This morning it was still raining--pouring would actually be a better description. We got drenched doing the chores, even though Mack and I both had on gortex clothing. We knew it was bad, because the rain had washed part of our garden down through our shed. Our cans of grain and feed were sitting in 2-4 inches of muddy water. The poor alpacas had muddy feet and knees because water had run into their shed. We put out straw for the alpacas and hoisted the cans of feed up on dry ground. THe geese were loving it. The whole hillside was doing a dramatic sheet flow. Thankfully, the grass is up and sturdy. We got ready for work.
We were stunned driving into work. We live on the top of a hill and thought we would have to turn back because of flooding. The top picture is our neighbor's corn field. They are located down on the creek--what is usually a creek bed with a little water flowing and a few shallow pools. Yesterday this corn field had nice neat rows of beautiful little 2 inch corn plants. This morning it was a raging torrent with all sorts of debris. (The stream, if you can call it that today, is a tributary of Wolf Creek.) The bottom picture is further upstream on another tribtary of Wolf Creek. It is way out of its banks and was flowing around a bridge which is barely visible at the right of the picture. Hopefully, the rain will stop, the water will go down so we can start the cleanup--and get home tonight!
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Have you heard of the beautiful yarns from the new company Juniper Moon Farm? If you haven't before, you have now! What is more we are carrying some of their yarns. The yarn pictured here is Sabine--a beautiful blend of royal llama (30%), merino wool (30%) and cotton (40%). Working on the store model was a treat! The yarn is soft (feels like cotton, but works like wool). Even on those hot March days, it didn't itch or scratch, but felt very pleasant to work with. I loved it and I love the shell I made with it. I love it so much we are having a special on it--buy 5 skeins of the yarn ($18.00 a skein) and get the book free. There are 12 lovely colors.
We also have Findley, one of the best feeling lace yarns ever, in white. Come in and touch it and I feel sure you will agree!'
]]>We also have Findley, one of the best feeling lace yarns ever, in white. Come in and touch it and I feel sure you will agree!'
The first of the geese are hatched! When I went out Wednesday morning, April 11, there was one cute little goose lying in the nest with 10 eggs. By yesterday afternoon there were 8 goslings--7 little gray girls and one yellow boy. (We have Pilgrim geese, which are sex linked--meaning that the sexes are different colors so you can tell sex from the time they hatch. The girls are gray with brown eyes; the boys are yellow with blue eyes.) They were typical little ones-- jumping out of the nest and into the water bowl, running around and driving their distracted mother crazy. She was still trying to hatch out the last three eggs. By this morning she had given in to the needs of the 8 little hatchlings and moved off the nest. Our 11 ganders who have been whiling away the time in a great bachelor party all jumped in like proud fathers, each one boasting about how much his little ones could do. Our domestic geese always surprise me because the fathers don't seem to care if the babies are theirs or not--babies are babies and they claim them. This morning the proud mama (with about 5 fathers) took her babies out of their enclosure and walked around to show them off to every other mother. (Remember from a previous blog: there were 9 goose nests.) At first I thought Mmma was just showing off, trying to make the other geese jealous, but then I realized she was introducing her babies to the rest of the gaggle. After the introductions she took them down to the pond and coaxed them in. I was frantic because the pond has steep sides and I couldn't see how they could get out again--but they did. She walked them around in the shallow water to the place where a little stream runs in and then she and the fathers brought the babies out, sometimes by carrying them on their backs. When we left they were all up by the barn resting in the sun. It is a good thing I am at the store, because if I weren't, I would be at home frantically watching and worrying about those baby geese ALL DAY! (Hmmm, I will be worried about them all day! I worried about them all night last night, especially after we saw a giant o'possum trying to raid nests before we went to bed.)
]]>The history of flowers of the month and birthstones is linked to the Romans. The Romans liked to give gifts and flowers and gemstones were some of the favorites. In the past, it was not always acceptable to be frank or express feelings the way we do today. Gemstones and flowers were given symbolic meanings which carried with them when they were given as gifts. During the Victorian era a gift of sweet peas carried the hidden message "Thank you for a lovely time." They could also signify blissful pleasure or in some cases mean good bye.
