Category: Pictures

Seed Savers

Boyd

Two weekends ago we paid a visit to Seed Savers in Decorah, Iowa to purchase some transplants that we couldn’t get shipped to us.  It was a lovely trip through rural America and I thought I would share just two photos from that day.

This is the lovely, and functional, barn at Heritage Farm, the site of the great work that Seed Savers does.

And this is one of the ancient White Park cattle which originally came from the British Isles. She had just given birth and the little calf was right out of camera shot and that’s why she’s looking at me so seriously.  Isn’t she just beautiful?

Today is a “me” day …

Boyd

What I really needed to do today was stay home and finish the socks I am knitting for momma and that I have intended to send her for Mother’s Day.  I meant to finish them earlier this week, and had all but the toe of the second sock done by Tuesday.  But the last couple of days have been unexpectedly distracting and I haven’t been able to focus enough to finish them.  So I stayed home this morning and took care of that.  Here are the socks, knit from Nancy Lindberg’s knit-to-fit pattern, worked up in Trekking XXL color 181 on 2.75mm metal, circular needles from KnitPicks, which I love.  I have better luck with the magic loop method than anything else, because I get a nice, tight, even fabric with no ladders at the needle joins.

  Socks for Momma

And here are some other things I’m sending down Florida way.   Even though it is much too late, I am sending a scarf I knit in Plymouth Boku that will match the purple coat and gloves I sent her for Christmas.  She’ll be all ready for next winter now.

  Scarf for Momma

And I got this wonderful imported Italian cotton yarn in the clearance bin at Coldwater Collaborative in Excelsior and thought it was just too good to pass up.  The colors are so incredibly cheerful and the joy of dishcloths is that they work up so quick.

  Dishcloths for Momma

Christmas Present

Boyd

I woke up this morning and stepped outside with Beulah only to find the most marvelous snow falling – big, sticky snowflakes that clung to everything like buttercream frosting. I thought I would share with you some pictures from our lovely morning.

Scene from the front porch
Scene from our front door.

8 point buck in the back yard
An eight point buck in the back yard!

Beulah Mae with her gorgeous self posing in front of the fire.
Beulah Mae with her gorgeous self posing in front of the fire.

Cletus us obsessed with both the Christmas trees.
Cletus us obsessed with both the Christmas trees – this is the simple one with only lights and non-breakable ornaments we have upstairs. If it makes it through the season, it will be a miracle, what with Beulah and Cletus both chewing on it every chance they get.

A bit of parting beauty.
A bit of parting beauty.

Country Threads, Garner, Iowa

Boyd
Country Threads, Garner, Iowa

(Click on the photo to see the slideshow of our trip!) On Saturday I headed down to Iowa with three of my quilt buddies, Joan, Karen and Dawn. It was a perfect fall day for a car trip. We were off for Garner, Iowa, about 145 miles from my house, and a fabulous quilt store on a little town west of Clear Lake. On our way back, we stopped in Northfield. We were going to go to a yarn store called Cottage Industry, which we discovered had closed over a year ago. So we went to Digs instead. They took over the yarn stock of the place that closed. What a fun little store. Actually, all of downtown Northfield is fun – great little shops along Division Street. If you haven’t been, you should make a day trip of it. Just don’t show up at the Indian restaurant expecting to eat between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm. They won’t be waiting on you.

WOW 2007 Quilt Show

Boyd

Several weeks ago now I attended a quilt show given by a local guild to which several of my friends belong. The name of the guild is “Women of the West”, or WOW as they are known to many. I’ve been terribly tardy in getting the pictures off my camera and onto my site, but I offer these two links for you to peruse. The first link contains some of my favorite quilts that were on display. There were dozens and dozens more, but I couldn’t shoot them all: http://www.fiberguy.com/slideshow/slideshow.html#id=wow2007 The second slide show is from a “bed turning” they did at the show. The folded back each old quilt over the bed, and told it’s story, where it was from, how it was made, what people remember about it, etc. It was most fascinating. Almost a “quilts as journals” type of thing. http://www.fiberguy.com/slideshow/slideshow.html#id=bedturning Enjoy!

Four years in the making

Boyd

 

B.A. in Religion/History

Who ever though that such a “little piece of paper” could have such enormous real and symbolic importance in one’s life? It took four years of serious hard work, from August, 2003 to June, 2007, to earn this degree – plus about 10 years before that of taking one class at a time here and there to get rid of my core curriculum requirements. Well, never mind that now. I have it. I stuck with it until I got it done. I can’t tell you how proud I am of myself for sticking with it until I was done this time. This time, I knew it was now or never. Making a big commitment to oneself and then seeing that commitment through to the end brings an immeasurable amount of self-esteem.

My first little hat … ain’t it cute?

Boyd
My first little hat

While at the State Fair last month, I bought this yarn at the booth from the Minnesota Lamb and Wool Producers Association. The yarn came from a producer called Shepherd’s Choice located in Wyoming, MN. I just loved the colors and had to have it, despite the fact that it cost $20 for a 120 yarn hank. I started this simple little hat on Sunday afternoon, using a “Knitting Pure & Simple” pattern that I bought on Sunday when I went with my Sister Woman (that’s Tennessee Williams’ speak for sister-in-law) to All About Yarn in Coon Rapids after a friend kept recommending it. Hats work up wonderfully quick, and Lord knows we need ’em here in Minnesota! I just got a pom-pom maker tonight from Joann’s and I highly recommend you try the Doodle Loom next time you need to make pom-poms. Now, I’m supposed to turn the edge in two inches and sew in a hem, but I kind of like the funky, slightly ‘deconstructed’ look of the rolled edge. Harald said it makes it look like a flapper hat. What do you think? Send me a comment and tell me which treatment you prefer.