Life With The Crew

February Beginnings

February started with the slight tease of Spring, and after frigid single digits, I felt guilty still feeling cold at "just freezing".  But then the rain changed to ice and the season meter was pushed firmly back to "Winter".  

I'm okay with that.  There are still audiobooks to listen to ("King of the Wind" by Marguerite Henry), books to read (The  Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson), and knitting projects.  My sidekick has been knitting a pink blanket for her kitten.  She first tried knitting when she was 8, which is an age that I had heard kids could pick it up.  She learned the knitting motion and was able to make several small squares, but only this winter (age 9), did it really click.  She has been knitting for an hour a day and asked to learn how to purl also.  I love seeing her sitting by the fire, listening to an audio, and knitting away on this blanket for her beloved Tiny Tim.  (And he had better appreciate all the hours and love she is putting into it!)

We have been hearing Great Horned owls calling in the early evening, as early as 6pm.  In Winters past, I have heard them in the middle of the night while my daughter was sleeping, so it was nice to be able to share it with her now.  This is the time period when they are choosing mates, so I've often heard one voice calling and then another answer from farther away.  I'm so glad that even in the suburbs, wildlife has figured out how to thrive around us.

On the knitting front, this wonderfully soft wool shawl with a lace pattern along the bottom is listed in my shop.  I just LOVE the color and would like it to find a home so I am not tempted to wear it!

My October

MY OCTOBER:

-Bouquets of blooming dahlias

-Flying geese on a mission

-Monarchs saying goodbye

-White Wood asters topped with buzzing bees

-Dancing rainbow colored leaves

-Fuzzy furry muddy horses

-Pumpkins picked from our own backyard patch

-Red raspberries ripening before the first frost

-A little girl saying goodbye to eight and hello to nine

And knitting this sweet custom baby blanket.  This is one of the first items that I sold through my Etsy shop and last month, the customer reached out to me saying that the blanket had been destroyed.  The blanket's owner had really loved it and so she wanted to order a replacement.  

And now we are entering the spooky season and the woodstove season.  It isn't fired up yet - we always like to see how long we can hold out.  Nights have only been in the high 40's, so not quite yet...

In the Middle

A quick drop-in here at the middle of the month.  As is expected, March is a little of this, a little of that.  The snow is gone from the backyard finally, but the lakes are slow to lose the ice.  Having a difference of 30 degrees between night and day makes it difficult for knowing when to blanket the horse and pony.  Being chilly isn't going to kill them, but I think that if I was 93 years old, I probably would like a little something around my shoulders in the middle of a 30 degree night.  (Frank is 31, which in "horse years" is 93.)  But the grass is getting greener every day!  One of our chickens is a loner and has been jumping the fence and going on walkabouts in the yard.  She didn't bother doing it all winter, so she must be able to see the salad bar on the other side and decide it is worth the effort!

Below are a couple of photos from last week - in the game lands and at Shaver's Creek.  The stone foundation is from an old homestead that is now part of the nature center's trail system.

I've been knitting as fast as I can, trying to get my Etsy shop stocked before gardening season comes and I'll have to be outside more.  I have two new baby blankets in the shop in Spring colors and all of the alpaca items are 30% off.  My shawl is always at hand when I'm sitting inside - I don't know how I kept my neck warm before I became a shawl lover!

A Real December

Despite a warmer start to the month, right now it is looking like a real December in the mountains of Pennsylvania - a world of white!  The 15 or so inches that we got this week is more than we had all last season, so maybe this will be a proper winter (despite global warming/weirdness).  

