morning

An image from one of my mom and Ashley's walks a few weeks ago. It's still frosty here in Minnesota, but we're sending warmth and love to you folks out east.

barn notes : lambs are here!

We sure are lucky that our lambs are born with a soft layer of warm wool, because the snow was flying today on our visit to the farm. My parents have worked very hard these last three weeks as shepherds. All of our lambs are happy and thriving - and we don't have any bottle-fed lambs this year. That means my mom and my dad don't have to get up every three hours in the middle of the night to feed a baby lamb. 

We also got a new shipment of yarn from the fleeces of our lovely sheep. This yarn is worsted weight, and it is so soft that even the mill commented on it's quality. That feels good - but it (the yarn) feels even nicer against our cheeks and in our hands. We're already planning projects and keepsakes. You can find it here.

a spring nest

Impending winter storms have me building a safe and warm spring nest here. Like a little bird I've been collecting bits here and there to keep me occupied while the weather outside is nasty. My husband and I will still have to venture out to work - but once we're home for the evening, we're not going to go far.

I got my tomato seeds planted last weekend. I'm hoping to have some success with two types of tomato plants: Italian Heirloom and Black Krim. According to the seed packet the Italian Heirloom tomato is easy to peel and ideal for slicing and canning. The Black Krim is a Russian tomato named for an island in the Black Sea. (Very exotic!) These gems come to fruition in mid-August - probably because of their colorful Russian heritage. I ordered these seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. I just love flipping through their seed catalog.

I've been baking and working on my embroidery project. The peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are great! I didn't have any vanilla, so I added a dash of cinnamon to the mix. Experience tells me that shouldn't have done much - but cinnamon and peanut butter kinda go well together in certain circumstances. Lamb stew was also on the menu last week. I loaded it with carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, garlic and onions - and topped it off with some brown sugar.

Okay, we can get through one last winter storm, right?

spring has arrived!

It feels like spring has arrived to me - at least I wanted to lighten up the image that greets everyone when they visit Tendril & Twine. The old header had a long run and a lot of personal significance. The yarn in the image is some of our hand spun and the photo was snapped on the old hardwood floor of my parents' 100 + year-old farmhouse before it (just the floor) was torn out and replaced with new flooring.

This new image features one of the handkerchiefs that my grandma Lois gave me as a wedding present. (Many of the frills and pretties that are featured on this blog have been passed down to me from family.) Initially I was going to wrap the handkerchief around my wedding bouquet, but that didn't work out, instead it sits on my desk reminding me daily of my grandmother and frequently appears in this blog under hand knits or tea cups or poetry books.

The description of my blog has changed over the years as well, as I continue to grow and re-define myself. I like describing myself as a "displaced farm girl." I did grow up on a dairy farm here in Minnesota and my parents still reside there and farm, though things have changed since the 80's - it's sheep and spinning now, instead of dairy cows. Change is good, but it's nice to have places and people that pace us a we grow - remind us who we were and encourage us to be who we are now.

Thanks, Mom and Dad. For the farm and for . . . everything.

multi - tasking

These days I can't seem to do one thing at a time, for better or worse I'm always multitasking. Today for instance, I've worked on a knitting project an embroidery project and started reading a new book - all while I'm supposed to be studying for my first ARE (Architect Registration Exam). When you work all week in an office, it's very difficult to spend your weekends doing the same thing and never coming up for air. I think this blog proves that I come up for air quite often and maybe I need a bit more discipline.

Oh hum.

I will study, just as soon as I finish this one little thing . . . and then four hours go down the tube. Perhaps I will study tomorrow? Yes, I will clear the whole of my schedule tomorrow for studying. It will be great, but I really should get those mitts done before the weather gets too mild.

You see the situation.

The new novel I'm reading is The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro and I'm liking it a lot. I was a huge fan of The Historian and The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova and this novel seems to have a bit of that flavor. It's too soon to tell, but I'm excited about it.

I also checked a new knitting pattern book out from the library, that's where the pattern "Alexander Street Hat" comes from above. This one's called Sock Yarn Studio, compiled by Carol Sulcoski. It seems like a perfect companion for Crosby Hill Farm's sock weight yarn. I'm going to knit this hat using our Sea Foam and Fairy Queen sock yarn colorways. You can find our yarn here.

fields + flowers + sunshine

I took the time today to just sit in the sun and soak up the sunshine. The last few days have been quiet and slow-paced as I heal up. Usually I take little colds in stride, but this one, for some reason, has got me more down than most. I feel that I'm on the rebound, though. A good night's sleep and I'll be ready for the weekend.

I started a new project today, an embroidery pattern by Charlotte Lyons. I had to check out a few books from the library on embroidery so that I would know how to more than a straight running stitch. I'm learning French knots, chain stitches and blanket stitches - this project is a good way to test out all of these techniques and really learn them. I suppose that's why all of those pioneer girls worked so hard on their embroidery samplers back in the day - to learn the technique.

I can hear the birds singing from where I sit writing this - that's always a good sign. 

taking care

Taking care of myself this evening as I fend off a head cold. I realized early this morning at about two a.m. (when I woke with a headache and a severe sore throat) that this little bug had probably been brewing all weekend right between my eyes. This comes as a bit of a downer - just when there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel and just as the snow is melting away from my garden - one last case of the snuffles before the summer sunshine burns all of that away.

I'm making my standby cure for colds - what I call restorative chicken noodle soup. I posted the recipe here. It's got pretty much everything you would expect to find in a pot of chicken noodle soup - and as well as ginger and jalapeno. These two ingredients also compliment the chicken and vegetables.

I did poke around out in the garden this afternoon and found some perfect green leaves. This appears to be a daisy specimen. My dianthus plants are also coming around  They will be some of my first blossoms in the garden - magenta, pink and coral. Hooray! (Sneeze!)

For tonight I'm going to pull on my comfiest pair of wool socks and have a nice bowl of soup. Take care, everyone.