Susie Farmgirl

Amigurumi Ducks - Free crochet pattern

2011-01-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

This class of duckies all have embroidered eyes to make them safe for youngsters. The pattern below uses black craft eyes if you prefer.

I've had a few requests for a pattern for these amigurumi ducks I made. Actually, it's a modified version of another free pattern from here:

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=154060.msg1531839#msg1531839.

I modified the pattern by shortening the neck and making a bigger beak. Here's the pattern if you'd like to give my version a try. Enjoy!

Amigurumi Duck
(My version) 6/20/09

Materials used:
Lily Sugar and Cream Cotton Yarn
G crochet hook
2 safety eyes
polyfill for stuffing

6 sc in a magic ring
2 sc in each sc around (12 sc)
1 sc, sc inc in next sc repeat around (18 sc)
sc around (18 sc) for 4 rows
sc inc in the first 9 sc, sc in last 9 sc (27 sc)
sc in first 6 sc, sc inc in next 6 sc, sc in last 15 sc (33 sc)
sc around (33 sc) for 3 rows
sc in first 9 sc, do 3 sc dec, sc in last 18 sc (30 sc)
sc in four sc, sc dec repeat around (25 sc)
sc in 3 sc, sc dec repeat around (20 sc)
sc in one sc, sc dec repeat around, end with 2 sc (14 sc)
Position eyes and attach
Stuff
dec around to close leave long tail.
I used tail to close and then to shape bottom so duck would stand even. Pull the yarn up through the back of the duck and back down to pull in bottom. Repeat on other side of duck.

Beak

6 sc in a magic ring
1 sc, sc inc in next sc repeat around (9 sc)
sc around (9 sc)
slip stitch into next sc and leave long tail for sewing
smash down and sew to body in a curved upside down “u” shape between rows 5 and 6.

Tabi Sock Bunnies

2011-01-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by the shape of those Japanese bunnies, you know the ones shaped like a round ball with some ears on it? I decided to try to make some out of my supply of Japanese tabi socks. It's a little tricky figuring out how to pull back the ears (divided toe part of the sock) and I learned how to embroider some decent looking faces on them. It seems like there is a lesson in every new project!

Here's a side view of one of the bunnies:

And here's a back view of one. I really like this tabi sock with the bunny design!

2010 Year in Review

2011-01-03T16:37:00.001-08:00

Gertie's taking a siesta on our deck

I swear time goes by faster as you get older. The new year comes in a blink of the eye and you wonder if it's enough time to do anything. What did happen anyway?

GERTIE

Well, I never thought that Gertie, our outdoor stray cat would top the list, but she gets top billing for events of 2010. Last summer, we noticed this very small cat drinking water from the gutter and that may have been the biggest event of the year. From there we befriended her, trapped and neutered her, and released and lost her for a few weeks. It was JOYFUL when she returned to us. We chased bully tom cats from her many times a night and built a small house and a large condo for her outside. We bought her a heating pad to keep her warm at night and now my husband can even gently scratch her head when she comes for dinner.

CRAFTING

This year I finally got into my first craft fair and had a favorable response. I love it when I hear people come by, pick up my creations and say "OH HOW CUTE!!!!!". Also, I love when kids come by, eyes wide and then run off to retrieve mom or dad. Many people ask me what my amigurumi are for, what is their purpose? Is it a pincushion? My answer is, I make them to make you smile and they agree that they do make them smile. This makes me happy. I did a few craft fairs this year and it's been a learning experience for sure. I'm on the board of our Craftmen's Guild this year and have met some nice people.

GARDENING

I stopped making veggie deliveries this year to concentrate on my crafting hobby. I'm still gardening for myself and have a lot of healthy greens growing right now. Instead of traditional lettuces, I've been eating mizuna, shingiku, arugula and Italian dandilion in my salads and they are delicious. I'm also growing sweet pea flowers which I hope to sell at my spring craft fairs this year. The past few months we've had a lot of rain, and usually it rains one day and then it's sunny the rest of the week. The past month it's been raining constantly. I think it's a record amount of rain for our area so I never have to go to water the garden and the rain is so healthy for it.

TENNIS

What a turn around. Last year was my worse year, but 2010 was pretty darn good. I really am not putting much effort into tennis, but am lucky or just getting good partners because it was a very good year and my USTA senior team even went to Nationals in Palm Dessert. It was an awesome experience to meet such nice people from all over. The weather happened to be gorgeous (one of the weekends with no rain). I really should get into better shape though, and in fact I'm working on it for this year. Really!

KINDLE

Seriously, this Kindle has changed my life. It's one of the best things I've ever gotten for myself and something I look forward to using everyday. After getting it I realized I didn't need all these books cluttering my house so I've been donating them all to the library. I also love that I can lie in bed and surf the internet on whatever topic I was curious about that day. And who cares if you have to wait somewhere as long as I have my Kindle with me, I am happy.

HEALTH AND ENERGY

In the second half of the year, my energy level begin to fall. I was really eating very poorly and even now my brain is somewhat in a fog. So I've made a lifestyle change in my diet. Basically I eat whatever I want in moderation, but mostly I'm eating whole foods and less processed carbs. I'm also trying to get some cardio in everyday, either jogging or Wii Zumba and also some strength training. I can't say I'm losing much weight, but I hope I will gain more muscle, endurance and energy. Life is all about energy, right?

