Sun - June 7, 2009

Sat - May 2, 2009

Up to Our Ears In Spring

Gi and I have been busy with lots of spring exploring on the farm - we've collected a couple of praying mantis egg cases to watch till they hatch, and have been taking pictures of a robin's nest in the backyard to watch the progress of the eggs and chicks. I found a mockingbird nest today when I was cutting browse for the goats (they can't be trusted loose on their own right now since they would much rather eat the tender young leaves of the stuff we WANT then the briars and poison ivy) and will take our first picture of that tomorrow if the sun comes out. We looked up how long robin eggs take to hatch and marked out two weeks on the calendar, but we lucked out and just three days in, two of the eggs have already hatched :)

Posted at 11:25 PM     Read More  

Wed - April 22, 2009

Silly Dog Meme - An Interview with Harri and Rips

1. What breed are you?

H: A very red, old school "hunting" golden retriever - usually mistaken for an Irish Setter
R: 100% goofball - AKA Saint Bernard

2. How old are you?

H: I'm 8 - the old man of the house :)
R: I was adopted when I was about 6 months old - I'm about 4 now.

3. What is your full name?

Harrison Bergamon Stroever - I "officially" have my mom's maiden name because she got me back in college.
Ripley Silver - Named after the Aliens heroine NOT Ripley's Believe It or Not

4. Do you have any nicknames?

Harri, Hair Bear.
Rips, Ripples, Ripply Rips, Ripply Dips, Ripple Dipple Do, Goof

5. Where do you sleep?

H: Right now I'm on the loveseat - Rips and I share it, but I love my basket bed, hidden away in a nook in mom and dad's room. I love to nap on the big bed, but don't like sharing it with anyone - dogs OR people, so I only relax there when nobody else is sleeping.
R: I'm a seasonal girl - with all this fur I really, really don't like to be too hot. I wish we could move to Alaska. I start off in the winter taking up most of the human bed, then move to the bedroom floor in the spring, then to the far flung reaches of the mudroom hallway in the summer, then back to the bedroom floor in the fall.

6. What is your favorite thing to do?

H: Retrieve in water - tennis balls preferred, but sticks are ok too. I could and do, do this for hours. I still am annoyed that the humans decided to take out the in-ground pool, but at least there's plenty of puddles and swampy areas back in the woods. I also like to roll in dead stuff, but rarely get the opportunity. These people have no vision.
R: Sleep in a cool spot.

7. What is something unusual or interesting about you?

H: I can high five, and almost died of cherry pit poisoning when I was a couple of months old.
R: Mom and Dad looked at lots of dogs before they adopted me, but when mom saw my puppy teeth and what a good "little" girl I was, they HAD to bring me home - even though they hadn't been planning on getting a giant breed. I had a bad habit or running like the wind whenever I found an open door, but have been "cured" by a near fatal kick to the head last time I ran off - I got too close to the neighbor's herd of Blank Angus cows and their calves.

8. Who is your best friend?

H: My sister Rips. I like this new human baby too - she likes me a lot more then her big sister. My buddy Scratch always sneaks into our yard form next door and I love playing with her - she's the only one who can keep up with me.
R: My bro. I could do without all the little children, though I *try* to tolerate them.

9. Did you go to obedience school...if so were you "Top Dog" or would you flunk out?

H: Yes, I went to obedience school - and I failed. It didn't help that I took it with my best puppy buddy and all we did was fool around. I'm actually pretty well behaved though, considering my early failures.
R: Nope...I listen most of the time, but have a stubborn independent streak.

10. Can you do any tricks?

H: See high five mentioned above. Also I'm a champion swimmer, can catch a ball or stick on the fly, and when mom is napping, will get up and re-position myself when she says "longways". She gets tired of me cutting off circulation in her feet.
R: I do a great dead dog impression by sleeping upside down with my tongue hanging out. I don't drool at all, which is a good trick for a breed known for their slobber.

Posted at 09:51 PM     Read More  

Thu - April 9, 2009

Spring Break!

And whew, it was a long time coming. E has to work today, but then we're all off for a while.

In the garden: I have rhubarb to plant today and need to plant bitter greens, mesclun and beets out in the market garden, though I think we'll run over that bed one more time with the tiller. Every night I've been hacking away at the invasive bittersweet, tree devouring ivy, and green-briar that got the upper hand while I was pregnant last year - the goats get dinner and every night I free a few more trees. The ride-on mower needs to go in for a new fuel line and we're on the hunt for a used bagger attachment on craigslist. I brought some spent bulbs from school that need to go in the front garden and we're putting up a bird-feeder in the backyard to go with Georgia's newfound love of bird-watching. The cats don't go back there because of the dogs, so I feel ok about "luring" in the local birds - most of them nest in the backyard anyway since they know it's a "safety zone".

