I am an avid follower of the British gardening show Gardener’s World. And I’m super jealous of the fact that Britains get to enjoy flower blooming as early as February (the even occasionally have stuff blooming in December and January!!!)

But this winter… it was feeling like we might just see it in Southern Ontario.

Like many readers in the Eastern half of the U.S., Southern Ontario had been experiencing a very mild winter so far (and apparently the blame is on Mr. El Nino). We had a good dump of snow on Hallowe’en, and a couple of dustings , but nothing that’s lasted more than a couple of days.

And the gardens…

The gardens were pretty darn green! Above is a bunch of the foxglove seedlings I planted in late summer. They are are going to make a fantastic showing this summer. This kills me, because I couldn’t keep foxgloves going at the townhouse… now I’ll be overrun by them if I’m not careful!

It’s not totally surprising that the native plants, like the Sneezeweed and Columbine above can sprout in temps that hover just above freezing.

But the New Dawn Climbing rose has not only kept most of her leaves (as have several of the other roses) but she’s put on some new growth too.

And that bud there, that’s a Honeysuckle bud. I doubt it will bloom – it’s been there since Christmas… but it hasn’t been cold enough to kill it and knock it off.

Like Dee, I have daffodils sprouting. As well as hyacinths, and garlic! I’m very excited about that garlic! It will be mid-summer before I can harvest it though.

There sedum and peonies sprouting, and the pussywillow were putting on buds… it definitely didn’t have a January vibe in the garden this year.

In fact, the only thing that did look January was the Holly bush. I gave it a major chop last summer and it’s rewarded me with MASSES of berries. The sparrows haven’t bothered with it yet, but they will soon.

Of course, this was all until Friday. The temps dropped, the wind picked up and bam!

Winter arrived! Temps are supposed to stay below freezing for at least a week. So I guess I won’t be getting my British garden any time soon…

January is already flying by and I’ve got to get moving on the quilt I’m making for my ill friend. So last weekend, I devoted some time to making some real progress on it.

First, I finished up all the four patches.

About half of these need to be turned into stars, so then I set about making some geese for star legs

After that, I had just enough time to turn one of the four-patches into a completed star, just to see how it would look

Hopefully, as you’re reading this, I’m making progress on the rest of the stars. And who knows… maybe even sewing them into a top!

You may have already seen this on the Bearbottom Facebook page, but I just had to share it again here.

I just happened to walk in and snap this pic at the perfect moment. And it really was just a moment – as soon as I put the camera down, they started in on a full-on wrestling match!

With the socks off the needles, it was time to cast on something new. I don’t want a dismal repeat of last year’s knitting tally, so I’ve committed to finishing one project each month. I’ve already got January down, but a February finish isn’t guaranteed unless I cast on something right away.

I went stash diving and came up with a skein of Knit Pick’s Hawthorne in Jupiter.

Honestly, I don’t even remember buying this yarn. Truth be told, it’s not my colours, and I’m not really fond of speckled yarns. The only reason I can think that I might have bought it was a) it was on sale (I bought a bunch of Knit Picks yarn on sale last year, so that checks) and b) the name – Jupiter is my Ruling Planet in astrology. Whatever the reason, I’m knitting with it now.

Speckles make the yarn very busy, but I didn’t want to do another pair of plain vanilla socks… so I opted for Vanilla Latte. I know a lot of you have knit this pattern, and I’m kind of surprised it’s taken me this long to knit it myself.

This pair is destined for the gift pile. And it won’t be anklets or small… so I guess I better get knitting.

As I mentioned last week, the Moda Blockheads QAL has started back up after a break for the holidays. This year, they split it into two projects – one before the holidays, and one after. Or you could just make all the blocks for one quilt. I opted for the former option, and you saw the results in my red top last week.

With that done and out of the way, I needed to pick some fabric for the next round. That’s always the hardest part of any project – deciding what to use!

In stead of pulling one big fat quarter bundle, I found a small one, and pull a bunch of stash yardage to go with it. I’ve been collecting bee-themed fabric for a while, so I had quite a bit to choose from. It surprised me how much went together so well, even though they are from different companies and lines.

With the fabric decided on, it was time to get working on the first block.

I think it’s just a fantastic start!

And I think the boys agree!

Now to wait for the next block!

First – I wanted to note how many of you also sleep with socks on because they can’t sleep when their feet are cold! I’m glad I’m not the only one. My whole body can be over-heating, but my feet with be a block of ice if they aren’t covered up! And it’s been like that since I was little.

