Author Archives

by

Finally posting!

I realize that I’ve really let this blog go the last several months… We’ve been dealing with losses, ill health, and other changes. I’m going to try to get back to updating a little more often.

My niece and her boyfriend got their own place, so they aren’t with us anymore. Now, we’ve begun the process of getting settled in and figuring out our own routines.

I’ve started taking over the other bedroom and getting the office cleaned up. Now, the only stuff that’s in the office, is stuff that was originally intended to be in there! Yay! That room was absolutely crammed with boxes! I have a set of shelves that I am going to bring in – it will house the yarn/fiber/spinning stash.

Now that winter seems to be a thing of the past, I also got all the empty cardboard boxes out of the house. I didn’t realize how much space they were taking up!

I recently discovered the Knook (a tool for knitting with a crochet hook) and I really like it! I’ve started on my first knooking project – the Lichen Kerchief. I’m knooking it in a lovely, emerald green, superwash merino wool. It’s soft and luscious and will look great with my red hair! It’s going slower than if I’d crocheted it, but I’m making less mistakes than when I knit with needles. Not exactly sure why that is. Maybe because it’s such a familiar motion that I can focus on the pattern and not so much on what I’m doing..?

I’m trying to grow out my hair and it’s at that awkward stage where it’s making me crazy because I can’t do much with it. Its only saving grace is that it is JUST long enough to put back into a tiny little ponytail. I thought that making a pretty, feminine, lacy kerchief would be just the thing to help me ignore my hair while it grows out.

Speaking of hair… The goats are just about to get their yearly shearing. I don’t know how on earth we are going to catch the girls to get them done. They are still sooooo skittish. But, they need to be done, desperately! They are completely felted! The boys’ fleece is beautiful this year and I really need to acquire some hand carders. We won’t have the llama shorn this year, as she was done last year.

And speaking of the llama… Dolly has taken Tanker under her wing and has been such a good llama mama! She protects him from the girls when they are being mean to him. And she lets him get away with murder! He stands on her back when she’s laying down; she allows him to eat her food; she is so sweet to him!

Well, I guess that’s all I have to report for today. I hope this finds everyone well!

by

Clan MacLean Hunting Tartan Purse

MacLean Hunting Tartan Pattern Chart

Download JPG: MacLean Hunting Tartan Pattern Chart

Download PDF: MacLean Hunting Tartan Pattern Chart

Image is a color chart for the tartan. I will update photos as soon as I am finished making the purse.

Using worsted-weight yarn and a size N crochet hook, this square will be approximately 36 x 36 inches. Fold in half from bottom to top and seam the sides.

Crochet a strap the length and width that you are comfortable with and attach to opposite sides of the bag. Alternatively, since this is going to be a wide bag, you can just sew the two top corners of the purse body together.

Hold two strands of yarn together during the entire project.

The “x” indicates which two colors are to be held together (green “x” in black square means hold green and black together, etc). Places without an “x” indicate that two strands of the same color will be held together. As an alternative to holding two strands throughout, you can alternate the colors in those rows. For example, in a green and black row, do one stitch green and one stitch black, as indicated in the chart.

This chart is the 82-stitch repeat.

1 square = 1 stitch – using two strands of worsted-weight and a size N crochet hook making (US) single crochet stitches, there are nine stitches in a 4-inch swatch.

Repeat the chart as often as is necessary for your project. If you wish to make your project bigger but with fewer squares, just change the number of stitches per square – do this equally throughout the pattern.

Size / gauge depends on yarn / hook / needles used.

Crocheters: Please adjust the pattern to reflect your turning chains.

I would love to see photos of your projects!

There is a serious lack of patterns for this tartan on the internet; so please feel free to share this pattern!

by

Three Day Weekend!

So, my new boss told me that Monday (here in the US it’s President’s Day) is not a holiday where we are forced to take off. He allows everyone to make their own decision about whether or not they want to take that day off (without pay, of course). I guess it’s the same with the 4th of July, too.

