Fiber Arts Friday: Duck Feet, part 3

I'm still working on the Duck Feet.  They're awfully cute, if I do say so myself.

Things were going pretty well, but I got stuck at the heel.  I set it aside and took a different project with me when I went out of town last week. 

I reviewed a few You Tube videos while I was gone and felt like I could make the heel.  So I sat down to try it again last weekend.  But, the instructions still didn't make any sense to me. I showed them to my mom when she was over.  She's more of a crocheter than a knitter.  So I called Kristi, the Fiber Fool.

Kristi is a knit wear designer and instructor based in Northern Colorado.

We met for lunch yesterday and I asked her a few questions. Then, ta da, the heel made sense.

Check that out... it looks like it's going to be a slipper soon!

Since I was feeling pretty good about the heel, I applied two I-cords to the socks to make the side toes.

Being at this point means that I have learned how to do a bunch of stitches and cast on methods.

• Judy's Magic Cast On
• Turkish Cast On
• RLI - right lifted increase
• LLI - left lifted increase
• S2KP - slip two knit pass over
• SSK - slip two knit
• applied I-cord

Thanks to Krisi, I now also know how to correct a stitch that was completed incorrectly without tinking.  :-)

I have only the center toe, heel to close and the cuff to complete.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but I'm only on page 8 of 13.  So I hope to be able to show you one finished foot next week.

In the meantime, please head over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see all of the Wonder-ful Fibery Goodness that is being shared for today's Fiber Arts Friday.

Beautiful Blogger Award

Andrea of Wisdom Begins in Wonder, bestowed the Beautiful Blogger Award upon me.  My horoscope said I would be very lucky this week. So, there you go, I AM very lucky this week.  :-)

As a recipient of a Beautiful Blogger Award I am asked to share 10 things you may not know about me, then provide a list of 10 bloggers I adore.

Little Known Facts:
1.  I used to be a Rocket Scientist... technically I was a Manufacturing Engineer for the Space Shuttle Main Engine and a Test Engineer on part of the International Space Station, but Rocket Scientist is more fun to say.

2.  Before I was a Rocket Scientist, I worked for the Coors Brewing Company.  Beer, then Rocket Engines.  That makes sense, right?

3.  I prefer to work for young, entrepreneurial companies that are pursuing new ideas.  I am currently at my fifth (Astral Technology Group) and also building my own (Alpacamundo).

4.  I love to camp, but haven't been in years.

5.  I love to learn about new (to me) things and ideas.

6.  I ran finished a Half-Marathon several years ago, but haven't run much since.  I think this is odd since my husband "plays chase" for a living.

7.  I want to write and publish a book.

8.  I was an Adaptive Ski Instructor for 8 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

9.  I married the exact, right person.  My Husband and I develop goals and priorities together, then support each other in their pursuit.  I am extremely lucky in this regard.

10.  Life is too short to eat bad chocolate or drink bad coffee.

I suppose this is a new version of the chain letter, but since it doesn't say do this or else you'll be the recipient of bad luck, I am happy to share some of my favorite blogs and bloghers with you. Yes, I know some have been nominated before, that's a testament to how awesome they are.  I hope you will take a few minutes to check them out.

Bloggers I adore:
Holly of Knit With Snot For You
Katy the Alpaca Farm Girl
Kathleen of Alpaca Homesteading - - A to Zena
Maya of Springtree Road
Jamie of Two Chicks and a Hen
Kristi the Fiber Fool
Leslie of Home-grown Love
Suzy of Hip Mountain Mama and One Small Change
Suzie of Juniper Moon Farm
Caryn of It's HELLCHICK time!
I would put the Andrea, the WonderWhyGal on this list, but I think that might be against the rules. ;-)

Thank you Andrea for this award... you are an inspiration to me.

Baby Fruit

Most of our plants have survived the late spring snow storms and recent hail.

So I thought I'd show you some baby fruit.

Apples

Strawberries

And by the way, we have hot pink peonies.

Great Customer Service

I went to two hardware stores today and received excellent service from both of them.

First I went to The Home Depot.  I was looking for Diatomaceous Earth and Rain Gauges.

The young associate in the garden department's eyes popped open when I asked for help finding the Diatomaceous Earth.  Clearly he had no idea what I was asking for, but agreed to look it up and find someone who knew what it was.

Turns out, The Home Depot in our town does not carry diatomaceous earth but one associate knew exactly what I was asking for.  She told the associate who was helping me that one of the Ace Hardware stores had it.  The agent who was helping me called the local Ace Hardware to ensure they carried it and had it in stock.

Then they helped me find the rain gauges which of course I purchased from the Home Depot since they were so generous in helping to locate the other product from their competitor.

Then I went over to the Ace Hardware found someone to help me with the Diatomaceous Earth right away.  They knew exactly what I was looking for and why I was looking for it.

Tremendous, helpful and happy service from two stores today.  It was a pleasure.

We Have Owls

My mom stayed over last night.  We were telling stories.  I was knitting.  She was crocheting.  It was late.  It was dark.  We heard screeching.

I went outside to make sure the alpacas were ok.  They didn't care about the screeching.

