I haven’t decided what to cast on after finishing Hemlock Ring, so when I have had a few minutes to knit, I’ve just been adding rows to the socks I’m making for Dave’s Mom for Christmas.
I’m around the heel and passed the gusset now and you can really see the wild colours of this yarn. As a reminder it’s Kroy Socks in Dad’s Jacquard. I don’t have to worry that Kroy balls are light on yardarge here because Dave’s Mom has small feet – they are even smaller than mine!
Working on the sock is a nice bit of colourful cheer as I await spring. I know some of you are already seeing the first signs, but it’s Been pretty darn cold here (below freezing most days), with snow off and on. It’s supposed to be balmy and spring-like today, but then they are calling for snow and freezing rain tomorrow!
I checked on my bulb box the other day, and there were no signs of life (the soil is still frozen solid), though Facebook told me at this time last year I had daffodils and crocuses sprouting already.
Soon enough though… time marches on and spring will arrive!
I don’t have to tell you guys how much I love my house plants. I might have a bit of an addiction, but I still have plenty of room in the house, so we’re in no danger of getting lost in my little indoor jungle.
But because of this addiction, I do have a tendency to come home with “mystery plants”
Case in point.
It was sitting all alone at the grocery store looking sad (Despite what it’s little label said).
It was dried out, and as you can see, had a couple bad leaves. I had no idea what kind of plant it was (the label said Musa, but that meant nothing to me), but that’s never stopped me from bringing home a plant before!
When I got home, I looked it up.
Guys…
Musa…
…is a FREAKING BANANA PLANT!!!!
Now… it’s a dwarf banana, but they can still get to six feet tall. I kind of feel like a person who finds a stray puppy, and it turns out to be a Great Dane.
I told Dave what it was and how big it would get and he just shrugged, so I decided my little banana was ok to stay. I removed the bad leaves (and it smelled just like a freshly peeled banana) and gave her a bigger pot.
She now looks so happy amongst my other floor plants in front of the window. I can’t wait to see how fast and big she grows!
For extra credit: Here’s a pic of the Jasmine in full bloom
For those wondering, you can smell it as soon as you walk in the livingroom, and while the scent is strong, it’s not overpowering, which is nice. And judging by the number of buds on it, it should flower at least until April!
Every free evening I’ve had lately has been devoted to knitting Hemlock Ring
And thanks to a little help from my friends, I finally got it off the needles. And let me tell you… that cast-off row was a killer. For every four stitches worked, you’re adding six more and then casting them off. It was VERY tedious, but worth it because it creates a really pretty looped edge.
This one was so big and bulky that I had to soak it in the bath tub to get it ready for blocking. And in the end, the only place I had room enough to stretch is all out, and keep it safe from prying paws, was my sewing studio.
It means I can’t sew for a few days until it dries… but I’ve got plenty other crafty things to do until then. That room is very warm and dry with the door closed, so it shouldn’t take too long.
Look for an FO post next week, while I decide what I’m going to knit next…
Waiting for the bolt of white fabric really put me behind on my Round Robin quilt. I still had three prompts left to incorporate, so with the bolt now in my hands, I figured the weekend was a good time to tackle them.
The first prompt I had to deal with was Signature Blocks. I had never heard of a Signature Block so I had to google it. Basically, it’s any type of block with enough white space in it that a person could write something. There are a few common types, and people often used them to make quilts for newly weds – they make up all the blocks and have guests at the wedding put a little well-wish message in them, then sew them together to make a quilt.
I’m glad I had some time to let this one marinate, because it gave me a chance to see what Chrisknits did with hers. I decided I would do the same with some minor changes
Since no one would be signing mine, I put the patterned fabric in the middle. I also made my outside triangles a touch smaller than Chris did.
Then I got them sewn together and onto the top.
Her inspiration was definitely the right way to go with this quilt! Though it did take a little extra effort to make sure all those cat heads were going in the same direction
But… I still had two prompts to go. Because the quilt was already a good size, I decided to combine them.
The next two prompts were Rail Fence and Shoo Fly blocks. Shoo Fly was no problem – they would definitely work as corner blocks
Rail Fence was a little bit trickier. In the end, I couldn’t figure out a way to make them work that I liked, so I cheated a little. Rail Fence is basically just rectangles, sewn together into a square, then sewn together in different directions. So I cut some rectangles and sewed them together…
…and left it at that. Technically it’s piano keys, but it still looks kind of fence-like. Then there was nothing left to do but sew all those together.
You can see, I ended up making more Shoo Fly blocks than just the corners…
and I worked the black border into the blocks to echo the star border I did previously. All in all, I’m pretty please with. Naturally Burton is too!
