Skip to main content

The Wedding Rug

This is the rug I made for a wedding tomorrow. (Photo below of work in process.) Somehow "The Wedding Rug" doesn't have the ring to it I'd hoped. LOL! Rugs are humble things--'specially the ones made from recycled clothing. Hopefully the gift will be well-received.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This has been a full week! Monday and Tuesday we put up 1200 hay bales. We have the sheep barn hay area full--ready for this winter. There's room in the 2nd story haymow in the big red barn, however, and The Farmer tells me the alfalfa is almost ready to cut again. Wednesday-Friday (and parts of Monday and Tuesday, as well) I spent on the seat of a tractor. Cultivating. The point is to break up the hard earth and kill the weeds. I'm learning. This is the first time I've ever cultivated. I killed a few corn and soybean plants along with all those weeds...

The reason I was able to be an almost-full-time farm hand is because one of my daughters was willing to be the mom this week. She did a great job of it, too--keeping the laundry system going, cooking and keeping the house clean. She even picked strawberries twice (with the help of siblings) and put some up in the freezer. I think I've worked myself out of a job with this one!

The Farmer had a particularly frustrating week with equipment breakdowns. As I followed him home yesterday--he dragging a cobbled-together haybine, and me following in the van with the flashers on--I prayed for adequate income so that we could work with decent equipment. Too much to ask? Perhaps. But today's corn prices hit $4.19/bushel--higher than I ever remember seeing.

Tonight's supper was hobo pies cooked over the firepit. We actually sat and watched the fire (as if it weren't hot enough!) and just visited. The Farmer mostly "visited" with the Massey Ferguson service manual--trying to determine what is wrong with the tractor today. But at least we were sitting together and not dashing off to accomplish some project or chore. Though after the kids were in bed, The Farmer headed off to milk for a dairy farmer who needed the night off. Does the work ever end?
Labels:

Comments

  1. Susanne BarrettJune 18, 2007 at 5:02 PM

    Love the wedding rug. Very timely, too -- you posted this on my and mydh's 22nd wedding anniversary. :)

    Love your blog -- keep it comin', k?

    And all the weaving -- some day I want to learn! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. PamJuly 23, 2007 at 10:18 AM

    Lona, I've been looking at this picture each time I visit your blog and just have to say it is BEAUTIFUL!!! And the picture of it, with the pink flowers in front is so gorgeous. What a lovely gift! You are so talented.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bloggy Giveaway--Now Closed

**This bloggy giveaway is now closed** Thanks to all who participated and gave such great comments. Janette is the winner of the $15 gift certificate to our etsy store . I'm participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival . Click the link to go to the carnival where you can enter to win literally hundreds of things. The good news is that even if you have no time to play on the computer trying to win hundreds of things, you can still enter to win one thing right here. This week, I will be giving away a $15 gift certificate to be used toward the purchase of an item in my etsy shop . This contest is open to residents of the United States or Canada only. The winner will receive free shipping on whatever item they choose. Items in my etsy shop include handwoven rugs, wool yarns and roving from our farm, and the ever-popular cotton dishcloth! To be entered in this wonderful drawing, you must go to the etsy shop and look around a bit. Then come back here and type a comment that
132 comments
Read more

Haying 101

A few posts back, "deep end of the loom" (love that name!) asked me to tell a bit more about the haying process. If you want my version, read on. If you'd like to read the official wikipedia version, click here . Haying happens in three steps: cutting, raking and baling. This process takes several days, as the hay must be dry when baled. Moist hay molds and heats up and has even been known to spontaneously combust, burning down the barn. Gotta have dry hay. This first photo is of our haybine. The haybine not only cuts the hay, it also crimps each piece of long grass in several places, to allow for faster drying. We usually cut hay in the early afternoon, when the dew is gone. When we're done, long row of cut grass lie waiting. The hay is allowed to dry for two to three days, depending on wind and sun conditions. Obviously, the more wind and sun the days hold, the quicker the hay will dry. When we feel like the hay is nearly dry, we go out with the rake. There are diff
1 comment
Read more

This Giveaway Is Now Closed!

Today starts a giveaway at Farming in the Shade! I am happy to contribute this complete hat kit (needles not included) to someone who has a knitting obsession and a small person in their life. Here are the rules (contest open to US or Canada residents only): Giveaway ends May 1 at 9 p.m. EST. Winner will be announced by Sunday, May 3. Enter by posting a comment on this blog post. Tell me something about your knitting--who taught you to knit, your favorite yarn, the coolest thing you ever knitted. Make sure you leave contact information! Earn extra entries by: 1) Following me on twitter. (If you don't know what twitter is, don't worry. It's another way to waste your time on the computer.)  Add a comment here so I will count it as one entry. 2) Tweeting this giveaway (no more than once daily). Add a comment here so I know you did it. 3) Blog about this giveaway. Add a comment (with link) here so I can go visit your blog. 4) Follow or subscribe to this blog (or tell me if have
45 comments
Read more