Just touching base

Can you believe it's September already!?!
Here's a September morning on the farm pic for you.













On the riding front, we are off to Ohio for a few days to ride with Dennis Reis. That should be really neat. I got a "new" jumping saddle - used, but new to me, and plan to start doing some jumping again this fall.

We have been having a blast trail riding - sadly not too much in the way of pics, but will try to get some at the clinic.

Knitting has been going great - my newest project is a pair of socks using this yarn - I think they will be really cute!














More about everything on the web site! NeverBlue Farm

A little more knitting

Just finished Shedir. I have made this hat before. It's so gorgeous and a very fun knit.

This is for a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

Just a quickie update for July

Horses are doing great. Henry is off at cowboy shooting with Austin today - I weenied out. Too hot! But here are Shad and I at a Cowboy Versatility competion. He was a little worried about this bridge, but in the end, got used to it and crossed it very nicely.

The flowers are beautemeous now, but just passing their peak - heading into that hot part of summer where we get a little light on flowers. I need to find some more perennials to bloom through this time of year.

Knitting is going nicely. I have a couple of languishing WIP's, but I finished some cutie stuff.



A little top/dress for a friend's new baby. The pattern is a free pattern from Ravelry - Little Sister Dress.






Wrapped up a multi-morphing shawl (it has been through more incarnations than Prince!) for my sister. I like how it came out - I thought the two-color thing might look dorky, but I think in this particular set of colors, it's pretty.

As usual, check out the NeverBlue farm website for more of everything!

Touching Base

Lots has happened since the last time I posted.

Haven't finished much knitting, but Henry bought a new horse named Austin. Check out his web page - http://www.neverbluefarm.com/austin.html He is a 6 yo Thoroughbred off the racetrack. He is a very good minded horse.



























I did finish a quick scarf for a dressage benefit - it came out very pretty. (at least in my opinion!)

Belated Update

Haven't been posting here much.

Just want to say that things are going great. The farm is beautiful this time of year. Tulips, magnolias, silver dollar plant, hostas coming up - wooo!

The horses are fat and sassy. We retired Henry's riding horse, so are looking for a new prospect for him. Here is Hank teaching Shadow some new stuff. Betcha didn't know that horses can read!

Knitting is zipping along with a big project nearing fruition. Viridescent Diamond Cardigan - designed by Norah Gaughan. It's yummy.

Hot diggity dog!

Just finished this shawl/stole. Simurgh by Anne Hanson. It was quite a fun knit, but was pretty all consuming as it's a gift and I wanted it finished before this coming weekend.

So now that this is done, I am working on some socks and back to the cardigan for me.

More pics on the home page - http://www.neverbluefarm.com/knitting.html

On the horse front - Shad is doing fine - I haven't been riding much between work and the weather - I think I really need to move to a warmer climate! LOL

Callas has been a little sore in the back, so she has just been doing light groundwork. She is the cutest thing since sliced bread!

January update 1/25

Got quite a bit of knitting done this week - finished a scarf and got about halfway through another.

Here's the WIP - a stole called Simurgh from Anne Hanson - it's yummy!

Rode Shad, rode Callas. It's been cold, so I am proud of myself for getting out and getting the riding done. brrrr!

Put a bunch of knitting updates on the web page and also updated some of the horse stuff so go over and browse!

www.neverbluefarm.com

January update 1/18

Life at home is pretty good so far for 2008. Work kinda sucks, but there you go.




I was working on a scarf out of Blue Heron rayon boucle and had to frog it a couple of times before I figured out what it wanted to be. And that is a variation on the Bird's Nest Shawl out of Folk Scarves. I just did two pattern repeats so it's about 7 or 8" wide and it's coming out lovely.



I am actually working on three other things at the same time as this! A pair of socks, a Cardigan and the Simurgh stole from Anne Hanson's web site. Pics are on the Neverblue website - http://www.neverbluefarm.com/knitting.html

I also put up a page for the corgis - only a few pics now, but they are so cute, it's hard to resist taking photos.

Pony life is good. Callas just got adjusted by the chiro and he thinks she should do much better - I will ride her this afternoon and see how it goes. Off to ride Shad now because tomorrow is supposed to be REALLY cold and I am a big weenie!

It's a New Year!

Welcome to 2008!

