Monthly Archives: July 2012

How I spent my week

Posted on July 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on How I spent my week

 

Turning 8 pounds of blueberries into jam.

I used Marissa McClennan’s recipe from the Food in Jars cookbook for one batch, adding lime zest and juice instead of lemon for the second, and fresh ginger and honey in the third.   They are all delicious, although I should have cut the sugar back a little on the honey batch.  I’ll remember that next year.

I resisted buying more blueberries at the farmer’s market today, but only because one stand had fantastic looking pickling cucumbers, so I bought 3 pounds of those for pickles tomorrow instead.  I think I am going to try my hand at making half sours and some bread and butter pickles.

 

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Leftie

Posted on July 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on Leftie

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I’m heading off to Vermont for a dye workshop weekend among friends and I need some mindless (or nearly so) knitting to take along. Enter “Leftie”. I’m using the merino yarn I spun from the roving my mother-in-law brought me from New Zealand and Tahitian Sunrise that was some sort of Spunky Eclectic roving. That should keep me out of trouble for a few days!

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Alien in the Pasture

Posted on July 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on Alien in the Pasture

Nothing ever stays the same around here.  This farming adventure allows us weekly opportunities to tweak and adjust our systems, so that everything works more smoothly, effectively, cheaper, and easier on the back.  That's great for someone like me who enjoys change and novelty.  Plus, it's my back that needs to be protected.

I've been ruminating for several years now about how to feed hay to our critters with the least amount of waste and work.  Though I had considered large round bales as an economical choice, I just didn't see how I could keep the hay out of our fleeces as the sheep or alpacas worked down those big bales, usually from the inside, out.  I thought about using a cattle panel/t-post contraption to contain them, but it seemed like a big hassle.

Young Dan delivers our bale from Poole Feed in Wylie
One round bale is like 12-14 small square bales
One of my favorite suppliers, Premier One Sheep Supply came up with a panel system that they swear works for sheep, and will save us money in the long run.  So I bit the bullet and bought their panels.  (I love to mess with the mind of our UPS driver who has to deliver such crazy packages to the farm.)

Tella is puzzled about being penned up.  She loves to help with projects.
I penned up the dogs to keep them out of the way while the hay was delivered and while I worked on the panels.  I also moved the sheep to the adjoining paddock to keep them from being underfoot - they are such absolute obstructionists when it comes to building projects.

The only tool I needed was pliers to untwist some wires.  Sweet.
Six heavy-duty welded wire panels, and six crazy pigtail wires that serve as hinges to connect them,  make up the system.  Strategically placed larger openings in the panels allow the sheep to get to the hay without destroying the bale or getting their heads caught.  Which would be a definite downer.

The pigtail wires twisted right onto the panel ends to hinge them together.  Brilliant.
Ta-Da!
 The panels went together very easily, and fit tightly around this bale.  Now, I just hope the sheep like the hay, and that as they eat it down, I can keep the panels pulled tightly around the bale.  This is supposed to reduce waste quite a bit.  If you've seen our sheep pens, you know how much hay gets completely trashed instead of eaten.  It's like burning cash with a blowtorch.

"What the...?"
Two brave sheep...
Now three...
Now the whole flock gathers round...
 When the project was done and I released the critters, you would think a spaceship had landed in the pasture.  Everyone, including the dogs, was hesitant to get close to it.  But they're all very curious critters, and they soon overcame their fears.  The dogs got bored and moved on, and the sheep relaxed and dove into the chomping.  I'll check back in 24 hours or so and see how much hay has been consumed.

It looks like it's going to work!


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This Morning in Pictures

Posted on July 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on This Morning in Pictures

For some reason, when I went out to see the animals this morning, I was especially drawn to our colored animals.

Here’s Bertie, who’s already quite a tall goat, making herself even taller to get some extra browse.

Ursa gives me a look from atop her hay bale, and, unwittingly or otherwise, exactly mimics Roquefort.

Little Sagitta, one of the ewe lambs we bought this spring, is fitting right in. So are Boöetes and Draco, the other ewe and ram lamb who came along with her.

Happy Friday to all of you– we’ve got some exciting plans for the day that I can’t wait to share with you all, so keep an eye out for tomorrow’s blog post!

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Red Kite …

Posted on July 27, 2012 by | Comments Off on Red Kite …

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Tarragon laceweight

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Tarragon laceweight
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Yesterday I had the pleasure of a visitor who spins and we spend many hours chatting and spinning. I managed to finish a skein of cormo/romney laceweight, 650 yards.

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Growing up Fast!

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Growing up Fast!

It’s absolutely amazing to me how quickly the lambs are growing up (and let’s not even get started on the puppies!).

Diane and Cordelia are nearly as big as their mother, Capri.

And Perseus is just about as big as his mother, Lyra.

And while some of the ewes still graze close by their just-as-tall lambs,

there are plenty of lambs who’ve cut out on their own.