I plan to get to Mom’s some time in the next couple of weeks, so this one is on the to-quilt list.
I can’t wait to put it all together with this fun cat backing (not flannel, but darn cute!) and some paw-print binding!
Another TNT rolls around and I have some progress to show.
I finished the last of the leaves on the right side, and got a decent start on the left side. It feels like I should have more progress for two full evenings of stitching, but it’s amazing how time consuming those little stitches really are. Of all my crafts, I think cross stitch is definitely the most time intensive.
I did run out of the dark grey I am using for the stems. I have nothing even remotely close in my floss stash, so I had to do a small order from a somewhat local shop (It’s an hour away). Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to be fulfilled. In the mean time I can carry on without it.
Jenn’s birthday is on March 17th, so the countdown is officially on!
With February slipping away, I needed to get my Rainbow Scrap Challenge block done.
The colour for February was aqua/teal, and I had a good selection of scrap for it. WIth all my scraps already pulled, I just had to cut some more white fabric. Once that was done, it didn’t take long to make the HSTs.
And of course, the block went together pretty quickly after that.
As I mentioned before, these blocks are 16″, so they are nice and big, meaning I only need to do one each month to get enough for a quilt.
With January and February in the bag, Burton and I are ready for March!
Oh February… the shortest month that still seems to feel interminably long!
It’s way too early to do anything outside, and it’s still too early to plant seeds. But I can dream….
And enjoy the few indoor flowers I have
The two Anthurium I have are doing quite nicely. They soak up the sun coming in the front window. The red one above is actually a dark pink, so I still need to get a real red one for my collection.
Just after Christmas, one of the grocery stores had all their holiday plants on sale, and among them were these two Crown of Thorns plants. They have both done exceedingly well. When I bought them, they were blooming, and after about a month, they dropped their flowers and almost started blooming immediately again. I definitely have to get some more colors of these!.
And my little Kalanchoe just won’t stop blooming. What a difference the grow light makes. I’ve never been able to make one of these rebloom before!
I was so happy with it, that when I saw more on sale at the grocery store I scooped them up.
Pink and white to add to my collection!
On that same trip, I also picked up a little bit of spring.
Both of these lovely potted bulbs were on clearance. There’s still plenty of time to enjoy the blooms, and then I can plant the bulbs in the garden.
This gorgeous double-stem orchid was on clearance too. As my previous two orchids from the early have done so well, I thought why not get another. And speaking of those earlier orchids… the yellow one still has flowers…
Can you believe it?
A trip to a different grocery store had me bringing home this pink jasmine….
It hasn’t bloomed yet, but it’s covered in buds that are sure to burst open any day now!
My weeping pussywillow is turning into a strange alien plant! It looks pretty wild with all these “pollen puffs” hanging off it. The leaves will come in soon (you can see them starting at the base). It will be at least a month before my outdoor pussywillows get catkins, so this is a nice little treat to have in the house.
And last… my poor kid’s meal sunflowers. The one with the nice big leaves totally gave up and died not long after I showed you last. The other one with the little bud…
Well, I give it full points for trying, but I think I’m going to have to stick to growing them outdoors.
My office is on the west side of the house. It also looks out to the large purple Norway Maple in our yard. As I’ve been working away at the day job I’ve noticed several little winged visitors in the tree, and perching from the awning over the window.
The other day, I got the brilliant idea to move my desk so its under the window so I can see them better. (Plus it’s nice to look up from the computer screen and see the outside world… even if it’s just sky and tree branches.)
Then I got the even more brilliant idea that I needed a feeder out there… but being on the second floor… how was I going to manage that?
Well one of the advantages of having old, crappy windows, is that I can just slide the inside panes to the side, and stick a suction cup feeder on the outside of the glass!
It didn’t take long for the visitors to notice the treat.
It’s not a great picture, because they are still a little skittish. This little red house finch was by far the bravest. But I’ve seen some blue jays and sparrows eyeing it up too. Hopefully I can get some better pics for you soon.
Even if I don’t, it’s nice to have my little friends pop by throughout the day!
One of the grocery stores around here gives you the option of paper or reusable cloth bags (if you don’t bring your own). The store is a little pricier than my go-to grocery store, so I don’t shop there often, but whenever I do, I always get the paper bags.
Because how could I not?
The bags are an extra 15 cents a piece on my bill, but I think it’s 15 cents well spent!
(Please ignore the ugly subfloors… one day they will get done… I just can’t say when one day will be.)
Wandering Cat Studio 