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Thursday, September 1, 2016

Yarn Bowl & Memories

...or where my summer went.
Anise Hyssop that I grew and dried for use in a Polysporin-type ointment which is on my list to make very soon.

There was a bit more sock knitting. This pattern was free on ravelry by Susan B. Anderson called How I Make My Socks.  The stripes match on these, horrors. ;)  

Back in July when my sisters were visiting we went through Bulls Gap, Tenn. and stopped at Yoder's Country Market. 
First of Good Fences meme photo
They had the typical baked breads, etc. I actually prefer Mountain View Bulk Store in Chuckey, Tenn., but this one is in a different area, of course.

We've lived on our little farm for 23 years this summer and have had loads of fun along with lots of work during that time.  Two of the things I've enjoyed the most here are the herbs that I grew and foraged and used for flavorings, food and medicine and the time in the evenings when I've been able to knit.

  And I've always thought it would be cool to have a yarn bowl that I could use when knitting so when I saw that my blogger friend Kathy had gotten a custom made one from a potter who sells on Etsy, I knew I wanted to do the same.  This was a birthday present from Goodman, and I'm thrilled to have it.














It's not just a yarn bowl though, it's a keepsake of memories from our farm.  In this view there's a depiction of Butterfly Weed that grows wild in our pasture.  It's also called pleurisy root, and mentioned here.

There are two Black Walnut trees on the property, and I've posted about them and what we did with them here and here

Pokeberries grow all over the place, and while leaving lots of them for the birds to eat, I posted about dyeing yarn with them here.

Blackberries have been a tasty part of our lives, posted about here and here.  We plan to down-size someday and move to a smaller acreage, but the bowl of farm memories will go along with us. ;)

Back in the spring I took cuttings from my hydrangea bushes, dipped them in rooting hormone and planted them in old plastic pots...

They've grown fairly well even though we've had a blisteringly hot summer.  I'll be planting them as soon as the weather cools a bit. 

Lastly, a view of the John Sevier Plantation Home historical site in Knoxville, Tenn.

38 comments:

  1. Hello, great series of images. I like the pretty yarn bowl and your socks. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day!

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  2. I love those socks! and of course I love love your new knitting bowl and the plants you chose to put on it-the bowl is really more special when we can customize it.
    when I used to go back home to Indiana to visit my Mom we always visited a shop like that also called Yoder's-a very common Amish name. I really miss not having a store like that near us here.
    Enjoy your Labor Day weekend-and I know you are smiling still looking at your lovely bowl
    Hugs Kathy

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    1. Thank you, Kathy! Now I'm wishing I'd had a couple of birds put on it, too, but I'm loving the bowl just the same.

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    2. oh I never thought of birds either-I did think of deer or turkey since we enjoy them so much but decided on just the dye plants-enjoy

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  3. What a beautiful bowl, Toni! I love how you personalized it. A treasure forever! Great sherbet-ty colored socks! I always appreciate your herbal knowledge. We have anise hyssops growing in our herb garden too, but I just use it to keep the bees happy. Hope you have a relaxing Labor Day!

    Hugs
    Jane

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    1. Thank you, Jane! I'll be posting the salve soon, hopefully. I'm so lazy about posting these days. I need a camera!
      Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth! I'm so happy with the bowl. :)

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  5. The summer has flown by as all good things tend to do but it looks as though you've had a great time. I'm sure you'll enjoy your knitting even more so with your new yarn bowl!

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    1. Christine, it was so hot for so long, I'll be happy to see it go as so many on the East Coast are feeling. Have a great weekend!

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  6. your yarn bowl is beautiful! so is your area of the country. :)

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    1. Thank you, Theresa! They say Tenn. is "the greenest state in the land of the free." At least, that's in the song about Davy Crockett. ;)

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  7. Oh my. Goodman lived up to his name with that yarn bowl gift! It's so perfect and so personal. Love it! Those socks are pretty cool, too.

