What Did She Do Today?

She Made House Slippers and Learned About Maple Sugaring January 26, 2010

I got the pattern for House Slippers by Amy over at Angry Chicken last year sometime...maybe even more than a year ago.  I tried making them, they didn't work out, I shelved them and decided to go back to them today.   I find my feet stay in much better condition if I don't go barefoot.  I love being barefoot, but my feet do get dry faster when I do, so I need some kind of slippers. 

They worked up quickly, and were much easier than the last time...I must have been in a mood when I tried them before.  I enjoyed using the fold over elastic, that was pretty fun. 

I'm a little underwhelmed at the finished product, though.  My hope was, that I could whip these up in an afternoon, and shelf my nagging, back of my mind, desire to knit slippers for myself.  That desire has not gone away, so maybe these will keep my feet moisturized and warm while I pick my knitting pattern...

Tonight Husband, Dad and I went to the Lee Public Library for a class on Maple Sugaring.  We have Sugar Maples in the property, and have talked about wanting to give it a try.  The class was our next step in figuring out if we are going to try it this year, or wait another year.  The class was taught by Steve Roberge of UNH Cooperative Extension.  He did a great job, the class was enough information that you felt like you could dive in, but not so detailed to make you feel overwhelmed. 

Fun fact that I learned about grades tonight...Grade A "Fancy" has always baffled me, because frankly it just tastes like sugar water to me.  Give me the rich fully bodied flavor of the Grade B, that's real syrup...well, it turns out sugar water is what they were aiming for back in the day.  Cane Sugar, though pretty cheap and plentiful now, was pricey and hard to get back then, so they found that if they used the Grade A Fancy it mimicked the flavor of cane sugar.  The Darker, richer syrup was too flavorful and would stand out too much in a recipe. 

I think we've decided to give it a shot, IF we can find the necessary equipment at a reasonable price.  We only want to make a couple gallons, just for fun and to get our feet wet.  It's something my dad has always wanted to try, and as you know, I'm up for just about anything.  I still have my Sugarmomma, but it would be fun to make some of my own, too.

While I was at the class I heard about the NH Farm and Forest Expo.  It is happening next Friday and Saturday (February 5-6).  It looks quite cool.

Another upcoming event in the area (well sort of in the area) is the first Winter Farmer's Market in Concord NH. If you want anymore information you can check out Virginia's Blog, where she lists each farm and what they will be offering.  It looks great!  I probably won't be there as my town is holding the  deliberative session for the school budget, so I will probably be doing the "responsible citizen" thing and heading over to that...we'll see.

She Got Herself Ready for the Farmer's Market, where she will not be buying eggs January 21, 2009

The next Seacoast Eat Local Farmer's Market is Saturday at Wentworth Greenhouse in Rollinsford.  I love the Rollinsford Market, and am excited to see what the farmer's have for us this week.

Since I started going to the Farmer's Markets I've wanted to make myself some reusable bags.  I use reusable bags, but they are the heavy plastic-like jobbies that you get at the supermarket, from back when we frequented the supermarket with enough vigor to receive free bags due to the amount spent...Organic is expensive in the store.  Well, I must admit to loving the durability of those bags, but I didn't like advertising for a Supermarket while walking around a Farmer's Market...  So today Mini and I got to work on a reusable bag that is designed like the plastic store bags.  I picked up the Pattern on Etsy.  It was easy enough to make, and fully reversible, making it more sturdy and more fun. I'd like a couple more, but between that one and 2 other random bags I already made a while back, it will probably do just fine for this week's trip.

Another little item on my list of things I'd like to have, to enhance my shopping experience, is produce bags.  I will throw a couple heads of broccoli into my larger bag, but a pound of shallots gets a little hard to manage, so a small bag that I can put the little things into, then into my larger bag, would be helpful.  I have always used the plastic bags the farmer's have available, but have never been happy about doing so.  Now I don't have to.  I have two made up, in simple unbleached muslin...with silly ribbon that says "handmade".  They even have french seams!  I didn't like how the fabric frayed so I decided to try the french seams, besides they are a lot more sturdy because of it.  Probably a silly addition, but that is the fun thing about making them yourself, if you don't want frayed fabric entangled with your veggies, you can stitch french seams...how fancy...oh and by the way, french seams are fancy, and quite clever, but VERY simple to do.  Honest.

