I made my goal!

As of today, I've completed 40 squares for Silas' Farmland. And that means, I've made my goal for January. Woo-hoo! All 40 are pictured above. Just look at all of those ends I still have to weave in. Fun times.

I hope to hit 60 by the end of February, though it would be nice to have all 64 finished, giving me two weeks in March to put it together and do a boarder. Looks like I'll have to bring it with me to Wisconsin in February. I'll be gone 11 days and I'll definitely need to work on it during that time in order to stay on target. It might not be the most transportable of projects, given the many different yarns I use, but, I'll make it work!

Crop Circles

If you guessed that the visitors to Si's Farmland mentioned in the last post was of the extraterrestrial variety, you get a gold star.

It took me a long time and several failed attempts to come up with a decent crop circle design. I'm still not 100 % satisfied with the outcome, but I think this is going to be the final patch dedicated to our alien visitors. I'm ready to move on to other aspects of the farm. Still, the farmland wouldn't be complete without a bit of sci-fi whimsy (or government cover-up, depending on your perspective).

Time's a waisin' too. I've gotta keep up the momentum so that I make my deadline of having the farmland finished by March 16th. My immediate goal is to reach 40 completed squares by the end of the month. Better stop writing and knit!

Roadside U-Pick Berry Patch

Looks like some city folk made their way to Silas' farmland to pick some berries from the roadside patch.
All looks tranquil on the farm. But wait! There's a surprise in store for you. The farm has had a visitor, and you might just get a glimpse...in a few days.

Stay tuned!

Happy Day

Have fun in Texas, Bush. Don't call us, we'll call you.

Happy Inauguration Day everyone!

Michelle's Birthday Giveaway

Fellow blogger, knitter, and mama extraordinaire is having a fabulous giveaway in honor of her birthday. If you have a chance, head over to her blog, and add a comment to this post for a chance to win. The deadline is tonight, so don't delay!

Happy Birthday, Michelle!

Halfway there!

I just finished my 32nd square for Si's knitted farmland. Woo-hoo! I'm at the halfway point with exactly 2 months to go till his second birthday. I've gotta work fast as it's going to take me a while to get the thing pieced together. I'm pretty determined to meet the deadline and it helps that I'm an extremely monogamous knitter. I'm working on the farmland, and nothing else. Since each square is different, I've yet to get bored. I will, however, be happy to move onto something different, come March 16th.

A pond for Si's farmland

I decided Silas needed a pond for his knitted farmland. It took a while to complete because it meant 9 squares (well, more like rectangles) had to be planned out in order to give the pond a natural shape. I used loop stitch to create tall foliage around the pond and create what hopefully comes across as an organic transition between water and whatever crop/grass/plant is growing beyond the water. I still have to embroider flowers on the three lily pads. And a felted frog or two might be a welcome addition as well...

The pictures don't really do justice to the pond, especially since the pieces aren't sewn together yet. Still, I wanted to share the progress I've been making. It's exciting to see it come together a bit. As of this evening, I've completed 27 squares. Pretty soon I'll be at the half-way mark!

Crafting Resolutions

(Pictured: Silas on New Year's Day, wearing bruiser hat, roll-neck giraffe sweater, and stripy mittens.)

I'm not really the resolution making type, but thought it worth the effort this time. Perhaps actually having a list, seeing it in print on the blog, and being able to cross items off it it will be motivating. It's worth a shot. So, without further ado, here are my crafting resolutions for 2009:

1. Finish Silas' Knitted Farmland by his birthday in mid March. This is doable, as long as I stay motivated and use my time wisely.

2. Complete at least 1 largish crochet project. I love crochet. I really do. But my default tends to be to pick up two needles rather than the hook. I dream more in knitting, than in crochet. Still, crochet has an important place in my crafting world, and so finishing a sizable crochet project this year is a must, in order to keep those skills honed.

3. Spin more. I'm always putting this off in favor of other projects, so I need to figure out how to make this a part of my regular routine. I have some wool I dyed with coffee way back in September. I'd like to have that all spun up by the spring.

4. Steek something. It seems that everyone is steeking these days, and I'd like to jump on that bandwagon too. I actually have a sweater sitting in my cedar chest that I'd like to convert to a cardigan. It's no big loss to me if I ruin it in the attempt. After all, it's just sitting there, too big and shapeless for me to actually wear. It really is the perfect candidate with which to practice this skill on. So what's stopping me?

5. Knit Sylvi for myself! I'm a little bit a lot smitten with Twist Collective. I love just about everything I see in it. Sylvi would make a great coat which would work basically throughout the fall, winter, and spring here. This is a huge project though, and I am already in the middle of a big project. That doesn't mean it can't be done, though.

6. Get my Roaring 20's cloche hat pattern up and available in Ravelry. This is one of the things I've been meaning to do for forever. I've had several requests for it, and still, it remains undone.

7. Knit something extra nice for Drew. Drew is the neglected one in the family. Whenever anyone remarks about all of the sweaters and hats and whatnot that I've made for Silas, Drew proudly shows them his socks...and that's about it. He has a few hats, a scarf, but he's not really the hat or scarf type, so the only thing he really wears that I've made for him are his socks. I really need to make him at least one other pair. I'd like to say that I promise to make him a sweater, but...perhaps that will be at the top of the list of crafting resolutions for 2010 instead :)

8. Keep my stash in check and organized. That one probably goes without saying, but as most of you know, it's easier said than done.