My first finished knitting project for 2008 is a belated pair of socks for Christmas - more knitting stuff on my web page

http://www.neverbluefarm.com/knitting.html

On the riding front, Shadow is currently at a barn with an indoor arena. Man, are we lovin' it! He is going great and we are planning to ride in a clinic on Jan 18/19. Hopefully we can get some pics then so you can see how nice he looks!

Callas is still for sale, but gave herself an owie, so she is recovering from a hip injury. I swear that once you tag them for sale they immediately try to self destruct!

The other pones are all fine and we are doing great. It should be a wonderful year!

Thanksgiving Post

It's the day after Thanksgiving. We had a quiet day at home watching a cold front blow in! It was 75 in the morning and got steadily cooler and grayer as the day wore on. Today is only the high 40's. Too bad! I was enjoying the warm weather!



I have been knitting quite busily - finished several Christmas gifts and have another on the needles.




Here's my WIP as a teaser! Pics of the rest are on the blog - www.neverbluefarm.com/knitting.html

On the horse front, I moved Shadow to a farm with an indoor arena for the winter. He is settling in nicely - he is just the cutest thing on the planet and they all love him there!

I posted an update about his ride with the resident trainer in his journal. I plan to get some updated pics as we work throughout the winter. Maybe we will even get into the show ring next year as this one was a total bust!

November 4th

Had a fun ride on Shad the other day. Rode him bareback in a halter and tried to "Think" our way into and around things. Not highly successful, but very entertaining none-the-less! LOL

On the knitting front. Finished my Silkie socks - very yummy. They are a Christmas prezzie for one of my sistahs.

Off to the drag the ring and get in my Sunday rides!

End of October update

Finally finished Peg's vest. I am very pleased with how it came out!



Updated the web page with finished pics of the Entrelac scarf. I wish I were a better photographer - it's simply beautiful and the pics don't do it justice.

Also have some WIP snaps up - socks and a hat.

http://www.neverbluefarm.com/knitting.html

On the pony front - the rain (welcome as it is!) has sorta put a kabosh on much riding. They are in now, getting dry and munching hay. I will put them out a bit later as the sun is now peeking through.

Had a bit of an adventure this am. Biz, one of our boarders, got cast. What this means is that she rolled and got stuck against the side of the stall. So now we have a 1200 lb horse squished up against the stall and unable to get any purchase to push herself up and away. It's a bad situation and dangerous for horse and human alike. Fortunately she was pretty calm - would struggle now and again to push herself up, then would lay still and look at me "Lady - I need a little help here!"

I went to get Henry because I knew I couldn't move her myself. While I was waiting for him to dress and come out, I pushed a bale of hay in next to her front legs, hoping she could use it to gain a little purchase and push herself up. Instead of using it to get up, she started eating it! Horses just crack me up!


Once Henry came out, we were able to pull her over by her front legs - I had to push her head over because she was a little stuck against the stall doorway and then helped push her knees over and she was able to scramble to her feet. I was afraid that she would squish Henry, but she was pretty careful of him. Adrenalin moment for the morning!

October Update

I am focusing more on my web page and less on the blog, but will try to put up teasers now and again! LOL

Here's my October WIP. An Entrelac scarf in Sea Silk.

For more details - click on my knitting page www.neverbluefarm.com/knitting.html

My horsey journals and pictures are scattered about the rest of the website. Feel free to browse to your heart's content.

Boy - Have I been remiss!

It's been a very busy summer and I just haven't gotten around to posting. (Where is that round tuit? LOL)

So FO's -

Finally finished the Baltic Sea Stole. What a lengthy undertaking that was - but it turned out beautiful!

The yarn is Schaefer's Andrea - it's a threadlike lace weight silk. As you can see, the colors are fabulous, but the yarn is VERY VERY fine. This project was started over a year ago. Granted, I haven't worked on it steadily and then there was the time I had to frog about 2 inches worth, which delayed me a lot - both the frogging and the overcoming the reluctance to do so!

But doesn't it capture the pattern beautifully? It will go to a Florida sister. I would like to do the Baltic Sea Stole again, but I don't think I will do it in lace weight this time!

Next is the Moebius Lacy Wrap from Cat Bordhi's first Moebius book. I did this in Ella Rae Shibu. This is a really nice yarn! Not expensive, 90% silk, gorgeous colors and boy does it feel spiffy when it's washed and blocked. This one is also going to Florida - for my mom.

On the needles - a pair of socks in STR silkie. Totally love this yarn - it's majorly soft and feels ummmmm!

