Sewing Update, June

 This was almost titled I Didn't Sew A Thing.  Because until a few days ago, I hadn't touched my rotary cutter or my sewing machine since before the May update.  But, over the weekend, I decided I wanted to do a small project, something decorative, something in red, white, and blue.  So I found a pattern I thought would work, and picked my fabrics, and got my strips cut, and sewn.

And that's it, to this point.  My strips are sewn.  They still have to be cut to the correct lengths, and I have to cut out my background fabric yet, but at least I've started.

It was actually nice to sit down upstairs in the "sewing room" again.  It's been well over a year since I've sewn at the desk there, where I can look out over the garden via the window right behind where the sewing machine sits.  My last few projects were just too big (and the room too cluttered) to sew at the desk there.  Perhaps I should plan some smaller projects to work on this summer.  Maybe even on a weekly basis.  What a novel idea!

Some Pre-gardening Work

Earlier this Spring, DH and I did some work in and around the garden.  Some was in preparation for planting, other work was the type that either had to be done before the garden was planted or not until after everything is harvested this coming Fall.

Because it was a dry, but not consistently warm enough to plant Spring, I asked DH to turn the garden over with the 2-bottom plow we bought last fall.  It hadn't been deeply plowed since I carved it out of the main crop field (that we rent out to a local farmer) 18 years ago when we were finishing up construction on the house. Prior to purchasing the property and building our house, it all was crop field with the exception of the 10 acres of woods.

In the 18 years since designating the garden space, I added in literal tons of composted horse manure, changing the soil from extremely nutrient deficient dense clay to nice friable loose soil.  But, it had gradually developed a hardpan about 6" down due to tilling with the rototilller year after year.

I was hoping that by turning the garden with the plow, we could break up that hardpan.  And we did, but the clay that it brought up reminded me of how nasty the original garden soil was.  I'm hoping I didn't make a mistake. . . I guess we'll know by the end of this growing season if it was a good idea or not.  Meanwhile, I will be scouting a source for lots and lots of free composted manure this Fall.  LOL.

The plow that I failed to mention until today, was part of what we purchased from the estate sale of my friend and mentor who died last year.  We also bought her small set of discs (which we used in the garden after plowing and before tilling) and barely used brush hog.  Our own brush hog had rusted into Dangerous To Use condition (it was ancient) a few years ago, and DH is loving having a working brush hog again.  The perimeter path is once again mowed and walkable, hooray!  (For those who don't know, we've created and tried to maintain a path around the perimeter of our property.  The four sides add up to enough linear feet to make approximately one mile.)

The "new" brush hog

The other heavy-equipment related project at the garden was to add some very large rocks that DH was tired of mowing around (and also needing to weed whip around) from various points in the yard.  All of these rocks (as all of the rocks in our rock wall that separates the yard from the garden) had come from our property.  Some were excavated when digging the basement of the house pre-construction.  Some came from the hay field before we planted it in hay and the front and back yards before they became lawn.  Some came from various rock piles we found when cleaning up overgrown fencelines and along the road frontage.  

Anyway, DH decided he didn't want 'statement' rocks anymore, and we added them to the lowish part of the rock wall, moving them with the tractor one at a time and setting them in place.

We would like to move one more big rock, that marks the west end of the rock wall, as well as about a 6' section of the wall that proceeds eastward from that large rock.  Over the years they have become buried underneath the lower limbs of a now 25+ foot tall spruce tree that was just a wee seedling when we planted it 6 feet away from the wall 17 years ago.  But that will have to wait until Fall, or next Spring, since we ran out of non-gardening weather this Spring and now it's full on grow vegetable season!
 

Knitting Update, June

So much to do, so little time!  Here it is (a day past) time for a knitting update, and I don't think I've even touched my knitting needles in a week!  I have gotten the vast majority of the 1/4 acre garden planted though, so that counts for something, right?

Since the May knitting update, I finished my early spring shorty socks.  The picture doesn't do the yarn justice.  Think Crayola crayon green.  The green in the simple 8 pack of crayons, and that's the shade of these socks.  My favorite color.  

I love the color.  Love the pattern, even love the (new technique to me) short row heel--it was definitely smoother on the second sock than on the first.  What I don't love is that these are short shorty socks.  Barely covers what my tennis shoe touches.  Definitely shorter than what I like, even in an ankle sock.  In the future, I'll knit an extra inch or so before starting the heel compared to what the pattern calls for.

