I am an amigurumist.
That is, I crochet small animal replicas. My favorites are always the realistic ones. I am actually a rarity in the crochet world. Most that make 'toys' actually prefer to focus on food items as they tend to be simpler, requiring less stitching on the whole. And other crocheters seem to prefer apparel and/or home goods to amigurami. I will admit, there are times when I wish I preferred something else myself... particularly when I'm faced with the stitching neatly of more than a dozen smaller parts! It's usually worth it in the end, of course. And my little niche gives me a unique advantage locally since I have never met another person that does what I do.
The real difference for me is that I hide nothing. In truth, I would encourage others to emulate me! I know the items I make are of a nice quality and I price accordingly. If someone else wishes to 'take a shot' at making the items I make they would still have a long ways to go, even with the same pattern, because I have been doing this for many years and I am a perfectionist. A trait that I've found goes very well with this type of art. Still, I'm happy to share my basic methods and sources for eyes and thread with others. I might even tell them from where I got patterns (if applicable), but I never sell patterns.
I am confident in my ability.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
This Year's Preserve Count
To date I've put up chili sauce and spaghetti sauce, applesauce, and honey. I've stored potatoes and sweet potatoes and frozen peppers. The count so far is thus:
14 qts chili sauce, plus 1/2 pt
17 qts spaghetti sauce, plus 1 pt
6 pts grape jelly
15 qts applesauce (still have a bushel to be preserved)
~5 lbs each Kennebec and Yukon Gold potatoes stored
~3 lbs sweet potatoes stored
2 qt bags diced/sliced peppers frozen
14 qts chili sauce, plus 1/2 pt
17 qts spaghetti sauce, plus 1 pt
6 pts grape jelly
15 qts applesauce (still have a bushel to be preserved)
~5 lbs each Kennebec and Yukon Gold potatoes stored
~3 lbs sweet potatoes stored
2 qt bags diced/sliced peppers frozen
Camping: Part III
I just realized that I never put up a post about our final camping trip of the season, which took place the last week-end of September. First, and most obvious, it was chilly!! We were expecting this, so we took a down comforter with us and plenty of wood for the fire. A1 decided in advance she had no desire to accompany the rest of us on this trip, so she and B stayed home. K was brought out again to join us for the last trip she would have, so the members of this encounter were myself, J< A2, and K. With there being only 4 of us, I decided to take and put up our original, smaller tent instead of the big one. It was a short stay this time, we left Saturday morning and came home the next day.
We got to the camp site and set everything up, we started a fire and prepared a lunch. Then we got everyone ready and marched off hiking. The big girls led us to a trail that went around the lake to a small waterfall on the back side. We saw a mess of bees raiding the last of the wildflowers, we found a discarded snake skin, and we found a large black newt underneath a damp log on the side of the main trail. It was a lot of fun!
Later that afternoon we were all around the fire when a low roaring could be discerned coming towards us through the woods. It took several seconds for us to realize that it was rain moving our way! We had just enough time to grab all the chairs and pull them under the canopy when the drops began to fall. J was in the process of cooking bacon for our supper over the fire, but had to run out and grab the pan from off the fire and switch over to the camp stove to finish it.
Fortunately for us the rain was fairly short-lived. Everything was perfectly normal a mere hour or two later. We had some neighbors this trip, an interesting group with a couple of young boys who were about A2's age. So she and they were often running all around the woods and down to the creek. A2 went through all the socks she'd brought with her on this trip! And we'd brought extra for her!! Our neighbors had a very impressive blaze going with their fire that night, though when we visited them to see how they'd managed, I found they had put in a very large trunk, about 5 feet long and decided I wasn't so envious as to emulate their efforts! I'd likely be the one to set fire to the woods trying something like that!
We all slept in our bags on 1 air mattress with the down comforter covering us all. A2 and K were on the ends with myself and J in the middle. The next morning was COLD and J had managed to steal most of the comforter that night. So getting a fire going that morning was very important. J & K went out and hunted up several nice sized logs and we managed a very nice fire that morning. Though it wasn't long after I had prepared our breakfast that we had to get everything packed into the van to head home.
I'm not crazy about the short camping trips. It always feels like we just didn't have enough time. However, since it looks as though we won't be able to manage anymore trips this year, before the campground closes at the end of this month, I am very glad we were able to make that one last trip. I'm hoping that next year we can start our camping forays earlier and manage at least one trip per month throughout the summer.
