Monthly Archives: January 2012

Humblebrag

Posted on January 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on Humblebrag

You guys, let me show you something unbelievable.

Last night, the Plotted and Pieced Blouse (I admit: it’s my favorite piece in the collection) hit #1 on Ravelry. Never, ever, ever would I have dreamt it.

The response to my Findley Dappled book has been wildly exciting and totally incredible. I’ve spent today and yesterday being absolutely worthless– reading the wonderful comments you’ve left on the blog, counting up my ravelry hearts like a miser, going through your wonderful emails and facebook comments and tweets, and being generally verklempt & kittenheaded.

I will express myself through animal pictures.

At first, I was slack-jawed. Utterly shocked.

Then, I blushed. Powerfully. I was shy, nervous, and a little embarrassed for being as proud as I am.

Because, in my heart, I feel like this!

I have never in my life received such a heartwarming gift as this litany of positivity. People who don’t even know me– strangers!– are saying nice things about me! On the internet! I’m not being sarcastic!

And this is all the sweeter, because I know exactly how hard everyone worked to put this book together. Susan took an enormous chance on me when she asked me, back in the summer, if I’d write a book of lace patterns. Zac did all my farm chores while I sketched, swatched, and scribbled my way through the fall. I’ve promised multiple firstborns (mine. That’s probably a problem.) to my patient, long-suffering, wind-swift Test Knitters. Alison taught me how to actually write a pattern, with her red Mark-Changes pen of Technical Editing. Joel’s photographs are so beautiful that they shocked me– I had no idea my designs looked that good! And Lauria did everything (as in: EVERY. THING.) in between.

I am beyond pleased, and so happy that you all like it. I can’t wait for you to be able to start knitting– I have a feeling I’m going to be overwhelmed all over again.

This post is cross-posted from the Juniper Moon Farm blog, because, really, you should read it!


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Because It’s not ALL about packing and sorting

Posted on January 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on Because It’s not ALL about packing and sorting
Just to show there HAS been some creative fun going on too in the last several weeks.


I'm really in love with this new design. (This one is in my Etsy shop)


I've decided now that I am moving "to Town" I need to come up with a city design to balance out the farm pots....





And some weaving!  I'm finally working on the 57" loom I picked up in Ohio over a year ago.  It works perfectly!  No tension or brake problems.


Two baby blankets (that are still waiting to be hemmed, which you wouldn't know if I hadn't told you!)


And now I have to brag.  When my folks asked what I wanted for Christmas I told them a handmade loom bench!  (Now that my two bigger looms are in two different cities I needed a second bench.)

Look what they made me!!!  (Carpentry by Dad, painting by Mom)



I'll be back.  PROMISE. :)

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Mom’s And Mine …

Posted on January 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on Mom’s And Mine …

My mother did these two counted cross stitches over 80 years ago.

Gay Head Lighthouse still had the lightkeepers house attached to it.

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Only 4 lighthouses instead of 5 on the Vineyard map – do you know which one is missing?

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My counted cross stitch of Gay Head lighthouse done in 2004.

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Vineyard map done in 1993… my first of 11.

100_0659CLICK HERE to read the post I did about our two Vineyard maps.


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The "Where’s the Trunk" Show

Posted on January 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on The "Where’s the Trunk" Show

Susie Gibbs is a trooper.  She probably had the ability to take whatever was tossed at her before she became a shepherd, but raising sheep for fun and profit will surely arm you for any kind of set-back.


Yesterday, at the Woolie Ewe in Plano, Susie put on a trunk show without a trunk.  Seems UPS has temporarily misplaced all the finished garments and accessories made out of her new yarns.  She improvised.  That's what shepherds do.


Without missing a beat, Susie began telling her incredible story of moving from New York City as a news producer to adopting the rural, mucky life of a sheep and goat raiser, to designing her own line of commercial yarns.


As usual, her animated stories full of triumphs and foibles kept the gathered knitters entranced.  We passed around yarns and ogled the beautiful pattern books.


The photos are so lovely, it was easy to imagine the beautiful knitted sweaters, hats, blankets, mitts, and other designs.  Having the yarns right there to touch and evaluate helped a lot, too.


Today, Susie is off to Knotty Girls in Tyler, TX to share the Juniper Moon yarn line.  I hope UPS comes through for her by the time the knitters show up.  But if not, Susie will manage to communicate the dream: the story of a lady on a mission who doesn't let obstacles slow her down.


A big wave to Mary Bensel, Denise Royal, (pictured here with Susie) Laurie McIntyre, Joanne Pohlman and Marybelle (not pictured) who came out to enjoy time with our pal.

