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In anticipation of my upcoming trip back to France I found myself once again in a love affair with woad, the royal blue of France. I spent the day in the studio, immersed in bleu…here is the vat before I began dipping….I wasn’t pleased with the color here (eye test) but my eye proved me a bit picky. All turned out stunning!
below are silk ribbons…center: indigo dyed a few weeks ago, right: deeper dyed woad, left: lightly dyed woad…note the difference in the hues 
added my CVM light worsted at the bottom for comparison…. 
my end of the day; silks in the top photo are still drying, here are ribbon and yarn dyed in woad along with a run of Victoria (in honor of the royal wedding coming up!) pip-pip!and a bientot!
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I was in the barn doing chores this morning on this beautiful St Patrick’s Day morning and Danny Boy came on the radio. I wanted to hear it again and found this version…short but absolutely lovely.
Danny Boy
Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
The summer’s gone, and all the flowers are dying
‘Tis you, ’tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow
Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow
‘Tis I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.
And if you come, when all the flowers are dying
And I am dead, as dead I well may be
You’ll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an “Ave” there for me.
And I shall hear, tho’ soft you tread above me
And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be
If you’ll not fail to tell me that you love me
I’ll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.
I’ll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.
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Saps running and the mud is rising…spring is in the air!
We are so happy to have our maple sugar groves tapped again after a few years off. The Clace family and friends are local and great to work with. We let them set permanent lines in return for maple syrup and believe me the gift is precious. It runs along the theory of many other things. If you have a sheep, shear it and use the wool, if you have a cow, milk it and drink the milk, if you have land, till and feed the folks. So if you have maple trees, tap them and enjoy the sweetest gift on earth.
The logo tells all. They are doing the tapping, the boiling and the creating. Among other things.
We stopped by the sugar house today to spend a few hours…
They are doing it Yankee style. The sugar content in the sap is so strong right now they’ve been making fancy grade for 2 days. And I tasted it today and, oh man, is it good!
The fires were stoked constantly to keep the sap boiling.
Being at a sugar house is an event…it’s hard work and social. At this house there were people from 9 to 84 years old, sharing stories and friendship.
This shows the syrup coming out of the evaporator into the filter where it then flows into a finishing pan and then is poured off into a container as finished syrup.
The kids went out and scooped snow into cups and then poured syrup over it as a treat known as “sugar on snow”.
Things are pointing toward spring….including the outerwear. Here is our corner at the kitchen door. It is now full to the max with cold weather coats, rain coats and possibly a sweater in case we have a day that reaches 45 degrees.
If you want maple syrup you have the number to call!
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Theresa at Camp Runamuck nominated me for this stylish award! I enjoy Theresa’s humor, talent at the loom, sewing machine and beyond and perhaps especially her deep affection for animals and the joy they bring to our lives. Thank you Theresa for all you give!
Here’s what comes with the award:
1. Thank and link back to the person who sent you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award
First, seven things about me!
1. I love natural dyeing. No matter the medium, it is as good as breathing for me.
2. I love snowmobiling.
3. I have been married to the same man for 30 years this May. And that’s a good thing!
4. What I see each day and surround myself with fuels my creativity.
5. Music is vital to me.
6. I am a complete and total animal lover. My life will never be without them.
7. Friendship, laughter and honesty…required needs.
Part two: I don’t spend a great amount of time strolling the blogosphere…I have those I connect with and consider friends. So here are the blogs I have come to enjoy, some newer, some older, but all good and stylish!
Earthues From both the team at the studio and Michele Wipplinger, owner and founder of Earthues, style exudes through and through. I am eternally grateful for the style they have brought to me over the years.
How The West Was Spun Anne is hands down the most avid spinner and knitter I know AND she’s good! Her work is current and stylish!
ConcateKnit Here’s a woman with a style for honesty. She holds nothing back and I find that current and real.
Knit Quest Sam is designing style on a full time basis. You need to watch this woman.
Nutmeg Owl The owl works through the night and ferets out fibers and patterns and owlways recognizes what is in style.
PoMoGoLightly Let me say Beverly just has style…she is always working on a new way of being and her fashion sense and writing are most stylish.
Say This About That Laurel has a great style for writing and can spin a mean yarn.
Sweet Georgia Felicia…a great sense of color and that makes her stylish in my book.
Yarnslinger I got to know the yarnslinger through our mutual love for animals and she has an unabashed love for baseball making it stylish to be a fan.
Plucky Knitter New blog to my list but certainly many know Sarah and she puts together a stylish presentation and product.
Yarn Wench Lynn is new to my list but I find her absolutely creative, hip and free-flowing..that’s stylish.
The Painted Sheep Kris is a great dyer and business woman AND she snowmobiles! That’s stylish!
Congratulations! Here’s to your style and love for all you do and share.
Dusk at Long Ridge Farm.
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We all have things in our life we swore we’d never tumble to…come on, fess up! I half turned my back on the face of the future many a time.
First, mine (well skip the way back ones) was the internet and computers, never going to use them. Phones and letters were just fine for me. And then it was Facebook. Why do I need that when I have email, the phone and letters? But, oh, how the mighty have fallen. I was pulled into the massive FB whoosh last month and have found it reasonable, sensible and absolutely insane all in one fell swoop!
So if you are on Facebook be my friend ! And if you aren’t, I totally support your resolve!
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It’s Groundhog’s Day and Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring! However today it is still winter and we are in a real live Currier and Ives painting. Here was our snow stick when we started the day at 30″. Since then another 10″ has fallen. The past three days Jack and I have been raking roofs, shoveling roofs, shoveling paths and plowing. We aren’t so concerned about the current load on the roofs but if all of a sudden Mother Nature and Old Man Winter conspire to give us a rain event we’d be in trouble.
We set off to get the animals all fed and set for the day. I looked at the roofs on the way and thought “good grief, they were just done two days ago and it is time to do some more raking!”.
To the right of the little building in the middle is the hen house, buried!
But on the backside we built a day pen for them with a roof so they get out and about…happy as can be!
Luna and Kalie are total snowbirds..can’t get enough. Good thing!
Dear Jack got the porch roof shoveled off this morning while I shoveled out the generators, walkways and doorways. Who got the better deal?
Old Sid still loves the snow as well, although his hips don’t let him stay out too long. Look at that face!
Seemed fitting to make a fire this morning for the day and roast a few plates of root veggies…
and cauliflower with garlic for dinner. Mmmm good!
How do you manage with the winter?
below are silk ribbons…center: indigo dyed a few weeks ago, right: deeper dyed woad, left: lightly dyed woad…note the difference in the hues 
added my CVM light worsted at the bottom for comparison…. 
my end of the day; silks in the top photo are still drying, here are ribbon and yarn dyed in woad along with a run of Victoria (in honor of the royal wedding coming up!) pip-pip!and a bientot!