Here comes the bride and groom

2010-12-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

My cousin asked me to make some wedding dolls as a gift for a friend who has getting married. Immediately I thought about using lace for the wedding gown. I was pretty excited to get started, and luckily, everything fell into place in this project.

Everytime I attempt something new, I never really know how it's going to come out. Sometimes it surprises me what can happen when you put yarn and embellishments together. This was one of those times and I got to try something new with lace and paper flowers.

And I just had to take this picture of the groom after the wedding... Too much champagne?

If you love your dogs...

2010-12-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

My friend wanted a Christmas stocking made for her sister. I suggested we put on them little puppy heads that looked like her 3 dogs, Yuki, Hana and Chibi. They are yorkie, maltese and morkie dogs.

I've never made a Christmas stocking, so now was the time to learn. I used a Lion Brand pattern that I modified to size and improvised the doggy heads. The stocking needed some color so I embellished it with holly leaves and used felt balls for the holly. (Finally, I found a use for the felt balls I purchased).

I'm giving it to her tomorrow, so hope she likes it...

A reason for everything...

2010-12-16T08:56:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I received a request from a customer to make a cat for her daughter. She wanted it to look like their orange cat "Sam". We discussed it a bit and she sent me photos of Sam, who I fell in love with at first sight. She needed a bigger size than I was used to making so I played with my yarn and made a few prototypes until I thought it was just right. I was excited about my "ball of fury Sam" and posted it on Etsy for her to purchase. Unfortunately, my customer decided to give the assignment to someone else who could make a bigger, more life like cat for less money. I was dissappointed to say the least, but I wished her well and took Sam with me to my mom's bowling league where someone purchased her on the spot!

Every time I work on a special request, it's challenging and time consuming but I usually learn something from the process of being pushed beyond my boundaries. I have been thinking about writing up a new pattern, and I think Sam will be perfect for the project. So now I'm off to making more of Sam's litter mates for the pattern photos. Oh, I think I'll make a black cat, and a grey cat and a calico and.... Oh how fun!

Always look for the silver lining in every situation! :D

Keep those hands clean!

2010-11-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

These little purses hold travel size bottles of hand sanitizer. They look simple enough, but it took me many prototypes to come up with this idea. First of all, a friend put a bug in my ear that it would be nice to have a holder for her Purell because she keeps losing it in the bottom of her purse. So I decided to take on the challenge. I had a hard time finding little bottles of Purell around here so I had to buy a case of them online. Next, I played around with different shapes for the holder and decided to make it so that the bottle could be used without removing it from it's holder. I liked the look of these "mini purses" and embellished them with sequin and ribbon flowers. What do you think? Are they cute?

Eddie and Gertie

2010-10-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, my husband noticed a stray cat drinking water out of the gutter. Well, that was totally unacceptable, so we started to feed her. She was small, so small, we thought she was a kitten. We feared she was being pursued by neighboring tomcats so we trapped her and had her spayed. We found out she was not a kitten, but a full grown cat and we named her "Gertie". We took care of her in our spare bathroom for a few days, and then released her back outside hoping she would stay with us as an outdoor cat. We were so sad when she did not come back the next day, or the next and as the days went by, I walked the neighborhood looking for her. Then almost a month later, she shows up at our front door! How can a stray cat make you so worried and happy?

Now Gertie is staying with us and she is loving her 3 meals a day of Fancy Feast. We have 2 cats indoors and our male, "Eddie" has taken a liking to Gertie from the beginning. He hates the territorial tom cats that come by and will alert us when he sees them. Eddie takes his job seriously, watching over Gertie's safety day and night.

They have recently created a bond together pawing at each other through the glass patio window. Sometimes I see them lying across from each other looking at each other through the window.

Gertie seems too feral to come indoors and we worry that our other cat will not be happy sharing her attention, so we try to make Gertie as comfortable as possible outdoors. We are enjoying her company so much!

Scappy Cats

2010-08-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I'm in the mood to make cats. But of course, I just can't make the same cats...I need to do something different. It all started when I looked into my box of yarn scraps, which you can imagine, I have a good collection. I was inspired by a chunky brown yarn speckled with orange and burgandy. From there, I decided to make some cats inspired by a yarn in my scrap box. Here they are: "Spicy", a burgandy and brown cat; "Rikki", a green and magenta cat, and "Punkie" a turquois blue jewel colored cat.

The Donut Kokeshi Club

2010-08-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well you see, there's this girl named Mie, and one day while shopping in Shibuya, she found this cool donut thing and thought she'd wear it in her hair. The next day at school, her friends saw it and thought it was "kakoii" (cool) and so they all started to wear them. This was the start of the "Donut Kokeshi Club". And then, there is this girl named Nami who decided to wear a cupcake dress. These crazy girls!

"Ni Hao!" Kai Lan...With Headphones?

2010-07-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

This was another special request from one of my best customers. She asked me to make a Ni Hao Kai Lan doll with some removeable headphones. I thought she was a bit nuts (in a cute way), but this is the result. I'm quite proud because she is completely improvised. HOWEVER, I should have written down how I made her because after some people saw her, I ended up with orders for 3 more! Sheesh. She is about 8 inches tall and wide.

Later, I was making more kokeshi dolls and decided to give them the Kai Lan hair style:

My First Craft Show!