In the sewing room: I promised Gi a new hungry caterpillar blanket and pillow which we'll get started on today (I'm also going to make three pillows with the three panels - egg, caterpillar, and butterfly - to act as a bolster, once I figure out what size pillow forms to use) I have two custom orders in the works - one is to quilt and send back an unfinished baby quilt which hopefully will arrive in the mail soon, and the other is a custom clothing/memory quilt that I need some more clothes to arrive for)

Out and About: We're going to Longwood Gardens with my folks next week - just need to see what day looks the best weather-wise, I'm headed to the PA Dutch market with Avery tomorrow, and we have a wedding on Saturday before Easter festivities at my mom's on Sunday. Busy, busy!

Posted at 07:24 AM     Read More  

Wed - March 18, 2009

Garden Goals

Gi and I were in the feed store today picking up chicken food ($13.50 a bag - gah!) and cat food, and spring was in full swing there...the potted trees and shrubs were starting to bud out and the blueberries were still calling my name - I just need a good place to put them where they won't be accidently nicked with the mower (the ones we first planted were run into one to many times :)

If all goes well, I'd like to get at least some of our potatoes, peas, radishes, carrots, beets, and scallions in - even if only a row of each, it will be a start. I will not be afraid of buying too many onion sets this year, lol - scallions sell every week, all summer long, and the onions sell in the fall, yet I never plant enough.

Posted at 09:42 PM     Read More  

Sat - February 21, 2009

Valentine's Day on the Farm

For Georgia's pre-school Valentine's Day party, we made homemade crayons - the initial idea was to make heart shaped ones, but we had mini cupcake tins and they work just as well. Gi had fun peeling the wrappers off of all the crayons in the old crayon box from my classroom, and then we melted them in the oven at 350 for a few minutes :)



And for me? A goat, of course! And I named her Valentine :) She's a Nubian/Oberhasli bred to an Oberhasli buck - I can't wait to see her babies :)

Posted at 03:19 PM     Read More  

Fri - February 6, 2009

The Stash

It's Fat Quarter Month at Sew, Mama, Sew and I thought I'd participate.

Check out my stash!



It's not ALWAYS this neat and tidy - I re-organized and folded everything into these re-purposed metal cubbies a week or two ago - it's nice to have everything in one place - I had a lot of my fabric stored in the baby's room which led to stealth fabric recovery missions during late night sewing projects. I still keep completed pieces and my batting in the baby's room though.

• What do you usually sew?
Quilts, and the occasional stuffed animal or kids clothes... I'm slowly learning how to read and use clothing patterns - it's a bit of a painful process :)

• When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)
I buy larger pieces, since I like to use wide expanses of the same fabric, and like to know I won't run out. I tend to buy at least 1/2 a yard, often two or more if it's something I adore. I like to buy charm packs of a favorite collection when it first comes out (in a perfect world with an unlimited budget I'd buy a layer cake of each collection instead) , then buy yardage of my favorite prints once I've made something with a little bit of everything.

• Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?
I try to only go fabric shopping when I actually need something, but I'm certainly not immune to impulse purchases once I'm there. On vacation I make sure to stop at every local fabric shop we pass by though! Who says fabric can't be a souvenir?!

• Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?
Dark fabrics make me worry about bleeding, so i always wash them, batiks too. I like to buy Ikea fabric, but it bleeds and shrinks a bit, so I always wash that. With everything else, it depends on how patient I'm feeling.



• Do you iron it?
I iron my fabrics before I cut them and before I sew different blocks, etc. together. Thank goodness for irons with automatic shut offs - otherwise I would have burned the house down by now!



• How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)
I try to keep it all relatively neatly folded, in roundabout groups of small, medium, and large pieces. My scarps are color coded and in clear big ziploc bags, tucked into the drawers under my sewing table.

• Do you have any special folding techniques?
I fiddle with the ruler or cardboard technique when I can but often just fold it however and stash it away when I am running around after the kids.

• How do you store your fabric?
It’s all stacked next to my sewing machine now, and the scraps are bagged and in drawers. Fabric I'm currently using to make a quilt top I keep out on the quilt rack with the top in progress.

• What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?
I often find myself without enough solids - I should stock up on solid Kona cottons and solid linens, but never remember too when I'm out fabric shopping. I usually buy 108" wide quilt backing fabric as I need it for larger quilts that I'm going to put on the long-arm so I don't need to fuss with seams. Also, I have often gotten annoyed at myself for not buying enough of a specific fabric, but only once have I ever felt like I bought too much yardage of something, and even with that one, I still love it - just burnt out on using it for a while. Maybe I'll pull it out next fall.

• When do you say enough is enough?
When I have more fabric then ideas! I think going on a fabric buying hiatus once in a while is good for my creativity as well as my budget - makes me stretch my mind a bit more.



