http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:15:58 -0400 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:35:59 -0400 iBlog 1.4.6 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090607100516/index.html I will no longer be publishing to this address, the archives will remain here but all further updates will be at http://web.me.com/eliezersilver/Silver_Forge_Farm/Blog/Blog.html or just click on the blog link on www.silverforgefarm.com

]]> Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:05:16 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090607100516/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090502232533/index.html

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 :)

]]> Sat, 02 May 2009 23:25:33 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090502232533/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090422215147/index.html

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. ]]> Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:51:47 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090422215147/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C1905778478/E20090420172052/index.html

I'd love to get some more planted around the farm this week, but the rain will help along what's already in the ground, so we'll sit here and watch it fall and try not to get too stir crazy. The peas are up and growing, as are the radishes and scallions. Still waiting on the potatoes, kale, beets, swiss chard, and carrots, but this stretch of rain should have them up in no time. We have 150 hens out on pasture now who have *mostly* figured out how to roost at night, and a few stragglers left in the barn we need to round up and add to the mix.

We had a great vacation - J and C's wedding, Easter at my folks, days trips to the quilt shop, a family breakfast in Princeton, an all day outing to Longwood Gardens and the Pop Shop for dinner, a wild edibles hike with Avery, a play-date for the girls, and a big dog brunch :) with our friends' two grayhounds Gabbi and Opi, Rips, and Harri. On to more pictures....


]]> Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:20:52 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C1905778478/E20090420172052/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090409072432/index.html

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! ]]> Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:24:32 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090409072432/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C266918590/E20090329213329/index.html

I always get anxious this time of year - yes, I know that it always works out - but when it's so cold, and wet...I can be a pessimistic farmer. I counteract that tendency by checking a few seeds for germination after we plant... tonight in between the rain showers I poked around and saw that the peas, radishes, and onion sets are all starting to grow...it'll be nice to see the market gardens filling up with green. We put the russet and red pontiac potatoes in today too. We'll till again (we love our new mini tiller! - so nice not having to rent the big monster one when all we need to do is till up an established bed) once it dries out a bit and then I need to put in carrots, kale, swiss chard, and the first mesclun. We have another 1/2 lb of onion sets that need to fins a home too...

This year we are getting a bagger attachment for our ride on and hope to keep the weeds down by using grass clippings heavily in the paths - we'll see how it goes. We don't use the ride on to mow the whole farm, but we certainly mow enough to collect quite a bit of mulch. Things are getting busy around here... ]]> Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:33:29 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C266918590/E20090329213329/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090318214228/index.html

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. ]]> Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:42:28 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090318214228/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C400897704/E20090314202400/index.html

We've officially declared it spring around here - or at least the ground isn't going to freeze again season. The garage is cleaned out and the water is on, which makes it a much shorter trip with the hose to fill the waterer in the barn and the goats' pail. Val went into heat a few weeks ago, so it looks like Guy will be the daddy after all - we'll keep a wether and sell any does I guess.

Today Gi and I did some needle felting (I had brought all of my wool to craft night last night but opted for reading all of Avery's great craft magazines instead :) She made some beads for a button necklace she's currently sporting and I made a new plain wool pincushion since I gave my last one away. Then the girls and I cleaned up the front garden - the crocus are blooming and everything else is on its way up. I'm trying to be aggressive to take out any weeds and crabgrass that pop up - last year we hired help to take back that space and I'd like to maintain control. We put in a bunch more perennials since there was just so much bare ground there, and I'll move more in this year too. Perennial gardens are fine with me, low maintenance and pretty, and I'm not a fan of fussy flower gardens - it's already enough work keeping the market gardens going.

My first craft show of the season was a bit of a bust - what's normally a huge show had the lowest attendance I'd ever seen, but etsy is still chugging along. I lost the will to sew for a few weeks but I can't stay away from the sewing machine long - I found some great hand embroidered strawberry curtains at the antique store and cut them up tonight to make into a baby quilt. Carolina turned 1, and is running around the house like a maniac - definitely more of a mover and shaker then Georgia ever was. I can't blame her though - she has a big sister and two dogs to keep up with!

