Your Favorite Winter Activities!

[MuddyFarms]

What do you like to do during the winter months to break up monotony and have some fun? Do you have a hobby using the fiber from your animals to make projects? Anyone learning to code websites or other computer applications? Planning your summer breeding program for your herd? Christmas baking?…

 

[hotzcatz]

Hmm, well, I'm planting the garden, going to the beach and planning some new litters. I guess you're in the Northern hemisphere?

 

[user 8761]

Well it’s -41 this morning here so we will probably stick close to the fireplace. Otherwise I’m usually crocheting or doing crosswords in our downtime. Our goats seem the least impressed with the cold weather, whereas the sheep are so wooly sometimes they just sleep out in the snow even though they have a lovely little house to use. I have a 5 day old rabbit litter in the nestbox, luckily mama did a good job pulling fur and there’s 8 of them, so they should be just fine. I doubt we will be getting much more than the nessecary farm work done today, as just going to the outhouse and back was pretty lame.

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

Great question and fun topic. Let’s see. I’m ordering seeds for next year, making and canning beef stock, and doing a lot of baking. I bake all of my own cookies, bread, etc because I’m passionate about only using animal products that I have raised or purchased locally from farmers I know (and a lot of premade supermarket baked goods have eggs in them). I do a fair amount of sewing, darning, and repairing clothes.

We always put a hoop-house cover over our 20*20 chicken run in winter and I’ll go sit outside with the chickens occasionally, dressed up in ski pants and 5 layers of clothes, lol. I love hanging out with my animals. It is a relaxing break and helps me let go of work related stress. Some of my chickens hop on my lap. Others don’t. They have their own personalities.

I would love to have the skill to make clothes out of animal fibers. Maybe some day….

 

[Olbunny]

Wishing folks a Merry Christmas ! Snogos, our cabin, kids n bonfires n smores n hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. Old iron , old tractors, old cars my 70 El Camino n 76 F-250 highboy. Guess the elco gets parked but I plow with my highboy.
Watching the moose, generally a couple in the yard. Couple small bulls currently but had a cow , calf n yearling yesterday. We stay active all year. Was visiting with son about going ice fishing for Northern pike. A hundred pounds of fillets would be nice. Pickled n frozen n canned. No limit invasive species. Hey we'll do our part. Another bonfire on the lake n kids running snogos around. Too cool

 

[rockyhillrabbits]

I hate winter. It's too cold, but it doesn't interfere with day to day chores. I feed and water the rabbits, rake out the barn once a week, feed the dogs, feed the horses, feed the chickens, run errands and do grocery shopping, help my dad, run our Great Dane website, rabbitry website, schedule bill payments, clean house, cook supper.
I do have a game on my phone that I play a little bit and when the house and family gets too stressful or there's too much yelling I go sit in the barn and watch the rabbits.
I would love to be able to relax and read a book or draw, or even write more on my second novel but I write best at night when everyone else goes to sleep and most nights I'm too tired to stay up that late. So I guess cleaning the barn is my favorite thing because I listen to music on my phone as I clean. Rabbits seem to appreciate Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Queen, AC/DC etc lol.

 

[MuddyFarms]

Hmm, well, I'm planting the garden, going to the beach and planning some new litters. I guess you're in the Northern hemisphere?

Oh, definitely! It’s a cold place in the winter.

Nice winter activities there, @hotzcatz !

 

[MuddyFarms]

Wishing folks a Merry Christmas ! Snogos, our cabin, kids n bonfires n smores n hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. Old iron , old tractors, old cars my 70 El Camino n 76 F-250 highboy. Guess the elco gets parked but I plow with my highboy.
Watching the moose, generally a couple in the yard. Couple small bulls currently but had a cow , calf n yearling yesterday. We stay active all year. Was visiting with son about going ice fishing for Northern pike. A hundred pounds of fillets would be nice. Pickled n frozen n canned. No limit invasive species. Hey we'll do our part. Another bonfire on the lake n kids running snogos around. Too cool

‘Snogos’…I’m guessing those are what we call snowmobiles? Fun to learn a new name for them if that is what you were referring to. That’s a fun activity for winter in the snow!

 

[MuddyFarms]

Great question and fun topic. Let’s see. I’m ordering seeds for next year, making and canning beef stock, and doing a lot of baking. I bake all of my own cookies, bread, etc because I’m passionate about only using animal products that I have raised or purchased locally from farmers I know (and a lot of premade supermarket baked goods have eggs in them). I do a fair amount of sewing, darning, and repairing clothes.

We always put a hoop-house cover over our 20*20 chicken run in winter and I’ll go sit outside with the chickens occasionally, dressed up in ski pants and 5 layers of clothes, lol. I love hanging out with my animals. It is a relaxing break and helps me let go of work related stress. Some of my chickens hop on my lap. Others don’t. They have their own personalities.

I would love to have the skill to make clothes out of animal fibers. Maybe some day….

I hate winter. It's too cold, but it doesn't interfere with day to day chores. I feed and water the rabbits, rake out the barn once a week, feed the dogs, feed the horses, feed the chickens, run errands and do grocery shopping, help my dad, run our Great Dane website, rabbitry website, schedule bill payments, clean house, cook supper.
I do have a game on my phone that I play a little bit and when the house and family gets too stressful or there's too much yelling I go sit in the barn and watch the rabbits.
I would love to be able to relax and read a book or draw, or even write more on my second novel but I write best at night when everyone else goes to sleep and most nights I'm too tired to stay up that late. So I guess cleaning the barn is my favorite thing because I listen to music on my phone as I clean. Rabbits seem to appreciate Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, Queen, AC/DC etc lol.

Being able to hang out with our animals/rabbits is one of the best perks! We’ve got some litters right now at just the cutest stages, and we love watching and cuddling them.

