Updating Progress and FO's

Thanks everyone for the encouraging comments in my last post of projects! I thought it would be a good idea to show you some finished things and progress notes, just to keep the ball rolling you know!

First the finished February Two Needle Baby Sweater from Knitters Almanac:


I'm happy with it - it was especially fun knitting something with my own handspun, and the Lenten Rose was a beautiful fiber. Then I found this "Rose Quartz" color of Lambs Pride superwash...wouldn't it be a lovely complement to the sweater, to make a pair of the baby leggings out of this? Hmmm....

Then, a FO from a project that began some time ago - this is my take on Jane Thornley's Feather and Fan Organic Wrap. I only had a few rows to work on it, and ignored some other things to get it off the needles. Sigh...it just makes me happy to look at!


Now on to the progress of items not yet finished - my Moc Socks, that I made a foolish mistake on ;( Lost my rhythm and have yet to fix it and pick the socks back up:


Then there is my Bountiful Bohus sweater which is way, way far behind schedule. There is no way that I will be ready to cut the steek by class time this weekend! But I am plugging away on it:


The pattern is Bountiful Bohus by Chrissy Gardiner. You can actually find the pattern free online (something I wish I had known before I bought the book Big Girl Knits, where it is also published) Oh well, you can never have enough knitting books and there are some wonderful hints about making items to fit in the book... The yarn is our own millspun Corriedale, mostly from our dear ewe Ainsley, and I call it coffee bean brown ;) The colors for the yoke are handspun from our flock and I added some angora for that authentic "Bohus" look and feel. The class is being held at the Yarn Garden in Charlotte, my home town so I get a chance to visit family on the same day I go to class. I took the class to have some hand-holding for working and cutting a steek! Janeen, our instructor, is wonderful as is Lindsay, the shop owner. I missed last class and keeping my fingers crossed that I don't catch the grandsons colds and have to miss again.

Have been doing a bit of spinning, too, when I don't feel like knitting. My daughter helped change sheep coats this past week, too, and when I looked at my sheep calender I realized that we could begin lambing in just three weeks. Oh dear, time to call the shearer....

Beginning and Ending Knits

Can you guess what this Socks From Stash surprise project is, peeking out from its bag? Read all the way to the end of this post to find out!

A new year brings new projects to begin and some old projects to complete or abandon. I haven't shared much knitting in the past few months, and as I am putting the finishing touches on some completed items and starting some things new, I thought it would be a good time to post about them.

First of all, one of my favorite finished projects - another pair of my Serene Hands Entrelec Mittens. These were a gift for my daughter. They also won first prize for mittens knit from commercial wool yarn at our Michigan Shepherds Weekend Warm and Wooly Mitten competition!

I really did not get a lot of knitting done over the summer months last year, but with some help from the same daughter mentioned above, I was finally able to finish a pair of socks for my friend and fellow shepherdess Cheryl. I spun a 3-ply yarn from her Jacob sheep roving and my daughter finished knitting these so I could get them to Cheryl in time to keep her feet warm for winter! A simple ribbed pattern, pictured below along with an heirloom squash:

We were working from an outline of her foot and they were a bit loose, so Cheryl shrunk them just a touch and now they are nice house socks. Beautiful roving to work with by the way - check out the Painted Rock Farm website!

After the sock work was completed, I joined a KAL on Ravelry and at our LYS, Sip 'n Knit to make the Heather Hoodie Vest (Ravelry link) from the Fall 2009 issue of Knitscene magazine. I chose to make my version from some stash millspun Corriedale yarn made with wool from our flock. I made some changes to customize my vest, like knitting in the round in one piece to the underarms and not adding the ribbed sleeve caps the original pattern called for, but for the most part I followed the wonderfully written pattern:












I finished my Wrap Me Up Shawl and it was lovely - a work of art! A few folks in my knitting circle were stunned that only days after completing it, I gave it away. It became a prayer shawl for a very special friend who lost her oldest child. My prayers and hugs went with it, and my continued prayer is that it has brought her at least a moment or two of comfort as she faces the new year ~


I don't have a picture of the finished object...it was to large to photograph well ;) I would definately make this pattern again - it was a joy to work on, never boring and a great stash busting project! This one was a mixture of commercial and handspun yarns.

