Spin a Pound, Get a Pound™ Inaugural Spin-Off March 2015

I know I am really late in posting this - but the entire month of April went by with me pretty much skirting fleece all day and finding little time for internet stuff that required any thought.

My group, Spin a Pound, Get a Pound™ had a spin-off competition in  March and the winners were chosen by group voting --- here is how I did :)

To see ALL of the yarns entered, go to the official page for the contest.

All of these yarns will be available for purchase except the "art yarn" skein.

The spinning batt is available (and in it's second batch of production), so you can click here or the link below the pic to go directly to that listing on my website.

The rest of the skeins will be available in a major Hand Spun Update on Monday May 25 (Memorial Day 2015) !!  I will post details then and most likely a coupon for ANY of the handspun in stock - so check back ....hint hint!!  There are lots of listings already on the hand spun page on my website, but there are some cool new ones coming including these.  Hope to see you there !

Entered into the "2 or 3 ply balanced" category - 6th place - this was a TOUGH category with 23 entries

Entered into the "Art Yarn" Category - 1st place - 18 entries

Entered in "Wild and Crazy Art Batt" category - 2nd place - 11 entries
I call this "A Little Birdie Told Me" 

Entered into the "Natural Colored Yarn" category - this is made from roving available in my shop - 2nd place - 15 entries

Entered into the "Navajo Ply" category - 3rd place - 14 entries 

Entered into the "Raw Fleece to Yarn" category - 18 entries --- I came in 15th :(  My worst showing ever in a competition 

Freedom Ride 2015 - Burlington County

We are lucky to live on a main road and we get a first row seat at this freedom ride each year. This is our third year! Our neighbor Jim proudly rides each year. Here is a few minutes of the ride going past our farm.  This ride celebrates veterans and the freedoms we enjoy because of them. The ride ends and the Joint Base McQuire-Dix-Lakehurst, which is just around the corner from us. It's like a big parade. Thank you to all the veterans out there !! For more info see www.armedforcesfreedomride.org


Enjoy !

New colorways - Spinning batt and Yarn - Caribbean Coral

A couple of fun colorways just in time for summer!! Daydream away with these colorful island fibers. Even if you can't go to the caribbean, you can have some in your life. You can go right to the product page by clicking "buy now" buttons or head on over to the The Yarn Shop at Alma Park


Caribbean Coral Textured Batt - 2 oz

Caribbean Coral Fingering Yarn in Donegal base

No-bake peanut butter cheesecake pie

No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pie 

Having a farm, a family and a business on the homestead allows me to do one of my favorite things everyday! Cook !! I sometimes like to post food on my FB page and sometimes on Instagram with the hashtag #foodie.  I love food and I love to cook and bake !  

Recently, I was asked to share my recipe for my peanut butter no-bake cheesecake.  This is a delicious, decadent dessert that is great for warmer weather so that you do not have to heat up the kitchen with your oven.  It is also great in cold weather months as well.  

This recipe is not low-fat, it is not gluten or sugar or dairy free....it is just yummy, easy and satisfying.  

I always have the ingredients on hand and can throw this together in no-time when I know company is coming over. 

FYI - you will need a mixer (hand or stand) or a food processor to make the pie filling.  You cannot do this by hand unless you have arms of steel. 

Prep Time - 10 minutes

Bake Time - None 

Crust - 

I use a prepared graham cracker crust (9 oz), but you can make your own. Yes, I know, it is easy to make a crust and since I have a food processor and stand mixer, it would be a piece of cake (pun intended), and  I normally do things from scratch, but this recipe is all about quick, fun and decadent! 

Pie Filling - 

8 oz cream cheese - room temperature

1 cup smooth peanut butter - room temperature

1 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar 

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip Whipped Topping- thawed

• Whip together the cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth.  I just turn on my stand mixer to medium and let it rip for 2 minutes, wipe the bowl down and let it go for another 2 minutes.  You cannot over whip this, but you can under whip.  The more you mix, the lighter and fluffier the pie will be. 
• After wiping down the bowl again, slowly incorporate the confectioners sugar on a slow speed.  I say slowly, because if you don't you will have a snow cloud all over your countertop.  Once fully incorporated, mix again on medium for a minute or so. 
• Take the bowl off the mixer and fold in the whipped topping by hand with a spatula. 

Chocolate topping - 

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate (like Ghiardelli - do not use semi-sweet) 

2 tsp solid vegetable shortening (I use Crisco) 

• You can use a double boiler to melt the chocolate or a microwave.  Again, for me, because this recipe is all about quick and easy, I use the microwave at 15 second intervals, remove and stir until perfectly melted. 
• Once melted, drizzle the chocolate over the pie filling in a sort of design, do not do a solid surface as the filling is soft and when you go to take a forkful, the pie will smoosh. 
• Put pie in refrigerator for at least an hour. 

Voila - easy, peasy and so good. 

Enjoy! 

You can experiment with other "butters".  Almond, cashew, Nutella.  I haven't tried them, but I am sure they will be equally yummy ! 

Now off I go to spin :) 

If you make this, let me know how yours turns out. 

So what do you watch while spinning/knitting? - PARENTHOOD

Many of my friends like to listen to music or binge-watch shows on Netflix etc. while spinning and/or knitting.  I do enjoy listening to music in the background as well, but I think most people can find something they enjoy on the radio or Spotify etc, so suggestions are typically not needed, and music is so subjective, that I don't think it makes for interesting blog fodder.

I thought I would start writing about Shows/Movies that I think are worth watching.  While some shows are entertaining to pass the time,  I will only be discussing shows that have quality acting, writing and directing.  So while something like "Hart of Dixie" may be amusing, I will not recommend or discuss it, other than to say the acting is horrendous and the story lines would make Lucille Ball embarrassed!

But I digress. . . .

As of my writing this, I just finished binge-watching "Parenthood", so I am going to start with it.

Don't worry, NO SPOILERS here folks :) 

Seasons 1 - 5 are on Netflix, 1 - 4 on Amazon Prime.  For season 6, I had DVRed it as someone told me to watch it, but of course, I wanted to start from the beginning, because "that's how I roll".  

This show dealt with some weighty issues such as: adoption, illness(es), marriage issues, infidelity, money issues, drugs/alcohol, veterans and just day to day life.  It did it all with a central love of family whose patriarch "Zeek" (Craig T Nelson) devoted his life to building.   The 4 siblings where believable and characters were richly defined. The trials and tribulations of each member and how family gathered around for good and bad was touching and sometimes inspirational.  I was particularly amazed as so many leading character story-lines could be so richly developed and carried throughout the 6 seasons and not a single cast member of the "original 6" was lost.  The show represented life with so much humor and pathos while never insulting our intelligence or skirting around issues.  Great actors all around and while "Sarah's"character (Lauren Graham) annoyed me often, Ray Romano was brilliant in a non-comedic role.  All the actors, are very talented, and all, including the children, were believable and unwavering in their characters. They were true to form throughout the entire series.  

The final episode wrapped up the 6 seasons beautifully, but be warned, I have not cried that much since the final episode of M.A.S.H. and am now feeling a little melancholy that the Braverman Clan are not a part of my daily life as they were for the last 6 weeks.

You definitely need to put this show on your list of "Shows to Spin With"!  I HIGHLY recommend this show to everyone and give it