it off the needles for a quick steam block and try-on, and it appears that I am back on track. So yay for that 🙂

At some point I’m going to have to spin some more Esther singles to finish it up. Guess I should get on that so it doesn’t stall out. Looks like that was a Sophie spin. Thank goodness I kept at least some notes in Ravelry!

News from the pasture is that no-one is currently out on the pasture. I’ve decided that for a while at least, Fiona and Daphne are gong to be hanging out in the shed. This is due to their hooves being in rough shape. Keeping them in the shed, where I can monitor and treat them regularly and keep them dry and free of mud and debris, seemed like it might be the way to go for now.

They are not thrilled, but are being pretty decent about it, and Fiona’s sore foot seems to be showing improvement, so I’m hopeful that this temporary lockdown is helping.

also, decided to give the Pat Coleby sheep mineral recipe another try. I had some pre-mixed from when I gave it a shot years ago. None of my original sheep seemed interested in it, but Daphne and Fiona weren’t here at the time, so it’s new to them.

So now they have two mineral choices. Will be curious to see if either of them find the Pat Coleby mix palatable. Will let you know how it goes-

That’s about all the excitement here.

Have a good week everyone-