2010-04-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

Finally, I got my act together and prepared for my first craft show at the Torrance Craftsmen's Guild Spring Faire. What a lot of preparation for a one day show. It took a lot of thought to come up with a display for my "shop". I realize it is a work in progress and it will take some time before I'm happy with it. The theme is a flower garden and the centerpiece is a flower garden cart I've had in storage for a few years. It happened to be the perfect size for my little shop front. I added a garden flag sign and made a shop sign. It was a great starting point. Then I decided on the color scheme...garden green, pink and yellow.

I needed something to display my items, and instead of a shelf, I found a garden fence and used it to hang things on. It worked great and was inexpensive and easy to store.

When I make amigurumi, I want to make something to make people smile, and I'd have to say I saw a lot of smiles today and received a lot of positive feedback! This makes me very happy and suddenly, all that preparation and work paid off big time!

Juggling Cats

2010-02-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

I call these “Juggling Cats” because they are just the right size to do that. However, if you are not into juggling, add catnip to the stuffing and give it to your cat to juggle. Or, add a cord and hang them to make people smile. Make them into ornaments, a keychain, a zipper pull...

You need:
Lily Sugar and Cream in colors of your choice.
“G” crochet hook
Polyfiber stuffing
Optional craft eyes (6 mm)
Yarn needle

Body:
Using white yarn color for face:
Make magic ring*, ch 1
Round 1: sc 6 into a magic ring, pull tight.
Round 2: sc 2 into each sc around (12 sc)

Change to yarn color for body:
Round 3: (sc 1 into next sc, then sc 2 into next), around (18 sc)
Round 4: (sc 1 into next 2 sc, then sc 2 into next) around (24 sc)
Rounds 5 to 9: sc around (24 sc)

If you are using plastic safety eyes, place them now.
Round 10: (sc 1 into next 2 sc, sc2tog) around (18)
Round 11 (sc 1 into next sc, sc2tog) around (12 sc)
Stuff with polyfiber.

Round 12: (sc2tog) around (6 sc)
Join with sl st to next st. Fasten off, pull tight to close and hide yarn end.

Ear - (make 2):
Make magic ring, ch 1
Round 1: 4 sc in magic ring (4 st)
Round 2: (sc 1 into next sc, sc 2 into next sc) twice (6 st)
Round 3: (sc 1 into next sc, sc 2 into next sc) three times (9 st)
Join with sl st to next st. Fasten off, leaving long end of yarn.

Tail
Ch 12
2 Sc into 2nd ch from hook, 2 sc into each ch until end
Fasten off, leaving long end of yarn.

Assembly:

Sew ears on top of face. Sew tail on back of body. Embroider some whiskers…and play!

* Don't know how to make a magic ring? Do a search on YouTube to see a demo...

Bunny Pencil Toppers

2010-01-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, so everyone needs one of these, right? Probably not, but they can brighten your day with their cute little faces.

I was inspired by some plastic bunny cabochons that I have. I decided to try to crochet some bunnies in a similar shape and ended up making these pencil toppers. They turned out better than expected...

Meanwhile, in the real world, we are getting a lot of rain this week. It's been awhile since I remember having a good rain. Usually this means my garden turns into a pond, but the rainwater really makes the plants perk up. I guess the city water has too much clorine or something in it. We are in a drought too, so the rain is much appreciated. I'm one of those people who'd rather walk in the rain without an umbrella. So I say, bring it on. I just hope it doesn't hurt the folks threatened by mudslides.

Out goes 2009

2009-12-31T09:26:00.000-08:00

"It's a rare moment when the mature princess allows the restless youngster to get his paws on her..."

Another year goes by. A time to reflect on the past year. How fast time flies...

DUSTY AND EDDIE
Eddie's been with us a year now and it's changed our lives. We have a feeding issue...uh hum! Eddie wants to eat all the time, so food can't be left out. But Dusty is a grazer and likes to eat a bite here and there. This means I am constantly sneaking food to Dusty throughout the day (it seems like she wants to eat every 15 minutes!) and on top of that, I get up at 4 AM every morning to make them their breakfast. I have no choice since something is pawing my face and pulling my hair.

CRAFTS AND MORE
I opened a new shop on Etsy. It's my "golf stuff" shop called Teeball where I sell my fun and funky golf gifts. It's been a slow start, but I can't complain. Hopefully more golfers will start finding my shop. Surprisingly, my Mutts amigurumi shop does better and much of my business goes to people outside the US. I've met so many nice people through Etsy!

I joined our local craftsmen's guild. They have a crafts fair in spring and fall. I didn't have enough inventory to participate in the fall fair, so right now I'm trying to stock up for the spring fair.

I can see that crafters are doing this for the love of crafting. They couldn't possibly do this for a living, especially in this economy. So my motto is to pace myself, enjoy the moment and make things with care and pride. Hopefully, I can break even! This year I spent more than I made. I have a habit of buying things I MIGHT need someday just because it's on sale. This puts a strain on my bottom line, but now I have enough stock to last oh, 10 or 20 years...

WII Love LEGO
My husband and I are spending our "quality time" playing Wii games almost every night. We just love Wii Lego games because we can both play and work together smashing everything in sight to complete our mission. It's relaxing, very funny and makes you think too. And, if we disagree we can always smash, shoot or punch each other. We've played Indiana Jones, Star Wars and now Batman. Another game we completed this year was "Mini Ninjas". It's not multiplayer, but it's very cute and the art work is a joy to see and the Japanese taiko background music is wonderful.

