February Doings

February has been a beautiful month, for the most part.  We've had more sunny blue sky days than I can count.  Some of them were below-zero cold, like the morning this picture was taken of the trees shrouded in hoar frost.  The last several, however, have been above the 40-degree mark and still sunny; which is pretty unusual for this time of year.  Warm days in February are typically cloudy ones.

The first Saturday, we had a full house.  DH, DS1, DS2 and Honorary Son made about 45 pounds of sausage--breakfast, chorizo and Italian--while all the grandkids played together.  During the couple hour break while the sausage meat soaked in its seasonings before grinding, the guys got out the snowmobiles and ran them around the field.  The grandkids got to go sledding behind the 4-Wheeler.  Even Faline bundled up and went for her first sled ride, securely held by K3!

My mudroom was full of boots, coats, and cold-weather gear.  Overwhelming, but also a good full-heart feeling.

Some of the Italian sausage was made into links.  About half was packaged in bulk, for using in spaghetti sauce and on pizza.

With all the sunlight, my chickens are cranking out the eggs.  They're averaging 8-9 a day, but I've had as many as 11 in one day this week.  They are keeping the whole family well supplied, and I think I'll even have enough to sell a few dozen a week this Spring and early Summer.

Over several weekends, DH and I pruned all the fruit trees in our little orchard, as well as the trees in the yard (any low-hanging branches that were nuisances while mowing the lawn), the bushes around the house, and a large majority of the wild apples and crabapples along the north fence line and where the field meets the woods.  

I found some grapevine growing in one of the lilac bushes near the house, and pulled it out. As I was winding it to better be able to throw it onto the brush pile, I had the thought to try to make a wreath out of it.  Twisting and turning the length of the vines around the original loop I made was incredibly easier than I'd thought it would be.  And just like that, I have a free grapevine wreath to decorate with!

On Wednesday this week, I went out and tapped some of the maples in our woods.  The extended forecast is for just right temperatures for the sap to begin running.  I hereby declare maple syrup season to be underway!

Next comes Mud Month (March), and you can tell that Mother Nature is getting ready to transition to Spring.  In the last week we've seen many robins and bluebirds, as well as flocks of starlings (DH's nemesis).  We've also, in the last two days, lost the majority of the nice snow that had finally built up to a useful (ie sledding, skiing, snowmobiling) amount.  Our driveway and all the plowed areas around this little place here are down to bare earth; bare muddy earth.  

Time for me to get my tender veggie and flower seeds started indoors!
 

February Sewing Update

 I'm going to try something new, and on the second Wednesday of each month, post about what I've been sewing lately.  I joined a group doing a quilting UFO challenge this year, where each group member makes a list of 12 unfinished projects or projects they've been wanting to sew, at the beginning of each month a number is drawn, and you work on whatever is on your list under that number.  So, hopefully, I will be doing more sewing than I have in a few years, and therefore, have something new to talk about here on a regular basis.

For January, my project was a paper pieced wall hanging that I'd bought the pattern for at least 5 years ago.  At that time, I didn't realize how tiny the pattern pieces were, and I got rather overwhelmed at the thought of tackling a paper piecing project that was so intricate.  Add in chaotic family changes over the next few years, and this became a UFO that was never even started.  

As fate would have it, the number drawn for January coordinated on my list with this fearsome little wall hanging. This year, however, I was determined to get it not just started, but also finished.  After making photocopies of the paper pieces in case I really messed up, I jumped into sewing little pieces of fabric to little pieces of paper in numerical order.

I messed up alot.  As I kept sewing, I eventually got the hang of lining up my fabrics with the lines on the paper in the correct manner.  However, every time I took a break, say from one day to the next, I had to teach my brain all over again.  There was lots of seam ripping, repositioning, and resewing just to get the first little section done.  The next section was a repeat of the learning process.  And the next, and the next. . . 

As you can see, my stitching didn't always make the colors join smoothly.  But, for a first (and second and third and tenth. . . ) attempt at paper piecing on such an intricate scale, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

This little guy wasn't too bad.

It took me probably close to two hours to do each of the three penguins.  And they are small.  The tallest one is about 6" tall. 

This was totally a love-hate kind of thing.  I love the end result, but the process itself I rather hate.  Yet, as a perfectionist, I know that this probably won't be the last paper piecing project I ever do. It's challenging, and the end result is rather pride-inducing.

Speaking on end result, this is the completed wall hanging.  It is slated to be given later this year as a birthday present to my penguin loving daughter.

There was also some embroidery involved (French knots for the eyes, back stitching for the skate blades), which has me itching to do some sort of needlework--either embroidery or counted cross stitch--in the near future.

February's official UFO number matched a bunch of blocks from a 'south-west color' Jacob's Ladder swap I did back in 2013.  I had 14 blocks from that, and had decided last summer that I wanted to use them to make a throw-sized blanket to have picnics with the grandkids or to take to the beach. I would need 2 more blocks in order to make a layout of 4 blocks by 4 blocks.  Those, I whipped up a week ago.  A few days later, I came up with a layout that was not perfect, but would do.  Interpretation of 'south-west colors' kind of varied from block maker to block maker, so it's kind of a mish mash quilt. 

 As I write this, the quilt is a completed flimsy, awaiting sandwiching and quilting (hopefully this coming weekend).

February Knitting Update

 Sadly, Ginny is not doing the Yarn Along this year.  She has an excellent reason for that decision, but I'll definitely miss the monthly link ups.

I've decided that I will continue to post the first Wednesday of each month with an update on what I've been knitting and reading.  Mainly because I love a schedule, and the Yarn Along has been one of the few scheduled things I've been able to keep up with in the last couple years despite all the twists and turns that life and family have thrown my way.  I need to be able to keep to a schedule and cross things off my to-do list.

So, for February's knitting post, here's what I'm currently working on:

The pattern is Vertex by my favorite sock designer verybusymonkey.  The yarn is Knit Picks Chroma fingering in the coloryway GoGo Boots.  I do have to say, as far as the yarn goes, I like the in-your-face brightness, but it is definitely not (so far) producing the color changes shown on the website. Disappointed about that.  The pattern, I love! It is super simple to follow, yet like so many of verybusymonkey's designs, looks very intricate.

Completed knitting since January's post: 

Elevation socks for my Mom. 

Two dishcloths, which, like the ones I knit in December, were made with scrap yarn.

Icicles

Michigan

I managed to read two books (woo hoo!  My reading has been much less than I'd like).  

The Stone Wall by Beverly Lewis is her latest novel.  I'd been waiting quite a while to get it from the library, and I did like reading it once I got my hands on it, although I have to admit it seemed a little predictable.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel was tough for me to put down.  I'll be seeking out more by this author.

Currently I am reading Dressage Riding by Richard Watjen. While I've had this book for years I've never actually read it.  So, this year is the year I'm going to read it cover to cover.