Other small finished items were a pair of Malabrigo Leafprint mitts; a pair of Spiral Rib Mittens from handspun Corriedale plus a few basic knit items for charity - caps and scarves. In January at Sip 'n Knit we started a year long KAL following Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitters Almanac, calling it a "Year of Knitting EZ". I made a Fishtrap Aran swatch cowl from a buttery yellow Plymouth Galway wool stash yarn:

...and immediately cast on for a second version, also from stash yarn, with plans of making this second item into a full hat. Other Almanac projects currently on the needles are this Moccasin Sock in red (Cascade 220 from stash) and the Baby Sweater on Two Needles for February (handspun Corriedale blend):


The Moccasin Sock is going to do double duty to fulfill some knitting obligations of making projects from stash, especially socks, as my Christian Artisan friends and I begin a year of Socks From Stash sock club! My second project for this kal is for a new pair of Felt Clog slippers for me. Here is the stash yarn I chose (I already had the pattern, too...does that count as stash?):



More Cascade 220 in dark green and silvery grey. The small ball of white roving is in the photo for a reason, too...I am planning to needle felt some roving to the inside bottom of the slipper ~ something extra warm and cozy next to my feet!

Whew, those are just some of my knitting beginnings and ends...what are some of yours?

Welcome Twenty~Ten!

I'm a few days late in wishing everyone a wonderful start to the new year. I'm excited...I'm looking forward to learning each day what God has planned for me in all my days going forward, as many more as He allows. I hear people say all the time what awful times we live in, and yes there is much about the world that is bad. But my God knows what lies ahead. And we know, through His precious Word, that no matter what happens to us and to this world, that He is with us and that we will one day be reuinted with Him. As the old song says "Everyday with Jesus, is sweeter than the day before!"

I don't have much else to say, so I thought I would share just a few photos of the year gone by, starting with the snows of January '09 and and continuing on, more or less, through the seasons ~













(These photos are, beginning at the top - January snow, one year ago; bags of feed for "Doc" Smith - no matter how long Bill has been retired, he is still Doc Smith to the community! We're thankful for abundance, our own corn and oats in the grain bank at the local feedmill. Next, bountiful spring grass and a good crop of lambs; the Round House in summer; friends and family - brother Michael and friend Mary at my folks place; zinnias in our garden; Papa Bill & Elliot, special buddies. I'm not sure what they were looking at!. All three boys digging thistles - Mason said the next day "I hate to tell you this, Grandma, but there are hundreds more baby thistles"! A favorite heirloom squash this fall and new favorite apple; an old rope & pulley hanging in the Burnham barn; the Burnham Barn looking cold in the snow and finally the two little brothers at the Nativity. Elliot held the porcelin baby Jesus in his hand and said "Grandma, Baby Jesus has no blanket!" Oh, how profound that innocent little statement was)

Thank you to everyone who visits my blog or our website or our farm. God Bless each of you this coming year. Please be sure to visit often and drop a note when you can...we treasure every one!

Still Life With Soup

That is what I titled the photo above, featuring our delicious homemade tomato soup alongside a bobbin full of yarn and my favorite yellow soup bowl ;)

I was reminded by a reader that I promised some lamb recipes more than a week ago! I got so busy preparing for the winter storm and artic blast that was predicted (and that we did receive by the way) that I didn't spend much time at the computer. So today as I put some dried navy beans on to soak for one of those recipes, I thought I just better sit down and get to blog posting.

By the way, here is a link to the tomato soup recipe that will take you right to the original post (September 25, 2008), if you don't already have it. The first of our family favorites with lamb makes use of that soup ;) It is called:

~ BARBECUED STICKIES ~
I use this recipe for whatever meat I have handy that I want to barbecue in the oven. This might be ribs, chops, steaks. We have our lamb chops and steaks cut 1 inch thick, so they work really well here. One of the things I really like about this one is that the meat is browned in the oven, saving the mess of an additional pan for browning on top of the stove)

3-4 pounds lamb - ribs, chops or steaks, whatever you have
Garlic powder, salt, pepper
SAUCE:
1 pint homemade tomato soup (see recipe link above) or substitute 1 can (10-3/4 ounces condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey (you can use light corn syrup or I have even used maple syrup, though the sauce was not quite as thick with the maple syrup - tasty though!)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder or hot pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sprinkle meat with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place in a single layer in a large baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes; drain off the fat. Combine the sauce ingredients and pour over the meat. Bake about 50 minutes longer, turning to coat occasionally.

