Jammin'

This past week has been all about canning, and I don't see it slowing down any time soon. My mother in law Gwen has been in town visiting so she and Brian were in the kitchen this time around, but this coming week is my turn. Check back to hear about our adventures with apricot jam, peach/huckleberry jam, dilly beans, and pickles. Right now I've got to get back in the kitchen for a round of apricot jam with bourbon in it. Yum!

Nosy Neighbors

One of the greatest things about living in the country, in the middle of agriculture land, is the lack of neighbors. You can pretty much do what you want and you won't disturb anyone. You can use a chainsaw at 10pm, or garden naked at 10am. No one is going to notice.

I quickly learned that while I might not run into any humans while wandering our property, I am certainly not alone. If I am in the yard anywhere near the south west corner of the property, I am bound to attract a large audience. The cattle at Glacier Red Angus are a curious bunch, and they're just about the cutest audience an aspiring farm girl could ask for.

The dog aren't quite sure what to think of these new nosy neighbors, but they sure seem to be getting along so far.

The First Harvest

We made the final move to the farm at a really strange time of year. It was mid-July and the rhubarb that we had discovered when we toured the property in May had passed it's prime. The cherries on the trees had turned red and were immediately snatched up by a sneaky flock of birds right before we moved in. We didn't have time to net the trees, and I hadn't had a chance to learn how to use the shotgun.

The one thing that was still producing, and most people in Montana consider a weed, were the raspberries. We have discovered small patches of raspberries all over the property. Most of them are small and in poor shape because they are shaded by a shed (the shed deserves it's own entry- all in good time), but I was determined to find some worth eating. I LOVE raspberries!

I set out with my farm hands (dogs Manny, shown under the raspberries in the picture above, and Cloverdale) to see what we could salvage. Most of the plants were low to the ground and the berries were covered in dirt so I used an old frame (what the heck is it really for?) that I found on the farm to support the plants temporarily until we could come up with a permanent solution.

I quickly learned that not only was I competing with the birds, sun, and time of year for the last ripening berries, I also had to compete with my dogs! I have never seen a dog forage for berries before, but there they were, plucking the berries right off the bush! I worked as quickly as I could, shooing them away as I went, for a bowl of berries that I coveted as our first harvest on the farm.

Layout of the Land

We knew the farm was the perfect place for us once we realized how unique it is. We looked at several properties with similar amounts of land, even more land, but none of them had the same feel as this one. None of them felt as 'big".

Our farm is long and skinny. It is nestled right in the middle of agriculture land. Our neighbors are cattle and alfalfa fields. There are two canals running through the property; one at the north and one at the south. It is on a slope, facing south and from the top of the property you can see some of the Mission Mountains. We have discovered lots of edibles (more on that later) and there are cottonwood and maple trees everywhere, shading the house, and blocking the view of the only houses that are visible from the property. It truly is amazing.

The only downside to living near cattle is that we have 2 dogs that need to be contained. Letting them roam free would end in disaster. Our first major project would have to be installing secure fencing. 1000 feet of it. I'm really glad that Brian knows something about fencing, because I certainly didn't know where to start. He's designed the braces, calculated the distance between posts, and figured out everything we would need. I'm just acting as the "muscle", although it's more likely that I am the "entertainment". We keep pausing the fence building to work on other projects, but it's slowly getting done.

Here is a birds eye view of the property, the stages of fencing (phase 2 will be when we get farm animals, more on that later), and where we hope to have the garden, chickens and bees.

The Beginning of a New Adventure

If you would have asked me 5 years ago where I thought I would be now, Polson, MT would have been the furthest thing from my mind. 5 years ago I was graduating college, I had just married my husband Brian, and we were living in Chico, CA to be close to my family. I had always imagined that I would end up in a large city, like San Francisco, and done who knows what for a living. I've never really had a sense of direction in the career department.

Instead of settling down in the big city we somehow ended up in the relatively small college town Corvallis, OR, population 54,520. I think this is really where we started shaping our values. I had developed a love of fiber arts (knitting and spinning) and we both have always loved learning how to do things for ourselves. We learned more about self sufficiency, the "home arts" of canning and cooking from scratch, and developed a desire to learn more and do more. Corvallis was definitely the place for that. I really thought we would be there forever.

When a job opportunity became available for my husband in November 2011 in Polson, MT it was exciting and scary. It was a great career move for him (from Physical Therapist to Physical Therapy Department Supervisor) and we would be closer to my father whom I've never really lived near, and closer to my birth place that I knew very little about. There was just one problem: Polson has a population of about 5,231 people in the winter, and closer to 15,000 in the summer. We were going in the wrong direction! I didn't want smaller, I wanted bigger!

Polson is a beautiful place. It's at the base of Flathead Lake, has incredible views of the Mission Mountains, and is less than 2 hours drive from Glacier National Park. As nervous as I was, it really didn't take that much convincing. I'm pretty much willing to live anywhere because I know if we hate it, we can leave.

Well, that all changed in June, 2012. We bought our first house. And not just any house. We bought a small farm on 5 acres. That's where this blog comes in. As much as I wanted to live in a big city, the thought of having my own small farm is so exciting I can hardly stand it! I planned on writing about it immediately but this past month has been so busy, exciting, eventful, and all around crazy that I am just now getting around to getting some thoughts down, as I stand in my living room, about to paint it.

