Dusty Bottom Acres - Confessions of a 1st year Farmer

New Blog for everything

2011-12-08T10:55:00.000-08:00

I am blogging about our crazy life at A Geek In Glasses

We had too many different blogs, one for the farm, one for photography and one for life. I just couldn't keep up...as you can see this one hasn't been update since 2010 pumpkin season.

Follow our farming, pirating, blacksmithing, spinning, parenting, letterboxing, swordfighting, irish step dancing, crafting, collecting and life on my new blog - see you there.

Wonderful Pumpkin Season

2010-11-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Our first year was SUPER!!! The pumpkin season is over now. The patch was successful, we had several different types of pumpkin and squash plus beautiful mums. We worked hard to fight the squash bugs, cucumber beetles, powdery mildew, and wilt. We learned a lot about pumpkins and mums and are already planning for next year.

One the agenda for next year we have 9 varieties of garlic to plant, 10 new types of mums and at least 30 different types of pumpkins and squash. We will continue our attempts to grow seasonal heirloom veggies.

Until then we will continue to post our cleaned fibers and yarns on our etsy site. Our winter will be full of spinning, dyeing and felting.

Enjoy some of our pictures of the pumpkin stand and the small events that we had, such as community day, with pumpkin painting, petting zoo and guess the weight, and the pumpkin carving day.

Awaiting the Mums

2010-06-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

Well, we are awaiting the arrival of the mum cuttings. They were to ship on Monday to arrive sometime on Thursday. We spent the afternoon yesterday, gathering the ingredients for our soil-less mix. We found the sand and mulch in bulk, but had to buy bags of the peat moss and some kind of tiny pebble thing. We got everything in town using the farm dump truck. Mike spent 2 two hours last night cleaning the area for dumping then dumped the pile. Once on the ground he mixed all the parts with the skid loader. Then he pushed the pile under the over hang to protect it from the wind and rain. Which was a great idea!!! We were able to fill all of the pots today even though it rained on and off. The pots are stacked and ready to go once the cutting arrive.

On our walk through the patch today we discovered a pumpkin, an actual pumpkin!!! This patch might have pumpkins after all!! If you can't see it, it's on the left side right at the bottom of the yellow flower!!!

The Pumpkins are Planted and Growing!!!!

2010-06-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone? I know - to the pumpkin patch. We started with the idea of the black plastic mulch and planting the seedling by cutting holes in the plastic and placing them in the ground. We thought this would be a great way to control weeds from growing up between the plants. We laid three rows of plastic by hand and planted 50 -75 seedlings. This was super hard work, there was a tractor involved to cut the rows, then raking, then rolling the plastic, then more raking to keep the plastic in place. After we finished those three rows, Mike suggests that maybe the place that sold us the plastic has a machine to lay the plastic. I thought, " Are you kidding? Of course we should look into that, why are we doing this by hand?!?" Then we spent a week of trying to rent the equipment, picking it up, it not being there to pick up so we abandoned the whole plastic mulch idea.
These pumpkins need to get in the ground, so we started planting seeds by hand straight into the field. It was just the three of us, Mike, the baby and I. That kid is a trooper. I have never seen a 2 year old so willing and pleasant to just wander around a 3 acre empty field sticking seeds in the ground. It was awesome. We planted, then it rained. We planted more, it rained more. Then it rained and rained. Finally last Friday the final seeds were planted. Who knows if they will grow, who knows if the pumpkins will be on time. Some will be early, some will be late. Oh well, it was our first attempt at something larger than a flower bed so we are learning. I haven't taken any other pictures since May 20th, the pumpkins are really looking better since.
During all of this craziness, I was able to place an order for mums. I searched high and low on how to grow fall mums and the only information I could find was on taking cuttings from your mums. Well I only have 4 mum plants of my own and 3 of them are boring white and the other is pink. So I took the cuttings and planted them in pots, with only 2 colors. That would be a totally lame display - must search harder!!! So Mike purchased the book, "The Growing and Marketing of Fall Mums" by Don Langevin. This book gave us all the information we needed to successfully find a supplier of mum cuttings. I chose www.faribaultgrowersinc.com of Minnesota. They were great to talk to on the phone and the variety was great!!! The mum cuttings are being shipped June 14 ( holy crap that's today!!! ) They should be here by Thursday, then the next adventure will start.
The Giant pumpkins are on the move. It looks like the monster at the house has taken over most of the garden and is growing at a rate of 8 inches a day. There are female blossoms on it now. This picture was taken on June 7. It has grown quite a bit since then!!!
Finally all the sheep and goats have been sheared except for the Pygora, she has a small patch on her back thigh that will not shed off. Oh well, she looks a little frightful.
I am finishing up the Spring Semester of school and this sessions class is on Electronic Production. We needed to create a corporate identity for a company and I chose the pumpkin patch. I'm happy with the project for the class, but Mike thinks the logo needs some tweaking before it's official.

Natural Grass Mower

2010-05-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

There are a hundred and one things to do today and the only thing I did was sit in the middle of my yard, surround by the goats, enjoying the warm breeze. I held the new baby kitten as Meow ( our daughter's cat) sat by my feet. All I could hear in my head was," with two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard, Now everything is easy cause of you and our..." Oh how I love Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I have never been more at ease.

We invested in a portable electric fence for the front yard. We staked off an area with some shade and left the three older goats go to town on the high grass. The goats seemed to enjoy the change of scenery and liked grazing on the tall grass. If we move the fence around we might never have to use the mower again.

Also, the weather finally worked with us and we were able to do our May Pole dance and spring celebration.

Plus - Our local FFA (Future Farmers of America) and the 4-H had an auction to benefit the two programs last night. We enjoy going to help out the organizations and to score a couple of good deals. We ended up getting a rain water barrel. We have an open top barrel, but this one has a spigot and a leaf screen on top. Just the right thing to collect rain water to water the giant pumpkins. We also picked up a bag of feed for the animals, a garden hoe, and a great cow hide looking lamp shade.

Pumpkin Patch tilled under

2010-05-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

Finally we had nice enough weather to disk the field under. The field had not been plowed in over a decade so the turf was hard to turn over. Mike ended up driving the tractor for the first time.
They ended up finding an attachment to dig rows so that the black plastic mulch can be laid down and then the dirt be pushed back onto it. Once that is done we intend on punching holes in the plastic to plant the seedlings.