Now this next dish is a real comfort food, just right for these cold blustery nights, but it makes use of the slow cooker so is also nice for summer cooking when you don't want to turn on the oven. The county in Michigan where I live has been known as "bean country" for all of the beans produced, so having beans in the mixture along with our farm lamb makes it all-around Michigan Farm Food ;)

~ LAMB AND BEANS ~
2 cups dried navy beans, soaked overnight in water
About 3 pounds lamb shoulder chops
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium parsnip or turnip, chopped (if you don't have either of these, you can substitute a couple of peeled, diced potatoes)
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (include the leaves if you can)
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 16-ounce can chicken broth (or homemade chicken stock if you have it)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup half and half (you can use milk)

Drain the liquid from the beans. In a slow cooker, combine the beans and lamb with the next 8 ingredients. Cook on high heat for about an hour, then turn your temperature to low and cook for about 6 hours or till the meat is done. When the lamb is tender, remove it and chop into chunky pieces, discarding the bones. Return the meat to the cooker and add the butter and half & half. Stir and allow to heat through. Ladle it up and enjoy! NOTE: If you notice that the liquid is cooking away, add additional stock or water if needed.

Well, there you have it - two favorite lamb recipes from our home. I hope you give them a try. I wish you could try them with Serenity Farms lamb, but if you can't, please try to find a farmer local to your area where you can purchase the meat. Ask to try just a package or two of sample cuts if they sell them that way. A good way to find a producer in your area is by going to Local Harvest - a website that helps locate and support family farms, CSA's, Farmers Markets, etc (a great resource!) Also, someone asked about the Lamb Ham I mentioned in the last post. All we did was have our processor smoke some of the roasts in the same fashion you would cure and smoke a ham when you have pork processed.

Brrrr...now I need to go pour myself another cup of hot coffee! I sure am thankful for wool socks today....

Food For Thought...

And for the table!

November seems to be about two major things for me...a return to hearty fall and winter cooking and the tie-in that has to Thanksgiving. (Okay, it is also about some special birthdays in the month - but even those seem connected to food thoughts - LOL!)

I have been meaning to write about one of my favorite foods all summer. One of my favorite foods that also happens to be home grown right here on our farm, another part of the diversity of our life as farmers and shepherds. I'm talking about good ol' delicious, nutritious American (Michigan, Serenity Farms) lamb for the table!

Growing up with sheep, we never ate lamb or mutton. My mom refused to cook it, isn't that funny? Though now I know lots of shepherds who don't eat it, so maybe it isn't so unusual. My folks and brother at home still raise sheep and still don't eat the meat. I love it. I really, truly love it. Lamb is my favorite meat - well, a good slice of bacon or ham is right up there at the top of the list, too! But then again, a slice of Serenity Farms Lamb Ham (one of our special cuts, smoked and everything, is pictured below) holds its own against the pork any day!


Over the years I have had good lamb and bad. Some of it really, really bad. Often the worst I have tasted I have eaten at sheep producing events or really expensive restaurants, if you can believe it! Watery, thin, grey, unappetising fare or else so highly seasoned and dressed up that you couldn't taste the meat - ugh! Would you like to know my "secret" for good, edible lamb for the table? I treat it just like any other meat - I use it in my favorite recipes, substituting it for beef or pork in the list of ingredients. I am not a fan of the "lamb is best prepared rare or medium rare" way of thinking. One of the things I am not overly fond of with lamb is both its texture (kind of like veal or venison or liver) and its color ;) I like to put a good "brown" on the meat with a quick sear or fry in the pan or on the grill. And I like it cooked all the way through, falling away from the bone. Lamb that has been well raised and properly processed - doesn't come out dry, in my opinion.

Did you know that (according to The American Lamb Board, "lamb is a good source of protein, niacin, zinc, iron and Vitamin B-12? And that compared to other meats, lamb has very little fat marbling throughout. Most of the fat is limited to the outside edges of the meat, so it is easily trimmed away." And while some might add additional fat to their ground lamb, we do not. I like it lean and dry and full of nothing but what we raised here on our property.

That brings us to another part of the equation - the part where what goes into raising lamb for the table and how it is processed contribute to the quality of the flavor. How about if I write more about that tomorrow, and maybe share a few of my families favorite recipes with lamb? By the way, if you have ever eaten at my house and been served meat with the meal...it may very well have been lamb ((grin))

Our favorite way with lamb...chops over a charcoal grill! And of course, the first photo in this post shows a juicy lamb burger, cooked over charcoal with homemade rolls, a good honey mustard and lettuce and onions fresh from the garden. All things to be thankful for!