The eggs in the background are just a running gag at this point, around here.  Everywhere you look there are eggs.  In the basket from outside, in the bowl in the sink waiting to be washed, on the counter waiting to be used, in the fridge being stored.  Eggs are everywhere, so I had to include them in the picture. 

She Dared Show Her Face Around Here December 17, 2009

What a bad blogger I've been.  I haven't posted since the 13th, and frankly the posts before that have been a smidge rushed.  Life is getting a bit crazy around here.  Nothing major, just life...before Christmas, for a Mama who wants to make all the gifts, and all the food, and run the homestead...My camera has finally made nice with me and my computer, so I put pictures up again!  

The guineas are gone.  We have been having to corral them in at night, and at least a couple have stayed outside to roost a couple nights, and my guinea raising friends tell me that means they will keep roosting outside until a predator finds them.  That is not going to happen, for a couple reasons.  No matter what your view on killing animals, humans are the most humane of all the options.  Being eaten alive in the wild, is no way to go.  Then there is the matter of having fed and cared for these birds for months,so letting some wild animal come along and dine on my hard word seems counter productive.  With all that in mind, Tuesday the guineas were harvested. 

They are missed more than any of the other animals who have found their way to the freezer.  In part because there are no more like them.  We still have chickens, rabbits and ducks, but all the guineas went at once.  Also, the homestead is much quieter.  There is no guinea sqwacking, as they make their way around the property letting all who will listen know what they are finding.  Yes, the guineas were a very entertaining bird to have, and are missed.

I've done some sewing lately.  I made a dress for Mini from the book Carefree Clothes for Girls: 20 Patterns for Outdoor Frocks, Playdate Dresses, and More (Make Good: Crafts + Life).  I want to make another one in red cotton velvet, for Christmas, so I needed to make a test dress.  I don't like to make any pattern, for the first time, with special fabric.  I prefer make one with good fabric, but fabric that can be replaced easily.  This pattern was new to me, and it didn't have the seam allowance on the pattern, I had to add that, so I really needed to make a test.  It came out great, and fits her wonderfully.  I need to add buttons down the back of the bodice and on the front, but otherwise it's done.  The fabric is a cotton flannel, and oh, so, soft!  A great winter frock.  There are a lot of garments in the book I'm looking forward to making, it's a great book, with decent directions.  I do wish they included the seam allowance in the pattern and am never sure why patterns don't, but what I did worked well, and I now have the pattern, with the allowance, for the next dress.

The baby needed a snow suit.  I didn't like the store options, so I decided to give it a try, on my own.  I used a pattern by Burda,  .  It worked up very easily.  I used a wool/cashmere blend for the outside and lined it with the same flannel I used for Mini's dress.  It's so cozy.  When we take her out she's nice a warm, so I'd say it is doing a good job, in addition to being adorable.  I'm trying to figure out a way to "girl it up" a little, as the neutral colors, and predominantly red lining makes it look a bit boyish.  Not a big deal, and for now, I think it's going to be the way it is, but after Christmas crafting is done, I'm going to try something like what I have in this pic, for the front.

To go with the little snow suit I whipped up a pair of thumbless mittens.  They are together for the picture, but have not been together since.  I wanted to put a cord to attach them, and when I went to grab them to do so, only one remained.  I'm looking at possibly needing to make a third...happily I still have the yarn, but now is not the time of year that I really want to remake something!  Here is the pattern I used...I made it up, it's pretty basic, and simple.

Baby Mittens

Sport weight yarn

Needles: 40" Size 6 (knitting top down, in the round on one needle)

• Cast on 16 stitches, 8 on each needle, using a "toe up" technique.
• Round 1 and each alternating row: Knit
• Round 2, 4, 6, 8: K1, M1, knit to last stitch on needle, M1, K last stitch on needle, K1, repeat for next needle. (Increase of 4 stitches) Note:  keep increasing until you have enough stitches to accommodate the width of the wearer's hand, for my baby, that was 16 on each needle, or 32 stitches total.)
• Once you have 16 stitches on each needle, work even, knitting each row, until it's the length of the baby's hands, for my little one (9 months) that was 23 rounds.
• Switch to 2x2 rib, and work to desired cuff length.  I went long in the hopes it would help keep them on her little hands.  It should also help to keep her arms warm, too.  I went for 26 rounds, then bind off.
• Make another.
• I have a cord to attach them, inside her snow suit, hoping to keep from losing them...like when she does pull them off, in the car.
• Note, you can really make mittens for any size baby or toddler, using this method, simply keep increasing until it's wide enough for the wearer, and then knit without increasing until they are long enough for the hand.  Since there is no thumb, this is really best for a little person, but if your baby is not the size of my baby, this will still get you there.

