Dave’s not the only one with a hot summer birthday. My best friend, Samantha, celebrates her special day just a few day before Dave.

As such, there’s now a package making it’s way to her by mail. There’s a few fun things in there, but I think the best of them is this:

As you man recall, she’s a big fan of flamingos. I found this cute print online pre-covid and it’s been sitting around just waiting to be made into a tote for her.

It’s not a huge one – about 12″ square. But, it’s the perfect size to toss in a wallet, some sunscreen, and a drink bottle and head to the beach at the trailer park where she spends her summers.

The handles and lining are a nice soft pink tie dye fabric I got in a “surprise” bundle. It was certainly a surprise that it was the perfect shade to go with those flamingos!

Today’s FO is a tag-team effort.

A few months back, an add for an Annie’s crochet pattern came up in my facebook feed.

Sadly, I don’t crochet. But Mom does…. I wasn’t  too hard to sweet talk her into it… she loves her grandkittens. And they really needed that round pink one.

I gave her some yarn leftover from my Agatha cardigan that would match our livingroom decor. There wasn’t quite enough of it, so I also gave her some same yarn in a darker shade so she could make it two-tone.

On the weekend she finally gave me all the finished pieces so I could put it together and stuff it.

Now… it’s cute…. but it needs some work still. It’s definitely the stuffing that makes the project in this case. I thought a round pillow form would work for the bottom….

But it’s definitely too poofy. And I stuffed the back too much.

Peno agrees… even though it’s made of 100% merino, as you can see, right now she’d rather lay on the worn out futon beside it.

But it’s ok… I’ve got a plan! On payday, it’s off to Lens to get some foam. A little custom cutting and this little boudoir bed it’s going to be just purrfect! Can’t let all Mom’s hard work go to waste!

As planned, I took the weekend to finish up Rainbow in the Dark

I couldn’t be happier with it. It’s just how I imagined when I first started sketching out my idea on graph paper. That plain black makes those colourful scraps pop!

It’s 72″ wide x 84″ long. A nice size to toss on top of a bed, or snuggle up under with a friend.

We still had LOTS of rainbow thread left so I used it for the quilting. It’s hard to see on the colours, but it looks great on the black.

Incredibly, I wasn’t able to get any more plain black cotton for the binding, as planned – my LYS was completely out! But Mom came through with this subtle grey on black print, and to be honest, I love it even more than plain black.

The back is nothing fancy, just a simple grey check with blue and red pinstripes. There’s so much going on on the front, I love the calmness of the plainer back.

And now this big beauty is in the mail and on it’s way to my friend. I hope it brings a little cheer when it shows up at his door.

With Dave’s socks done, I needed another pair on the needles (I must always have at least one pair of socks on the go – it’s knitting law).

A while back, Sam had commissioned me to make a pair of man socks for a good friend of hers.  Sam can knit, but she’s not that fond of making socks (one sock she can do, it’s the second one that’s the challenge). She’s definitely not willing to attempt a pair of man socks.

The friend had requested royal purple and crimson red for his man socks (I like a man who likes colour in his socks!), so I dyed up some custom Alley Cat.

Nothing fancy for the knitting – just a 2-2 garter rib. This way the yarn can really shine. The foot will be plain, but I’ve still got a bit to go until I get there!

Roses and lilies aren’t the only thing happening in the garden. In fact, this time of year is probably the best in terms of abundance of blooms.

The daisies are starting to die off now, but they were absolutely spectacular this year.

The Yarrow is new to me this year and it’s been fun watching it bloom and fade

I have bee balm in purple and pink. Only the pink has bloomed, but I think it’s my favourite. It reminds me of fireworks

My blue sage is doing beautifully this year

As are both my lavender plants (purple and light pink)

I’ve got Tickseed out front and out back and it gives the gardens a gorgeous bit of bright yellow cheer.

And last… my coneflowers have started to bloom!

These will bloom right through to fall.

July might be a beast in terms of heat, but it’s a beauty when it comes to the garden.

July is usually the time when my lilies are at their best.

This plain white ones are classically beautiful in their simplicity.

The trumpet lilies are similar, but with a slightly different shape, and just a touch of pink.

My plain orange ones have a definite pop!

And the “Salsa Dance” version take that pop and amp up the wow factor.  (I have a yellow version of these too, but the squirrels broke them all this year before they could bloom)

These pink ones are my favourite though. I love their soft shade and little black freckles.

The orange daylilies are going gangbusters this year. They’ve really benefited from the wet spring.

And the Stella d’Oro daylilies never disappoint. They are a much smaller daylily – great for small spaces.

And last… one perfect white Cala lily has bloomed in my pots. I hope there are more to follow… there’s definitely more lilies to come. Stay tuned!

Momma always said you should eat your greens…

But I’m not sure she meant THOSE  greens, Relic…

With 12 days to spare, I finished up Dave’s birthday socks. The pattern is Petty Harbour, a freebie that’s very easy, and gives a nice bit of texture – perfect for an endless man-sock.

The yarn is our Alley Cat BFL, that I dyed up just for Dave. The colour is “grasshopper”, a nice semi-solid summery green – perfect for his July birthday. I’m lucky that Dave is not too fussy about colour when it comes to his socks – I can get away with making pretty much anything but pink (or pink-like shades, such a peach, coral, lavender, etc.). It can get quite tiring making man socks in nothing but blue, black, brown, or grey.

And now these are tucked away safely until his birthday… and I’m onto a new knit! Details soon.

One of the reasons for the trip north last week was also pick up a custom woodwork piece I’d commissioned from my brother.

Several of our neighbours have plant stands like this an it works especially well with the shape of our walkways. My brother loves to play with wood and was only too happy to make it for me. He was going to paint Welcome on it as well, but I told him not to worry – I had something special in mind…

I can’t take credit for it… I found the image online. But it was PURRFECT! I was going to make a stencil and paint it myself, but Mom suggested vinyl. Neighbour Krista has a Cricut printer and very kindly did the hard work for me! It’s certainly easier than cutting it by hand!

I was planning on buying a new potted plant for it, but had hung gnome Winston there just to get an idea of size. He looks so at home, I think he’s staying for the rest of the summer.

It’s so good to have talented friends and family!

The other day I was out poking around in the garden. I was pulling weeds out of the parsley planter, when I noticed something…

And then I saw a second one!

And then a third!

Three little Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars. This is the butterfly they turn into.

I’ve never had caterpillars in the garden like this, so I decided to document them. Dave got me a big rubbermaid tub to put their planter in (to keep them safe from predators).

After a couple of days, we had to go out and buy them more parsley plants, as they’d quickly eaten my paltry little patch. We planted some sturdy sticks in with the parsley, as they quickly approached the size they would be ready to make their cocoons.

A day later, one was missing. He’d managed to get out, and unfortunately, he overheated on the patio stones (It’s stinking hot here).

The other two were actively trying to escape, so I pulled the planter out of the rubbermaid tub and set it by the garden. As much as I wanted them to make a cocoon in the planter, at least being near the garden would give them a bit of a chance if they decided to leave.

An hour later, another one was gone. But there was still one left! And he was on a stick in the planter, in “chrysalis” position!

I was hoping to document the process to cocoon, but it’s a slow one, and apparently most of the magic happened overnight, or early the next morning. When I next came outside…

And now we wait… 10 to 20 days to a butterfly! I really hope I can get it on film for you all!