Yarn Farm

Dear Shayne,

I am a shareholder in a Fiber CSA called Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm. I originally read about it at not martha, when she was giving away a share of the spring harvest. I did not win, but I loved the idea, so I bought a share anyway. (Shares of the fall harvest are available here.)


(Photos taken from Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm.)

With this purchase, I not only support an independently owned and run fiber farm, but I will also get a share of yarn this Spring -- shearing day is April 19 (there will be a big festival, but I cannot make it) and the yarn will be processed sometime after that. There's also a blog that's a sort of newsletter for shareholders, but anyone can read it -- it's fun to see goats born now and know that I'll be knitting with their wool at some point in the future!

I'm telling you about this now for a few reasons. This is a craft blog, of course, so I will be reporting on my yarn winnings as soon as they arrive. Also, I know you love cuteness and the baby goats and the farm dogs are the frick-frackinest cutest things you've ever seen (Look! Cute dog and baby goat together!) And, finally, the lovely lady who is behind this CSA is having a contest and she is trying to drum up interest.

So consider this a drumming up of interest -- you don't have to be a shareholder to win. Here are the details (from her site):

"This giveaway is for one two-night, three-day weekend for up to two people ... on the beautiful Island on Martha's Vineyard on a mutually agreeable date. The trip includes lodging and three meals a day and all the farm work you can stand. The winner will spend the weekend at our townhouse ... and on our farm, getting to know the flock, doing morning and evening chores with us and learning everything you ever wanted to know about the gentle animals that grow your yarn. Of course, if you want to spend some of your time at the beach, that's okay too."

Okay, the "doing chores" part probably sounds a little strange, but I think it would be neat to "play farmer" for a weekend, knowing that I can go home to wildlife that consists of two cats and a dog. If it sounds at all interesting to you (or anyone reading this), go ahead and enter here.


Tiny Goat 1: Psst... if we win, we have to do chores!
Tiny Goat 2: We're too cute to do chores... ppffthht!

love,
kelly

Happy Birthday, Bill!

Dear Shayne,

Tomorrow is Bill's birthday. I didn't make his gift, but I did make his card. And it is cracking me up!


Hee hee. That Biscuit -- he's a punk!

Of course, I also made the envelope. It doesn't technically "match" the card, but I loved this paper so much that I had to use it:


Biscuit hilarity + awesome stripey skulls. Gotta be a great birthday, doesn't it?

love,
kelly

When in Canada...

... buy yarn? Why, of course!

Dear Shayne,

As you know, I traveled to Canada this week for work. While I didn't get much time to see the sights, I did carve out a few minutes (literally -- I got there 10 minutes before they were closing!) to visit a yarn store that is 100+ years old. Wow!

It's called Beehive Wool Shop and it's a lovely shop that I wish I had had more time to browse. Fortunately, they were very sweet and let me stay a little past closing. I had a hard time deciding on a "souvenir yarn" (it is so such a thing!) but then I found this:


I cannot resist this color combination -- yellow + orange + red + purple = must have. It's a delicious sock yarn called "Casbah" by a Canadian company called Handmaiden. Check out the label:


Love that it says "Hand dyed in Canada" -- perfect for a souvenir yarn! No idea what I'm going to make with it yet. For now, I'm just admiring the lovely colors.

love,
kelly

I wish I had thought of that

Dear Kelly,

I've been browsing Craftster a lot lately, looking for cool stuff to post on geekcrafts.com (shameless plug!). Today I found ATCs that I just fell in love with from crafty_dame. This one is my favorite, but clicky on the link to see the others she made. She's also got a blog and an Etsy shop. Sparkly and vinyl-y!





















Love,
Shayne

I like this tool: Candle Carver

Dear Kelly,

With my renewed interest in baking, I was browsing the 17,000 different kitchen items on Amazon and found the coolest thing ever! It's called the Candle Carver. Basically, it digs a hole in an apple (hmmm, what other fruits and veggies would work?) that is the exact size to drop in a tealight candle. I need this tool. And then I need to have a dinner party so I have an excuse to have little apple lights. Wouldn't a row of Granny Smith apples look awesome?

Love,
Shayne

P.S. Get it here.