SWEET PEA FARM
I'm still farming and delivering veggies, but have scaled the business down since I've been focused on building up my craft hobby. Things at the farm are in the groove for me although I still have to work with and around Mother Nature. I had a bad spell with Harlequin bugs this year and they wiped out my Sept and Oct plantings. It still surprises me how good it feels to be out in the garden. Something happens to you and you just feel so great that you want to stay out all day.

TENNIS AND GOLF
:( I had a horrible tennis season this year. Oh well, it had to happen sometime. I played for my old team who were short on players and didn't do anything at all to help them out. But, I really did enjoy being with the team again and also seeing all my friends from other teams. Golf? I think I played once this year.

I FEEL GREAT!!!
This year I really stuggled with fatigue. I realize now that life revolves around energy. With no energy, you just don't feel like doing much. I saw the doctor and made some changes and dang! I've got to say that right now I feel better than I have in years! This is so, so, so great that I can do more than one thing in a day. Now, wouldn't it be nice to have more time in a day?

Okay! Now onwards to a great 2010!
Happy New Year!

Mutts and Alley Cats Donation 2009

2009-11-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

It's the holiday season again. How quickly it rolls around. The weather is getting frosty and I worry about the homeless pets outside in the cold. Last year, several of my mutts and alley cats made some money to be donated to the Best Friends Animal Society. This year, some of them went to the TLC pet adoption here in Southern Cal. I adopted three precious cats from them over the years and met a wonderful lady named Lisa. She saved our Eddie and fostered him and has been a wonderful contact. Lisa is also a veterinarian and I keep her updated on Eddie. She is truly concerned about saving cats and I can tell she loves them all. I hope the donated mutts and alley cats help them raise some money to help many more.

GoLf HeAd CoVeRs

2009-10-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

I've been racking my brain to come up with fun and funky designs for some golf head covers. After all, there needs to be more FUN playing golf, don't you think? So, here are some of the head covers I've come up with this month. No, they are not selling like hotcakes...but I hope some people will find my shop on Etsy and start thinking about the holidays. I quarantee you won't find anyone else with head covers like these...

The series above is my "Kokeshi Series". I guess I got the idea from making all those amigurumi kokeshis last month. I had these gorgeous J fabric fat quarters in my stash and am thrilled to find a use for them. I like how these came out.

This is my "Cactus" series head covers. They are topstitched with zigzag stitch to give it that ribbed cactus look and embellished with a rough cut funky shaped flower and topped with a selected button (again from the old stash).

This is my "Birdie" series of head covers. They were fun to make and I love working with fleece. It's so easy to sew, feels soft and cuddly and now comes in so many designs.

And lastly, this is my "Art" series of funky animals. A shocking pink cat, a hooty eye owl and a camoflauge monkey.

Kokeshi Kokeshi and More Kokeshi

2009-09-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this a month ago... Time just jets on by...

I needed to put together some items for a local craft show in November. I think the audience for this event will be mostly Asian, so I decided to make some kokeshi amigurumi. Kokeshi dolls are traditional Japanese dolls usually made out of wood in a simple cylinder shape with a round ball head. Ah, perfect for amigurumi. I made some traditional geisha type ladies and then spun off into other areas, like China dolls, ninjas and even fishermen. Check these out:

These are the first 10 I made, and there are 10 more I haven't photographed yet. Hope they like them!

Watermelon Turtle and Flower Garden Turtle

2009-07-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to making this "Watermelon Turtle". The idea was swimming around in my brain and I finally got it made. I used cotton yarn for the shell and a bright green acrylic for the body. The "seeds" are made with French knots. I think he looks delicious!

And, this is my "Flower Garden Turtle". She's a colorful girl with daisies embroidered on the top of her shell.

Fun and Funky Golf Head Covers

2009-07-03T07:08:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make some unique, fun and funky golf head covers. So finally, I came up with a great base for the covers. The inside has a thick plush lining with an elastic band to hold the club head. The club still slides in and out easily enough that you can take it on and off while playing if that's what you do. I've been designing the outside using fleece. It is so easy to work with and the colors are vibrant. I found a skull pattern that I just love. I looked everywhere and can't find any more of it. So far, I've come up with 2 series. The first one is the contemporary series. It's a triangular shaped head in various prints. One of them was made with soft minky fabric. The second series is called "Ninja Skills". Take a look. I've got them on sale right now in my etsy shop: www.teeball.etsy.com.

Mame Wanko, Little Felt Dogs

2009-06-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

I found these super cute Japanese Craft Books called "Mame Wanko". They are little, tiny felt dogs and they are absolutely adorable! The dogs in the book are only about 1 1/2 inches tall. I tried making one that size, but it's really difficult to turn the fabric and stuff them, so I increased the pattern by 100% and the pups end up around 3 1/2 inches tall. Still cute and manageable.

This is my first dog. He's a bull terrier. I just love his flat, chunky face. I hand stitched him with contrasting embroidery thread and stuffed him with polyfiber and a few black beans for weight. I named him Butch and put him in my Etsy shop. Butch is the fifth generation, meaning it took me 5 tries to get him right!

Speaking of felt, I'm on an out-of-control shopping rampage. Joann's had a felt sale at 2.99 a yard, and on top of that I had a 10% off everything coupon. I bought 12 colors of felt, 1 yard each. I would have bought a yard of every color, but it was already toppling off my shopping cart and all the other people in the cutting line were giving me dirty looks for holding up the line! It was a great buy though, so there's a big pile of felt cluttering up my sewing room. On top of that, I bought some felt from the UK from Etsy. 71 colors! Also, some patterned felt coming in the mail from Joann's online...

