In truth, we don’t really do much for St. Patrick’s Day… but I do like to mark it by getting a shamrock every year. I’ve got quite a collection now. Though my older ones are looking a little leggy. They go outside in the summer, and I bring them in in the fall – over winter they thin out a bit, but they’ll perk right up again as soon as it’s warm enough to leave them outside.

This past week has been warm enough to melt our snow and we are starting to see signs of life (and you should hear the cardinals singing!)

There are bulbs coming up all over the place. Though admittedly, I can’t tell what anything is yet. I planted a pile of spring bulbs in the fall – parrot tulips, grape hyacinths, pink daffodils… but what I’m really looking forward to are the snowdrops. They are one of the earliest plants to bloom and I can’t wait!

Some of my other perennials are of too a good start too.

The Lilac is budding, which is no surprise.

What is surprising is the pink Lavender showing green already. My purple one is one of the last plants to green up in the spring.

It’s nice to see my Chrysanthemum coming back… not all are perennials. This was bought at the grocery store with no tag, so it was a bit of a gamble.

My Black-Eyed Susans are popping up! They won’t bloom until late summer, but it’s always cheering to see their foliage.

And I love the little Lupin sprouts! Definitely one of my favourite plants!

Has St. Patrick brought any green to your gardens yet?

 

Mid week Mom and I had a little outing planned with the girls. It’s something we wanted to do before Christmas, but our schedules just didn’t jive. It’s called Crock-a-Doodle –  a fun little place to paint ceramics. They provide all the materials and firing, you just go in and paint and have fun!

It’s the place where Krista made my awesome yarn bowl last fall. That’s what Mom wanted to make, but sadly, they didn’t have it available.

Instead she opted for a spoon rest which she decorated with a sunflower. Paisley made herself a cookie monster snack mug (the mouth holds your cookies) and Rowan made a little treasure jar.

The girls also collaborated on a teapot for their Mom’s birthday (which is tomorrow!)

As for myself, I’ve been wanting a unique butter dish for a while. I’ve been keeping my eyes open at thrift stores and antique shops, but nothing tickled my fancy.

So Crock-a-Doodle to the rescue! And what self respecting butter dish would be complete without a dragon???

Certainly not mine! He’s going to be glued to the top of the lid for some extra pizzazz!

Of course, the pieces still need to be fired. They will look a lot different when Mom picks them up! I can’t wait!

(They also have some gnomes…. I totally have to go back and make some gnomes!!!)

Just like our weather, the ice is slowly beginning to melt between Relic and Rupert.

It started a couple of months ago. I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, and I could hear Relic talking downstairs (he’s quite talkative when he gets playful). Rupert was responding – but Rupert’s meows are always whiny, so it was hard to tell if he was upset or not.

A few minutes later, I heard the unmistakable sound of one cat chasing another. I knew Burton wasn’t involved because he was still sleeping on my ankles, putting my feet to sleep. And Peno only plays by herself. It had to be Rupert and Relic – but who was chasing who, and how friendly it was, I couldn’t tell from the bed.

A few weeks after that, I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Relic almost always sleeps on the blanket box at the end of our bed at night. He was there, that was no surprise, but in the dark, I could also see a much smaller, lighter shaped curled up beside him. They weren’t snuggling, but they were touching. Ever since then, if I wake up in the middle of the night, there’s a 50/50 chance I’ll find them asleep together on the blanket box. I haven’t caught them doing it in daylight yet (so no photographic proof) but I have seen this…

This happens almost nightly now. Relic frequently comes to sit by me while I watch TV and knit.  Rupert is insanely jealous, so he has to get right in there too. Relic used to get mad, and go sit with Dave… but now he’s sticking around. As long as Rupert doesn’t try to bite his ears (there’s about a 10% chance that will happen). He’ll let Rupert lay down beside him and hang out for a while.

But occasionally, like the other night when I was stretched out under a quilt, Rupert gets there first. He claims his favourite spot between my knees and stretches. But then along comes Relic, who takes up my stomach and chest.

That’s a lot of cats for one lap! But it is nice to see them getting along, at last.

Taadaa!!!

Lynnrina is complete! And as cute as can be.

Sadly, as I expected, it’s much too small for our little Spring bird. It was supposed to be the 3T size and come out to a chest measurement of 23″. Instead, I got an 18″ inch chest, which is the 3 month size.  Afterwards, I went back and checked my gauge (because what’s the fun of doing it before???). The pattern calls for 22 stitches over 4″. I was getting 28 stitches… so that explains it. How the designer got 22 stitches, I’m not sure. I’d have to go up to a 4.5mm need for that… and fingering weight on a 4.5mm needle…. I don’t think I’d like that fabric much.

But no biggie… there’s always a baby around somewhere and I’m sure this one will find a home soon enough.

Some simple square yellow buttons from the stash finished things off nicely.  I wish you could see the cardi  in person though… the yarn is Twinkle Cat and it sparkles like crazy – especially in the sun. But the camera is just not picking it up.

And while I’m happy it’s done – I still have to come up with something for Miss Wren’s birthday. Never fear… I’ve started Wee Liesl in the same yarn (there’s lots left), and hope to have pics to show you soon!

I know most of you knitters will have heard of Kaffe Fassett, but did you know he also has a quilting line?

Much like his knitting designs, his fabrics are full of wild, bold colours and crazy patterns. To be honest, most of it is a bit much for me. But a few months back, I came across his Brassica print.

