Monthly Archives: May 2013

Yarned by You: It’s really really Spring!

Posted on May 23, 2013 by | Comments Off on Yarned by You: It’s really really Spring!

Spring has really come to the Northeast. We’re just past the disgusting pollen-laden season and right now everything is so green and beautiful and bright and sunny and happy. (Well yesterday and today have looked a bit cool and stormy, but that’s just nature reminding me that it’s spring and not summer!) So I toured through my file of favorites to see what people are making in our spring yarns!

This Runa in Sabine (12 Sirius) was made by kkuncl. She writes that it used some new techniques that she wanted to try. I love to learn new things while knitting, don’t you?

 

 

kkuncl's Runa

MelissaNCgirl knit this gorgeous Shirley Sweater in Findley (Poppy) super fast! I love the tie at the front and the fun lace details.

 

MelissaNCgirl's Shirley sweater

SaraLeila knit this as a chemo cap for the Hope Lodge. I love the idea of Moonshine (Blackberry) giving someone a bit of comfort through their difficult journey. This pattern is called Molly.

SaraLeila's Molly

redsocksrules (hm… can you guess where she’s from?) made good use of Yearling (10 Leafy) by knitting Short Sands. I’m really digging oversized lace like this!

redsocksrules's Short Sands

Also in Yearling (see note above about digging oversized lace!), is this lovely Storm Fir Shawl, knit by sageb in Blue Blue Sky. Two balls of yarn, one day, and BAM! lace shawl!

sageb's storm fir shawl

This lovey sweater knit in Sabine (Posy), is reverisible. Some people wear it with the V in the back, and some with the V in the front! mclaugan shows the Joule pullover with the V in the front but added a little extra detail to the other side.

mclaugan's Joule pullover

A reminder that clicking on the picture will take you directly to the knitter’s project page where you can learn more about their garments!

 

 

 

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Maintenance and Upgrades

Posted on May 22, 2013 by | Comments Off on Maintenance and Upgrades

Now that we’ve managed to carve this property more or less into what we need it to be we realized it’s time to make it look better.

We’re working on getting the pool open (a genius with pool chemicals I am not) and in anticipation of that Paul decided we needed stairs so we’re not walking down a veritable mud slide to it.

05.22.13a

He spent the weekend bringing in dirt and setting the bricks in where they need to be.

05.22.13b

I’m excited for the finished product – and I’m thinking some solar lights along the sides are called for.

I also bought more peony and dianthus plants to put in (haven’t gotten to them yet….ugh) and we’re working on smoothing out the back pasture and getting all the stumps removed (slowly but surely).

The good news is that I am starting to see this:

05.22.13c

Grass!  I can see grass starting to come in!  It’s not growing in fast enough to suit me, but at least I can see that a day will come that it won’t look like a barren, post apocalyptic wasteland back there!


Tagged: Farm

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Probably something you would like…

Posted on May 22, 2013 by | Comments Off on Probably something you would like…

Latte Art by Kazuki Yamamoto

The art of 'cappuccino painter" Kazuki Yamamoto

The art of ‘cappuccino painter” Kazuki Yamamoto is spectacular.

Wax seal rings $65-$80

I’m not much of a jewelry person but these wax seal rings are lovely and neat. $65-$80.

Skinnytaste Zucchini Lasagna

Zucchini Lasagna sounds great and just in time for zucchini-from-your-neighbor’s-garden-whether-you-want-it-or-not season.

Rose and Ginger Cupcakes

These Rose and Ginger Cupcakes from Martha Stewart are lovely. I’ve never thought of pairing these two flavors!

Estonian Sheep Puppets

ZOMG! How cute are these Estonian Sheep Puppets? Pattern from Interweave here.

Copper Sugar Saucepan

I am completely smitten with this Copper Sugar Saucepan.

Someone Finally Fixed the Worst Tattoo in the World, Actually Made It Rather Stunning.

Olive Manna

Check out the beautiful goods on offer at Olive Manna. I want to live there.

Have you watched The Mindy Project yet? Summer re-run season is a great time for you to catch up on the best written comedy on television. In the meantime, read this cute interview with Ike Barinholtz, who plays nurse Morgan.

MOMA's Rain Room

Could some one in NYC please visit the MOMA’s Rain Room exhibit and tell me if it’s as incredible as it looks?

These are some of the things inspiring me this week. What’s making you light up?

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Do You Know What These Are …

Posted on May 22, 2013 by | Comments Off on Do You Know What These Are …

1.

100_0964

2.

100_0965

3.

101_0147

4.

101_0813

5.

101_4406

6.

100_7975

Extra credit if you know what #6 is :)

Come back on Friday for the answers :)

UPDATE:  the answers

1-cash register 2-washing machine wringer 3-Ouija board 4-typewriter 5-Polaroid Land camera 6- spinning wheel fly wheel/bobbin

- by Joan -

(www.throughjerseyeyes.com)


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Around the Yard + A New Shed Roof!

