Farming in the shade

We have been busily preparing for our annual Kerstmarkt (Christmas Market). Three days done, five to go. If you are close to us, you are welcome to make the drive. Make sure you introduce yourself when you come--blogging can feel very one-sided, and it would be nice to know there are a few people out there still reading.  Here's the schedule: I know--it's small. Click on it to enlarge it a bit.

Each year during Kerstmarkt (an outdoor, European-style Christmas market) we are so focused that I neglect the blog. This year I wanted to give you some pictures of what we have made to bring to the market. We are busy all year long making these items.  My mom and one of our daughters make these mittens from recycled wool sweaters. Yes, many people make this style of mitten, but ours are especially well-made and cute! The famous sock-maker has been very focused on his task. His mom and one of our nieces did a huge batch of dyeing this fall. Despite his head-start, the shoppers are quick to snap them up. This year I have a decent stock of rugs for the market. I make these rugs the traditional way--by cutting recycled fabric into strips, sewing them together, and weaving them into rugs on a loom. The one in the right foreground on the top is made from blue jeans. I cannot keep blue jean rugs in stock. They are very durable and beautiful. We offer our heirloom bean...

This is a photo from 2008, one of the early years. I actually think we started selling at the Kerstmarkt in 2007. It's funny to me to see how some things have changed, and some remain about the same. Same racks, same window, same cloth on the booth front. Kerstmarkt starts tomorrow, and after a week of being blasted with wintery snow, the weather people are predicting freezing rain. As is often the case, I hope they're wrong. Kerstmarkt is at the Eighth Street Marketplace in Holland, Michigan, and is patterned after the European open-air Christmas markets. You can find the dates and times here . We'd love to see you there--make sure you let us know when you stop that you heard about it on the blog.

I love Chicago. I love to visit. (I love to leave again, and come home. But that's another story.) When the Holland Convention and Visitors Bureau started talking about advertising Holland as a Christmas holiday destination to the people of Chicago, someone somewhere along the line brought up The Farmer's name. I can imagine the discussion. "How about that crazy farmer guy out at the Kerstmarkt who makes socks on that old crank machine? That's weird enough to get their attention." Fast forward a few weeks and we found ourselves in the fortress-like studios of WGN-TV, just north of Chicago. Fortunately enough, the Holland CVB was wise enough to send along a "handler" for us country bumpkins. Kirsten (pictured above) made appointments and reservations, briefed us on what we could expect, and did everything in her power to make sure we were where we needed to be at the right time. So appreciated! Once we were ushered into the correct stud...

My, how time flies. It seems like just yesterday that we put the booths up and started our annual Christmas Market. Yet here we are, approaching the last weekend already! We often have shoppers ask why we end the Kerstmarkt so soon. We pleasantly remind them that we have Christmas shopping and baking to do, too. And that we are always open 4 weekends--starting right before Thanksgiving. This year is an early ending, because of an early Thanksgiving. But the truth is, we are anxious to return to our regular markets, as well. (And here's a gentle reminder to treat retail workers kindly during the holidays and always. We are people, with joys and worries and feelings, too.) We didn't get as much done for this weekend's market as we might have liked. Well problems and equipment failures on the farm have distracted us. And (my, how time flies) we took a little day drive away from the farm to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. No cruises or tropical vacations...

I haven't woven in weeks, keeping busy with other things more pressing. Soon it will be too cold in my workshop to spend time out there. I keep telling myself that there are seasons to life... The following rugs will be among those available for purchase at the Kerstmarkt. It's unfortunate that the busiest time on Etsy is also the time we have all our items at and our energies focused on the market. What this means for the local buyer is that you will have opportunities to buy things at our booth that will never even be seen on Etsy. This one is made from various plaid flannel shirts. And this one from solid and plaid flannel sheets. This is an assortment of cotton dress shirts. And the final one is flannel also--both sheets and shirts. Weaving is my therapy, and I'll be glad to get back to it. Not sure when, but I know the looms will be waiting for me when I'm ready.

Some of the projects we've been involved with over the past few weeks have taken away from my blogging time and motivation. Our beans will be featured in the Grand Rapids Magazine's December edition. At least that's what we've been told. When we were interviewed, we realized that we really can't put off having a real website much longer. So we've been working on that, with the great help of our daughter and her co-worker. Whatever "works" about the website is because of them. Whatever is clunky is probably where you see my fingerprints. No, we're not unveiling it just yet. It still needs a little more spit-polish. For a couple of weeks there, this blog's future hung in the balance. Why not just incorporate the blog into the website itself? Have everything look uniform, streamlined, less cluttered... But I just couldn't leave it behind. So, while I may rearrange the furniture a bit sometime this winter, I'm sticking with the blo...

Yesterday we moved the Suffolk sheep into the barn for the winter. They were very eager to go. Suffolks have been bred to eat corn over the years. Deep down in their souls, they really don't understand what's so great about grass pasture. So when things get sparse in the late fall, they really get unhappy. They are now entering their last trimester of pregnancy, and it is good to have them inside where we can watch them a bit more closely. Our timing couldn't have been better, as we woke up to 2" of snow this morning. The Polypay sheep are still out on pasture. Snow does not hurt the sheep (they are dressed for it, with their wool coats), but it covers over their food. Unlike Suffolks, Polypays understand what is so great about grass. We will see if this is a temporary thing--the snow. We'll haul hay out for them (as we've actually been doing already to supplement the pasture) and see if the snow melts off. In other news, we've been busy with our outdoor Ch...

I know I'm neglecting my little blog. Please forgive me. Here's a run down of our recent activities. Signed up for West Michigan Coop (our first food drop off date is next Tuesday) Wove a couple of rugs for an upcoming wedding Wove more rugs for the Kerstmarkt Took a kazillion photos of socks and mittens to list on the etsy shop Did some shopping for our family's upcoming Thanksmas holiday Bundled, tagged, labeled and prepped items for the Kerstmarkt Sold yarn and roving at a little knitting retreat in the next town over Checked out FarmLink Had a great day at the Sweetwater Local Foods Market on Saturday--Best Day Ever Put the rams in with the Polypay ewes Set up booths for the Kerstmarkt (sensing a theme yet?) Picked up new yarn and socks from Zeilinger Wool Co. , our favorite wool mill Put out fires at my day job The Kerstmarkt starts this Saturday, and the blog may continue to be a little neglected. If you're in the West Michigan area, please come out and see us ...

Click on the photo above to make it larger--maybe even large enough to read!

Last Saturday we kicked off the Kerstmarkt with a busy day. It was warm enough for The Farmer to demonstrate his knitting, which usually attracts a crowd. Here you can see a newspaper reporter quizzing The Farmer for his article . The last question was "How old are you?" The Farmer snorted and asked why the reporter needed to know that information. The reporter replied, "I usually just keep asking questions until the person shuts me down." I guess that was the question that ended this interview. It's a busy time, the Kerstmarkt--a time we look forward to as well as dread. The forecast for this weekend is much colder, and it will be interesting to see how we fare. Friday's hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.--an exhausting day even without the cold. Does this look inviting? If you're in the area, make sure you come out and see us. Hours and details are here .