I recently placed an order with Uncle Kens Farm on Etsy, and I have to say I was very happy with my package. The plants were packaged very well, and arrived in beautiful condition. Each pot had a layer of wood chips at the top that kept the soil in place, each pot was then securely wrapped up, and finally they were each taped to the inside of the box. The plants looked so good upon opening the box it is hard to imagine they went through the mail system at all. At the time I placed my order they were offering 6-8" cinnamon trees, and mine was almost 8" tall and had a lovely shape to it. My Black Sapote/Chocolate Pudding Fruit tree was a little taller than that, and it also had a lovely shape. The trees did not come with any labels in the pots, but it was easy to tell which one was which.
These were organically grown, which I thought was really nice. And I also loved the fact that they are both seed grown. I know cuttings can give you a great copy of the mother tree, but sometimes it is really nice to have a seed grown tree. Where it naturally grows as a whole tree from start to finish. With its own full root system, and a trunk that does not have the "cutting look" at the beginning.
Each tree also came with a care paper, which was very handy. And I was very impressed with all of the certificate info on the back of the papers. It says how they are a serious nursery and get inspected yearly, and there are copies of about 3 certificates showing that they can ship to places like California and Texas.
Overall I had a wonderful time ordering from Uncle Kens Farm, and I highly recommend them. Come spring I may have to place another order for some more lovely plants from them....

Mini Reviews - 3 Amazing Patterns

Below are some mini reviews for 3 patterns I enjoyed making. And the best part is that most of them are available for free! So be sure to pick up your favorites and get crafting!   ~~~~~~~~~~~    

   Small Talk Shawl by Cheri McEwen   This free crocheted shawl pattern is easier to make than it looks! I made mine in size 3 cotton crochet thread instead of wool. But it turned out great and was perfect for wearing to the special occasion I made it for. It is a beautiful lacy piece, and by not blocking the edging it kept a wonderful ruffled look. The pattern was easy to catch on to, and when I did run into a question with the written instructions there was also a chart that helped me out. It was a lovely pattern and I would love to make more of these shawls in other colors!      

   Freddie the Field Mouse by Jo Creates    This is just such a cute little mouse! He was easy to make and used only a small amount of yarn. The pattern was easy to follow, and had links to tutorials for the long-tail cast on and any special techniques that were used. Making it even easier for beginners to use this pattern. It was a fun project, and it was easy to personalize him. And since the pattern is free there is no reason not to try making at least one!      

   Cardrona Cowl by Charlotte Marjoribanks   The Cardrona Cowl pattern is currently listed for $3.95. But if you like knit accessories that are warm, squishy, and easy to make then you need to try this cowl! I really enjoyed knitting it, and it is now one of my all time favorite cowls! The cowl has a unique stitch pattern that is surprisingly simple to make. And the pattern is well written and easy to follow.  I love Charlotte Marjoribanks designs, and I highly recommend them.  

ChiaoGoo TWIST 5 inch Interchangeable Needles and Cable Review

  I love the ChiaoGoo TWIST 5 inch interchangeable needles! They have super smooth joins, wonderful lace tips, and I love how they are made from surgical grade stainless steel. Plus with the needle size laser imprinted on each needle it is easy for me to find the ones I need.  

    The matching TWIST interchangeable cables are also great to work with. They are red nylon-coated multi-strand cords that have just the right amount of body to them. They are very flexible and they really are memory free! They use a key to connect the cables to the tips. But I have found it easy to do, and I have had no trouble with them coming unconnected while knitting. And the holes used for the tightening key can also be used as a lifeline hole.          I have also been really enjoying the great accessories that match this needle set. There are small cable join to large needle tip cable adapters, cable connectors, end stoppers, etc. (The end stoppers have already saved me once, and I am so glad I decided to get them!) And the stitch markers are a dream to use. They are snag free and easily glide along as I knit. I love the quality, style, and usability of this great interchangeable set, and I highly recommend them!  

     

HersheyFiberArts Nalbinding Needle Review

  I recently decided to try ordering a 3 inch walnut Nalbinding needle from HersheyFiberArts. And it is one of my favorites now! Things like the size, smoothness, and a good feel in the hand are important to me. And this needle was a pleasure to work with.    It is very smooth and it works amazing well for nalbinding. It goes easily through the yarn loops without snagging. And the needle is just the right size. It is small enough to go through my thumb loop without getting in the way, but it is big enough to feel just right in my hand.   It also has a lovely finish on it. Helping to protect it over time, and giving it a beautiful finished look. HersheyFiberArts has proven to me again and again to have great quality products for reasonable prices. And I look forward to seeing what Caroline Hershey comes out with next.  