Advent Catchup:

Day 16

Luke 1:39-45

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

Day 17

Luke 1:57-66

When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her.

When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!”

“What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.”  Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.

Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way.

Isaiah 40:3-4

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
for our God!
Fill in the valleys,
and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
and smooth out the rough places.

The Isaiah verse talks about John the Baptist and his role in preparing the hearts of men and women to be ready for the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.

Day 18

Luke 2:1-5

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

Advent Day 9 December 7, 2009

Advent:

Day 9

Deuteronomy 18:15-18

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.

“This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’

“The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well.

I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Moses speaking to the Isrealites when reiterating the law to them.  This is cool for a couple reasons, first it is talking of Christ being the second prophet, so it’s a prophecy of Christ’s coming.  Another being that the first Moses brought the Law to the people, where Christ, the second Moses, would bring Grace and fulfil the law.    This fulfilment brings the relatioship between man and God full circle.

She Planted Garlic November 24, 2009

Yesterday Jessica and I picked up the beans!  143 pounds.  We are going to separate them out after Thanksgiving, so if you were among the list of folks who ordered, we will be in touch soon after the holiday.

The ride was beautiful and the weather was great.  I love driving in New Hampshire.  I really do live in a gorgeous State.  We have it all, Mountains, Beaches, Lakes, History, Fields and Forests.  Here are some of the sights I snapped pics of.

 

I have finished two knitting projects.  My mom's Hemlock Ring afghan is done and has had an initial blocking.  I'm not thrilled with how it blocked, so I'm thinking of doing it one more time, with more pins, so I can pull out some of the details on the edge.  It will be presented in this very cool basket, which was purchased yesterday at Marden's in Sanford (part of our little bean trip).  It is handmade in America.  The company is Henn, from Ohio. I think the low basket will be fun for holding a pie plate, or even picking herbs.

 

Mini has a new cozy top for winter.  Neighborly, the pattern by JCasa*Handmade, was knit up with Malabrigo in Chestnut and Malabrigo Twist in a new color that my LYS just started carrying.  I love how it worked up, it fits her nicely. It knit up fast, it took me about 3 days to finish it.  I'm thinking of making one with thinner yarn for the Baby.  I think if I used yarn that was 5 sts. to the inch it will work up for a good 9 month size.

Jessica and I stopped at a couple places, besides beans, along the way.  Marden's in Sanford had tons of baskets, and we were the most ridiculous of girls as we tried to weed down our overflowing cart of baskets we wanted.  We are both a bit basket-centric, so we weren't a large help to each other.  We did not fight over any, so that was good, and in the end we both left with 3, plus I had the one for mom. 

We were both enamored with this style, which is designed to hold a 9x13 baking dish, but we envisioned being a great herb picking basket, like in the bonnet films, specifically Pride and Prejudice.  I plan on planting an herb garden, for the first time, this year, as I'm so enjoying all the fresh and dried herbs I've been given by friends, and purchased at the markets.  I will definitely plant some thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender, chamomile and oregano.  I'm excited to start looking in the seed catalogs, that have recently started to arrive!  The basket did a bang up job of holding the evergreens and berries I picked for holiday decorating.

 

That little dress is handmade in velvet and will fit my daughter's doll.  Mini is a big fan of changing dolls clothes, and dressing various animals that will fit into the clothes, as well.  This dress is very well made, with high quality fabrics.  I'm a bit of a fabric snob, even with kids clothes, or toys.  I want it to feel good, and not much feels nicer than cotton velvet.  The lace is antique cotton lace, as well.  Beautiful!

It's hard to believe today is the day before Thanksgiving, and I'm just planting my garlic!  I have been so behind on doing this, but so lucky that the weather has allowed me to still plant it.  I put it in today, and tonight it's only 45 degrees.  Amazing.  I'll be mulching it, heavily, on Friday, when I can get to the feed store.  I'm hoping that it gets the time it needs to sprout, but at this point, this is the best I could do, so it is what it is.

I hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving.  We are going to have dinner with my Dad's family, which we do every year, and I'm looking forward to it!

