hand-knit socks and clogs

At the start of this week my farmer boy suggested we try something different. Instead of writing out a grand, all encompassing farm-to-do list, instead we only write down two tasks per day. It was a way of keeping things achievable rather than overwhelming, interesting rather than annoying, and hopefully the bite sized chunks would keep the momentum going and would stop us from getting distracted and keep us on the task at hand.

On Monday we weeded and mulched in the morning and stacked wood in the afternoon. On Tuesday we mowed the orchard in the morning and visited the bees in the afternoon. On Wednesday I planted seeds in the greenhouse and Bren was supposed to mow but instead had a day of organising and managing with a little bit of mowing and watering in-between. Yesterday was a write-off as far as the farm was concerned but quite productive elsewhere - I had my hair cut, I spent some time fixing the sleeve on the cardigan I'm knitting, we started getting Jazzy's things packed and in the afternoon we trained to Melbourne to buy some things and go to a book launch.

Looking back on it now I can see that this way of organising things suits us. More than waking up and discussing it, more than the mega, never-ending list on the fridge, and more than writing the jobs down after we've done them at the end of the day. Each day we woke up ready to go, we worked hard, we even found time to do some extras - we built a Holtz Hausen woodstack, our friend's Bob and John of @treestotimber started milling some of our trees into the timber that we will use someday soon to build a barn, we kept a bonfire going for four days clearing up an area where a few trees came down, we hung out with the girls and friends and did school holiday things, and we picked up a new wood turning lathe for him and he set it up.

We also looked after Indi and reassured her that every kid doing year 12 in Australia is feeling the same way she is, we did everything we could to get Jazzy ready to go overseas THIS SUNDAY for six weeks and we picked Pepper up from the airport after her trip up north to hang out with her grandparents and cousins.

And in between all of that and the housework, I knitted. And I finally sewed in the ends of the last two pairs of socks that I made. Thick ribbed mohair socks, may they be worn in good health for many years to come. Click here if you are interested in the details.

And just quietly how good do the stripey socks look with the new clogs I bought myself to celebrate being a tulip grower. I feel so rich every time I bring an arm-full up to the house, I don't know why I've never grown them before. I love them!

And with that I'm out of here and off to pick some more! 

But before you go why don't you tell me how you've been?

What's your best trick for staying on task and productive?

What's your favourite thing to make when you have too many leeks?

See you later alligator!

Love, Kate x

blossom

And wouldn't you know it, while last week I felt sick in my heart and couldn't stop crying, this week I was struck down and felt sick in my body and sick in my head. A winter cold snuck in just when I was feeling my most vulnerable, I was an easy target. So instead of following my days of tears and heartache with walks through the forest, gardening, and other activities that are good for my soul, I went to bed and barely got out for a few days. 

This morning though the sun is bright and shiny and the skies are brilliant and blue. I sat in the sunroom before to drink my morning coffee and had to go and find my sunglasses and strip off some woolly layers. This little glimpse of spring feels precious and has somehow reminded me of some of the good bits of who I am and what I love to do. My head and heart feel better than they have for weeks. 

But I'm still not there yet so I'm going to make this another short one. My head feels so full of muck that it's making it hard to think clearly. It's taken me so long to write these few short paragraphs and I'm not even sure they make any sense.

So a few catch up photos, a few words to explain and then hopefully I'll be back to regular programming next week. Fingers crossed anyway.

Bren has been turning out the most beautiful wooden bowls on his lathe. I love how he incorporates and makes a feature of the wood's natural patterns and markings. Such a gift.

There was one day this week, I can't remember if it was yesterday or the day before, where I had a few hours of feeling slightly better so I rushed out to the greenhouse and started planting seeds into soil. It almost didn't matter what I was planting or if it was even too early in the season, I just had to get my hands dirty and I needed to feel like I was moving forward.

Next autumn I hope I remember to plant more bulbs in pots in the sun room. Just having these little bursts of colour popping up has made such a difference to our late winter states of mind. Call it colour plant therapy if you like.

