Buy a dram, save a farm

A local multi-generational farm is in trouble. They aren't asking for a handout, they have product that they are selling for a nominal fee ($5). If they sell enough, they can save their farm. (Knitters know it takes just one stitch at a time to make a sweater :-) Those of you in Lansing can purchase their mint oil at the Farmers Market on Saturday, Nov.1. Others can purchase online at www.getmint.com.

Most farmers and local people can understand what happened. Others, please take a few moments and read, watch the video, and visit their site. (I have included the address, phone and email - because yesterday they were so busy their site was down.)

Articles have appeared in the Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal, and other publications around the US. I have copied from the St. Johns Independent.
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Article from - St. Johns Independent

Crosby Farm on YouTube
See the interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yFtlrKKfLQ

Crosby Mint Farms
1250 East Parks Road
St. Johns, MI 48879

Phone: Contact Linette @ 989-493-3873

Email: info@getmint.com

Buy a dram, save a farm
Crosby family mint farm in jeopardy

We have heard the politicians and pundits talk about the pain on Wall Street and Main Street, but now there is trouble with one the oldest continuously operating family mint farms in the country. The mint farm run by Linette Crosby and her brother, Jim, is on the brink of foreclosure.

Last summer Greenstone Farm Credit Services purchased the 140-acre farm for $300,000 during an auction at the Clinton County Courthouse. Now Linette and Jim have until November 1 to pay down their debt.

The family has enough product to cover their debt, and here is how our readers can help. The Crosbys are selling peppermint and spearmint oil on their own website for the very reasonable price of $5 per dram. This 100% natural essential oil is processed from the first harvest of the growing season, which will produce the highest grade oil available, with no chemical additives.

To purchase essential oils visit the Crosby website.

The Crosby family has cultivated and processed mint since J.E. Crosby purchased the property before World War I. Through the vision of J.E. Crosby Sr., the farm has been producing unparalleled mint oil products through four generations. These signature oils have developed over a 96 year family tradition and have contributed to the rich history of the mint industry in Clinton County and the mint industry as a nation.

If you are interested in more information on the old Crosby Mint still located just south of St. Johns on Business US-27 there is a 53-minute video release created with excerpts from American Mint: "The Historic J.E. Crosby Mint Still." The Historic J. E. Crosby Mint Still, one of the oldest surviving mint stills in the United States, is part of an important heritage that touches us all. But the number of mint farmers is decreasing, and it is a heritage that is disappearing from the American countryside. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this video will be donated to a trust fund at the California State University, Fresno Foundation for researching, recording, and restoring historic structures and buildings associated with the American mint industry.

Download an order form.

Mittens Month

Knittin' mittens. Knittin' mittens for one month, and one month only.*
I started on October 27th and will knit through November 26th.

First set were done for T. I didn't want the shoeless cobbler's children syndrome. Mo will get a pair of glittens later in the month. Ram-niss wanted a pair too. (Yes, really - mittens. I can't say that I ever saw him wear mittens.) In between these pairs the rest will be charity knitting. I have a thing for cold fingers/hands and am always on the quest for the warmest mittens. I don't like the idea of others having cold fingers/hands either. Some of the charity mittens will go for the guild and hopefully I will be able to hold back a few for our local library's mitten tree.

But after one month - I am done with the mittens for others. My goal is to not knit on my current sweater or the siren call of another project. Can I only knit mittens for one month? That will be a tester. I may stray into a hat, but I am hoping I can focus on this one project for now.

Do you want to see a month of mittens? Really doubt it. I do have a few projects done that I haven't yet shared. I can show a few shiny objects till Thanksgiving. :-)

*Only the quick mittens for this month only. I foresee taking my time and knitting Selbuvotter mittens in the future after the holidays. So those don't count :-)

Picking scabs

Remember my Creme Savers sweater?

Do you ever have a sweater that is good and done, but yet it nags at you that there are things that you aren't pleased with?

My Creme Saver sweater was my recent itch. It fits well, everything is in the right proportions. BUT there were a couple of things that nagged at me. One was the collar. I just wanted it to stand up. The collar had other ideas. It wanted to flop down. Then when it limply laid there, the cream zipper was flashing brightly on the underside. This probably drove me a little crazy because I had ordered this zipper a couple of times and in the end settled with the cream. So this leads me to fix #2 - I bought some ribbon and stitched over the zipper on the inside.

Now I can enjoy my sweater. Though being a 'hoodie', my daughters will be circling like vultures.