I also have an entrelac scarf in sea silk in the works, but no pics yet. Another sis (I have four!) just sent me some yarn to do a little scarf for her - looks like it will be fun.

I also STILL have to do the border on Peg's vest and I have the Red Gansey languishing since last spring. So lot's to do! Will try to get pics of these projects as I move them along.

On the equine front, baby Callas is doing beautifully - sadly she is for sale and I have several people scheduled to come and look at her. But I am pleased she is doing so well and hope one of those folks just flat falls in love with her. She's a cutie pie in nature and totally gorgeous in appearance!

Also shooting cowboy off of Shadow - he still needs to get better about being acclimated to gunfire, but he is trying hard. What a good boy!

Well - that's it for today!

The more things change....

Just a quickie to post some pics.

Here is a felted vase that I made for my sis as a visit present. I haven't felted much before so many lessons learned here, one of which is use the same base yarn for felted object so it felts a bit more evenly! LOL But it's cute anyhow and has spawned a bunch of ideas that I want to start working up. Felting is cool.

The other pic is the start of some I-cord binding that's going to go on a quilt for friend. It's in a bit of koigu that I had left over from another project. I love the colors - they are going to go great with the quilt blocks and I like the notion of the thread that binds us all together being something that is so changeable and varied.

I guess I am in a very transformational mood!

STR Socks with yarn #1 are done!

I joined the STR Sock Club this year, but have had so much stuff to catch up on that I am way behind on knitting the socks. The first yarn is their medium weight in a crazy variegated green with tan and cream and a purply gray (Monsoon). I didn't care for it much at first, but once I started knitting with it, I liked it more and more. It's very subtle and beautiful and VERY hard to photograph nicely! I couldn't make gauge for the included pattern, so swatched around a bit and made these socks up. They are based on a toe-up sock out of Sensational Socks, but I used a japanese short row toe.

They are a little goofy - pattern (a patterned rib from BW) doesn't start until 3 inches up the foot because I was just going to do stockinette, but got bored. Then I forgot to carry the heel stitches all the way up the heel once I started the gusset - see the standing pic - oops!. I am having trouble getting a good pic of them, but they are really cute in person.















Did another repeat or so on the Baltic Sea Stole. Looks the same only about 1 1/2 inches longer - when this thing is finished, I want a MEDAL!
















Swatched the second yarn the other night - it's Silkie in colorway Walk on the Wild Tide. It is scrumptious yarn, both in feel and color. It's a teeny bit splitty to knit up due to how it's plied, but well worth the trouble. I am tempted to order some more and just make a top out of it! I am not so sure I like the second sock pattern, so maybe I will do the first one in this yarn. I guess I like to mix stuff up!

Still have to finish up the edging for Peg's vest. I am still wrestling with what I want to do - regular ribbing around the bottom with the diagonal rib on the front and neck? Diagonal rib all the way around? Regular rib all the way around. And if I do diagonal rib on the front, do I do the bottom ribbing first and carry the diagonal rib all the way to the bottom? Or do I do the front/neck band first and finish off the entire bottom with ribbing? SO many options. Maybe I will drag it over to the knitting shop and get some live input.

I am still looking for the designer of this sweater. A couple of people have suggested Alice Starmore, but I don't think it's her work - more likely an Alice knockoff.

For Stashalong, I am so golden, although I have to admit I was SOOOOO tempted the other day - someone posted about Koigu on sale for under $7/skein. Never mind the fact that I have about 15 skeins of Koigu sitting around waiting for me to do something with them, I wanted more! But I resisted, and am very proud of myself! So finished one skein of STR this week.

Quick update

Working away on my Socks That Rock yarn. (First batch) Couldn't make gauge on the pattern, so fudged around and made up my own. The yarn is kind of a funky color, but it's growing on me and I love the way it knits up. Just have to finish up the cuffs and ribbing - another day or two I would guess.

Need to finish up the border portions of Peg's vest. That needs to be done by June 23.

And plugging away very slowly on the Baltic Sea Stole.

On a more serious note, check out http://www.knitspot.com/ Anne is encouraging folks to sponsor a gal who is riding for MS. (and offering great prizes for those who help!) I have pitched in to sponsor Claudia and am also throwing in two balls of yarn - Filatura Multicolor - a mohair blend in purples/blues/greens. Go to Anne's page for more details.

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!