It's Time.................

As much fun as having a blog has been, it's time to really focus on my small business.  Fall is just around the corner which will mean a lot of socks will have to be made.  And I'd like to spend more time designing, too.  There's just not enough hours in each day.

I want to thank all of my loyal followers and those who stop by occasionally.  You've all been delightful and your comments have always been so wonderful.

I will continue with my Etsy and Ravelry stores, so you can always stop by to see what's new there.

I wish you all the very best!  Thank You!  Thank You!

They Walked Away...........

We have a small glider airport just to our east and they take off and go right over our property.  Saturday afternoon we heard the tow plane doing circle upon circle overhead.  I ran outside to see what was going on and then heard all the sirens coming up the mountain.  I realized that a plane had gone down just up the road from us and that the tow plane was trying to show the fire department where the crash site was.

We assumed that it was a glider that had gone down but as we walked up to our neighbor's house we could see that it was a small single engine plane.  They too, use the glider airport.  Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt and no fire started.

Like they say, any landing is a good landing if you can walk away from it.

 I think the heroes of the day were the pilot, for bringing the plane down without hitting any homes AND the tow plane pilot for getting in the sky quickly to show the authorities where to come.  The Lord was watching over everyone that day.

Many of you are new to my blog and I wanted to share a couple of pictures that I took last week.  We almost always have clear skies, but last week was exceptional.  So I snapped this one which is of the view out my front door.  The picture makes the mountain top look rather far away, but it's quite close.
It's a very rural setting complete with dirt roads, no street lights or power!  Yes, we live totally off the electrical grid and it's quite an adventure.

If I look out my back door, I look over the Tehachapi valley and this northeast shot is of Sand Canyon in the background.  There are 5 valleys up here in our mountains and each is so very different.

The monsoons are due to arrive again later today and for most of the week with possible flash floods tomorrow.  I'm sure there will be gorgeous photos ahead.

In knitting news:  I finished the project for the yarn company and just need to proof the pattern.  Then we have a sock order from another yarn company with that yarn arriving any day.  Doris (our antique sock machine) is eager to start!

Guess Who Won?

Congratulations to Carmen N (asimplehomestd on Ravelry) for winning these two skeins of Regia sock yarn!  I can't wait to hear what you will make with it.  Carmen, if you'd be so kind to email me at tehachapisockcompany@gmail.com with a mailing address, I will place this yarn in tomorrow's mail.

Hope that we made your day!

I loved reading about all your projects.  It's so wonderful how many of you knit for others, especially when illness is involved.  Knitting seems to be a two-fold gift.  It brings comfort to those who receive our lovely labor of love AND it gives us great joy and satisfaction in creating our pieces.

Thank you all for joining in on today's fun giveaway.  We'll be having another one very, very soon.

Knitingly,
Kathy

It's That Time.................

For a little giveaway!  Yesterday was my hubby's birthday, so to celebrate his big day I'm offering one lucky reader these 2 skeins of Regia sock yarn.  Socks made in this color are so much fun.  Just leave a comment and let everyone know what project you're currently work on.  On Sunday, August 25th, I'll randomly select one winning name.  Please leave contact info to make everything easier for me.  Good luck!

Stormy Weather.....

The monsoons have made their appearance over the last couple of days, but yesterday was by far the worst.

On our eastern horizon they come in off the desert with thick black clouds and lightning.

Soon the high winds arrive because of the unstable air mass.

The result yesterday was a massive dust storm that went right through the center of town.

Today the weather is supposed to be much calmer so that means I can get back to some serious knitting.

The project that I'm working on for one of the yarn companies is over half finished.  The book will be out next spring and I can't wait to share the one design of mine that will be in it.

In my spare time I'm still knitting up more mismatched mittens.  They just keep me smiling!  AND if you check back in on Thursday, I'll have a little announcement for you all!

Chalk on the Walk.....

Each year Tehachapi hosts a "Chalk on the Walk" event where artists of all skill levels and ages are invited to display their art on the city's sidewalks.

As you can see, there are some amazing artists here.  And remember, these are all done with chalk!

I missed attending it over the weekend, but rushed down early Monday morning before they were either washed away or walked over.

This lion was probably my favorite.

Happy Mittens.........

The first pair of "Happy Mittens" are done and they were tons of fun to make.  And yes, they make me smile!  The second pair are already underway and I hope to have oodles of them for the big November craft show.

They're so fun in fact, that we may just have a little giveaway very, very soon.

Small Projects..................

While I'm waiting for the yarn and contract to arrive for an upcoming project for a book, I decided to knit up some fun and quick items.  The thought of throwing away even the smallest amount of sock yarn is unthinkable.  So, with the big craft show in November, these little "Friendship Bracelets" are so perfect.  Don't you just love the smiling monkey button?