Black Corriedale Lamb Fleece and More

For whatever reason my webhost won't let me load any updated pages today. Why does that always seem to happen on a day I have things for sale? Hmmm...anyway, that is why I am posting these few things to trusty Blogger ;)

Eli - Black Corriedale lamb fleece (photos below) ~



Fine crimp, good staple length (about 4 inches) and best of all, natural black! We purchased this lamb at six months of age and he had not been coated up to that point, so there is vm in this fleece. For that reason it is priced at $8 per pound (lamb fleeces usually sell for $15 per pound). About 2.5 pounds available and I will include 4 ounces of bay black alpaca with your purchase
~ S O L D ~

Also for sale is the book pictured above "The Natural Knitter...How to Choose, Use and Knit Natural Fibers" by Barbara Albright. Includes patterns and dyeing information - a beautiful book! Priced new at $32.50 - I've barely opened it so it is in very good condition ~ S O L D ~

Finally, I still have a beautiful moorit Icelandic fleece for sale from my friend Cherie's farm... Very clean and a rich color - a bit darker than the photo shows. The thel on this fleece is super, super soft and it is one that is easy to seperate from the tog if that is what you like to do, but equally beautiful processed together. This is a ram fleece, but he was shorn well ahead of breeding season so not much of that "rammy" smell! About 2.5 pounds for $25 plus shipping


We accept Paypal, check or money order. If you have any questions or to check availability, please email me at serenityfarmswool@yahoo.com. These items would normally be listed at our website, Serenity Farms. Thank you for checking them here at the blog ;)

I Couldn't Say It Any Better...

If you read my blog at all, you have probably heard me mention fellow Michigan Shepherding Family (and all around nice folks) Mike and Lona at Shady Side Farm. I love Lona's blog - Farming In The Shade - for lots of reasons, but particularly for her realistic yet loving look at farm life - not just here in Michigan, but anywhere.

I invite you take a look at her last three entries (just click on the link above) - Tuesday, October 27 for fun and creativity; Monday, October 26 for truly dedicated farming and farmers and Friday, October 23 for a disturbing and all to real possibility for important (to everyone) programs facing the chopping block here in Michigan.

Thank you for your blog, Lona, and for making time in your busy schedule to post...

Picture of an October Past...

Just a quick note to let my friends know that I am still around, here on the farm ;)

This picture is from a few Octobers-ago, the last fall that Bill was still able to drive horses. Fall is a more difficult time for him, emotionally. His favorite time of year and the time he spent so many, many hours on the lines behind a team. I am seldom at the kitchen sink, doing dishes, that I don't think of him driving up into the yard looking for a cup of coffee and calling me out to take a ride with him and share the progress of whoever he happened to be training at the time. He is an amazing man to me, who copes so well! Still, I catch a look on his face when he sits on the porch looking towards the brightly colored woods. We take walks and rides in the car, but it isn't the same you know...just a few days ago he was outside in his motorized wheelchair and I was working in the garden. He didn't know I was so close, and I heard him down at the fence, talking outloud to "Sam" - his horse equivalent of a partner, the grey mare who helped him start and train numerous young horses. I couldn't stop the tears in my eyes or the lump in my throat.

I'll be back soon with more regular posts...till then, enjoy every moment you can of our glorious Autumn days....

Where Did July Go?

Not only did the days of this last month seem to fly by, they haven't felt much like summer weather (which is actually just fine with me!) - we did not have a single day in Michigan that was over 85 degrees and there has been no humidity. The sheep and I like this ;) So does the lettuce (pictured above) which continues to grow nicely in my garden without turning bitter or bolting!

I had lots of lovely blog posts planned, but summer is just such a busy time, don't you agree? And now, here it is August...

But since I would like to share with you how our summer is going, I thought I would just post a few pictures and try to do better with the updates this next month!

There has been FIBER ~


Corriedale roving with dyed silk noil


Spun yarn and knitted sample

And the SHEEP that provide the fiber ~


Ewes on pasture

The LAMBS have grown well! Some we will keep in the flock ~


Deborah and her ewe lamb

And some have found new homes ~


Ainsley's ram lamb, Forrest

Time with FIBERY FRIENDS ~


Fiber group here at the farm, including a drop spindle class with Donna from Spinning Daydreams (this photo is actually from June)


Spinning at Mary's farm, including our youngest member, little "E" sitting on her grandma's lap

Time with FAMILY and FRIENDS ~


Friend Mary and brother Michael at the folks' farm


Precious Grandbabies covered with chocolate from s'mores, playing hide and seek in the hay field...such wonderful summertime memories!