Next up on, and off, the needles, was a pair of  Have a Heart Valentine socks for K3.  You see, next month, DH and I are taking K3 and Toad on a vacation that will include lots of rugged terrain and hiking.  Since all she has is thin cutesy ankle socks, I decided to knit her a pair of nice wool hiking socks.  Not too tall though, just tall enough to work with shoes/boots that are tall enough to have ankle support.  Pattern was free, and yarn was 'free' too, being leftover sock yarn from past projects.  Bonus: the blue self-striping yarn is yarn that she'd admired when I was knitting with it last year, so I know she's going to love these socks.

Currently on the needles, and needing to be done before June is over, is a pair of hiking socks for Toad.  Can't very well give his sister special vacation socks and not have some for him too!  Plus, I doubt he has any good durable socks with cushion for hiking either.  Not really using a pattern for this one, just same stitch count as K3's, all in stockinette, and using some Opal yarn leftover from making socks for DS1 (their dad) several years ago.  So. . . more free socks!  

Sock #1 is nearly done, just have the toe decreases to go.  Sock #2 won't take long, once I actually sit down long enough to knit it.

 

I haven't been good with reading in the past month, either.  I did enjoy The Late Bloomer's Club, like I thought I would. I hope this author writes more books.  Other than that, I haven't finished, or even gotten halfway through another book.  Maybe because I have three going at once:

--given to me by Faline's other grandma when she was done reading it, and kept in my bag for reading while Faline napped: Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly.  I have to admit, I'm a little distracted by similarities in storyline to another mystery series I've read regarding a microbrewery. . .  hoping to stick it out and finish this book even though I'm done babysitting Faline for the summer.  But, no promises, as I've got more interesting reads going on.

--my read it slow and digest it horse book:  Four Legs Move My Soul by Isabell Werth and Evi Simeoni.

--from the library (actually had a request for last year, and was 2nd on the hold list when the book was purchased, then first person must not have returned it or something, because it was listed as due in January to person #1 with 5 more holds after that, then still on my hold list but not actually found in the library catalog for 4 months, then suddenly I got an email that it was available for pickup?!?): Horse Brain, Human Brain; the Neuroscience of Horsemanship by Janet Jones, PhD.  This has been my main reading focus for the past week since I received it from the library.  So far, a lot of the content I all ready knew, but there have been some interesting added details to a few things.  I'm going to read just this book for the next week in an attempt to finish it before it's due back at the library on the 10th.

May Rides

A few days late, but this is my May update for Camaro.  

Late April was good, and bad, in terms of rides. There were two days when work was being done in the indoor arena, and the only place to ride was the outdoor--briefly, for a few hours while the horses normally turned out in it were kept in so a few of us could ride in the early morning.  First day of outdoor only went wonderful, except that I was under a tight time constraint and after longeing Camaro for about 15 minutes since it was the first time in the outdoor this year, I only had less than 10 minutes to ride.  That ride was great: he was relaxed and stretchy, just as I had hoped.

The following day was rather a disaster.  Rain was in the forecast, but it was just slightly misty when we set out to longe in the outdoor.  And then came a lawnmower--or rather, a guy racing a zero-turn as fast as it could go up the side of the barn, towards the outdoor, apparently also trying to beat the rain.  Camaro, understandably, in response to the noisy death machine zooming toward the fence did a full fledged Arabian episode of snorting and bucking and cantering like an idiot on the end of the longe line.  I had just gotten him back into a more intelligent state when the clouds opened and the rain arrived.  Rather than get my saddle and bridle soaked in order to ride, we aborted the riding plans for that day and dashed back to the barn.  It was rather frustrating.

Two days later, however, back in the now improved indoor (overhead lighting!! no more spooky shadowy corners!!) we had one of our best rides so far, with Camaro on the bit, attentive, forward, and yet relaxed.  He got extra treats that day.  