We got to the camp site and set everything up, we started a fire and prepared a lunch. Then we got everyone ready and marched off hiking. The big girls led us to a trail that went around the lake to a small waterfall on the back side. We saw a mess of bees raiding the last of the wildflowers, we found a discarded snake skin, and we found a large black newt underneath a damp log on the side of the main trail. It was a lot of fun!
Later that afternoon we were all around the fire when a low roaring could be discerned coming towards us through the woods. It took several seconds for us to realize that it was rain moving our way! We had just enough time to grab all the chairs and pull them under the canopy when the drops began to fall. J was in the process of cooking bacon for our supper over the fire, but had to run out and grab the pan from off the fire and switch over to the camp stove to finish it.
Fortunately for us the rain was fairly short-lived. Everything was perfectly normal a mere hour or two later. We had some neighbors this trip, an interesting group with a couple of young boys who were about A2's age. So she and they were often running all around the woods and down to the creek. A2 went through all the socks she'd brought with her on this trip! And we'd brought extra for her!! Our neighbors had a very impressive blaze going with their fire that night, though when we visited them to see how they'd managed, I found they had put in a very large trunk, about 5 feet long and decided I wasn't so envious as to emulate their efforts! I'd likely be the one to set fire to the woods trying something like that!
We all slept in our bags on 1 air mattress with the down comforter covering us all. A2 and K were on the ends with myself and J in the middle. The next morning was COLD and J had managed to steal most of the comforter that night. So getting a fire going that morning was very important. J & K went out and hunted up several nice sized logs and we managed a very nice fire that morning. Though it wasn't long after I had prepared our breakfast that we had to get everything packed into the van to head home.
I'm not crazy about the short camping trips. It always feels like we just didn't have enough time. However, since it looks as though we won't be able to manage anymore trips this year, before the campground closes at the end of this month, I am very glad we were able to make that one last trip. I'm hoping that next year we can start our camping forays earlier and manage at least one trip per month throughout the summer.
It's Fall at Falls-Acre!
Today was the perfect fall day, a breezy and cool 65+ degree day. The perfect time to start prepping for winter. I actually started this last week-end by cutting and raking the weeds from the secondary garden. Today I took the Littles out with me and we dug up the potatoes and sweet potatoes from the garden. I pulled off any remaining peppers from the plants, and then turned the turkeys and geese out into the gardens. Their job now is to clean up the yard from any remaining vegetable matter and to fatten themselves up for the coming cold months. I also cut down and raked out the tall weeds from the top of the primary garden. I won't touch the bottom of that garden until sometime next month, when I'll winterize both gardens.
Today we also cracked open the bee hive to check on the girls and harvest any excess honey. To my brief disappointment, the honey super on top was completely untouched by the bees, so I removed it. However, the top portion of the second brood box was packed full of capped honey. From this I extracted a single full frame and replaced it with an empty frame. They survived last winter with only half a single brood box, so I think they'll be alright giving up one frame. I managed to scrape off the honey from the wax foundation of the frame into a pan, which I then drained through a wire mesh. The first side of that frame yielded a whole pint of home-grown honey! We'll scrape the other side of the frame tomorrow, then give it back to the bees to clean up.
The funny part of this particular endeavor occurred toward the end of our escapade when I was trying to take the full frame of honey away from the hive. I started by brushing the bees onto the hive, then took the frame across the yard to another area. I finished up my part with the bees and handed over my gear to A1 so she could also look and then close up the hive. When we were finished and went to get the frame of honey, several bees had been drawn to it and were checking it out! I had A1 go get the smoker to encourage the bees to leave, but she had trouble since there were bees on the smoker too!! When I finally got all the bees off, I had to practically run it to the house to keep them away. The smell was apparently too enticing for them.
In addition to our little homestead fun, J also had an engagement involving a major school dance. I was so proud to learn several weeks ago that she had been voted to be part of the homecoming court. Unexpected, but so proud! So she lounged around for awhile, then scooted off to her friends' house to have her hair fixed up, then back home for her dress, then off to the dance! She went with friends, no particular male involved. It lasted until midnight when D went to retrieve our Cinderella. It took mere minutes for her to return herself to her regular pumpkin-like state. When asked about the dance, she replied: "it was kinda boring, the DJ was old and kept playing music from the 70's and 80's!"
Incidentally, 'tis the season... knitting, crocheting, spinning, fiber!!! There will be 15 POUNDS of mohair arriving early this next week. Couldn't beat the price at which it was being offered, so I tried to buy enough to last the remainder of my life. Also put in an order to replace my size 17 needles that B drummed on the floor and broke. Finally I picked up a skein of 1/2 llama, 1/2 wool single-ply yarn to try it out. This first skein will likely be a hat. Depending on how it comes out, I may pick up more of that yarn.