• What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?
A coin quilt is always nice, but I've been loving the string blocks I'm making with my etsy team...I've been using my pink scraps to make the first of a 4 quilt set made with monochromatic string blocks and linen.



• Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it!

I can't WAIT to use this - but other projects have been patiently waiting their turn. I'm a Tula Pink junkie, and just about squealed when I finally found some owl paisley from her first collection.

• What’s your definition of the perfect stash?
A nice collection of charm packs/layer cakes from my favorite designers, yardage of all the colors I use most in a nice coordinating solid, and yards of my "perfect" brown - this changes every few months, but I use a LOT of brown fabric, so am pretty picky. If it all could be pre-washed, riooned, and folded by someone other then me that would be a plus. :)

Posted at 05:53 PM     Read More  

Fri - November 28, 2008

Thanksgiving

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving - and even better, a long weekend off with your family! All the state workers in NJ don't get this Friday off - a budget thing - but pretty much everyone just takes it as a personal vacation day instead, E included. He's off right now helping a friend move, and when he gets back I'm going to stop by the local studio to see if any of my quilts have sold this past week. It's the first time they've converted the studio space into a show/sale gallery for the holidays, and there are lots of great artists set up. Saturdays (when they have music and food) at least seem busy. I haven't been doing much holiday sewing - I want to get a big custom order out of the way first - but I found really great fabric for kids pj's on my last trip to the big local quilt store and just saw a great pattern, so I'll order that and start sewing up some kiddo pj's soon.

We've put the new goat search on hold for now - "Guy" goat is doing better then I thought - he doesn't seem too lonely, though we certainly will be getting him a new girlfriend sooner then later. The pigs are still out on pasture, though I think we've move them to the dog kennel once it starts snowing - it's warmer back there and it's easier for us to keep an eye on them and make sure they have food and thawed out water. That's one advantage of them both staying SO small - they are the size of beagles, at best - tiny little potbellies indeed. The first day the chicks came some came out from the brooder in the general mayhem, and one was eaten by a cat, and then a few days later I found another dead. Not bad at all out of 200, that's for sure. We are using the back half of the barn as a giant brooder since we sold our adult flock and it seems to be working out wonderfully - we need lots of heat lamps to heat a space that size, but the chicks seem happier and healthier for the extra space and ventilation. We lost some last year once they were about a month old to a pile up but with all the heat lamps and extra space we're hoping to avoid that this year. We're cautiously optimistic. :)

Posted at 02:30 PM     Read More  

Sun - November 9, 2008

Sunshine Sunday

Finally! It's been great having a nice long weekend with everyone home, but the dreary, rainy weather, combined with some farm mortality, has made for a glum few days. Now that the sun is out, I finally feel like we can tackle some projects. Priority #1 is to clear out the laundry completely, it's been forever since we've been caught up, as well as get my lesson plans done. In between I'd like to get my quilt pinned so I can get it on the machine this week, start clearing out the barn (we have 50 chicks in the brooder right now, but the other 150 come in a week, and they will need the room.), and get to meeting. We shall see. Our Halloween party this year was a "Hoboween" party...the boxcar hallway turned out great!

Posted at 08:15 AM     Read More  

Tue - November 4, 2008

Whole lotta teething going on....

and crying, and crankiness, and earaches tonight, but I'm excited watching the election results and can't wait for E to get home from the Board of Elections (he has to work there resolving disputes every election day as part of his job) so I can watch the results come in with another grown-up - though I did teach Georgia the names of the candidates tonight on the way home. : )



Still a bit disappointed about our last craft show - based on the first hour, it would have been a great show, but then the skies opened up, the outside vendors practically blew away (lots of broken tents and ruined merchandise- yikes!) and we spent the day under the big top tent with the other vendors talking to the few brave souls who came out and chatting with each other. I came out 30 dollars in the hole, which stings, but there's no controlling the weather. I'm looking forward to my next show - and better weather! I'm also looking for some more shows since I definitely have enough inventory given last week's turn out. I applied for the big BUST sponsored show in NYC - very competitive, and pretty pricey, but if I'm accepted I'll be there in a second. It's in Penn Plaza, and from 10-8, so I'm pretty confident I'll come away with a nice profit, even after the sizable entry fee.

Our four! remaining chickens are doing well, and E and I will get the barn ready for the new arrivals this Thursday - there's a chance the turken (aka naked neck) chicks may come in tomorrow, but E will be out of court by the afternoon, so he should be able to cobble something together,. The other 150 will come around the 12th. We're hoping to try to get our new doe this Friday - we got lost last time and missed our appointment time, so went to the zoo and Ikea in Philly instead. Happy Election Night All!

Posted at 08:20 PM     Read More  

Tue - August 19, 2008

From the Sewing Room

Since I pretty much need to wash eggs all day tomorrow (and can tomatoes, and make pickles - that's August on the farm!) I spent some major time sewing today, and also having fun with needlefelting! The teapot quilt is an etsy order, the bunny is just for fun!