The Savvy Photographer is having a give-a-way

2010-05-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Again not farm related but the weather has been so frightful that I have been working on my images lately and wanted to share this with everyone too.

Hey photographers and digital scrappers, Savvy is giving away the Beach House Collection Templates to a lucky winner! To enter just spread the word about Savvy and then post your comments to their blog. http://thesavvyphotographer.blogspot.com/

Textures by nicholeV photography plus patch progress

2010-05-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

I took this picture during the day of rock removal from the pumpkin patch. We placed the baby on the the trash can for safe keeping as the skid loader moved rocks from the soon to be planted area.

I thought it was an interesting scene as the storm rolled in on us. The sky was dark and in the place she was sitting there was no background except for sky.

I used a texture from nicholeV photography on this image. I added a border that I did over top. I really love this image, with my baby and her pink cowboy boots.

Interested in textures check out nicholeV photography - www.nicholeV.com

I love nicholeV photography

2010-05-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

I know this is not a farm topic, but still a big part of my life is my photography and I just wanted to profess my love of nicholeV photography and the super awesome textures and actions offered on the website. I fell in love with textures last fall and I can't get enough of them. I think that textures makes the pictures have an old time feel.

This is site is an inspiration to me and the images are fantastic. Check it out!! www.nicholeV.com

Homemade Lemonade & Chive Oil

2010-05-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the evening making fresh lemonade. I used 4 lemons, 5 cups of water, 1/2 cup of sugar, fresh lemon balm leaves and mint leaves. First I washed the lemons and peeled the zest off of one lemon. I placed 3 cups of water in a pot to boil and added the zest. Once the water was boiling I added the sugar and stirred. While the sugar water was boiling I cut and squeezed the lemons by hand, which is great for nails and cuticles. I ended up with a cup of lemon juice.
Once the sugar had dissolved, I removed the water from the heat and lightly bruised the lemon balm and mint leaves and placed them in the hot sugar water. I left that to cool while I worked on other projects. Once the mixture had cooled I added the lemon juice and the additional 2 cups of water.We like ours a little less tart than others, so add the lemon juice first, stir and taste, add then additional water if desired.
Pour the lemonade into a pitcher and place in the refrigerator until chilled. Strain to serve and enjoy.

That was one project using the fresh herbs that are growing in the garden. The other project was a chive oil.

This recipe was passed along from another herb freak!! To make the chive oil, I cut a large bunch of chives, about 2 oz. I placed them in a pot of water and brought it to a boil. I removed the pot when the chives were bright green. Then in the blender I added the chives and a cup of olive oil, blend and let sit. I let the mixture sit for about an hour, then I strained it. Done.

I used the chive oil to top a tomato dish.
Cut tomatoes into slices, lay out on a plate, sprinkle with fresh oregano and chopped garlic. Then add a thin slice of mozzarella to each tomato slice. Then drizzle with the chive oil. This dish can be served cold or it can be broiled until the mozzarella melts to make a tasty hot appetizer.

We are enjoying the fresh herbs and increased the herb garden by adding horehound, peppermint, pineapple sage, catnip, arnica, angelica, lavendar and tansy.

Here's Johnny! New Goat on the farm!!

2010-05-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend began with a Friday night of fleece sorting in preparation of our trip to MD Sheep and Wool Festival in West Friendship, MD. We ended up with a total of 35 pounds of fleece to take to have processed. There will be a nice 50/50 Mohair/Wool blend, a nice black and a soft fluffy white wool. I use a guy out of New York to get the fleeces done and he sets up at the show, it's a great way to save on shipping.

Early on Saturday morning we woke up to the roosters alarming like crazy. There was a fox in the hen house. Since we just hatched 8 chicks last week the chickens were going insane over this. Mike chased off the fox, and we all were up and ready to go early Saturday.

At the MD Sheep and Wool Festival we purchased a beautiful little cashmere goat. He is chocolate brown and such a sweetie. We are super excited and he has been welcomed into the barn.

Pumpkin Plants are taking over the house

2010-04-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

I guess it has been a while since the last post. The month has gone by so fast that I never have time to write. To update the pumpkin growing....At final count we have 31 varieties of pumpkins and over 6,000 seeds. We have started many types indoors so we have seedlings to plant outside in a couple of weeks. There are a handful of types that have a longer maturity date and we started those first. They included the Howden Biggie, the Fairytale, Bliss, Rouge, and this large white/pink thing. We want pumpkins from the beginning of Sept to the end of Oct, so we are trying out the idea of starting some earlier than others. That way we can have some harvested and still have some for a "pick your own" patch.

The second group we planted include Blue Moons, Goosebumps, Winter Luxury, Valento, Lumina, Red Warty thing, Cotton Candy, and Butter nut squash. We planted 8 seeds of each and all of those are coming up. So now the dilemma is what do we do with these quick growing large plants, since the locals suggest we don't move the plants out side until May 15? Solo Cups!!! Each plant is being moved to it's own party cup and set up on an 8 foot long folding table in the living room.

The giant pumpkin experiment is on. We have one outside in a plastic walled hut in attempts to have a fairly large pumpkin by the time of the Shippensburg Fair at the end of July. It is a normal Dill giant, we have the hopes of getting a 400 -500 pound pumpkin from it. Inside the house we have seeds from the linage of the 1689 pound pumpkin which was the 2007 world record, seeds from a 1568 pound pumpkin which is the parent of the 1689 pounder and seeds from a 1298 pound pumpkin.

The field where our pumpkins are going to be planted has been cleared of large rocks and is now going to be plowed. We had planned to plant around the rocks but now we don't have too.

As for the other veggies and seeds. We have had good luck with the tomato seeds, the plants had grown quite large from January when we were checking the air in the house. The warm weather came and someone...not mentioning any names... thought it was a good idea to plant the tomatos in the garden. The plants were large and getting root bound in the containers they were in, so the idea was to get them out before they died. I had suggested that it was not warm enough yet, but no they were planted and now they are dead. So the lesson for the week is no matter how warm it is in the beginning of April, don't plant your tomatos outside until May at least in our area. SO I have replanted more seeds and they are being babied inside.

We have also planted cucumbers, basil, cilantro, eggplant and peppers. Everything is growing well.