Today we also cracked open the bee hive to check on the girls and harvest any excess honey. To my brief disappointment, the honey super on top was completely untouched by the bees, so I removed it. However, the top portion of the second brood box was packed full of capped honey. From this I extracted a single full frame and replaced it with an empty frame. They survived last winter with only half a single brood box, so I think they'll be alright giving up one frame. I managed to scrape off the honey from the wax foundation of the frame into a pan, which I then drained through a wire mesh. The first side of that frame yielded a whole pint of home-grown honey! We'll scrape the other side of the frame tomorrow, then give it back to the bees to clean up.
The funny part of this particular endeavor occurred toward the end of our escapade when I was trying to take the full frame of honey away from the hive. I started by brushing the bees onto the hive, then took the frame across the yard to another area. I finished up my part with the bees and handed over my gear to A1 so she could also look and then close up the hive. When we were finished and went to get the frame of honey, several bees had been drawn to it and were checking it out! I had A1 go get the smoker to encourage the bees to leave, but she had trouble since there were bees on the smoker too!! When I finally got all the bees off, I had to practically run it to the house to keep them away. The smell was apparently too enticing for them.
In addition to our little homestead fun, J also had an engagement involving a major school dance. I was so proud to learn several weeks ago that she had been voted to be part of the homecoming court. Unexpected, but so proud! So she lounged around for awhile, then scooted off to her friends' house to have her hair fixed up, then back home for her dress, then off to the dance! She went with friends, no particular male involved. It lasted until midnight when D went to retrieve our Cinderella. It took mere minutes for her to return herself to her regular pumpkin-like state. When asked about the dance, she replied: "it was kinda boring, the DJ was old and kept playing music from the 70's and 80's!"
Incidentally, 'tis the season... knitting, crocheting, spinning, fiber!!! There will be 15 POUNDS of mohair arriving early this next week. Couldn't beat the price at which it was being offered, so I tried to buy enough to last the remainder of my life. Also put in an order to replace my size 17 needles that B drummed on the floor and broke. Finally I picked up a skein of 1/2 llama, 1/2 wool single-ply yarn to try it out. This first skein will likely be a hat. Depending on how it comes out, I may pick up more of that yarn.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Fire and Coals
While camping, we all saw an interesting phenomenon, so I took the time to attempt to photograph it. Keeping in mind it was full dark in the National Forest. Meaning almost no ambient light on that moonless night. Here is what we caught with the flash on the camera:
Then I tried various different settings on my camera to see what it could do. Here's the same shot with a different setting (can't remember the actual settings though)
This, I think, was simply without a flash. I have no idea why it came out purple like that, since what we saw were the brilliant red-hot coals in the night!
Again, a different setting, took away the 'aura' that seemed to show up in the previous photo.
Then I tried another setting, which came out black-n-white. A neat effect.
Yet another setting, this shot finally showed a little of what we were seeing with the red of the coals, only in the dark that was ALL we could see! None of the rest of the fire. It was a fun experiment with night shooting!
Then I tried various different settings on my camera to see what it could do. Here's the same shot with a different setting (can't remember the actual settings though)
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Destiny or Fate
I am not a religious person. I don't believe in a higher being. I do, however, believe somewhat in fate or destiny. Not in so much as a sentient creature controlling my future, but more in that there is a certain order to the universe and if one chooses to pay attention, it can lead him/her down a path of self-contentment. Today I experienced this very phenomenon.
I had several choices available as to my week-end excursion. There were 2 poultry swaps and 2 rabbit shows. Each having a major and a minor. The major swap and minor show were about a 3 hour drive away, the minor swap 20 minutes (but I go every month), and the major show 2 hours away. I chose the major show. This was the first step on the path.
I went to the show with the thought of looking around to see if there would be any Hares present. Being a rare breed it's not often you see them at nearby shows. Especially with certain breeders no longer raising them. I poked around at the show and much to my delight, there was 1 exhibitor with Hares there and he had a nice big buck for sale! He was a little scruffy, but the body type was very nice. The price, however was a little steep. Too steep for me today, perhaps this isn't the path after all. I made a counter-offer (more of a suggestion) on the price, he declined. I figured he would. So with some regret, I put him back in the carrier and accepted the breeder's information so that I could contact him at a later time to purchase stock.