Now… onto business…

Yep – with the holidays out of the way, I’m back in the TNT business. For my first project of the year, I wanted to use a cross-stitch hand towel I’d picked up at a thrift store when I got the potholders. My original intention was to put chickens on it and use it in the kitchen.

But once I brought it out again, I realized it was a little on the small side for kitchen use. It’s much more suited to a bathroom. And the downstairs bathroom just happens to have a towel rack right above the sink. It would be perfect for there.

So… I shifted gears and went on the hunt for crab patterns… why crabs? Because the shower curtain we have in that bathroom has crabs on it… or I should say - had. I’d forgotten that kitten Lemmy had aerated that shower curtain and we replaced it with one with mandala patterns… (I don’t use the downstairs bath to shower, as I have the upstairs one)

Of course, I didn’t remember until after I bought the pattern…

But it was a cute little crab, so I just decided to continue on with it anyway.

Not the best picture, but I got all the black outlining and his little heart cheeks done. I would have gotten more done, but I had to rip out all Friday night’s progress. I’d started him up a little too high and ran out of room for his eyes.

But I’m back on track now, and if the weekend’s stitching goes well, I should have him done and hanging in the bathroom by Monday.

And they are done!

As expected, I wrapped them up quickly late last week. Of course, ankle socks never take too long, and I have small feet so socks for me always go quickly.

As mentioned, the yarn is Felici in Punch Bug (a colour from a couple years ago). It’s kind of a dingy rainbow and I love it. I used some stroll for the heels and toes so I didn’t break up the stripe sequence (plus it looks cool).

The socks are pretty much vanilla – cast on 60 stitches (as mentioned, I have small feet), work 2-2 ribbing for the cuff then plain knitting and basic sock math for the rest.

As much as I love making fancy socks, this is my favourite type of sock for me. My feet get cold very easy, so I have to wear socks in the evenings (And usually slippers too). And I wear the socks to bed. But inevitably, in the middle of the night, I wake up and my feet are too hot! So I have to be able to slide the socks off, half asleep with just my toes. And I’ve discovered, through much trial and error, that this style of sock works best for that! (and if you’re wondering why I don’t just take my socks off before I get into bed… because they will get too cold before I fall asleep, and then I can’t fall asleep! I don’t know why – but they do!)

There will be more socks like this for me soon….

Because I just had to retire one of my most favourite pairs (they were about 10 years old, so I’m not too sad)

My Christmas gift from Dave this year was a gift card for my favourite nursery in this area. And I couldn’t wait to go spend it.

In spring, summer and fall, they have a whole host of annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, but this time of year, it’s just the house plants. But that’s just fine because they have an amazing selection of house plants.

This time around, I came home with just three.

The one on the left is a Cebu Blue Pothos, and the one on the right is a Heart Leaf Philodendron. Both are trailing, viney plants – which are my favourite. I do have to put some more hooks in the ceiling now though…

And I decided on a Lucky Jade for my Lucky Cat. I had a Jade before – Sam’s mom gave me a beautiful 60 year old Jade. Sadly, kitten Burton used the trunk as a scratching post and I didn’t notice until it was too late. I had some cuttings from it, but they died off last year, as I had them in a bad spot that didn’t get enough light.

I think it was a good choice!

But the nursery doesn’t just sell plants… it has a HUGE garden/home décor section. I’ve been wanting a Green Man for my garden for a while now…

This isn’t a Green Man, it’s Bacchus (Greek God of a good time), but it’s a similar idea. I figure when I finally find my Green Man, he can hang out with Bacchus.

Another thing I’ve wanted is a tricycle planter. Most I see are vintage bamboo and they are CRAZY prices.

This one is metal, and has a lovely verdigris finish which isn’t showing up in the pictures. I’m just debating on whether it will go outside in the Spring or stay in the house.

And last… all the Christmas stuff was on Sale, including all the Christmas Gnomes….

But this one was Green and Brown, making him (at least to me) a year-round gnome! He now lives in my Monstera and I think he looks right at home!

Spring is a long way off, but my indoor plants are doing their best to keep my cheer up.

Two of my violets are blooming

This is one of the Home Depot rescues. This is the second time it’s bloomed this year.

This pretty purple one is much older. I moved several of my older violets to the front window, and these are very happy there. This one will have blooming friends soon.

And this funky Aloe is blooming again.

Every winter it sends up this super long bloom spike. And shortly after, out come these pretty bell shaped blooms.

That’s all that’s in flower now… but Dave gave me a gift certificate to my favourite local nursery for Christmas, so maybe I’ll have to take a trip down there and see what THEY have in bloom!

You may now take a moment to bask in Burton’s magnificence…