Author review :: Michael Perry

While browsing the "Check out our new books!" rack at the library last year, I stumbled upon a local author named Michael Perry, hailing from northwest Wisconsin.  I am always drawn to local writers, perhaps mostly because I like Wisconsin and have never felt ashamed of cows or cheese or the Green Bay Packers.  You throw in the Violent Femmes and Harley Davidson, and you've got a powerful mix of chest-swelling awesomeness right there.  So I flipped over this local author, figuratively, and read what it had to say on the back cover.  "New York Times best-selling author... a sensitive New Age Hemingway... sometimes comic, sometimes sad... the real deal."  Well, I thought, Hemingway had his moments, and the book went into the tote bag.

My Cheshire Quilt

A few months ago, in an attempt to reduce the Stash and use up terribly out-dated fabric, I pulled together a selection of purples with a larger piece of contrasting aqua.  As I was not overly concerned with size, anything from wallhanging to queen-size was fair game, I waited for the fabric speak to me, tell me what era or style to go with.  Eventually an idea took shape to do a Gee's Bend inspired quilt by combining wonky squares and stripes until I simply ran out of fabric.  To that end, I pieced together this...

Retro Restyle: Men's Ties

It's been a couple of years now that the Little Rancher declared a moratorium on anything pink and girlie.  Not only her bedroom but also her closet received a thorough going-thru.  Blue and yellow were allowed to stay and anything that invoked thoughts of horses, cowgirls or Southwest Native Americans.  After some thought, I decided I could work within these new parameters, and out of that came this collaborative restyle project. 

Retro Restyle: Cashmere Sweaters

I love sweaters.  They are part and parcel with the whole sheep and yarn hobby.  Some day maybe I will do a proper write-up on my sweater addiction, but not today.  Today I have a story of two oddball sweaters that never were circulated in the daily wardrobe.  One started out life as a men's XL v-neck in grey, the other was a women's L crewneck in red.  They were cast-offs, one too big, too baggy, the other too tight around the neckline and stained on the lower cuff. Eventually they were taken to the sewing room and  left folded in a pile, waiting for redemption.  Individually they were not particularly exciting, but together they created something beautiful. 

DIY: Wooly dryer balls

I am not sure why I did not do this sooner.  I have plenty of wool.  I love all-natural, diy projects.  I had friends asking me about it.  In any case, it has happened.  I finally stopped the spinning wheel and turned my wool roving into those eco-friendly dryer balls that everyone is talking about.  These are used instead of dryer sheets.  They combat static, soften your clothes, and shorten your drying time because they tumble the clothes better.

Small-town Christmas Bazaar

handmade notecards

There is a certain nostalgic charm to small-town Christmas Bazaars, and this past weekend I shopped one of the best in the state.  One Saturday only, every December, a small-town high school in north-central Wisconsin opens its doors to nearly 80 vendors, filling the cafeteria and gymnasium with handmade crafts, and they've been doing this for thirty-seven years.

Indian Summer

It's the first week in November.  I'm hanging laundry on the line, and the kids are outside in their shirtsleeves. 

Hello, Indian Summer.  

This has been a mild Fall here in Wisconsin, and I can't imagine that we'll see many more days that reach the 70s until next June so we are making the most of this week.  And Little Rancher is enjoying some sunny pasture-time with Misty. 

Sheep Talk: Composting

It seems that Mother Nature has flipped her calendar, realized it's now October, and said, "Time to drop the temps by fifteen degrees!"  The days are notably cooler here in Wisconsin, and the nights are down-right nippy.  The Little Rancher is bundling up in her winter jacket for morning chores.  I prefer to wait until the sunshine has taken the chill off a bit before heading out for my chores.  The chickens will have to do with brunch these days instead of breakfast.

