Tag: homesteading

Crochet

Three Color Tunisian

Amy2 Comments

So the Craftsy journey continues, and I have to say, I liked the three color Tunisian soooo much better than the single color work.  I chose Catania Cotton (yes, shocking I know).

I love these colors!

The three color is easier because each different color strand highlights and accents the architecture of the stitches.  You don’t have to figure out where your “vertical bar” is because it’s color coded.  Very cool!

So I’m into my next Tunisian project.  Titled the “Multigarment”,  it’s a two-panel wrap that can be worn as a shawl, sweater, or poncho (love the peekaboo shoulders).  Not to be redundant, but also very cool.

Also very ambitious.  I’m branching waaayyyy out on this one.  I’m using Paton’s Grace-another mercerized cotton (practically identical to Catania-the waaayyy was sarcasm). I’m not sure that the photos do my palette justice.  I think it’s going to be pretty….if it ever gets completed.  Did I mention it’s very ambitious?

The blue is my “color pop”.  Hmmm…still thinking about it…love it in theory, though.

I’m off to stitch!

 

Chicken Mission

A Chicken Named Katniss

Amy5 Comments

I had been growing increasingly concerned about Bella.  Something was off about her.  She was erratic and aggressive, and something just seemed off.  Then one day I noticed that she had tremendously large feet…In comparison I mean.

You see, Bella lives with Buffy and they’re about a month apart in age.  But Bella was growing fast.  Faster than any of the other pullets.  And her comb…it was so full and red comparatively.  (I know you guys know where this is going.)  So Saturday I googled pictures of four-month old gold-laced Wyandotte.  Sunday, I texted the breeder pics of my little friend….and Bella  officially became Bill.

Sunday afternoon, we took Bella, I mean Bill back from whence she, I mean he came.  Unfortunately the breeder had sold all of her Wyandotte and Partridge Rocks.  In fact the breeder had nothing in the same age bracket.  So I became the proud owner of a roughly 4 week old Rhode Island Red. You’ve got to roll with the punches, right?

Luckily, we just finished an expansion to our coop.  In fact Buffy and Bella..I mean Bill, had just moved in. Enter, the guinea pig cage.

Our new Rhode Island Red is now Buffy’s new roommate, but she’s still too little to roam within the coop.  She’ll be relegated to the guinea pig cage for a  week or two until everyone’s acclimated.

So of our six little darlings, five of them were named after Harry Potter characters. Bella was in fact Bellatrix LaStrange-the whacked out psychotic witch (which actually kind of worked for him).  So what did we name our new little Red?  Well, here’s a hint.  My girl has moved on from the Harry Potter series over the last few months.  We’ve moved on to The Hunger Games…

 

Crochet

Tunisian Times Two

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Ta da! My first Tunisian Crochet projects-The (not so) Silk Spa Cloth (done in Catania Cotton).   First I crocheted the green, and although my Susan Bates was an H, I was crocheting too tightly. So I switched to the Boye which (somewhat irrationally) feels bigger to me.

I prefer the final product with the second washcloth (off white).  Looser, better feeling in your hand, and much easier to block.  And yes, I know that this would have all been predictive had I swatched for gauge.  But hey,  that’s not how I roll…anyway, practice makes perfect, right?

Next, I’m moving onto  three color Tunisian with the same pattern. Redundancy is ok when you’re learning.

What are you working on this weekend?

Crochet

Behold, Tunisian Simple Stitch!

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Behold the the product of my first module from Jennifer Hansen’s Tunisian crochet class on Craftsy.  It’s called the Tunisian Simple Stitch.  It’s completed by front and back passes with your hook.  This picture was taken  after the “front pass” for simple stitch and you’ll note obvious similarities to knitting since all of our stitches are still on the hook.

Not that I knit.

I’m using Afghan crochet hooks that I picked up at an estate sale  a year or so ago.  I started with the Boye Cro Hook – size H.

And it just felt too thick for me.  My stitches seemed looser than what I was seeing in the video.  So I posted a question as to whether my using a decades old Afghan hook was the best plan.  I’ll get back to you on the response.  But in the meantime, you’ll note I switched from the blue Boye Cro Hook

To a lovely pink Susan Bates #8 of the same style.  Now you know and I know that the letter-to-number conversion means my #8 hook is also an H.  And yet, it’s visibly smaller.  (I know you can’t really tell in this picture, but trust me, it is)

Which just confirms that I’m a Bates girl (no offense to Boye).  The hook change seemed to bring my stitches more in sync with those from the video.

And speaking of the video, I’ve only completed the first lesson, but so far the learning methodology is solid.  Jennifer Hansen is very knowledgeable and she’s taking the time to cover the questions a newby has with the process-like pointing out where you’re likely to drop stitches at the end of the row.

The first project for the class is a Silk Spa Cloth-the ecru in the background of this pic

Predictably, I’m using Catania cotton instead of silk.  Jennifer recommended bamboo as a close 2nd choice for the silk.  I’m just not ready to use the pricier fibers while I’m learning.

Overall, so far so good with my new Craftsy geekery.  Onto Lesson number two!

