This n That

No stash busting this week as I finished up the Clapotis for Peg. She bought the yarn so it never came out of my stash. Dang! Now need to buckle down and design the edging for her vest.

Clapotis is from 2 skeins of Brooks Farm Riata from the MD Sheep & Wool festival. I have been working on so many lengthy projects, I just wanted to do something fast and pretty! And it sure is!

First pic is draped over some hosta, second pic is laid on our little bridge - like a purple carpet!

How about this peony??? This is Bartzella - an intersectional hybrid (crossed with a tree peony). I got this from swensonfarms.com They are really nice folks and the plants I got from them (Bartzella and Americana - a red one with a scent like wine! didn't get pics-bad me!) were very healthy - came up like gangbusters this spring. Both of them had 8+ buds, but I clipped back most of them even though it was VERY difficult!

I am looking for a book

And in this book are some beautiful sweater patterns, including the one below. I would love to remember who wrote this book and what it was called so I can try to get another copy, but alas, my memory... The front is ballon cables surrounding an interlaced cable and the sleeves and back are all lattice. It's really spiff! I think it was a British designer and I think it was a hardback.













Took some farm pics this am -too totally beautiful!













And just for fun - Oriental poppy! That's the definition of orange in my book.

Life on the Farm

Not quite summertime, and the livin' isn't all that easy LOL - work, work, working away on the gardens, but what better way to spend one's time (except knitting, of course, and I have some of that too!)

Here is my wonderful tractor - New Holland 33 HP. Hub mowed one field yesterday and I mowed one today. I will let hub mow the steep & scary one!
















This is a "Before" pic - lots of weeds and no mulch.



















This is how it will look after I get my hands on it! LOL One lone tulip left - some bluebells, peonies about to pop, some hosta. Weeded and mulched! Yippee!














This is Rowdy - he has been rolling around in the buttercups and has a faceful of yellow pollen. Too funny! I think he is annoyed that I am laughing at him.




















This the progress so far on the clapotis for my friend Peg. It's in the Riata from S&W. Unfortunately, it's not stashbusting as Peg bought it for me to knit, but I wanted to knit something fast and easy since I still have so many WIPs on the needle! There are actually two drops, but I was a lazy photographer and didn't stretch them out. You will see more later.

The Riata is knitting up beautifully and the colors are even better than in the pic - sort of raspberry sherbert. Ummmm!

Post MD Sheep & Wool Update

Well - I gave myself a limit of $100 for S&W and I stuck with it! I actually went over by $7, but the friend who was with me said - "you're not over, I am buying y0ur lunch!" So I accepted! LOL

I bought some basil and lavender (here's the basi freshly planted) , an ice cream cone, lunch (subtracted!) and a bit of yarn.







We started out at Brooks Farm where I bought some variegated rust Acero - superwash, viscose, silk blend. It's yummy. Then we cruised down to the main auditorium and went through that, then we watched a sheepdog demo, then we worked our way back up through the buildings.





My friend bought some gorgeous furniture from a wood worker there, so we went and got our cars and brought them around to pick up the furniture.



By now it was almost closing time and the crowd had thinned out considerably, so I cruised back past Brooks Farm and bought some more Acero - this time a gorgeous teal. It's single colored, but the various fibers take the yarn differently, so it has a heathered appearance. Nice stuff. It's sort of heavy fingering weight.

Peg also bought some yarn from Brooks Farm -Riata. I am going to make her a clapotis out of it. Should be astoundingly beautiful!



















I also spent a little time just hanging around on the farm taking pictures today. Some of my faves...





Self explantory - it's a bleeding heart!








And here is Gunner, the giant Corgi with tulips!














Finally, here's some knitting -

Peg's vest. It fits her great. Now all I need to do is add the frontband & neckband and add the hem edging. I think I will try making the front band in the same diagonal motif as the front detail. Hem will probably just be ribbing or seed stitch.