bucket of treats

As with every year, it's also time to start cleaning out the garden.   Time to round up the last tomatoes, find the giant cukes that got away from you, and keep a close eye on the growing squash.  While many of these vegetable plants can now be weeded out of your garden, take a few minutes to think about which of your barnyard animals can benefit.  Everyone immediately thinks of feeding their old veggies to the pigs.  Pigs have a fabulous composting reputation that's been in place for centuries and, quite frankly, is one of their biggest selling points.  That and bacon.  However, chickens follow a close second for composting.  They love tomatoes and zucchini, peppers and overripe watermelon.  If you toss them anything red or seeded, they'll love you forever.  I suppose goats do pretty well in this department, too, but I've not had any personal experience with them.  To be quite honest, I'm a total snob and have no intention of ever raising goats, feeling that sheep are far superior.  Besides, don't goats just butt things and eat tin cans?

Derby: In Memoriam

Two Winters ago one of my favorite rams passed away.  Derby.  He was born on our farm in 2004, sweet and gentle from Day One.  As he aged, his disposition never changed.  He was top ram for a couple of years when youth and testosterone were on his side, but slipped from power pretty quickly because he just wasn't a fighter.  He is the only ram we've ever had that never, never, lowered his head to me.  I was perfectly comfortable, never hesitated in fact, to break that Cardinal Rule and turn my back to him while in the pasture.  Aside from his remarkable demeanor, Derby was, and still is, the only sheep we've had who has shed his wool.  Each Spring, I would wait for his fleece to loosen and lift off the skin.  He would stand stock still for me while I pulled off, handful by handful, his gorgeous chocolate brown wool.  When he died late one evening, the other rams stood vigil.  My husband found them and remarked how it was chilling to find Derby on the ground while the three other rams stood quietly with their heads resting on his lifeless body.  Being the middle of Winter and befitting a Shetland ram who has equally strong Scandinavian as well as Scottish heritage, we built a large bonfire from a shed that had been torn down and sent Derby off in glory.  His soft nose, nuzzling into my hand, and his calming presence are sorely missed around the pasture.

So I decided to honor his memory the best way I know how,

with my needle and thread. 

Sheep Talk

It seems like quite a long time since I stopped to talk sheep with y'all.  Way back in Spring I hurriedly posted some lamb photos, but the sheep are so self-sufficient all Summer that...hold on...I don't think I ever posted lamb photos this Spring!!  What kind of shoddy shepherdess am I?!  There are a few cute lamb videos on my facebook page, but I think a few introductions are in order.

This is Smudge and her ewe lamb, Bobble, so named because she has a silly wobble to her head when she runs.

These are washdress days.

 

This Summer I resolved to finally be honest about my sewing projects.  What did I actually need in my closet?  Did I need more 1950s, fitted-bodice, full-skirted dresses?  Did I need more pencil skirts?  More novelty print aprons?  No.  I needed a dress that I could mow the lawn in.  A dress that had a bit of breathing room.  A dress that I could wear out to do chores, wipe my muddy hands on, and not feel bad when the sun faded it on the clothesline.  I needed a washdress. 

A Step Back to the Old World

Author's Note:  I apologize in advance because this post will undoubtedly become one of those long, rambling posts that's filled with wistful looks back on the past.  One of those posts that make you, the Reader, envision a specific topic based on your interpretation of the title, but after reading a paragraph or two, realize that you're in for a whole heady trip through my transgressing consciousness.  No diy tips here.  No pretty images to pin.  No links to other fascinating web pages that will fill the minutes until quitting time.  If you're looking for fluff, click on, my friend. If you're in a quiet, contemplative mood, scroll down memory lane with me.

This past week I visited a living history museum in the southeast corner of the state called Old World Wisconsin.  It was on the list of Summer Must Do's, and I knew the kids and I could squeeze it into the last hectic weeks of vacation.  This was not my first trip to the museum, however.  I had been an employee there for three glorious months, a Summer long ago between high school and college. This was my first trip back since then.

1930s Dressing Gown

This past month one of my good friends got married.  She and her new husband were already settled in a house and didn't need the proverbial china and silver, so I decided to take a less traditional route.  Using the 1930s Butterfly Blouse pattern from Decades of Style, I opted for a romantic Dressing Gown.

