Monthly Archives: November 2013

SO busy! And New Work at a New Venue!

It is that time of year again.  The air is getting nippy (though with a spattering of 70 degree days!  Crazy Virginia weather.) the days are getting shorter and there is a ton of work to be done.


My studio has limited space for work in progress (I must do something about that in the new year...)


And I have things at all stages this week.





And WAY too much under plastic waiting patiently (!?) to be decorated.


Yet today, rather then get busy in the studio I worked in the yard doing what I hope is the last garden prep before winter, digging beds, planting bulbs, mulching and raking leaves.

So my studio still looks like this!


Meanwhile this past Saturday Kathy from Serendipity Quilt Shop in Dagsboro Delaware came to pick up her wholesale order!  These  pots are a little diffrent for me.  When we spoke at the fiber festival (where we met originally) she requested chickens, quilts, and the beach!  Here is a sample.  (If you want to buy head to her fantastic shop!)

(These pictures are only mediocre as I remembered I hadn't taken any while I was waiting for her to come pick the order up.  So just quick snaps to help me document...)





Spoon rests!  I'll have more of these at Liberty Town for the small works show in December!


Tomorrow I WILL spend the day in the studio. 


Probably something you would like…

Wisconsin family discovers fully-stocked fallout shelter in their back yard 50 years after it was installed at the height of the Cold War

The Taco Cleanse is a real thing.

20-Centimetre AntelopeThere Is A 20-Centimetre Antelope At Chester Zoo. I am dying over here!

An excellent essay on knitting by Barbara Kingsolver.

A New Label Lets You Know How Much Social Justice Is In Your Shopping. Super cool.

Okay, I know this is thin but I am battling the worst sore throat in history. Now more than I ever, I would love to see what’s making you feel good this week. Hook me up people!

Otherwise

btt button

Outside of books, what’s your favorite thing to read? Newspapers? Magazines? Blogs? Fanfiction? Specific websites?


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!


Paris In November …

My creation

My creation

- by Joan -


November-ing

As we careen toward Thanksgiving I’ve been trying with all my might to enjoy November and its relative calm.  After the Big Meal it will be all Christmas and crazy, but for now it’s still fall, everything pumpkin is still in vogue for the month.  There are still a few patches of color here and there where the rain and wind have not knocked them off the trees, and it’s still not bitter cold.

Although, truth be told, the weather here has been so bizarre I think I’d take the bitter cold just so I’d know how to cope.  Instead we’ve had a day where it flurried like mad for about an hour followed by temperatures in the 70′s a few days later.  You never know if you’ll need the A/C or the heat on.

It’s the ending of fall, and it’s bittersweet.

We will be having Thanksgiving at home this year with Paul’s family, and I am enjoying getting the house organized and cleaned in readiness for it (hey, cleaning is therapeutic for me!).  In the meantime it’s starting to get hard to concentrate on school when there’s so much to be done and to enjoy, but we’re at least not falling behind.

11.20.13a

Oona’s reading a lot of seasonally appropriate books about Thanksgiving (though the pickings are slim on these – as a historian I don’t like the ones that whitewash the history, even-or maybe especially- for little ones).

11.20.13b

Yesterday my November issue of British Country Living came, and I spent a glorious afternoon with a cup of coffee and some gingerbread cookies from Trader Joe’s, pouring over its pages.

That mug, by the way, is one of my absolute favorites.  It was made by my friend Anna Branner with Susan’s logo on it, and you can find more of Anna’s wonderful wares HERE.

To top off all things Novembery, we’ve been enjoying some homemade Pumpkin-Cinnamon Swirl bread.  It’s wonderful toasted with a bit of butter.  I used the recipe for the Cinnamon Swirl bread (made in the Pullman Loaf pan) from King Arthur Flour, but for the filling I added about a third cup of pumpkin puree and took out 1 egg and the water.  It’s got just a touch of pumpkin-y flavor when it’s done and it smells heavenly while it’s baking!

11.20.13c

 

 


Tagged: food, Homeschooling, Seasons

Yarned by You: Cowl Edition

So the doctor told me that I needed to keep my shingles rash (which is on my neck) covered up. He recommended I wear a turtleneck. I don’t own any turtlenecks. So I’ve been keeping it covered with an unattractive bandage and tape combo. What better to cover up your neck with than a cowl, though? (Teenagers, take note! Cowls are a fashionable alternative to a turtleneck when covering up hickies.) Unfortunately I’ve really felt too tired to even pick up the needles. So instead, I hunted through some cowls that you’ve made using Juniper Moon Farm yarn.

I think ideally I’d make myself a cowl out of Herriot, as it’s so soft it would be like being wrapped in a hug all day. HandmadebyKoren made this lovely Lattice Cowl, designed by Caroline Fryar and available for free on our Free Patterns page

handmadebykoren's Lattice Cowl

A little more ambitious, ShayneDKnits knitted the Pentucket Cowl, designed by Alison Green for our new Herriot Heather’s pattern line. Although I love the original, this is a great alternate color combo!

