Our Christmas 2012

 This year I said no to the drama of the season. For the first time in decades I did not host the family parties....it was so nice to not have all the stress of the whole event...we stayed at home made tacos watched movies, listened to some holiday music......and dog sat my mothers dog  Prancer....he's a sweet guy however he doesn't like Nostradamus very much.....and Phoebe doesn't like him ( she wouldn't even sit for a photo lol ) so we played musical doggies for a few hours.... one came in this door, another goes out to that yard and so on......

Nostradamus giving me the "I'm not happy with you look"

Another reason I didn't want to do the whole party thing was, we had 18 chicks in the house brooder....that were very close to moving out to the coops, so a handful to say the least.....we moved them out on Christmas eve......just in time for the new chicks....

A few weeks ago I told Brent that I'd like to try hatching some eggs....as our girls are not showing any signs that they want to be mom's, and one of our "girls" was in fact a rooster....I thought it might be a better way to get more chicks still this season that trying to order more....

 I looked up incubators on line and came across some shots of home made ones......

That's all it took........ Brent was off and running 

less than one month after I said that would be cool to raise them from the start without putting them through that horrible ride to get here...and about $10.00 later.....

       

The first little one is a full buff Orpington on the left.
It hatched on Yule right on time. The second chickie is of the same rooster but not hen...it's half Rhode Island red....and showing it already...less than a day old ( we have a Yule chick and Christmas chick :D ) and it is almost the same size as it's older sibling....they are so tiny and cute....glad we got two...the first was getting lonely after we mover out the other guys....couldn't hear them anymore...we were just planning on taking a recording of them to play for it ( no clue if they are boys or girls yet )


Jorden got a nice shot of the moon and it's circle.....I just might sit out next year too lol

Easy Head Wrap with button

 Last night I was gifted some really nice yarn...Lion Brand's Hometown USA in Portland Wine it's super bulky weight....I love it so soft....I have been so happy with the head wrap I kept for myself that I decided to make another for me :D




it is so comfy and can be used as a scarf




The first head wrap pattern I posted easy head wrap was for a tie in back, very quick no weaving in of ends or buttons to sew on....great for a quick gift.
This pattern I use a button at the back of the neck instead of a tie, not as quick as the one with a tie but still can be knit up in short order.

I had made a few to sell at a recent craft show....I should have asked for a few of the people to model them for me....oh well next time....until then here are a few of the other yarns I used...

okay now that you've seen enough photos of me trying to get a good shot of the pattern ( not easy to show the sides and top and still see the lap top screen lol ) here's the pattern for this one

oh wait one more thing I wanted to point out.....these wraps can very easily be made to fit any size....by adding to the increases ( just made sure to do the same number of deceases on the other end ) you can make it wider like the red fuzzy one on top....I used size 15 US with a 16 stitch count at the widest point...
want it narrow don't add as many increases ( again keeping to the same amount for your decreases, don't forget to put a knit row in between each increase or decrease row ).....change the length by changing row count .....changing needle size and yarn also work....as this is more a pattern idea really you can have a lot of fun with it :D

I didn't keep track of how much yarn I used with this one, all of the others made bulky yarn was way under 50 yards....

purple one

cast on 3 using size 11 US
knit 4 rows  (or so to place your button on later )

start increases
I used a yarn over for this one ( knitting through the back loop on the next row to close up the stitch ), knitting in the front and back of the first stitch works good as well....use any increase you like
1 ) knit 1, yarn over, knit until last stitch, yo, knit 1
2 ) knit 1, knit 1 through the back loop, knit to last 2 stitches, knit 1 through the back loop, knit 1

repeat 1 and 2 until you have the width you want...11 stitches is where I stopped

knit until you have the size you want, keeping in mind that you will have the same length for decreases as you have for your increases added to the end....I did 12 inches with mine

start decreasing
1 ) knit 2 together until last 2 stitches, knit 2 together through the back loop
2 ) knit
repeat until you have your original cast on number, in this case 3

button hole
1 ) knit one, bind off one
2 ) knit one, yarn over, knit one
3 ) knit 1, knit 1 through the back loop, knit 1
bind off, weave in ends ( I use the tail of mine to add strength to the button hole )
sew on button

Easy Head Wrap

Easy Head Wrap

35 yards of bulky weight yard 
size 11 US needles
size K/10 1/2 crochet hook
Gauge 3 sts. by 4 rows per one inch
Adult size 

kf/b = knit into the front and back of the next stitch

knit = knit to end of row

k2tog = knit 2 stitches together

Chain stitch 30 using 

Side last chain loop onto knitting needle

1 ) kf/b 

2 ) kf/b x 2 ( 4 sts. )

3 ) knit

4 ) kf/b, knit to last stitch, kf/b

5 ) knit

Repeat rows 4 and 5 until you get 14 sts.