Fast forward a little to the raffle pull. I had put in tickets on 4 rabbits, 3 Mini-rex and a Thrianta. I'm not sure what I was really thinking at the time with regards to the Thrianta. Anyway, I won the nicest of the Mini-rex, a young blue buck with some potential. I figured now I needed a doe for him, so I went looking around the showroom for a decent broken to go with the little guy. I immediately went to a well-known breeder, but the one I wanted to choose was a little high on the price scale for what I was wanting (not that she wasn't worth every penny being asked!). So I kept looking around and finally thought I'd found what I needed. A broken lilac doe with nice color and an awesome looking coat for a great price! I found the breeder and asked to have a look. I flipped her to do a cursory DQ check and when I went to check the front nails, I was stopped dead. One of her feet had matted fur on the inside of the ankle, further checking revealed some mucous from the nostrils, but the one eye on the same side as the paw was also matted around and below. I held her up to my ear and detected a wheezing when she breathed. I was utterly devastated. The breeder standing beside me was equally surprised. While it could just as easily have been caused by dust and stress, I couldn't afford to take the chance. So I handed her back to him, borrowed his sanitizer, and thanked him for letting me look (he did pull her from his sales list, just in case). I didn't see any other available animals of real interest in the room.
Just as I had resigned myself to going ahead with the first ones I'd looked at, the breeder of the Hares came over to me. He apparently decided an empty cage was worth more to him than the difference between the price he'd set and the one I'd offered. I bought the Hare in that very instant (before he could change his mind).
So this is how this particular string of events occurred, and could occur in no other way: 1) we chose to attend that show instead of any of the other events. 2) There was an actual Hare breeder at the show who just happened to have an available animal. 3) Even though I won a MR, I couldn't locate a suitable female at the time. 4) The one MR I found that I liked turned out to have some kind of respiratory issue, eliminating it from my consideration. 5) The Hare breeder decided to sell his available rabbit to me at my lower asking price, making it affordable for me. If any of these things had changed, I wouldn't have the Hare! That rabbit is essential to my continued herd improvement.
See... fate.
I had several choices available as to my week-end excursion. There were 2 poultry swaps and 2 rabbit shows. Each having a major and a minor. The major swap and minor show were about a 3 hour drive away, the minor swap 20 minutes (but I go every month), and the major show 2 hours away. I chose the major show. This was the first step on the path.
I went to the show with the thought of looking around to see if there would be any Hares present. Being a rare breed it's not often you see them at nearby shows. Especially with certain breeders no longer raising them. I poked around at the show and much to my delight, there was 1 exhibitor with Hares there and he had a nice big buck for sale! He was a little scruffy, but the body type was very nice. The price, however was a little steep. Too steep for me today, perhaps this isn't the path after all. I made a counter-offer (more of a suggestion) on the price, he declined. I figured he would. So with some regret, I put him back in the carrier and accepted the breeder's information so that I could contact him at a later time to purchase stock.
Fast forward a little to the raffle pull. I had put in tickets on 4 rabbits, 3 Mini-rex and a Thrianta. I'm not sure what I was really thinking at the time with regards to the Thrianta. Anyway, I won the nicest of the Mini-rex, a young blue buck with some potential. I figured now I needed a doe for him, so I went looking around the showroom for a decent broken to go with the little guy. I immediately went to a well-known breeder, but the one I wanted to choose was a little high on the price scale for what I was wanting (not that she wasn't worth every penny being asked!). So I kept looking around and finally thought I'd found what I needed. A broken lilac doe with nice color and an awesome looking coat for a great price! I found the breeder and asked to have a look. I flipped her to do a cursory DQ check and when I went to check the front nails, I was stopped dead. One of her feet had matted fur on the inside of the ankle, further checking revealed some mucous from the nostrils, but the one eye on the same side as the paw was also matted around and below. I held her up to my ear and detected a wheezing when she breathed. I was utterly devastated. The breeder standing beside me was equally surprised. While it could just as easily have been caused by dust and stress, I couldn't afford to take the chance. So I handed her back to him, borrowed his sanitizer, and thanked him for letting me look (he did pull her from his sales list, just in case). I didn't see any other available animals of real interest in the room.
Just as I had resigned myself to going ahead with the first ones I'd looked at, the breeder of the Hares came over to me. He apparently decided an empty cage was worth more to him than the difference between the price he'd set and the one I'd offered. I bought the Hare in that very instant (before he could change his mind).
