I’ll admit it, I’ve been procrastinating on sewing together the body of the barnyard sweater. Not because it’s itchy (it is). Not because it’s smelly (it is). Not because it’s really heavy to have in the lap (it is.)

Because it’s got a weird construction, and I was worried I had knit it wrong and it wouldn’t go together right. But, there was nothing to do but suck it up and get on with it.

So I did.

And it worked! It’s not the prettiest sewing job, but it will hold.

Here’s a peak at that weird construction.

You see here, the shoulder seam actually falls to the back of the shoulder, not in the middle. First I had to graft the two sides of the collar together, then sew the back to the fronts and collar. I was so relieved when it all lined up and fit right!

Now there was nothing left but the sleeves. As I mentioned in my previous post, they are knit on. This involvs short-rows to form the sleeve cap. This isn’t an issue for me, I’ve done it on a few others. But this thing is so bulky. It’s a lot to have in your lap and hanging from you needles as you work back and forth.

But I persevered and last night I was able to complete the entire sleeve cap.

Now it’s knitting round and round and round to finish the sleeve. Then I get to do another one exactly like it. The end isn’t quite in sight, but there’s a small glimmer of light showing at the end of that looooooooong tunnel!

While there hasn’t been a whole tonne of sewing lately (pot painting taking up more of my time), there is still sewing.

It was time to turn my attention back to a bit of a neglected project… the Bramble Patch quilt.

I started it back in mid-May, but ran afoul when I didn’t have enough prints to do what I wanted. This is how it looked then..

I needed to swap out those white prints for something off white. I had a few potentials from Mom’s stash, but they weren’t quite right. Every time I went to a fabric store, I looked, but nothing was jiving.

And the more and more I thought about it, the more I just wasn’t loving the layout anyway. It was just too busy, and not quite what I had in my head when I first started.

It needed a rethink.

My first thought was to use some of the red leftover from the back of Royal Stars. I did an audition. It was better, but not quite what I was going for. Then I thought about the lefotvers from the back of Home Is Where The Heart Is…

And as you can see, it was a perfect compliment to the tone-on-tone flowers I used in the four patches.

Add a little sashing, a few cornerstones…

And voila! A completed top for a baby quilt! And one I am VERY happy with. Just as with knitting, sometimes you have to listen to the fabric. It knows what it wants to be!

And as for the leftovers from Royals Stars… I Frankenstein-ed them together and they are just enough for the back of this one.

And one of the pieces I snagged from Mom’s stash (top) is perfect for the binding!

I did it. I finished the Lava socks before the end of the weekend and now the pattern is ready for you all!

It’s a freebie: The Socks are Lava. (If you don’t use Ravelry and would like a copy, leave a comment here, and I’ll send it to you.)

It’s a very simple pattern. The lace is only worked across 18 of the 64 stitches. And only on every fourth row. These socks are almost vanilla…

Vanilla with a little spice!

The pattern was inspired by the yarn (Cascade Heritage Wave in the “Lava” colourway). I wanted to evoke the feeling of a lava flow with the pattern, and I think I’ve managed it.

The yarn is very soft, though it can be a bit splitty. You can see the slight ombre effect, though the length of it is not ideal for socks. It would be much better suited to a large project, like a cowl or shawl. Still it was nice to knit with, and pretty cheap for a pair of socks – under $20 CAD.

Yup… I was at it again.

I found a couple more terra cotta pots kicking around, and there was some nice weather the other afternoon and well…

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These ones are a touch smaller than the last few so I kept the motifs large and simple and I’m quite pleased with the results. Just some simple flowers on thee above pots – nothing fancy, but I think they are charming.

And for the second pot…

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Cats, of course! How is it that I’m only just now doing cats? Again… simple but whimsical and it works!

I don’t actually have any plants for these ones right now… But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll come across something appropriate soon!

I promise no spiders in this post!

You’ve all seen the fun we’ve been having with our little picnic table this summer…

But there’s more than just squirrels who come by for a treat.

This past week, I’ve been greeted almost daily by not one, not two, but FOUR blue jays.

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They’ve been tough to get pictures of (especially as they steal peanuts from the table), but this one was brave enough to pose above my bird cage for a few minutes.

I know they can be jerks to other birds, but I do love the blue jays.

And though our garden is small, we’ve had a wide array of visitors this summer.

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Bees, of course, are regular visitors. And we have all kinds, honey, sweat, carpenter, bumble and more!

It’s been a good year for ladybugs too. And the real red ones – not the orange ones that like to bite people!

I shouldn’t be happy to see this Gypsy Moth, as they are an invasive species, but I just love this little guys feathery antennae!

