Today, for the first time, I’m joining Ginny in her Wednesday Yarn Along. Each week, Ginny, of Small Things, has a Yarn Along for all to share what they are reading and knitting.
.
I’m knitting a hat right now with some luscious alpaca yarn. It’s so soft and delightful to work with. (Yes, that same yarn I mentioned in my Sunday post.) As you can see, I just started, so it’s not much of a hat just yet.
Last night I finished reading ‘Modern Homestead’ by Renee Wilkinson. Walking past the shelf at the library, I was pulled in by the cover…. the fresh picked basil in a pretty pottery bowl… the red shoes.. the vibrant colors. I know the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, but I must admit that a beautiful cover does pull me in quite often.
It was nice to have a light, easy read. Reading a little before bed each night, it didn’t take me long to finish. It talked about homesteading with limited space to work with. It talked about gardening, composting, and composting with worms (which I’ve always been curious about.) And the really fun part? I saw Deck Family Farm mentioned in the introduction and there were pictures from their farm throughout the book!
After gardening it talks about raising chickens, ducks, milking goats, and honey bees. It brought back wonderful memories…. the best honey I’ve ever tasted in my life from bees Jeff raised…. gathering colorful eggs still warm from fluffy nests of straw…. watching fuzzy baby ducks waddle around and thinking they are the most adorable things in the world… singing to our goats while milking in the early morning. So many rich experiences I’ll always cherish. The animals I miss the most? The goats. Definitely the goats. Reading ‘Modern Homestead’ made me feel grateful all over again for the experience with raising milk goats. I’ll always be glad we did that. But I’m also glad that we aren’t doing that right now because it’s a lot of work and frankly, I’ve got my hands plenty full. We are glad we raised ducks to see if they would work for us, but we wouldn’t want to raise them here again (maybe if we someday moved to a place with pasture and a lot more space.) As for chickens and honeybees… I do see those again in our future. Both fit nicely with our small homestead.
Then the book went into preserving the harvest, which we love to do, and finally concluded with how to make your own natural cleaners to use around your house- which I enjoyed.
Reading about all those things.. I could relate. But when she referred to homesteading as being “hip” and “sexy,” I had to laugh and scratch my head a little.
.
I’m knitting a hat right now with some luscious alpaca yarn. It’s so soft and delightful to work with. (Yes, that same yarn I mentioned in my Sunday post.) As you can see, I just started, so it’s not much of a hat just yet.
Last night I finished reading ‘Modern Homestead’ by Renee Wilkinson. Walking past the shelf at the library, I was pulled in by the cover…. the fresh picked basil in a pretty pottery bowl… the red shoes.. the vibrant colors. I know the saying “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, but I must admit that a beautiful cover does pull me in quite often.
It was nice to have a light, easy read. Reading a little before bed each night, it didn’t take me long to finish. It talked about homesteading with limited space to work with. It talked about gardening, composting, and composting with worms (which I’ve always been curious about.) And the really fun part? I saw Deck Family Farm mentioned in the introduction and there were pictures from their farm throughout the book!
After gardening it talks about raising chickens, ducks, milking goats, and honey bees. It brought back wonderful memories…. the best honey I’ve ever tasted in my life from bees Jeff raised…. gathering colorful eggs still warm from fluffy nests of straw…. watching fuzzy baby ducks waddle around and thinking they are the most adorable things in the world… singing to our goats while milking in the early morning. So many rich experiences I’ll always cherish. The animals I miss the most? The goats. Definitely the goats. Reading ‘Modern Homestead’ made me feel grateful all over again for the experience with raising milk goats. I’ll always be glad we did that. But I’m also glad that we aren’t doing that right now because it’s a lot of work and frankly, I’ve got my hands plenty full. We are glad we raised ducks to see if they would work for us, but we wouldn’t want to raise them here again (maybe if we someday moved to a place with pasture and a lot more space.) As for chickens and honeybees… I do see those again in our future. Both fit nicely with our small homestead.
Then the book went into preserving the harvest, which we love to do, and finally concluded with how to make your own natural cleaners to use around your house- which I enjoyed.
Reading about all those things.. I could relate. But when she referred to homesteading as being “hip” and “sexy,” I had to laugh and scratch my head a little.
So, that’s the reading and knitting that I’ve been up to.
What have you been knitting and reading?
Taryn…..I love Wantu! I will be sending you some yarn to use in your creations, very soon. along with it will be something lovely I have made for you living room.
Love………..Aunt ISLA
Hip & sexy, huh? We’re not even officially homesteaders, but I apparently missed teh sexy part of cleaning teh chicken coop, and thhe hip part of making jam & preserving beets when it’s 90 degrees with 85% humidity in the kitchen! I’m reading Hit By a Farm by Catherine Friend, and knitting my first sock.
Hi Taryn, found you through the Yarn Along and am following your blog now with keen interest…right now we have laying hens and a milk cow (6 kids require a lot of milk, butter and yogurt!), but I am hoping for a big garden and orchard and bees when we finish building our farm in KY. Your place in the NW looks like a bit of paradise!