**Here's a little note to anyone who wants to garden and start seeds indoors with a toddler who wants to help...write the name of the seed on the container NOT on plant sticks. We planted 9 different hot pepper plants with the intent to sell some at market, we made plant sticks for each peat pot in the tray. We watered them and placed the tray on the heat mat under on the plant stand under the light. we turned our backs on the tray for a minute to clean the counter and get our notebook to write down how many of each we planted, the order in the tray and whatnot....when we came back to the tray little fingers had removed all the tags, mixed them up and we retagging pots. In the process some seeds had been pulled out and stuck back in randomly. So we have a tray full of growing hot pepper plants but have no idea what is what, so they will be for personal use.

As for the animals 4 out of 7 animals have been sheared. The Angora goats did fine as always, Lily the one year old Baby doll sheep was very crazy and was nicked a couple of times, but we patched her up and she looks great today. Well as good as she can look with the hack job I did on shearing her. While we were shearing yesterday there was a whole new group of chicks that hatched. At last count this morning I think there were 12 babies running around.

Maple Syrup Success

2010-03-10T07:43:00.000-08:00

Finally finished with our first maple syrup. We gathered over 40 gallons of sap. We ruined the first boil, so we ended up with a quart of syrup for all of our hard work. But it sure tasted good on the waffles. We have a better understanding of the process and hopefully next year we will have a better season for it.

We went to the Maple Festival at Fort Hunter in Harrisburg last weekend and spoke with a gentleman who boiled his syrup the same way we did, in a cast iron kettle , then finished it up on the stove. He said that we were on the right track and by boiling in a kettle there will always be a smokey taste to the syrup. To get rid of that we will have to get an evaporator. I don't think we tap enough trees for that. Although we have been offered the opportunity to tap more trees on other farms next year, so who knows where this adventure might lead.

Now that is done, we are getting ready to start more seeds indoors. We have some sunflowers started from the Garden Show we attended at the Farm Show Complex. The kids were offered a chance to plant some seeds to watch grow, and Evelyn's seeds are sprouting already. we are looking to plant the eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and Kohlrabi.

We have found some really great recipes for herbal fertilizer, pest repellent and powdery mildew remover. Check out www.UsefulWeeds.com. The recipes are located in their newsletter section. They are a herb shop in CT. They are very helpful and have great fresh herbs!!!!

Snow, Snow and more Snow.

2010-02-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

We haven't had much to post about due to the massive amounts of snow we had here. With the harsh winds we had to continually plow the driveway just to get back to the house. The animals did not leave the barn for two weeks. They walked out on the patio of the barn and just stood there and looked out. Today, for the first time in weeks all of the animals plus the chickens ventured out into the pasture.

The maple syrup adventure continues to be a learning process. We had some of the sap spoil and some of the syrup had too much of a smokey flavor. The sap is still running so we will continue to experiment.

We must have very good air in the house, the tomato plants are growing very quickly.

Now Mike has the idea to compete in the Shippensburg Fair with some of his giant pumpkins. we will have to plant them by the end of next week to have it ready for the fair at the end of July. We will see how that works out.

Here are some snow pictures:

Does our house have bad air?

2010-02-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

Mike was doing his research on gardening, veggie plants, and whatnot and came across a gardening book from 1954, The Homeowners' Complete Garden Handbook by John Hayes Melady. It suggested that you start your tomato plants indoors in January, to make sure that your house is a suitable place to start seeds. So we planted some saved seeds from a friend's heirloom Stuffing Tomato, some Cherokee Purple Tomatoes, Genovese - an Italian Heirloom, and Orange Amana another heirloom variety.

So far, there are sprouts of each. We are using organic prepared potting soil, not that it matters it was what we had on hand, and they are under the light for 12 hours. It is just a regular florescent light, not a heat lamp. We are excited that it worked and ready to get the other plants started this spring!!!!

The benefit of doing this not only saves you a ton of money, time and effort if your house is not suitable, but also should yield a nice bunch of early tomatoes.

Our Maple syrup adventure yielded us a shot glass full of smokey maple syrup/water. We have several more gallons to process, which I think will work out better the next boiling day, because we have a better understanding of what's going on.

BUT now our buckets are under snow.

So on our snow day we are obsessing over our giant pumpkin books and seeds that arrived in the mail on Friday. Our seeds came from a pumpkin that was over 1600 pounds!!! Our goal is an 800 pounder. Oh the pie we will make.

Boiling - Day one

2010-01-31T07:03:00.000-08:00

Our first day of boiling sap was cold and not very productive. The wind whipped around our kettle so bad that it took forever (and the deconstruction of a metal shevling unit) to get it up to boil. We had a nice fire going but the wind kept the kettle from holding enough heat to boil, so after hours of no luck, Mike found an old metal shelving unit and took it apart to use as wind breaks and insulators. Once that was set up around the fire pit the fire blazed and the kettle held a rolling boil. We are still processing the sap, so we are at the sweet water point. Hopefully by the end of the day we will taste the sweetness of victory. Here are some pictures before the shelves.

The sap is flowing!!

2010-01-30T07:33:00.001-08:00

The sap was flowing last weekend, then we had horrible rain and wind. When we checked the buckets after the storm we thought they we full of rain water but we tasted it and it had some sweetness to it. Then is was warm enough again for the sap to run even though the wind chill was incredible. We got such a harsh wind it pulled on of our taps out. So we have to fix that today.

We have collected over 16 gallons of sap to boil down. The fire is started and the kettle is set, We'll let you know how it goes.

The pictures here are one of the taps, 10 gallons of sap and our little investigator checking out on of the buckets.

Tapping the Maple Trees - Syrup ahead!!

2010-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

On our walk around the yard yesterday, we noticed that some of our smaller maple trees had already went to bud. Oh no!! That means we missed the sap run. We have been having the right kind of weather for the sap to start running but we are 2 to 3 weeks earlier than any of the suggested tap dates.

Luckily, when we came home from work on Friday, our box from Anderson's Maple Sugar had arrived. Since we had the equipment, we decided to tap one and see. The drill went in and before we could get it out the sap was running down the tree!!! We hit the mother load.

We tapped 9 trees with 11 taps around 11am on Saturday morning, by the time we checked the buckets at 4pm we had 1/4 of a bucket of sap from several of the taps. So I guess it was ok to tap, I think it's a combination of the weather and the fact that we are further south than most sugar shacks.

