Birthday Blanket

When I turned 7, my Gramma made me my very own quilt.  I still have it- it has a puppy in the very middle, with pinwheels all around it.  My son now sleeps under it.  :)

His 6th birthday is in June and I started working on his own Birthday Blanket last month.  I know it's early, but I want to make sure I get it done in time.  I'm not a quilter, but I can knit, so I am making him a patchwork knit blanket.  I'm pretty much just making rows of different colored squares in a simple garter stitch.

 I'm knitting on size 15 needles with Lion Brand Homespun yarn in any color I can find it in.  It's a very soft yarn that is (more importantly) machine washable and dryable!

The weather here has been extraordinary for January, so we were able to go for a walk on Monday down the hill to our neighbor, which is a giant cattle farm.  The owner is leasing it out to an outfit from Texas- apparently the drought has gotten bad enough that he chose to truck his hundreds of livestock to the green hills of East Tennessee.  We couldn't be happier with the change- the hired hands are nice enough to let us wander in and out of the barns and even introduced us to the orphaned calves, who ate right out of A's little hands, much to his delight. 

On the walk back home, we found two magnificent treasures:  a tiny bird's nest and a green glass Coke bottle.  The nest has been added to our collection, while the coke bottle is soaking to get the gunk out.

This Spring, I may invest in some beehives.  I've been interested in them for awhile and have made a new friend who keeps bees and is teaching a class about them this Spring, which is open to any who want to attend.  You can find out more at My Barefoot Farm.  It's towards the bottom of the blog entry, but she's going to cover all the bases of beekeeping.  I, for one, am really excited to attend!! 

We have a local beekeeping club here, called the Clinch Valley Beekeepers Association that I've seen at some of the local festivals.  They always bring some good honey and a displayable hive with them, which was a big hit with us.

That's all for now- I'll be attempting to write a little more frequently than I have been.  

Todays' quote: 

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."   ~Morrie Schwartz~

Irish

A Crafty Weekend

Last Thursday, I went to our local yarn store, Loopville, for some single point knitting needles.  I came out with 2 skeins of yarn and two sets of single point needles.  Oh, and a blue-bird button.  A would like it sewn onto his scarf, which I need to knit before Christmas.  He picked a merino wool blend in a rainbow of colors.  It is gorgeous.  My kid has style!  When I got home, I found a box waiting for me with my chunky yarn and size 15 needles I've been waiting for to try making a poncho/shawl for myself.........

The other skein of yarn I bought is a secret, because the recipient of the finished product reads this blog and I want it to be a surprise.  After Christmas, I will show it off though..........  Eventually, I am hoping to move beyond knitting scarves and into fingerless mittens and hats and blankets.  One day at a time...........

I also bought a book called One-Yard Wonders, which has 101 sewing projects and they all use 1 yard of fabric or less.  (The books includes patterns for most of the projects.)  I immediately dug into the pile of fabric upstairs and pulled out some prints that I can't wait to try creating with.

I also went into my closet and pulled out a blue spangly half-circle skirt I made a year or two ago that is now too big for me.  I also have the left-over scraps, so between the skirt and the scraps, I have enough to make a blue spangly bag!  (And probably a headband too!)

What it was:

 

What it will (hopefully) be:

Let me state, right here, that I am not an accomplished sewer of things.  The skirt was made with a lot of help from my Mom, who is an accomplished sewer of things.  My goal is to become as good as she is at it.  So, please don't tell yourself that you can't do it, because if I can, you can.

As a result of all this craftiness, I have had to organize my things.  I had embroidery floss and beads upstairs, wool felt on top of the kitchen pantry, yarn and needles in the living room, and all the scissors are hidden where little hands can't get them.  So, I went to Lowe's and purchased a large clear plastic bin and found a set of three smaller plastic clear bins that fit inside.  Luckily, a bin I already had fit inside too!  I now am the proud owner of a craft bin, with containers for knitting needles and smaller skeins of yarn, embroidery floss and thread, beads and buttons, and paints and brushes, as well as room left over to keep large skeins of yarn, wool felt, scissors, and some fabric.  It's already full..........hmmmmm.........

We also finished the TreeHouse this weekend!!  JT did most of the heavy lifting, but I helped where I could, especially in tight spaces, while he built the stairs.  I also made the sign, which reads, at the bottom:  NO CRITTERS!!  BIRDS ALLOWED.  A loves birds. 

Right now, my main crafting focus is on finishing up Christmas presents.  After that, I have a list of things I would like to try, including the knitting I mentioned above, attempting my spangly purse, and doing a couple of the other projects in the book, as well as patterns I have seen on Ravelry.  (You can friend me- irishTNgirl).  I am trying very hard not to get ahead of myself in all areas of my life.  I have a habit of looking way ahead and forgetting about the present, which has its pros, but also has a lot of cons.  Having a "5 year plan" is one thing; trying to live 5 years ahead of today is another.............

Irish
 



Still Dreaming......

As it stands right now, the Sweet Honey Rose is still a dream of mine.  Some days, it seems far closer to realization than other days.  Hoping and wishing don't get you very far though, so there are some plans being made and thoroughly thought about.  We know that there will definitely be chickens, honeybees, maybe dairy goats, possibly an orchard, definitely a garden, and perhaps berries.  (Mmmmm......what's a farm without fresh berries?)


I grew up on a small farm, without a lot of chores to be done, so my own experience is limited.  There is going to be a steep learning curve in many areas.  We will have to start small and grow incrementally to keep a steady balance and not overwhelm and terrify ourselves.  It would be amazingly easy to do.


For now, I am going to set myself to learning some basics and reading and listening.  I have a list of things I would like to learn, one by one, as I start out on this adventure. 
-Home canning (tomatoes, pasta sauce, jams/ jellies, peaches)
-Beer brewing  (not from a kit)   
-Jam making  (raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, apple, lemon curd, and strawberry sauce)
-Good sewing (not just missing buttons and easy hems, but skirts, aprons, dishtowels, maybe shirts eventually)
-Knitting (working on it now!)
-Animal care (goats, chickens to start with)
-Land care
-How to use a tractor efficiently and effectively


I know there's going to be a lot more than that to learn, but that's a pretty big start.  To my credit, there are some things I can do, such as baking and cooking, yard maintenance, and herb care.  Maybe we can stand to learn from each other.  I plan on posting some of my favorite recipes with directions and I will share my progress in all things farm and otherwise related. 


I'm a historian as well, focusing on American and Irish history, so don't be surprised if some history and anthropology slides into these posts every once in awhile.  You might also see some music, some stories, a little bit of everything to keep things interesting.  Let's see how it goes..........


Irish