 

[MuddyFarms]

Well it’s -41 this morning here so we will probably stick close to the fireplace. Otherwise I’m usually crocheting or doing crosswords in our downtime. Our goats seem the least impressed with the cold weather, whereas the sheep are so wooly sometimes they just sleep out in the snow even though they have a lovely little house to use. I have a 5 day old rabbit litter in the nestbox, luckily mama did a good job pulling fur and there’s 8 of them, so they should be just fine. I doubt we will be getting much more than the nessecary farm work done today, as just going to the outhouse and back was pretty lame.

I had similar temps recently with that widespread storm that came through. Like you said- only essential things are done outside at those times.

…plus modifications to farm infrastructure to deal with cold that came earlier than expected, I guess!

I love crocheting and knitting! What do you like making?

 

[user 8761]

I had similar temps recently with that widespread storm that came through. Like you said- only essential things are done outside at those times.

…plus modifications to farm infrastructure to deal with cold that came earlier than expected, I guess!

I love crocheting and knitting! What do you like making?

Well, I’m currently working my way through about 5 granny square books, I figure if I make one of every pattern in all the books I’ll have enough for a blanket!
I made a scarf for a friend a few months ago and after about row 20 of going back and forth I realized I hated it and would much rather make a whole bunch of little things into one big thing haha!
What do you like to make?

 

[MuddyFarms]

Well, I’m currently working my way through about 5 granny square books, I figure if I make one of every pattern in all the books I’ll have enough for a blanket!
I made a scarf for a friend a few months ago and after about row 20 of going back and forth I realized I hated it and would much rather make a whole bunch of little things into one big thing haha!
What do you like to make?

That's a good idea! Seems like it would be fun to make so many variations of something. I like alternating how big my projects are so I have some quick projects, too. Those granny squares look really nice.

I do tend to knit more than crochet right now, but I have crocheted a number of these potholders in one of the pictures. Then there's socks (I love two-at-a-time from the toe up and normal top-down socks!), sock holders (also called sock minders) for babies to keep their socks on, and scarves. Looking through patterns again to find some new types of projects to make. Always nice to see what others are working on, too!

 

[user 8761]

That's a good idea! Seems like it would be fun to make so many variations of something. I like alternating how big my projects are so I have some quick projects, too. Those granny squares look really nice.

I do tend to knit more than crochet right now, but I have crocheted a number of these potholders in one of the pictures. Then there's socks (I love two-at-a-time from the toe up and normal top-down socks!), sock holders (also called sock minders) for babies to keep their socks on, and scarves. Looking through patterns again to find some new types of projects to make. Always nice to see what others are working on, too!

That green scarf is fabulous!

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

That's a good idea! Seems like it would be fun to make so many variations of something. I like alternating how big my projects are so I have some quick projects, too. Those granny squares look really nice.

I do tend to knit more than crochet right now, but I have crocheted a number of these potholders in one of the pictures. Then there's socks (I love two-at-a-time from the toe up and normal top-down socks!), sock holders (also called sock minders) for babies to keep their socks on, and scarves. Looking through patterns again to find some new types of projects to make. Always nice to see what others are working on, too!

You are very inspiring. I’d love to have the ability to knit and crochet. How long did it take you to become good at it?

How long does it take to make a pair of mittens or socks?

 

[MuddyFarms]

That green scarf is fabulous!

Thank you! I made it as a gift for one of my younger sisters.

 

[MuddyFarms]

You are very inspiring. I’d love to have the ability to knit and crochet. How long did it take you to become good at it?

How long does it take to make a pair of mittens or socks?

That’s very kind of you! My dad taught me to knit and crochet about 18 or 19 years ago when I was younger, but I think I started working with patterns around 11 or 12 years ago. That’s when I really picked up making useful items. I’ve been knitting off and on over these years, trying to always push my limits and learn new things. Knitting and crocheting can be picked up pretty easily, really. Time and practice give you a more consistent tension and more stitches under your belt, etc. I have really enjoyed both knitting and crocheting, as well as sharing the skills with others!

Oh, boy! I have never timed myself when knitting socks or mittens. This morning I decided to time a few rows on my current sock project for you, and I’m VERY roughly guessing that it might take about 20-26 hours for them. This is knitting two socks at a time on one circular needle, and it’s a pattern with lots of cables (which adds time). A simpler sock would take me less time. I’ll need to time an entire set of socks sometime, because it would be nice to know how long it takes me.

You can also make mittens or socks with thicker yarn, which cuts down on the time as well.

Definitely try to learn it sometime if it interests you! It’s amazing how many things you can make for yourself, your family, and friends.

 

[hotzcatz]

Two-at-a-time-toe-up socks are brilliant. Before that method, the socks never matched. Plus the second sock gets finished.

I never know what to answer when folks ask how long it takes to knit a scarf or shawl or whatever. If the needles are bigger, it goes faster so I usually like big needles. Can't imagine the amount of time it would take to knit a basic pair of cotton socks like what you buy at the store. Those are made by machines, if it weren't for machines, I think most of us would have a lot less clothes.

 

[MuddyFarms]

Yeah, knitting and crocheting times vary a lot since so many factors are involved. And then you have gauge………….. ugh! I can’t stand to make a gauge swatch, although I do my best to make one whenever it’s important.

 

[Zee-Man]

Sweeping chimneys, installing wood stoves, fixing gas fireplaces, dealing with pellet stoves....yeah, that's my work, but I love doing it!

 

[MuddyFarms]

Sweeping chimneys, installing wood stoves, fixing gas fireplaces, dealing with pellet stoves....yeah, that's my work, but I love doing it!

It’s wonderful when one can do something they love for work!