Thanks again to Grit magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and the PA Maple Syrup Producers for letting us know how easy it is to tap, collect, and make our own maple syrup!!!

On a different note, we finally got the Christmas Tree out to the goats. They love pine trees. There is a goat farm in town that sells trees at the holidays and what is left over they give to the goats. So we thought we would try it. They loved it. The sheep tried it but they weren't into like the goats were.

Awesome Seed Stand - Grit Magazine

2010-01-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ok we finally finished our seed starter stand with the help from Grit Magazine, Jan/Feb 2010 issue, page 82. ( www.grit.com ) We were looking at several stands out there but they are all so industrial. This article makes a stand/bookcase.

It's not overly fancy but it is nice wood and the lights are hidden for year round use I guess the key is to not fill it up with junk in the off season.

It's funny how we came across this magazine, it had goats on the front and one of the pictures inside had goats in a tree. If we had a tree close enough to the pasture, I know Athena, the pygmy devil would be in it. So I wanted to read about other peoples goats. Then we stumbled onto this article about the seed starter stand and maple syrup making.

In Martha Stewart Living this month ( Feb issue) It also mentions how easy it is to tap your maple trees. So I looked into it and Mike spent some time with the PA Maple Growers Association at the PA Farm show last week. It seems like we understand the whole process and our supplies are on their way. We ordered them from Andersons Maple Syrup, www.andersonsmaplesyrup.com

On another note, we had a hard time finding dry bean seeds. We don't eat alot of green beans but our diet is full of kidney beans, chick peas, and black beans. I came across this wonderful seed company: Vermont Bean Seed Company, www.vermontbean.com . The seeds were shipped quickly and as soon as we get them planted this spring I'll update on how they are doing.

What do we do now?

2010-01-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

Well, we were lucky enough to gather about 11 different varieties of pumpkins from friends and family to save seeds from. They are interesting one like the fairy tale variety and a handful of white ones. So, the beginning of December we are slicing through pumpkins gutting them and drying seeds. The seeds laid to dry for 2 weeks, it was getting close to the holidays, I wanted the counter back. The seeds felt dry and they were bagged and tagged just like the one book suggested - plastic bags.

I always thought seeds kept best in envelopes, but into plastic they went.

We received the purchased seeds, and while looking through the collections to map out a plan, we open the box to find this, a bag of moldy pumpkin seeds. Crap, now what??? It's not a vital thing to save these seeds. We were just trying to see what would grow from saved seeds. So off to our books we went, one suggested that you should disinfect your seeds with a bleach to water solution. So far it looks like it worked. The seeds are mold less.

I guess it will be spring until we see if they grow or not.

On a happy note all of our purchased seeds have arrived from Johnny's Seed and Reimer Seeds.

The New Year with a New Focus

2010-01-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

We have successfully set up our farm as a business. Dusty Bottom Acres, LLC. We have a goal for the year and that is to plant, grow and harvest some of the oddest and coolest veggies and pumpkins in the area. We have redirected our blog from being just our crafts and everyday life to what we call confessions of a first year farmer. See, we have no experience with growing much of anything. So, this is going to be our diary as we learn, grow and mess up.

Our farm includes fiber animals, so we have plenty of wool and mohair for sale. We are currently working on the Etsy store now.

The Blacksmith might find some time to post a project or two, but who knows because of his ambitions to grow the largest pumpkin. It looks like the largest is over 1600 pounds!!! I think he will be happy with anything over 200 pounds. But still that is a huge pumpkin!!!

Join us in our adventure for 2010!!!

9 month baby Pictures

2009-04-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

My photo class project was to take pictures of something that you're passionate about. Well it was time to take the 9 month pictures anyways and I do love my baby. I wanted something vintage. I was looking around for props and almost fell over the Pram in search of something. It's part of our lives and I never really think of it more than a stroller.

So I wheeled the baby off into the field. The day was beautiful and these are a couple of the pictures that I got.

The family isn't as excited as I am about them, they are more about "photography" less about the baby.

I'm part of the Kid Craft Jamboree #1

2009-04-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

My felt Peep Pattern is part of the http://www.kiddio.org/ Kid-Craft Jamboree #1. There are tons of spring time crafts to do with kids and for kids. Check it out!!!

Eveie Peasy Baby Leg Warmers - Free Pattern

2009-03-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

Eveie Peasy by Stephanie Nericcio

Super Easy Baby Legwarmers. As a new mom I want all the cool trendy things for my daughter, and I want them now! She’s 2 months old and doesn’t fit into anything, everything is so big. I sat down one day between feedings and baths, grabbed the needles and went to town.

The product was these adorable self striping leg warmers. They are perfect addition to any winter wardrobe, they stop drafts from going up the legs of pants, keeps legs warm when changing and look super cute. They are easy to knit and can be finished in a nap time or two.

This pattern will stretch to fit a 9 inch thigh at mid-thigh. In most cases, according to the average range growth chart for babies, these will fit babies up to 9-12 months, without adjusting the cast on figures. As the baby gets bigger (at the thigh) the warmer will become more snug, which works out great because the babe will become more mobile and the warmers will stay in place better.

Grab your double pointed needles and knit these up for a shower or holiday gift for the little one in your life.

SIZE
0-3month[3-6, 6-9, 9-12](shown in size 0-3month)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: 6.5[7.25, 8, 8.5] inches

MATERIALS
[MC] The Plymouth Italian Collection Sockotta [45% Cotton, 40% Superwash Wool, 15% Nylon; 414 yds per 100g skein]; color: 5616; 1 skein
1 set US #2/2.75mm double-point needles
1 set US #4/3.5mm double-point needles notions required
tapestry needleGAUGE
24 sts/32 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

PATTERN
Using #2 dpn CO 36 sts
Divide sts evenly onto needles
Work 10 rnds *K2P1* ribbing
Switch to #4 dpn
Work in St st until piece measures 5[5.75, 6.5, 7] inches
Work 10 rnds *K2P1* ribbing

FINISHING
BO by K2, *insert left needle into the front of the 2 sts on the right needle and K2to tbl - 1 st remains on right needle. K1*
Cont until all sts have been BO
Weave in end

Additional Comments on the pattern: I knit and wrote this when she was 2 months, she's now 9 months and still wearing them, they are just getting a little short because they were only knit for a 0-3 month old.

