Winter On My Homestead-What Have I Been Doing?

I don’t know about you, but I am not a fan of winter. So, I try to stay busy inside doing small projects until the weather gets warmer and I can work in my garden.

So, what have I been doing? I started off the winter with doing crafts for the holidays. My daughter and I make ornaments together.

I sewed stockings for everyone in the family and we even made some lip balm and hand warmers for stocking stuffers.

My family also decided that all the hand made ornaments from when the kids were really small were not suitable for our tree anymore. So, I had to pack those away and we had a grown up tree this year.

After the holidays were over I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my time until it was time to plan my garden. Therefore, I decided to start baking regularly. It made for some tasty treats and the house smelled amazing.

Then I decided it was time to learn a new skill. My daughter suggested one day while we were perusing Michael’s Craft Store, that I should try loom knitting. I had seen them before and Rylee actually had one years ago and made a hat. I was like sure let’s do it. We bought pack of 4-5 looms, needles and some yarn. I went home and started right away. I made hats and scarfs galore. I wanted to make different items. I mean a person can only gift and have so many hats.

I gifted a few of the items to family and friends, then I decided I wanted to make my dog a sweater (really Rylee’s dog). It was getting cold outside, plus I wanted to try something new. My first attempt did not go well because the yarn was too thin and the knitting was not tight enough. I started over with new yarn and it was a much better piece. The leg holes were a little snug and Milo only wore it one time, but I think it is fantastic!

I am currently making a dish cloth and I have had to start over several times due to missed stiches and the yarn broke at one point. I want to master the loom and then eventually move on to other yarn projects. I would love to learn to crochet, as I have seen so many amazing projects done with this technique. This may have to wait until next year as it is almost time to plant my seeds inside.

I took advantage of the slow time on the homestead this winter by planning my garden for the this coming season. As you know, my goal is to become as self-sufficient as I possible can. Which means, I need to raise enough food for my family to last the year. Last year we didn’t have a garden due to some unforeseen circumstances, but we did have one the year before. That was my first year gardening and I think that I did pretty well. However, it was not nearly enough food to last a year. I need to expand the garden and plant a few more varieties of fruits and vegetables. I would also love to start a small orchard as well.

I sat down with my Baker Creek seed catalog and a piece of paper to map out my plan for the garden. I had so many ideas and plan running though my head. I discussed it with my husband and what I wanted to do was a significant upgrade from what we had done in the past. We would need to increase the size of the garden and do a lot of landscaping to make that happen. After my head cleared and realization set in, I knew what I dreamed of doing and what I could actually do this year were very different.

I work full time and Unschool my two teens so, for now a compromised garden is what we decided to go with. This plan will still provide a lot of food, but might not be enough to last a us a year.

These are just a few of the things that have been keeping me busy during these long cold winter months. What have you been doing this winter? Have you learned any new skills?