I always think that kids get all the fun knitted items, so I'm working on "Happy Mittens" for adults.  What a great use of leftover worsted weight yarn!  Randomly, I selected 6 colors and placed them in my knitting bag.  Then, I just grab one and knit for as long as I want before changing colors.  No reasoning at all - that's what makes these so fun.  AND for the second mitten, I'll hide the first one from view so that they won't be alike whatsoever!  This whole concept will add some spice to your knitting.  And just think how surprised I'll be when they're done and I compare the two together.  Pipi Longstockings would be smiling from ear to ear over these!

Pumpkins, Pies & Mittens..........

See, just bring on pumpkin season and mittens start flying off my needles.

Remember all those peaches that we picked on Saturday?  Well, some pies definitely popped out of my oven with 'em.  Boy, did the house smell good that day!  I had to use a sugar substitute since my husband can't have sugar, but they still tasted quite yummy.

Fall will come quickly here in the California mountains, so it's nice to get a head start with my knitting.  Tons of hand cranked socks are scheduled to be made on our antique sock machine and I have oodles of leftover worsted that will become mittens.  Life is good when you make time for knitting!

A Peachy Kind of Day.....

We've been waiting for the small farm nearby to put up their "Peaches" sign.  Yesterday was the day, so this morning I sent the troops in..............

It smelled so good in this orchard.

And tomorrow a peach pie is sure to pop out of my oven.

From there we headed over to the Cummings Valley for onions, potatoes, cabbage, red leaf lettuce and carrots.  They have an amazing organic farm there that's only open on Saturdays.

This is Brite Valley with Alpine mountain in the background.  Such a great morning to venture out and visit these farms.  And, it's always good if you can support your local growers.

In knitting news:  We have some exciting news, but unfortunately can't share the details.  I can say tho, that another design is heading for print!  These projects can take many, many months to complete and as soon as it's available, you'll be the first to know.  The yarn should arrive next week and I'll get started ASAP.

Have a great weekend.

Walking on the Wild Side............

We still have several bags of Regia on back order, but this extremely fun color arrived yesterday.

I'm sure most feet would love it!

And then to see it made up into socks is even more amazing.

Definitely will be a walk on the wild side. Right now this pair is blocking and should be in our Etsy shop some time tomorrow.

A Three Foot Visitor..............

We're well into summer and each evening we usually comment that we haven't seen any snakes on the property this year.  Well, lo and behold, our first visitor showed up yesterday evening.

When I first caught a glimpse of him, he was making his way up the back knoll towards the house.  Our first order of business is always to leash up Bo, so that he doesn't attack the snake and get bit.

By time I summoned the troops, leashed Bo and made it back around the house, it had already made it into the rocks next to the foundation.

It's impossible to get a snake out of there and as soon as my husband tried, the snake went upwards and through a small opening between the house and block foundation.  So, he's either still under there or made it out through the night.  We'll never know.  This is a King snake and actually quite good to have around.  They can survive a bite from a rattler and even kill 'em.  Still tho, I'm not thrilled to have any snake around and if we see this guy again, we'll try to catch him in a bucket and move him further out in the country.

With our crazy weather and maybe the fact that I planted my pumpkins a month too early, we are now harvesting some.  Lots of big green ones are still on the vines so we should still have several for Halloween.

When I see pumpkins, this intense desire to knit mittens comes upon me!  Does that happen to you?

A Day at the Museum...........

 

Tehachapi has a wonderful museum and once a year they have a special day with lots of demonstrations.  Our three grandsons were here for the weekend, so it worked out perfect.  Here, they learned how to churn butter.

And yes, even camels were part of Tehachapi's past.

Across the street from the museum is the Errea House Museum and the boys totally enjoyed seeing what life was like from this time period.

Everything within the house has been donated by local families.

Life was so much simpler then, but of course much harder, too.

Volunteers maintain the outside gardens which are so beautiful.  We all really had such a nice day visiting the past.

Another Day Off the Grid......

Last night I started re-watching Field of Dreams, which got me even more excited about our little cornfield.

 The pumpkin patch is over growing everything and has now made its way into the rows of corn.

And last night I noticed that just about every stalk of corn has ears.  The girly girls will be so thrilled.  Right now it's 40 cents an ear at our store.  Way too high!

Next year I will spread out the rows more and keep the squash and corn in separate areas.  My poor husband has a devil of a time getting in there to harvest the squash.

And the pumpkins are everywhere........inside the enclosure...........and outside...........

And then there's my trusted assistant who's quite content to just lay on the front porch and watch me do all the work!