Don’t worry – there hasn’t been any more REAL snow. The snow I’m talking about is this kind…

I was hoping to have these socks done by now, but you know… life and such. Instead I’ve been trying to catch a few moments here and there while Burton gets his yayas out on warm, sunny days.

But the leg is done and I’m ready to start the heel. Maybe if we get enough sunny days, I’ll have this pair done by next week!

The other day, Mom finished the quilting on my Round Robin quilt, and delivered it into my hands for binding. Before I show you the whole thing, here’s some shots of the amazing stitch work she did on it, as she was working on it.

• 

• 

• 

• 

And now the whole thing!

Isn’t it stunning??? I was in love with it before quilting, and I fell even harder when Mom brought it home to me.

The only thing keeping me from putting it on my own bed is that I’d have to redo my bedroom colours. So it’s in the shop and available to one lucky person!

You will recall this quilt was made as part of the Stay at Home Round Robin earlier this year. That means it’s 100% designed by me and 100% one-of-a-kind.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

There are so many wonderful elements – highlighted by Mom’s amazing quilting! The fabric is mostly from the “Jane Austen At Home” line, which is inspired by fabrics from her actual home. There are a few other more modern florals mixed in here and there. The back is a pretty soft blue floral that just compliments the whole thing quite nicely.

It finished at about 86″ square, so it’s the perfect thing to complete a romantic bedroom decor.

I’m so proud of this one!

And thank you to all the quilting ladies who hosted the Round Robin – I’d love to do another!

Since the kittens top was completed, it was perfect timing to join in on a new QAL.

Mom and I have both joined in on the Spring Brook Blossom QAL from Coriander Quilts. The first block was released at the start of last week.

Mom got hers done right away (you make two of each block each month for six months).

• 

• 

She’s using the Apricot and Ash line from Moda and it’s just so pretty!

It took me a little longer to get to mine. Since all the stem parts are the same, I decided to chain piece them and get them all out of the way first.

Once that was done it was time to tackle the flower part. Unlike Mom, I didn’t have any fat quarter bundles with enough different fabrics, so I decided to go another route.

Every month, I’ll be stash diving and using random colours. Like my pinwheel quilt, I’m going to focus on getting a good bit of “pop” between the two fabrics.

You can also see another difference – instead of using the background fabric inside the flower, as Mom and the designer did , I changed it up a bit.

It’s gives my blooms a more substantial feel instead of the light and airiness the others have! I like it. And now I have to wait a full month for the next block!

One of the things I love about spring flowers, is that the blooms last for weeks.

Or at least, under normal circumstances they do…

Like quite a few other, mid-week our temps dropped and Wednesday morning we woke up to a pile of the white stuff.

It wasn’t alot – maybe an inch or so… but it was wet and HEAVY.

• 

• 

• 

All my poor pretty blooms bent over and covered in snow.

By the afternoon, most of the snow had melted.

But the garden was definitely looking the worse for wear.

By Friday, the sun was out, it was much warmer, and most of the flowers had bounced back

Though some of the daffies were still drooping.

• 

• 

• 

The Grape Hyacinths are all doing nicely

• 

• 

• 

More tulips are popping out every day.

Even my Turkistan Tulips!

And the first Pasque flower has bloomed, with many more to follow!

Mother nature just can’t keep a good garden down!

• 

• 

I’m pretty sure Relic thinks he’s incubating my tulips…

I mean, how could they not be??? As you can see, I finished the top for Spring Kittens. And I am just smitten!

When I finished the main star blocks, my intention was to just to plain sashing and cornerstones. Then I remembered the Royal Stars quilt and decided the kittens needed more stars too!

I went stash diving and came up with just enough pale, mottled pink for the star points.

For a person who loves pink, I actually didn’t have much in my stash. I was lucky that this one almost perfectly matched the shade in those little butterflies.

Normally, I eschew pastel baby quilts, prefering much bolder shades, but I gotta say…

… I REALLY love how soft and pretty this one is. The fact that it’s covered in kittens certainly doesn’t hurt either.

I had enouch of those cute aqua kittens for a border

As well as binding….

That aqua stripe will be a good backing, when I get around to quilting it. I’m not sure when that will be. We’ve started seriously house-hunting now. Since we are completely priced out of our current area, we are looking about 2 hours away. We are lucky that our jobs allow us to move that far, but it means weekends, for the time being, are given over to fitting in as many showings as we can. Quilting may have to take a back seat until we finally buy something.

As you can see, I’ve got both sleeves done. The body is now joined, and I’ve got a few rows done there. The only thing left is to keep knitting until I decide that it’s long enough. As you know, I usually prefer shorty cardigans, but I’ve got a fair bit of yarn left so I could probably make it longer. I’ll just keep trying it on as I go and stop knitting when it looks good!

The other day, I had a free afternoon, so I finished up the last nine pinwheel blocks.

They were promptly inspected by Burton…

And once they had his approval, they joined the others I had made, giving me 25 blocks in total.

These blocks are all made from scraps. And with this one, I wanted to challenge myself to pair fabrics and patterns that really popped against each other! I’m very pleased with the results and I can’t wait to get them together into a top.

As you can see, Burton is pretty thrilled about them too!

Well… sock.. I guess, since I only have one done.

But isn’t it cute? Such fun cheerful colours! And that little bit of lace to keep it interesting. The pattern is I Smell Snow, and it’s nice and easy to memorize.

As you can see, I’ve done the cuff, heel and toe in plain black to keep the stripes sequence intact, as I normally do with self-stripers.

The second one is already on the needles, and with any luck, I can have it done by next week. Then I can whip off a matching pair of anklets for Rowan well before her birthday.

But I better not jinx myself… the knitting fates are not to be toyed with!

It’s been a fairly rainy week. My head is not happy about that (thank you weather-induced migraines) but the garden certainly is.

Everything is greening up nicely.

• 

• 

• 

From L-R: Pasque Flower, Lilac, Raspberries.

And of course, there are blooms! The Daffodils continue to dazzle

• 

• 

• 

Isn’t that multi-coloured one just wild? It was from a big of mixed daffy bulbs from the dollar store! Talk about a gardening score!

The tulips are just starting to appear

• 

• 

• 

• 

And there are lots more coming.

And the Grape Hyacinths are just poking their little heads out

• 

• 

• 

You may recall that I have two colours, and those pink ones STILL wow me year after year!

And last, the larger hyacinths are not to be outdone

The foliage might be a bit bunny-munched, but the blooms still smell sweet!