I could barely do anything while I was so sick this past week but thankfully I could read this 480 page book. May We Be Forgiven is one of the best books I think I've ever read. I absolutely loved this crazy roller coaster ride, it starts with a bang and I was fully engrossed until it came full circle at the end.

I'm so grateful that my speed-reader mum passes her favourite library books over to me.

This week I received a copy of Japanese Knitting - patterns for sweaters, scarves and more from the kind people at Tuttle Publishing and New South Books.

Japanese Knitting includes 23 of the sweetest knitting and crochet patterns you ever did see. Colour work sweaters, cute cardigans that can be worn front-to-back and back-to-front, shawls, hats, slippers, gloves...flicking through its pages makes me hungry to cast on in the same way a cook book makes your tummy rumble. The design and styling is beautiful, the photos make the patterns look fun and easy to wear, hopefully I'll cast one on soon and let you know what they're like to knit...I just can't decide where to start.

In the meantime I'm comfort-knitting socks.

And I'm thrilled to report that we found our first blossom this morning on the ornamental almond outside my studio. One week until calendar spring. Thank goodness. I might just make it after all.

Thank you all for the incredible messages of kindness and empathy and support and love you left on my last post. I'm never sure about posting the difficult stuff. Especially last week when I felt so distraught and defeated. But you guys never fail to say the stuff I need to hear. You are my community and reading through your messages was so heart warming and soul nourishing. I'm so very grateful.

And with that I'm going to sign off for another week. I'm going to have lunch with my boy in the sun, I'm going to hang some washing out to dry and then I'm going to sort through our seeds. I've seen people online pricking out their tomatoes and I haven't even planted mine yet.


Be kind to yourselves and each other my friends.

Lots of love,

Kate x

a break from the rhythm

Just as I was about to start writing my blog today I read back through an email I wrote on my phone last night and sent to someone about buying some yarn. It contained two of the most awful typos I've ever made. In my defence I'd just returned from a five-hour round trip to take Indi to Melbourne, but still...

Firstly I wrote that I was interested in the yarn she was advertising on the death page. The DEATH page!!!! Of course I meant to write the destash page and my phone changed it. Actually my computer is trying to change it to death as I type this right now too! There's no hope. And secondly I wrote that I was going to use her yarn to nit. NIT!!!!!! a colour-work sweater. I'm mortified. If I were the seller I'm not even sure I could sell yarn from a death page for someone to nit with. I only hope she's a bigger person than me and can look past it.

I'll keep you posted.

Let's get back to the past week while we wait.

july 7

Last Saturday night we took our big girls to see a gig at a pub in Castlemaine. They found out about it, they booked it, and because it was at a licensed venue, they took us with them so that they could get in. And while we hung out at the back swaying to the music, I got a crystal clear glimpse into the future. Our two were holding glasses of (ginger) beer, pushing their way to the very front, dancing and singing, chatting with those around them, waiting in line to get their tee-shirts signed, speaking to the artist about song writing and playing, and spending the entire drive home dissecting every moment. It was such a great night. 

july 8

On Sunday we packed up our car and drove for an hour to an Airbnb near our girls' school. Jazzy had rehearsals for the musical all week, Pepper was away, and we all desperately needed a break from the routine.

The night before I had learned that later this year there will be a new knitting emoji added to the emojipedia which reminded me of a great podcast, so as Indi drove we listened to it again - 99% Invisible - Person in Lotus Position - it's so interesting and I highly recommend a listen if you haven't heard it before.

When we arrived we discovered that our host had gotten the dates mixed up and that the place hadn't been set up for us, so he sent us to the local pub for a meal on him while he arranged it all. Upon our return a few hours later we soon had the fire roaring and we settled in to watch all the media reports about the rescue of the Thai boys trapped in the cave.

And I finished knitting the beanie I started last week and as I predicted ran out of yarn before the end. I'm hoping that the addition of a pom pom will soften that charcoal bit at the top.
The details are here.

july 9

On Monday after we delivered Jazzy to school for rehearsals, we set Indi up at the kitchen table with her school books and went for a brisk walk in the icy cold to explore our surroundings. I was very interested to see that their daffodils were up and flowering while ours at home haven't even pushed their way out of the ground yet.

