The Garden Games

My garden is weedy. Part of this is intentional. Slugs and critters don’t seem to care if they are eating weeds or veggies or herbs, so I leave the weeds in places if they aren’t competing with what I’m cultivating. This has helped reduce the damage.

On the other hand, if I don’t stay on top of the weeds — preventing them from sprawling or going to seed — then I end up with a real mess on my hands. Right now I’m trying to extricate grass seedlings that are surrounding lettuce seedlings. It’s like agriculture surgery.

I am also keeping weeds to make fertilizer tea. I throw them in a five gallon bucket with banana peels, fill it with water, cover it, and in two weeks I have the best free fertilizer. I strain it and dilute it one to one. This simple trick is changing my gardening game this year. The plants love it. When I have enough nettle growing, I’ll do the same with it.

Mint Guardians of the Cucumbers

Someone told me to try planting mint in the garden to deter pests. This is also a dangerous game, but I have noticed the groundhogs have abandoned their burrow in the garden now that the opening is surrounded by mint. I’m trying the open-bottom pot in the ground trick. Supposedly, this will keep the mint from spreading. We use mint in tea, and I would love to learn to make our own cilantro mint chutney, so a little more mint is welcome if I can corral it.

Rue Guardians of the Sunflower

I’m also trying rue around my one sunflower seedling. I cannot grow sunflowers here. They are simply too delicious. I had one in a pot that was thriving, but eventually even that one got chomped. I decided to plant it in the garden surrounded by rue seedlings. Rue is one of my favorite herbs, and it’s very bitter. I’m hoping the critters don’t like it and will leave my sunflower alone. It’s a red sunflower, and it seems to be coming back with two stalks instead of one.

The deer ate the baby gooseberries. Next year we will try a fruit cage. They are also nibbling at the low-hanging baby apples. Luckily our apple trees are old and big — too tall for the deer to reach very many. I have a good feeling about the apples this year.

The last two gooseberries. I ate the big one. It was unripe, but I had to eat at least one.
Baby Apples
A-hole Sorrel

My garden sorrel started flowering. I cut it back, trying to coax it into a longer season of greens. Then it cranked the finger at me. I guess I’ll let it go to seed and hopefully have sorrel babies next year.

Daikon Radish

The Daikon Radishes are doing great. I would harvest this one, but I’m supposed to let it go to seed first. The rest of the kimchi garden is hit or miss. The mustard bolted. I may plant more. The Napa cabbage is struggling. We did get a bunch of kale today, but that may be it for the season.

The good news is some of the peas rebounded. I hope to get a few. The tomatoes and peppers are doing well. The zucchini is surviving. And the Jerusalem Artichokes seem happy so far.

Jerusalem Artichokes
Soapwort with Hop Sentries

The soapwort is thriving, as are the hops.

Green Strawberries

And we have strawberries, if we can keep the chipmunks at bay.

False Strawberries

Maybe the chipmunks will be happy with the false strawberries from the ground cover I’ve let go in places. It’s like gardening sleight of hand or the Jedi mind trick. “These are not the strawberries you are looking for.”

I am trying my hand at foraging. I’ve never foraged more than blackberries and wild onions, so this is new. We have Dryad’s Saddle growing on our property. I went through a long process of identifying them, although I’ve read there are no poisonous lookalikes. Unfortunately, I got to them too late. I tried sautéing them in butter, but they were too big and tough. I’ll try again in the fall or next spring, now that I know what they are. (Please do your own research on mushrooms and don’t go by anything I say. I’m not an expert. I’m still alive though. I ate one bite… well, tried to.)

Multiflora Rose

This year, I have roses. Okay, they’re invasive multiflora rose, but they smell divine. We’re removing any that are competing with other trees and plants, and pulling up those that have spread. But we will leave one or two that are doing well, and collect the hips in the fall for tea. This plant provides food and shelter for wildlife. (We’re handling honeysuckle the same way since the hummingbirds love them.)

I recently read an article about climate change and native species that made me rethink how we handle competition in our natural environment. Granted, some invasive species have to be controlled, but many will be balanced by nature. I’m letting the mosquito larvae go in my pond and attracting dragonflies with plants to help control them. This is how I’m trying to think about things. Also, I’d love to install a bat house.

