Shawls, shawls and more shawls! #SomethingSpecial

Over the past two weeks my shawl orders have picked up immensely and I have really had to put in some hours weaving to keep up!  Last week we got a special order that I have yarn on order for and then this morning we got an e-mail from someone interested in purchasing 4 more!  

I pulled this 6 1/2 foot shawl off the loom today and will be delivering it to Mom tomorrow for edging!

The color is called "Purple Haze" and I just love the blue flecks of color interwoven into the purple.  It will probably get a small ruffled border like the one pictured on the "Edwardian" shawl below, unless someone asks for something different before we get it done of course.

After getting the "Purple Haze" shawl pulled off the loom I immediately reset the size to 7 foot and started on a "Fiesta" shawl.  This shawl will boost my selection to 12 colors, four types of yarn and three different sizes (5ft , 6.5ft & 7ft) to choose from.  Below I have pictures of a few of the other shawls we have in stock and "Something Special...Especially for You" will be at the Liberty University Market on Thursday, Bedford Farmer's Market on Friday and another show on Saturday.  Like our Facebook page to stay up-to-date on where you can see our products!

 

This "Edwardian" shawl if a 7 foot shawl and has been recently finished with a small ruffled edging.  This color has been a popular and is available in multiple styles.

 This is another "Edwardian" shawl in a 5 foot style with a plain edging.  It is simple yet elegant and the perfect accessory for any wardrobe!  Made from a soft homespun yarn this shawl could become a favorite staple in no time.

This is an example of our wool/acrylic blend designs.  It is a heavier shawl than the ones made out of homespun yarn, but it is sure to keep you warm on a cold day or night and it is still very soft and cozy!

 I love the beautiful Fall colors in this shawl.  It is a much lighter shawl than the others we have in stock with a much looser weave. 

I am happy to take special orders and will let you know when ordering how long it will take to complete your request.  Shawl prices vary by size, design and type of yarn.  We are working hard to get our Etsy store inventory updated for our distant customers and hope you will check back often to see what new items we have available!

Something Special Homestead has new ducklings! #Muscovy

Mom has been successful at thinning out her flock of Muscovy Ducks this week!  Pretty Girl still has two of her ducklings.  So far none of our ducklings have grown up to be brown like Lucky Duck, but we keep raising the dark ducklings...plus Aiden seems to think his Grandma needs to keep a flock of 4 that are his for him...lol... At least he understands that we can only have one Drake and he is more than accepting when we sell them.

Granted, Sweetie finally hatched the nest she has been sitting on for forever and a day...lol...so far there are 7 little yellow ducklings and 3 eggs that hadn't hatched.

I won't be able to make it back to the Homestead again until Wednesday, but I will certainly check back-in on this nest and see if any more hatch out!

Pretty Girl's last nest had 3 eggs that didn't hatch, but it was also in a less protected area that may have flooded a little.  This actually used to be a rabbit nesting box that the ducks took to when they weren't in use.  We put it back in an old rabbit cage and put it under a portable roof we use for shade in the nursery yard.  For now it seems to be working well!

Weaving up a storm! #PaintedDesert #NewDucklings

We had big plans of tackling the storage unit this weekend, but when Josh's back seized up we had to put those plans on hold.  I took advantage of the extra time in our schedule to get another shawl on and off the loom!

"Painted Desert" is beautiful blend of pinks, purples, blues, greens and browns.  The homespun yarn beautifully stripes itself as it is woven and the end results are just breath-taking!

I don't know if my phone is capable of doing the colors justice, but I have found that I do like how they photograph on the porch the best.  This shawl still needs to have edging added to it before it is ready for market and I am hoping for a small ruffled edge!

Mom did get a custom order for a grey and navy blue shawl this weekend, but I had to order some yarn and it won't be in until Oct. 3rd.  Wanting to take advantage of every minute I could I started working on another shawl as soon as the loom was emptied and pictures were done.  The first 10-20 rows of weaving go the fastest because there are less rows of yarn to weave over and under.  By the time I get to row 70 though I have to weave in and out 140 times to go from the top to the bottom...so it takes a little longer.  This color is called "Purple Haze".  It is a fabulous blend of purples and blues that is going to be popular for sure!  Tomorrow it's back to the Homestead to do some work and back to Christiansburg for Cub Scouts in the evening so this shawl won't progress quite as quickly as the painted desert shawl did!