Then we settled in for a lazy day of watching episodes of The Crown and knitting socks.

It made me smile later on that evening when I listened to bits of the new song Jazzy was writing and heard the words kings and queens; she wouldn't watch it with us but somehow it still snuck into the lyrics.

And then that night, once everyone was asleep and the house was quiet, I finally finished reading Heart of Darkness, thank goodness. I can't say that I enjoyed reading even one page of it but now that it's over and I am able to hold my own in literary discussions with Indi, I'm glad I persevered. Reading your comments about your struggles really did make me feel better about my own, so thanks for those.

And then, even though it was terribly late, I started reading The Tattooist of Auchwitz. Bren had heard the author interviewed a few weeks before and said it came very highly recommended. I'm not at all looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to it, if that makes any sense.

july 10

On Tuesday we drove to the top of Mount Macedon and walked around admiring the view. And while it was icy cold it didn't snow like it did on the two days after that.

On our way back from collecting Jazzy from school we popped into and explored a rare-plant nursery. The owner told us how disappointed he felt that so many people prefer to buy plants at huge shopping complexes these days rather than from small, interesting, slightly more expensive but definitely more unusual ones. We left wishing we'd had money with us and vowing to return in spring time.

When we got home I pulled apart the socks I'd been knitting and cast on another pattern that when stretched out on the foot wouldn't be lacy and holey and impractical for farm boot wear.

And then over dinner the girls taught us all about the anatomy of a song and we listened to so many to dissect all the little bits. I'm fascinated by their passion, and the music that's coming out of them. It feels like such a gift both to them as a way to express themselves, and to us to be surrounded by it.

july 11

On Wednesday, we packed up and left our beautiful country retreat, somewhat reluctantly, and headed to Melbourne to pick up our Pepper. We'd had a wonderful break from the farm, from our routines, from our to-do lists and from that feeling that everywhere you look there's more to be done.

Of course we had a little photo shoot on the way out.

In Melbourne we kissed and hugged our smallest who we'd all missed like crazy, we shared lunch with Bren's parents and we tried our luck at a local op shop where I hit the jackpot in the book department. I always feel rich when I've got a stack of books waiting and this lot will keep me going for a while.

july 12

Yesterday we did that thing you do when you've been away from home for a while even though it had only been a couple of days. We walked around the garden looking for new growth, we visited my studio to admire the progress, we unpacked and did washing, we enjoyed our own space and then we all sat down to do homework and write some articles.

july 13

Today. The sun is shining brilliantly outside, my parents are just home from overseas and we have friends staying for a few nights, so I really wanted to write this blog quickly today, but it hasn't happened. I took so many photos of the last week that it's taken me ages to edit them down, my brain isn't working properly after a dreadful night's sleep, and I just want to sit in the sun-room and knit squares of my scrappy sock blanket instead.

But the yarn seller kindly chose not to mention my typos and to sell me the yarn so I'm happy. Now I just want it to arrive so I can cast on.

How's your week been anyway?
Has auto-correct embarrassed you lately?
Do you know the difference between the pre-chorus and the chorus?
Have you watched The Crown?
Do you find it hard to resist a jungly nursery?
Do you love a mini break?

I wonder.

See you next week and thanks so much for your kindness!

xx

winter one

Hello sweet peas, welcome back. 

Another week has passed, another season has begun. And while I'm not looking forward to the coming wintry months at all, I guess the sooner they start - the sooner they finish. Someone told me there are 93 days until spring-time, let the count down begin! Let's get on with it.

I'm pleased to report that my past week felt so much better than the week before. It could be the fact that I had a couple of five hour sleep nights in-between the insomnia ones, it could be the fact that I spent a good part of three days off the farm in the big wide world, it could have been the generally improved emotional tone of the house, or it could have even been the moon. Who knows. I'm just so relieved to be able to follow a train of thought and to have a spring in my step again.