Personalized Nalbinding/Toothbrush Rug Needle Review

 

  This is the best toothbrush rug needle I have ever had the privilege of owning! I thought the needle design was lovely, with it's nicely beveled eye and smooth teardrop shape. But little did I know how wonderfully it would work! It glides through the fabric so smoothly. Making it easy to use on my newest project. Personally I love this needle so much that it is the only needle I want to use on all of my rug and basket projects now.    And it should last me a long time with the quality workmanship that was put into it. Plus I love how Pamela offers the option of having your new needle personalized. I had my name put on my needle, and it turned out beautifully! The wood burning showed up amazingly well on the white oak I chose, and the writing style was lovely. Pamela was also very nice and helpful with any questions I had, and she was wonderful to work with on my order. I highly recommend her Etsy shop to anyone who is looking for well made tools or beautiful finished rugs!      

HersheyFiberArts Medieval Spindle Review

 

   HersheyFiberArts is my favorite place for medieval spindles! I collect rocks, so I love having spindles with removable stone whorls! And I am super happy with all of the products I have gotten from HersheyFiberArts. The spindle sticks and whorls are wonderfully made. You can really see the quality workmanship that was put into them. The spindle sticks are nice and smooth, yet they are not slippery. Making them really easy to spin with. And the stone whorls are wonderful balanced and beautifully carved. And the sticks and whorls fit together perfectly! I could not ask for a better fit or a more beautiful look.   And I love the customer service from Caroline Hershey's shop. She is very friendly and helpful, and is a joy to work with on custom orders. Plus I love how she mails her products. They are packaged very well and all of my orders have arrived in great condition. I love how she makes sturdy paper tubes that the spindle sticks are sent in. They work so wonderfully for traveling and storing my spindle sticks in. I highly recommend HersheyFiberArts to anyone looking for a well made spindle or other fiber tools!
   

18" All-n-One Loom Review

  I really love the 18" All-n-One loom that is made by Authentic Knitting Board! It is very easy to use, and it is super well made. The frame is made from lovely solid hardwood and it has high grade nylon pegs. And I am really enjoying how the pegs have grooves on them. The grooved pegs make it really easy to use for beginners and experienced loom knitters alike. And the loom is easily adjustable, making it possible to make different sizes of double knit or round knitting. It is amazing how many projects this loom can do! I can make everything from scarfs, hats, socks, bags, and more! And with the matching 20 peg extenders they sell [not pictured above], it is possible to make even wider projects. So it makes a great all around loom for me and anyone else who likes to make a lot of different types of projects. Plus the matching bag Authentic Knitting Board brand sells is also a great addition to the set. It works great for storing my loom and taking it on the go.

Cellulose Spinning Kit Review

    This cellulose spinning kit is wonderful! It includes a Indian tahkli spindle, a variety of cottons, and even 8 oz. of super fine flax. I really enjoyed getting so many different types of cotton. I got everything from lovely prepared sliver cotton in naturally colored brown, green, and white, cotton punis, ginned Pima [a type of long staple Egyptian cotton], a real cotton boll fresh from the field, and more!    And since a tahkli spindle came with the kit I was able to start having fun from the moment it came in the mail. I plan to try spinning my flax on my spinning wheel, but I am really happy it came included with the kit. It is amazingly soft and so beautiful! Plus the kit came with some great info about the different types of cotton, and instructions about how to spin and ply cotton on a tahkli spindle. The instructions were very clear and nicely written, and they even had some drawings to help show you how to spin.    I am very happy with the wonderful quality of all the fiber and other items in this kit. If you are interested in spinning plant fibers this is a great kit to get you started. And even if you already spin cotton this is a fun kit because it gives you different types of cotton, plus some super fine flax, to play around with.  

Thanks For Coming!