Any questions, please contact me. Enjoy!!!

Felt Food - My Peeps are here - Free Pattern

2009-03-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

My new obsession is felt food for my daughter to play with. Right now I'm working on an Easter Basket filled with felt goodies instead of sugary ones. So far, my collection includes a Chocolate Bunny made from the kit purchased at Lilly Bean Market, a couple wrapped candies, a bunny cookie w/ frosting, a jelly bean and marshmallow Peeps.

I love marshmallow Peeps and really wanted to share the fun chicks with my baby. I think they came out pretty cute and I offering my pattern for free for everyone to make these chicks for the holiday.

The pattern is set up in a pdf file and you can get it here http://www.dustybottomacres.com/feltpeeps.pdf

I hope you enjoy it and I'd love to see your creations

Spin, Spin, Spin

2008-12-05T04:34:00.000-08:00

I've finally gotten a chance to spin up some of the great fibers from the fiber swap. Here they are.

The first one I call Yummy, because the colors are yummy, it's so soft it's yummy and the hat I'm knitting is so cute...you get the point.

The second one is called Twister. It looks like a storms coming through, then the little coils in it are the mini twisters. Not sure what this is going to be knit up into yet.

Fiber Swap month 2

2008-11-24T08:24:00.000-08:00

This was my beautiful package for month 2 of the Ravelry fiber swap.

fiber swap

2008-10-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while, but with the new baby and all.

Anyways, here's my score from the fiber swap on Ravelry

Baby's Room Done

2008-06-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the picts of the long awaited Nursery. We bailed on the idea of hardwood floors for the arrival on the baby, so we painted the sub flooring. It wasn't the best idea, because the floor is very porous, but what else can you do??? The baby will be here in less than a week, so we had to do something.

It's been really hard for me because the nesting thing hit and I really wanted to organize the room, but couldn't because of the floor hold up.

Here's the best I could do for a 360 shot of the room.

Although the theme is Vintage Baby, somehow it turned into Petting Zoo. The crib is vintage along with the mobile. There are bits everywhere of the old, but with the BRIGHT colors there's also a lot of new too.

I haven't gotten the baby pictures hung yet, hopefully tonight. I also have to finish the belly cast. Here's a picture of me during the drying of the cast. I'm sanding it and will paint it before it's hung up. It was fun to do.

Goat on a Hot Tin Roof!!!

2008-05-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the little goat on the roof of the barn. How She got there, well we saw that. In one big jump she got onto the half wall of concrete, then another little jump onto the roof. I guess she's got more pygmy in her than we thought.

Then we have poor Adder. After attending the Maryland Fiber Festival and getting a great deal on our shears we thought we had a good handle on shearing this sheep. Things did not go according to plan. But luckily it's like a bad hair cut, in a couple of weeks she'll look fine.....Right?
And Then there's AJ. The tree has leaves again and they irritate him so he's been trying to bite them off. Here he is in mid air going after the branch.

New things in our world

2008-05-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I've slacked off so badly at posting to my blog. Well as you can see our little world is full of new things. My growing size is one of them. With only 2 months to go, it's gone by quickly. The house is full of baby stuff.

Then, yesterday we went to the Maryland Sheep & Fiber Festival. I got a very cool flyer for a spinning wheel, it's super big and I can't wait to use it. I also purchased a fleece, took it to the next building, dropped it off at a processor and when it arrives home in 2 months it will be clean and ready to spin. I'm in no mood to wash tons of fleeces right now. We also got the shears we need to shear the sheep and goats. SO there'll be 4 more fleeces to deal with.

Our big purchase of the day was this tiny little Pygora Goat. She's awesome. She has a wonderful angora fleece but will stay the size of a pygmy goat. Her name is Athena and she's 3 months old. She's beautiful.

When we got home last night we found a large rock in the middle of our pasture!! The rock gods were looking out for us. The goats were desperate for something to climb on and I said NO junk cars, or ugly plywood structures. So the rock search was on. They love it and are already all over it. Thanks a million Pap!!!!

The last really new thing is Duke. He wandered onto the farm one day and we finally decided he needed to stay one of the family. He fits in well and loves to snuggle. So, there's another German Shorthair Pointer to add to the family.

Spin Challenge # 5 CIRCLE THE WAGONS!

2008-02-08T17:23:00.000-08:00

Spin Challenge # 5 Circle the Wagons.

Pluckyfluff issued the following spinning challenge in her blog, Holly of the fantastic fiber famed HollyEQQ...if you are not familiar with her and her amazing fibers...check her site out ASAP! Our good friend Holly has run into a whopper of a medical situation as many of you may know from her blog. So it's fiber-friends-unite! form of a spin-auction...a spauction!! Sandy from Homestead Wool and Gift Farm along with some other pals, is going to host an auction on her site of yarns and goods donated for the Holly cause. How does this effect the spin challenge you say? Well....every yarn entered in this challenge will be donated to the auction! So only enter the challenge if you are willing to donate the yarn!!
They have decided to call the auction CIRCLE THE WAGONS.....since everyone is gathering round and working together to help out a fellow pioneer. So that will be the theme of this challenge.
Challenge #5 CIRCLE THE WAGONS!
The criteria: this challenge is more open to interpretation than we usually do, so have at it. It just has to relate to the theme "Circle The Wagons". This could range from a very literal visual interpretation to a more philosophical take on the meaning of "circling wagons". Any material is fair game. this challenge will last one week. As usual, submit entries to The Yarn Museum.

My yarn - The Duke

I took the more literal approach to Circle the Wagons. All I could think of is the star of the silver screen - John Wayne. Rough, Tough and doesn’t take crap from anyone!!! My yarn is a pile of jute, cotton thread, wool, linen, and red sparkle fibers. A couple little homemade patches of guns, sherif’s badges and a covered wagon complete the look. Also, a second skein of wool, cotton thread and red sparkles over-dyed in a denim color help create a strong, cowboy themed set. This is not a cuddly yarn set!!!
Strength played a big part in this. We as friends need to be strong to support a fellow fiber artist, Holly and hopefully our strength will give her strength.

The New Phonebook's Here!!!

2008-02-05T11:18:00.000-08:00

"The new phonebook's here!! The new phonebook's here!! I am somebody!!!" - Steve Martin in the Jerk.

