SpiderWomanKnits

happy halloween

Happy Halloween!

We all hope you have a super spooky and super fun holiday!

oooxxx

Spidey and the Fam

not mine

Remember this mosaic I put together a while ago? Dahlia just reminded me about it (thanks Dahlia!). Well, I have a certain obsession with Airstreams. I happen to also have an 'Airstream Sensor'. If there is an old Airstream in a field somewhere and I am driving by it won't go unnoticed. I can feel them behind sheds, tucked away behind barns, or in the case above behind a pile of junk cars. This summer Greg and I decided to stop and inquire about this particular Airstream, we are in no position to buy one but it never hurts to ask because you just never know. It turns out the guy who runs the junk yard/repair shop was just storing it for someone. I asked him if we could take some pictures of it and he said, "Sure, I don't mind. But I don't know what all the fuss is about with those. 20 people must stop every week to ask me if that metal can is for sale. I wish I had one to sell them!" I do too, Mister. I do too. 

these hands

Simonne basically taught herself how to sew by watching and thinking about her worm collection. She keeps a very impressive and well tended to worm collection. She has been asking me to teach her to knit quite a bit lately but I know she's not quite there yet. So I set her up with an embroidery hoop filled with a recycled, lightly felted sweater and some pink Lopi yarn. Right away she started saying, "Little wormy goes all the way in under the ground and comes all the way back up" as she sewed and sewed. Yes Simonne! He does!

at rhinebeck

Mama got a brand new apron! I have been coveting this very apron for months now. In the town of Rhinebeck there is an old-thyme five and dime called Stickles Variety. Ever since my first trip to Rhinebeck B.K. (before knitting) I fell in love with this store. They have everything in there and of course, it appeals to my love of old fashioned things. The owner and her daughter started selling their handmade wares there as well which makes Stickles even more awesome. Handmade + old thyme goodies = Happy SpiderWomanKnits. Anyhow, we have family in Rhinebeck so the last time we visited I fell in love with an apron just like this in the store but passed it up and have regretted it ever since. How happy I was to see that they were sharing a booth at Rhinebeck this year! I scooped it up right away. You can find the most lovely box bags at Go Monkey and she also makes the sweetest pillow ticking pj pants you have ever seen. It is her mom, Pig and Company, who makes these lovely aprons along with lots of other sewn goodies as well.

And there was yarn to be had too. Just one scrumptious hank from Foxhill Fiber that I haven't stopped petting since it came home with me.It moves from room to room with me.

I had SO much fun at Rhinebeck this year. Leah and I went down together on Friday night, crashed at my family's house and then hit the fair just as the gates opened on Saturday morning. What an experience that was. We felt the tide surge, by 10:30 am the fair was packed. It was just lovely, we ate, we lingered, we basked, we looked and then looked again, we sat, we met people (Hi Lily!), we planned for next year and then we left. My only two regrets this year were not waiting on the Sanguine Gryphon line (slapping forehead) and not staying another day. Next year, I don't want to miss the Ravelry party either.

'Rhinebecks', for me, have always been a challenge. My first time doesn't count b/c it was all so overwhelming as a new knitter. Then, every year after has been marked by pregnancy (morning sickness + Rhinebeck = not happy SpiderWomanKnits), towing kids around, nursing babies on freezing benches, and then last year was the clincher since I was not only nursing baby Vaughn but I was on crutches the whole time! Ugh. I really needed this trip this year and now I am going to start planning and saving for my first Maryland Sheep and Wool in May. I always leave fiber festivals feeling so filled up with love and inspiration. It feels like a family reunion of sorts. Since I got home I haven't been able to stop knitting. I'll have lots to show and share soon!

look who is so cute

and big

and snuggly

and healthy

and strong

KIMBA!