I’m seeing many more bird species this year. I feel like we must be doing something right. In addition to the regulars (goldfinches, house finches, titmice, nuthatches, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, blue jays, and crows) we now have regular visits from red-winged blackbirds, grosbeak couples, cowbirds, a red-headed woodpecker, and I even saw what I think was a Cedar Waxwing at the Oriole feeder, though I’m not 100% positive. I did see an Oriole early on at the hummingbird feeder, but it’s not been back even though I’ve now put out jelly for it. We have a female hummingbird in addition to the males (ruby-throated), which come back each year. And we finally have regular cardinals. This is good, as they eat stink bugs, and we have too many of those.

HeadKnits is now Snakes & Cranes

Since there has been a little confusion, I thought I would write a post about the name change so I don’t accidentally lose anyone. I’ve decided on Snakes and Cranes because these are animals I feel a kinship with, and what they represent.

Psychology Today says, “…snakes are close to the ground and shed their skins, making them symbols of the nourishing earth, the underworld, rebirth, immortality and creativity—and, by extension, of culture and wisdom.” We saw a snake in the yard a day or so after I decided on the name change, and it was the first we’d seen after living here for three years. I felt like it was a sign. And, as you may know, my garden path is a winding snake of stones.

Cranes symbolize luck, grace, balance, loyalty, longevity, and transformation. I once had a dream I was a flying crane, and I’ve been fascinated by them ever since. Here’s a great post by World Birds on Crane symbolism.

My choice of this title is an effort to be true to myself and my voice. (My word for 2023 is “voice.”) I have had some feedback that this name does not reflect knitting or fiber arts, and I appreciate the feedback. However, this is not just a knitting blog. It’s a personal blog that features a lot of knitting, but also sewing, gardening, baking, sustainability, nature, books, movies, history, the paranormal, life — basically whatever I feel like blogging about. I also follow many knitting and fiber art blogs that don’t include the topic in the title, so I don’t feel beholden to that convention.

Most importantly, I need this to be a place where I want to spend time writing and sharing my thoughts. HeadKnits wasn’t that place anymore. I’d like to think my head is now blocked and seamed with the ends woven in — ready to wear! Even so, the wisdom of the snake tells us it’s a never ending cycle, so please don’t mind me while I shed my skin. And I hope you’ll stick around! I am really grateful for the community of bloggers I’ve met here.

Just for fun, here are some other names I considered:

  • Okie in Ohio
  • Big Al the Bird
  • 3AM Reckoning
  • 4 Acre Wood
  • Yellow House Homestead

I hope you have a lovely Saturday planned! I have a guild meeting, then Bob and I are going to see Renfield at one of our favorite theaters.

Wednesday: It’s a Wrap! Or, a Haunted Hap?

While running through the haunted woods behind her house, the author’s shawl gets hung on tree branches. Should she turn and rescue it? Or keep running? What is she running from? Is it the Blair Witch? Hold on… Wait a minute… She IS the witch! Stop running, witch! Put your shawl back on and go home.

I finished knitting my Halloween Livie shawl! Pattern is Livie by Tamy Gore. Yarn is Spectacular from Knit Circus in Trick or Treat and Quoth the Raven.

I started knitting this last October, but realized pretty quickly I was not going to be able to finish it by Halloween. I was also annoyed that I had to take the stitch marker off every right side row and move it. Fast forward to July 2022: I loved knitting this! It was great TV knitting, intuitive and repetitive, and the whole stitch marker thing became part of the rhythm. (I guess I was more grumpy and stressed last year. Funny how that works.)

As much as I love a good wrap, let’s face it. I’ll be wearing it more like this.

Bonjour. Je m’appelle M. Croque

Liz at Highland Heffalump suggested I get a wee pond to possibly attract a frog to eat our plethora of slugs. I thought that was worth a try, so I picked up a small pond from the home improvement store and installed it yesterday. While digging the hole in the garden, I disturbed a frog already in residence! Luckily, it came back. Meet Monsieur Croque!

No, this is not a joke about the French being frogs. I love the French, and French Canadians! I took French for six years in my youth. This is a joke about the dish Croque Monsieur.

Anyway, here’s hoping Monsieur (or Madame) Croque finds the new habitat to its liking. I’m watching for mosquito larvae but hoping those will get eaten as well. If not, I’ll have to clean it regularly, or install a small circulator. I ordered a toad house, and the pond is sheltered in the shade of the Elderberry bush.

