After the mini announcement of our homemade salves and soaps business we have also set the wheels in motion for our second home business; golf covers. After being contacted with someone through a friend, we sized and experimented to create our first golf covers for our customer. It will be part of our schooling; creating receipts, conducting business professionally, and learning how to cash checks and handle money.

The gentleman who was kind enough to be our guinea pig has also said that he thinks this could go off as a wonderful business. Apparently many people enjoy these covers and a small scale business like ours would be refreshing and affordable. We already have a few more names in mind for potential customers. I’m giddy with the prospects of where this might go. I’m not a golfer nor do I really enjoy the game but if it can add to our home business - swing on!

The Wool Drying Basket

The State Fair this year was wonderful! Both of my two projects (#1 and #2 ) received blue ribbons and one special merit. If you know anything about state fairs, at least in our state fair, a special merit really does mean special. It’s difficult to obtain one. Yet for the first time, if I remember correctly, I have a special merit ribbons next to my name “Margaret —–”. The honor went to my socks! My dear little Victorian styled socks! The top photo shows a picture of my basket with its blue ribbon nestled near my name. This year’s outcomes are probably the highest rated in my eight years of 4-H.

There it is…the orange Special Merit ribbon.

We have in our possession eight 1941 Life magazines. How they came to us, along with 80 other old books, was a little bit of a hectic ride - a few tears on my part I confess. Let’s just say, a garage full of books and I mean a GARAGE FULL of books, an offer to clean it out and keep the old books, offer allowed, dumpster, old message on a phone not received immediately, books in dumpster, thunderstorm, I cry, learn of the books still in the dumpster, quick truck ride over there, and hour and a half of digging through a dumpster retrieving the discarded magazines and books.

These magazines were in the process of WWII and refer to Hitler as easy as we refer to Hussein. Articles on the bombings of London as they happen, how to kiss a shy guy, and many others are sprinkled over the large pages. Last night I sat on my bed and for fifteen minutes was living in 1941, reading Life magazine, the originals. This is Momand I’s favourite cover…

“How to Knit” was issued only 13 days before Pearl Harbor. Notice the face she is making…

…you forget an important part of the pattern!

This is what you call “Half a Hat”. Can you tell what’s missing….6 inches of the pattern, the top is the decrease without the part for your head. I thought it looked funny but I didn’t want to ask…

About a week ago I made my moebius after I observed Mom making one. So, I picked up some yarn at our newly-organized-with-more-yarn-than-before JoAnn’s, and I started, after Mom graciously casted on with the invisible cast on, a skill I have yet to learn. The yarn is homespun and it looks like a sunset, with red fading into a deep olive green. It has an I-chord on the edges which give it a lovely finish.

It can be worn like this…

…or this.

The twist before joining the ends is genius. Elizabeth Zimmermann is such with knitting.

For Marie:

I suppose a good place to start would to apologize to my dear mother for not posting a tribute to her on my blog for Mother’s Day like so many other dutiful daughters. I mean, she has done so much for me and I can’t bring myself to leave what I’m doing and take a moment to honor her with words? However, I think that a day late still qualifies in the range of acceptability. The day of I did make a card and surprise her with a gift (infrared thermometer). So…Happy Mother’s Day…Mother!

And, a few pictures would suffice for explaining what I’ve been up to lately…and perhaps the largest post I’ve ever had:

Blocking

Gardening….

The potatoes are to the left and the other two rows are going to be beans

And our square foot gardens are coming along nicely

Spring Recital…went well…these are my recital feet (see profile)

Some of the family

And for laughs…the dog is really annoyed at having her picture taken…as you can tell

The first sock is completed, and I must say that it turned out very sweet and rewarding. It took no time at all make and I am already on the second sock, hopefully to finish it up within the next couple of days. I was surprised at how easy it was to make, with only a few points where I had to stop and think…I like that kind of knitting. It was also surprisingly quick, with less than 24 hours of work spent on it I would say.

The decrease for the heel and toe was interesting.  We picked this pattern out of a vintage sock book and Mom said that the pattern was around 1909, so the technique may have been a little different, but it worked.

Onto the next project!

My last post had a picture of the Infant’s Sock that I was going to do for 4-H and my hope chest…but now I have  pictures of my own. I started it on Thursday and then yesterday I worked on it some more. It is a  lovely pattern that reminds us of lace. The pattern called for size 0 needles, but we only had 1’s on hand, so it is a little bigger than its intended size.

Here is a closer look at the pattern…so pretty. Stay tuned for more updates!

Mom and I were figuring up my subjects for school and when we will finish up the necessary courses, when it dawned on us that I could/possibly will graduate a year early (in 2011). I will only have to spend one more year learning in a formal education, and then I can continue to learn day by day and let the winds of knowledge take me for an enjoyable ride.

We have also been dog sitting Bently, of the house of Noble Rose Press, while they were away.  Like the last time we watched him, I have grown to think him adorable even more…though I am still borderline on my feelings for little bitty dogs.

And I just received my yarn for the above project a few days ago. It will be a 4-H project and go into my hope chest when it is finished. Aren’t they adorable?

For my second week ( I skipped the last one) of A Homemade Christmas hosted by my cousin, I present to you my own designed ankle warmers.

What started out as practice on DPN’s, quickly turned into a project. None of us were surprised. It was too chunky of yarn to use as wrist warmers, and then I remembered a present I helped pick out a week few days ago for Christmas. They were leg warmers with two buttons on the side facing out, yet I wanted it to fall more onto the top of the foot (which would be over the top of the shoe) I tried to do the same and this is what I got:

Using thick chunky wool, and size 10 and a half DNP’s, I cast on 32 stitches, ribbed for about 4 and half inches, then increased in stockinette gradually until it was the size I wanted it. Then sew on two black shiny buttons onto each one. As crazy as it is, that is how I work. No pattern and room for mistakes…and in case anyone would like to hear about the mistakes…one is longer in the ribbing than the other.

I’ve worn them into town and they are quite cozy…and when I go to take them off, my poor ankles are cold, and I slip them right back on. They would be great for someone who likes handmade items, socks, and doesn’t mind quirky fashion.