SpiderWomanKnits

Free Pattern! Drop Stitch Cowl

Remember when I mentioned I had another freebie pattern to share? This past fall I knit up one of these cowls and it has become my favorite knitted accessory. I wear it all the time, with or without my coat! For knitters, it's a very simple and gratifying project using a conservative amount of your yarn and your time. Grab your size 15 circs, a ball of super bulky yarn and cast on! In no time at all you’ll have a stylish accessory that will quickly become one of your most treasured possessions. I've went ahead and written up the pattern for you. I'm sure you can whip one up this weekend and I really hope you do! 

Here is the direct link to the PDF Download Drop Stitch Cowl which can also be found on Ravelry too. 

I love offering patterns for free, in turn, I humbly ask that you direct people who are interested in purchasing a cowl to my Etsy shop. Thank you so much! If you are not a knitter cowls are available in my Etsy Shop right now. 

Enjoy!

xoxo

Spidey

FO: a hat for Chloe

So far the knitting trend for 2012 is hats! I'm busting out lots of hats because I have quit a stash I'd like to start busting. This is another Honey Hat. It's such a delightful, quick pattern to knit up and looks ah-dorbs on the little ones. 

Simonne's buddy, Chloe, was having a birthday so I whipped one up for her. All the details have been Raveled. I wasn't sure if I'd like the results with self striping yarn but I think it turned out ok. Simonne didn't want to give it up. 

here i am!

Still knitting, still farming, still keeping super busy! I apologize for abandoning this space. We are all ok! I didn't intend to worry anyone and I am so thankful for all the emails and comments during my hiatus. My camera broke the day we processed the chickens and just came back to me right before the holidays which made it difficult for me to keep up with blogging, Flickr, Ravelry and my Etsy shop since so much of what I love and need to share is image based. I've always looked at life through the lense so after my camera broke I guess I ended up just looking around with my own eyes for a while. It was kind of nice. But, it's back now, I'm back now and I hope we can all catch up where we left off last time. 

The chickens, ah, the chickens! Greg and I processed all 50 birds on our own and it was a tremendous success. We have been roasting a bird a week, getting at least two meals from each (they were giants!) and nothing compares to the flavor and satisfaction you get from eating something you've raised and handled from day one to the moment it's on the table. If you are interested in any more details (weights, methods, breeds, storage etc.) about the process just let me know in comments and I'll be glad to oblige. It was a lot of work but I look forward to doing it again when the time comes. 

I've been knitting lots and lots lately. This is a hat I just knit for my brother. All the details have been Raveled. I have lots of other projects to share as soon as I can catch up with the photography. I also have another freebie pattern to share that I am really excited about! So, stay tuned. 

Is any one else finding it extremely difficult to keep track of all of our online spaces? Yikes. Let's see, you can also find me on Instagram and Pinterest now too. Oh boy. Raise your hand if you *love* Pinterest!  I haven't had much time to do too much of my own pinning but I love seeing what everyone else is finding. It's so inspiring. 

So, how is everyone?! I hope you all had a lovely Fall, Holiday Season and that your year is off to a pleasant start. I miss you! Tell me what's been going on in your world since August. xoxo Spidey

 

it's that time...

Our 52 (!) meat birds are ready. Lots and lots of very exhausting work ahead of us. Greg and I do it all ourselves. You can read my post about our first time doing it last year. My feelings are still the same. We processed five of them today just to get a feel again for the whole thing and we were wiped.

 

we're ok

{Jorn's embroidery August 28, 2011}

Just checking in really quick to let you all know that we are all fine. All of our critters and our home weathered the storm very well. Our poor town and surrounding towns did not do as well. This video covers a good portion of the state and is just a snippet of the flooding that was endured, our town is represented in the video, there are many that are not which experienced almost total destruction. It seems like our sleepy New England had quite a wake up call from Irene. My heart goes out to any of you who were affected or know someone who was. Please feel free to include links here if you are aware of any outreach or relief efforts.