On Wednesday when the snow started, the three big chickens sought shelter under the edge of our shed as they often do when it is raining.  However, as the snow accumulated, the three ladies probably realized that they were stuck (not really, but they HATE the snow on their feet) and began to get a bit worried as the afternoon wore on.  At about 5", I went out and shoveled a path for them back to the coop, and along with words of cheery encouragement, they made it back home safely (a distance of 8 feet).  The smaller two bantams are housed in an Eglu that now looks like an igloo, so I assume they are keeping pretty warm.  We have many rabbits that roam the yard, but there is one in particular that lives under our deck and is rather friendly.  After we shoveled some paths for the dogs yesterday, the poor thing came out and looked rather confused at all of the white (this is her first winter).  She hopped along the dog paths, actually came right up to the back door, then ducked back down under the deck through one of several openings that we helped to uncover.  I left her with offerings of bird seed, rabbit food, and hay (Flora, the Angora, can share her rations with her wild outdoor relative).  This morning there was rabbit poop all over the deck and more paths made, so I think as long as the snow is around, she is officially a deck rabbit.  

Take care, 

Katie

If you happen to be looking for a last minute holiday gift, I have a couple of warm woolen knits left in my Etsy shop, including this older toddler organic Merino wool bonnet in two shades of purple, a chunky wool infinity cowl in a beautiful Autumn shade called "fox", and a feminine lightweight alpaca and Merino wool bandanna style small shawl.  They are all ready to ship and are light enough to go first class and arrive at a US destination before Christmas.

 

Pretty in Pink

Happy Friday morning everyone!  As I write this, the world outside is filled with green - grass, leaves, bushes, trees, ferns - a sea of green!  The red and gray squirrels have been squabbling at the feeder.  My daughter has been birding in the backyard and saw a Common Yellowthroat warbler - I'm so proud that she can accurately identify birds (and gets excited about it!)  The woodstove sat idle for two days, but was brought back into action last night and I am wearing my alpaca sweater.  I just finished listing my newest knitting project in my Etsy shop.  It is a pretty pink cardigan for toddler girls, size 2T-3T.  It is made with O-Wool's organic cotton and organic merino wool yarn, which I just love!  

And here is another dose of pink - the first Pink Lady's Slipper orchid that we found in the woods this week.  Have a great weekend!

May Beginnings

May has come in with frosty mornings, not with flowers.  The chicken water bowl had a thin skim of ice on Wednesday; tonight there is the threat of snow.  The horses are in the barn today, contentedly munching hay, out of the constant cold drizzle.  The woodstove fan is now whirring; Rainbow Valley, one of the continuations in the Anne of Green Gables series, is playing on audio.  I have a new cardigan for women in the Etsy shop (check out the listing to see the lace back!) and have a little wee one for babies on the needles now.  

The weekend weather doesn't sound too May-like either, but it will come.  I have potato leaves poking up, so that means that not all were stolen by marauders.  The garden is filled with tiny little sprouts; I can now see them without leaning over and squinting.  We spotted a Baltimore Oriole the other day, so I immediately sent my husband to the store for oranges - Orioles are supposed to love fruit.  So now in the world of vibrant green outside our window, there are strange striking glimpses of vivid orange, but so far no Orioles.  I looked in my bird record book and last year I spotted an Oriole in our yard on May 3; this year it was the 6th.  Both years, the large apple tree in the neighbors yard was in full bloom with white blossoms and that is where I saw the bird for the first time.

Whatever the weather, wherever you are, I hope that you find some joy this weekend.

 

Snow Squalls, Seeds, Stories, and Sweaters

Today was a great day and the past week was productive!  For the past three weeks, we have been doing Sunday family mornings at the barn and ending our ring work with a trail ride up the hill and into the woods.  With each week, the new pony gets more used to being a little girl's pony instead of an adult eventing pony.  Kermit's worse habit is having roaming lips - that includes grass, clothing, and whatever else is in reach.  I am not used to such a grabby horse (my own horse is a well refined gentleman TB) and Kermit's soft loose lips are both amusing and annoying.  However, he is very tolerant and lets the small person on his back move all around up there, doing around the world, riding without stirrups, attempting to ride without reins and stirrups...