Knit every row for 14 more inches

Decreases 

1 ) k2tog, knit to last 2 sts., k2tog

2 ) knit

Repeat last 2 rows until you have 4 stitches left, ending with the decrease row

Next row K2tog x 2

Last row K2tog

Use the last stitch on the needle to chain 30 stitches with your crochet hook. Trim tails to match.

easy flat knit hand warmers

It doesn't get much easier than this lol

Knit on two needles and seamed along side leaving an opening for thumb

this pattern is for a smaller sized hand, adjust size by adding more stitches and knit rows or going up in needle size and/or yarn thickness

I didn't count the amount of yarn I used I do know it was less than 50 yds for both easily.

gauge 6sts by 5 rows per one inch
size 9 US needles

cast on 25 sts. leave a tail for seaming

k = knit
p = purl
k2tog = knit 2 stitches together
straight stitch =  knit one row, purl the next continue in this manner

1-6 ) k1, p1 to end

7-20 ) straight stitch

21 ) k2tog, k10, k2tog, k11 ( this brings it just a bit smaller for top by fingers, this step is optional )

22- 24 ) straight stitch

25-29 ) k1, p1

bind off leaving 6 or so inches of yarn to seam top of warmer

I seamed just a bit more than the ribbing rows on both the top and bottom, I like a big thumb opening, adjust to your liking. Weave in ends.

easy knit scarf

use any yarn you want, this one is made with bulky
cast on 20 sts. or any number, using US 11's or bigger, go to smaller needles if using thiner yarn
knit all rows

bind off when you get the size you want or run out of yarn, weave in ends.

these are made with worsted weight using size US 9 needles

5 yards at a time scarf

This is a very easy pattern only one stitch ( knit ) and no weaving in of ends :D It can be adapted to any size. Turned into a wrap, small blanket, rug etc.

cast on 125 stitches, any cast on you like.
size 11 US ( or any size ) circular needles with a long cable for the length
use any yarn you like, I used everything from bulky to sport weight...great for using up end pieces 
Knit to the end and grab another piece of yarn about five yards long, knit to that end repeat until you have it as wide as you want. Bind off and tie the ends to make the fringe. That’s it.

super easy reversible wrap

I’ve been so busy lately knitting time was limited to a few minutes a day if I was lucky…..I just didn’t have any time to work out a new pattern…
So I went with another mindless knit ….a super easy reversible wrap, mostly straight stitch with knit rows on the ends and two by two edges.
I used almost 2 full skeins of Caron’s Simply Soft in soft green. I love the feel of this yarn when it’s all knitted up, but it can be a bit of a pain as it splits easily. That did take away from the mindless knit part a bit lol but I do love how soft it is :D

Gauge really doesn’t matter, that said my was 3.5 sts. By 4.5 rows per 1 inch in straight stitch ( stocking stitch )
Size 10 US straight needles
Approximately 620 yards of worsted weight yarn
21 inches wide by 63 inches long

Cast on 75 stitches

1-5 ) knit

6- 255 ) 2 by 2 ribbing first 6 stitches than straight stitch to last 6 stitches 2 by 2 again so
First ( p1, k1 )x 3 knit to last 6 stitches ( p1, k1 )x 3
Next row ( k1, p1 )x 3 purl to last 6 stitches ( k1, p1 )x 3 placing a marker after the first 6 stitches and before the last 6 makes it even easier.

