Hen Hilton

Last weekend (well, so it was Monday/Tuesday, but that's the weekend for us), saw us finishing off what is hopefully our last big project for a little while. Although the chicken shed had been cleared out, and they could get into it, they had still been sleeping (by choice) in their little shelter outside. Since it took them so long to actually sleep in it in the first place, with us having to go out every night for a week after dark and move them into the shelter, I figured that they only way to get them to sleep in the new shed would be to lock them in. However, the lack of windows meant that it was very dark in there, and I didn't really want to lock them in in the dark.

So DH cut out two panels in the colourbond, and we replaced them with some clear corrugated polycarbonate sheeting. The second 'window' is on the left hand wall.

We also added some roosts. We used natural branches rather than bought wood, as it's supposed to be better for their feet. The support boards are hanging off the shed support there on L shaped brackets, so that they can be removed if we need to give the pen a through cleaning.

And finally, some recycled nesting boxes. We're really hoping for some eggs soon!

The chickens were a little disconcerted to find their usual shelter gone, and wandered around clucking in distress for a while, and yes, after dark I had to go out and lock them in. We had one attempt to fly through the polycarbonate, then they settled, and tonight, wonder of wonders, they put themselves to bed. Now to teach them to roost...

Cool!

We had our air conditioning installed today. Yes, I know, it's not very environmentally friendly, and most of the year I doubt we'll use it (it's very warm here in the house after living in a shed!), but for those really bad days (like this one earlier in the year), I'm sure we'll be glad we have it. We were only planning on one unit in the bedroom, but prices were less than we expected, so we have one in the bedroom, and one in the living area. I decided against putting one in DD's room, as I don't think it's good for children to sleep in air conditioning. For one thing, they adjust to it, just as someone in a colder climate adjusts to that climate, and find it hard to live without it later (DH is a perfect example of this!) I also don't think DD is old enough to monitor her own temperature and set it accordingly yet. If it's a really hot/cold night, she can always join us in our room.

All went well (aside from the larger unit having no gas in it, we're going to have to contact the manufacturer about that), but it was a very unsettled day having people in our house all day. I had lots of gardening and craft planned for the day, but ended up doing very little. In the end, not wanting to have nothing to show for the day, I pulled out this material I bought at Spotlight a few days ago. It's two metres of poly/cotton (I'd prefer cotton, but couldn't find these colours in the cotton), and it is destined to be a rag rug.

First, I tore all the material into strips, a little over an inch wide. I thought tearing would be faster, and the easiest way to get straight strips, but the little bits of cotton fraying off the sides were a huge hassle. Next time, I think I'd probably fold the material, and cut with a roller cutter.

Then I joined the strips together following the instructions on this cool tutorial. Much better than most places, which suggest sewing them at a 45 degree angle. I joined them in an arranged random pattern (pink, green, pink, pink, green, pink, green, green), as I don't want it to look too neat, but I just can't do random. No matter how hard I try, I think about it too much, and it begins to take on an order of it's own.

Then I rolled it all up into a big ball. I'm planning on crocheting my rag rug, not knitting it, as I don't have big enough knitting needles. I do, however, have this nice large crochet hook, I'm not sure of the exact size, but it has a 10.00 on the side? Isn't my huge ball cool? Oh, you thought the title was about the air conditioning...

Finger Knitting

A friend recently posted a link to how to do finger knitting, so when DD asked me, as she usually does when she sees me knitting, if she could try, I gave it a go with her. If you haven't seen it before, it's worth checking out. It's not knitting in the style of two needles etc, but it does produce a long, knitted looking strip.

DD didn't get quite that far, but she did managed to produce about 3-4 inches of 'knitting', and was thrilled. It became a 'pony hammock', and when daddy came home from work, she made a second one to show him. Best of all, she felt like she had actually achieved knitting, rather than feeling like she wasn't big enough to do it.

The knitting she saw was for these new red slippers, which I finished last night. These are one of the first things I've ever pulled out because when I initially knitted them, they were too big. I did the usual 30 stitches for the slipper pattern, which worked fine for 8ply wool, and the thicker ply I had, but for some reason this bobbly stuff just didn't knit up the same. I undid it (2 nights knitting!) and re-did it with 24 stitches instead. For anyone who's wanting to try different sized slippers (especially for kids ones), the pattern works fine so long as you keep the number of stitches to a multiple of 3.

