tap, tappity

...waiting for C, who has just driven to the edge of the Earth to purchase and bring home...get this: our first tractor.

The tiller attachment is our promise to fulfill the dream we had when we first moved here. The dream we near gave up on as debts mounted and a simple life seemed unattainable in the face of our utter lack of resources.
Turning tail and heading home was apparently never an option, as our house languished on the market for almost a year and a half. All dreaming and scheming was suspended as we waited in limbo for something to happen. Of course, all that did happen was that life passed us by.
Now that the decision has been made to take the house off the market, it is like the blinders have been removed, the clouds have parted, etc., etc. Where before, all we saw were burdens and obstacles, we see limitless potential and old ideas we had when we first arrived are starting to bob to the surface, ready to be explored anew.

Suddenly, a viable market garden seems entirely within the realm of possibility for next year's growing season. We have already ordered several pounds of seed garlic for planting this fall, and a new Farmer's Market has opened up this year within bicycling distance of our house!

So...things are looking up, although we have a LOT to learn. This year's garden comes with a steep learning curve. Next year, we need to order a shitload of praying mantis because we are overrun with nasty, reproducing japanese beetles who are eating us out of most of our greenery. But, they seem to be leaving our baby broccoli alone:

Isn't it cute?

And here is the progress on the bean teepee:

Yes, the little dude is wearing ear protection. No, I don't know why. Perhaps he is anticipating loud rides on the new-used tractor.

Oh, and here's some yarn:

*smooch*

FO

Here's the aforementioned shawl:

Having my husband take pictures was excruciating. I prefer to be the one behind the camera, especially for self-portraits. Anyway, as soon as I can manage to find a moment (or three) to type up the pattern all nice and purty and create a pdf, I will have it available in my shop and on Ravelry. I used two skeins of corespun for this piece and was pleasantly surprised at how far those two skeins went. I'm planning on knitting up a whole bunch of examples in different colors.

Today, however, is all about the felting. I had an amazing market day this past Saturday, and I can tell already that it's not the yarns that will be my bread and butter this fall. I am shifting my focus for fall and winter shows to handmade felt. Of course, I will still be spinning plenty, but my scarves are becoming my signature item, especially at the farmer's market. I should have known I needed to build up my inventory of these after December's Baz Biz in SF. I'm setting my goal to getting ten scarves completed each week, which is a bit lofty, but I'll do my best. I am worried about sourcing enough humane merino, as now I have two distinct styles...the pieces that are made from locks, and the pieces made from roving. The locks felt is very freeform and funky, thicker and with raw edges, while the roving scarves are smooth, with clean lines, and can be made paper-thin. There are no local sources of fine merino fiber that I can find, and it's really important to me that the wool I use for felting also be as humanely-sourced as the wool I use for spinning. I suppose getting myself to one of the fiber festivals this fall will be the key to finding some small-farm merino. I can't believe I haven't been to the Vermont fest or Rhinebeck, and I've lived here for almost three years. This fall I plan to change that!

On an entirely different note...I think I've changed my mind. It IS necessary to have a vehicle when one lives 40-minutes drive from pretty much everything. The car has been officially dead gone broken crumbing-in-the-yard for two weeks and I'm already getting stir-crazy. I have a three-mile round-trip walk to the post office, and twice yesterday I attempted it, only to get completely drenched in a sudden downpour 1/2 mile from home. WITH the kiddo in the stroller. Definitely need to score, at the very least, a bike with a kid seat to get us through until winter. A good entrance to play in the river is a 20-minute drive, and I just don't think I can spend the hottest months of the year baking in our backyard. As much as I would love to hang out and watch the garden grow, there are times when one simply must have a thorough dunking in cool water. Anyone wanna barter for handspun? Ha.

I will admit, though, that yesterday's drenchings felt pretty amazing. Kiddo even fell asleep, soaking wet, in the stroller on the way back, probably because he was finally cooled down enough to relax. I was just as soaked, when we made it back to the house, as if I had taken a dunk in the river. :)

Off to play with hot, soapy water! Happy Wednesday...

oh, Robyn

In less than 24 hours, I will be enjoying the birthday present to myself that is Robyn Hitchcock SOLO at the Iron Horse in Northampton.
Sigh.


Why I adore this man.



Sigh.

Yeah, so in other news, I made a shawl. Pictures tomorrow. I'm too fried to stay up waiting for pics to upload to Flickr.