It has been very interesting to me to read of your sleep difficulties. Until this past week I think I assumed that most of the world slept through the eight hours, cozily tucked into their beds, dreaming their fairy tales. Now when I wake up in the night and lie there staring out into the darkness I no longer feel as lonely. It's probably not a good thing, but it helps.

may twenty six - part a

Last Saturday we spent most of the day splitting and stacking firewood. These photos are of my parents but it was a team effort. Bren's dad on the splitter, me loading logs onto the splitter, Bren on the chain-saw, Bren's mum burning the heads, and my folks building the stacks.

may twenty six - part b

While we were hard at work on the fire-wood, Indi was cutting and pasting her photos up and around the farm for her year 12 art project. She pasted Bren hanging from a shipping container, arms reaching around hugging a tree, an arm reaching under a door, a Jazzy popping up out of an old drum, and the arm above holding the ornamental kale bed. 

It's the most incredible feeling to be inspired by your child, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

may twenty seven

I finished my Merricks shawl. I didn't get a chance to block out that beautiful lacy edging this week but hopefully will soon.

may twenty eight

This will be the view from my big studio window. 

may twenty nine

On Tuesday we took my car into Ballarat for a service and spent the few hours watching Breath at the movies, drinking coffee and wandering around a garden centre looking at, but not buying plants.

Late in the afternoon I visited the sunflower patch in-between picking Pepper and a friend up from their face painting class and rushing off to gym. This close to winter they're definitely not looking their best, but there are still enough glowing golden faces in amongst them to make me smile.

may thirty

I spent the entire day on Wednesday in Melbourne with Jazzy doing jobs. We walked a hundred miles, we ticked a heap off things off my list, we ate yummy food and I learnt what a difference a properly fitted bra makes. It's miraculous!! Later on when we got home I took off my old bra that was full of holes and had long ago stopped supporting me, and I chucked it in the fire and burnt it. Good riddance.

The big lesson I learnt on that day was that it's probably not a great idea to share a changing room while bra shopping with a teenager. Let's just say that even the most body confident among us might feel a little wobbly at the sight of and memory of what once was and what now is.

The delicious box of yarn samples from Rosabella was waiting for me when I got back home.

From their website -

Ethically grown kid mohair, cruelty free fine Australian wool and fair trade silk blend together to create mohair yarns like no other...

The inspiration behind Rosabella is the desire to maintain the threads of traditional knowledge and the skills that are passed down through the generations.

Sustainable farming practices, care for the environment, cruelty-free animal husbandry and ethical trade are the values woven into every skein of yarn we make.

Sounds, and looks, and feels pretty wonderful. I've been sitting here squishing them and dreaming up a project that will showcase the gorgeous colours whilst making the most of the incredible softness. I'm thinking a pair of spotty socks, or a patterned beanie, or long arm warmers....

may thirty first

Yesterday Jobbo and Bren made the window frames for my studio. Hopefully next week they'll pop them in.

 june first

Today. The first day of winter. Sitting in the lounge-room with the door to the sun-room open to bring in the fresh air. Frankincense, wild orange, lemon and peppermint oils in the diffuser for invigoration. Five hours sleep last night. Wondering how many little socks I have to knit before I feel confident enough to teach other people how to knit them. Trying to remain calm at the thought that my talk and class at Soul Craft Festival are only one week away! Looking at pictures of people's beautiful bulb plantings in neat, straight rows and laughing at the fact that I am a messy flower farmer who chucks random handfuls around and digs them in where they land. Hoping to get the rest of the bulbs in by the end of the weekend. Listening to season 2 episode 8 of Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo. Drinking the coffee my farmer boy just brought me. Feeling happy that Indi has agreed to interview me on stage for my Soul Craft presentation. Wondering how many of you guys will be there on the day? Busting for a wee. Thinking I should probably press publish and go and do some outside jobs while the sun is shining.

So how are you anyway?
Have you been sleeping well?
Are you wearing a bra that fits and supports?
Are you a neat row gardener or a wild and random one?
Can you imagine lying on the bed on the mezzanine in my studio looking out at the forest through one of those windows?
Too exciting!

Sending love and good, restful sleep to you wherever you are.
See you next week.

Love, Kate x