One hat....

.....a couple of hours while watching a movie with the kids and I've got a hat!

Keep on knitting!

Mittens...and hats....

Finished another pair of mitts. One pair left and I'm done all the daycare Christmas gifts. But before I start the last pair, I'm taking a break and working on a hat & mitten set for granddaughter Reese. I'm using Cascades Paints. A worsted weight yarn means that it will work up quickly.

Keep on knitting!

Still knitting mittens...

...for the munchkins in the daycare. Two snow days, as well as the strike day in the last week of school meant that I didn't get as much knitting time as I'd been hoping for.  And this past week  has been busy with Christmas get-togethers, friends & family and dealing with the big snow! Digging out from close to 30 cm takes awhile. Thank goodness for farm vehicles. Papa Bear cleared the driveways in short order using the skid steer. And then it was into work to start clearing the schoolyards. Thursday afternoon & evening and again on Friday morning. And it is snowing again! So far another 10cm is on the ground with sign of letting up. :)

...More mittens...

...a few more pairs of the Christmas mittens are off the needles.

Here are mittens for big boys, little boys and boys in the middle size.
Nearly halfway done and the next few pairs will be for the girls.

Enjoy the day & happy knitting!

The first few pairs...

Loving knitting these!

Work continues....

Happy day! Keep knitting!

Project in the works...

...picked this bundle of wool up at the Post Office on the weekend. These are going to knit into mitts for all the munchkins and littles on my list this year. Most have already asked and have given sizes and colour choices. :) Makes gift-giving a sure thing when you can be sure that what you've taken the time & care to knit will be wanted & appreciated.
Its Cascade 220 - a peruvian highland wool that comes in a gorgeous range of colours. Worsted weight, which means that the knitting will go quite quickly. A good thing as I think I have nearly 20 pairs on my list. I ordered the yarn from Camilla Valley Farms . Quick service, all colours were available and the price was reasonable.
Tea is waiting and a pair of mitts are on the needles. Little guy is sleeping and time to say good-bye. :)

Happy Knitting!

Back on our feet....

Whew! It was a long week last week. All of  us, including many of the littles that come here for care, came down with the flu. Long days of caring for sick and achy people, washing load after load of blankets, trips to the store for juice, oranges, ginger ale and ibuprofen and keeping a fire going for freezing bodies kept us from getting much else accomplished. Ah well, we're on the mend and slowly getting back to normal. Papa Bear is home this week on holiday and is working on my new laundry room. Pictures as we go.

I attended the Tamworth Christmas Craft Sale yesterday. It was a rainy day but that didn't stop many from coming out and the Santa parade was viewed by many as well. Sold a few skeins of yarn and a pair of socks. Just grabbed my market bins that live in the mudroom and hoped I had everything. The week we had meant I didn't really prepare but it still worked out. Forgot only a Christmas tablecloth and some bags. No big deal.
I bought a beautiful hand-dyed skein of yarn from Tracy at Old Apple Ridge Angoras and a vintage style watch bracelet from Jill at  www.facebook.com/goodwinsgreetings

The day went by quickly and I enjoyed meeting all that stopped to chat. Hope I also inspired a few to start knitting. I was working on a sock and have nearly finished it.

 

Enjoy your day and happy knitting! 

Sheep Heid finished...

This was a request from someone to give as a Christmas present. This is such a beautiful pattern using all nine shades of the natural shetland jumper weight from Jamieson & Smith. I knit this last year for myself and I wore it all winter. It's light (about 2 oz total in weight) and kept my head cozy. Plus it just plain looks nice. If you're going to be out in the weather, you may as well look good. :)

Now I'm working on another special request. Slippers. I'm using a Paton's pattern for slippers. The same ones that my Oma used to knit for me and probably the same ones that many grandmas knit for their littles. :)
I'm using two strands of my hand-dyed worsted weight in superwash wool for these. They'll be cushy warm as easy to toss into the washing machine when needed.

Enjoy!

Rainbow...woolie style....

Finished up a batch of sock wool in the dyepots yesterday. They are outside drying, creating a beautiful rainbow of colour. I've also got a couple of knitting projects on the needles. For the times when I am tired and don't want to think, I have socks for Papa Bear. Just plain k2p2 rib in a nice plain grey. I'm using Wensleydale Longwool for this pair. I have 6 balls in three different colours so Papa will get a few new pairs this fall. And for the times when I can concentrate, I'm knitting another Sheepheid as a request for someone. I did one for myself last year and love wearing this hat. It's light but still warm. It's a Kate Davies design and it uses all 9 shades of Scotland Supreme Jumper Weight. These are all natural colours from Scotland sheep. I love this yarn for both ease of knitting and for the finished fabric.
Another beautiful sunny day and the little and I will run some errands. We're off to the hardware store to get some paint for my kitchen. We're going with Robin's Egg Blue and I'Im hoping for a cheerful effect. This room as well as the adjoining playroom are where I spend all my days. Might as well be pretty & comforting

.
Enjoy!