I'm glad I went to the effort, because they are just the right size at 24 stitches, 30 would have been far too big. Out of all the slippers I've knitted, I think these ones are my favourite. The bobbly wool makes a thick, soft slipper, that really is comfortable to wear. The extra thickness took me a while to get used to though, and I really felt like I was going to slip on the wooden floors initially. I'm find now, but if you think it might be a problem (again, especially with kids), you can get some puffy paint at a craft store to put dots on the bottom, which should lessen the slip risk.

Pictures of a Neglected Garden

Today's Harvest

With the new house being finished, and moving and major projects taking up all my time, my garden has been sadly neglected. About the only time I've visited it is to put scraps into the compost bin, and pause to pick a few things. It seems like no-one has told the garden it's being neglected though, since it's still producing just fine without me. The tomatoes are still chugging along. I've harvested probably a couple of kilo's of tomatoes off of the 6 plants, and have been freezing them to make tomato sauce, which hopefully I'll find time for in the next few days. The goosberries seem to like the cooler weather, or maybe it's the fact that I revamped their bed with new compost before all this started, because they've put on new growth, and lots more blueberries. The climbing peas have all fallen over and are totally tangled, but we get a handful of peas like this off them every day or two. They are certainly a good producer if you're going to grow peas! We actually cooked them tonight, just very lightly, and as with all homegrown stuff, they taste so totally different to what you buy in the stores. Almost like they're a different vegetable. DD even ate two, and she's never voluntarily eaten a pea in her life!

We also picked the first strawberry today. I've been watching this one for a few days, and this morning pronounced it good enough to eat. DD and DH shared it. Surprisingly enough, the one next to it, which isn't even showing any colour in this picture, was red enough to pick this afternoon, and I ate it before I told anyone else about it! It was beautifully sweet, without a hint of the tartness that seems to characterise store bought strawberries these days. With all the fertaliser I've been giving these, they're much bigger than they were last year, and the plants are loaded with flowers. I will be having huge jam making sessions this year. That is, if I can keep them from the hungry horde (and me)!

The potato patch that I planted about two months ago is doing well. I've been hilling the plants with dried grass and some sugarcane mulch, but no matter how much I keep hilling, they keep growing! Hoping to get a good harvest this year. There are 25 plants there, and I'm hoping for over 100 potatoes. We could start burrowing under the grass and probably harvest some small ones now, but given how many potatoes our family eats, I think it's more economical to wait till they're full size. Hopefully these will be ready to harvest within the next month. The sheets over the back fence is my half hearted attempt at frost protection. So far though, there has been no sign of a frost. Fingers crossed it stays that way.

This second, smaller potato patch near the compost bin is also doing well. There are about 16 potatoes planted here, in a much smaller area. They're probably a month behind the others, so hopefully overall we'll get enough potatoes to see us through a few months. I will plant some more soon, as I believe you can plant potatoes close to all year round here. Only problem is going to be finding seed potatoes to plant.

The seeds I planted a few weeks ago are coming up. The ones in the bottom left corner are Roma tomatoes, about 20 plants, then some sunflowers and nasturtians. Can't remember what the rest are, but I guess I'll find out!

I've also planted up some more climbing peas after the success of the last lot. I have a special spot planned for these guys though, which I shall be posting about the the next week or so hopefully.

Warm Slippers

I've been knitting slippers for our family since I went searching for a new pair, and couldn't find any that I liked. I originally started out with a self-designed pattern for a sock style slipper, but couldn't quite get it right. On top of that, they kept wearing out faster than I could darn them, possibly because of the acrylic wool I was using. So I took a leaf from my mum's book, and used a simple rectangle pattern, knitted with two strands of wool.

I started knitting this pair for DH with some leftover pure wool I had, but since they were a little too tight for him, I wear them. I do love the way the two different colours combine in these ones though. Unfortunately I ran out of wool near the end of the second slipper, so had to finish the toe in black acrylic. You can definitely tell the difference, on a cold day, that toe is a little colder than the other one.

The pattern is very simple and easy, perfect for a beginner. Basically, using two strands of wool, you cast on 30 stitches. Knit in garter stitch for a bit less than the length of your foot (they tend to stretch, so don't worry if they seem a bit tight at first). Then in the next row, knit 1, knit two together to the end of the row. The final row is knitting two stitches together all across the row. Then break off the thread, thread it through the remaining stitches, and pull them up. Use the rest of the thread to sew up the top, and the casting on thread to sew up the heel. Repeat for second slipper.