256- 260 ) knit bind off

greens eggs

This is one of our girls she is an Ameraucana. She laid her first egg ( green )...she was so proud :) it was so cool she waited until I came in :) this has happened with most of our girls...a few days ago one of the buff Orpingtons pushed her way past our barred Rock and one of the reds to lay her first egg right in front of me :D cool

 

                   they love it when we give then reiki as they are laying....
                                             well they just love it lol
                       once they see us start reiki they all want to be held

                  That green egg brought the total for today to it's highest so far of 11

We still have 1 buff Orpington and 2 Ameraucana's to start laying, they are around 30 weeks now it can't be much longer.....knock knock knock

After going back out to the coop we found # 12 by one of our reds, our first full dozen in one day Sweet :D Thank you girls.... good chickies :D

We were getting a bit scarce on eggs around here....we were only getting 6 and 7 per day. Brent had been working on our coops all last week, slowed the eggs down for a few days then it picked up again but when he stopped working on it they slowed down again....hate to tell them there are more changes to come lol
One of the changes will be happening tomorrow ( we had expected today ) is our shipment of chicks.
The other change we had no clue about happened last night.
A friend came across an injured chicken, that was fighting hard to keep going...was trying to live among horses.
You could see where she was spending most of her time in a wash under weeds...she had clearly spent a long time there...was sleeping in one of the sheds full of fiberglass insulation poor thing.... her leg is injured, won't let us get a good look at her yet, but no clear injury, no broken bones that we can feel or see, no cuts or other marks, she is moving around much better today, eating drinking water, doing the regular chicken things .... all we know for sure is she is molting so she's not real young ( where she was staying had feathers everywhere, no signs of any other animals in the clear tracks )...she is very small so bantam I'm thinking, no other clue as to what breed she maybe...only guessing on the "she" part, haven't heard any crowing, no spurs.... 

Now the issue is...... it was a "can you come and help now kind of thing" so I stuck her in the area we were going to place the new chicks............
While she seems very alert, I can't place her in the big coop of course....the reds would eat her alive....we have roo's in the other 3 coops.....

                                         be careful what you ask for ;)

Autumn...love .... hate

I love the holidays, the crispness of the air. I can see the beauty of the color changes.......

but I hate seeing so much of our loved, worked so hard for plants die.....

 these tomato plants have been feeding us and the chickens....they are taller than Jorden in some places....we started them in April and May...we got a late start this year :(
 seems so short....they worked so hard to put up with the hot and mostly dry year....

our poor willow is still trying to fight back, those beetles really took their toll :(

Around here we feel all life matters ... every plant and animal...we all work hours each day to see to the happiness of each, from feeding and watering to energy work....
each plant has it's own energy, life force if you will.....same as animals....

 the tomatoes hide most of the chicken coops....( we now have 4 different areas...one large for the hens, one medium for the 2 roo's who get along and two smaller ones for the 2 who no longer get along lol )

Nostradamus just loves chicken watching lol

                                 
                                  he does he best to take care of them :D

Roosters

We have been talking about getting more Ameraucana chickens, we tried getting more right away but the feed store was out.

We ended up getting 3 Americana chicks and a few buff Orpingtons to round off things, very sweet birds we are happy with the choice 

The Americana ( silver ) chicks all start out looking the same but as soon as the feather up you can see a big difference

This is one of our silver Ameraucana hens 

 This is one of our silver Ameraucana roosters.....

this is our other one....it turns out some of our friends ended up with roosters, they already had as many roosters as they needed....and offered them to us :D 

We meet them a few times as they were growing up....seemed like sweet birds, got along really good with each other.......until they got here...

even though they were from the same batch and have been raised together they are now trying to 

de-feather each other :(

The first night was okay, by mid afternoon the next day we had to separate them....okay no biggie the whole pecking order thing right....it'll work out after they have been here a bit longer.....or at least that was the plan....

While we had them getting used to everything around here I came across a free cycle add offering 2 roosters to a good home, one a buff Orpington  the other was said to be a speckled Sussex....cool both easy going breeds

what could go wrong ...

First off it's not a Sussex it's an Easter egger lol

 We wanted Easter eggers but couldn't find any in the area, so really cool right.....while they get along great with each other....that can not be said about any other bird. They have only been here a few days, so that may still change.... to be fair the Ameraucanas  were the first to attack, never mind the fencing or that the other birds way out size them.....the pecking order again :(   Brent made them their own coop, they seem happy :D

After more than a week of the Ameraucana roosters getting used to the hens, we let them in the garden together....yeah....I put the roosters back in separate areas....not going good at all...very nasty to our barred Rock....looks like they will be staying in separate areas....

Update turns out the guy at the feed store had no clue what kind of rooster he had sold the lady who gave us the buff and other roo.....he's a Russian Orloff, I'm sure he didn't know this when he sold the chick to her. When I had asked if he ever ordered any Russian Orloff's he said no, so guessing it was a mix up at the hatchery....He's a cool rooster now named Orly :D