I can make about a million of these little felt dogs with all that felt!

Golf Tee Balls are here!

2009-02-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

I just opened a new store on Etsy to sell my golf tee balls. What are tee balls? It's a handy gadget to hold your favorite tees and it's a unique signature of your personality to boot. I've been having fun coming up with new ideas for them. I'm so excited to have sold a few sock monkeys. Yea!

Even if golf teeballs don't improve your game, at least it might make it more fun. Since I've been making these, I even get the urge to play more golf. Which is weird for me...

Check out my teeball store at www.teeball.etsy.com

A Bunny For You

2009-02-19T09:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a fast and easy crochet pattern just in time for Easter! I used Lily Sugar and Cream, but you can use whatever yarn you want. The size of the bunny depends on which yarn you choose. This one is about 3 inches tall and 1 1/2 inches wide. Enjoy!

This is a copyrighted pattern. Please do not copy or post this pattern on another site. Also, do not sell this pattern or make these items for commercial use.

BUNNY

Materials List:
- Cotton yarn like Lily Sugar and Cream.
- Polyester fiberfill stuffing
- Embroidery floss for eyes, nose and whiskers
- Plastic safety craft eyes - size 9 or small buttons (optional)
- Yarn needle
- Stitch marker (I just use a small piece of contrasting yarn to mark the end of each round.)
- Crochet hook size “G”

Body
Make magic ring*, ch 1
Round 1: sc 6 into a magic ring, pull tight.
Round 2: sc 2 into each sc around (12 sc)
Round 3: sc 1 into next sc, then sc 2 into next, around (18 sc)
Rounds 4-11 (8 rounds): sc around (18sc)
Round 8: (sc2tog, sc) around (12 sc)
If using craft eyes, insert now.
Stuff body with poly fiberfill.
Round 9: sc2tog around (6 sc)
Leave long yarn tail. Using a yarn needle, gather up the stitches in round 9 and pull tight to close. Weave yarn end into body.

Ears (make 2)
Round 1: sc 4 into a magic ring, pull tight.
Round 2: (sc 1 into next sc, then sc 2 into next), twice (6 sc)
Rounds 3-7 (5 rounds): sc around (6 sc)
Join with sl st to next st. Fasten off, leaving long end of yarn.

Tail
Use a fluffy white yarn if desired.
Round 1: sc 6 into a magic ring, pull tight.
Round 2: sc 2 into each sc around (12 sc)
Round 3: sc2tog around (6 sc)
Fasten off leaving yarn tail. Stuff very lightly into a round puff shape. Use the yarn end to gather stitches of round 3. Pull the yarn end to close the tail.

Assembly
Attach the ears to the top of the body. Pull the yarn end of each ear through to the bottom of the body. Tie ends of both ears together at the bottom of the body and pull up to flatten out bottom. Tie securely and weave in yarn ends.
Attach the tail to the back of the body.
Embroider eye, nose and whiskers as desired.

Felted Mutts

2009-02-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

First of all....HELLO Susie Farmgirl, are you still farming??? I only see crochet posts!

Yes, I'm still farming, but it's January, oops, it's already February. Where did the time go? Usually this time of year the weather is so cold that the veggies don't grow much, but stay nice and fresh in the ground. This January has been unusually warm and this week it's actually been in the 80's. The plants are very confused about what to do because the weather fluctuates so much. But that's farming...

Right now I'm concentrating on crocheting and building up inventory in my Etsy shop. I've been having fun making different kinds of mutts and I wanted to try felting some. So, I made some up in 100% wool (Patons) and washed them in hot water in the washing machine. This makes the fibers shrink and supposedly meld together into a beautiful surface. Well, I washed one dog 3 times, and the others twice. I put them in pillow cases and washed them with some clean towels for friction. The fibers shrunk and the dogs became very soft and fluffy to the touch. They also got this forlorn look in their eyes. I didn't get the felting I was expecting, so maybe the water wasn't hot enough, or there wasn't enough friction and agitation. Here's my litter of felted mutts:

OMG! 2008 in review

2008-12-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

Introducing Eddie...

I just realized it's the end of the year. I'm just not paying attention to time.

In the past, I'm usually busy cooking all day, following the Japanese tradition of having a feast on New Year's Day. This year, I haven't even thought about it. I think I better go down to the nearby Marukai and pick up some sushi and mochi. I'm really getting lazy!

ANYWAY, here are the highlights of 2008!

CROCHET
Probably the biggest change this year was that I started crocheting. I guess that doesn't sound that big, but it really spun off into new directions. I discovered amigurumi and learned to improvise my own patterns. I joined a great community of yarn crafters on Ravelry. I made a ton of mutts and alley cats and sold them to benefit animals in need at the Best Friends Animal Society. I even got my mom and her friends interested in amigurumi and she's really enjoying it. I opened up a store on etsy called "Mutts" where I'm selling my amigurumi and patterns.

GARDENING
My SPF hobby business had a few new acquisitions. I finally got a new car, a Honda Element so I can actually carry more cargo. This made a big difference in my quality of life. I started a new garden at my father-in-laws house and he takes an interest in the garden and we have more bonding time. I started a worm bin in January and it’s expanded nicely. I got a food dehydrator over the summer and started drying fruits and veggies. My husband built me a new light bar for my seedlings and I’m now growing the best ones yet.