So this is how this particular string of events occurred, and could occur in no other way: 1) we chose to attend that show instead of any of the other events. 2) There was an actual Hare breeder at the show who just happened to have an available animal. 3) Even though I won a MR, I couldn't locate a suitable female at the time. 4) The one MR I found that I liked turned out to have some kind of respiratory issue, eliminating it from my consideration. 5) The Hare breeder decided to sell his available rabbit to me at my lower asking price, making it affordable for me. If any of these things had changed, I wouldn't have the Hare! That rabbit is essential to my continued herd improvement.
See... fate.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Rabbit Show
Today A2 & I attended a rabbit show together. These days, costs being what they have become and age creeping up on me, I don't get to as many shows as I usually do. I do, however, make a strong effort to get to the ones that are the closest and biggest. This was just one such show. I'm very glad we went too. I had multiple objectives: find A2 a decent doe for her Dutch buck, move out the hairy abomination that's been parasitically living in the rabbitry for too long, find loving homes for the kittens, and look for Hares. This was A2's first official rabbit show.
We arrived in good spirits, unloaded the car and cheerfully walked the long distance back to the showroom and set everything up. I helped A2 clean up her boy (Boo Blue) and trim his nails. She then spent the better part of the show morning walking around with him cradled upside-down in her arms introducing him to everyone! Turns out he really is the PERFECT buck for her!! After maybe 15 or 20 minutes a group of youngsters came over and mentioned they had some Dutch rabbits available. A young man brought over a nice, semi-young (about a year) black doe who just happened to have been bred by the same person from whom A2 picked up the buck at the previous show of this venue. The price was right, the doe was a good match, and the original breeder agreed to forward the pedigree to A2 next week. So the exchange was conducted and "Angel" was added to the carrier.
Things went fairly smoothly for most of the morning, registering rabbits, tagging young Sugar (the jr cavy I was showing) and getting everything setup. I helped A2 make sure she got her rabbit onto the table... but so did about 3 or 4 other people too! It's always nicer when others help out. I learned a great deal about judging Dutch watching the 3 shows today. I hope A2 learned some as well. A2 walked away with 2 BOSV wins and 1 BOSB! A very good result for her first show. Interestingly a different rabbit won BOB in each show. I find that to be a very bad indicator because it means each judge felt that different aspects of the rabbits was more important. It makes it harder to learn what exactly to look for in the show animals when the judges wish-wash like that.
By the end of the show day, we had won 3 items from the raffle (a Comfrey plant for me and a blue Mini-rex jr buck, a pair of dream catchers for A2), found the doe for A2, each won in our show classes (I won BJOB in both cavy shows), I sold one of my hats, re-homed 2 of the kittens, put the fluffy abomination in the raffle, and found someone in the showroom with Hares! A good day in all... tiring, but fun.
We arrived in good spirits, unloaded the car and cheerfully walked the long distance back to the showroom and set everything up. I helped A2 clean up her boy (Boo Blue) and trim his nails. She then spent the better part of the show morning walking around with him cradled upside-down in her arms introducing him to everyone! Turns out he really is the PERFECT buck for her!! After maybe 15 or 20 minutes a group of youngsters came over and mentioned they had some Dutch rabbits available. A young man brought over a nice, semi-young (about a year) black doe who just happened to have been bred by the same person from whom A2 picked up the buck at the previous show of this venue. The price was right, the doe was a good match, and the original breeder agreed to forward the pedigree to A2 next week. So the exchange was conducted and "Angel" was added to the carrier.
Things went fairly smoothly for most of the morning, registering rabbits, tagging young Sugar (the jr cavy I was showing) and getting everything setup. I helped A2 make sure she got her rabbit onto the table... but so did about 3 or 4 other people too! It's always nicer when others help out. I learned a great deal about judging Dutch watching the 3 shows today. I hope A2 learned some as well. A2 walked away with 2 BOSV wins and 1 BOSB! A very good result for her first show. Interestingly a different rabbit won BOB in each show. I find that to be a very bad indicator because it means each judge felt that different aspects of the rabbits was more important. It makes it harder to learn what exactly to look for in the show animals when the judges wish-wash like that.
By the end of the show day, we had won 3 items from the raffle (a Comfrey plant for me and a blue Mini-rex jr buck, a pair of dream catchers for A2), found the doe for A2, each won in our show classes (I won BJOB in both cavy shows), I sold one of my hats, re-homed 2 of the kittens, put the fluffy abomination in the raffle, and found someone in the showroom with Hares! A good day in all... tiring, but fun.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