The weather is so beautiful I can't resist writing about the joys of spring. One of my favorite joys is all the new life--flowers, green grass, blossoms on the fruit trees and the new babies. Our birds have been busy for weeks, setting up nests and laying eggs. We had nine of our domestic Pilgrim geese on nests, but we are down to eight. Something got the eggs in one. It is probably just as well because the nest was a panopoly of eggs--goose, duck, and guinea. I don't know how the mother would have managed if she had managed to hatch the eggs. She is busy setting up a new nest. We had two duck nests, but both have suffered complete destruction--one appears to have frozen, the other was attacked by crows. We found broken eggs all over the place. The crows pick up the eggs in their beaks, fly up into the air, drop the eggs when they reach a certain height and then swoop down to eat the contents. I have tried hard to counteract this by craftily getting the birds to nest in covered spots. The crows are not stupid and they still get in when the mothers go for food or drink.
Two nights ago, I heard peeping when I went into the chicken house to check on one of my setting hens (there are two of those). There propped up on a corner of the nest box was a delightfully cute little peep, pumping his little wings (I think he is a baby rooster--he is the light colored one with a dark spot on his head) and getting ready to jump off and hob nob with the big birds. He and his mom and the two other little chicks, along with the other eggs were quickly moved into a brooding box I have which is warm and safe from predators. The little family is settled in and gives me great pleasure. I love watching them. I could watch them all day. Momma is busy showing them how to drink and scratch to find good things to eat and they think they know everything. When she makes a certain low perk sound, they jump back into her feathers and are gone from view in an instant. She is a wonderful mother, especially considering this is her first brood.
Two nights ago, I heard peeping when I went into the chicken house to check on one of my setting hens (there are two of those). There propped up on a corner of the nest box was a delightfully cute little peep, pumping his little wings (I think he is a baby rooster--he is the light colored one with a dark spot on his head) and getting ready to jump off and hob nob with the big birds. He and his mom and the two other little chicks, along with the other eggs were quickly moved into a brooding box I have which is warm and safe from predators. The little family is settled in and gives me great pleasure. I love watching them. I could watch them all day. Momma is busy showing them how to drink and scratch to find good things to eat and they think they know everything. When she makes a certain low perk sound, they jump back into her feathers and are gone from view in an instant. She is a wonderful mother, especially considering this is her first brood.
The peacock, Morgan, is strutting around like he owns the place. He has been fanning his tail desperately and shaking his wings trying to attract the female's attention. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem too interested and there are no eggs-yet.
]]>We would like to have evening hours one or two nights a week, but due to health reasons can't spend 10 or 12 hour days at the store or running home and then back again for evening hours. An option would be to open late--say 3:30 or 4:30 and stay until 7:30 or 8:30 one or two days a week. Would this option be convenient for most of our customers? What evening(s) would be best?
We would also like to get our knitting circles going again. What are the best days and times!
Please let us know what is convenient for you so we can set up hours that work for most of us!
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Imagine my amazement when one of the knots featured was our old familiar standby in knitting and crochetting--the slip knot. But the article was not about how to tie a slip knot. It was something much different. I latched onto the magazine and read with fascination that Alexander Worden, who received a master of architecture from Virginia Tech in 2011, was an avid crocheter. He apparently taught himself to crochet to help learn the modeling software that architects use. I have no idea how these two things could possiblly be related, but apparently he saw something there. According to the article in the Virginia Tech magazine, architects are using computer-based curvilinear forms that react to each other. Mr. Worden was playing with a lace doily and thought it represented a real life example of how forms can warp without tearing. "As you pull ( a crocheting piece) and stretch it, the knots reconfigure and transform into a different system." The article goes on to say that "he was immediately hooked." Ha, ha, what a play on words. Mr. Worden now apparently is one of the few people who applies crocheting skills to architecture and continues to look for "potentials" in textiles.
Mr. Worden's resume indicates among other things that he was a Top Ten Finalist with Digital Crochet Print in the 2011 Dimension Extreme Redesign Competition and that he works for Enclos. Info on Enclos states that it is a company that involves the concept and design development of advanced building facade and enclosed structures , including glass facades, cable trusses, cable nets, grid shells, exposed truss systems and glass structures.
Who would ever have thought that trying to write a simple blog on the slip knot in crochet would lead to a modern, avant garde, architectural firm?
I just noticed another knot in the article is the Tom fool's knot which is used in animal restraint. I need to sign off and study that for awhile. Maybe I can apply the principles the next time we are giving the alpacas their ivermectin shots. I have no inclination to be thrown against the door of the barn again. I am still worried about having blood (from the scratch on my ear) run down the side of my face when a customer comes in. How awful--I was the Tom Fool!