ECONOMIC CRISIS
It’s been a really bad year for everyone economically, so I’m glad to have the garden to supply our veggies. Gas prices went up to $4.50 gallon over the summer, so I bought a bike and started riding as much as possible. In a few months, shockingly, gas prices fell to $1.75 in December, so the bike is gathering dust for now. We’ve been cutting expenses as much as possible. The computer doesn’t stay on all the time anymore and the air conditioner wasn’t turned on in the heat of the summer.

TENNIS
I said goodbye to my tennis team. I’ve invested a lot of time to tennis over the years and I’m finding it harder and harder to stay motivated towards it. I’ve got my mind on other things right now, so I’m giving league tennis a break, although I’ll still play now and then to keep in touch with friends.

EDDIE
And last, but not least, this weekend we adopted Eddie. He’s a very sweet, alert, 8 month old and we hope he’ll be a good companion for Dusty.

Rainy Day Crochet

2008-12-18T10:36:00.001-08:00

It was raining all day yesterday and it's really cold for So. Cal. It was too wet to go out farming, so I bundled up by a heater and crocheted while watching a Korean drama. It amazes me that I can crochet and read subtitles at the same time.

I was inspired by a cat on a teapot I brought back from a trip to Japan. Now I admit, my crochet cat is nowhere near as cute as the teapot cat, but hey, I said it was inspiration! I liked the heather blue yarn I was using. It reminds me of denim. I added the flower to the cat's ear to perk it up a bit.

Mutts

2008-11-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

Check out my mutts. I call them Mighty Mutts. I'm having fun making them in different colors, with different ears and tails. In fact, I've made so many of them in such a short time, that my thumb is sore and keeps popping out of place. Ouch! These little dogs are a great way to use up yarn remnants. Oh, there's so many dogs to make. I'm also going to make alley cats, but that's still in the works. I'm in the process of writing up a pattern for these mutts, so if you are interested, check back later.

I'm hoping to sell these mutts to make money to benefit animals. One organization that I feel is very important is the "Best Friends Animal Sanctuary". If you would like to know more, check out their website at www.bestfriends.org.

First ami people - Sachi and Yonny

2008-11-20T07:43:00.001-08:00

I was racking my brain trying to come up with a thank you gift for some friends who have everything. What to do, what to do? Well, I finally came up with the idea to make ami dolls of them. Sachi is my tennis team captain (yes, even farmers play tennis) and her husband Yonny owned a special Japanese antique store.

I made these ami dolls on the fly, that is, without a pattern and without even knowing what they'd look like. I knew that the hair had to be spot on, since it would be the only identifying characteristic. I started by making the doll body out of beige colored yarn and added some embroidery floss for hair. I had just come back from the Fiber Festival and had a delicious stash of yarn to inspire me into making yukata for their clothes.

I was happy with the final result and had a great time making them and learned a lot in the process. Onward!

Fiber Festival Loot

2008-11-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the L.A. group on Ravelry, I found out about the Fiber Festival sponsored by the SC Handweaver's Guild. I went just to "check it out" and came home with this stash...

Wow, wow, wow. I had such a great time. I especially liked buying the yarn remnants for 25 cents to a couple of dollars. They are perfect for my little amigurumi projects. I bought a lot from Newton's. They had many skeins for $5 and $9 dollars that were regularly priced from $10 to $29. I also had fun buying these tiny beads priced $1 a cup. I would have missed this great show if not for my friends at Ravelry.

Three Dog Night

2008-10-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

We've been having crazy weather around here. It's been hot, then cold in the same week, and then the pattern continues week after week. Right now, the Santa Anas are blowing through making it hot and dry which makes eyes ichy and skin start cracking. It's late October and today it was in the 90's.

Meanwhile, I've been busy crocheting my friend's 3 dogs; Hana, Kiku and Kanoa. Hana and Kiku are German Shephard Chow mix and I'm not sure about Kanoa.

I made these puppies up as I went along. It's kind of fun to adlib and feel like you can crochet anything. Crochet really has some usefulness and I can see how it would really come in handy in an emergency. For instance, say you are stranded on an island, as in the movie "Castaway". If you know how to crochet, you can make everything you need if you can find some appropriate fiber. You can make socks, shoes, slippers, clothing, baskets, rope, even a raft. Why not?

Delilah's in the house...

2008-10-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

A friend is having a birthday tomorrow and a group of girls are coming over to my "farmhouse" to play some cards and share some food and laughs. I wanted to surprise her with "Delilah". Delilah is a grey and white, somewhat chubby cat who likes to talk a lot. She might have some siamese in her.

I made Delilah using two colors of yarn, grey and cream, crocheted together at the same time. This gives her a chunky, tweedy look. Then to dress her up a bit, I made her a scarf with a flower embellishment. She looks so stylish. I hope she gets along with the real Delilah.

"Ryder" comes to visit

2008-10-02T10:37:00.001-07:00

What does a farmer do after the sun goes down? Well, some go square dancing at a hoe down, or play the fiddle, but I've been spending my time working on some crochet projects. Right now, I'm making up some gifts for some friends, but I plan on creating a family of farm friends and other surprises...

