Old and New

I love living in the country.  And sometimes you can see the oddest things. 
This picture is one I have posted a while back.  It is the humungus tractor that we used to call Oldest Son's office.  As you can see, instead of wheels, it has four tracks.  It is quite a sight to see tooling down the road.

Today, as I came in I saw this tractor turning toward me at the corner, pulling some equally large piece of equipment, although it was folded, like the one next the the tractor above, to fit on the roads.  As it turned the corner, I noticed the other vehicle sitting on the corner; one I almost didn't see at all.  Next to the huge tractor, was a small black Amish buggy, with its slow moving vehicle sign.
Side by side they made quite a sight.
Old and new, large and small, side by side. 
You can see the neatest things in the country.

Lack of Postings

I haven't forgotten to blog.  Really.  I have been trying at work, and our router is temperamental and goes in and out.  I have tried blogging from my smartphone, but I think our last wind storm damaged a tower near home.  I have been getting low signals from home.  Trying to type a nice long post, with pictures is difficult on the telephone anyway, but with bad signals, forget it! 
But I promise to be back once the internet is working better.

--
Linda
http://farmmommusings.blogspot.com/
http://cemeterydivas.blogspot.com/ 

Ruffly Joy

Progress has been slow on my ruffle mesh scarf.  But I have a fair excuse. 
Both fronts of Evelyn's Misty Cardi are finished.  (I will pause while the cheers die down.). The first sleeve has been started and the end is in sight.  I briefly toyed with knitting in the round, but in the end opted to knit them as written.  Sorry Evelyn, that means two more seams.
However, while the scarf is growing slowly, I think I will enjoy it.  I have discovered you must knit carefully, and treat the project with respect.  Right off the bat, when taking a photo last week, the needles just slid out. 
Yikes!  After that I used point protectors, and usually tied the ends of the needles for extra protection.
Here is a recent picture of my scarf.  Twelve pound dog included strictly for scale.  Well for scale, and because Lizzie wouldn't move so I could stretch it out.

A Bit of Closure

I have had people who ask me why I make so many shawls.  They don't understand where I would go to wear them or how I wear them.  The answer is everywhere.  I wear them to church, to work, and a funeral.  I wrap them, and tie them, but most of the time I pin them.
Since I have begun knitting shawls, I have gathered quite a collection of shawl pins.  Here are most of them, graciously modeled on Gertrude with my Kudo shawl.
First up, is a metal one I got from Yarn Hallow at the first Greenville Fiber Fiesta  It is sterling silver wire curved and twisted into to an S curve, and skewered with a silver wire pin.

Next, are my straight pins.  From top to bottom, they are made of mystery red wood, ebony, bone, cherry, black walnut, and curly maple.  The white bone one is an old crochet hook I got to use as a shawl pin.  Later the tiny (very tiny) hook broke off.  I sanded it smooth, and rounded the point, and continue to use it. 

The straight pins are my favorite.  I pick them up at fiber festivals, or yarn shops.  The bottom three were purchased on etsy, hand carved, oiled and waxed.  And at a very reasonable price.  I especially like the larger knob on the ends that keep the pin from slipping through the holes of lace shawls.
I have two round pins.  They work like the silver one, in that they are two part ones, with a stick that catches the shawl in the middle and braces itself agains the circle.  The one is a shell like circle, and the other made of cherry wood.  The circle is smooth on this side and has a circle inscribed on the reverse side.

Yup, a bit of closure is a good thing.

And I can always keep my eyes open for more.

Me and Momma

Hi. I'm Lizzie Belle. I'm Momma's favorite girl dog. I came to live with her last fall, after my brother Gilbert (AKA the foofoo farm dog) went to heaven.

I just got my hair cut last week, that's why I don't look like a lot of shih tzu's you see around. But Momma calls this my summer cut.

I happen to think I look rather dapper. Dignified. Of course before I got trimmed, I was pretty good looking too.

See?

That's me, the sophisticated, quiet, ultimate companion.

Hey, what did that cat call me? Just who does he think he is?

Sigh. Its hard work being suave and cuddly at the same time. But maybe I'll find time to make an appearance back here, if Momma decides I can blog for her again.

A Break in the Action

I took a small break from my regularly scheduled Misty Blue Cardigan that I am making for Evelyn for a bit of something new. I mentioned it in my last post, and started it this afternoon.