I was debating whether or not I should take the day… Well, my niece suggested that we get the kitchen painted this weekend and that clinched it! I’m taking the day off and we’re painting! Yay!

I am so grateful that I have a job that pays well. I could afford to go buy two gallons of paint – one white and one yellow. Paint is purchased and we are going to re-prime tomorrow and then paint on Monday! Very exciting!!!

Watch this space for a yellow-and-white kitchen reveal within the next few days!

by

Pneumonia… Ugh…

So, we decided that indeed, Tanker does have pneumonia. He’s been on Penicillin-G for about a week now. He’s doing much better! He’s even feisty-er than he was before and enjoys playing with The Hound.

However, now Ray has had a few little coughing and sneezing episodes… We are keeping a particularly close eye on him, since he’s already had pneumonia once and we don’t want him to get as sick as he was last time.

I can only imagine how much more of a jerk Frank will become, if Ray does get really sick again… *sigh*

In other news… Our cat, Spot, is still hanging on. He is absolutely nothing but skin and bones and fur, but he’s still kickin’. The Force is strong with that one.

My new job is going very well. I received my first full paycheck yesterday; what a relief it was to be able to pay the bills that are due in full AND put some in savings (which had been completely exhausted) AND have some money leftover! I am so thankful!

The cooties that were floating around the household finally got me. Since Thursday afternoon, I’ve been a snot factory and had a sore throat and slight fever. I’m so glad that it’s Saturday! I slept in a little and can rest up. I do, however, need to do laundry at some point.

I see that I failed to mention my first attempt at making an herbal healing salve. You have my sincere apologies for this neglect…

I found this recipe for “Healing Boo Boo Salve“. I’ve been wanting to make something with comfrey and calendula, for quite some time. About a month ago, I finally went for it! The only difference between the recipe and my version is that I used comfrey ROOT and doubled the recipe.

My infusion process was a little different, because I was using the comfrey root; it needed to cook longer. I’d say I cooked the comfrey for a total of about 6-8 hours over a period of three days. And then I let it sit for about a week before straining. Due to the lengthy cooking process, it ended up scorching, but that didn’t seem to affect the end result. I have decided that I will invest in a small Crock-Pot for the purposes of cooking herbs.

Speaking of the end result… This stuff is great! It has been used – to good effect – on sweetie’s carpal tunnel pain, on razor burn, on cuts, bumps and bruises, and on a fractured leg! I bought a journal (for medicinal purposes) and wrote down the recipe and have been documenting the uses and results. I will devote a few pages for each recipe/uses/results.

The fracture was the one that I was really looking at. I know comfrey has a reputation for knitting bones (which is why I used the root – it’s stronger) and my friend tells me that her leg is doing much better (applying the salve once per day). The pain is much reduced and that’s what I was going for! However, she has been advised to use the salve twice a day, for best results. The only way I could be more pleased would be if we had a series of X-Rays to document the healing of the fracture. Ah well.

by

What’s in a Name?

So, the baby finally got his name…

We debated over Moose and Duke. We considered funny names like Godzilla – or rather – its Japanese pronunciation. We thought about Abercrombie and Chauncey.

Finally, last night, sweetie blurted out “Tank”. I liked it immediately.

The only possible problem with this name is that it rhymes closely with Frank. I suggested that his official name be Tank, but that we call him “Tanker”.

I like it.

by

Pieces of Eight

Yesterday, we adopted a cute little Nigerian Dwarf wether. He is five-months old and cute as can be!

Goat 1

He is so dang tiny! The Hound is nearly as tall as the tiny goat. I haven’t picked him up, so I’m not sure how much he weighs; but it can’t be much.

Goat 2

The children said that he was sneezing green snot, after we got him home. I didn’t see any snot, but I did see him sneeze. This morning, his nose seems clear and dry. We’ll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t have a cold or get pneumonia. He is eating and drinking just fine, and when I checked on him after getting up this morning, he was laying under the manger (on top of the fallen hay) chewing his cud. He seems to be as active as he should be. So, I’m not too worried.