So, meet Ryder the dog. Ryder came to visit the other day and I found him sitting in my nursery, right in the middle of some lettuce seedlings. He looked a bit guilty knowing he was smashing down some of my baby lettuces, but I can't really get mad since he is a gift for my dear friend Harriet. Harriet has done a ton for me over the years and I finally have something to show her some appreciation. She is an animal lover like me and Ryder is a long time companion.

Yikes, there's a dog in my nursery!

Argh! Cornstalks!

2008-09-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

These cornstalks didn't produce many ears, but they would have made a nice decoration bundled up and tied and surrounded by pumpkins.

I'm an urban farmer, devoid of acres of land, so I make do by having several gardens at different sites, one of which is in the back yard of my father-in-laws house. I had a crop of corn growing that just didn't materialize. The growth was stunted, and the ears were just not good enough to pick. Sad, but it happens sometimes. I was ready to clear them out and had a thought. Why not bundle them up and save them to give away as Halloween and autumn decorations. It's hard to find bundles of dried cornstalks here in the city. So, I bundled them up with twine by size. I had some very cute bundles ranging in size from 2 to 6 feet tall. They still had some small ears of corn on them that I thought would look nice once everything dried out. I thought the smaller bundles would make nice centerpieces for the holiday table. I left them out to dry and decided to go over and take some pictures of them today.

Imagine my disappointment when I found they were gone! Every one of them. Did someone come by and take them? I'm still shaking my head in disappointment. Now, I can't even post a picture to remember them by.

An Experiment: Worm Composting in Pots

2008-09-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

These black nursery pots are serving two purposes: 1) they raise the lettuce planters off the ground making them easier to work, and 2) they are worm composting bins!

This is my newest experiment. I got this idea from another experiment when I tried growing potatoes in big pots. Unfortunately, I left the potatoes in too long and by the time I turned over and emptied the pot, the potatoes were gone, but I was left with some dark soil filled with worms. At first I was disappointed that my potato experiment failed, but then I realized as I dumped the soil and the worms into a planter box, that hey, there is a silver lining here.

So, I decided to expand on my idea and filled some of these big pots with mulch and garden scraps. Instead of putting the debris into my compost pile, I put some of the damaged cukes, bruised berries and other waste into the pots with the mulch. Then I topped the pots with planters of lettuce. When I water the lettuce, the water drains into the pot, the worms come up from the ground and have a party in the pot. I'll just keep adding vegetable waste to the mulch in the pots to make sure the party continues, and hopefully in a few months, I'll have not only nice big buckets of worm castings, but a ton of worms to go along with them.

The other benefit of this is that the lettuce is easier to harvest since it's off the ground and it's easier to keep them away from some of the night crawling insects.

I'll let you know later how this experiment turns out...

Everything I know about tomatoes

2008-09-24T18:54:00.001-07:00

I am a long way from being an expert on growing tomatoes, but I have experimented quite a bit over the past few years, and thought I'd share what I've learned. Some of what I do might pertain to my soil and weather, so take whatever I say not as fact, but as opinion.

Basically, the three most important points are:
1) Prepare the soil
2) Choose tomato varieties that do best in your location
3) Plant them at the right time of year

PREPARE THE SOIL
The way I prepare the soil, whether it's heavy clay, loam or sand, is to dig a nice deep hole, at least 1 foot deep, and 1 foot wide. Even deeper is better. It won't hurt to add some organic mulch and work it into the soil. The mulch will loosen up clay soil, and add water retention to sandy soil. Leave at least 18 inches between plants. If I had the luxury of more room, I'd give them 3 feet between plants. Add a couple of shovelfuls of composted steer manure. What I do with steer manure, is buy it from the store in bags and let the bags sit for a couple of months before I use it. Sometimes when you by it from the store, the bag is still warm to the touch which means it's still hot and very smelly. After a few months of letting it sit, it mellows out and smells earthy. Don't use hot manure or it could burn the roots of your seedlings. Work the steer manure nicely into the soil, then add a handful of tomato and vegetable food (I've used EB Stone Organics and Plant Tone), a handful of bone meal and a handful of Epsom salts. The Epsom salts are a natural mineral and adds magnesium to the soil. I'm not too scientific about amounts. A handful to me is probably about 1/2 cup.

CHOOSING TOMATO VARIETIES
This will take some research on your part. I've been planting several varieties and keeping notes of what grows best for me. If you are in an area where the summer is short, then choose a tomato with a short maturation time, if you have a long season, then you can choose just about any tomato variety. If you are going to buy your seedlings from the local garden center, they will have the varieties that grow best in your area, but the selection will be limited. If you grow from seed, the variety is enormous and you can have a lot of fun trying out new ones every year. Check out my blog on "Best tomatoes of 2008" to find out which ones I'll definitely grow again next year. By the way, I am very fortunate to live in the temperate climate of Southern California with a long growing season.

PLANT AT THE RIGHT TIME OF YEAR
This also depends on where you live and what your weather is like. Basically, don't plant tomatoes between late September and February unless you have a heated greenhouse. You'll be wasting your time. Even with that, it's risky to plant in March. Tomatoes need night temperatures of at least 55 degrees. Below 55 degrees, you might get some flowers, but you won't see any tomatoes develop from them. The exception is if you grow a cold season tomato like Sub Arctic or Stupice, which I think still need a minimum temperature of 50 degrees. Of course, you can still try if you want, but don't expect a lot of tomatoes. Remember that just because they have tomato plants for sale at your garden center, it doesn't mean it's still the season to grow them. It could depend on the microclimate you have in your particular area. In general, I start tomatoes three times a year. The first set goes in the ground in late March, the second set around June and the third in August. I start harvesting tomatoes in May and it continues into late October.

