The Wood Lot Carnage

Now there's a title that will grab you! And not far from the truth either. We have a very dense replanted area close in by the structures. Every spring it is mentioned that it needs to be thinned and every year, I take off for MA and it doesn't get done. Well, not this year! Saturday morning we both went out and started in on it. Me dragging branches and brush (grunt work) and Gene cutting the trees and dragging them out ( better grunt work).



 All told about 12 trees were taken, a path opened up to a very large dead fir and a couple of tight snags that have to cleaned out.



 More still needs to go for this tree stand to thrive but it is a start. You can start to see sunlight coming between the trees, lighting the understory.



 Yesterday I went out and cut 4 more trees and spent a good amount of time limbing up the ones that were staying. Most of these trees are small, all were replanted at the same time, probably about 30 years ago when the property was last logged. We are leaving Douglas Fir and Cedar trees and of course, a good portion of White fir and the occasional Ponderosa Pine tucked in there. More work will be done today. I can say the small chainsaw I received as a 2012 Christmas present has been the perfect tool for the job. Light, small and powerful, perfect for working in tight areas. It's going to be one heck of a burn pile for next week, hoping for some wet weather to damp things down a bit.

In the weaving studio, I tried out a combination of dark brown and red with that pink warp. I rather like it.



This will be a runner, and then we will try out all the color suggestions on towels. I added a floating selvage and stopped using the fly shuttle. It is gross overkill on a 18" wide warp and almost impossible to use with those floating threads.



 So, how am I liking my big AVL Production loom? I love it. Once set up she is fast and easy. The dobby portion has been steady and true. The shed is not what you get on the Louet's or even the Murphy Counterbalance loom, but it is a good shed and with adjustment, might even get better. Looks like Big Sal is in it for the long haul.

Meanwhile, up in the sewing room, things have languished a bit. I did get a marathon cutting session done
and have lots of fun things up and coming, but it was just too seductive to be outside than up sewing. Spring in April, what a concept! Most years we still have wet snow and slush and mud. This year is totally different. Gardens are growing, flowers are blooming, hummingbirds are back and the flippin deer have arrived too. DAMN IT!

I was hoping my plants would get a good start before the pasture rats arrived for their warm weather buffet. I even added some new plants to the garden. I have no qualms about yanking those things that died or are suffering from failure to thrive (nipped last year beyond recovery). Gardens are a living work in progress as far as I am concerned. Here are some of our picks from Friday's plant nursery excursion.


Perennial Geranium (one of two), very fragrant.


Nodding Chocolate Flower- as it says flowers that smell like chocolate. We'll see.


New variety of Santolina/ Lavender Cotton


Hellebore of unknown color. It was cheap...:)


Quince, the one survivor of a tough winter at the nursery. It was REALLY cheap, but should come back and do well up here. It is a thorned variety. Take THAT Bambi!


Sweetbox shrub, flowers in the winter and smells like honey. Should get berries for fall.

Artemisia, Lamb's Ear, more Creeping Thyme of some variety and an ornamental switch grass (Panicum) round out the selection. All of them are "deer resistant" and I can say, the Hellebore at least has remained untouched from last years planting.

Gene and I did jump into action when we spied the first deer. The water scarecrow is out and ready and so are the shocker stakes. I am hoping the double whammy right from the get go will discourage them from even putting my garden on their map. One does always have hope.

Parting shot: Springtime in Jail. So sad.....

A Scarlett O'Hara Moment

Well, in spirit at least. She was able to envision a gown out of drapes (although Mammy did all the sewing). Myself, a summer top from a tablecloth.



 Can you see me sitting at the table, eying the most recent spaghetti dinner splatters and wondering if they can be a design element? No? Good, because I bought this tablecloth in clean, barely used condition and never planned for DH to come anywhere near it with a plate of pasta.



The collar fabric is left over from the little jacket.



 The pattern, an Amy Butler one. And thrifty fabric wise. Take that Scarlett!

Over the week, I cut out the last of the trip garments. Spring in New England is a tough season to straddle. It can be cold and rainy, hot and humid and everything in between and often on the same day. Weather schizophrenia. Packing for a month stay, I want some rotation in the wardrobe at least top wise and I sure needed another pair of cargo jeans and a basic white shirt. Both of those items are in the bins waiting for their turn at the machine, plus a few others. This one was a test for a summer top pattern. Unhemmed as yet in this picture.



