She Shares Her Setback June 12, 2009

Calvert...It may be the death of me, but then to, that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so maybe it will put me on the fast track to "Super Knitter", but either way, it seems to desire a profound effect on me.

I seem to have knit the fronts longer than the backs. I didn't realize this when I was stitching one front to the back, but when I stitched the other side, it seemed a bit off. I thought it was how I stitched it. But after it was all put together one side seemed about 1" longer than the other. It didn't lay quite right...Well, my friend Kim, wise and experienced knitter of something like 25 years, suggested I pull out the side stitch, count rows, then cut the extra length off. Sure, I'm brave I can cut my knitting. So I did just that. When doing this, I found that I had gone about 3" too long, not 1", as I thought! How did I do that? I have no idea. But as I was looking at the other side, next to this newly shortened side, it appears I made that one too long, too. Hmmm....

This means counting and cutting that side too....or counting the one intact side, then cutting the back and bringing the cut side and the back to the same length as the intact side...Either way, a lot of work, and time consuming. Worth it of course, because the sweater is gorgeous, the yarn is beautiful, great drape and color (and kinda pricey). So I shall make this right, but not today. No today I will work on a summer t-shirt style sweater for me, and a couple new soakers for the baby. I will pick Calvert back up closer to the season for wearing. Small, fun summer projects can now begin! I think maybe my mama brain needs smaller bite size projects for now.

Buttercup is coming along very nicely. I love the color, dark (flattering), but not black. The same yarn I used for Calvert, so it has a nice drape, and should make a nice summery top.

I commented before about wanting flowers for the garden, for attracting pollinators like bees, as well as for shots of color in my otherwise mostly green landscape. I want them to be organic, especially since they will be sharing space with my food plants, so I've been not sure what to do about obtaining plants...until I saw a listing on Craig's list. Right in Gonic, which is this little sliver of a town between Barrington and Rochester, there is a farm that supplies organically grown veggies, herbs, annuals and perenials! Whoohooo. I took a trip over with my mom. Well worth the trip. Freya, the very knowledgable owner of Leap Frog Farm was super helpful. I told her what I wanted the plants for and she walked me around her fabulously full plant yard pointing out the options she thought would be best. I packed them up and will be putting them in bucket to be spread throughout the garden. If you are local and looking for herbs, veggie plants or flowers, head on over to her place at 65 Gear Road in Gonic.

After our garden stop, we swung by Four Corners Antiques. Husband and I went there on Sunday, and I found a great set of measuring cups, but I didn't buy them...they've haunted me ever sense, so I headed back hoping I'd find them waiting, and was so pleased when I did. They are the cutest little glassware nesting set with a 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup.

Phew, you still with me? I had a lot happen today, because there is still more!

More poultry, but certianly of a different feather. I did it, I finally got some guinea hens. 8 of them, and I'm just so excited. I have toyed with getting these crazy little birds because they are very different then chickens, or ducks. They are still a very wild breed of bird. They are semi-domesticated, and are still quite happy to roost in trees if they get it in their mind. They are not easy to contain, as they are decent flyers, and have been known to hang out on the roof of sheds, barns, or even houses. They are a social lot and very chatty, but mostly with each other. They are skittish around people. So there are a lot of pros and cons in this kind of bird.

The big pros are:

Their watchdog ability. They have a very loud screech/call when the unknown enters the barnyard. Great for alarming the other animals and their caregivers of danger, whether that is the neighbor dog off their leash, or a fox sneaking up on the hens.
They are also avid bug eaters. Bugs make up about 90% of their diet, if they are allowed to forage for their food. Especially fond of ticks, they have been in high demand lately, and some municipalities are using them to help keep the tick population under control, as Lyme disease becomes more and more prevalent.
They love to eat weed seeds! Great for help in the garden. They are animals, so they can on occassion eat your plants, or fruit, but mostly they stick to bugs and seeds if they can get them.
They are so stinken cool looking. I guess that is a matter of opinion and there are really two camps, folks that thinks they fabulous to look at and those that think they are ugly. Not many people are indifferent to their appearance. I find them fun to look at and watch.
They can be used for meat, and if you are lucky enough to have them lay in the nesting boxes, with the chickens, or you can find where they are nesting you can eat their eggs too.

I especially like the Pearl color pattern, so when Sylvia (the lady who does the hatching I talked about a couple days ago) had 8 to spare I headed right over. I believe that one of the birds I watched hatch the other day is one of the birds I got today. So cool. They are hanging out with the Dorking chicks, who were fabulous hosts and hostesses, making the guineas feel right at home.

4 Comments

That is the exact reason I have yet to knit tops. I have a very hard time counting rows (since I'm never working on anything without something else going on). I am working on a hoody for the baby and after finishing the back and the 2 fronts (even with measuring) one front was a few rows longer. I made it work because I was not about to redo an entire side again. I figured it's for the baby and since she'll be in the sling or wrap or car seat most of the time not too many are going to notice. I have half a sleeve finished but I stopped because I don't know how long to make them (the pattern was only written for 3+mths not for NB)so I'll finish it when she get here and she can wear it for her first Christmas pics (or new years if she's late)
I love the chicks. Their coloring and markings reminds me of our cat. I can't wait till they're big enough to run around with all the other chickens those pics will be fun. So will the pics of all 8 of them nesting in the trees instead of the house.

Posted by: jenn | June 13, 2009 at 12:58 AM