Busy times....

....getting ready for the Christmas sales. I've got two coming up in December. So today will be a dye day as I try to get the rest of the un-dyed yarns coloured. Mad scientist time! :-) I've also got quite a bit of un-dyed roving in my stash that need a trip to the dyepots. So while some skeins of superwash /nylon sock wool are soaking, I'll go for a nice walk with the little guy I have here today. It's a nice sunny day, though chilly. 2C  , but bundled up we'll be just fine. More later.

Enjoy!

Rainy day knitting....

It's a rainy day here. One where the chill just seems to seep into your bones. The rains from oncoming storm "Sandy" have started. It's supposed to rain here right through Friday. Though we are thankful that we are not near the point of impact. Our thoughts & prayers go out to those that will be facing that hardship.
I'm working on a pair of socks. Knit with my hand-dyed millspun yarn of 80% wool/ 20% mohair. Just doing a plain k2p2 rib for the leg & instep. I''ve got two sales left this year - both in December and am hoping to get a few pairs of mitts done as well. So back to the needles and another hot cup of tea.

Have a good one and stay warm. :-)

Exploded sheep??

 I washed a fleece this week. And I've laid it out in the living room to dry. It looks like a sheep exploded in here. :) This is "Blue" ~ a texel cross from Carolyn Turner ~ a local shepherd. Haven't weighed the washed fleece yet but I'm guessing there is at least 5 lbs here. Not just sure how I'll use this. The kidlets want me to dye it first before spinning. And of course they are all hoping that they"ll score a pair of mitts out of it. Hopefully it will be fully dry by this afternoon and I'll pack it away for a bit as I've got a couple of knitting orders that I need to do first.
Have a good one!

A killing frost...

....the first of this fall. I'm leaving a trail crushed grass as I walk out to the coops this morning. My tomato plants have not survived this. I'll pull them and let the hens clean off what tomatoes are left. Then I'll clear the bed in the garden and get my garlic planted.
Inside the house we''ve got the little electric stove on to bring the sitting room up to a comfortable 69. I'd love a woodstove in here but this is where the littles  play during the week and I'd not want anyone to get burned.

Enjoy the day ~ the sun is shining here. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving...

...from our small farm to you. :)  Today is turkey day here in Canada. But in this small part of the world it is chicken day. Chick day to be exact! It's day 21 in our incubator and at 6:00am this morning peeping could be heard from inside. The first chick is making a break for it! Slowly, very slowly it is pecking away at the shell. I can't imagine how exhausting it must be. A couple of pics to show the progress.

Thanksgiving Weekend...

...and the start of the holiday season. A time of year that we gather with friends & family in the coziness of our homes. Eating dinners together, sharing laughs & memories. A time of celebration & of remembering past years. This year we'll celebrate the coming of a new grandbaby! Sometime in April of 2013, we'll welcome grandchild #6. I'm so excited. Planning to start knitting soon...just need to check with mom-to-be about the choice of fibre. I'd prefer pure wool but she's a working mom so may opt for machine washable wool.
So to all my Canadian friends ~ Happy Thanksgiving! And to the rest ~ happy family-time all the time!

Fall has arrived...

We celebrated the autumn equinox last week. The munchkins came home from school with leaves pinned to their shirts to mark the day. So cute! And today we woke to the first frost here. It was 2.9C at 5:00AM and there was frost on my van as I went to the box to collect the paper. Not sure what I would find when I ventured out to the veggie patch after we put the kidlets on the bus. A pleasant surprise - it wasn't a killing frost, so I have time to still enjoy fresh tomatoes& peppers, and I don't need to harvest the butternut squash and pumpkins just yet. :) But soon. Then I can start covering the patch with loads of mulched leaves to help build the soil. It's almost pure clay and I'm hoping the leaves will help lighten it up. And living on a beef farm, I can get my hands (or my shovel) on manure to help build it up as well.
I've started some bread rising to enjoy at dinner this evening. We'll enjoy hot roast beef sandwiches with our farm fresh beef simmered this afternoon in gravy as well as some butternut squash mashed with maple syrup & butter. Warm good food to fill us up after cool days. I love this time of year!
Gina's Warm & Woolies started back to the Frontenac Farmer's Market this past Saturday. And while it wasn't busy due to the torrential rainfall and blustery winds, it was nice visiting with old friends and catching up on all the news. I'll be there until the end of the season - Oct 27, 2012.

Time to get knitting! ~ til later....

Yummy lunch...

Had a most delicious lunch yesterday. Picked a bowl of black cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden. (I love shopping in the back yard!) Sliced them in half, tossed them with olive oil & basil and then convection roasted them at 325 for about an hour and a half. Cooked up a package of cheese-filled tortellini and heated up a jar of marinara sauce at the same time. I tossed the tomatoes with the noodles, added the sauce & popped in some slices of bocconcini. Served it with a salad of fresh greens and sliced red onions and tossed with simple home-made viniagrette and slices of flax & honey bread.

Nearly there...