Crochet

Geekery of the Crafty Kind

Amy3 Comments

 

So I’ve been stalking Craftsy.  A relatively new site that offers an increasingly broad array of online crafts coursework.  There are sewing classes, quilting, knitting, crochet, beadwork, and several others-all taught by prominent artists within their field.  They frequently offer discounted deals on classes they’re introducing or highlighting.  I’ve considered several, but didn’t bite the bullet until they posted Jennifer Hansen’s Tunisian Crochet.

To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know I wanted to learn Tunisian.  And yet I found myself clicking to purchase.  Go figure.  There have been a lot of cute Tunisian projects in magazines lately.  And I’m pretty excited to be trying a new learning medium.  Is that geeky?  Yes, it’s pretty geeky.  I’m cool with that.

Part of the sales hook for Craftsy is that once you’ve purchased the class, you can take it as many times as you want, whenever you want.  There are several projects of increasing complexity for coursework, and my plan is to  post my progress as well as feedback on the class and curriculum.

So now I’m going to dig my afghan hook out of what will probably be the last giant tupperware tub in the far corner of my storage area.  I’m going to make a very icy bourbon and coke (because it’s Friday night, I’m a grown up and I can). Then I’m going to sneak away and leave my husband entertaining my six year old and his buddy during their first big sleepover, and begin my class!  Yes, I know.  It’s wrong on so many levels.  To tell the truth, if I find the stinking hook, I’ll be ahead of the game.

Have a great weekend!

 

 

Chicken Mission

The Official Chicken MissionRecap

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I had chickens as a kid.  Let me correct that statement.  My mom had a flock of free ranging bantams.  And I’ll be honest. I hated those chickens.  Due to their prolific elimination, I was labeled with the moniker of “chicken doo foot” for a couple of years of my childhood.  There was also this horrible little rooster that would chase you at will.  He had gigantic spurs for such a little rascal.  My older brother spent a lot of time and energy feeding a deep anger toward that rooster, and would inevitably torment the chicken as much as the chicken ever tormented the rest of us. I don’t remember why mom got rid of them, but I remember it being a happy day.

Needless to say, it was a little confusing for me when I realized I wanted some. It was counter to everything I’d stood for as a young person.  I was a confirmed chicken hater.  I can’t even tell you when I stopped.  Probably about the time I started thinking about the experiences my children weren’t having.

I was raised in the rural agrarian south, with all the life experiences that went with it. My friends and I grew up with an understanding and appreciation for livestock and the work that goes into it.  My kids are somehow managing to grow up in the new rural south. A place where it’s actually possible to maintain a weird kind of quasi-suburban lifestyle.  I’m not really okay with that.  If you’re going to grow up in East Texas, you really need to understand and experience the whole rural agrarian thing. Otherwise, I might as well park them in a Dallas suburb and move on.

On top of all of that (and oh, how I hate to be a lemming but…) the whole industrialized food chain thing is freaking disturbing.   I just want my kids to be able to eat an egg without wondering what the idiots have fed the chicken.

So I had chickens on my agenda for several years before I pulled the trigger.  It was the unexpected gift of our little red coop that pushed the goal to reality and launched my three month chicken intensive as chronicled on Such the Like.

Today I’d like close out my generalist’s study of poultry keeping with a list of really important things I’ve learned about chickens the last few months.  Because as it happens, I really knew nothing when I started.

1.  They poop.  A lot.  And their poops are all different and some of them are weird, which can make you paranoid about the quality of their poop.  And you find yourself inspecting their poop.  Boo.

2.  They’re work.  Before I brought my ladies home, I had been told that a backyard flock was little or no trouble.  “You throw them out there and feed them. No big”  I can’t agree with my friend’s statement.  Refer to number one on my list.  Chickens poop a lot.  I don’t like the way poop smells.  I don’t want my neighbor to smell poop.  I like him. It’s not something he should have to worry about.  So I spend some time making sure the coop is maintained.

3.  Plan your coop.  I love the little red coop! There are a lot of things about it that are awesome.  There are also a lot of things that aren’t working for me right now.  It’s important that food and water be easily accessible for the chicken and for the human.  My chickens have no problem getting to their rations.  Unfortunately for me however, I have to crouch or kneel to change them out.  Not ok! You don’t want to be kneeling in a chicken coop people (reference #1). So I’m  looking at improvements to our coop to keep it from being a complete hassle-especially during the summer.  We have a lot of 100 degree days inTexasduring the summer.  I need this coop maintenance thing to get a little more streamlined.

3.  Chickens can be brutal.  Granted there was the mean rooster from my childhood, but that was a rooster.  I thought hens were laid back, gentle, and generally vacant.  Not so much as it turns out.  The stories I’ve read will curl your hair…and the whole cannibalism thing! Wow.  My ladies have spunk! They’re feisty!  They’ve got that certain look in their eye, and I’m keeping my eyes on them.

4.  Certain chickens are good for certain things.  Make sure you’re purchasing a breed that works for your climate and your goals.  For me, it was good layers that are heat tolerant and docile.  Don’t get sucked in by the babies at the feed store. Do a little homework.

5.   The more time you spend with them, the more gratifying the experience.  But isn’t that how it is with everything?