A FEW MORE TIPS

* Plant that seedling deep. Remove all the lower leaves below the top 3 and plant that baby deep. Roots will grow all along the buried stem and make the plant stronger.

* Stick a long 7 to 8 foot bamboo pole in next to the plant when you plant it and train the plant up the pole by tying it up as it grows. Use something soft and stretchy like fabric strips or just tie it loosely with twine. Don't bother with those cheap 3 foot wire tomato supports. They're only good for very small plants.

* Prune off the suckers. Do this so the plant doesn't become an out of control monster. It'll be easier to stake and you'll get bigger tomatoes too. Prune off the shoots that might pop up at the base of the plant too. Or you can save those shoots and plant them somewhere else.

* As the season goes on and the bottom leaves start yellowing, pull them off to slow down the spread of late blight.

I've experimented with many things like soaking the roots in seaweed emulsion before planting, fertilizing with fish emulsion, spraying with BT (a natural bacteria) to control tomato worms, using a fungicide to prevent blight, even using compost tea and foliar feeding with worm tea. But to be honest, I just didn't see where the expense and effort paid off. If it did, the benefit was so incremental, that I couldn't tell. Therefore, I found that if I just followed my basic 3 steps of 1) preparing the soil, 2) choosing the right varieties and 3) growing it at the right time, I could get a decent harvest. Sure some plants will not make it through the whole season, so that's why I plant more than I need and have enough to share...

Favorite Tomatoes of 2008

2008-09-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

I could kick myself for not taking photos during the peak of season. These are end of season tomatoes, clockwise from top: Kellogg's Breakfast, Aunt Ruby's German, Big Beef, Carbon

I've been trying out new varieties in the garden each year trying to hone in on my favorites, and so far, here is the hit list. These are the tomatoes I'll definitely grow next year, chosen based on flavor:

1. Big Beef (Park Seed) I grew these tomatoes in different plots with different soils, and compared to other tomatoes, it preformed the best. The tomatoes are a rich red, the skin has a beautiful complexion and the meat is juicy and flavorful. Very good yield.

2. Carbon (Tomatofest) - This is a pretty dark red/purple tomato with dark green on the top. The flavor is rich and complex.

3. Aunt Ruby's German (Tomatofest) - The color of this tomato is dark yellow/green, and inside bright green. Very unusual. The flavor is spicy and rich.

4. Kellogg's Breakfast (Tomatofest) - A huge, bright yellow beefsteak tomato. Juicy and sweet. A meal in itself.

Other varieties I grew this year: Stupice, Paul Robeson, Clint Eastwood Rowdy Red, Brandywine OTV, Rutgers, Pomodoro, Black Cherry, Black Crim, Black Prince, Lime Green Salad, Eva Purple Bell, Japanese Black Trifele, Slava, Beefsteak, Ruth's Perfect, Aussie and Subarctic (in progress).

The cherry tomatoes I grew: Sungold, Sunsweet, Supersweet 100, Red Currant, Isis Cherry, Hawaiian Currant, Blondkopf Cherry, Honeybunch.

Of the cherries, I liked Sungold, Red Currant, Supersweet 100, Honeybunch and Isis Cherry.

I'll post later about how I grow tomatoes.

I always look forward to a tomato sandwich for lunch after working in the fields. I take my pick of the day from my tomato harvest, slice it up and eat it on toasted sheepherders or sourdough bread with a slice of provolone, some mayo and mustard. Good eating.

Three best crops of summer 2008

2008-09-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

There are 3 things growing on the farm this summer that I am very happy about. I can't wait for next year to grow them again:

1. Ambrosia Melon - WOW. People who tried it said "Amazing". The foliage grew like crazy, the yield, prolific, and the melons were big, sweet and juicy. The seed came from Thompson and Morgan.

2. Big Beef Tomato - Want a perfect looking, juicy, flavorful tomato on a disease resistant plant? Think Big Beef. It's now my absolute favorite tomato. Oh, and high yields. What's there to complain about? Seeds were from Park Seed.

3. Rattlesnake Pole Beans - A friend of mine gave me these seeds and he got it from another friend. They are the BEST pole beans I've ever had and my mouth is watering just thinking about them. I'm not even sure I've got the name right. I did a search on the internet and the Rattlesnake Pole Bean was the closest match. These green pole beans have a purple marking when fresh, but turn all green when cooked. They are tender and soooooo delicious. I boil them and serve them with a dressing of mayo and a dash of soy sauce. Because of their coloring, they are easy to see when you harvest, and also, they pull right off the vine with one hand. I can't wait for next year to start a new crop. Check this link for a picture of the bean. http://www.humeseeds.com/beanrtl.htm

I'm Susie!

2008-09-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. I'm Susie, and actually I'm a wannabe farmgirl. I grew up in the big city of Los Angeles, California, but I'm sure I was meant to be on a farm. I'm hoping one day to have a real one, with a huge vegetable garden, chickens and maybe even a llama. Who knows? Meanwhile, I'm starting this blog to dream about it.

I'm an avid vegetable gardener (no...I mean FARMER) interested in urban sustainable living, who loves, loves, loves animals, especially my cat Dusty, and just recently dove into the world of creative crochet. I've decided to try creating my virtual farm world in yarn.