 Easy and wonderfully versatile. No sleeves, short sleeves, long sleeves like I cut, great on it's own and perfect for making a few closer fitting cami/tank type things for underneath. The maiden piece is done in a drapey rayon. I'm calling it my Grecian Goddess. It's long, loose and has all the earmarks of a perfect warm weather top. Some protection but very cool and easy to wear. I'm not a fan of sewing rayon and this was no different. The fabric reminds me of trying to sew limp egg noodles. The saving grace of course, is the way it feels on. Soft and light but not sheer. Quite a feminine fabric really. The pattern calls for a thin tie belt. Not my best look, but using a leftover piece of bias binding from the neck, I was able to give it a hint of a belt with a couple of tucks, set more at empire height than natural waist then two snaps for a little detail.



 The next time I make this, I heading down one size. For those who like the pattern, the V neck is nice, and not too low like some of them end up being.

It's probably a good thing I have patterns cut and ready to go. Gene kindly passed on his head cold to me. Holding up crossed fingers, silver bullets and garlic have no effect on cold germs. Dang!

On the Bea front we have seen improvements by leaps and bounds. She is eating her usual kibble now, not softened with hot water, crunching slowly on her evening biscuit and perkier than she was pre-surgery. We are keeping her on a low dose of anti-inflammatory for her arthritis but I am hoping to drop her off of that once we get into the warmer weather of summer. She'll be a little more active and won't have to contend with the cold and damp winter and spring offer. Some winter days we are both two creaky old ladies together.

The fox pair have been seen regularly, either early evening or during my dark morning feeding time. In fact some mornings are like Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom ( I loved that show as a kid.), I see so many "extra" sets of eyeballs flashing from the woods and down the driveway. One morning alone garnered the foxes and a pair of fighting feral cats, another skunks on the move and what I am assuming was an owl, whose eyes glowed at me from a perch in a tree on the woods edge. I'm alert on my stroll out there though. And noisy. And if my barn kitty escort is jumpy, so am I.

 

Parting shot: Beanie babies

Pick a Decade

 For me, a child born in the late 50's it's the 1960's, early or late. Motown, big cars with lots of chrome and metal, Alfred Hitchcock Hour and The Twist. It started out with Breakfast at Tiffany's and Please Mr. Postman and ended with 2001: A Space Odyssey and Woodstock. So it's no surprise that my fabric and pattern choices remind me of another time. In fashion, I don't think anything is really new, just "updated".  Earlier in the week, I was honored to be able to be able to do some massage work on a friends senior horse. He was a love and a joy to work with and I'm looking forward to another session with him. Afterwards though, we both did a little shopping. The JoAnn's in her area is moving to bigger, newer digs and everything in the old location is on sale. EVERYTHING. All patterns were $1.99. Didn't matter the brand.



Other than one pattern, (that pesky Burda 7700), I found all my selections. Looking at some of them I sure can see retro styling. What's old is new again!

On the actual sewing front, the second version of the Amy Butler Anna tunic is done but for the snaps at the back neck.



 I added pockets to this one. Loved working with this heavy weight cotton oxford type cloth. Wish I could find more of it in some other colors as  it should wear very well. Good thing too, the piece is pretty versatile.  I spent yesterday hemming the living room curtains ( only took 4 years), and at the cutting table.

This week really didn't include a lot of inside time. Cooper got out for a good long ride one day and another we worked on trailer loading. He walked right in, he stayed in, he relaxed and he had to be coaxed out. He may be stubborn about some things, but when he decides he's over something, he is. Today, tomorrow and into the future. I love that about him. You know just where stuff stands with him. Gene made a little progress on the footings. There are eight of them. It has not been lost on either of us that that is the exact number of dogs we have. Hmm. I have heard him muttering about little cement shoes....

The mailman delivered a pretty cool little 60's lunch set I bought on Etsy.



 I've looked for something like this for at least a year. Non breakable with soup/chili bowls (instead of cups) for Sunday football snacking. And how avocado green! Speaking of football, finally, the official start of the season is Sunday. Go Pats!!

Parting shot: Temptation.

On Top of Old Smokey

No snow, but wickedly smokey here. While temperatures have dropped considerably, the smoke from multiple fires in Northern California have made it impossible to ride.  The sky is hazy, and it still retains a heavy wood scent day and night.  If we did have a fire up here, who would know?

Late August always seems to be the busiest time for spectacular (and not in a good way), emergency calls. The Greensprings Fire & Rescue had three this weekend, one requiring a Mercy Flight off the mountain. The other two left in ambulances. One year we had a string of awful motorcycle accidents, another some pretty bad hiking falls and another, multiple small set fires kept popping up.  The only thing they have in common is the time of year. Beware the Ides of August!!!

I pretty much stuck to my sewing room this weekend. Got myself sidetracked with more shelf shifting but did manage to finish a couple of things. The second Victory Patterns Anouk came out well.



This is probably the only Eichler I'll ever own!