I have seen this ruffle yarn, and had figured out the drift on how to actually knit with it. While in the local yarn shop Saturday looking for a magazine, I succumbed to the temptation. It takes some finessing, since you only knit in the holes at the top edge of the yarn.

I like the sparkle, and adore the ruffles. But I think I will take a while to knit up these 33 yards.

Plodding Along

I am continuing my feud with the auto-correct on my new phone.  I got it about a week ago.
I have another Android, with bigger screen, longer lasting battery, and super fast!  However the auto-correct has not yet surrendered to my control.
(Stupid auto-correct anyway.)
It changes my email address to a town in south east Michigan.  It doesn't capitalize proper names.  And occasionally it spontaneously switches to Spanish. 
On a brighter note, I am almost to the beginning of sleeve shaping on the second front.  And past the button holes.  After this piece of Evenly's cardinal, I just have the two sleeves.
But I might take a break first--for a brief, 33 yard skein, special project.  I'll let you know.
(HEY....I may have just fixed auto-correct.  But don't ask me how.)

An Easter Baptism

The altar says it all. Alleluia.

Barb and I prepared the altar for Easter yesterday. The organist, who was there practicing, liked the netting we wrapped around the flowers to hide the ugly pots. She said it looked like mist rising from the garden, on the first Easter.

And during the service, little JJ got baptized. He was rather busy during the beginning of the baptism part of the service, as only a three year old can be.
However when Torri poured the pitcher into the baptismal font, he stopped and peered over the top of the font.

In a little voice of awe, he said, "That's my water!"

Living Water for us all. Out of the mouths of babes.

HAPPY EASTER!! Alleluia!

The New Phone

I love blogging.  But many times it is difficult to find time to crank up the old laptop, plug into the dial-up connection and go online to blog. 
As a result, many of my posts were posted from my telephone.  I loved my android smartphone.  Once I learned to (mostly) avoid ”fat finger syndrome” it was wonderful.
Lately though, my Hero had started to suddenly re-boot.  So, since I had qualified for an upgrade a couple days ago, I decided to upgrade.  My old phone  was pre-4G, nearly 2 years old. 
My new one is 4G, even though the service around here isn't usually that powerful.  Even more high tech than the old phone, I find myself back in the learning curve as I adjust the settings on it.
Case in point: while texting my son, while I was typing English, it was coming out Spanish.  (Huh?)  Confusing to say the least.
So.....if you see some typos, weird auto-correct words I miss, or the occasional Hispanic touch, just blame the phone, ok?

A Progress Report

After finishing the left front, I couldn't wait to see how it looked at least semi-pieced. I pinned the front to the back, at the side and shoulder, including the flared side. As Evelyn held the other shoulder (and after I promised nothing would show above the neck), I snapped a quick picture.

I do like the way it looks, and once its finished (and sewed together) it will be wonderful. And Evelyn liked the placement I had for the placement of the buttons and the buttonholes on the piece I am working on now.

So I guess I better get off the internet and get back to knitting.

Since I don't have any cows to milk that is.

No Fooling!

I had an epiphany yesterday.

I listened to Yvonne at spin guild last week talk about how she wanted a new hobby. She wanted to take up a new hobby. Her mind was running to dying fiber and yarn.

It got me thinking. I have been knitting and spinning for several years. I have quite a stash built up. Stash to the point that if I bought nothing else, I could probably knit for years. I know for sure I have enough for at least 7 sweaters for me. Not counting the sock yarn (Let's not even think about counting the sock yarn.) Or the unspun wool waiting to be turned into yarn.

But what if I took up a new hobby?

And that is when I decided......I'll learn how to milk cows.

Not only will I learn a new hobby. It would be a useful trade. I could even perhaps get paid for that. I would be able to enjoy the winter weather. And in the heat of summer, well the room with the bulk tank is cool at least.

And I love animals. And I should have enough bulk in my ample body to body slam any cow that is going the wrong way.

What do you think? Give up knitting and learn to milk cows.

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.

.

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Or maybe not.

After all, Evelyn's Misty Blue Cardi is only partly done: first front (shown below) and back done. Right front and both sleeves still need to be done.

And then there is Torri's shawl. And a baby sweater. And my Duchess of Cambridge cardigan to finish. And my Gansey sweater.

Maybe I better keep knitting. No fooling....

(April Fool! As though you didn't see that coming.)