I think a lot of my entries in the first months are going to be memories of this past month. I suffer from instant gratification syndrome and it kills me that we weren't able to work fast enough to get a garden going and get bees and chickens. But we've done so much more, things that I am very proud of, and I hope you enjoy reading about our journey as much as I enjoy telling about it.

For now I will leave you with a teaser photo of our back porch on the day we moved in:

New Pattern: Emblazon

Let me introduce my new pattern: Emblazon!

Most women have collections of jewelry and accessories to dress themselves up, but how many of us have something fun to spruce up out boots? Sometimes a little sprucing is just what their need and it’s such a shame that they get overlooked.

I didn’t have the time or patience to knit tall socks with a fancy cuff so I designed these boot toppers. They fit snuggly on the top of your boots with a button closer, adding just enough flare to complete any outfit.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
With toppers laying flat:
Height 7 [7,7] inches
Width at ribbing: 4.5 [5.5, 6.5] inches

To Fit Calf Size:
Circumference of the calf at the height of the boots: 12 [14,16] inches

MATERIALS
Needles:
1 set(s) US #6/4mm double-point needles
Notions:
stitch marker
tapestry needle
4 0.75-1 inch wooden buttons from OruAka
Yarn:
Fleece Artist Lanica [merino wool; 191yd/175m per 100g skein]; color: Blueberry; 1 skein

GAUGE
22 sts/30 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES
S1 wyib= slip the next st from the LH needle to the RH needle purl wise holding the working yarn in front of your knitting.

You will be knitting a section of ribbing in the round and then knitting a lace cuff onto the ribbing back and forth at a right angle. You may find it easier to transfer your ribbing onto a circular needle once you start the lace portion.

New Pattern- Take Root

Springtime has arrived, but winter is not yet gone and cozy layers are still a must have. These fingerless gloves are knit with bulky yarn for a quick knit, perfect for a last minute or instant gratification project.

The lace reminded me of rows and rows of roots in the garden- a place where I’d love to get out and play right now- although probably not in fingerless gloves made of merino and silk!

The pattern is long, so I won't put it all here, but you can download a pdf of the free pattern here: download now. Or you can email me at Bohoknitterchic@yahoo.com and I will email you the pdf.




FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Laying flat after blocking: 14”x4”

MATERIALS
Needles:
1 set of US 10 6mm double pointed needles
1 set of US 9 5.5mm double pointed needles
Notions:
Tapestry Needle
Stitch marker
Stitch holder or piece of scrap yarn.
Yarn:
Fleece Artist Shiba [70% merino, 30% Silk]
153yd/140m per 100g skein]; 1 skein

GAUGE
16 sts= 4” in stockinette stitch on US 10 needles


Sizing: I wrote this in one size that would fit a medium/large adult. If you want a smaller size, go down a needles size for a slightly tighter gauge. This yarn can definitely be knit in a broad range of gauges.

Tip: If you notice that your gloves slouch or stretch with wear, sew clear elastic thread (found in the jewelry section in a craft store) all the way around the inside of the cuffs, making sure that the elastic tightens the cuff to fit snuggly on your forearms.

New Pattern- Makalu

Handmaiden Fine Yarn Himalaya may be one of the softest bulky weight yarns ever. It insulates so well and the angora makes it a luxury to have against your skin.

I decided to name my hat pattern Makalu, after the 5th highest peak in the world that resides in the Himalaya Range. It seemed only fitting.

If you prefer to have a printer friendly PDF copy of the pattern you can download it at Ravelry.com here: download now




FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
9” x 8” after blocking, laying flat
Fits a head size 22-24”

MATERIALS
Needles:
US 11/8mm 16” circular needle
Notions:
Tapestry Needle
Stitch marker
Yarn:
Handmaiden Fine Yarn Himalaya [78% merino, 22%angora,
10% nylon; 71yd/65m per 50g skein]; 1 skein

GAUGE
13 sts= 4” in stockinette stitch

PATTERN NOTES

SL1 wyib - Slip 1 with yarn in back. Holding the yarn in back, move stitch from left hand needle to right hand needle. Bring yarn to front and continue working in pattern.

Modifying pattern: This pattern is easy to modify to achieve different sizes. The pattern is in multiples of 5, so increase or decrease the CO stitch count by 5 to adjust the hat size up or down by 2”. Adjust knitting length also according to your preferences.

PATTERN

CO 45 sts in longtail cast on. PM and join into the round being careful not to twist sts.

Round 1: (P4, K1) around
Round 2: (P4, SL 1 wyib) around

Repeat these two rounds until piece measures 6-7”, ending with a Round 1. 6” will make a hat that sits above the ears and 7” will make a hat that covers the ears.

Decreasing Rounds:
Round 1: (P2, P2TOG, K1) around- 36 sts remain.
Round 2: (P3, SL 1 wyib) around
Round 3: (P1, P2TOG, K1) around- 27 sts remain.
Round 4: (P2, SL 1 wyib) around
Round 5: (P2TOG, K1) around- 18 sts remain.
Round 6: (P1, SL 1 wyib) around
Round 7: K2TOG around, K last st- 9 sts remain.

Break yarn, and using tapestry needle weave end through live stitches. Pull yarn tight and secure end.

FINISHING
Weave in ends and block as desired. This hat will get slightly larger when wet blocked.


ABBREVIATIONS USED:
CO- cast on
P2TOG- purl 2 together
STS- stitches
K2TOG- knit 2 together
SL 1- slip 1
Wyib- with yarn in back
BO- Bind Off
PM- place marker