Canning to Dyeing

After finishing up some more tomato canning last night I just couldn't waste a

 nice tub of hot water.

So I took out a new color I had recently ordered from Dharma Trading - Sage Leaf - and a skein of dk weight natural wool from Peace Fleece, added a few glugs of vinegar and....

I think I have a new favorite color.

Knitting and Reading

Still working on the simple Colin Vest for a custom order - the sizing looks as though it is coming out right this time.

I have started knitting a bonnet (like the one Emmy is wearing in the last post) for a little baby girl that is due to be born soon.  Our church is helping to support a single young lady that has decided to not end a life but to give life.    The yarn is some beautiful hand dyed soft wool from The Sitting Tree.  The pattern is from Vintage Knits for Modern Babies - my favorite knitting book for little ones.

I have been really enjoying the new issue of Taproot - it is truly a beautiful magazine and the stories are ones that I can relate to and enjoy.

Finally, my initial impression of If you Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name, has held true even through the end - a really delightful read about small town living.  

Looking forward to sharing with Ginny and everyone else today for the Yarn Along.

Simply Being - a One Year Old's Perspective

Enjoying each moment on our walk down the driveway even though we only made it half way down - there is just so much to see and touch!

and just playing in the garden.

Home Again

a few more snapshots from a nice weekend away

But it is really nice to come home and appreciate all over again our simple little home.

Welcoming Autumn on a Little Trip

We are blessed to be on a little get-away this weekend. 

After a super busy summer business-wise, our family decided to 

go off for a little re-energizing and time together.

We ventured just a couple hours south, to a cottage at a state park and have had beautiful fall weather.

This is the Calvin Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont.

This man was doing sheep shearing and

demonstrated how to thresh buckwheat.  

and then this separates the grain out.  

He also explained how the large combines of today do all of this with one machine, but that the grains do not have a chance to dry out and because of this lose some of their nutrients.

Next we headed to our favorite town, Woodstock.

There was a Revolutionary War encampment going on in town as well. 

And Now She is One

Gifts wrapped in silks and paper.

Apple Crisp with one rainbow candle.

Emily Susan turned one on Thursday. 

She has brought even more love to our home and we only wish she would slow down a little. 

It is amazing how much changes in the first year of life.  I have made an effort to take in and really enjoy as many of the moments that have made up this first year as I possibly could - to just stop and watch, observe, and try somehow to imprint her new accomplishments and her sweet ways into my memory.   

I am glad to have this space to share and record - to look back at and remember.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Knitting and Reading

Joining in with Ginny and everyone else for this week's knit along.

I finished the little simple knit doll for Emmy's birthday.  It was a very easy pattern from Living Crafts magazine, the winter 2012 issue.

Also off the needles came the colin vest I was making for a custom order.  I had cast on 54 stitches on size 10 needles.  I will instead cast on size 8 needles and hope for a better fit.  It was supposed to be a size 4 but turned out to be a size 8!  However, it has a new owner - Sarah really likes it and it fits her pretty well. 

I am reading a book that Renee recommended, If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name by Heather Lende.   It is so nice to finally have a book to look forward to reading at bed each evening - I think I am probably too picky but if I don't find a book interesting, I stop reading it.  I figure there are so many good ones to read, why spend time reading something I am not enjoying.

Another book I am really enjoying is my nightly read aloud to Sarah, King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry.  Sarah is our horse lover and this book flows nicely and we have been looking forward to reading a chapter each night.

I am looking forward to reading about your knitting projects and good book finds.