She Lost Perspective November 14, 2009

It is 3:49 am, and I just realized how late it is!!  That afghan I'm knitting for my mom has taken over.  I have 11,280 more stitches before binding off, and I'm obsessed with finishing this thing. I love knitting it, I love how fast it's working up, and it looks so cool!  Do you want to join in the obsession?  2 skeins of yarn, at $15.00 a skein, at Spinning yarns (for the locals), and this pattern, and you can join in the obsession fun!  Oh, the yarn is Ecological Wool, by Cascade.

Okay, going to bed so I can accomplish something else tomorrow, besides out sleeping both kids and Husband!

She Found a Local Bean Source November 7, 2009

Bean Run!  In the next week, or two, I'm going to take a drive to East Conway to pick up some beans from Sherman Farm.  If you are one of my local bloggy friends, and want in, send me a message.  The beans are $3.00 a pound and they have the following varieties available:

• Kidney

               

• Soldier

               

• Jacob's Cattle

               

• Yellow Eye

               
 
Just let me know how many pounds of whichever varieties, and I'll pick them up, and we'll figure out the matter of getting them to you.

I made a quick stop at the Northwood Indoor Farmer's Market, before heading over to Yellow House for more chicken processing.  I got 4 pounds of local honey!!  I'm so excited.  I had a small jar of honey that was given to me as a birthday gift, but have had a hard time finding more.  The honey folks don't seem to go to the Markets.  I also got a darling little bowl from a guy named Shawn, who has some really nice pottery.  Hard Goat Cheese!  I used that, grated, for dinner tonight.  Very yummy.

 

The eggs were not purchased at the market.  They are among the last of the eggs from the mature chickens I bought 2 years ago, that got me started on this crazy poultry journey.  I'm keeping Jane, as she's been a brilliant mom, but the rest are going for processing tomorrow.  They will be good for stew birds, and great for making stock. 

Calvert!  I'm very pleased with this sweater.  The style is fabulous, and it's so comfortable.  The pattern came from Norah Gaughan, Volume 3.  The yarn was Classic Elite Yarns, Soft Linen in Cathay.

Happy Sprout Eating Chickens...and Guineas.

She Picked Paint Colors November 3, 2009

I am a color girl.  I like art and crafting because it allows me to use, and be surrounded by, color.  This is why the fact I live in a modern, white walled house, is just crazy.  I painted the bathroom a while back, and it looks very nice, but I have not tackled the living room...basically because my house if very open concept, and I have one big space that houses the living room, kitchen and dining area.  It's going to be a lot of work to paint it, and a lot of cutting in, which I'm only moderately proficient at that task.

My friend, Jessica, on the other hand is a professional painter.  Splashing boring walls with lovely colors is her thing.  She came over today, and we figured out colors for my living room.  She's going to start painting on Monday!  My living area will finally have color!!

I also tried making Autumn Olives into muffins.  I've determined that the berries need to be pureed and have their seeds removed, to be used in cooking.  I will be doing that with the rest.  The seeds are just too offensive.  They are too large, for as woody as they are.  I did read that some folks used bits of Autumn Olive fruit leather in muffins, which I might try.  

Mom's Christmas gift jumped Dad's, in line.  I found the perfect thing for her.  She's a doily fan.  She always has been.  She has a collection, some from my grandmother, great grandmother, and others she's just picked up. I think she may have even made one, a long time ago.  So when I saw the blanket from Jared Flood, which was an up-sized doily made out of Ecological Wool, I had to get started.  I'm very excited.  It's working up nicely, and I think she's going to be over the moon when she opens it on Christmas Eve!!  The Rainey Sister's made the pattern more accessible, and they also blogged about their expereinces with it.

I think this will be the last pic, until it's off the needles.  It's not going to be a very photogenic, in progress, project, because it's done in the round, so it's just going to bunch up on itself, but I love how it's looking, so far, and I think I might need to make one for myself, after the Christmas knitting, and a couple other projects, are knitted through...maybe January will find some time for my own version of this.

Day 4: Sprouting project...I think I'm going to need to transfer from the 1/2 gallon canning jar.  I probalby should have started with 1 cup of spouts, instead of 2.  Oh, well, that is the point of an experiment, right?

She Stitched A Bonnet August 9, 2009

We had a family party today.  Mom's side of the family all gathered at one of my Uncle's homes and had food, laughs and time to catch up.  There is never a lack of laughter when that family gets together.  They just love to laugh.  It was a good time.  Before we left I realized that we really don't have a hat that fits the baby.  Her knitted hats are either too hot, or too small, and while we have a sun cap for her when she goes on her daily walk with her dad and sister, it's too big, and more rests on the top of her head while she sleeps in the Mei Tai. 