 I love this print and the organic cotton is crisp and full of body. It reminds me of  old fashioned cotton Percale sheets. I have some ideas to change this pattern up completely but am putting it away for now. The second top I snuck in.



 I ordered this pattern (Anna by Amy Butler), and it came in Thursday at Fabric of Vision. I was so smitten with the looks of it, I grabbed some sale cotton and did it soup to nuts in about three hours. It's a wonderful summer top pattern and ladies, you'll like the little bit of coverage that yoke/sleeve offers! Rhonda doesn't do this top justice.



 The back buttons give an interesting detail to an otherwise plain top.



 Now that yoke was a bit of bugger to fiddle with, but it all comes together in the end.
This is the first run through and it's always a little rocky on those. Amy Butler tends to draft her patterns for 20 somethings, so like me, if you try it, you might want to add a bit to the hip area. I graded about an extra inch in from waist to hip. I did not line the body either preferring to do a narrow bias binding for the lower armhole portion. You have to do this before you attach the collar/yoke.  I can see this done up for winter. Grade a little more room in it and do it up in corduroy or a stable ponte knit, add pockets and it would make a cute jumper over a turtle neck with some leggings.

Got to some reading over the weekend also.  I'm almost done with "Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion" by Elizabeth Cline. It will be an eye opener for you. Scan the reviews and I highly recommend it.

Parting shot: Domestic Terrierist!

Matango

The weekend was devoted to doing a series of unrelated tasks that, while not glamorous, just needed doing. The sort of stuff that starts with looking for something, then before you know it, you're reorganizing a drawer or a closet. Piddly stuff that eats up more time than you would think.

Then of course, horses behaving badly was another time sink. Actually, only Dandy behaving badly. Every horse has their thing that just brings out the worst in them. Nick's is small white plastic bags, Cooper hates to be hard tied, Dandy...the dreaded water hose. Mr. D needed a bath, so we danced and pranced for over an hour in the hot sun on Friday. All politeness goes out the window when the water hits mid back. Needless to say, both of us were dripping at the end and both just as aggravated with the other over it. I did manage to avoid the "let's roll in the dust and make myself muddy" period by letting him go graze around the property. After a couple of hours grazing, he was full, dry and back to his usual sweet self, as was I. All was forgiven and even the foot he stepped on felt better. Neither of us holds grudges. Baths are business. 

In the sewing room, I finished up the second bath rode/housecoat I had cut ages ago.  I went from giant fruit to giant fungi! BTW, Matango is an old Japanese grade B horror flick, in English known as "The Attack of the Mushroom People".

Can't say why this languished for so long, but I'm in love with it now that it's done. I made some changes from the blue corduroy one. I hated the in-seam side pockets. They are comfortable enough but I have ripped (and repaired) both of them since they catch quite often on things. I went with patch pockets on this one; lengthened and narrowed the sleeves and decided last minute to use snaps instead of buttons.

 I had bought some pretty wooden buttons painted with matching toadstools, but cute as they were, they just didn't show up on this big, bold and busy pattern. Simple silver snaps worked well and I'll save my cute buttons for something that will showcase them. I wish I had had enough fabric to match things, but this was expensive fabric and the waste would have been substantial with the large repeats. As it was, I'm amazed I got what I needed from the yardage since it was a half yard shy after looking at the pattern. But it is, after all, a bath robe.

The roll of done prayer flags is growing. I hope to finish off this warp mid week. I need to get after a squeak in the beater assembly once the warp is off. I know just where it's coming from and a little dry lubrication should do the trick.

Around the farm we have our first truly aggressive doe. I heard a commotion and went out to investigate. Juno came running from the woods with her tail and back puffed up. There was the doe (probably the same one who challenged the grey fox) with her fawn. The fawn took off, the doe stood her ground, stomping one front hoof then the other in a very deliberate way and accompanied by a threatening snort. Hey, no problem. I can take a hint. While I didn't puff up like Juno, I did clear out PDQ. We consoled each other on the back deck. Don't mess with the wildlife in general and this Momma deer in particular!

Parting shot: Why Robin! What a little fat head you've got.

The Attack of the Killer Strawberries

Oh come on, how often can you use a subject title like that? I've been saving that one for a long time. But I really mean killer in a different way. Just how do slang expressions get started anyway? I made myself sit down and finish a home decorating project I started about a month ago. Since my little desk area sits in a windowed alcove, it really needs curtains. Sometimes the contrast and light is so bright, I can barely see my computer screen and the old bamboo roll up blinds were a real pain to deal with. Enter large, lovely and very graphic giant strawberry printed fabric.