  Thank you for joining us for Bookworm month 2015! I hope you had a good time and will join us again soon! Below are links to some of the posts from this month.   ~~Interviews~~ Author Interview with Alicia G. Ruggieri Etsy Shop Interview With The Owner Of StinsonPaperCompany Author Interview With Rebekah Morris Author Interview With Rachel Rossano Author Interview With Shalynn Mellerup    ~~Reviews~~  The Plain Choice by Sherry Gore   Kindle Review Top 5 Book Picks I Love Thee by Faith Blum Book Bag Review Amongst The Flames by T.K. Chapin Peace, Be Still by Amanda Tero    

Book Bag Review

    I love my book bag I recently got from PinkInMind! The sides of the bag are very nicely stiffened, so it holds it's shape wonderfully. And the colors and prints of the fabric that was used in this book bag are just beautiful together. I love how it has a blue galaxy motif on the outside and a gold print for the lining. But one of my favorite things about it is the workmanship that went into it. The bag was made very well. It is really sturdy and the size of the bag is great. Big enough to hold a lot of things, without being huge and over sized. Plus the detachable bow on the side of the bag is the perfect finishing touch. This is the second time we have ordered from Annie at PinkInMind, and I highly recommend her shop! Annie is so friendly and has wonderful customer service too. If you would like to read a shop interview I did last year with Annie at PinkInMind just click here.  

Kindle Review

  With so many eBooks out there now days I really needed a way to read them. So I finally decided to get a Kindle, and I am so glad I did! I got the basic Kindle so I would not have to deal with any background light. Making it just like reading a paperback book. And I love the fact that there is no LCD screen that I have to stare at just to read. That was one of the reasons reading on my laptop never worked out very well.     And the Kindle also works wonderfully for people who have a hard time reading, especially since you are able to change the letter size to what works best for you. Plus as far as ease of use goes I really like the Kindle. Even through it is the basic model it has a lot of great features, and it includes a users guide already on it. And talk about saving bookshelf space! I already have so many eBooks on mine that I have no idea where I would have kept them if they had been paperbacks. I love the basic Kindle and highly recommend it!

Kindle

   Yesterday I got my first Kindle in the mail! With all the eBooks being used today for free book offers, giveaways, and advanced copies from authors for review, I finally decided to get a Kindle. Be sure to check back later as I might also post a review about it.  

Fiber Fun Month ~ Ashford Niddy Noddy Review

  I am so glad I got a Niddy Noddy from Ashford! It has a simple yet lovely design and it works amazingly well! It is a great way to wind up your hand spun yarn straight from the spinning wheel bobbin. And it is a wonderful tool for telling how long your yarn is while you make it into a skein. The niddy noddy is made from turned Silver Beech hardwood and is really easy to use. I put a danish oil finish on mine and I love it! All I had to do when putting it together was just put both ends onto the middle bar. Some people like to glue the ends on, but I like to leave mine just the way it is without any glue. That way I can take it apart if I need to for easy traveling, storage, etc. And with the specially shaped crossbars the skein is easy to get off when you are done. It is a wonderful tool for anyone who enjoys spinning, and I highly recommend it!

Fiber Fun Month ~ Hog Island Sheep Wool Review!

  When I opened the box of wool to review from the Etsy shop, Woolfun, I had a wonderful surprise waiting! It was the most beautiful assortment of wool roving in natural colors, lovely dyed balls of roving for needle felting, and some amazing yarn! And I love how it is all made from the rare Hog Island sheep wool! It arrived wonderfully packaged and I received it super fast.    The balls of roving are perfect for craft projects, and they have been dyed in such lovely colors. The Hog Island sheep wool works wonderfully for needle felting! The wool felts very fast and does a great job. It holds it shape very well, and is one of my new favorite wools to felt with! And with all the colors they have available at Woolfun there are so many options. I received 5 different colored balls of their roving and I loved it!    The yarn I received was so lovely and knitted up really nicely. The natural color and spinning style have such a wonderful country look to it. I really enjoyed using it, and I know there are a lot more projects that I would have loved to use it in!   The natural colored roving I received spins up very nicely, and I love the bounce Hog Island wool has to it. It's also great how the Hog Island wool makes such a lofty yarn. And since the wool works so well for woolen spinning and for felting it is a great type to always have on hand. And I love how there are different natural colors available in their shop as well as the dyed colors. The natural white, dark brown lambs wool, and the light brown roving are wonderful colors. For people who love rare sheep with great wool the Hog Island wool is a must try!   One other thing I love is that with items bought from Woolfun you not only get wonderful products, but you also help support a great rare breed of sheep!      I received these products free from the owner of Woolfun for my honest review. The opinions are my own.