Goat 3

He doesn’t have a name… You might be able to see the tag on his collar. He is number 8. I’m kind of partial to the name Moose, myself… Any ideas?

by

Get a Job!

I have been out of work since September. I’ve put in over 100 resumes and/or applications and have had several interviews, but no luck… Until now!

Today was my first day at my new job. I am the new Marketing Director for a local resort-town property management company. Let me tell you, I am pleased as punch!

Decent money, nice title and my own (tiny) office! I couldn’t be happier!

by

Humbug!

So, I started making an afghan, on my new sweater machine. I just wanted to get to know it, nothing fancy. Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn in pink and brown. Stripes of different widths… No muss, no fuss. Pure stockinette heaven.

Because I only have one machine, I can only work with 120 needles at one time. No worries. I’d make three strips and sew them together.

I got strip number one finished last evening. It only took me a few hours to machine-knit 300+ rows. I was quite impressed! My back was hurting at the end of it all and I decided to stop for the night.

After a bit of internet surfing, I went in and made some changes to my work space (which had been commandeered from my dresser top) and cleaned things up. I got it all neat and tidy and organized. Just the way I like my work space!

Today I go in and begin on the second afghan strip and wouldn’t you know it… I had problems from the first row. Well, evidently, in the course of attempting to knit, I broke one of my keyplates. The #4 keyplate, which is the smallest plate that works well with worsted-weight yarn. Incidentally, it is also my biggest keyplate. Ugh.

I proceeded to try and do some knitting with the #3 keyplate. I knew better than to try, from my previous test swatches… Well, that didn’t work too well. Why was I surprised??? Dropped stitches all over the place. *sigh*

So, I’m left with a long, brown and pink, unevenly-striped scarf. I guess I’ll just crochet a cute edging on and wear it. Well, it won’t keep me warm on the sofa, but it’ll keep my neck warm when I go outside.

Bah…

UPDATE: Because my ISM is so old (from the 80s) they no longer make keyplates to fit. So, sweetie told me to get the “upgrade” kit! This consists of a new carriage (different design) that comes with keyplates that include half-sizes! So, now I’m going to have a wider variety of yarns I can use! Yay!

by

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a safe and joyful start to the calendar year!

We didn’t stay up until midnight, but went to bed at about 11:00. Yeah, I guess we’re getting old…

Our weather has continued (for the most part) to remain cold and snowy. We’ve been in the negative temperatures (Fahrenheit) several times, in the last week. Yep, winter has arrived.

I haven’t been doing any crafting and have spent much of the last week healing from a back injury. I went to the chiropractor (for the first time ever) a few days ago and I believe that I am on the mend!

I’ve spent a lot of my free time reading. I got started on the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Totally addictive! I’m currently on book four. These books are adventure/romance. I’m not a great fan of the romance genre, but these have enough adventure to keep me interested.

We went to my father’s house for our family Christmas celebration, this evening. It was fun. We do the gift-giving game White Elephant/White Horse. We came away with a Kobalt double-drive ratcheting screwdriver set. I love ratcheting screwdrivers and have been eyeballing that particular model on the TV commercials. Glad to have won it!

The animals are doing well. Frank is still being a jerk. Our neighbor has agreed to take the two does, as soon as she gets a suitable pen built. She has a friend that is a spinner (no, not me) and she will give her their yearly fiber ration. Once the girls have been re-homed, we will take down the sections of fence that act as a barrier between the two pens and once again have everyone together.

On our way to my dad’s, I saw a miniature donkey. I think I want one… I know that they aren’t great guardians, because of their size. And because of their size, I’m a bit concerned about having one in with the goats… It certainly warrants further thinking. We had already thought of getting a donkey, but the minis are just so dang cute!

Time to start planning the gardens. This year, I really want to put in a medicine garden. I really want to learn how to make medicines and get our medicine chest (figuratively speaking) stocked. I haven’t decided what all I want to plant, but I’m starting to look into it. I got the book Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner – it’s a good one. I have other herb books, but they’ve been in storage for so long, I don’t remember what they are. I really need to get my boxes of books out of the barn and into the house!

I hope this post finds its readers well!