it's all about the craft

Hello honey bunches!!!

My how time flies at this super busy time of the year. There's so much going on, so many stories to tell, too many stories to tell. I've been wandering around for a few days wondering where to start. So this is my answer - one short blog story at a time.

So this one, as you have most probably worked out by now, is all about the craft.

And let me tell you straight up, there's not an enormous amount of crafty opportunities on our farm over the harvest months, but still one snatches a moment whenever one can.

I knitted the socks at the top for Bren's Mum Rene.

I want to tell you about the yarn though. A few years ago, on our annual pilgrimage to The Sheep and Wool show in Bendigo, my farmer boy and I met a gorgeous girl called Jess who sold wool under the name sofTrope. I was completely smitten with all of Jess's wares but particularly a chunky hand-spun wool that we bought several skeins of and I came home and knitted them up into farmer boy beanies. A few months later I got an email from Jess letting me know that her friend had showed her my blog and that she in fact knew us, or rather her boyfriend knew us and had worked with us here at Daylesford Organics for a few years. Small world hey!

Anyway, back to the matter at hand, I bought the most beautiful golden wheat coloured socks yarn, sofTrope sock, in a Facebook destash. It's even more gorgeous in real life.

Golden wheat - Bavarian Cable socks ravelled here.



These socks are for my farmer boy.

The other day I found myself with half an hour to kill in the city and wandered up to Morris and Sons for some cable needles. I was feeling a bit funny after a rather unpleasant exchange with a camera shop guy who didn't really want to talk to me when I couldn't remember what sort of camera I used but showed him with my fingers the size of the card that I needed the card reader for instead. No, it can't be a CF (compact flash) card because it doesn't have a flash on it I told him (oops). Yes, it's for me not for a friend I tried to assure him. No, I don't want to buy a crappy cheap one. Yes, I've taken the photos off my camera before......

After that, when I got to the wool shop I exhaled. I strolled around, resisted grabbing armfuls, found what I needed, went to the counter and the gorgeous girl talked me through plastic versus wooden and helped me make a decision.

Then she told me how gorgeous I looked!!!! My dress, my basket, my hair up with a paint-brush, my clogs and green tights. I fell in love and asked her if I could have a job and stay there forever and ever.

And as I was about to pay and unfortunately leave, I saw a pair of socks on the counter just like the ones above. When she told me they were knitted from a single ball of wool with no joins I knew I had to buy a skein for myself.

So I did. And I positively skipped out of there and forgot all about that camera shop man.

The farmer boy socks are ravelled here.



The cupcakes are for my long overdue giveaway winners Reannon and Nell. Sorry lovelies, they're coming soon. x



And then this arrived!!!!!



Remember that New Year's resolution I had to knit a cabled cardigan this year? Watch this space.


So that's me all craft caught up.

How about you? What've you been making?


Wishing for you a kind and random compliment, they're the best!!

xx

harvesting the hazels

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Autumn, you might just be winning me over.

A sweet sunny day spent harvesting our hazelnuts. Speckled, sparkly shadows. All the twittering bird songs. A new spoon carved. A tiny nest found and admired. Blackberry scratches all over my arms and legs. Warm sun on our faces and backs. A bit of humming, some chats about plans and stages, a lot of silence and listening. Sweet, cardamon spiced, Turkish coffee brewed on a flame and served up in little cups. A chunk of apple cake unwrapped from its waxy paper package. Nuts cracked and eaten, coffee drunk.

One basket full.



I hope your season is the reason for your gladness.

xx

photos of tomatoes

I took these few photos yesterday or the day before. Originally I had them loaded into yesterday's post, but at the last minute I took them out and decided to give them a blog of their own. I'm not sure why but it felt right somehow.

These photos tell me so many stories and make me feel so many things.

These photos make me sigh with relief that we will in fact have a tomato season this year. I should know by now that ours are the last in all of instagram and in all of the southern hemisphere but eventually they do ripen and redden.

These photos make me feel icky at the thought of that black tar that coats my arms and fingers each time I reach under a vine to pluck out a fruit and how hard it is to get rid of that stain and smell.

These photos make my mouth water in anticipation of toast and thinly sliced tomato, at chunks in salads, at passata, at semi drieds and at cherry tomatoes gobbled up on the spot.

These photos remind me that I'll have to pick fast and often and slightly under-ripe to beat the pesky mice.

These photos make me appreciate and adore the red in the garden for all too soon we'll be back to the green of spinach and kale and winter.

These photos make me feel a bit melancholy at that dress's last summer in our family. Even though it's already verging on too tight I'm finding it hard to let this piece of sister history go.

These photos make me feel bad because this tomato season I didn't plant nearly as many vines as other years, but then I try to quickly remind myself that what we lack in tomatoes this year we more than make up for in other areas of the garden.

These photos make me thank goodness for my little plaited tomato spotter and hope with everything that I have that she'll love hanging out with us in the garden for years to come.

These photos make me glad that we didn't buy one single out of season tomato last year because it makes these ones feel like prizes.

And these photos will make a lovely record a year from now when I'm madly scrambling through my archives trying to work out when we usually harvest tomatoes around here. March. Autumn. Phew.

So now I'm sending these photos out to you, wherever you are, whatever you are harvesting or eating, I hope they make you feel happy.

Love Kate xx

digging spuds

Today we ate porridge with honey for breakfast.
I did a Pilates class and learnt how hard it is for me to balance on one leg with my eyes closed.
My farmer boy surprised me and took me out for an early lunch.
We came home, got the eggs, fed the animals and watered the garden.
Then we took out our map and walked through the orchard and it occurred to me that it is my job, my occupation, to wander through hundreds and hundreds of fruit trees and taste the fruit to decide what's ripe and needs to be picked.
After that we gave the farm gate stall a clean up and a fruit shuffle.
While we were at the stall a dad from school came past for some apples and a chat and then a lovely couple who read my blog and had driven an hour to get to us pulled up. It was so gorgeous to meet them, hear a little bit about them and then just as we were about to leave and drive on up to the house the woman gave me the most lovely letter she'd written on the drive out. She had been planning to leave it at the stall but gave it to me instead. The kindness and love in that letter totally made my day. Thanks Pauline xx
Then I baked this cake - which has had rave reviews.
And I hung some washing on the line.
I picked up the girls from school and from the bus stop.
Jazzy went off to dancing, Bren went to training and me and Pepper left Indi inside with her guitar teacher and we went out to pick apples, tomatoes, potatoes and other odds and ends.
Bren came home and made a spoon, the girls did some homework type stuff and I made soup and garlic flat bread for dinner. Everybody loved it. It's the best when that happens.

The second day of autumn was a lovely day indeed.
And now, after a mad scramble, all the girls are in bed and my farmer boy and I are going to sneak an episode of House of Cards. Shhhhh don't tell the girls we're breaking the no TV/movies during the week rule.

So what did you get up to today?
I hope yours was lovely.

Love Kate xx