May has been up and down.  Although even the down days are better than most our good days last fall.  There's improvement.  The connection is nearly constant rather than hit and miss.  He's less distractable and more focused.  We've been working lately on developing different trots; there's warm up trot (oh yeah, we trot a lot more in warm up than we used to because he's not nearly as spooky as he used to be six months ago), there's our 'regular' trot, there's the stretchy trot (for a horse that liked to go with his nose up like a camel, having a stretchy trot on demand is awesome), and now there's what I call 'short trot' (slightly collected) and 'big trot' (more power than regular trot, this should become our extension months from now).  We have multiple walks, too.

Some days we have a few honest to goodness leg-crossing steps of leg yield. Other days he wants to plow a diagonal path with his shoulder instead of cross his legs.  Some days our turn on the forehand is smooth.  Other days it's like prying his feet off the ground one by one.  But overall, we are better than we were when Spring began.  Halts are really getting square and almost entirely off my seat, hardly any rein involved now.

I think we're just about ready to begin focusing on canter.

His favorite first stop in turnout is the water tank.

Sewing Update, May

 Since my April sewing update, I have sewn way less than I knit. And I didn't knit a whole lot.

I got the borders, a solid red fabric, put on my Christmas quilt.  I do have both backing and batting for that, but put my sewing machine away upstairs in the room that's supposed to be for crafting (I had to put it up there so I could use the dining room table for other things) and have not worked on that quilt one bit in the last three weeks.  It would be so nice to have room upstairs for a nice table to sew on.  The desk where the sewing machine lives when it's actually upstairs is nice for small work, like masks, or single quilt blocks, but just not good for anything long and/or large.

Did I think to take a picture of the quilt with it's borders sewn on?  Nope. *sigh*  I'm in a phase currently where life seems to be going at full throttle and I'm getting dragged along behind, just trying to stay on my feet.  Kinda miss winter, it's a little less packed with stuff.

I do have pictures of a few quilt blocks I made for a forum quilt that I am participating in (and head up annually).  They all feature the same blue fabric, as that is this year's forum quilt fabric.  It doesn't look it from the pictures (some were more cropped), but with trimming, all the blocks are the same size: 12.5".

disappearing 9 patch

ocean waves variation

four-square

Knitting Update, May

 As is typical this time of year, my knitting time has been cut way back.  I managed to finish the Christmas stocking (#1 of 3), with the exception of the embellishments (icord hanger, stitching a bow on each wreath, finding a star button to sew onto the top of the tree) that I will do all at once when I have the other two stockings knit.  No picture to show, because I forgot and it's all ready tucked away upstairs.

Rather than start stocking #2 right away, I've been concentrating on my pair of Early Spring shorty socks.  Sock #1 is done, and Sock #2 is about 75% finished--I only need to do about 24 more rows on the foot and then knit the toe.  Hoping to have that off the needles by this weekend.

I learned a new technique on these socks: the German short row heel.  I may actually like this more than a gusset heel (which is my go-to heel treatment).  I definitely love it a million times more than the wrap and turn heel.  

IRL, heel doesn't look as funky as in this photo.

Last month, I finally finished Dressage Riding by Watjen!  Before I'd gotten to the last few chapters, I knew that I wanted to make a goal to always be reading a dressage-related book this year.   So as soon as I finished reading Watjen, I picked up Four Legs Move My Soul by Isabell Werth and Evi Simeoni.  That will be my slow reading horsey book for the next couple of months.

As far as fiction reading goes, I read Lisa Wingate's newest (I think, it was published a year ago. . . ) novel The Book of Lost Friends.  It read very quickly, for the most part being engaging and hard to put down. 

My current fiction read, just started over the weekend, is The Late Bloomers Club by Louise Miller.  I read her debut novel a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it, so I'm hoping this second book is just as good.

Riding Camaro, April Edition

 April has been a good month for riding.  I've been able to work Camaro 4-5 days a week this month.  At the beginning of the month was Spring Break for the school DD1 teaches at, which meant I wasn't needed to care for Faline in the afternoons.  Translation:  I had absolutely no timetable I had to work within for five whole days, and I spent my mornings leisurely grooming and riding Camaro.  It was a fantastic week, we had great rides, and I cantered him (something I had only touched on once last spring, shortly before he had his laminitis episode) two separate days, as well as rode him outside for the first times this year.  