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  8. Nice work on the socks. What a lovely (and perfect) yarn bowl! Nice scene for your good fence. Glad your azalea cuttings are doing so well.

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    1. Thank you, Patti! Thank you for leaving a comment so I could find your blog, too. Such good photography, love it.

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  9. I am loving all your summer projects! And I think the bowl is a great idea, especially as a keepsake of your current property for the potential next one... Your ointment sounds very interesting! So what is it all about I wonder? Pain relieving?

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    1. Hi JES! I can't wait to make the ointment as it's a natural antibiotic one. I'm looking for alternatives to a couple of the oils as they're quite expensive but will go with it if I have to. I'll post it asap. :)

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    2. Excellent! We sure could use something like that around the farm!

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  10. Thank you, Felicia, and thanks for stopping by. :)

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  11. Good morning, sweet friend! Ah, what a joy to visit you, dear one. It looks like you have been up to lots of fun {{smiles}} Your socks are adorable and are sure to keep your feet warm and cozy during the colder months.

    Happy weekend! Hugs!

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    1. Thank you, Stephanie! I have to admit I have a great time making things. ;)

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  12. That bowl. WHAT a TREASURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't know knit or crochet... but I love crockery... and pottery and that bowl is beautiful!!

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    1. Hi Bevy, and thank you for stopping by. I love pottery, too. :)

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  13. Neat view from the Plantation home.
    Love your pretty socks - How cool you made them.
    Also your yarn bowl is awesome.

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    1. Thank you, Ida! And thank you for stopping by. :)

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  14. Oh, my, Toni! So many things to comment on! That's neat that you're making your own ointment from the hyssop. Interesting! I didn't know about the Fence meme...that was a new link for me to check out. Thanks! Also, the Mountain View store you mentioned...I'd not heard of it until just recently when my friend Tammy moved to TN from GA.. and she wrote me that if I ever visited her she would take me to Mountain View. So I checked out the link, and it does look like a place I'd love to visit.

    Are those azalea leaves that you rooted? They look like hydrangea, but maybe I'm mistaken. A friend told me about rooting hydrangea, and I want to try that.

    Oooh, the bowl!!! Love it! What a great gift idea for a knitter with memories on the sides. Loved your post!

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    1. Hi Deb! Thank you for catching my misspeak and letting me know. Of course, you're right, those are definitely hydrangeas. So glad you enjoyed the post. :)

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  15. That yarn bowl is gorgeous! What a great gift you got. These bowls have been on my wishlist for a long time but they are so expensive (include shipping) that I never bought one. Yours is lovely and full of meaning and memories. Love it.
    I see you finished your socks and even managed to make the stripes match. Amazing! :D
    We went up to 40.5 C today — that's 105 F! If you were wondering where your summer went I have the answer: here. And you can have it back anytime. lol ;-)

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  16. Thank you, Alhana! We had a brief reprieve from the heat, but now it's back again. Argh. Yours is very intense, I would crumple at 105 F.

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  17. I love your yarn bowl. It is beautiful. I also like the socks very much. Glad you got to visit the market. Sounds like an awesome place to go.

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  18. Beautiful yarn bowl! I was in Virginia visiting my husband while he was at Fort Lee for a military school in July. It definitely was hot back there ! I was glad to leave the humidity and get back to the dry heat but it was so fun visiting all the Civil War sites around Petersburg and Fredericksburg. I also love getting to dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean. So much warmer than the Oregon coast !

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  19. I've always wanted to learn how to knit sock... i thought it such a useful practice... lol! I'm coming to you from Kathy's Creative Wednesday...yep... i''m late..... I hope i'll do better next week... takes me a bit to get my act together... :) Hugs! deb

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  20. I love that yarn bowl and that the pictures depict things that are meaningful to you. Really so pretty! It's lovely that you make such good use of what nature has to offer. Didn't now there was such a thing as a root hormone. Very interesting.

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  21. Love the yarn bowl. And the socks. I made a pair once and promised myself never ever again, so double points to you.
    Amalia
    xo

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Thank you for your comments!