FINALLY!!!

Okay, really, it’s pretty much on time. It just feels like it’s taken forever for something to bloom around here. But this reliable little crocus has been the first two bloom two years in a row now. And if you look at the second pic, it’s spread, so hopefully more blooms will follow.

It shouldn’t be too much longer for the daffodils, either…

And I noticed the big hyacinths are budding up, despite some squirrel damage.

And the tulips won’t be far behind…

And look…

The raspberries are starting to grow again. That means it’s time to get out there and prune. I’m on vacation this week, so hopefully I get some good weather to commence with the hack and slash!

Both Dee and Vera have been knitting Hitchhiker shawls, and I’ve been admiring them from afar. But then Dee started one in a gradient yarn, and I was absolutely smitten.

So when I ordered the yarn for Nera, some Chroma fingering also came along for the ride (hitchhiked… so to speak!). In my defense, the colourway  I got (Lakefront) was on clearance, and I knew the finished shawl would be ideal for my friend Aneesha’s upcoming birthday.

Almost as soon as Nera was cast off, Hitchhiker was cast on.

It’s knitting up beautifully! If I’m honest, I don’t like the yarn that much. It’s like a low-rent version of Crystal Palace’s Mini Mochi. It’s a single ply, loosely spun, single ply, which can be a bit of a challenge to work with (don’t tug too hard!). I probably should have gone up a needle size or two, but I was already too far before I decided that… and this yarn does not stand up to frogging, so I will just keep on keeping on.

I also came across a knot and a break in the colour sequence, which totally ruined the gradient effect, so I’ve had to get creative, wind it up into a few smaller balls, and reattach to keep the gradient smooth. It doesn’t matter to me if the colours stay in order, so long as the switch from colour to colour isn’t harsh.

The pattern is fun, and I have to admit, a little bit addictive. But I really do need to set it aside and finish Dad’s socks….

 

 

Getting up close and personal with Princess Peno…

I was hoping to have a completed pair of pigeon socks to show you by now… but I’ve been a little distracted. Last week, my knitpicks order arrived. You may recall that I ordered some of this yarn…

What I got was a fair bit different….

Oh it’s the same colourway… at least according to the label. But the website shows (and lists) that Drawing Room is a mix of creams and pastels. As you can see, I got no cream, and shades that would do credit to an Easter egg on acid. Not exactly as described…. they are apparently sending me more yarn, saying I got the wrong one, but I suspect it will be more of the same… looking at other projects on Ravelry, this is what it really looks like.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the yarn as it is… but it’s not at all what I was expecting. I didn’t have this problem with the Leaf colourway, so I’m a little flummoxed.

But I decided to press on, and make the cardigan anyway.

I know what you’re thinking…. “Holy Crapola, Valerie – you finished the whole thing already!?!?”

Yes… yes I did. In six days. I’ll do a proper FO post when I get modeled shots, but I can tell you, it’s chunky yarn – so that fast knitting isn’t all me – the yarn did a lot of the work! It’s going to look great with my dresses and now is the perfect time of year to wear it!

It was a beautiful weekend here in Southern Ontario (and has more or less remained so since then). It feels like spring is finally here to stay. I celebrated by getting something I’ve been saving for since the end of Summer.

A big girl BBQ!!! You may recall that when I celebrated my five-year anniversary at work, they gifted me with a small, portable BBQ. It lasted two years before rusting out beyond all use. I replaced it last spring with another from Walmart. It didn’t even make it until the end of summer. So since then, I’ve been saving my PC points (earned from buying groceries at my grocery store) and by the end of winter, I had enough to cash them in for a BBQ at one of the parent company’s other stores. I usually save them for garden season, and use them at the grocery store garden centre, but as you know, the gardens are pretty full, so this seemed a much better use.

As soon as I got it home, Dave dutifully assembled it for me (though we still need to go get propane). When he was done, I brought the boys out while I rearranged the patio so everything fit nicely. Then I sat back to enjoy the sun.

The boys enjoyed the rays as well. At least for a little while….

With all that black fur, poor Burt can’t take the sun as much as the other two. But he’s got a nice new shady spot to chill out!

And Relic’s not the only one to discover the benefits of the new fence…

Rupert put his brave pants on and went for a little stroll along the top. I don’t know about you, but I think he kind of looks like he belongs there!

We stayed outside for quite a while. We saw our first butterfly, though I couldn’t get her on film.

There were a few honey bees buzzing around, though there’s still nothing for them to eat. But it won’t be for much longer…

This little crocus should bloom soon.