I told my mom that I thought it was a bird and then made a joke about it being a Screeching Owl.

The screeching continued.

Mom decided she had to find out what it was.  She took the alpacascope (a huge, bright flashlight), went outside and waited patiently.

A few minutes later, she came in and told me it was an owl.

What?! An Owl! I was just joking around.

I ran out side to see a good-sized owl perched on top of an electric pole in our yard. 

We watched it for a few minutes.  We saw it's head moving around as it screeched.

We decided to see if we could get closer.  It watched us, then flew to the next pole.

We stopped to watch it fly.  The bird was large and silent.  It displaced a second owl when it reached the new pole.  So we watched that one fly out of the alpacascope's range.

Then we noticed there was a third owl, sitting on the wire connected to the first pole.  The third owl seemed to be smaller, maybe younger than the first.

We watched it for a few minutes.  Then we got cold standing in the middle of our yard, in our jammies, in the middle of the night.  So we went inside to see if we could figure out what kind of owls they were.

My mom is pretty sure they were Common Barn Owls.  She's a retired cop, very observant and remembers details extremely well.  So, I think she's probably right.  The Common Barn Owl lives in our area.

The owls screeched much of the night.  I'm sure we both fell asleep before they did.

Fiber Arts Friday: My Grandmother's Sewing Machine

This is my Grandmother's sewing machine.  It's a beautifully stout Singer that was built in 1951.  It still runs amazingly quiet and smooth.

I always wanted to use it as a kid.  I remember sitting in front of this machine, in my Grandmother's living room, pretending to make something wonderful.... until someone would ask what I was doing.  To which I always replied, "Nothing."

My Grandmother was a very good seamstress.  I would watch her make useful things like aprons and dresses.  I loved listening to the sound of the machine and watching her fingers move about the fabric.

She used to make the most wonderful Teddy Bears and gave one to me many years ago. 

She hand-wrote birth announcements to go with them...

Born June 1'1987

"Gemini"

Bearthday:             May 22 to June 22

Influential Planet:  Mercury

Favorite Colors:    Yellow and Gold

Favorite Flower:   Lily of the Valley

Bearthstone:          Emerald or Pearl

Gemini bears are usually quite trustworthy, intelligent, entertaining and rather flexible.  They show no aversion to living amid clutter, disorganization, confusion, and routine lifestyles.  They never mind a sudden change in schedule, an impromptu party, a large convention, picnic, vacation or family reunion.  Gemini bears bring good luck and companionship to people whose careers are related to writing, radio, television, travel, or politics.

I remember she sold them at a craft store and my uncle thought she should charge more.  But for me, this bear is priceless.  He's the only thing I have that my Grandmother made.

When she passed, my mom insisted that I have her sewing machine.

I have made a few simple things with it.  But still, whenever I sit in front of this sewing machine, I imagine I am making something wonderful.

This post was inspired by Ally B who often writes about old sewing machines.  Please check out the wonderful things that she and the other artisans are doing today at Fiber Arts Friday.

What's in a Name?

While chatting with the Masters of Softness recently the question of Farm vs. Ranch came up and really what's the difference?

As I understand it, Farm and Ranch mean basically the same thing.  Although the words conjure up different images.

In my head, farms have rows of veggies such as corn and wheat.  Ranches have wide open spaces with herds of livestock such as cows and buffalo.

Farms are neat and orderly.  Ranches are more wild and free form.

Ranches are western.  Ranches have cowboys and cattle drives.  There is sleeping under the stars after driving little doggies all day, eating cowboy beans and singing songs around a camp fire.

I think of the South Dakota Cowgirl as living on a ranch and Monty of Los Poblanos as living on a farm.

But Thoroughbred's are raised on horse farms in Kentucky and farms can have pigs, cows and chickens.  You know, Old MacDonald had a farm, EIEIO.

So really, what's the difference?  Size?  Location?

Kathleen of Zena Suri Alpacas lives on 78 acres in Oklahoma and raises alpacas.  It's western, it's large, she's raising livestock... I would call it a ranch.

Susie at Juniper Moon Farm lives on 11 acres in Virginia and raises goats, sheep, chickens and bees.  It's eastern, it's smaller, she's raising livestock and calls it a farm.

Then there's us.  We're raising alpacas in Colorado on three acres.  It's western.  It's small.  We're raising livestock.  Hmmm.

When I think about harvesting or selling fiber, I think of us a farmers.  But when I think about Alpacamundo in the future, I call it a ranch.  Today though, I have a hard time calling our three acres a ranch.  So I had to resort to Merriam-Webster...

farm: \ˈfärm\ noun 14th century, Middle English/Anglo-French: (a) a tract of land devoted to agricultural purposes (b) plot of land devoted to the raising of animals and especially domestic livestock (c) a tract of water reserved for the artificial cultivation of some aquatic life form

ranch: \ˈranch\ noun 1831, Mexican Spanish: (a) a large farm for raising horses, beef cattle, or sheep (b) a farm or area devoted to a particular specialty

This feels like they mean about the same thing, with ranches being larger and specifically about animals.

The second definition listed for farm has me comfortable with identifying us as farmers.  Which means, Alpacamundo is a fiber farm.