ShayeDKnit's pentucket cowl

The Terra cowl, designed by Marie Grace for  last winter’s Marlowe line looks fantastic knit up by Tagati.

Tagati's Terra Cowl

Of course a bulky cowl will work up very quickly and this Blue Streak knit by brendajosephson in Willa is no exception!

brendajosephson's Blue Streak

Or what about this love Twist Your Neck Warmer worked up using just one hank of Chadwick? Adorable and warm, not doubt! Hildemy did a great job.

Hildemy's Twist Your Neck Warmer

Karen430 knit this great cowl out of Findley Dappled – Minerva cowl. That would look very elegant!

Karen430's Minerva Cowl

The Uki cowl is another great free pattern that we offer. It’s knit up in Sabine and uses drop stitches, which create fabric quickly! kmoffer knit this one, using exactly one hank of Sabine.

kmhoffer's Uki Cowl

And Moonshine is a wonderful yarn that would make a fantastic cowl. Siercia knocked herself out with this Lava Flow cowl, modeled by her daughter.Siercia's Lava Flow Cowl

 

And tattooedcat knit this awesome Amalthea cowl, which Ruth Garcia-Alcantud designed for us for this past spring’s moonshine yarn line.

Amalthea Cowl

As always, click the pictures to be taken to the knitter’s project page where you can learn more about the patterns!

Tell Me Something Good Tuesday

Tell Something GoodTuesdays

So, as Susan said yesterday, I have shingles (thanks for the well wishes!) and she’s feeling like she came down with the flu. We were supposed to have our photo shoot for Spring Summer later this week, but with the possibility of me getting Susan really sick, we both thought that it was best if I stayed home. I’m really disappointed about it, but this is really for the best. I’m working on resting, which helps with my overall goal of finding balance between work and life and I did really well this weekend with marathon tv watching and playing Candy Crush. In fact, I did it so well that I completely forgot to put up a knitting blog post yesterday!

And delaying the photo shoot means I just have that much more time to get all my ducks in a row, which is always a good thing to allow for a smooth photo shoot experience. So I’m going to focus on resting and getting caught up on emails today, but slowly, as I already discovered that doing something as strenuous as clearing off my desk so that I have a better place to work is too much! And even just sitting up for an extended period of time is tiring. Let me hear some happy things from you so I can live vicariously while on sick rest!

Sundown …

Martha’s Vineyard

DSC_0222

- by Joan -


A Little Happy for your Monday

So, poor Lauria has come down with shingles and I woke up this morning feeling flu-y. Not the best Monday on record so far.

I’ve got a MOUNTAIN of work to plow through today, but I keep taking breaks to watch Teddy Bear, a porcupine who loves pumpkin as much as I do. Teddy Bear is keeping me going today. Hope he keeps you going, too.

My Perpetual Blogging Vacation

quiet moment

Long time no see. Again.

I can't seem to decide if I am still a blogger or not. For the past few months, I have been mostly "not," but I have been knitting.


starting yoke

9-17 (2)

9-17 (3)

2

5

This sweater (Bláithín, by Kate Davies), was blogged about in six different posts on the Juniper Moon Farm blog and finished promptly (for me anyway). I was very pleased with it, but had quite a shock when it was featured on the front page of Ravelry for a few days with a group of incredibly lovely sweaters. If that burst of excitement didn't further fuel my current knitting frenzy, then I don't know what did. Because certainly it couldn't be my natural and unfortunate tendency to do, oh, everything obsessively...

My sweater (HowdyPandowdy's Woolen Blaithin) was featured on the front page of Ravelry!

3

With that project completed, it was time to back up a little and finally dive into the two beauties from The Shepherd and the Shearer.

on left: 2013 Colored Share, on right: The Shepherd and the Shearer yarn

we're ready for bath time!

(That is Mr. Ambry's and my queen size bed, just to give you an idea of how much yarn is all laid out there.)

As I already have a cabled pullover in a natural white, I decided to use the lighter yarn for my Shepherd hoodie.

The Shepherd and the Shearer yarn

half-heartedly blocked

And the (undyed) colored flock share for my Shearer pullover.

juniper moon farm colored share

swatching for The Shearer

I started the Shepherd first and haven't had a ton of time for it, but it's creeping along.

seed stitch

The Shepherd progress

Another almost completed work in progress is a Bláithín (junior) for Lydia, although I made it in a larger size to use up the rest of the white yarn, so it may not fit her this year.

for Lydia's Blaithin

Lydia's Blaithin

lydia's blaithin

And for the times I need something a little simpler to work on, a Charlie pullover for Lydia.

Lydia's "Charlie" pullover

Lydia's "Charlie" pullover

That's about it. I knit when I can grab a few minutes between Lydia wrangling and attempting to complete the necessary housework. Out of all the things I like to do, knitting is probably the easiest to pick up and put down with a million interruptions.

So for now: knitting. And maybe blogging. Or maybe not. Guess we'll find out. ;)