 

And I absolutely fell in love. I adore Ornamental Cabbages. Unfortunately, they are annuals here, and quite expensive, so I stopped trying to grow them in the gardens. (Though maybe I should try some from seed….) But I had to have some of that fabric.

I decided it would be great for a project bag, so I found another Kaffe print that matched, but wasn’t too crazy.

 

It’s called Roman Glass.

With my fabrics in hand, it was time to get to work.  The bag I wanted to make was based on this pattern. You’ve seen me make a few before. But I couldn’t seem to find my pattern template. It wouldn’t have been a big deal to print out another one, except the printer is out of ink (and no one told me… thanks Dave…). So I decided to just wing it and sketched up a new template….

I’ve made enough of them that I don’t need the directions anymore, so as long as I had the basic size and shape right, I was confident it would all work out. And my confidence was well rewarded.

After an hour or so of sewing, it was complete! Just look at those bold, beautiful brassicas!

I put pockets on both sides to hold little odds and ends.

My favourite thing about this bag is the way it closes… just loop the short handle over the long one and away you go… no zippers, ties or clasps needed!

It’s now been put into immediate use holding the second Business sock.  And best of all – I still have a half yard of the Brassica fabric left!

I mentioned a while ago that work has kept me hopping during the week so there hasn’t been a tonne of time for sewing. So on the weekend, I was determined to accomplish something with fabric and thread.

The fabric to finish the Purrfect Petals top came in with the thread for Sam’s quilt, so it took no time to add the final border

Now it looks complete!

It’s just a simple pawprint from the same line at the petals. I’ve got a couple options in the stash for backing. One is a flannel, which I’d love to use, but I’m not sure it’s going to be enough. If not, I’ve got a chunk of bright pink and coral that should do. I do have to find something for the binding though… I’ve love something in a matching lime green.

It’s officially March Break and you know what that means…

 

These two have arrived and Mom’s got a week of mischief and mayhem planned! (Can you believe how grown up they are getting? Miss Paisley is going to be 16 this year… WTF???)

I’ve got plans with them mid week, so you’ll see a post on that soon enough. In the meantime, I’m knitting…

The first Business Casual sock is off the needles and on the blockers. As mentioned and as you can see, I’m making them shorty socks (because that’s just how I roll), and they fit like a dream. The yarn, unfortunately, doesn’t have any nylon, so I hope they hold up – because I think they might end up being my new favourite pair!

I know it’s not Feline Friday, but I just had to share…

One of the things I love about working from home is being able to watch the wildlife. Mostly, I work in my office upstairs, but every so often (especially on bright, sunny days), I work from the couch which is right beside the large sliding glass door. The bird feeder is only a few feet from the door (as you’ve seen in previous posts), so it provides endless entertainment for me and the cats.

And I’m never one to deter the squirrels from feeding either. But the other day, I’d had run out of seed and hadn’t had a chance to get more. Most of what they’d knocked on the ground was frozen solid,  so one squirrel got a little desperate..

“Excuse me sir… do you have any more seed?”

In case you didn’t know… squirrels can scale brick walls (every once in a while one pops up at my office window on the second floor) and it’s kinda crazy. I’m not quite sure what Rupert though of the whole thing. Burton was across the room, but it didn’t take him long to notice the visitor

But Mr. Squirrel was not at all perturbed by the possibly vicious killers only separated by half an inch of glass.

He hung around for several minutes before determining no one was going to open the door and feed him.

I guess I’m going to have to pick up a bag of peanuts.

I’ve mentioned before that my studio is quite small  – I’ve never actually measured it, but it’s the tiniest of our three bedrooms – probably about 10′ x 7′ at most. And the word “studio” encompasses a lot of things: It’s my home office, personal library, sewing room, knitting stash, and crafting cupboard. I’ve shown a few little glimpses of it here and there, but I thought you’d like to see a better view of my sewing arrangement.

(please ignore the messy shelves in the background. The sewing and yarn areas are nice and tidy, but I really need to go all Marie Kondo on the rest of the room!)

Because the room is so small, I have to make the most of every inch. I’ve mentioned before that there’s not enough room to have my full-sized ironing board up in there. Instead, I have a homemade portable board that fits nicely the end of my sewing desk. it’s just a piece of 1/4 inch plywood, covered in batting, and encased in a cotton case (much like and envelope style pillow case). When I’m piecing blocks, I just have to turn on my stool slightly, and I can iron and go right back to piecing. It’s also an ideal spot to layout more complex blocks (or have Leader and Ender blocks ready), so I make sure I piece things in the right order.

And it’s small and light, so when I don’t need it (when I’m sewing blocks into a full top, sewing on binding, etc), I can tuck it down behind the machine where it won’t get in the way.

And  you may be wondering where I put Burton when I’m sewing. Well, nine times out of 10, if I’m sewing, he’s laying under that stool. I’ve gotten into the habit of feeling for him with the back of my foot before I stand up and push the stool back… he’s lost a few floofs off his tail when I didn’t realize he was there and caught him under a stool leg. You’d think he’d learn not to lay there, but…

I am not the only one with Spring Fever around here…

Relic insists on being outside, but he’s been forced to find creative ways to stay out of the snow. My garden cart has become his new favourite perch. It also gives him a new vantage point to get my attention so I’ll let him in.

Burton wants to get out after those squirrels. I’m still not sure if he wants to eat one, or he wants to be one.

And Rupert, my little sun-bunny just longs for the days where the sun sticks around for hours and he can lounge in its rays until his heart’s content.