Not literally, but as you can see, the first one is done. It just seemed to fly off the needles. It helps that it’s much smallter than the man socks that I just finished. It also helps that that lace pattern is only done over 1/4 of the sock (and only every fourth row.).
The rest is just a whole pile of vanilla. And as you can see on that second image, there is a bit of a subtle colour shift. It’s a long run though, so this yarn is probably better for shawls or cowls than socks. But I’ll keep trucking on this pair. I may even have the second one done by this weekend!
I picked up a couple small six inch terra cotta pots from the dollar store for some more painting adventures. It’s nice to sit outside when the weather is fine and paint away. I’ve also been watching a lot of art history documentaries lately, which I think has tweaked my creativity button.
The first pot I painted up for neighbour Krista. In addition to being a fellow crazy plant lady, she’s also a crazy bird lady. She has two African Grey parrots, and has decorated her backyard in a parrot-theme. We call it her parrot-dise.
I think this little guy will be right at home there.
Next, I wanted to paint some more flowers…. coneflowers, to be exact.
I added a few little honey bees for interest.
I put this funky, spikey peperomia ferreyrae plant in it to keep those bees company.
To be honest, I’m not as happy with these two as I am with my birdbath or koi. These pots are much smaller, and I think I really need a bigger canvas.
Still, I had one more pot left though, so I looked to Delighted Hands, and took some inspiration from some adorable watercolour mushrooms she painted the other day.
Aren’t they sweet? A pretty Jade plant now calls it home.
I’m out of pots, for now… but Mom said something about having a couple for me, so there’s more adventures to come!
Last weekend, I came home from quilting and EVERY SINGLE sunflower head was broken off and destroyed. The red ones, the poor fluffy teddy bear ones, even the big sunny yellow ones. This is all that was left…
Nobody touched the beans, tomatoes or peppers, so I don’t think it was the raccoons, or Mr. Possum. I suspect it was the squirrels… but you’d think they’d be content with their peanut feast.
Sigh…
There’s many more buds on the sunflowers, so I’ll have new blooms soon. Hopefully they won’t fall victim to a hungry tummy.
With death out of the way…. I bring you resurrection!
I am so stoked to see my Passionflower blooming. As you may recall, she is one of the plants that comes in for the winter. I dutifully brought her in last October, and put her by the back door where she can still get lots of light. (same spot as every year before). But by January, all her leaves had fallen off, and she was just a sad mass of dead vines.
Because I’m lazy, I didn’t toss her out and reuse the pot. And it was about March that I noticed a teeny little green sprout coming up from the main vine.
As soon as it was warm enough, I put her outside. The vine continued to grow, but I didn’t really expect to see flowers (it took three years to get flowers on her in the first place). But here she is – blooming again, with lots more to come!
Elsewhere…
…my physostegia (or false dragonhead, or obedient plant) has bloomed. She takes her time, but she’s worth it. As you can see , there are several bloom spikes on her, so she’s going to put on quite the show this year.
Speaking of shows…
….Navy Lady decided to bust our all over the place this week. As she’s right beside the driveway, I have to keep her well trimmed (Dave doesn’t want her scraping down the side of his pretty white car), but I’ve managed to neglect her a little bit, and I think she’s showing her appreciation.
You’d think I’d be tired of red after the man socks, but apparently not. You can’t really tell from the picture, but it’s a lovely marl of two shades of red. Colourway is Lava. It’s supposed to have a subtle ombre shift, but so far I’m not seeing it. Maybe I just haven’t gotten that far yet. What the yarn is, is super soft. Very nice to knit with – especially for the price. It was under $20 for the skein.
There’s no pattern to this, I’m just putting a panel of feather and fan down the front, to one side. If it works out the way I want in my head, I’ll write up the pattern and share.
And for all those wondering about the state of the stinky sweater… I’m still working away at it in the background. My goal is to have the knitting finished by the end of September, so I plan to have some sort fo an update for you soon. Stay tuned!
As promised, I was able to get my Moda Blockhead top quilted on Saturday. That evening, I finished up the binding and voila!
I give you the finished quilt! As you can see, it’s a very busy quilt. There’s a lot going on in all those blocks.
Some of them I really love (like those birds!!!). Others are pretty meh, but overall I think they come together to make a pretty decent quilt.
For backing, I kept it simple – a nice white-on-cream paisley pattern. I picked it up at the same time I bought the back for Royal Stars. And as you can see, I had enough leftover from the back of that quilt to bind it all!
And while I am carrying on with blockheads in different fabric (as you saw on Monday, I’m happy to have the bulk of them out of the way. I don’t think I’ll join another year-long KAL. I need a little more instant gratification that that!
I finished up the bold man socks on the weekend. They were an easy knit, but I’m glad to have them done – I’m ready for something new.
As you know, there was nothing fancy with this pair – just simple 2-2 garter rib on the leg and a plain foot. The red really overtakes the purple in these, though the skein was dyed half and half.
But that’s the fun of hand-dyed yarn. You never know how it’s going to knit up!
As promised, I’ve got some new fabrics to refresh my work on with the weekly Blockhead blocks.
It’s a cute little fat quarter bundle I got from an Etsy seller. There’s also a half yard panel with those cute cats that I might be able to work in some how.
For this quilt, I’m going to stick with more traditional style blocks. If non-traditional blocks come up one week, I’ll sub it with something else from the first 30 weeks. I’m also making smaller blocks this time around – 8 inches, as opposed to 12 inches.
Week 31 was a basket square, and I did a little bit of fussy cutting to get the right look?. Because who doesn’t love a cat in a basket?
I mentioned the other week that my new Hibiscus needed a proper home, and I had an old terra cotta pot that was just the right size. But it was in definite need of a make-over, so I gave it a quick coat of white paint….
And settled in to work. A wash of blue here, some quick pencil sketches, some measured brush strokes, a coat or two of clear, and a few hours later….
There was a school of colourful Koi playing amongst the bubbles.
I think the Hibiscus looks happy in her new home.
And it will be a nice colourful addition for the house when she comes in for the winter.
August is now over half over and fall is definitely on its way. How can I tell? It’s not the crisp nights (though they are here). It’s not that the squirrels are working overtime to gather as many nuts as possible (though they are). It’s that my sedum is starting to bloom.
This is one of the main fall sources of food for the bees come September, so I’ve got several plants throughout the gardens. It also provides a nice pretty pop of pink (and it’s virtually maintenance free).
My Chrysanthemum is also getting buds – a sure sign of the impending autumn.
But no one told the marigold that summer is on its way out.
They are going gang busters.
We’re still getting lots of treats from the mini food garden.
The beans have just blown me away this year. I get a little colander full every couple of days
And the roses love the disappearance of the humidity.
And now is the time of year when the sunflowers really start to shine.
And the butterfly bush is in bloom
It’s a favourite of the Monarchs – a last fueling station before they hit the road to Mexico.
The season may be winding down, but there’s still so much beauty to be found!
Wandering Cat Studio 