Do you have any projects that you couldn't leave well enough alone after you were done with it? Did it come out better, or was it like a scab and just bled? :-)

Hey, it is done!

P1010010-1
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

I finished my Hey, Ewe (Hey, Teach) sweater. I was able to make my planned changes from my drawing. It looks very nice on too.

I knitted the sleeves in the round. I tried a different technique in the ribbing. I love it, but I sort of screwed up the first sleeve. Though no one else would notice that they don’t match on the cast/on area - it was driving me crazy. I re-knitted the first sleeve's rib and was able to graft it to the original sleeve.

I am proud of this sweater and I think work will tire of seeing me in it :-)

EZ's Bavarian Jacket

EZ's Bavarian Jacket
Originally uploaded by knitterbay2

I love the structured look of this. The original plan of this was to have it take the place of a blazer occasionally at work. I t may be better suited to go with jeans.

I do adore the i-cord piping. I seamed it from the inside and the outside looked like crap, inside was fabulous. So again I ripped the seams and seamed from the outside... still looked like crap. Fortunately the washing took care of it.

Now we get into the fun of washing. The yarn is superwash. Superwash yarn drives me nuts. Some yarn that is superwash, you can't really wash it in the washing machine. Other superwash sets up better if washed and dried in the machine. (Don't lecture me on washing the swatch first... I am happy that I even knit the swatch in the first place....) Anyways, I washed it in gentle cycle, the yarn fuzzed up and the body and sleeves grew. It was horrible when I tried to block it on the dining room table. Gave up, threw it in the dryer for a bit and removed while still slightly damp. It looked a little better. Still a little soft and limp. The sleeves are still too long; I will wear it a little while and see. My luck is if I shortened them, they would shrink back to their original knitted size after the next washing. Then they would be too short.

As someone who grew up with shirt and sweater sleeves always too short, I really don't mind them being a little long.

St. Brigid - She is done.

14 months later, and I am finally done knitting Alice Starmore's St. Brigid. It wasn't a hard knit. It did take concentration and certain amounts of available time. This was not a project where I could knit it in the car. I had a metal board with 5 or 6 different charts going at the same time, I had a counter to back up my magnet place markers, and I usually knitted this spread out across the couch (..and on the floor, extra yarn in my room and closet...). I also would stop and just look at the cables. In the end I added the same collar detail to the end of the sleeves. Though I did make the sleeves longer, the ends looked unfinished. I like this extra detail that I had seen on a few other St. Brigid sweaters.

It is a lovely sweater. As thrilled as I am to be done with it, I am just as sorry to see it done.

I am making an effort to finish up my projects. I am a little tired of large mounds of yarn with projects in various stages of finished. Though I know that this and the others almost completed will soon be replaced with new unfinished objects... that is the nature of the beast. But for now, just in time for brisk fall days, I have St. Brigid.

11/26:
Darn Blogspot - I have no way of contacting you, New England Knitter, directly. I have everything on Ravelry, but here is what I used -

I knitted the large size.
Size 6 needles
I used just under 9 skeins (1980.0 yards) of Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted LP.
But in those 9 skeins I did a few extra things - one was to add the band along the bottom of the sleeves, and the other was I added 1/2 a repeat from the chart to make the sleeves longer.

Questions? email me at knitterbay@yahoodotcom

Hey, Ewe

I am knitting my own version of Hey, Teach. I am making the sleeves 3/4, and mimicking the straight stitch and slight flair along the body's bottom of the sweater. I saw it in my mind, so I did a quick sketch. Now the question... did I order enough yarn? (Bought before my brilliant idea.) Why 3/4 sleeves? I have pale, flabby, freckled upper arms. I guess the better spin is to say that it is getting chilly here in Michigan - longer sleeves will carry me further into the season. But really - capped sleeves - bleh! - they aren't flattering on me.

I also tried a new (to me) type of cast-on, the alternative cable cast-on. Though it is slow, I love the look of it for this sweater. For now I am almost done with the back. Weird, I seem to be hurrying to get to the sleeves so I can find out if I have enough yarn. Knitting faster doesn't save yarn. I guess I am just anxious to try out my changes to see how they will look.

EZ's Bavarian Jacket

The weather has turned, time to finish up some of the projects started a long time ago.

I have been busy knitting, just not posting. I have many FOs, but for now I am showing you this cute Bavarian jacket designed by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I love it!

I just have to add the pockets at the bottom of the jacket, a couple of buttons to hold down the collar, and then wash and block it.