I'm almost at the heel flap for my second sock. Had quite a bit of knitting time yesterday. I did take time to head out to the Garlic Festival at the Verona  Lions Centre. Vendors galore selling all kinds of garlic related products. I picked up my seed garlic for next year's crop. As well, I bought two loaves of fresh bread from Greystone Farm and some garlic scape paste from Beaver Pond Estates. Mmmm ....love garlic. And I ran into a few people that I hadn't seen in a while. It's always nice to get out and chat with friends.
It's the last Sunday before school goes back and my girls are taking advantage of sleeping in while they still can. Which means quiet time for me as Papa Bear has headed back to the hunting camp to get things ready for duck season. Knitting, coffee & reading. Perfect way to spend a Sunday morning.
I''ve picked out the next yarn for socks. A nice fall colour which is sitting beside me on the table and is inspiring me to get busy.

Take care & keep knitting!

One sock done....

Just off the needles. Need to cast on right away for the other as I'd like to do a few pairs in the next couple of weeks. I'm on holidays until Tuesday. But I need to get my fall cleaning done as well. A summer of kids in & out of the house, dragging in sand & grass, toys under the furniture and in the corners & all over the yard need to be tidied & put away. On today's agenda...laundry.

Keep on knitting.

Socks....

Here are the latest pairs. Finished pair is knit with hand-dyed wool/mohair. The pair on the needles is being knit with hand-dyed wool/nylon. Looks like I'm on a purple streak right now! :-)
Today is my last day of working on the summer break. Yeah!  A nice 5 day weekend for me & my girls. Papa Bear is working a full week.
Much cooler today - 10C when we came upstairs this morning. Need wool socks for my tootsies.

 
Keep on knitting!

Eating from the garden...

On tonight's menu - new potatoes, garden salad, corn on the cob, cherry tomatoes with bbq'd pork chops. Mmmm.....so good!  :-)
On the needles - another pair of socks.

Keep on knitting!

More flowers.....

My girls and I went out again to the cutting gardens at Avenstone. A beautiful place to spend a Sunday afternoon in August. Next year I hope to get there every weekend in August. Beautiful flowers and a good cause.

Keep on knitting!

Time to Get Back to Fibre......

It's the 1st of August and there are subtle signs of the slow change from summer to fall. While still very warm during the sun-filled days, the evenings cool nicely and it's quite cool in the mornings. Our alarm goes at 5:30 and it is still dark when I shut it off now.
And the change is inducing me to play more with my fibre. I've been dyeing some wool tops and I've got some knitting on the needles.
Today's dyepot.  Some blue-faced leicester in turkey red.
Yesterday's dyepot .  More blue-faced leicester in twilight blue. I think is such a pretty colour.
A pair of socks in hand-dyed  millspun wool/mohair .
Handknit wool socks are always a popular item on my table at events. I''ve got to get busy, busy, busy to get a few pairs done before the frosts come.

Have a good one!

Time in the garden...

has taken from my spinning & knitting time. Between keeping up with the weeding & trying to get mulch in place and importing the bedding from my chicken coop to the new vegetable garden, I'm too tuckered in the evenings to do much of anything.

Our blueberries have lots of berries on them. Just need to wait for ripening.

Garlic bed is a first for us. Just harvested some scapes this weekend and enjoyed them sauteed and added to baby red potatoes. Mmmm...

My lettuce & peas are coming along. In the back corner is my stand of Jerusalem artichokes.

Just had to show off the pond with it's beautiful irises and now the water lily is blooming.

This is the new vegetable garden. Stan plowed the lower barnyard. Turns out that about 6 inches below the topsoil is clay. Pure clay. I've been hauling wheelbarrow loads of shavings & manure from the chicken coop. I'll use it all over and then mulch with grass clippings all summer. In the fall I can have my brother-in-law bring a few loads of shredded leaves for us to spread on the garden. Hopefully after a couple of years this will help to loosen & lighten the soil. Looking forward to harvesting from this ~ we've got melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, corn, peppers, potatoes & leeks in.

Our strawberry patch has been giving us wonderful desserts and still continues to bear fruit. :)

Today it's cool & breezy here. Just have one little guy and we'll be heading out the school to join the kids for their picnic. Should be fun!

Have a good one!

It's been quite awhile...

Finished spinning two bobbins of creamy white wool a while back. Today, I finished plying the last of them. Two large skeins of 2 ply and 1 small skein of singles. I still need to wash them and measure the yardage. These will go into my shop in their natural colour. The skein of singles really seems to glow so much more than the 2 ply. I think the next few skeins will be singles that will be knit into a shawl at some future date.
Just a couple of weeks more and my littles will be on holidays for the summer. Their moms are teachers and don't need care for the summer holidays. The rest of the crew here are school-aged and able to entertain themselves. They just need supervision and someone to get meals ready for them. That should leave more time for spinning & knitting. I'll just leave the wheel on the stoop during the day and my knitting basket can live on the patio. That's the plan anyways! :)

Have a good one!