I love toads and frogs. I thought I was going to have to go tadpole hunting like I did when I was a kid. I love that M. Croque (to be known simply as Croque going forward) was already enjoying the slug buffet.

I’m not sure what type of frog Croque is. What do you think? Maybe a Cricket Frog?

Dye Hard: Yarn of Projects

I’ve been traveling and entertaining the last couple of weeks, as well as focusing on the mystery box stuff, so I don’t have much progress to show. I’m still knitting on the Blueberry Popover Day socks, my Pumqueen Cardi, and Arrowhead. But as promised, here are pics of my haul from the Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair, in order of acquisition.

BFL fiber for spinning
Darning Egg and Damsel Plum yarn in two weights from Knitting Notions
Bulky in Salmon Run and sock in Squash from Laughing Cat Fibers
Litha and Taurus from Dye Mad Yarns

Did I buy more superwash? Yes. I need to draw the line on superwash. It’s great for socks and summer shawls, but not warm enough for winter knits.

I have been editing and updating my Year of Projects list. I make minor changes to my knitting plans throughout the year. However, I made some significant changes to my sewing list. Me Made May taught me I need to make more tops and pants. I have enough summer dresses. Below is the new list. I’d love to finish the first three this month.

  1. Ottobre blouse in Liberty blue paisley lawn and black linen
  2. Two A-line Tees in batiked cottons for summer
  3. Pietra Pants in indigo linen
  4. Audrey Pants in navy stretch cotton twill and gray cotton twill
  5. Ophelia Overalls in teal corduroy
  6. A Logan Shacket in navy wool flannel
  7. Ottobre Coat in black wool floral embossed coating

Bob gave me this natural dyeing kit from Botanical Colors for my birthday. It arrived yesterday! I’ve never dyed with prepared natural dyes before, only from foraged botanicals or plants from my garden. I’m looking forward to trying this. Funds raised from the sales of this kit supports sending vital supplies to displaced children and families in Ukraine as well as supporting Botanical Colors’ BIPOC scholarships.

I have been dyeing hard lately. I’m going for another experiment on cotton yarn this week. And then I’m going to dye some wool yarn in fall colors for the shop.

This has been a Year Of Projects (YOP) update. You can find out more about the group here (Rav link) or here: Backstage Kath’s YOP bloggers list. You can read my updated list of projects here.

Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair

I had a great time at the Mid-Ohio Fiber Fair today! Bob’s Mom, Margie, and I went for a couple of hours and shopped the booths. I got to see some of my favorite yarn dyers, and pick up a few precious skeins.

I was really excited to meet Catherine from Knitting Notions in person. You may know her from the yarnmama blog. I had a hard time choosing from her displays dripping with glorious tonal yarns, but I managed. I also picked up a cherry wood darning egg!

Next stop was Laura from Laughing Cat Fibers. I got to meet her husband Joe on this visit. Laura will be dyeing the yarn for my Autumn Yarn Mystery Box! I picked up a few skeins and a free pattern!

It’s always a pleasure to banter with Kelley from Dye Mad Yarns. I grabbed a skein of Taurus and another of Litha, for summer seasonal knitting joy. I also selected a Porch Goose magnet set for my refrigerator. I’m really glad I got one, because I’ve been wanting it for a long time. You need one too.

I met a new-to-me Ohio dyer, Lorna from Bewitched Pigments. Their yarn colors are stunning! I didn’t get any yarn from them at the event, but I did sign up for one of the clubs on their website.

I also got to visit with the ladies from the Central Ohio Weaving and Fiber Arts Guild for a moment. I didn’t have time to sit and knit in public, but I’ll be volunteering at a couple of events later this summer.

Sharon, above on the right, suggested I try spinning with BFL as I’m learning. So I brought home a braid of natural BFL, which I may dye before I spin. I will save photos of my acquisitions for another post.

Did you knit in public today?

Wednesday WIPs: a Mid-Week YOP Update

My weekends have been fairly busy, and I haven’t been able to post a Year of Projects update in a bit. So here’s a combo post!

Knitting

I am working on sport weight socks for Bob, a Halloween cardigan, and my Arrowhead cardigan. The yarn shown in the featured image is from my stash and will be used in a Summer Solstice Ambah knitalong. I am also working on my knitting pattern design for the Volunteer Sunflowers yarn mystery box.

