As mentioned yesterday, the lavender Woodland Walk socks were also for Mom for Mama’s Day.

I finished them up just before the weekend. They are a really fast sock knit if you stick to it. As the pattern is just across 16 stitches, the majority of the knit is stockinette – easy, peasy. The lace pattern has a nice flow, and once you get going, it’s easy to read, meaning it’s easy to pick up and put down. That said, it’s one of those patterns where you want to work to the end of the char. It all combines to make some speedy knitting. This pair took me just two weeks of not-quite-so-steady knitting (Minerva and the Barnyard sweater were worked on as well)

As soon as I saw the yarn on the Knitpicks site, I knew it was the perfect colour for Mom. As mentioned (and a lot of you noted this is a common problem with tweed), lots of those little nubbies fall off during the knitting. And I’m sure many more will with the wearing. But what I really love about this yarn….

Is the subtle heathering. I almost wish they made a yarn like it, without the nubs. It’s so pretty.

And now with this pair done…. I need to start another!

Happy Mama’s Day to all the Mama’s of all stripes out there.

As you all know, I’ve got an especially fantastic Mama and I like to spoil her as much as I am able on this day. That of course, means making something even though she can make everything I can make (and can usually make it better).

Late last year, I sourced some very special fabric with the intent to make her a tote bag.

Mom’s Ravatar on Ravelry has been a Red Panda since Ravelry began. She has a whole folder a cute little Red Panda pictures and she changes them out every so often. Finding Red Panda fabric though… now that was a challenge. I ended up finding it (and several other Red Panda prints) on Spoonflower. It was not cheap though – even with the coupon I had. It’s a site I’ll buy from only for very special projects, like this one. And aren’t they just freakin’ adorable?

This is a very similar tote to the Little Mr. Tote I winged a couple months back. I just refined the size a bit. And instead of using plain quilt batting, I invested in a little Soft and Stable. It’s definitely different to work with (not hard, just different), but it helps the bag hold its shape MUCH better. The Little Mr. Tote is very floppy.

It also shows the quilting much better. But PLEASE, don’t look at it too closely.  I have a little presser foot that is supposed to help you keep your lines straight, and a consistent distance, but the metal guide kept moving on me. Eventually I just gave up and eyeballed it. And let’s just say… I’m pretty sure my eyeballs are drunk. But it doesn’t affect the use of the tote, and I’m anything but a perfectionist.

I only had enough of the Red Panda fabric for the  front and back, so for the sides, I subbed in this neat fancy bird print in similar colours. I had a yard of it, and it was part of a mystery box of Free Spirit fabrics mom and I split on last year.

I can’t believe how well the colours matched.

I also used it for the handles, fussy cutting it to create this neat design.

And imagine my amazement when I went looking for a lining fabric in the stash and had this fantastic green print from the same fabric line.

What are the chances. It wasn’t part of that mystery box – I got it in the remnant bin at Lens. I love it when projects come together like this.

As you can see, I used the striped fabric to add a nice wide, divided pocket on the inside. I’m not sure how Mom will decide to use the tote, but the pocket gives it a little more versatility.

I also tucked a pair of socks in the bag, but I’ll detail them in their own post tomorrow.

Though this week cooled off a bit compared to last, it was mostly sunny and things continued apace in the garden

As predicted, the red Dwarf Columbine is awash in blooms. There’s actually four separate plants there now – it’s reseeded itself like crazy since last year. When the blooms are spent, I’ll transplant a couple of them to some empty spots in the garden for next year.

My various varieties of happy Daffies continue to bloom, including my most favourite – the mini ones with the apricot-coloured centre. I have enough Daffodils throughout the gardens that I should have them blooming for a couple weeks more at least.

The Tulips are marching right along on time. Like the Daffies, these beauties will give me colour for several weeks. I really should plant more of them in the fall.

The purple Pasque flower bloomed quicker than I expected. I have this flower in dark red too, but it’s in a slightly shadier spot so it takes a little longer to open.

And look how much the Lily-of-the-Valley has grown in just a week! If it grew any faster, you’d be able to see it happen.

My peonies are looking good too. If I had a bigger yard, I’d have a lot more peonies. I absolutely love them!

This plant is called Candytuft. I bought it on clearance last year on a whim (I do that with plants, a lot!) and I’m so glad I did! Just look at those buds. By this time next week it’s just going to be one big white mass of flowers!

Before I go, I’m happy to report that most of the seeds I planted a few weeks back are starting to sprout! While I love the instant gratification of buying plants from a garden centre, there’s a definite pride that comes when you start them from seed!

