october trail ride

My husband had some training over the weekend so the kids and I went up to my parent's farm and spent Friday and Saturday night.

We went for a trail ride on the four wheelers on Saturday on some trails that I hadn't been on for over five years. The trees were beautiful. My parents' have a lot of yellow maples on their property, so there comes a point every autumn where the woods are paved with golden leaves.

I finished the socks for my nieces, now I think I'll start on another pair for my son.

We are moving out of our home at the end of October to a different house outside the city and a bit closer to family. Lots of changes around here!

september socks

September flew by in a blur. Perhaps it was because my husband and I were searching for a new home, so every night after he got home from work we were meeting our realtor. We had to bring both of the kiddos, so sometimes it was a very trying affair - for everyone involved.

After three purchase agreements and on offer that fell through we finally did find a house. We move at the end of this month.

This has put me into major cleaning and packing mode. It's nice that I'm on maternity leave, but I also imagined that I'd get more knitting done.

The finished socks above are for my niece. The ball of yarn next to them is for a pair of socks that I intend to knit for my oldest niece. We can't leave anyone out. The other project is the "Inspira Cowl" which is a free pattern on ravelry. That was a really fun knit!

I'm happy to be posting a blog again. I've learned a new way to manage my photos on my phone and transfer them to my computer in order to post them on my blog.

xo Jill

P.S. Joining Nicole of Frontier Dreams for her linkup :) :) :)

stripes + stars

events of July 2016 (so far)

Baby's teething - lots of drool

splashing in the lake

stars and stripes everywhere

sock yarn slipping off the knitting needles

crisscrossing the state in our car

trips to the farm to see grandma and grandpa - and the sheep!

a wild patch of raspberries

visits to the north woods to stay in a cabin

sitting around the campfire

looking at the stars

knitting before bed in the warm glow of a single lamp

making jar after jar of raspberry jam

(gallons of berries in the freezer)

weeding the garden and watching the zinnia blossoms grow

chasing the barking dog

piles of paperwork and forms

completing homestudy #3

laughing with baby at his goofy dad

drinking cider and grilling in the backyard

thankful for all of our blessings

:) Jill

P.S. Joining Nicole at Frontier Dreams!

cozy cabin socks

 

Last weekend and for most of the week we went and stayed at a cabin up in the north woods with my husband's large extended family. I started to knit a new pair of socks on the drive up. Now that we're home the colors in the socks remind me of the orange campfires and the crisp blue skies above the north woods.

Logan's starting to rock on all fours for longer periods of time. The determined look in his eyes tells me he won't be staying put where I put him for much longer. My baby is growing so fast! I cheer him on, while part of me feels sad that we're leaving behind his plump baby limbs, frizzy hair and joyous raspberries. His timing is perfect!

We are always moving forward though - into the great, unknown, big kid future. 

xo Jill

jaunuary rainbows

We went up to the farm in the middle of this week to spend the evening with grandma and grandpa and to eat good food and dig around in the fiber bins.

We found a lot of things to make us happy!

Grandma and the girls have been dying fiber all year and stashing it away for me to find. (Ha ha - that's what it felt like to me, because when I opened the plastic storage tub holding all of the dyed yarn my brain exploded with color and inspiration. This happens every January when the landscape is so devoid of color and warmth that you're constantly seeking creative stimulation with your eyes and hands.)

I found it at the farm. Tubs overflowing with colorful fiber!

And it's my birthday this week, so my mom said "Take what you want."

"Okay!" So I did.

Isn't the quilt gorgeous at the top and bottom of this post? It's my sister's work. You can find more of her creations here on her blog. She has a very unique approach to color and piecing her quilt blocks together. She told me that she's been wanting to do a star quilt for years, but I guess they are difficult to piece together and she had to do a lot of tearing out and resewing to get this far. Now she's trying to decide what color to put in the background. I voted for a dark fabric.

Another person responsible for this vibrant yarn is my cousin, Ashley. She's got a knack for combining colors in the dye pot. I'm so excited that she's started blogging again here.

The mostly orange sock is my mom's work, knit from some of our hand-dyed yarn called "desert rose". I like the waves of color that are taking shape - this color way is a keeper. That's the fun part of knitting with handmade yarn. The color combinations and patterns are always a surprise.

Knitting is an adventure. 

Well, now we have to make something with all of this fiber. I'm still finishing up my striped pair of socks and the tweed baby blanket, but as soon as I have some empty needles I'm going to be casting on some of this lovely wool. You can find more of our fiber in our shop. Shearing time is also just around the corner, so we'll keep you all posted.

Happy Friday everyone!

xo Jill

yarn along (01)

This is my first ever post joining Ginny's Yarn Along. I'm excited to be a part of this group, not only do I love seeing all of your projects, but I also need all the book suggestions that I can get. I'm currently out on maternity leave from my job, so I have been reading more than I ever have been in the last five years.

I'm currently reading a few books in tandem: "The Luckiest Girl Alive" by Jessica Knoll and a remake of "Sense and Sensibility" by Joanna Trollope. I must say I'm reading Jessica Knoll's book much faster than Joanna Trollope's. There's an element of mystery that I want to discover and plus the narrator is absolutely entertaining. Sometimes I can't believe what she says and thinks - it's definitely on the darker more risky side of things. I read "Gone Girl" a few years ago and I have to agree with other reviews that I've read about this book that this story is similar to that book. Readability wise they are both page turners. The subject content is different though. (See a few previous posts for my thoughts on Trollope's "Sense and Sensibility."

Still knitting away on my tweed baby blanket and I cast on the toe for my second striped sock. Magenta is my favorite color. My sister made the quilt featured in this post as a shower gift for my son. You can check out her blog here.

Keep reading and knitting everyone!

xo Jill