Backing up a bit, I should probably explain that last fall, the county drain commission came through the farm that I board Camaro at and tore up the two biggest pastures while replacing a large section of the drain that runs through the property.  Losing her two best winter pastures meant the farm owner had to some shuffling of horses for turnout, and that the mare group ended up claiming the outdoor arena as their new turnout.  Where they still are, since the destroyed pastures have to be stayed off of until the grass (seeded in December, and then again in late March) that the drain commission planted there once the project was completed, regrows.  So outdoor riding hasn't really been an option, but as the ground has firmed up after the thaw, we can lightly ride on the 'lawn' around the front of the barn and between one side of the barn and the pastures near it.

So, anyway, after doing most of our daily ride in the indoor arena, Camaro and I moseyed around on the lawn for the 5-10 minutes of cooling out each day during that first part of the month.  Since then, however, there has either been crappy weather--wet and/or cold and/or windy--and the big door on the end of the indoor arena has been latched shut again, so we haven't been back outside to ride.

When I cantered Camaro early this month, I noticed that he got really tense when he felt me go from posting trot to sitting trot in preparation for giving him the canter aid.  And on the right side, he just wanted to fling himself on the forehand and run (ie trot faster and faster) into the canter.  On the left, he was tense, but not so inclined to totally lose his frame and just speed up.  Either way, I was left with some questions about his past.  

I all ready knew that he'd been started and shown as a youngster in Arabian Hunter Pleasure, and had a history of being ridden strongly in draw reins. I knew that the lady I had bought him from hadn't been a good match for him, her being an anxious kind of rider (and, I suspected, one that balanced on her reins and yanked them upward when frightened). I knew that when I first began riding him, having contact with his mouth made him throw his head and drop his back, and that he was rather timid under saddle.  We'd worked slowly through the contact and timidity issues.  He's gotten much bolder and less apt to shy and spook since I began working him again once his feet issues went away.  So, I suspected this falling apart when asked to canter was residual tenseness (flashbacks, if you will) to how he'd been ridden prior to me.

I asked my friend, who'd worked with him and his previous owner, about his history with the canter, and she pretty much confirmed my suspicions.  He'd always gotten tense about the canter transition, and rather discombobulated at the canter.  

This info led me to decide to drop, for now, the canter under saddle.  Instead, I have only cantered him on the longe line. And when asking for canter departs on the longe, I first make sure he's balanced in the trot before asking for the transition.  If he tries to run into the canter, we go back down into trot until he's balanced again.  The departs are getting a lot better.  A balanced depart has led to less scrambling once he's in the canter.  And less scrambling has enabled us to work on having balance in the canter with canter bounds that are both rhythmic and upward.  I'm very happy with that, and hoping that soon we'll try cantering under saddle again.

Meanwhile, in the saddle, there's been a focus on teaching him to remain relaxed if I'm sitting the trot instead of posting it.  We've spent lots of trotting time with me going from rising trot to sitting trot and back again.  I've also focused on transitions within the trot, asking for working trot, slightly collected trot, and slightly extended trot.  All while maintaining the connection with the bit, and staying balanced no matter if I'm rising or sitting.  No tensing, no rushing, no throwing his head up and dropping his back.  In a way, it feels like we've regressed, going back to all this work on connection and relaxation that we had no problems with at the beginning of the month. Yet, I know from past experience that this is actually going forward. Because every time you raise the bar, and move up in skill and difficulty in riding, a step or two backwards seems to immediately follow the first step in gaining prowess.  To get better, first we fall apart a little.  Sitting trot is our bar raise for now.

I'm looking forward to working on canter under saddle, and willing to spend this 'falling apart' time of rebuilding in order to have calm and instant canter transitions this summer.

Another cool thing this month, is that on Friday mornings, I get to ride in a pseudo dressage ring!  The barn owner has some students who are thinking of showing in Western Dressage classes this summer, and so once a week she sets up cones and letters in the indoor so they can practice test riding during their lesson.  For me, I'm in dressage queen heaven once a week, riding in the sandbox with the alphabet!  Camaro thinks that M stands for MONSTERS!!, and so every Friday we have to work through him being totally suspicious of that corner of the arena, but he's coming around and it's just so much fun for me to have my letters as guides again.  I hadn't realized how much I missed being in a dressage barn with a dressage arena until the first morning I led him into the arena for our session and I just got totally giddy when I spotted the cones and letters all set up.