Forest Canopy Shawl

Forest Canopy Shawl

Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

 

I finally did it! I finished my first lace shawl! This was my third attempt to find a pattern that I could do successfully and finish without utter confusion and frustration in trying to figure out the pattern. I added two additional repeats but still would have liked it bigger. I had the yarn to do it bigger but alas, live and learn.

 

My first big lace project

lace first 20 rows

Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

OK, this time I’m really going to do it…..lace that is. I’ve finally decided I SHOULD be able to do an “Easy” pattern from the book A Gathering of Lace. I picked the Beginner’s Triangle to do for my first lace project. I started on US #6 needles and made a few mistakes that I tried to fix but wasn’t happy with. I got to about row 15 and decided to rip and redo. This time I used a US #4 needle and I’m much happier with the results. I want a very warm shawl that will hold up to lots of use and abuse. I plan on leaving it on my chair in the living room during the cooler months. It will probably get sat on by a dog or a cat at some time or other.

I wanted to really be successful with the pattern this time. I started doing the Mystic Light Shawl KAL on Ravelry but before I finished Clue #1, I realized that pattern was to advanced for a beginning project. I don’t want lace to frustrate me to the point that I give up on it. I KNOW I can do this!!

Heck the first 20 rows took me all day to do (right). I’m seeing a much better version this time. The holes are all in the right places….LOL

 

Jack Sparrow socks

Jack Sparrow socks

Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

I just finished up these socks for my DS, Joe. He’s been anxiously awaiting for me to finish them so he could wear them. I didn’t have the heart to have him take them off so I could get the photo. So I had him model them for us. He has VERY large feet 11.5 US men’s, so I was glad that the foot was all stockinette stitch.

The pattern is called “Jack Sparrow’s Favorite Socks” on Ravelry. I did them top down instead of the pattern’s toe up. I also modified the toes to shape my son’s pointier toes.

 

New group on Ravelry - Plants to Dye For

Ok, so I moved my blog over to WordPress and now Ravelry doesn’t have anything to show for the move.  Well I do, I started a new group on Ravelry the other day called “Plants to Dye For”, it’s all about dyeing with natural plants.  I’ll be writing a three part article on Natural Dyeing for the weekly newsletter on Ravelry (TWIR).  The first article is scheduled for April 28th and it will focus on natural dye gardens.  The second article will be about wildflowers weeds,  mushrooms and lichen.  The third will be on an overview of natural dyeing.

 

I’ve moved…blogs that is

I decided to move my blog over to WordPress instead of using blogger.com so please excuse me while I finish getting everything set up. I wanted a cleaner more professional looking blog where everyone could find what they needed easily by category. I know I could have revamped my old blog to do this but I’m always looking at new ways to do things, new looks, new adventures….call me daring.

The latest project on my needles are a pair of socks, Cascading Leaves by Jeannie Townsend.

I’m knitting them for the Ravelry Socknitters Anonymous group for the April Sockdown. The theme this month is Jeannie’s patterns or a Mystery sock (pattern without a picture of the finished sock). The object is to cast on no earlier than April 1st and cast off no later than May 31st. Each month brings a new challenge, it keeps me knitting more socks. I have other projects on the needles that I need to work on but somehow the socks keep jumping into my hands and getting knitted.

 

Dolly’s Triplets

Triplets closeup
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Dolly was the last of the Finns to have her lambs. She was so big and uncomfortable the last few days. Now we know why, she had triplets, 2 ewes and a ram. From L to R they are Loretta Lynn, Alex, and Patsy. They were born on 4/14/08 in the evening just after dinner. I had stayed in the barn before dinner and realized how uncomfortable Dolly was and thought she was going to start going into labor at any time. I sat with her and rubbed her belly and tried to make her feel more comfortable. Dinner was ready, so I came inside and ate and went back out to the barn as soon as I could. Within minutes of returning, she started into labor. Loretta Lynn was first out, no problem. Then came Alex, and I moved Alex in front of Dolly to start cleaning him up. I could see Patsy’s hooves starting to appear when I heard a newborn lamb crying. I turned around to find Loretta Lynn was already across the pen by the feeder. I picked her up and moved her back closer to momma. Then Patsy decided to appear hind legs and butt first. All of the lambs are doing fine, so far, with Dolly nursing all of them. I’m keeping an eye on them to make sure all of them are getting enough milk from mom. I hope that Dolly will be able to raise all three on her own. If not, I may be bottle feeding at least one.

 

Rosie and her kittens

Rosie and kittens
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

My cat had kittens, AGAIN! She had 4 kittens this time, 3 boys and 1 girl. The two orange ones are boys, the lighter tiger is also a boy and the dark tiger is a little girl. They don’t have names yet…so many babies born around the farm this past week. They were born 4/14/08 in the corner of the stack of hay in the barn. We moved the hay bales and provided her with a box and an old saddle pad for comfort. We put the box in the same corner where we’d found the babies, obviously Rosie liked that spot for her babies.

 

Tara and Aaron

Tara and Aaron
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Daisy, our white Finn ewe finally had her lambs. A set of twins, one ewe and one Ram. They were born on my daughter’s birthday, 4/12/08, so I named the ewe after her and the ram after her boyfriend. Tara is on the left and Aaron is on the right.

 

elvis

elvis
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Here’s a picture of Elvis, the ram twin. He’s Clara Bella’s brother. He looks kind of shy, but he’s not! They were both up and nursing within minutes of birth. When they were just a couple hours old they were already sproing around like little lambs do.

 

clarabella

clarabella
Originally uploaded by bellavitafarm

Bella Vita Farm & Fiber welcomed twins yesterday, 4/9/08. The twins are Finn lambs and this is a picture of Clara Bella. She looks like a little panda bear doesn’t she? Clara Bella will be staying here at Bella Vita Farm.