That's how I felt yesterday when I opened the box from amazon. The AWESOME new book Intertwined: The Art of Handspun Yarn, Modern Patterns and Creative Spinning came in yesterday and I have a full 4 pages about my super cool yarn into neck cuff project!!!! My name is in print and everything.

I'm so excited!!!

The book is full of spinning techniques as well as patterns for knit projects.I think that Lexi put together a great book.

Snow Day = Dye Day

2008-02-01T10:04:00.000-08:00

Since it's one great big sheet of ice outside, we have a no school day!!! I'm taking advantage of it by dying a whole bunch of fiber I have lying around.

I used kool-aid for all of these except the bottom right, I used a synthetic to try and get a "dark green/olive green". It turned out more blue then I like.

From the top left down

On Curly Wool

1. Strawberry

2. Mad Scientist

3. Mango

Row 2

On Dorset Wool

1. Grape

2. Cherry

Row 3

On Mohair

1. Cherry

2. Lemonade

3. Strawberry/Kiwi

Row 4

On Mohair

1. Grape

2. Tropical Punch

R0w 5

On Mohair

1. Lime

2. Synthetic Dye - Dark Green

Baby Stuff

2008-01-24T11:21:00.000-08:00

Here's my cute tiger lamp that matches the fabric perfectly. I'm super happy. It needs a new shade, it's faded bad but that's an easy fix.

Here is a picture of the baby's room. This wall had about 6 layers of wallpaper and paint on top to remove. Mike got a little crazy and striped a little too much, down to the Sheetrock, pulling off the Sheetrock paper. So there will have to be filler. We don't think the other 3 walls will be as bad. They look to only have 1 layer of paper at the bottom.

And who could resist this awesome Cuddly Rigor Mortis Zombie? The were selling these at Hot Topics and I was afraid they wouldn't carry them in July so I just had to get it now. It's full of different textures, fuzzy, leather, satin. The top is even an anatomy lesson of the brain. =)

Our child will have a full understanding of the undead!!!

Spin, Spin,Spin

2008-01-24T11:02:00.000-08:00

I was working on some art yarn techniques. Here's how my coils and nubs came out. First is a natural dyed yellow wool, dyed with goldenrod from the fields next door. I spun in some turquoise dyed curly locks of wool then added electric yellow and blue angelina fibers. Then I 2-plied it with a white cotton yarny string. The coils came out pretty nice.

The second yarn is dark brown llama spun with nubs of light tan alpaca. This yarn is super soft. I'm also please with this one, the only thing is I wish I had my bulky spinner up and running. I would have loved more than 40 yards of this one.

Tea Time!!!

2008-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

I finished the Tea for Two yarn. The antique white fibers along with the off white lace spun together beautifully to create a Victorian tea time yarn. This would be awesome knit into a tiny handbag or clutch for an afternoon tea.

The work has just begun. I had a brain storm and new ideas are popping into my head by the second. Although mostly baby stuff, a couple ideas for yarn are in the pot too.

I must finish writing the pattern for the vest I knit for Mike. It's super cool and it needs photographed and written up so I can submit it.

Busy, Busy, Busy....

Tea for Two!

2008-01-11T11:27:00.000-08:00

My mom asked me to go along with her to the local Girl Scout Victorian Tea on Sunday. My mother, sister and I are all lifetime members of Girl Scouting. I enjoy working with different troops and helping out. Scouts opened a lot of doors for me and I went places that would take a lifetime to get to see.

In honor of the tea, I had a brainstorm and carded up some awesome batts of cream colored wool to spin with a large amount of taupe lace along with this awesome thread to ply with.

I'll get to spin it tomorrow. I'm really excited to see how it will turn out. I'm gonna brew up a cup and spin away.

Holy Speed Shipping Batman!!!

2008-01-08T09:54:00.001-08:00

Wow, I just ordered my fabric on Friday Jan. 4th and It arrived yesterday, Monday the 7th!!! That's awesome. It came the whole way from Cali.

I'm very impressed with the speed of shipping, the quality of the product and the price!!!

If anyone needs fabric check out http://www.sewzannesfabrics.com/ They have awesome kid prints, but the also have great florals too. So many choices. Go look.

I also got some P.U.L. fabric, it's water proof on one side with a soft fabric on the other. I think I'll be making some bibs and maybe even some cloth diapers. I'm soooo excited.

We also just got back from our Dr's visit at 14 weeks. We were able to hear the little ones heart beat and everything sounds good, 140 beats per minute. I'm on cloud nine today.

I really had my spin on

2008-01-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at the PA farm show was really neat. I was spinning with 2 other ladies from my spinning guild. There were lots of people and the kids seemed really interested in watching the wheels and touching the fibers.

Of course my bright purple wheel always draws attention.

I was spinning up some purple Tencel. It's super soft and shiny. Oooooo...shiny things.

Now it's spun I think it will look good plied with something else. I just don't know what.I have lots of ideas just gotta get to the wheel.

If anyone is interested, a woman from my knitting group will be live blogging the Sheep to Shawl competition at the Farm Show on Wednesday night. Here's the link to her blog. Log on and check it out!!!! http://accidentalknitter.blogspot.com/

New Years Resolution - Blog more

2008-01-05T07:47:00.000-08:00

My New Years Resolution is to blog more. Which means getting more organized with pictures and all.

First let's talk about the baby. Let's see, the little one is due to arrive sometime around the 4th of July. We're past the 1st trimester now, so that's good. I'm feeling pretty good. And now we're working on the baby's room.

I just purchased the last 3 remaining yards of Alexander Henry's "Petting Zoo" fabric I could find on the net. We'll be using this as accent fabric. It's very vintage looking and matches the furniture we have. When I was little I had a tiger lamp that matches the tigers on the fabric, so I have to snatch that from my 'rents. This has all kinds of animals on it so matching it should be easy, although there are no monkeys.... maybe that's better, monkeys can be trouble.

Today, Mike is out in the garage working on a repair piece to my new spinning wheel. I picked up a bulky spinner on ebay. This wheel should travel a lot better than my Kromski. I love my fancy wheel, purple and all, but it's huge and awkward to carry. In the next couple of months the new compact wheel will be a blessing.