Once we get the chicken houses fixed up we'll till the first spring garden - I'd like to get the potatoes in over the next week or two, maybe the peas as well. The mesclun, radishes, and beets can wait a few weeks. Maybe plant a bed of kale too soon. We never ordered seeds - we don't need too many - but I need to get some more kale and mesclun, peas and radishes too. The busy season will be upon us soon - I'm treasuring these last few days of slow winter nights by the woodstove. ]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:24:00 -0400 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C400897704/E20090314202400/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090221151913/index.html 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 :) ]]> Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:19:13 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090221151913/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C1278277601/E20090214203019/index.html Over the past few days, E finally got his new baby installed - a Vermont Castings Defiant wood-stove we were given by a friend. It's been a long process, but it's finally done. Supposedly this thing will keep the whole house toasty if we can get the air circulating right - we fire it up tomorrow. Here are some pics of the progress, before and after....
]]> Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:30:19 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C1278277601/E20090214203019/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090206175352/index.html 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. :)
]]> Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:53:52 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C158692745/E20090206175352/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C947998842/E20090131203918/index.html

Well, I guess it was "done" a few days ago, but I just got my insectopia quilt washed and dried and on the bed - my biggest quilt ever and the first one I've ever made for our own house :). It's technically a queen size, I just kept adding fabric and sashing till I ran out of the last of my tula pink "flutterby" fabric. I usually only tackle quilts twin size and up as custom orders but wanted to make one with this line, one of my fave fabrics ever. I used it for my first adventure in long arm machine quilting - basically a beast of a machine that allows you to quilt large quilts much faster then you could on a domestic sewing machine. I took a training class and now rent the machine by the hour as I need it...I'm slowly getting more comfortable with it every time I go in - it's exciting to be able to plan lots of new large quilts now that I can get them done in a reasonable amount of time~! ]]> Sat, 31 Jan 2009 20:39:18 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C947998842/E20090131203918/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C1278277601/E20090126164600/index.html

Every time we think it can't get colder...it does! We had a one day thaw last week, which was much needed - everyone had their buckets emptied of huge bucket-shaped ice cubes, the chicken barn waterer was re-filled and the barn received a good airing out. Even with the heat lamps the pullets still piled up, and we lost a few to smothering, but they seem to be adapting to the cold a bit better now, though all the hens gave up on laying for now. Still working on wrapping up the taxes and then it will be time to inventory the seed and put in this year's order.

With this weather, we've been spending lots of time inside, playing and sewing... I've started digging into the great pile of fabric I bought at reprodepot's remnant table at the BUST craftacular - Frida Kahlo! Tattoos! :) I can't wait for spring though - we're all getting cabin fever! ]]> Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:46:00 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C1278277601/E20090126164600/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C947998842/E20090111233141/index.html

One of my goals in the New Year was to get more quilts, etc. listed in my etsy shop, not necessarily one a week, but at least two to three a month. I finished a table runner in the rest of the Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric I had left, and today when the sun finally came out was able to photograph it and list it in my shop. We didn't get much of the snow that was predicted, which I'm grateful for - I'm not one for driving in the snow. There was enough for Georgia to go out and play, but the snowmen will have to wait till the next storm.

I'm almost done my insectopia quilt I'm making for gasp! our own bed! and picked up a bit more brown sashing fabric today. I'll finish that up tomorrow night and then schedule some time on the long arm at the quilt shop. I already know I'm going to need help loading all the layers properly, but practice makes perfect. I have all the fabrics together for a custom quilt, so I'll start sewing that this week as well. I was asked to be a vendor at the Betsy Ross festival - it's a two day event in Philly in June. I'm going to go for it - we'll see how it goes.

We made chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes for breakfast yesterday...mmmm. For a few weeks we had to buy eggs, which is a rare event around here but thankfully our oldest pullets started laying last week, and we're getting a dozen or so eggs a week. It's hard to believe in the dead of winter that we'll be up to our eyeballs in eggs in a few months!
]]> Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:31:41 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C947998842/E20090111233141/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C947998842/E20090102213353/index.html

I sewed up this doll quilt, pillow, and pillowcase this week - I LOVE making mini quilts like this. :) Georgia already has a fully outfitted doll bed, so I put this one up for sale in my etsy shop.

We're getting close to finishing all of our vacation goals - catching up on sleep and visiting with friends included. :) Today we spent the day cleaning up the house after two weeks of holiday "stuff", though who knows when we'll take down the Christmas decorations. When I asked Georgia about it, she said we should keep the tree up "for always". I have a few more loads of laundry to power through, but by the time we go to bed all the laundry will be DONE! I sorted through the linen closet too, tossing out a bunch of mismatched linens into the donation pile. E tackled the toilet in the hallway which we've had turned off since it's been running and running - he replaced a bunch of parts and it seems to have been a success!

The seed catalogs have been pouring in, but we're not ready to do our seed inventory/ordering yet - I'll tackle that once we have this year's taxes wrapped up. Our intern said he'd be happy to come back and help us out this coming season too, so we're thrilled about that. It really helps to have another grownup around here! Three year olds are enthusiastic, but pretty unhelpful, farmers. ;) ]]> Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:33:53 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/eliezersilver/iblog/B828340566/C947998842/E20090102213353/index.html