Walnut Farm Designs

10/07/2026

I just received more of 'Cauldron', an 88% Black Superfine Merino Wool and 12% Cauldron Sari Silk blend in today. I have 20lbs of this available. The bits of rainbow sari silk are a little more subtle this time than last, so it will be a very, very subtle tweed effect. This is very soft because of the Superfine Merino! Perfect for spinning or felting.

10/02/2026

My son was in the store ‘working’ with me the other day. I just looked at this board to see which row counters had sold and didn’t see an empty gap because it was filled in with this note, and these index cards on my counter. I also have a sticky note on my laptop that says I should ‘get more people (customers)’. My husband soon kicked my son out the store because he has ideas……😄 I so love him. Lovely to have a young one as well as older ones.

10/02/2026

If any local people are heading to the National Apple Harvest Festival the next two weekends, my husband and daughter will be there selling honey! They will have spring and fall honey, pollen, lantern fly honey, espresso honey and other flavored honeys as well as the great flavored creamed honeys my husband makes, which are excellent in tea and coffee. They are set up right by the apple sauce place. They set up tonight because our store is open tomorrow and the festival starts bright and early on Saturday!

10/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CDyfeoNaR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

09/30/2026

The Japanese Indigo is in full bloom and I’ve really been enjoying all of these flowers because I can see them from all the windows in the back of the house. Going to need a bit longer without a freeze if I’m going to get a seed harvest. The multiple freezes in the spring set some plants back. Japanese Indigo seed doesn’t keep its germination rate up as high after a year, so it is especially important to harvest fresh Japanese Indigo seed every year.

09/30/2026

I grew Indigofera Tinctoria, I. Suffruticosa, and I. Arrecta for seed for a few years. I think I’ve noticed that they cross pollinated and I had indistinct varieties eventually because I grew them altogether and overwinter them in the same small greenhouse. They were a pain to keep aphids off of during the winter!! I would frequently hose them down to wash the aphids off of them because the plants didn’t seem to like other natural sprays I tried. They get quite tall and thankfully I have a tall greenhouse which helped, and I kept them on upper shelves. But I thought the varieties had cross pollinated and I didn’t have distinct varieties anymore, even the recent I. Arrecta that I bought seed from South Africa to grow. So I decided to just harvest the lot of them and do an extraction. The weather has cooled and I completely forgot about it in the greenhouse! I remembered yesterday and there was a coating of blue all over the stainless steel lid I used to weigh down the stems. Because I forgot all about it, I couldn’t tell if the extraction was a little prior to perfect or a little past perfect. You want mermaid water and a sickly sweet smell to the stink. I could see plenty of indigo and I need to clear the greenhouse in preparation for all the plants I’m going to dig up to overwinter, so I decided to finish the extraction last evening. I could see there was plenty of blue! The filtering is the most patient part! But by the time I went to bed, most of the liquid had slowly dripped out. I’m thinking of dyeing some yarn for the store with this indigo. Yarn Quest customers have been wanting unique and proprietary yarns. I’m such a scattered, disorganized, creative person and there is always so much to do and I struggle with focus. And creativity does require time, mental bandwidth and focus. I’m not doing the best at that right now, but I’ll keep trying! Or, we’ll save those things for years to come and savor my family and life as it is right now and do the best we can as we live and learn! Anyway……indigo paste from my 3 varieties of cross pollinated Indigofera plants!!!

09/29/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/19mYbPAnQV/

09/29/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1K7XzL8aMp/

09/23/2026

For local, south central PA people, Carlisle's Harvest of the Arts is happening this Saturday and my husband, Walnut Farm Bees, will be there with our daughter selling honey and honey products! Last year a husband and wife that teach (if memory serves) at Redstone Glen Fiber Arts Center were there, and I bought a hand-woven, sewn pouch from them for wayyy too cheap. In fact, my mother inlaw didn't seem to believe me that it was definitely hand-woven and sewn for $15!! I loved the authentic Italian food they had there from the restaurant in town. Berry Mountain Color Farm will be there again as well.

Join us on Saturday, September 26th from 10am-5pm (RAIN or SHINE) for the 44th Annual Harvest of the Arts, presented by the Downtown Carlisle Association and supported by M&T Bank. Set against the charming backdrop of historic Downtown Carlisle on West High Street, spanning from Hanover to Coll...

09/23/2026

Fall fibers and blends!!! Sweater weatha! I just restocked some favorite fall blends and favorite colors and fibers, as well as getting a few new things!!! I’m so torn between savoring the cooling beautiful days and needing/wanting to work inside on inventory restocking!!!