Posted at 06:29 AM     Read More  

Sun - July 20, 2008

Birthday Girl

Although Gi's big 3rd birthday bash isn't till next weekend, we celebrated her official birthday this Saturday with her grandparents. Now she and her sister are off with dad to swim a bit this afternoon. She's been begging to go to the splash park since we were there a few days ago, so that's on the agenda for this week - a late afternoon trip though, since this heat wave is a bit much for the baby...

We had a good, if blisteringly hot, market day and picked up a week's worth of veggies and fruit - this is the time of year when the market is bursting with fruit and I just want to haul it all home in a mad canning frenzy. :) I'm picking up a case of peaches to can from our farmer's market neighbor next week, and we're going to the u-pick blueberry farm this week. We may have missed strawberry season as far as canning goes - though we certainly ate our fair share! - but things are settled enough now that I think I can break out the pressure canner for the season. Not much to harvest this week - we're waiting on the peppers and tomatoes to really boom, which should start next week, but we harvested the last of the spring carrots, more baby beets, our first good cuke harvest, and the last of the spring onions. We planted more winter squash and three kale varieties for fall harvest, though keeping the soil moist and cool enough for germination may be a struggle this week.

On my sewing table this week is a custom harley t-shirt quilt which one of our farmer's market customers ordered. I enjoy doing them (except for the tedium of backing each piece in interfacing!:) and I think I'll start bringing E's t-shirt quilt to market as an example to encourage more custom orders. I'm even thinking about getting us a second tent (we can bring as many tents as we'd like to our market, which is nice) so that I can better display my quilts. We're already overflowing our one canopy, so it will be nice to have the shade for the veggies too. Next endeavor - get myself accepted into some craft shows for the winter/spring and see how my stuff sells there. I know I already missed many of the deadlines, but I'll apply for the ones I can.

Posted at 10:54 AM     Read More  

Mon - June 2, 2008

Bringing home the (Veggie) Bacon

Things are going well here, just crazy while we all get used to our new two job, two kid routine - we're drowning in radishes, and the gardens are overflowing with pea flowers. I've started browsing the alchemy site on etsy, and have two projects in the works for customers. When we pulled into the driveway after this past Saturday's farmer's market, there was Lucretia with two cute little kids - a boy and a girl - just what we wanted! The little boy will stay here, be wethered, and join his dad in a new bachelor pad pasture so that we can start milking Lu once the two human kid craziness dies down. We're hoping to sell or trade the little doe for a doe from different bloodlines so that we can keep Guy as our buck for quite a few years.

Only two weeks left and hopefully I'll be back to more regular blogging once school is over. See you on the flip side!

Posted at 07:46 PM     Read More  

Wed - April 16, 2008

Here we go...

The Etsy shop is up and running - wish me luck!

Posted at 08:28 PM     Read More  

Sun - April 13, 2008

Spring is here!

I spent some time weeding and putting in a few rows of french breakfast radishes and more scallions underneath threatening skies today... the beets, peas, carrots, and greens are all up and growing, as this constant rain has been great for germination, if not for getting more actually planted. We were able to make one last egg delivery to the Bent Spoon, and now the egg fridges are filling up in preparation for our first market day. We have lots more planting to do, as well as tracking down a new tent, and getting our paperwork back to the market committee.

I think it will be a good year! This time last year, half our seeds had washed away in the flooding we had, and most of our potatoes were rotting in the ground from all the standing water. We didn't plant potatoes yet this year, but there's still time - priority has been going to crops that will be ready by the middle of May. Warm weather crops will go into the beds as the earliest crops are pulled, and we'll probably plant our potatoes then. I noticed a bunch of garlic we must not have harvested growing up out of the cloves that were left in the ground...I wonder if we'll get some garlic bulbs out of the deal? All of them may just set seed, but it's worth leaving them there to see what happens. Even Lucretia is getting bigger by the day, so she may have gotten pregnant this year after all - we were pretty sure Guy didn't hit puberty in time this season... Baby goats after all! We're actually hoping for one buckling, which we'll castrate and keep as Guy's buddy. That way he can move to a new, separate pasture and we can start milking Lu for our own use. (In our experience, milk from a doe who is anywhere near a buck is .... ewwww.... - it gives goat milk a bad nam.e!) I'll miss having him right by the driveway though - he's certainly always happy to see us!

I've beens sewing, as usual. I just finished an all linen baby quilt in a modern geometric design, and these are two of my latest swaps...





The best thing about this whole swap-bot thing is the way it makes me try new techniques - for this pincushion swap I used some printable fabric that I usually use for quilt labels and used my sewing machine to do some decorative stitching in combination with a note-card to create a needle-book.

Posted at 05:56 PM     Read More