Have a lovely weekend! I'll be heading down to Rhinebeck soon. If you are going, I hope we bump into each other.

oooxxx

Spidey

 

FO: more than 198 yards of heaven

This knit was delightful! I have to say I enjoyed every moment of it. The original pattern calls for only one skein of worsted yarn knit into a shawlette but I have had a huge hank of Briar Rose 'Grandma's Blessing' yarn in my stash since Rhinebeck 2007 that called out to be knit into this. But, if you do have one lone skein of yarn somewhere in your stash what a great holiday/gift knit this would be. It's quick, it's fun and the result is lovely.

I knit leisurely over the course of a week but it was the type of project that I wanted to pick up every chance I had. The pattern is well written and fun and the yarn was pure joy to work with.

Blocking it was a whole different experience. When I gave the shawl it's first soak it bled SO badly and I couldn't get it to stop. It just bled and bled, although it didn't lose any color and I never had any dye on my hands while working. Many rinses later the water was *almost* clear so I called it done and laid it out to block.The yarn holds it's shape nicely and has such a lovely drape.

I did modify the border/edge a bit and knit the shawl substantially larger than the pattern calls for. You can find my mods on Ravelry. I plan on wearing it to Rhinebeck in a few days! Sqweee!!! I'll be there with Leah and I hope to see you there too. Be sure to say hello!

still growing

Well, maybe not still growing but the garden is still keeping me busy. We still have lots of tomatillos and I can't stop making this salsa. It has turned into one of our favorite things to eat this growing season. This year, for the first time, I planted strawberry popcorn. It's so cute. Not the best yield and I can't speak to the 'popcorn' yet because it has to sit for a few weeks but it was a fun crop.

I brought in a bunch of paste tomatoes that were almost ripe (about a 1/2 bushel) and pulled up the rest of my plants to hang in the garage. Each threat of frost is followed by the most glorious, mild fall day you could hope for so my efforts have felt a bit premature. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry though. I also brought in the rest of my beets, have been making nasturtium pesto non-stop over the past few weeks, have been blanching and freezing any extra green beans (I decided that I prefer pole beans to bush beans), put up many quarts of garlic dill and sweet pickles, put up many pints of relish, froze a bunch of cherry tomatoes (we had so many this year), grated and froze tons of zukes and summer squash (this bread is delicious) and generally brought the garden to as graceful of a close as possible. I am really in denial though.

But then it was time to move the clean up crew in. We started raising meat birds this summer! I think I haven't mentioned that here yet. Oh golly. I haven't. Wow. I have a lot to say about that. For now though let me tell you a bit about the birds above. They are Red Broilers and I find them so much nicer to raise than a standard Cornish Rock. Amazingly, they behave like chickens should and they seem very vibrant and healthy.  So far, I adore them and they adore scratching up our garden for us. It's a good deal and it eases some of the sadness (maybe that's not the right word) knowing that they are enjoying all the little bits of our gardening effort this summer that were left behind.

conflict resolution

There was quite a ruckus outside our kitchen door this morning on the breezeway.  You see, we have a few hens who take a very long walk every morning, through the woods, past a pond, along the side of the road, past the garden, beyond our perimeter fence, and up the driveway to the front door where they usualy 'knock' the best way a chicken can (by clucking) until I come and let them into our breezeway. 

These ladies decided over the summer that the conditions in the coop weren't suitable enough for them to be laying their eggs in. We keep our nest boxes very clean but I guess it is just not good enough for them. So, they prefer to lay their eggs under the bench in the breezeway in bushel baskets. This delights the kids as well as many of our customers who have not only come in to pick up a fresh dozen but have actually witnessed one of the hens laying an egg.

Only this morning there was a problem. Our cat, Trixie, was having an identity crisis and wouldn't budge.

This hen was not happy about it and there was much squawking.  Even though we offer them two baskets to choose from the one Trixie choose is the 'hot basket'. There will be three hens lined up to lay eggs in that particular basket  even though there is an empty one right next to it. It doesn't matter if I switch the baskets either, they still use the same one. It's the silliest thing. But I guess Trixie won out this time and got to take her morning snooze in the 'hot basket'. Lucky Little Trixie. I am glad they were able to work it out. I guess even cats can be part of the pecking order.

busy blocking

 Well, really, mostly knitting I guess. Blocking is the easy part. Right?