I marked the end of this month in my garden, pulling weeds, while all around me the air was filled with the heady fragrance of the Oriental lilies, various Garden Phlox, Roses and even some of the Daylilies that are fragrant. The moon was already glowing in the twilight sky and fireflies were in abundance, even landing on my arm and glowing brightly before flying off. I could hear Bill and Alex discussing something through the open kitchen window. I thought of this verse from the Psalms, Psalms 65:8 "Thou makest the outgoing of the morning and evening to rejoice" and I rejoiced along with God and this evening He had provided - in fact a whole month of these mornings and evenings!

Post with no Pictures

I don't usually like to post to the blog with no photos to share, but I thought some of you might be wondering where I have been the past month (or maybe you haven't been, but I will tell you anyway - LOL!)

We have been computer-less for the past few weeks, and that has actually been okay (though a bit inconvenient) because we have been busy with my mom in the hospital; hay being made during some very hot days and rain; preparing for a fiber day here at the farm and trying to keep sheep up to date on worming and vaccinations. I'm happy to report that mom is home, the hay is in the barn with no rain on it, fiber day has come and gone (what a fun day - I will blog about that first thing when the computer is up and running again) and the temperatures this week are 30 degrees cooler than they were last week!!!

Hope to "see" you all soon ;D

Cupie Doll yarn and scarf

Lots of stuff going on around the farm that I would love to post about, but until I find the time I at least want to share with you some spinning and knitting content (a girl has got to have some quiet spinning/knitting time, right?)

I have always admired the beautiful fibery creations from fellow Michigander CJ Kopec of CJ Kopec Creations. When I stumbled upon a Ravelry group dedicated to spinning something special that CJ creates each month, I had to give it a whirl ;) I bought on of the May offerings, Cupie Doll - a Corriedale fiber, how could I resist? LOL....

The fiber arrived and it was drop-dead gorgeous...one of those jaw-dropping fibers that spinners just dream about! I loved the color of the roving when I received it, just loved it and CJ’s preparation is flawless! However, as is often the case for me, once I started spinning it I didn’t like the yarn colors as much as I did while it was still in the batt (does anyone else find this? Love the roving, hate the resulting yarn or hate the roving but love the yarn once it is spun?). And I didn’t find this to be the softest Corriedale - I am pretty spoiled by my own flocks fiber, lol! So while my original plan was a laceweight, I found the resulting yarn to dull and to harsh for my planned project. Okay, I thought, I will spin a sportweight, 3-ply - Navajo plying to preserve the colors. Sigh, still didn’t like it and wouldn’t have gotten much yardage (I was thinking socks or mittens at this point) since I had only purchased 4 ounces.


My next thought was a thick and thin single. Ah-ha! Beautiful! Preserved the lovely colors CJ had created and had a much softer feel to the yarn. I spun the full amount and started knitting a swatch directly from the bobbin (something I often do with my singles yarns) Ugh…I had a scarf planned, but STILL didn’t like the looks! I left the spun yarn sitting on the bobbin next to my “knitting” chair and I don’t know why, but I happened to catch sight of some coppery colored thread I had purchased for plying with something else that lay in my spinning basket. My mind started working, I started plying and …at last, success! At least I am happy with it ;D


The details: Barely drafted the roving, spun on my old faithful Louet S17 on the larger whorl (5:1 I believe). Plied with metallic copper colored sewing thread. I held the thread directly in front of the orifice in my right hand and the fiber at anywhere from a 45 degree angle to a 90 degree angle in my left hand to get the effect I wanted. I ended up with a little more yardage than I first counted…there is closer to 400 yards.


I created a long, skinny scarf from my finished yarn using the pattern One Skein-A-Stole by Katja Jordan (a very fun pattern by the way!) The pattern has you cast on 55 sts for a stole, but I cast on just 15 stitches to create the skinny scarf I wanted. I would like to do something to the ends of the scarf to give it a more “finished” look, and I have a bit of yarn left. Don’t want fringe, but possibly beads? Wish I would have done that to start with ;) Also, if I make this pattern again, I believe I will knit a few stitches at the beginning and end of the row to give the edges a more “polished” look…they are a little raggedy looking with this thick and thin, boucle-like yarn.

I won't be able to participate in the June spin-a-long, but I certainly plan on more of CJ's fiber in my future...I can't recommend her product and her customer service enough!