Posted on May 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on Around the Yard + A New Shed Roof!
whirlygigs

sky

bittersweet vine

Though today was our first 90º day of the year, I can't complain at all thanks to the incredible spring we've had thus far.

white clematis

very blue at dusk, but purple in the daylight

cotinus

the shady side of the shed is a jungle now

smells so good

blackberry blossom

I feel like everything growing this year is so extra full of life, so much more vibrant than the past few years.

clematis petals

 nishiki willow

flopsy

robin

I was out taking all the photos above in the evening of the 16th and I tried to get a picture of the corner of the yard toward the side of the house in its current state. But no matter how I angled it, I kept getting blue tarp in the shot. Both our neighbors' shed and our shed have been badly in need of new roofs and guess what?

just love that setting sun

The roof man and his son came today and turned this,

before - ick

into this!

finished!

To say I am elated is almost an understatement. No more ugly old rotten shingles, no more checking the rapidly disintegrating tarp after every windy storm, no more leaks!!! And best of all, I didn't end up having to do it myself.

Another exciting part is that now that this is done, I can proceed with the lean-to green house on the fence side of the shed -- just as soon as finances allow, naturally.

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May Cookout …

Posted on May 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on May Cookout …

000_0004

Upper Montclair – New Jersey

- by Joan -

(www.mvobsession.com)


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More Dyeing….and FINALLY. Clay.

Posted on May 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on More Dyeing….and FINALLY. Clay.
This past weekend was the long awaited two day dye workshop that I had arranged for our guild.  Julie Hodge, a professor at UMW led the course.  And we were so fortunate to be able to use the school's dye studio!  All the tools at our fingertips.





Prereduced Indigo.  A magical thing.  Starting from scratch to create an indigo dye vat is a long and touchy business.  With the prereduced you just mix in water, add soda ash and the Thiourea Dioxide.  No messing with that nasty lye and no need to even heat it up!

And the results are a quick amazing blue!
(Taken from the second floor window because I was too busy to run down closer!)



Julie demonstrating the color wheel project we worked on on the second day.




Color mixing, starting with only the three primaries.  Who needs to buy a bunch of fancy colors!



And finally on Monday (yesterday) it was back to clay.  I organized the shelves well enough to jump in.  It was a little touch and go to start out.  I haven't thrown on my elevated wheel for over a year!

But 24 pots in a couple of hours doesn't seem to be too bad for me. 








Today I wore my weaving hat.  
Tomorrow? 

 I trim bowls!



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Roasted Shallots

Posted on May 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on Roasted Shallots

One of the things I learned in culinary school is an appreciation for shallots. Like garlic, shallots are members of the genus Allium, but their flavor is much sweeter and milder. In fact, shallots are often mistaken for a type of onion. They aren’t, but they can be used in place of onions when you’re looking for a more subtle flavor.

Roasted ShallotsRoasted shallots are one of my favorite ingredients. I like to keep some in the fridge for stirring into soups, filling omelets and topping pizzas. They are dead easy to make– you don’t even have to peel them. Just toss them in bowl with olive oil to coat them and tip them into a baking dish. I sometimes throw in a few stems of rosemary or thyme just for added flavor. Cover the dish with foil and pop it into a 350 degree oven for an hour or so. The shallots will be completely soft.

To use, just squish the delicious gooey shallots out of the skins (they same way you would with roasted garlic), drizzle with the left over oil and store in a covered dish in the refrigerator.

DSC_0079

For a quick weeknight dinner, I topped a store-bought pizza crust with roasted shallots and their oil, sautéed mushrooms and fresh mozzarella. The shallots are so sweet and flavorful that I sometimes leave off the mozzarella and just give the pizza a good grated of parmesan. Sublime!

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Tell Me Something Good Tuesday!

Posted on May 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on Tell Me Something Good Tuesday!

Tell Something GoodTuesdays

Last week’s TMSGT post was exactly what I hoped it would be. So full of optimism and wonder– I swear, reading your entries fueled my soul for the rest of the week!

Here we are again back at Tuesday and I want you to tell me something good! It doesn’t need to be or dramatic or showy; just a little piece of goodness you are willing to share.

My something good this week is starting the JMF 3 Week Kettle Bell Challenge and living to tell the tale. I’m proud of myself for doing it and even enjoying the dull ache of muscle fatigue that’s reminding me what a bad ass I am.

Your turn. Tell me something good!

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Sending our love to Oklahoma

Posted on May 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on Sending our love to Oklahoma

Juniper Moon Farm has a whole lot of shareholders and friends living very close to Moore, OK, the site of yesterday’s horrible tornado. It looks as if we got lucky– I’ve heard from the people we love and they are all okay.

More than any other weather, tornados terrify me most, probably because I grew up in “Tornado Alley”, but also because tornados are so unexpected, so fierce, so capricious in their destruction. The come from out of no where with very little warning and tear people’s lives apart, smashing one house to bits while skipping over completely the one next door.

I have no words of wisdom when these things happen– I don’t know anyone who does — but I believe there is no greater reminder that it’s the people on our lives that matter. Not our possession or our plans. Just the people who we love.

There will be a whole lot of people hurting in Oklahoma for a good long time. In the meantime, where you live in the world, take a little time for grace this week. Be more gentle with the ones you care about. Show them your love every time you see them.

They say that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. Well, a whole lot of life happened in Moore Oklahoma yesterday. And they are going to need a whole lot of help before they are whole again.

This link has lots of great contact information and  need info for anyone who if looking for a way to help. The need is great, and there are many opportunities to pitch in. If you hear of any specific needs, please share that info with us so we can help get the word out.

Tonight, my heart is breaking for Moore Oklahoma.

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