I joined the Southern Cumberland County Spinners Guild of PA. We will be spinning tomorrow, Sunday the 6th at the Farm Show in Harrisburg. I'm very excited to be part of a group. I like to see what others are doing.

I also just skirted a 10 pound fleece to have processed. It's a little too much for me right now to wash and card huge fleeces, so I'm using some holiday cash and having it done. I didn't finish up washing my adult mohair yesterday. It's drying on the kitchen floor.

I've finished some project which I want to take pictures of. A mohair beanie for Mike, 1 pink sock out of 2 some day they'll be a pair, a water bottle cover which is a trial run to see if the pattern will work for baby bottles and half an elephant toy.

Knitter's Coffee Swap #3 Getting to Know You

2007-10-13T05:43:00.000-07:00

I'm part of the Knitter's Coffee Swap 3!!! I'm very excited to be part of this, it combinds my 2 favorite things, Yarn and Cofffee. I'm Answering these get-to-know-you-questions as I guzzle down a jumbo cup of coffee. Yummmmm.

1. Whole bean or ground? Whole Bean

2. Fully-loaded or decaf? Fully Loaded!!!!

3. Regular or flavored? Whatever

4. How do you drink your coffee? Cream or milk and a touch of sugar - let's not spoil the coffee with additives!

5. Favorite coffee ever? I have to say that my favorite coffee ever was a Dark Roast with Orange in it. It had bits of orange peel in it so they got ground with the coffee and then brewed. It was awesome. Not that I'm a fruit coffee drinker all the time. In fact see #8 for more info.

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? freah roast is better but on our new budget...any whole bean will do in a pinch. =)

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Boscotti

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? We brew dark, so even the light roasts come out more robust. I dislike with a firey passion hazelnut and Choclate Raspberry. No reason for it, just ick, now isn't that funny after saying one of the all time favs is a fruit coffee.

9. Yarn/fiber you love? I love natural fibers, and blends there of. Cotton, wool, flax. Love, love, love. Handspuns are also high on the love list!!!

10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Fun Fur. - I have about 100 balls and I'm at a loss on what to do with it.

11. What's on your needles? Toe -up socks. Well, were on the neeedles...now 2 socks at one time.

12. Favorite colors? Anything, for real. I have a color that I tend to buy all the time, so everything I knit is that color and it's driving my crazy. So I say anything.

13. Allergies? Cherries - they make my mouth ichy

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I really love art and all things crafty. I love coffee - tea is not a substitute!!

Spin Challenge #2- WUZZLEFUBBER Done!!!!

2007-09-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

I finished my WuzzleFubber for the Spin Challenge. I'm pretty happy with the way it came out but I might end up felting it. It my stand up to time better and make a better crazy dollie that way.

Anyways, check out all the contestants at the Yarn Museum and cast your vote at PluckyFluff's blog on Friday the 28th!!!!

Spin Challenge #2

2007-09-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

PluckyFluff posted the second spin challenge and I've been working on it in between everything else. This is my sketch. I have the yarn spun and I'm almost done knitting it. Here is the challenge.

Spin Challenge #2- WUZZLEFUBBER

CRITERIA:
1. sketch your wuzzlefubber and state your fibers and measurements.
2. all elements of the creature must be spun into the yarn.
3. creature must be knit/crocheted continually, following the dictate of the yarn (meaning knit the arm when you get to the "Arm" section of your yarn, wether you want to or not)
4. the yarn can not be cut.
5. the entire skein must be used

I wasn't too sure how to knit this thing, so far any good knitter is going to say what the hell are you doing but it was the only way I knew how to make the legs and not cut the yarn. I have to say that my measurements are off a bit. But oh well.

All creatures will be posted at the Yarn Museum and voting begins next week.

Spin Challenge Voting Polls Open!!!!

2007-09-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

The Voting Polls have been opened for the the first Spin Challenge!!! I entered my Spring Showers yarn. To vote visit Plucky Fluff's blog at: http://pluckyfluff1.livejournal.com/13447.html?mode=reply

All the enteries are listed at the Yarn Museum.

I have more of my pictures posted on my site at www.DustybottomAcres.com

Yarn Museum

2007-09-04T15:23:00.000-07:00

My Beach Baby Yarn hangs in the Yarn Museum, in the No Wool exhibit. I was pretty happy with the results of this spin. Spun out of hemp fibers, muslin, pink sparkle and fabric flowers. I want to knit it up into a summer hand bag. I just have to find the right handles first. Click the link to the museum to check out more shots of my yarn and lots of other skeins!!!

Deitch Reunion

2007-08-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

Games at the Deitch Reunion. Mike & Jon played the waterballoon toss. TP mummy is always fun. Jon was the newest member - only being married a week. Mike with his candy price for guessing the number of gum drops. As always, lots of food. We took Brownie and she played ball. Shocker there.

Farm Pictures

2007-08-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

My cousin visting with the kids.

This was a cool web that had dew on one morning. It's was pretty neat.

Here's Pumpkin our new cat that we rescued from High Street in Carlisle.

The Beauty of Shit!!!

2007-08-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

I've been after this butterfly for months. It would taunt me from the window. I would grab the camera and chase it down only for it to fly off before I got the lens cap off, I would frantically take pictures only to realize there's no memory card - so there's no pictures. Today was the day. I was ready, then it landed in all it's glory...right on a big pile of pooh!!! Then it took off not to be seen again. But isn't it a beauty!?!? I guess there is beauty in a pile of shit.

Watching fireworks

2007-06-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

From our front yard we were able to see Carlisle's fireworks, several different displays on the South Mountain and these must have been right over the hill in Bloserville. So now we know, we don't have to go into town to get a good show.

New Addition!!!

2007-06-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition to the family!! This is Adder. She is just about 5 months old. She came from the farm on the other side of our lane.

She is a little sad and confused about the move. She's trying to play with the goats, but they aren't really sure of her.

The pups are very interested, as she is with them. They were nose to nose through the fence, checkin' each other out.

Now, if you're wondering about the name....See the goats are all named after white flowers, Snowdrop, Cosmo & Hawthorn. We wanted to carry that tradition along with the sheep too and what better name for a black sheep than Adder, now we have the Black Adder. ( That is totally for the BBC fans!!)

House Hats Done!!!