Lindbergh sure isn’t going to be caught hanging around his mother in public.

And Bingley’s not anywhere near her lamb, Alexander. She’s staying cool in the run-in.

But Aldrin runs over to me (or any human, really) as always, licking his lips!

While Cini and Lucy sit back and watch all that growing-up happen, like it does every year.

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Reading

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Reading

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A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.

Two questions about your reading habits that just seem to go together.

GigiAnn asks:

Do you have a favorite season of the year that you read more? (Example: during snow storms, rainy weather, or sunny and warm weather) Sorry, that was the best I could come up with.

Lisa asks:

Where is your favorite place to read? On the beach? Inside/outside?

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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BOOK REVIEW: The Violinist’s Thumb

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on BOOK REVIEW: The Violinist’s Thumb

I meant to post this while I was on vacation, but the internet at our house was not cooperative! Oh well...so much for getting the review out before the publication date. :-)

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's nothing I like better than a book that takes some heavy-duty science and distills it down into language that anyone can understand. I've heard one too many people say that they "don't like" science because it's "too hard"; if more people took the time to read books like this, I daresay we'd have more armchair scientists out there!

In The Violinist's Thumb, Sam Kean explores the fascinating world of DNA. He alternates sections lucidly explaining the science of genetics with anecdotes and case studies that bring that science to life. Among these anecdotes is the story of Niccolo Paganini, the violinist of the title -- widely considered the greatest violinist ever, he was rumored to have sold his soul to the devil. Modern interpretation, though, suggests that he suffered from a genetic condition that rendered his hands ridiculously flexible -- obviously something that would be handy (pun not intended) for a violinist. (Similarly, composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff had huge hands -- probably the result of Marfan syndrome -- which allowed him to play things that no one else could physically manage.)

But it's not just about classical musicians. Kean takes us on a whirlwind tour of eccentric scientists, dead presidents, fruit flies, Neanderthals, cancer, crazy cat ladies (who knew that THAT might have a genetic cause?) and more.

This is a fascinating book, and one that is much more accessible than its subject might suggest. Kean makes science come alive, and that's a great thing! I'm already looking forward to his next book.

Advance copy received from Little, Brown. Thank you!

View all my reviews

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Late July 2012 Update

Posted on July 26, 2012 by | Comments Off on Late July 2012 Update

Wow, I was reviewing general updates and found the last one was, um, the beginning of June.  And here I was worrying I was doing these too often.

So…I’ve been catching up on all the non-book related designing and stuff.  I’ve sent off the patterns for the MFPP eBook to the tech editors (yay!).

A couple patterns got released over the past month — the Ravens in Snow fingerless mitts (now available together with the full mitts) & the Byzantine Cowl.

Ooh!  and Fresh Designs Men came out. My Abalone Cove hat pattern is in there.

Hitch:  I’ve finished one of my own patterns for Hitch & am hard at work on a second.  (After that, I’m going to be focused, design-wise, on book two, at least for the next month or so!)

The patterns coming in from the other designers are simply amazing.

The photoshoot is August 8th in the Chicago area, right before Stitches Midwest.  (I’m hoping to work with a local vintage clothing store for clothes for the photoshoot — I’ll keep you guys posted on that too.)

Note…Shannon was heard to say that, if someone asks at the Cooperative Press booth at Stitches, and we have proofs on our iPads, well, people just might get a sneak look at some of the photoshoot pics.  Not to be a tease or anything.

KALs:  The Wrought Mitts KAL ends in a week!  If you’re a speedy knitter, there’s still time….

The next KAL, by vote, will be the Wrought Socks.  You guys love your twisted stitches, eh?  Me too!

I’m tempted to start a KAL for the Peacock Stole a month into it, and have KALs run for two months each but overlap.  Thoughts?

Travels & Conferences & Signings, oh my!

There’s still room in my beaded knitting class at Knitculture this Saturday.  I’ll also be signing copies of California Revival Knits.

Chicago Yarn Crawl: I’m happy to say I’m joining in the fun!  I’ll be visiting two stores as part of the Yarn Crawl.

I’ll be doing book signings at Loopy Yarns in Chicago 2-4p on Sunday, Aug 5th and 5-7p on Monday, Aug 6th.   I’ve never been to Loopy Yarns so am excited about this!

On Tuesday, I’ll be at Wool & Company in St Charles from 3:30-6:30p!  So excited about this, too — Wool & Co was one of the first yarn stores I visited when I really started knitting again.

Stitches Midwest

As noted, Cooperative Press has a booth, so I’ll be doing signings, hanging out etc there.  I don’t know if we’ll have a set time for signings yet, but you know what?  You want me to sign your book, I’m beyond thrilled to do so.  Regardless of official times or not.

Tech Editing:  Sorry, guys, totally wrapped up in Hitch.  I’ll post here & update my tech editing page when I’m taking new clients again.

 

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