We lost our power for a good portion of the day yesterday so we all took to handcrafts, music making and story telling. Jorn asked to do some embroidery, he was channeling the weather I guess. Now, we are focusing our energy on helping friends and neighbors who were effected by the flash floods. It's astonishing how quickly things can change, isn't it? A reminder to savor the present. I hope you all are well. Please let me know how you are.

xoxo

Abi

preserving cherry tomatoes

I am getting about 1 gallon of cherry tomatoes every day. That's a conservative estimate. This year I planted Sun Gold Cherry Toms. We are really loving them. I always freeze a bunch whole to be used for fresh pasta sauces in the winter but this year I am also slow roasting them with cloves of garlic. Oh.My.Wow. These are truly amazing and will be a warm, rich and comforting companion in winter stews, soups or just smothered on a piece of toast.You will have to use all of your will power not to just eat these on the spot while you are filling your jars.

To slow roast cherry tomatoes (or any small tomato) preheat your oven to 250 degrees. I have a convection roast option on my oven which works wonderfully. Wash your tomatoes, sliced them in half and place in a roasting pan (or pans if you have a bazillion like me). Separate whole cloves of garlic from the bulb but leave the skin on and scatter them in your pan. I like to use one clove per jar and I always roast extra. Drizzle olive oil over your pan and sprinkle kosher salt to taste. Place in the oven and roast for approx. 1 1/2-2 hours. I like to set my timer at 30 minute intervals and just keep checking or rotating pans so they roast evenly. You want them to be slightly browned and almost dehydrated though there will be some thickened juices. Fill 4oz Ball jars, leaving 1/2", and add one clove of garlic squeezed from it's skin to each jar. Let cool, cover and freeze!

If you want to just freeze your cherry or grape tomatoes, just wash and dry them. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment in a single layer and set in freezer until they are solid. Transfer to zippered freezer bags.

Enjoy!

 

100!

So, we went to a friend's house for dinner a few nights ago and wouldn't you know it, we came home with a hamster! His name is Pancake and he is the sweetest little thing. He's rolling around at my feet right now in one of those little hamster balls. He was "rescued" from a local college by our friends. I guess some students had managed to keep him without getting caught all through the school year last year but couldn't bring him home for the summer.They were about to set him free in the woods (!) when our friends intervened. We were admiring him while we were visiting and were asked if we'd like to take him home. Sure! What's another little critter at our place? This puts the "total number of mouths to feed" in my house at exactly 100! Good thing he really likes all the green beans and yummy things growing in my garden ;) We are so happy to have him as part of our brood. 

i just can't stop

This is Willa. She's in the shop too. I am just having so much fun making these so bear with me and all the shameless self promotion just a little while longer, will you?  ;)

Fergus is looking for his forever home

Fergus is in the shop and in search of his forever home. He's a touch nervous about the whole thing and so I am but I am sure when he finds the right place he'll settle in just fine. He's a real sweetheart. Go have a looksy.

today's haul

It's not the biggest haul we've had but it certainly is special. Those are the first potatoes we've ever grown! What a fun crop. Still lots more in the ground. We'll certainly make room for more next year. Jorn, Simonne and I spent Vaughn's nap time in the garden together today picking all these veggies. It just fills my heart watching the two of them cooperate and work together to help pick whatever it is we are picking. They are just as excited as I am to see what's available for us on a particular day.

A few nights ago I used the 2 pounds of beans we had picked that day (kentucky wonder, gold rush and purple) to make Indian style green beans. The whole family made me swear that I would not pickle the beans we picked today but would prepare the Indian Style beans again. Here's the recipe. I hope your family loves it as much as mine. It's taken from one of my favorite cook books Whole Foods for the Whole Family.This is the recipe as it is written in the book, we doubled it.

Indian Style Green Beans

1lb green beans

2-4T oil (salted butter)

1t black mustard seeds

1/2 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup thinly sliced carrots

1 t. ground coriander

1/8 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. salt (or to taste)

1-2T lemon juice

Cut beans into 1 inch pieces (I just snap mine while I am washing them) Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute mustard seeds until they "pop". Add beans, onion, carrots. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in seasonings, reduce heat to simmer. Cover, simmer until desired tenderness. Stir in lemon juice and serve. We serve this as the side along with the most simple and delicious Chickpea Curry. If you look through the reviews you'll see my mods for that recipe on the site. Oh, and one more picture, just because, I love my Garden Sweetie so much.This was how she was dressed all day today while we were working.