Ashford 16 Inch Rigid Heddle Loom Review

  I love my 16 inch Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom! It is a wonderfully made loom and is really lovely. It is available in different sizes, 16 inch, 24 inch, 32 inch, and even 42 inch! One thing I liked about the 16 inch loom is even though it is not fold-able you can just put it in a large beach bag and take it with you.     It arrived unfinished, which was nice because I could give it the same type of finish I put on my spinning wheel. It was not to hard to put together, and the easy warping design the Ashford rigid heddle loom has is wonderful!     Another great thing is even if you have a large floor loom a rigid heddle loom is still a great type to have. With it you are able to play around with new weaving ideas faster without doing a lot of warping. It is a great loom and I highly recommend it!

Fiber Fun Month ~ Spriggs 7' Adjustable Triangle Loom Review

                   I love shawls so I have wanted a triangle loom for a long time. And when I got the chance of getting a Spriggs 7' adjustable triangle loom I could not pass it up. I am very happy with this loom and how well it is made. It is easy to use and I love that I do not have to warp this loom! It has a amazing design where you are able to start weaving with a single strand of yarn right from the ball, and the loom gets warped by itself while you weave. So it is a great way to use some of your leftover yarn, and there is no loom waste to deal with! You can even use different types and sizes of yarns since there are no heddles or reeds. You can double up on the nails for using fine yarns or you could use homespun, fuzzy, or wild yarns, etc. There are so many options!  And since it is made from oak [other woods are available] it is very beautiful and should last a long time. And the matching oak stand works wonderful and is perfect with the loom. It not only makes a great place to use the loom, but it is also a lovely way to store the loom by leaving it up. But if space it hard to come by the loom also takes apart easily for storage. And one nice thing about this loom is that it is adjustable, so you could make different sized pieces with the same loom. And this is not just about making shawls, the triangles can be put together to make squares and many other projects. It is a wonderful and unique loom that I highly recommend!

Fiber Fun Month ~ Ashford Hand Carders Review

Let me just start by saying I love my Ashford hand carders! They are very well made and arrived very nicely packaged. They do come unfinished but I was fine with that. Because that way I was able to give it the same type of finish I put on my spinning wheel. And screwing the handles on was so simple. I love how they look once finished. I know they will last for a long time and get a lot of use from me. And not only do they work with raw washed wool, but they can even be used to blend different colors. Plus they have a wonderful curved-back design that I believe makes them easier to use than a flat back design. The carders have stainless steel wire teeth on a rubber backing. I got the standard 72 point and it has been working wonderfully! If you are looking for a pair of well made and lovely hand carders I definitely recommend you check out the hand carders by Ashford! 

Bookworm Month ~ Thanks For Coming!

  Thank you to everyone who stopped by for Bookworm Month! I have had a really good time and I hope you all enjoyed it too. I would also like to say thank you to all the wonderful Etsy shops and authors who joined in! Listed below are links to the interviews and product reviews of everyone who joined us this year.   Authors Deanna Douglas                                     Sarah Holman                                         Elisabeth Grace Foley ~ Book Review    C.J. Darlington                                          Shops ANewWintersGift ~ Product Review       PinkInMind                                             RockyMountainYarn  ~ Product Review     

Bookworm Month ~ A Double Bookmark Review!

I recently received two lovely bookmarks to review from RockyMountainYarn, a crocheted football bookmark and a scalloped crocheted bookmark with tassel. I don't think I have ever seen many, if any, football bookmarks before! This one is very well done and looks so life like. And I think it is so cool that the tail and tassel on the bookmark can be made to match the colors of your favorite team. Plus the tail is very sturdy and I love all the details in the football top. It is very nicely done and has such a fun design. This would be a wonderful gift for a football lover or for yourself to enjoy.

The scalloped crocheted bookmark with tassel is also a lovely bookmark! I love the design with all the lovely scalloped work and tassel to top it off. I received a red and off-white bookmark and the colors in it are beautiful. A lot of work must have went into it and I really love it! Plus Sherrie sells them for wonderful prices. And they come in so many lovely colors. So if you are looking for some great bookmarks at great prices be sure to check out RockyMountainYarn!


I received these bookmarks free from the owner of RockyMountainYarn for my honest review. The opinions are my own.