Today, January 26, we celebrate "Eureka Day" here at the farm.  Three years ago today, Susie agreed to sit down with me at the Barnes and Noble in Fort Worth and tell me everything I needed to know to move our farm into the CSA model.  With no thought for personal gain, she shared lots of amazing business secrets, and encouraged me to go for it.  Her determination and creativity are inspirational.   Thank you, Susie.

NOTE:  Knitting Fever, Inc., who produces Susie's beautiful yarns, is holding a design contest using two of the JMF yarns - Willa and Chadwick.  These are gorgeous yarns crying for new ways to knit them up.  If you are interested in entering this contest, run by the Woolie Ewe and check out the yarns in person and see how they speak to you.  Buy some.  Then head over to the KFI blog for all the details about the contest.  Deadline is March 1.  Fabulous prizes.  Good luck!

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Writing or Riveting?

Posted on January 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Writing or Riveting?

btt button

What’s more important: Good writing? Or a good story?

(Of course, a book should have BOTH, but…)

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!


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Souvenir

Posted on January 25, 2012 by | Comments Off on Souvenir

What could be in this fine little brown paper bag?

I insisted that we walk down to the north edge of Oakland to visit A Verb for Keeping Warm. Right next to a place called the Actual Cafe (which promises “Hot Coffee, Good Food, Nice Folks”), on a street corner which must be one of the most literal places in all the world, I walked in and found the Nicest Yarns There Are, in person.

A wall of J+S jumperweight. All the Madeleinetosh and Malabrigo you could stand. FYBERSPATES. Lots of breed-specific wool from local farms. Mushroom-dyed yarns. Physical copies of self-published bestsellers. A full rack of gorgeous samples. It was heaven. I wanted it all. Also, they were hiring.

I didn’t know what to do, so Zac went next door to the Actual Cafe, and I went up to the counter and said, “I’m on vacation from Virginia, and I’d like to buy a souvenir. What’s your favorite thing here?”

Immediately, as is my self-effacing habit, I apologized for asking such a strange/personal/hard question, but she said, “Actually, that’s an easy question.” She walked me over to the yarn they dyed in-house (I asked about their processes, but she told me they were secret), and showed me something beautiful.

This is Shimmering, and the gerunds-as-naming-convention reminds me of nothing else but Stella McCartney lingerie.

Tangent.

I wanted to make friends and keep chatting, so I asked them if they could please skein all 1093 yards?

Happy to!

They hadn’t heard of the farm (You’re a fiber CSA? You give them yarn, in with the vegetables?), but, well, humbled.

Since visiting, I’ve been reading Kristine’s blog, where she writes daily about dyeing, teaching, traveling, and the daily realities of managing a crafty business– taking inventory, coming up with new products, having to knit instead of getting to knit, dealing with negative feedback– and that’s just this month! It’s so nice to hear a familiar story (Although– the kind of smarts, bravery, responsibility, and hustle that running, owning, and founding a successful business require? Dear Lord. I haven’t worked nearly as hard!).

I’ve definitely got plans for little Shimmering, and they’re called Pi Shawl, and, as such, will have to wait until July (my birthday?).

Until then, secreted away in the yarn cabinet. There’s nothing I like more than an actually useful souvenir (Brown leather bag? Best dress of all time? Berlin, 2008.), and I think this fits the bill.


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have day job, still trying to farm

Posted on January 25, 2012 by | Comments Off on have day job, still trying to farm

hello there, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? sigh. between the holidays and my day job, there just aren’t enough hours in the day (or evenings) to do all the things i’d like to do. i bet you know exactly what i mean.

but it’s a new year and time for new resolutions, right? farmer woob and i did our annual new year’s eve tradition of going out for an early dinner and making our resolutions, then going to bed early. you’ll see some of the chez farm-related ones come to fruition here, i hope – improving our garden infrastructure, starting fresh with a new colony of honeybees, adding chickens to the farm (!!)

in the meantime, i’m trying to get more organized and be more productive in the time i do have. yesterday, i managed to winnow my work email inbox down to four messages (four!). i’ve got a better system for tracking tasks, i’m working on prioritizing and planning out all my projects in more concrete, manageable steps, and i spent an evening this week sketching out the beginnings of a plan for more and better blog posts.

its’a work in progress, but here’s some link-love for the people and products i’ve been playing around with lately:

  • sister diane reposted on twitter recently her craftypod episode#119 on planning blog posts – very helpful, especially the links in her show notes.
  • dave navarro, who used to run a site called “The Launch Coach” has a workshop on “Becoming Incredibly Productive,” which has some great strategies for getting all the things i need to do out of my head and into to a system for storing, sorting, and prioritizing that keeps things from falling through the cracks. i wouldn’t say i’m “incredibly” productive yet (as witnessed by the inexcusable gap between this post and the one before it), but i’m hoping to get much better soon.
  • i finally bought a software program i’ve been eyeing for a long time – circus ponies notebook. it’s a note taking and organizing program for mac and ipad and it’s my new best friend. my only regret is that i didn’t pony up the money for it ages ago (ha!)
  • i also use evernote quite a lot to keep track of pretty much everything – interesting websites, articles, documents, receipts, notes, anything i hear, see or think about and don’t want to forget. i love that it’s integrated with twitter and safari so it’s easy to send things i come across straight to evernote to keep track of. i have evernote on my mac, my iphone, my ipad, and it’s accessible by web too. best of all – a basic account is free!

what are your favorite productivity tools or tips?


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Animal Magic

Posted on January 25, 2012 by | Comments Off on Animal Magic


Jennifer and Marty Jurek brought their niece, Ashlyn, to the farm on Monday to get some eggs and to visit all the animals.  A whole lot of kid <---> animal fun ensued.






Then, we went to visit the puppies...


Mama Ruthie is the perfect pal...


Ashlyn had to warm up to this Very Big Dog.


Uncle Marty, one of Ruthie's favorite people, helped Ashlyn get some confidence.


Strike a pose.

Let this be a lesson to you - when kids and animals come together, prepare to burn up a bunch of pixels.  Dang... weapons grade cuteness.

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Off to the Country

Posted on January 24, 2012 by | Comments Off on Off to the Country

Two of our alpacas have graduated to their plush retirement out in the country. 

Noah and Gizmo left yesterday for the new chapter in their lives, called "Greener Pastures," as they headed south to Goldthwaite.  Our friend Barbara is populating her large ranch with some pampered 'pacas and llamas, who will enjoy lots of grass and camaraderie.  Gizmo and Jonah were Barbara's first alpacas, and they boarded here for years.  I'm so glad she gets to have them on her own place finally.  She's waited a long time for this.

Barbara's husband, Ron, picked up the boys.  He's so tall, the alpacas look really tiny standing next to him.

Ron and Barbara's brother, Paul, convince Noah to talk toward the trailer.

Gizmo and Noah settle in for the ride to Goldthwaite.

Gizmo is always up for an adventure.  He'll have familiar friends to spend the rest of his life with.

Barbara reports today that everyone made the trip just fine, and are settling in to their new digs.  I couldn't have let them go, if I wasn't absolutely sure they'd have a fantastic life on the other end.  Enjoy your new boys, Barbara!

Next week, Silver Lining Joseph will roll up from the Lubbock area.  I'll let you know more specifics as we get closer to time.  If you'd like to meet him in person, watch this space for all the details.

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A new long-term knitting project

Posted on January 24, 2012 by | Comments Off on A new long-term knitting project
log cabin blanket started!

A few weeks ago, a Ravelry friend and I had a "little" swap -- some of my soaps for some of her extra Juniper Moon Farm yarn.

It turned out to be more than a little yarn!

OH HEAVEN!!!

I thought of some small projects to do with some of the colors, but I kept wondering if I could really break it all up. Even though it didn't all "match" necessarily, I loved the way it looked all together.

I stewed over it for a while and it came to me. A blanket. Something big enough to use up and showcase all of these glorious colors (and a few hanks of alpaca-y heaven that my friend Susan had sent me as part of a HUGE box of yarny goodness before Christmas).

Classic Elite Inca Marl

Angel's Kiss - Fern

Once I saw them all wound up together, I knew I was making a good choice.

a little yarn winding today...

Something about the bold colors seemed that they would really lend themselves to a free-form, very geometric plan, and I found myself thinking about some of my favorites of the Gee's Bend quilts.

So I decided on a Log Cabin style, but with a more relaxed feel (aka: I don't want to have to follow a pattern for this).

more Log Cabin progress

It knits up really fast and easy. And since it is totally a free-form knit, I can take it anywhere and stop and start at any point without getting messed up. Perfect project-between-projects!

log cabin blanket progress 1/23/12

I am expecting more yarn today, and some more at some point later this week. Gotta love swapping! So expect periodic blanket updates. I am thrilled with this project and can't wait to see how it progresses.

Speaking of expecting, here is last week's gratuitous belly shot. I am taking them every week now and this one was at 23 weeks. Hard to believe how far I am already. Seems like I've already been pregnant for so long, and yet not long enough at all again.

23 weeks 3/4 view

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll come back soon with another blanket update. :)

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