It doesn't really matter what ply you use, or what size needles. I used 8ply and 6mm needles for the first, and I think the green wool was 10 or 12 ply. For the 8ply, two 50g balls weren't quite enough, so you'll probably need three, or two and some scraps. For the thicker wool, I used nearly 2 50g balls for just one slipper, since obviously you get a shorter amount for the same weight because it's thicker. Of course, experimenting with two tones, or even stripes, could be really interesting. I use wool I've bought second hand, or have already, making them very frugal. The blue/black slippers were free, since I made them from leftovers, and the green slippers cost about $4 for the pair, from wool bought for $1 a ball at the markets.

I can knit one slipper in about 2 hours, but I'm a pretty fast knitter. Even so, they are comparatively quick to make, and they certainly are warm!

Bargains!

As usual for a Sunday morning, we headed off to the markets this morning as soon as we were awake. Didn't get much in the way of fruit and veg, as we still had plenty from last week, but in our wanderings, I spotted this wool at the back of a table. 10 balls of 100% wool, for $1 a ball! It's rather rough, so I doubt I will use it for clothes, probably it will become a lap rug or a floor mat.

The real bargain however was hidden half under the wool. A little plastic bag with these patterns in. I only saw the top one, and asked how much they were, and she said $1 for the lot! When I snapped them up, she said apologetically that they were very old! I wasn't game to tell her that these go for $5+ each on eBay!

I love looking through these. The kids clothes are so cute! A testament to the days when children were dressed like children, rather than miniature adults. Nonetheless, if you update the materials used, many of these wouldn't be out of place on today's child. Other's, of course, would certainly stand out! The patterns are simple, all drawn out from measurements rather than provided full size, and look easy to follow. I'm definitely looking forward to trying some of these for DD.

I love these adult women's clothes too! I just wish they were still in fashion! Sometimes, I think I was born in the wrong era. There are still plenty of these that could be modernised though, especially some of the teen fashions.

I'm still inspired to be crafty, but unfortunately the energy to do so isn't there. Still working hard on getting the house and garage organised. Bought down half the remaining food in the kitchen cupboard in the shed today, as well as washing two loads of materials (that the mice decided to make a bed in!), and bringing the washing machine down. That was quite a challenge with the bumpy ground, with it sliding off the trolley half way there! It still works fine though.

So instead of actually making anything, I've comforted myself with beginning to arrange my sewing room. I'm lucky enough to have an entire room for my sewing now (I'm sure my mum won't mind sleeping surrounded by crafty stuff when she comes to visit!), but even so I suspect that there isn't going to be room. We moved these two bookshelves into the built in wardrobe yesterday, and I've folded the first lot of material today. There are about two to three more loads like this, then several more boxes of material that has been sitting in the garden shed waiting for this time. I see these cupboards easily being filled with material, probably with some left over.

This leaves plenty of other items with no home so far. I've decided to dedicate this set of wire draws to the wool and knitting/crochet supplies. Again I suspect it will easily be filled. I did discover that this kitchen cutlery organiser makes a great storage for my knitting needles and crochet hooks though. Except that it could do with being an inch or two longer...

Still to find a home for my ribbons, laces and other bits and pieces, but no doubt I will find somewhere. Oh I can't wait till it is all set up, and my brain has room to actually begin on all the projects in my head (and saved on my computer).

A New Home!

For the chickens that is! We finally finished cleaning out the 3m x 3m garden shed that was planned to be for the chooks today. It's not totally set up yet, but we threw some sugarcane mulch in the corner, and a few old sticks for them to perch on in the middle, and cut a hole in the metal at the back so that they could get in and out. We curved some split hose around the edges so that they couldn't cut themselves, and secured it with race tape. Not pretty, but it works.

The chooks weren't so sure about it though. I think they were put off by the noise of cutting the metal, because when it was full of stuff, they raced in every chance they had and sat in there.

I went out to check on them at dusk, and there they all were, sitting in their tiny old house! I put them into the new one, and they sat there making pittyful clucks, then came straight back out and into the old one as soon as my back was turned! I think we're going to have to pull the old one out, and lock them in the new one for a few nights so that they get used to it.