Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Wee Hearts

Joining Ginny's Yarn Along today to share the small heart pattern that has captivated me this week. I haven't made my own Valentines since I was a child, but this year may be my revival year. The pattern is Little Hearts and is available as a free download on Ravelry. My reading book this week is "The Elegance of the Hedgehog." I have to confess that I was attracted to the title as a lover of hedgehogs. We'll see if any appear...

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Fresh Eggs!

ta-DA! We did not expect any eggs until March, but Heinrich has been laying for the last four days. Two eggs were cracked and leaking, but the others are waiting to be eaten at breakfast tomorrow!
Yum!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

New Friends

We welcomed two chickens to the farm the day before Thanksgiving, Heinrich and Athena. (No, don't let the names fool you, no rooster in the mix. This is what happens when the Farmer and the nephews put their heads together - unforgetable!)
They are about 6 months old and could possibly start laying eggs any day, but there is probably not enough daylight right now. We will patiently wait until Spring! In the mean time, they have been good company while working in the garden... before the snow hit.
We have not given them too much free range yet. They seemed to enjoy their freedom a little too much. We had to chase Athena out of the woods at the end of this session. Their little urban coop placed over pill bug-infested garden beds seems to be keeping them happy right now.
Have a scratchy day...bok-bok-bok!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Of Yokes and Yolks

The final sweater gift goes to Nephew #2, AKA The Godson, AKA "crafty cousin." Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, I have finished his sweater late, but I think he will still be OK with the product, even though it is missing the requested lightening bolts down the front! The yarn is Dream in Color Classy in colorway Malibu Sail. Dream in Color is a hand-painted superwash merino wool: love the hand-painted attributes, do not trust superwash wool. The quality of the yarn feels a little hard and a lot inflexible, and possibly a little thinner than a true worsted weight. I had difficulty getting gauge, which was a problem with this Elizabeth Zimmerman "count your own stitches" Norwegian yoke sweater pattern, found in her "Knitting Workshop" book. The last sweater I made with this yarn turned out a bit small, so I was nervous.
A half-finished sweater try-on at Christmas revealed that the sweater will fit fine, but I probably should have picked something with different shoulder shaping. Nephew #2 is built like a power lifter, and I had to re-knit some of the top accordingly. I almost wish that I had added a design in the yoke, but plain looks great also. Lightening bolts would have taken me a long time to design!
In fact, the yoke reminded me of this Mt. Ranier photo that I took summer of 2011 flying into Seattle!
Now off to block this beauty and get it in the mail.
Darkstar looks on from the snowy alpaca barn, wishing everyone a Happy New Year! And finally, a little preview of some introductions that I need to make tomorrow...
Here's to 2013! Be-GAWK!