It's even on sale!

Beyond the chores

The Little Rancher has made it through her first winter.

Breaking ice, hauling buckets, pitching hay, shoveling manure, brushing, picking, none of it seemed to slow her down.  But now that Misty is on pasture and has access to an artesian spring, chores have taken on a new meaning.

Setting her alarm for 6:10am, the Little Rancher continues to go out.  One day I asked, "Are you still feeding hay in the morning?"  She replied, "Only if she needs it.  There's not much to do anymore, but I still go out just to talk to her."

Most mornings Misty comes running when the Little Rancher calls out.  It seems even horses appreciate a daily routine, and you never know when a pan full of grain might be waiting.  But one day she wasn't quite ready to wake up and stayed in the back pasture.  The Little Rancher wandered back and had a seat.  Sharing the warm Spring sun is the reward for those long, dark Winter mornings. 

Lederhosen braces

Since taking up leather tooling, my husband, Hank, has come up with more crazy unique ideas than I thought possible.  It all started quite innocently with belts and can coozies that were handed out by the thousands this past Christmas.  Simple keychains led to talk about cuffs, collars, corsets and wouldn't the guinea pig love some Viking-styled armor?  Maybe just a helmet and a saddle...?  I knew I had to redirect this creative energy to a more useful end (only, if for no other reason than, to spare the poor guinea pig), hence, the suggestion of traditional Lederhosen braces.  If Hank would supply the braces, I would supply the Hosen.

Quick before the snow melts

It seems that Winter in Wisconsin is finally on the wane which, honestly, couldn't have been better timing for this sewing project: a fur-trimmed vest.  It's warm enough for cooler temperatures, but would be bulky and uncomfortable to layer under a coat.  Here's the story...

loved to shreds

four months old

I knew my second child would be a boy.  I didn't need an ultrasound to tell me that.  So I chose a nice royal blue, acrylic yarn and found a knitting pattern for a baby blanket that perhaps, just maybe, I could finish in nine months time.

"What if you end up with a girl?" my mother asked.  "You'll have to knit a pink one."  Raising one eyebrow, I said, "she'll learn to love blue."

After my son was born, I finished up the final rows there in the hospital, he swaddled on my bed while I stitched the pattern from memory.  It was the largest knitting project I had ever undertaken, and I was quite proud of myself.  Not every stitch was perfect, but it finished off to a nice 40 inch square blanket.  And since that day in the hospital, he has quite literally loved his blanket to shreds.

Draped in plaid

Earlier this Winter I decided to take a scissors to some wool and try my hand at draping.  I am confident enough to alter a pattern, sometimes quite drastically, to suit my taste, but never had I just draped the fabric off a dressform in hopes that it would magically transform in a couture garment.  In my collection were three pieces of lightweight wool in coordinating colors.  The problem:  I only had one yard of each.  I decided to put all three together and play with the possibilities.

The thrill hasn't worn off...

We're a solid three months into the whole inevitable horse situation, and I'm happy to say that the thrill hasn't worn off.  Hank, devoted as ever, continues to research proper training and handling techniques.  The Rancher is learning to use her voice and be more assertive. For Christmas, she received a lunging rope and whip.  Misty is spoiled and generally not in a mood to obey, but slowly the pair of them are learning to converse, just enough to where it feels like progress is being made.

*k2, p2, rep from * across

They weren't kidding when they said that one good thing leads to another.  Like the time I tried a new cookie recipe and before the batch was even gone, I was anxiously waiting with another new recipe in hand.  Or the year my geraniums survived over the winter, and I was encouraged to purchase more.  Or like my last knitting project that ever-so-slightly boosted my confidence, and now it seems I can't put my needles down.  Well, I guess when you've got a good thing going, why question it?

Winter is my season for knitting and spinning and here's another little project using my favorite fiber in the whole world:  wool.