The pussywillow is fuzzing up!

And those fuzzy little sprouts are my Pasque flowers. They usually bloom just after Easter, so not long now!

And while it will be months before we see blooms, I’m happy to say it looks like all my roses survived the winter. All of them have little red nubs emerging. That means pruning will happen in a week or two!

I’ve wanted to join in on Dee’s tiny needle Tuesday for a while. You may not know it, but cross-stitching was actually my first craft. Long before I knit or sewed, I cross-stitched. I started when I was around 8 or 9 years old. Mom had taken me to the Creativ Festival in Toronto. They had a bunch of workshops for kids, one of which was cross-stitching (using worsted weight yarn on something like 8-count cloth). That lit the bug and soon enough it became a hobby. I wouldn’t say I was a prolific cross-stitcher (My attention span was too short for that), but I made a fair few little projects over the years.

Not too long ago, Dad asked me to pick up a box of stuff I’d left behind when I moved out (12 years ago now).

This was one of the things inside.

If I remember correctly, this was done as part of a project for 4-H. (One of the other things in the box, was my completion plaque for the 4-H group I took part in.) I’m going to have to hang it in my studio now…

And maybe pull out my cross-stitching supplies….

After sweet talking Mom into cutting a bunch of plain white squares for me, I was finally ready to move on the Marseilles Stars top. You may recall I’d planned on putting the blocks on point. For some reason, I always have a little trepidation when it comes time to sew an on-point top together. But this one went together like the breeze!

Because of the on-point layout, and the fact that I only had 14 stars (there weren’t enough quantity of the right colours in the charm packs to make a 15th), I had to get creative with the layout. It was Mom who suggested the four big  green blocks, and offered up some subtle plaid fabric from her stash.

Because the blocks went together so easy, I had enough energy to get fancy with the borders. I normally avoid pieced borders, or cornerstones, because they require planning and measurement, and I’m usually too lazy.

But I had four green squares leftover from the charm pack, so I figured why not give it a whirl! The berry coloured fabric was liberated from Mom’s stash. It was just perfect for the border, and I think the green cornerstones help tie in those large green blocks.

Now I know I just lamented finishing tops faster than I can quilt them… but this top isn’t going in my to-quilt pile. It’s going in Mom’s. She’s got all kinds of rulers and stencils she’s being dying to try out, and those big plain white blocks give her the perfect canvas.

I do have to find a back for it first…. time to go visit the clearance table at Lens!

The snow has melted and the sun has returned!

It doesn’t look like that little blast of winter harmed our gardens much at all. They’ve been warning of a possible ice storm, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed they are wrong… because look…

I’ve got a daffodil about to bloom! This is the first year I’ve had daffodils or tulips out back. The back gets the most sun of all the gardens, so I knew they’d do well. (Though there’s still no sign of my darn snowdrops!!!)

That said….

The irises don’t usually bloom until mid-late May… but here’s one budding up already. This should be the yellow and white one I bought last year. It’s already multiplied like crazy.

Speaking of multiplying….

I’m really going to have to thin out the Asiatic lilies this year. They are just going gangbusters!

Three out of six Winter Sow jugs are sprouting so far. The  top right are the poppies. They other two are a mystery… but I’ve narrowed them down to Silver Dollars and Black-Eyed Susans. I just don’t know which is which!

So here’s hoping the weather holds. But either way, I think my garden is in good hands…

…er… paws!

 

One of the unexpected benefits of working from home is more time to cook. While I’ve never been a bad cook, I never put too much effort into it. When you’ve got an hour to hour and a half commute home every day, getting fancy with dinner is usually the last thing on your mind.

But now that I’ve got that commuting time back, I’m much more willing to search out a new recipe and try something fresh. One thing I want to try is cooking with fresh herbs. So there’s no time like the present to start growing them!

I found these little kits at the dollar store. (Strawberries and tomatoes aren’t herb, I know… but I love growing them). If these work out, I might invest in a little growing lamp so I can have fresh herbs, year round!

And until things start sprouting, I’ve had to resort to other measures to get a little more green in my life…

I have a bad habit of sticking pins and needles in the couch arm when I’m working on quilt binding. It was definitely time for a better solution. I had some teeny terra cotta pots in the basement, so nothing better than a sweet little cactus. (The pattern is free). I used leftover top cat from my Calendula shawl and within an evening it was finished!

What’s green and growing in your world?

Just a fluffy black cat and a little grey mouse.