The Halloween cardigan is from the Fall Favorites Collection, Pumqueen version. The yarn is Cascade BFL, which I am really enjoying working with. I’m modifying the pattern to be a cardigan with a steek.

Sewing

I am focusing on project bags right now. I hope to have a finish to show by Friday. But I did sew matching KISS pajama shorts for Bob and me.

Dyeing

I continue to experiment. I am mostly focusing on the Volunteer Sunflowers yarn mystery box yarn. Only one week left to order. Please share with people you think would be interested!

Spinning

I haven’t been doing this. I hope to start back up next month.

In other news:

We have two baby groundhogs in the garden right now. They are so cute.

We enjoyed our trip to ParaPsyCon III at the Ohio State Reformatory. Very creepy and lots of fun!

It’s YOPday, It’s YOPday, TGIY: an FO!

I’m really pleased it fits. Pattern is Musselburgh Hat by Ysolda. Yarn is Chester Sock by Dye Mad Yarns. The pattern was well written and easy to follow. It took a long time in fingering weight, though. But that made the perfect double layer of fabric. I made the AXL size.

I am taking one more day off from work tomorrow to completely decompress. I hope to catch up on Arrowhead and get some sewing in. A big thank you to everyone who purchased a Spring Thaw Yarn Mystery Box! 💙

This has been a Year Of Projects update. You can find out more about the group here (Rav link) or here: Backstage Kath’s YOP bloggers list. You can read my updated list of projects here.

Saturday Start: A New Venture!

One of my favorite things to do is curate gifts and collections. I once worked as a personal shopper, and walking around with customers and helping them select items was an absolute favorite activity. With this in mind, I have decided I want to combine my love of knitting and fiber arts, handmade items, natural fibers, and curating collections by starting my own yarn mystery box company: Chestnut Hills Farm and Fiber! This will be a part time enterprise. I’m planning to curate a mystery box seasonally, so just four times per year, at least at first.

The first box is called Spring Thaw, and is inspired by my original photo below:

I’m very excited to be including yarn from Cornbread and Honey, along with her fabulous lotion bars. I’ve always loved her color aesthetic, and she will be dyeing on non-superwash merino wool in a special colorway just for this box! There will be stitch markers by MAB Elements, who I recently discovered, and I am in love with her work. (Look for a shawl pin in a future box!) And for those who want a little more mystery, the Cultivate Box will include a special flower pot made by Megs Levesseur, also inspired by the theme! I will be including some seeds from my garden to plant in the pot, along with information about the seeds and season.

In future boxes, I hope to include original patterns, some of my own hand dyed yarn, and other goodies made by regional artisans I admire. I hope you’ll consider supporting me on this new endeavor! There are a limited number of boxes available for purchase, and you can also support by sharing this link on your blog, or resharing on social media. Thank you! This has been a long time coming, and I’m very excited about the possibilities of this enterprise.

O’YOPpenbaum

Knitting

I finished my Ranunculus Sweater! Pattern is Ranunculus by Midori Hirose. Yarn is The Fibre Co Arranmore in color Ruari. (I believe this yarn is discontinued.) Mods: I used Aran weight yarn and knit the original size, which turned out perfect. I opted for a twisted rib cuff instead of an icord bind off. I knit until the sweater covered my derrière. It’s lovely and I don’t want to take it off. I think the only improvement would have been to include bust darts. But who am I kidding. That’s way too fussy.

I’ve started the Unbearable Hat (Ravelry link) for Henry, but there’s nothing yet to see other than some black ribbing.

I’ve mended the heels on Bob’s socks. I’ve learned that garter stitch doesn’t wear any better than any other stitch. I wonder if leather heel patches would help?

Sewing

I haven’t sewn anything this week.

Spinning

I signed up for a spinning class at the Newark Cultural Arts Center for January 2nd! It’s a spinning wheel class that is one on one to go over all the basics. I hate that I am starting over but I am pretty much starting over. I hope this sets me off on the right foot. (See what I did there?)

I started a thing! I created a meetup called the Granville Stitchers and we had our first meeting yesterday. We drank cider at Seek No Further Cidery, worked on our projects and got to know each other a little bit. It was wonderful! We are meeting again in a couple of weeks!

This has been a Year of Projects update. You can find out more about the group here (Rav link) or here: Backstage Kath’s YOP bloggers list. You can read my updated list of projects here.