2007-06-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

I finally used up all the yarn and was able to knit 3 hats for

the Charmed Knits Knit-Along. I chose Slytherin Colors because everyone wants a little bad in their wizard!!! Anyways, this was a great pattern, super easy and quick to knit. The hats are knit out of wool and are being donated to Warm Woolies, a charity that gives hats to kids in need. If you are interested in more information check out http://charmedknits.blogspot.com/ .

My creepy little dolly wanted to model one of the hats. I guess she's actually part of head-less hunt, unlike "Nearly Headless Nick".

2 skiens of yarn, 1 gray, 1 hunter green, was enough to knit 3 hats. 1 small, 1 medium, and 1 large with a little yarn left over.

Down On The Farm

2007-06-24T06:14:00.000-07:00

There are some days I get nothing done but taking pictures of my "kids" and things happening on the farm. Our family has grown since we got here, we are now the caretakers for 3 barn cats, and we are renting out space in the barn for a couple of barn swallows that just had a family of 4 babies. ( I say renting because their job is dive bomb the dogs all day, it keeps the pups on their toes.)

I have spun a lot of wool, because I have a stand at the Carlisle Summer Fair, with my sis this year. I also just got a great big bag of Alpca fibers that needs washed and spun, busy, busy, busy.

I finally finished the 3 hats for the Charmed Knitting group. I hope to be sending them off this week after pictures have been taken.

These are some pictures I just took on the farm. They are pictures of Aj, Brownie and her ball, the Sparrow and baby family, Cosmo & Hawthorn, my 2 angora goat kids.

Good Cause Knitting

2007-05-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

I've started my knits for charity this week. I've already finished 1 Harry Potter house hat for the Charmed Knits - Knit along. I chose Slytherin because well who doesn't want a little "bad" in their wizard?!?!?! The hats knit for this group are going Warm Woolies. Warm Woolies is a non-profit organization whose volunteers knit warm clothing for poverty-stricken children who would otherwise suffer from cold. If you're interested in knitting some house hats for a great cause visit: http://charmedknits.blogspot.com/

I've also started a scarf for The Knit before Christmas - Christmas at Sea Program. The Knit Before Christmas is the blog of the Seamen’s Church Institute’s volunteer knitting program, Christmas at Sea. This program has been going strong since the Spanish American War, but this knitting blog has only just begun. If you're interested in finding out more visit: http://blogs.seamenschurch.org/about/

And lastly, I joined the Caps for a Cure Yahoo group. I haven't started any caps yet, but I have may cotton yarn ready to go in the near future!! Join us as we knit caps for chemotherapy patients. Feel the satisfaction of reaching out to others as you enjoy knitting along with the group. Visit this group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/capsforacure/

We have Kids!!!

2007-05-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

Goats that is!!!!! We are getting 3 lovely Angora goats for the new homestead. We visited Cold Goats Farm in Haddam Neck, CT yesterday and we picked out new additions and will be picking them up on our final move in June. We got Snowdrop, the mom and her newly born set of twin boys. They are super freindly, nice and soft. I can't wait until we pick them up. These are fiber animals, they will get sheared 2 times a year and the Mohair will be spun into wonderful yarn. How exciting!!! To learn more about Cold Goats Farm visit www.ColdGoatsFarm.com

X-mas gift Finally done!!

2007-05-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

OK, so what, just because we entered the month of May doesn't that this is late...it's just early for next year. After several hours of bitchin' and moaning this thing is finally done. Mike started on this for our friend, right after they got back from Europe last summer/fall. The horn was very hard to work with, pieces just went missing, and well it's done now.

This is a rondel. A rondel was a type of stiff-bladed dagger used in Europe in the late Middle Ages. It was worn at the waist and might be used as a utility tool, or worn into battle or a jousting tournament as a side-arm.

This blade was hand forged, in the backyard. The handle is made of brass plates and horn. The bottom plate has a bat cut into the brass to show the horn.

For more pictures check out www.DustyBottomAcres.com

Artwork Published!!!!

2007-04-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

My card art was published in the "Catch Up Issue" of Stampers' Sampler!!!! I had submitted 2 enteries last Aug. for the October issue. When that issue came out and I had not made the cut I was bummed, and got in a funk about not submitting anything else. BUT I just recieved this extra issue in the mail yesterday. My subscription doesn't include this issue...I got super excited... and there it was, or should I say there THEY WERE!!! Both submissions were published in this super issue.

This is a great issue with over 500 project, samples and ideas. Check it out at: http://www.stampington.com/html/inside_catchup_11.html

We Bought the Farm

2007-04-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally happened, we bought the farm. I mean we're finally getting out of the over priced, rat race environment we live in now and we're moving on to bigger and better things. The pups love the freedom - Aj loves it a little too much, but it's wonderful.

The move has begun. It'll be a long, long road until we are completely settled but worth every minute.

Not your Grandma's wash cloth

2007-03-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

I love hand knit wash & dish cloths. I am slowly replacing the lesser cloths in the house for these super spectacular wash cloths. These are the gifts of the future, everyone I know will be getting one of these awesome cloths with a personal message. These are a present for my sister's birthday, I know she will love the Skank and Skull collection.

I searched forever for a great pattern and the one I love is from Knitty.com here is the link. http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall06/PATTbacktoschool.html

I changed the text and art but stuck with the same knit pattern for the body of the cloth. Totally worth checking out.

Wool socks take on a man

2007-03-07T10:33:00.000-08:00

So, for Valentine's Day I handspun 250 yards of wool yarn, dyed that yarn and knit up a pair of the coolest frickin' socks ever. They were to be for my hubby for V-day. He loves wools sock and I thought that the homemade goodness would be perfect for a V-day gift. BUT then I was worried that they might not fit since it was the first time using that pattern, so I gave them to him early. They fit, he loved them, they were warm and comfy - everything a wonderful sock should be. He went off to work in them for the first time, they were perfect. THEN he thought he would do the laundry, in went the handspun, hand dyed, hand knit socks into the wash with his white cotton socks on super hot wash. Then they took a spin in the dryer. Needless to say that I now have a wonderful pair of socks and he doesn't.
No more wool socks for him.

What's on the Wheel?

2007-02-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

Velvet Elvis - well this project started out cooler then the end product. I tried to take some shortcuts and it just didn't work out. Cool enough for me, but I wouldn't give this to anyone. Oh well, back to the wheel to try again.