Friday, March 27, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

New Listings As Promised

I had a problem with my hands not far back and the doc thought it might be attributed to them being in water a lot because of the felting ( I didn't bother to mention that I am also the primary dishwasher in our household not to mention child bather and garden waterer). Anyhow, because of this I decided to change gears a bit and knit different things that don't require shrinkage. I love arm warmers and seeing as they are so packable to boot I have been knitting them like crazy. This newest pair is out of the wonderful silver-blue yarn again. I had terrible results trying to felt with it (even though the package said it was felt-able) and was holding onto it just waiting for the right project. When I started to knit with it I found that it was so incredibly soft and springy! So even though it failed in the felting department it turned out to be wonderful for things next to the skin. This set of arm warmers is knit in seed stitch giving them interesting texture.


I have also tried to put together a collection of items to needle-felt down the road so I pulled out my box and found some inspiration. Here is the first I have listed tonight. I love the acorn bowls and decided it had been awhile since I listed one.

Spring Treasury

I nabbed a treasury this morning and filled it full of springy goodness:
Click here: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Monday, March 23, 2009

Cool Cloudy Weather

After 2 weeks of 60 - 70 degree weather, this week is showing itself to be a little cooler and my mind is allowing me to come inside a bit to get all sorts of "housekeeping" done. I planned on taking pictures today to post the new things I have been working on, but it is not in my possession at the moment. Then I realized that I have not kept you up to date on most of my new items in the past 2 weeks anyway! So here are some things I have recently added and I promise tomorrow I have some wonderful treats to show you as well!

Be sure and click on the different pictures to take you to their Etsy listings!

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Call of the Garden

For most of the month of February it was hot and dry here on the Front Range (eastern side) of the mountains. We had whole weeks where the daytime temperatures were 60 degrees and above. I am a gardener and this raises all sorts of issues inside me. I worry about having enough precipitation to keep things alive... and on the flip side I start thinking I should get things planted because hey! it is 75 degrees out today - in the middle of February! Patience right? So I am reading and researching instead. Last summer we dug up the last of the compacted and practically dead grass in the back yard and my garden has doubled in size. I am thrilled and overwhelmed at the same time at the prospect of expanding the variety of what I grow because along with that comes maintenance and new pest issues. I really want to grow pop corn but we have some amazingly large Raccoons around here. I am definitely growing beets and am giving Kale another try even though last year my crop was overtaken by aphids. So why am I rambling on about this? I have finally found a gardening book that is concise and doesn't burst my bubble when I want to attempt to grow new things. The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch is my new bible! I don't honestly know how I have lived without it but all I can say is Game On! We are eating well this year from our garden. When I am not doing deep research on planting, I am finally reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver who is my favorite author hands down. The quote on the back of the book sums it up:

"This is the story... of how our family was changed by our first year of deliberately eating food produced from the same place where we worked, went to school, loved our neighbors, drank the water, and breathed the air."

I am inspired and maybe a bit overly ambitious since I don't live on a farm. But I believe this is going to be a great year for learning to be more self-sufficient, utilizing what tools and resources we have near and eating better because of it. My son also turns 4 next week and I am so thrilled to get him involved in the process of growing his own food. Besides, let's face it: vegetables just taste better straight from the garden.

Do you have any suggestions for what I should grow? Recommendations for an exceptionally hardy variety or something that you can taste on your tongue at the mere mention of a summer garden? Share! Share!