Knitting calms my soul. Especially the simple patterns. The repetitive nature and the act of just being. I enjoy thinking about the thousands of women in the past who created countless numbers of cherished blankets, afghans, scarfs, socks, and numerous other gifts of love. It has been awhile since I actually sat down and really worked on any knitting projects (and there are many of course). When we went up to the farm in Michigan I had to bring a craft project that was portable and not too detailed. I've been working on a baby blanket for my niece, Giada, since she was born on April 13th. My goal is to have it, and a little cap, done by the time she is Christianed on July 6th. I decided to fore go anything too frilly or lacy as both of my girls tended to like the simple blankets best. As infants, neither one of them liked how their feet would get stuck in the holes of the lacier blankets. With that in mind I designed this blanket with a simple garter stitch border and a seed stitch for the body of the blanket. It's about 24" wide and will be about 30" long when completed. The stitch marker is handmade by Melissa Zinkosky. She owns DeZigns in Chelsea Michigan. I bought them at the Spinner's Flock meeting in April. The craftmanship is beautiful, a gift to myself. The yarn is wonderful! Debbie Bliss Baby Aryan. 40% acrylic, 12% cashmere, and 48% merino. I'm hoping that Giada will think it's wonderful too.

Yarn has a way of speaking to you when you hold it in your hands (if you are a knitter, crocheter, spinner or felter you will know what I mean! Fiber like Shetland screams I will keep you warm, baby Alpaca whispers let me cuddle with your little one and Cashmere coos about being soft and pretty on the skin.

Knit scarf burgundy
Originally uploaded by cshella

I love earth tone colors and softness. This yarn has both of those qualities! It is 45% silk and 55% cashmere. I knitted this small scarf based on a fish bone pattern for a much longer scarf. I just wanted something that would look decorative, not really keep me warm. As much as I would love to try a large intricate lace project I find that improvised shorter projects are the ones that I am most readily able to accomplish.

Flower in film grain
Originally uploaded by cshella

I have been visiting the Inspire Me Thursday website lately and it has motivated me to do some more playing around with my Photo Shop program and digital collage. This is a picture of a Rhododendron in my front yard. I like the color of the pink/purple flowers. I edited this in Photo Shop so that the image looks like film grain (very small grain). This is going to be the first layer, as I build layers I will post them. I have no idea what I'm going to do next with it but I'll keep you updated!

Long walks, Playful days, and a little hidden treasure...

We returned from the farm Wednesday evening (yes, we decided to stay another day) and we are all still recovering from all of the activity and fresh air. You see, being at the farm is like being in a place that is not of this world. Spotty cell phone service, no wi-fi or internet service, no lap tops, not even a chain coffee shop. True, one exit down the high way and there is a small Tanger Outlet Mall and a Super Walmart, but other than that there is nothing. And it is wonderful! We have eighty acres to play in the middle of no where and it is truely God's gift. We took long hikes with the girls and the dog (the dog of course found the muddy swamp every time). Andrew and Fiona flew a kite on a very chilly windy day. Fiona had never flown a kite before so the cold and the wind didn't bother her in the least. We built camp fires, toasted marchmellows and went to bed way past our bed time. It was what I hope will be fond memories for years to come. Finally I found a little hidden treasure for myself. I was looking in the front bedroom closet for an extra blanket when I spotted what I thought was a crocheted blanket. It wasn't, it was a crocheted pillow case and this dainty pretty afghan was folded neatley inside. I pulled it out, placed it on the bed and fell in love with it! Where had this been all this time? Andrew and I have been married ten years this fall and I had not once ever seen this afghan up here. I called my mother-n-law and she knew about the afghan. Apparently, my husband's grandmother had bought something called a daisy maker (probably circa 1980?). She made this afghan with the daisy maker and promptly put it away to keep it clean. I would love to try to make a variation of this afghan but I don't really know where to start. I will have to research this. I think it is beautiful and plan to hang it on my living room wall (once I figure out a way to safely hang it). I may need to convince my husband to paint the living room now...

Barn
Originally uploaded by cshella

Oh if this barn could talk! I would love to hear its' stories! My mother-n-law has pictures of this barn dating back to at least 1952. The landscape has changed over the years: at one time there was a wooden overhang on the left side of the barn used to store wood and feed cattle, at the other end of the barn there used to be a big pile of cow manure! Lots of people have come and gone, lots of changes have taken place, but this barn has stood through it all. The inside is very large, the beams used to hold the barn up and to build the roof are made out of whole logs! It is the grand master of this beautiful place and it welcomes us graciously with it's grand presence.

Three trees 2
Originally uploaded by cshella

I love these trees, they are black walnut and beautiful. This is looking east over the nearest field, there are actually two more fields beyond this one. When we are lucky, we get to see deer crossing this field over to the southern field next to it. There is a large swampy area in that field which is always full of water, the deer and other wildlife cross through the farm to get to it. I like to stand by these trees and just look out over the fields and ponder things. It tends to clear my mind of all of the clutter and I can actually feel myself breathing slower. My father-n-law planted these trees about ten years ago and they have grown exponentially since then. I look at them as a symbol of nature's tenacity.

A bit of Whimsy on the Farm...

Equipment copy
Originally uploaded by cshella

There is a small area of brush and old tractor equipment just to the east of the orchard. It's kind of like a tractor/farm equipment graveyard. I find it to be a most interesting place. I like to take pictures of the old equipment and think about what it was like up here when old rusty parts were like new. Fiona and Alexa decided that this piece of equipment needed to be embellished with a bit of whimsy and added some dandelions.