This little jeweled Damselfly was hard to get a picture of, but I finally managed it, when she stopped for a rest on the coneflowers.

And of course, we can’t forget our beautiful Monarch friends. They are stopping by almost daily, and we just love them!

I mentioned in a previous post that I was planning on rearranging the garden. When I started garden building the year we moved in, I did not have a plan. Year after year, the gardens expanded, and still there was no plan. I just stuck new things in wherever I could fit them.

Naturally, that resulted in some things being over-shadowed by other plants. The front and side yards weren’t bad (they are smaller and get less sun, so I was more selective on plant placement). The backyard was beautiful chaos.

Last Sunday, the weather was perfect. I wasn’t really planning on tackling the task until the end of September, but it was hard to pass up such a good day. Plus, I told myself, this would give the relocated plants more time to put down good roots before winter.

I made an inventory of everything I had, and drew a quick sketch of where I planned to put it all..

That done, there was nothing to do but get digging!

Naturally, I had someone to snoopervise the process. It took all morning, and small part of the afternoon. By the time I was done, all the roses (with the exception of Navy Lady) were in the back yard where they will get much better sun; and all the rest of the plants were arranged according to height; and I had some very dirty hands.

Sign of a day well spent, if you ask me!

Naturally, everything went all wilted from the stress, but a few days later, most of it was beginning to bounce back. I may lose a couple plants, but most of them will be easily replaced come spring if they don’t make it. I’m not too worried.

The Lupin is already putting up new sprouts. So are the Oriental Poppies and Coneflowers.

I won’t really see the rewards of this until next year, but I think it’s going to be worth the wait!

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Princess Peno says those stinky boys get far too much air time. So today it’s all about her, and her her beautiful, feline perfection.

If you’re squeamish about spiders, I suggest you skip this post. If you’re like me and love the eight-legged freaks… read on!

Every night I have a little backyard ritual. I close up the umbrella, tidy up the patio table, clean up any leftover peanuts/peanut mess at Squirrelington’s, and just generally put the yard to bed for the night.

A few weeks back, I turned to come in and noticed a beautiful spider web strung across from the patio light, to the hanger that held the strawberry pot. On it was a good-sized (about a quarter) spider.

From her shape, I could tell he was some type of orb weaver, but with the back lighting, I couldn’t tell what kind (there are literally dozens of different types)

I ran back in to get my camera, but by the time I got back outside, she was gone.

I promptly forgot about her, until a week later when the same thing happened. With the same results.

Finally, the other night,s he was out – busily spinning up some dinner. He picked an ideal spot, as the moths fly right toward the light and into her web.

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With the lighting, it was tricky to get pictures, but I managed some decent ones. Again, the lighting made if difficult to determine her colouring, but I was pretty sure she was a Grey Cross Orb Weaver. I needed to get a better look at her in the daylight.

The next morning, I came out ready, with my camera. But she was nowhere to be found. In fact, the web was also gone!

But then that night… she’s out there again, building a new web!

This went on for another week. Out at night, building a web, but gone by morning with nary a trace. A little research told me this is just what cross orb weavers do – build a new web every day! (That seems like a lot of work).

So the other afternoon, I decided to do a little investigating. I poked around, all the places in the area I thought a spider might hide. Under the lights, in the strawberry pot, even down behind the garden cart that sits below the light.

Finally it dawned on me… Froggy hangs on that wall…

I inspected closer, and sure enough…

I spy a spider butt!

Carefully, I took Froggy off the wall.

Mrs. Spider stayed put, so I moved in for a closer look.

Isn’t she a beauty?

At long last, the body of the barnyard sweater is done!

Yep, that weird looking pile of knitting is the left front, back and right front. I have to do a little bit of origami and sewing to get it looking more familiar.

That will give you a better idea. Once it’s sewn together, I have to pick up stitches for the sleeves. I thought they were sewn in, but no such luck. Normally I wouldn’t mind knitting the sleeves on, but this sweater is really heavy. It’s going to be a big awkward knit for a while.

My goal is to have the whole thing done by the end of September. Here’s hoping I can meet it!

I had a free afternoon the other day, so I set up a little assembly line and started chain-piecing flannel bear paws.

And then four paws come together to make the final block (because bears have four paws, don’t you know?)

The background fabric is actually navy, not black as it appears in the pictures. The flannel is going to make a super soft quilt, but it is definitely different than working with regular quilting cotton. Not only is it thicker, it has a little more stretch, so piecing it takes a little more patience.

Still, I got the first three paw sets all together.

Only nine more to go!