Friday Farm - Family Edition

Two for One!  Thomas and Sarah recently moved to New York from Smithfield, Virginia, the ham capital of the world.  So far they love New York, most especially their newfound kosher friends.  

Friday Farm (Early Edition)

I'm off to Florida for a few days of knitting beachside, so here's an early edition of Friday Farm. See you Monday!

Russell isn’t like most foxes. For starters, he’s a vegetarian. Secondly, his best friend is a chick named Gimmie. Instead of raiding hen houses for eggs to eat, he and Gimmie comb the garden for ripe tomatoes and fresh arugula to make salads to share with the ladies in the hen house. The mother hens are so enamored with Russell that they knit him this sweater for his birthday.

holiday babies

This past Friday was my sweet sister Jello's birthday. It was an extra special birthday because it was Friday the 13th, as it was 39 years ago on the day she was born. There's no term for this type of coincidence, although there should be (like your "golden birthday" - the year you turn the same age as your birth date - turning 17 on the 17th, for example).

I doubt anyone really cares or gives it much thought, but I guess I'm interested because I share the same peculiarity with my dear sis. I was born on Easter, which is only fitting considering my dad was a preacher at the time. My mom told my dad that she would give birth to me on Easter, even though my due date was four days earlier on April 15th, so that my dad could finally have a Sunday off. And my mother, being the superwoman that she is, delivered. (ba dum ch!)

On the rare occasion my birthday falls on Easter, I feel doubly celebratory, and not only because I get birthday cake and peeps on the same day. There's something magically nostalgic about having a birthday that so closely mirrors the day you were born, something I would doubt you are ever aware of if you were born on just a plain old Tuesday, but I could be wrong.

Anyways, all this rambling brings me to knitting. I especially love Easter (all that resurrection and personal salvation stuff aside) because I think of it as my second birthday. So I'm finishing up my Easter themed project tonight and will post photos once complete. No, I didn't knit a Jesus. It's a baby chick and his best friend, the fox. Sneak peek....

Friday Farm

it's that time again....introducing Hanna!

Hanna is the free-spirited artistic type. She loves poetry, daffodils, and all things color. She, unlike most New Yorkers, hates black and doesn't own a single item of clothing that couldn't pass for Joseph's technicolor dreamcoat. On the weekends, Hanna likes to hang out at NYU or photograph cool graffiti.

Reveling in Ravelry

Thanks to Kris (momtourage.net), I'm officially up on Ravelry! Bravo, Jessica and Casey, the two smartypants who created the site. It's one of those things that you can't believe hasn't existed forever because it just makes so much sense! I'm excited to dive deeper into all the site has to offer, but one thing at a time. Between getting Etsy up and running, proofing patterns, writing new ones, and exploring Ravelry, I've got a full dance card. If you're on Ravelry, drop me a line! My user name is (as always) SurcieGasparro.

Friday Farm

It's that time again....Friday Farm!

happy as a pig in snow

Isn't it strange how some things you never outgrow? Sunday night, on the eve of a predicted big snow, I found myself practically giddy with excitement. Even the hubs got in on the action, insisting we order pizza (a rare but much appreciated indulgence) because of the impending snow storm. Or maybe he saw the glimmer of "yes-to-anything-you-might-suggest-right-now-because-i'm-so-excited-for-snow!" in my eye and decided to take advantage. Either way, we both went to bed happy and stuffed even though neither of us would have the luxury of staying home Monday to revel in the snow. Even my little pig got in on the action. I'll save the rest of his pictures for Friday Farm, but I couldn't resist posting his cute mug now, before the snow turns brown and mucky and everyone is over it.

What a Fox!

My newest project is (drumroll please) a fox. Probably not the most popular animal for knitters, coming in leagues behind a bear or a bunny, but foxes need love, too. I figured the trickiest part would be the head, given the semi-canine snout and lean head shape. All my other animals have pudgy, round heads, so I knew this would be a new kind of shaping. After a head that looked like a penguin, and a "good, but not great" head, I finally whipped up this bad boy, which I'm pretty satisfied with. My favorite part is the wispy looking white stitches under his neck...it almost looks like you could pet it. Next up is replicating the wispy fluff for his ears.

a knitting adventure

yesterday I started my day planning to spend it here (on the couch with a hot bowl of oatmeal, my favorite coffee mug and a big pile of knitting), but by four o'clock I found myself here - two hours away, knitting fireside at a lodge on the top of a mountain. My husband woke up with a moderate to severe case of cabin fever and all but threw me in the car with only moments to spare (in which of course I grabbed my most essential knitting items. And oh yeah, a toothbrush).

It was a wonderful, spontaneous treat, and I still managed to spend a good part of the day knitting. I was hoping to snap a few shots of my current project (which I'll keep under wraps for now), but in the fracas of fleeing the city this morning, I didn't grab my camera battery charger, so we're out of luck.

Coming this week...A PIG! IN OVERALLS! and my first foray into selling actual stuffed animals on etsy. Stay tuned!