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As you know, for the past 9 months or so, we have been selecting colors of the month from birthstones. March has two birthstones--the aquamarine and bloodstone. Aquamarine is a blue form of the beryl gemstone family, which can also show up as green (emerald) or pink to red (morganite). Aquamarine comes in many attractive shades of blue and can be the color of the sky or water. It is alleged to arouse feelings of sympathy, trust, harmony and friendship.
Bloodstone is a green jasper (chalcedony quartz) dotted with bright red spots of iron oxide. It is called the martyr's stone and was used during the middle ages to carve scenes of crucifixion. The legend is that bloodstone was first formed when drops of Christ's blood fell on some jasper at the foot of the cross. Both of these stones are lovely. My mother has always loved aquamarines (even though they aren't her birthstone). My Dad has a lovely set of bloodstone cufflinks. I loved them when I was a child until I heard the story about the crucifixion which horrified me. Now I am much more sympathetic to such histories.
Unfortunately, I didn't find any yarn in the store that I felt represented either of these stones in either color or lore. So, I decided to choose the color of the flower of the month. The flower for March is the Jonquil, or daffodil, in sunny yellow. The jonquil symbolizes friendship and domestic happiness and that also suits me this month, so the color of the month is yellow. We have some beautiful, springy yellows in summer blends. Yeah, spring is nearly here and yellow makes it fell closer!
]]>Bloodstone is a green jasper (chalcedony quartz) dotted with bright red spots of iron oxide. It is called the martyr's stone and was used during the middle ages to carve scenes of crucifixion. The legend is that bloodstone was first formed when drops of Christ's blood fell on some jasper at the foot of the cross. Both of these stones are lovely. My mother has always loved aquamarines (even though they aren't her birthstone). My Dad has a lovely set of bloodstone cufflinks. I loved them when I was a child until I heard the story about the crucifixion which horrified me. Now I am much more sympathetic to such histories.
Unfortunately, I didn't find any yarn in the store that I felt represented either of these stones in either color or lore. So, I decided to choose the color of the flower of the month. The flower for March is the Jonquil, or daffodil, in sunny yellow. The jonquil symbolizes friendship and domestic happiness and that also suits me this month, so the color of the month is yellow. We have some beautiful, springy yellows in summer blends. Yeah, spring is nearly here and yellow makes it fell closer!
Last week one of our customers invited me to go with her to a book signing by Michelle Hunter. As many of you know, Michelle is the force behind our Skacel Knit Alongs (KALs). I have really enjoyed participating in the KALs as have many of you. So, I thought it would be fun to go up to Dublin, buy a book and have my new book signed by the author.
Michelle's new book is called Building Blocks (see the picture to the right). It is a great little paper back kntting book for a beginner. It has 12 blocks each of which introduces a new technique. As usual, Michelle has paid absolute attention to detail and has instructions (and references to videos) to assist you with the techniques she is teaching. The vlocks are easy, but not boring. I consider myself to be a fairly accomplished knitter and I don't find the blocks boring, but they are not complicated either. The idea is to do a block a month and at the end of 12 months--you have an afghan.
Michelle's new book is called Building Blocks (see the picture to the right). It is a great little paper back kntting book for a beginner. It has 12 blocks each of which introduces a new technique. As usual, Michelle has paid absolute attention to detail and has instructions (and references to videos) to assist you with the techniques she is teaching. The vlocks are easy, but not boring. I consider myself to be a fairly accomplished knitter and I don't find the blocks boring, but they are not complicated either. The idea is to do a block a month and at the end of 12 months--you have an afghan.
This is a picture of Building Block 1 (k-knit, p-purl) which I completed this weekend. It took about 5-6 hours. "Building Blocks" calls for HiKoo's Simpliworsted on a size 10 needle. I made mine with Cascade 128. The Cascade is a little bit heavier, but calls for a size 10. The great thing about doing blocks is that as long as you use the same yarn for all 12 of them, the gauge really doesn't matter to much.
If any of you are interested, let me know and we can do a block of the month KAL-class here at the store. Michelle is not planning on doing a KAL at the moment, but designed this book and project for stores to use. I can order the books and the yarn in the colors you want. Michelle might even come to the store to get us started and sign your books. That would cost all of us a bit more, but would be worth it. What do you think!
]]>If any of you are interested, let me know and we can do a block of the month KAL-class here at the store. Michelle is not planning on doing a KAL at the moment, but designed this book and project for stores to use. I can order the books and the yarn in the colors you want. Michelle might even come to the store to get us started and sign your books. That would cost all of us a bit more, but would be worth it. What do you think!