 

Now I swear that Sweetie, on the right, started her nest a week before Pretty Girl, on the left...Pretty Girl's ducklings hatched on Sept. 8th though and Sweetie has just been a sittin'...We really wondered if they were going to hatch at all since her last nest never did...but then today when Mom sold off the 4 yellow ducklings Sweetie stood up and it looked like there were ducklings in her nest.  I can't wait to get out there tomorrow and see what she has hatched out!

On to the next season! #SomethingSpecial #PaintedDesert

As Farmer's Market season winds down so does our Jelly/Jam season.  We have had a great year and made a wide variety of jams, jellies and salsas.  As you can see though our stock is running low and we don't plan on making too many more batches this year.  In the Fall and winter we get to focus on our soft goods and we are really starting to get some attention with our hand-woven items such as our shawls, placemats, towels, and scarves!  Plus we have knit scrubbies and dish clothes and crocheted pot holders too!

I finished up a Hokie shawl yesterday and didn't waste any time getting the next one on the loom this afternoon!

This is a homespun yarn called "Painted Desert".  It is one of my favorites and has been popular at market too.  As soon as I finish it I will be starting on a special order in Navy blue and Heather grey!  I can't wait to see how the craft show season turns out for 2016!  

VT shawl has made it off the loom! #SomethingSpecial

Well I got it done and off the loom!  Now all it needs is a small orange edging on the top and it will be ready for it's pre-market wash!

The lighting inside and outside showed the colors pretty close to what I see in person this time and I am super excited about that!

Unfortunately there were some other last minute things that needed to be done to get ready for the festival at the Lavender Farm, so this shawl wasn't able to be finished for this weekend.  We anticipate this shawl to make it's debut at the Liberty Market next Thursday at the latest!

The latest VT shawl is almost complete! #SomethingSpecial

I have been working on my latest VT Hokies shawl for about a week now on and off.  These shawls take a lot more time than the ones that are a solid color, but I am extremely happy with how this one turned out and I can't wait to get it finished up!

I have the loom set to a 6 1/2 foot shawl and I used a pattern of 8, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 and repeated until I had a section of 4 strands of Maroon coming in from each side to form the middle column.

It is still early tonight and I plan to keep working on the fringe, but I did get a good start today!  If all goes well I will have it done before I leave for Bedford, VA tomorrow and it will be ready for the Craft show this weekend!

Time to get the garden ready for another season! #SomethingSpecial

The summer plants are coming to the end of their days on the Homestead, but we grew some monster plants including this humongous sunflower!

Though we do still have some tomatoes on the vine and we are holding out some hope for at least one stack of potatoes, we went ahead and took the fence down around the garden so it would be easier to clean up for the next growing season... Our fence was working okay at keeping some of the birds out of the garden, but it even so they all joined us as soon as it came down... lol

We got two of the beds weeded and cleared out some extra tomato/plant cages that weren't being used anymore.  Since this is a first year garden and a lot of compost, manure and hay were used to fill the beds, we need more dirt now.  I was actually surprised by how much it all settled over the summer.  Our garden did grow some awesome vegetables and if we can fill up the beds again it will be even easier to tend next season!  Then we just need to put a better fence around it to keep the birds out and install a gate so it's easier for Mom to get in!

Popcorn Super Heroes are coming to the NRV!!! *Updated Pictures*

Aiden is in Cub Scout Pack 348 this year and we are kicking off our popcorn sales season!  I helped by leading the Pack kick-off meeting last night and it was a blast!  A Cub Scout is thrifty and part of the way he does this is learning how to pay his own way.  70% of the sales go to local Scouting, but more importantly 30% will go to Aiden's Scout account which is how he pays for camping, summer camp and Cub Scout supplies!

Now we are turning to our friends, family and community to ask for help for Aiden!  He wants to become a Popcorn Super Hero by reaching his goal of 30 orders or more!  Plus if he is the top seller in his den he will get to pie a leader!  This year I actually have some popcorn on hand and ready to distribute and I can get earlier delivery too! (*except chocolate* -- those have to be ordered)  So just let me know what looks best and I would be happy to get your order placed or you can order online at Campmasters.  Aiden's keycode is 8238200106.

The most important Dates to keep in mind are:

Oct. 24th- Money and Orders are due

Mid-November- Ordered Popcorn will be delivered

Below are pictures of the items available and I will be posting an update when I get our online ordering set-up!  I also travel from Bedford to Christiansburg and in between frequently so I am happy to meet on my way through to help out my boy! :0)