It was a productive week in the garden, despite the snow squalls.  I was lucky to get my seed order in at High Mowing Seeds before they shut down new orders until the end of the month.  My potato order from Wood Prairie Farm way up in Maine near the Canadian border arrived super quick!  And I was able to place a pick-up order at my local flower shop for onion sets, so the garden is filling up pretty quickly.  Greens, spinach, potatoes, beets, carrots.  Because the Winter was mild, I had some carrots over winter and their leafy green tops bring some cheery green to the otherwise bare garden.  The garlic crop is already 5 inches high and it looks like most of the herbs survived.  Comfrey is taking over my yard!  I knew that it spread when I planted it, but the extent of the spreading is crazy.  Oh well, it is good for the soil when it decomposes and it gets very pretty little blue flowers in early Summer.

On the knitting front, I completed an open front cardigan for girls size 4-5T with an owl design.  I used O-Wool's Balance yarn, a mix of organic cotton and Merino wool and I am now a convert.  I don't like straight cotton - too crunchy for my liking - but this yarn is very soft with a nice drape.  If you're interested, it is listed in my Etsy shop.  Also, I sent out my first custom order and received a positive review, so YEAH!!

There are of course changes that we are dealing with, but overall, life is good.  We have chickens to play with, great audiobooks for free (Alice in Wonderland and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm were two from this week), horses to ride, and woods to explore.  I hope you are able to find something good in each day.

 

Warm in Wool Designs (That's ME!)

After several years of knitting for my family and for gifts, I have decided to open an Etsy shop selling my knitted items to try and make some money from my hobby/stress relief.  I'm trying to make as many items as I can before the Spring gardening and clean-up season begins.  My shop name is Warm in Wool Designs.  This lilac cotton shawl is one of the items for sale.

Today on our hike, the air was cold (in the low 20's), but the blue sky was beautiful and the sun was warm.  Ice crystals, hoar frost, had formed on several of the puddles.  

I don't have much to say today - I am sitting by the fire, empty cup of tea by my side, while the babe runs around outside with a friend.  She doesn't seem to notice that is it cold, but now the sun has gone down and the backyard is in shadow.  I should call her in.  I am so thankful that we have this property, still in the suburbs, but with a large backyard where she and her friends can just do what kids should be doing - running, playing, creating, imagining, being kids.  We do not have a playset in the yard, but this afternoon I looked out and saw her on a homemade seesaw.  They had placed an old board over a large cherry trunk that we had to take down several years ago and we left the trunk as a play structure for her.  I'll add inventing to the list; kids need unstructured time to think and invent.  

 

Happy February!

 

Lovingly Worn Handknits

I have two gently used hand knit items for sale today.  The first is a sunny yellow poncho/wrap.  I don't exactly know the correct word for it, but it will keep your upper body warm while keeping your arms free.

I knitted this a couple of years ago with Quince & Co's Chickadee sport weight wool, which is pretty soft.  It is meant to be worn with the purl side out (as shown).  Below are photos from when I first made it.  I think the accurate color is somewhat between the two sets of photos - not as warm as the top and not as greenish as the bottom.  It is in good condition, with some slight all over pilling.  We are a smoke free home.  Asking $20 plus shipping.

The next item is a cropped boxy shrug for a little girl.  It is knitted with worsted weight wool and has a cute rainbow of buttons.  It turned out wider than expected, so my daughter could wear it from the time she was 3 until now (7).  It is in really good condition.  Asking $10 plus shipping.

Contact me at [email protected] if interested.  ~Katie

A New Knit for Your Neck - For Sale!

I have a new handknitted item for sale - all proceeds going to The Pony Fund for the Little Babe.  It is a sweet little cowl made of 100% Juniper Moon alpaca in a lovely green color.  Grass green?  Shamrock green?  The pattern is called the "diamonds in moss" lace stitch.  The cowl is very lightweight and slightly droopy (it is alpaca after all) and would squish up very softly against your neck when worn with a warm winter coat.  The cowl is brand new, just worn for the photo shoot.  The little babe was trying to earn her money, so please excuse the blurriness.  The cowl is for sale for $25 and buyer pays shipping.  Contact at [email protected] if interested!