I had started a bonnet a while back, but misplaced the parts, so today I pulled out some fabric, and while the family were all on their walk, I stitched it up.  I used the pattern from Angry Chicken.  It's a super cute bonnet, but does it fit?  No.  I think it's for a 6+ month old child and the baby is only 4 months and has a small head compared to other babies.  Drats.  It fits better than the others, but even after I added a piece of elastic in the back to pull it in a little, it was still a bit floppy.  Oh, well,  it kept the sun off her bald little baby head, it's very cute, and it will fit...eventually.

The pattern was simple and worked up quickly.  About 1/2 an hour from fabric to bonnet, and that included ironing the parts, as I should, instead of ignoring that part, like I usually do.  I would recommend the pattern, and the fact you can make a bonnet for a baby, child, or adult with it, makes it a lovely deal.  I am considering making one for myself out of linen.

 

I love those chubby baby cheeks!

Finally!!!  Food Inc is showing in the area. I mentioned it a while back, and I have also heard that it will be shown at the Portsmouth Music Hall this fall, but right now it's play in Concord!

Red River Theater in Concord NH is showing it as follows:

SHOWTIMES:
Mon., Aug 10: 3:15, 5:30, 7:45
Tues., Aug 11: 3:15, 5:30, 7:45
Wed., Aug 12: 3:15, 5:30 (includes local food provider post-film discussion), 8:00
Thu., Aug 13: 3:15, 5:30, 7:45

I really want to get over there for that!

She Made a Summer Bag June 22, 2009

Yesterday was the longest day of the year, and yet all we saw was gray dark skies.  What a disappointment, and we have more of the same predicted for the next few days.  Any bright, cheer is going to have to come from inside for now. 

Seems a new bag is in order.  My winter bag was really too big, and with the lining of cotton velvet, it was becoming too heavy and hot for summer.  I really loved the fabric I made the Mei Tai out of so I decided the scraps leftover would be a perfect bag.  I think I might have been right.  Of course, bags prove their perfection over time, not when you first select or finish making it.  They all seem wonderful at first, but the test comes later, when you are searching for your keys, or you have one last thing to add before heading off for the day, or when the cell phone rings.  Will it fit everything and still allow you to find it?  For now I'm over the moon about this one.  It seems to fit everything...wallet, cell, notebook, pen, "cleanse" size knitting projects.

 

Home Dec Toile' lined with linen, and trimmed with homemade Black and White dotted bias tape.  A pocket of the Toile' on the inside.

The pattern came from the book, Pretty Little Purses & Pouches (Pretty Little Series)  There are several really cute little projects in there. (I need to make that little embroidered  village bag!) This is the Beach Tote, which is much smaller than I would consider a bag to be for a beach tote, but as a summer purse it seems to be a good size.  The book has all the templates in the back, but the one downside to this, is they all have to be enlarged quite a bit, like 400%.  Waiting for the Staples guy to figure out how to enlarge it and capture all the parts took almost as much time as making the bag.  I got, in the end 4 pieces of paper that I pieced together and taped in place.  Then I drew the pattern onto some pattern making paper.  But other than the labor intensive process necessary to obtain the pattern, the pattern and instructions were great and the purse worked up quickly and simply.

If you are interested in getting in on the free Mei Tai pattern drawing, check out my post from the 21st, and leave a comment!

Baby Ducks!  Due tomorrow, but started hatching today.  One died, not sure why, but it was dry and completely out of the shell, so it seems it died after a bit.  Which is sad.  Josephine had pushed it out of the nest so we pulled it out so it wasn't in the way.  I've seen three others, two black, and one light like the one that passed.  There are 10 more eggs, so I hope to see at least a few more hatch.  I probably won't know how many until she moves off the nest, which she'll do when she's sure all that are going to hatch have done so.  Doesn't she look like a proud mama?!

 

The guineas are already showing their comical side.  They are much more agile than the chickens, and are enjoying jumping on the divider between the two sides of the brooding pen.  They will jump down to the side with the Buff Orpingtons and herd them.  They make a call then start running the chickens around the pen.  It's kind of funny to watch.  When they have had their fill of amusement, they jump back over to hang out with the Dorkings, which is where they spend the bulk of their time.  Here is one checking on me while I check on them.