Eggs!

Can you believe these yolks?!
The "yellow" one is darker than the store-bought egg yolks, but it looks so mild compared to the orange one!
The chickens have gone from being good pets to troubled teens...instead of always laying in the boxes and going into their house at the end of the day, they are laying eggs off the roost and scattering around the yard at dusk.
I used to call them "Here ladies..." and then give them a snack off the side of the porch, and now they're coming up on the porch and pooping all over. When we're in the kitchen they're on the front step and I can hear them knocking (pecking) on the door. It drives me crazy!
But I still love to crack open a warm egg to mix into lemon poppy seed scones or a quiche. I shouldn't complain too much!

Dad's Wrist Warmers

Here is a pattern for the wrist warmers I just knit for my Dad.
I used the Shearer's wool, which is a worsted weight.

Needles: US #7 and #8 (or size needed to obtain gauge)
Gauge (on smaller needles): 5sts=1"

With smaller needles, CO 40 sts.
Rnds 1-13: Work in K2 P2 ribbing.
Rnd 14: Working in K2 P2 ribbing, decrease 4 sts evenly in the P sts.
Rnds 15-19: Work in K2 P2 ribbing, EXCEPT where you worked P2tog, and there only work 1 P st.
Rnd 20: Working in ribbing, decrease 4 sts evenly in P sts.
Change to larger needles.
Rnd 21-25: K all sts.
Rnd 26: K all sts, increasing 4 sts evenly.
Rnds 27-35: K all sts.
Thumb opening:
Rnd 36: K 4, BO 5, K to end of rnd.
Rnd 37: K 4 sts off needle #1. Turn work and P across all rem sts, starting and ending with the sts on needle #1.
Rnd 38: Turn work. K across all sts.
Rnds 39-40: Repeat rnds 37 and 38 once more.
Resume work in rnd.
Rnd 41: K 4, CO 5, K to end of rnd.
Rnds 42-47: K all sts.
Rnds 48-54: Change to smaller needles. Work K2 P2 ribbing.
BO all sts.
Weave in loose ends.

Repeat above for second wrist warmer.
Give to dad/husband/brother/boyfriend/son/friend.
Enjoy looks of admiration and appreication.

FREE KNITTING PATTERN - Toddler's Wrist Warmers

Here is the pattern for my toddler wrist warmers. It's free to use - enjoy!

Size: Toddler 2-3T

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay 100% wool

Needles: US No. 7 dpn

Gauge: 5 sts=1"

Make two wristlets as follows:

CO 24 sts.
Working straight back and forth in garter stitch, work 3 ridges (6 rows).
Knit one more row.
Next row: join knitting in the round and, changning to three dpn (8 sts on each), work 14 more knit rows.
Next rnd: Work K1, P1 ribbing across all sts. Repeat for 5 more rows.
Next rnd: K all sts. Repeat for 9 more rows.
Next rnd (Thumb hole): K2, BO 5, K17
Next rnd: K2, Co 5 using the backward loop method, K17
Next rnd: K across all 24 sts.
Next rnd: P all sts
Next rnd: K all sts
Continue the above two rnds for 2 ridges. K 1 rnd. BO on the P rnd.
Use the tail from the CO edge to stitch together the small seam made by the first set of garter stitch rows.
Weave in ends.
Give to your favorite toddler and admire!

Enjoy!

Grice Farm

Ready for Winter!?

Here are the longies I made for Isabelle from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Kintter's Almanac. I used O-Wool's cotton/wool and they will be warm and soft! They are from February: Some Babies Things, and they are adorable! I'm actually looking forward to colder weather so I can dress her in them!
I also knit this Tomten jacket for Wyatt from EZ's Opinionated Knitter. I used Manos del Uruguay - the colors dictated by some yarn I had leftover from my Treeline Striped caridgan from the purl bee website. (If you haven't tried this pattern, you should! What a great sweater - and a free pattern!)

Needless to say, I am really looking forward to layering my sweet children in warm fuzzy layers of handknits...

Michael's On the Hill Logo is finished!

I've finished the wood block print for Michael's on the Hill. It will be their new logo. The family went up to drop of the prints and were warmly welcomed by Michael, Laura, and the boys. We ate, visited, and had a tour of their beautiful restaurant. Cris and I will definetly have to go back for a meal without the kids! (I also want to take Cris to the paint your own pottery place in Stowe).
You can see the print below. It is definetly my biggest project as far as hours logged. I would carve one small section and then take a test print. It's one thing to print a bird or leaf, or even a cabin, but to model a print after someone's restaurant is very personal - and I felt the pressure!
But it's done and I like it. Most importantly, however, Michael and Laura like it. Thank you to both of them!

Michael's

CCR

"Peapods" "Tea Time" "Thanks" and "Trout"
All giftcards I've recently printed.

"Primitive" (snowshoes, hatchet, powder horn, log)

Too bad this copied sideways. I rotated it on my computer but...

This is the image for Blair Hill Construction's logo. It was cropped so the border doesn't show.

HAND PRINTED CARDS!

This is a new series of my hand printed cards called "Vermont Adventure." It includes 5 of my original prints titled: "Snowshoe" "Tom Turkey" "Classic Cabin" "Trout" and "Flintlock." I also have three other packaged "VERMONT" series and many single cards. They are sold at http://www.apieceofvt.com/ as well as Vermonts Own Products and Gingerbread House Country Store in Middlebury, Vermont. You can also purchase them directly from me if you have a PayPal account. I'm hoping to get all of my images posted soon!

PEAS! Glorious peas! These are the sweet little toes of my marshmallow fluff daughter. We've been picking peas every day for the last week and a half. They're my favorite garden treat, but at this rate I'll be sick of them before they're gone by!

Here is my son's hat. Handspun and knit from roving I bought from Jessie at A Piece of Vermont. It's Leister Blue Top and the colorway is Peacetrain. It has a surprising shine to it that I didn't see in the roving, but spun up it is amazing!

ESTONIAN SHEEP (or dog???) HAND PUPPET

This is my cute little hand puppet knit with a traditional Estonian pattern on the body. He is so lovely and kind. He is for sale on etsy.com, and while I will be sad to see him go, I know that he is destined to make someone very happy!

Finally!

Well, here I am. Finally blogging! It's sad, I know, considering everyone else in the world is just as busy as I am. Oh well. It's nice to finally put something out there. I am forever finding humor and inspiration in other blogs and hopefully mine will offer some of that to someone else...
Happy Father's Day tomorrow. My husband has requested that I not make him the traditional Dad's Day Pie - then there are less dishes to be washed and that, he says, is gift enough. :)
Here are the Pie IOU's I made for my father, grandfather, and father-in-law. I made them on the sewing machine and then hand-stitched the ribbons with a pin back on them. Then I pinned them onto the pies and they're done! Just one of those projects that evolves through the process - originally I was just going to make a paper IOU shaped like a pie.
It's nice to give the IOU since there are so many sweets floating around on the holiday itself. Then, when dad needs a sweet, he can ask for one!