I do love this time of year, because it means my gardens are returning to life, but it does have its downside…

It’s a good thing he’s so sweet…

Because my floors look worse by the day!

I managed to scrounge together enough fabric to make the three yellow blocks I need for my Rainbow in the Dark quilt

I had to cut strips off some stashed fat quarters and yardage to do it. I don’t normally like to do that for scrap quilts – I like them to be true leftovers from other projects, but I also don’t want this one to drag on forever. I’d like to have it wrapped up and off to my friend in a couple months.

Blue will probably be up next, because I’ve got plenty of blue strips, but I’m going to have to raid Mom’s scraps to get enough for orange, red and purple.

With Minerva off the needles, most of my attention has been on the lavender tweed socks.

And as you can see, the first one is done. I really do love this pattern. It’s just as nice in the tweed as it was in my hand-dyed yarn.

This yarn is Knitpicks’ Stroll Tweed, and it’s very nice to knit with. It’s very soft (just like their Felici), and knits up beautifully, as you can see. The only complaint I have is that many of the little tweedy bits aren’t spun into the yarn very well. They have a tendency to pull right off as you’re knitting. That said, there are still lots leftover that are knit in well, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.

Now… onto the second sock!

Another column of toes has been completed for the dinosaur quilt.

Normally, I work on these a pair at a time. but I found myself with a full free afternoon the other day so I decided to set up an assembly line and bang out all six pairs needed for the column all at once.

It took a couple hours, but I’m now more than halfway done on this top, and it’s a good feeling.

When I started this one, I thought it was going to be a quick little baby quilt, but we all learned how that turned out.

Still. I’m glad I decided to continue on and make it to its full potential because it’s going to be one really cool quilt when it’s complete.

I’m still debating whether to have all the columns going the same way, or to make them opposite…

… but I have decided that I’m definitely putting sashing between each column. I’ve got a very neat grey fabric that looks a little like stone. It’s going to be perfect.

While I finish up the last column of toes, I encourage you to watch this Time Team special episode. You’ll see where I got some of the inspiration for these tracks!

The Minerva cowl is complete, and it just reinforces my hunch that handspun is the perfect yarn for entrelac!

I had just enough of it to create a nice small cowl. I finished it off with a few rows of garter and five buttonholes.

Nothing fancy for the buttons, but they are a lovely shade of purple that matches perfectly.

The finished cowl is just deep enough, and long enough to find a nice bit of insulation around the neck.  Tucked into a coat it will definitely keep the wearer warm!

Now it’s in the gift box, awaiting the right recipient! Thank you, Michelle, for this wonderful pattern and knit-a-long!

It took me three afternoons to do it, but Calico Garden is finally a completed top.

On the first afternoon, I made the remaining 72 HSTs for the final two blocks. On the second afternoon, I finished those two blocks.

With all nine blocks done, you can see that this is going to be a big quilt. Even without sashing and borders. And in truth, it would look great without that sashing, with all the blocks butted up against one another, but I had a small chunk of fabric that I really wanted to use for corner stones.

No garden is complete without a ladybug or two hundred.

And is does look nice with all that sashing in there to break it up for the eye a bit. A pretty raspberry coloured border finished it all off.

This is the biggest quilt I’ve made so far. As you can see, it’s hard to get a picture of the whole thing on the bed.

It’s about 88 inches square – a fantastic size for a Queen sized bed. I’ve shown you the backing before (love those woodland creatures), but I’ve been saving this beautiful pansy fabric for something special….

And I think it’s just perfect for the binding.

Now if only social isolation could end, so I can get this baby quilted!

Hello May! You are our very favourite month of the garden season, because once the sun and warmth are consistence, there’s no stopping the garden from growing!

Just look at those hyacinths now!

The tulips are up next – they will be in full bloom by this time next week.

The Chives (left) and Globe Allium are both putting up buds. They will take a few weeks more to bloom.

The Lily-of-the-Valley is still weeks off, but it’s nice to see those little flower bells just staring to peek out!

The Pasque flower might see blooms sooner though! This is such a pretty one when it gets going. Speaking of which…

The red Dwarf Columbine has started to bloom, and by this time next week it will be covered in red flowers.

Both the roses and raspberries are leafing out nicely. I’m happy to say all my rose bushes survived the winter.

And just look at the Daylilies! Already as high as the step. If you’re new to gardening, or just have trouble with plants – go with Daylilies. You really can’t go wrong with them.

Before I go, a gentle reminder…

Don’t pull those dandelions from your gardens and yard just yet. They are an important early source of food for bees.