I fell in love with it the moment I saw it, but it just isn't suitable for clothing especially for someone in the low five foot range. I don't particularly like handbags, so that left curtains. If I grow another foot or find that perfect pattern for a strawberry garment, I can always follow Scarlet's lead and wear them. Basically the curtains are lined panels.



I've left deep hems and kept stitching to a minimum so the cloth is still in large pieces. Some day soon I'll do the tall window in the studio, but not in this. I have something else picked out to contrast and play with my big berries! ;)

Moving to the outside, the moon and stars aligned and Gene and I found ourselves with some free time on the same day and in the same time frame. It happens less than you may think and only gets worse during summer fire season. The Dennett memorial wind chime finally made it out to the proper location.



Basically we cut a tallish tree that needed to be thinned, cleaned it up, put a cross piece on it and put it up. We also took down all the old prayer flags and put up the first new string.



The old ones are folded and waiting for fall burning season. I'm hoping to have all new strings of flags circling that special area. Some gifted lambs ear was planted around the pole.

Of course Robin was out and about to help later in the day. (Rodger too since nothing goes on in his domain that he doesn't feel the need to supervise).



It was a nice little training session for him. Young dogs like to be in constant motion. While I was working out there he had to learn to stay local. He could investigate, he could dig, but he had to stay in the immediate area. As parting shots, I'll leave you with a few of the best. Let's just title this series, "I am Terrier, see me dig".

Moose & Squirrel

 Well, not quite, but how about Deer & Fox? Over the last week or so we have spied a lovely Grey Fox. His head is a beautiful bright red rust, fading out to an impossible mix of silver grey ending with a black tip to his, or hers, perfect tail. We've enjoyed our brief sightings as he travels through our property. We also have deer in hefty numbers this year so it was no surprise that I spied one from my bedroom deck. What was surprising was her behavior. She was stomping and snorting and acting not at all docile. Then I caught a glimpse of silver. I thought it might be Juno, but no, it was the fox and he too was  flabbergasted at the does behavior. He wanted to stand his ground, in fact I think he might have even been baiting her just a little, but then decided to continue on as if this encounter never happened. The minute he turned and trotted off, he suddenly had a pissed off doe on his tail and the two broke into a noisy chase through our woods. I imagine he made his escape and 5 minutes later the doe was back to her usual grazing self.



 We suspect a fawn or two near-by. It's about time up here for them to start hitting the ground.

In other news the riding has been grand. The rides themselves have been slow and steady to condition us both, but getting out and about has been a treat for all. Dogs needing baths have been bathed and those with pesky long winter coats have been clippered down to summer lengths. It always amazes me how much fur comes off of one small dog. Doubly amazed at how profusely Jack Russell's shed. I swear I have short white hairs embedded in just about everything.

The sewing room has been busy. Valerie had asked what I was sewing a week or so ago. Mostly summer tops and mostly new patterns. I was inspired by a book I picked up. Shape Shape.  Simple patterns with some very clever ideas. Of course these Japanese pattern books are no where near sized for American bodies and certainly not mine, ( their large equals our size 6-8) but there are some great ideas I can take and copy or easily size up. So, I took a free Colette Sorbetto pattern and added an attached scarf a la
Shape Shape.



 It uses about a yard of fabric and the scarf can be of favorite scraps if you choose.
 Then I tried the Folded Shrug right from the book.



 I didn't need to make it as wide as I did, nor as long, but it was a great way to use a final scrap of brown linen from my living room curtain project and it's fun to wear.



 A new Marcy Tilton/Vogue pattern (8813) was the next challenge. This is her take on a french house dress.



 I made it hard on myself by using two very different fabrics, one as an overlay, but the resulting tunic is cute and unique.



 Cool and loose so perfect for warm mornings spent shopping at the local farmer's market.



 After all that new I needed a comforting familiar pattern and dragged out Burda 7220. I think this really is my favorite shirt pattern and it was only fitting I use it on some favorite fabric.



 I did trick it out using the pretty selvage, printed with Japanese kanji and of course the color dots. Using an idea from Shape Shape, I made a detachable pocket too. Snaps on, snaps off. How cool is THAT!



 In fact so cool, I used the same idea on a new Kwik Sew pattern  I'm doing a test run on with my Mom in mind.



I don't like hoods so I modified mine to be a shawl collar. I suspect my Mother will want the hood but not the pocket.



We'll see. It is a wonderful pattern though, easy, quick and quite comfortable. I've got this one earmarked for riding wear, now I just need to find some dark inexpensive fabrics. So that's what's a happening in the sewing lounge!

Of course it's not ALL glamour. We pulled the horse trailer/donkey shelter out from the wee ones paddock and I have to clean it from top to bottom this weekend. Oh joy......

Parting shot: Toilet Paper rolls, one of Robin's guilty pleasures.