Nestled between the Lavender and the Butterfly Bush, is a fairy tale nursery in my back yard. A trio of cuteness was discovered residing in my back yard yesterday. Last year there were baby bunnies under our rose bushes – perhaps the same Mom? Anyways, this year they were found in a better spot and it even has a night-light! Weeding this bed will have to wait until the babies are bigger and the nursery is empty.
On the garden front, it looks to be a banner year for strawberries, if the mass of blossoms on my plants are any indicator! This will be very welcome, as the strawberry plants I brought from Michigan did not fare well at all with Pittsburgh winters. Michigan gave them a nice insulating blanket of snow as protection from the frigid temperatures. Pittsburgh does not do the same – snow is a rare commodity here. Add to that temperatures that get much, much colder and my plants did not make it through the winter. A gardening lesson learned – what works one place will not necessarily work in another.
And, thanks to a link that Bonny shared my Rhubarb plant has had its blossom pruned and it has now almost doubled in size! Good thing,because this recipe looks so good and will definitely be debuting in an upcoming Friday Happy Hour.
That’s all I have for today. Have a good Thursday everyone!
Wednesday, how I love you! You usher in the downhill ride to Friday while giving me a nice pause to review my week and refocus my priorities. And, you are also all about reading and knitting! Just ask Ginny!
I started this book yesterday and I am hoping to get some uninterrupted reading time today.
And these socks. I am enamored. The yarn is lovely, thank you Yvonne for the stellar recommendation.
The weekend went far too quickly as it zoomed by at practically warp speed! (Beam me back to Friday, Scotty!! That Manhattan was so tasty as were the Friday eats!)
It was a weekend with lots of some…
Some unknitting and some knitting – I had to unknit a few rows of my Pincha, I think I missed a wrap, which created a troublesome hole. No worries though, the unknitting of short rows is not overwhelming. I am back on track now and again breezing along.
Some spinning – I managed to spin quite a bit on my little drop spindle, it helped that the weather was nice for outdoor spinning!
Some gardening – After cleaning up the vegetable beds, I worked some compost in to the soil. I also got my potatoes started in the pots! And, the seeds I started last week are all sprouting.
And… some disappointment – Perhaps that has something to do with eagerly (anxiously even) awaiting the beginning of the farmer’s market only to be overwhelmed with sticker shock… serious sticker shock! And, thinking how ironic that everyone is charging exactly the same amount for things. Hello, I am not paying $5.00 a dozen for eggs!
We were not disappointed in our trip to Janoski’s though. Welcome back, Asparagus! You have been seriously missed!
Outside of that, it is a nose to the grindstone kind of Monday. I have a long list today and some extra caffeine to help me stay focused!
It’s Friday and that means a plethora of things to everyone, but across the board there is a collective sigh of relief that the work week is over and the weekend has, again, arrived! (And, it is Earth Day)
Before the weekend begins, it is Fiber Friday at Casa del KatKnits – and we have lots of fiber for you today.
I was unbelievably fortunate to talk with a knitting genius this week and she gave me a good bit of fiber food for thought. Which has me thinking about the economy of yarn and knitting things you love and, more importantly, will love wearing! And, swatching. Lots and lots of swatching. She shared a new to me way of determining if you like the fabric of your knitted swatch…close your eyes and let your fingers decide. Fantastic advice, which I did with the swatch from last week. And, my fingers like the fabric better with the smaller needle. Knitting is such a tactile process, yet I never thought of doing this. Thanks, Ina for closing my eyes and sharing a new dimension.
Rolag production has been going very well, especially with the addition of a bit of “pre-combing” to remove the vegetation. Pre-combing before carding? Something new I learned in the last week. It not only removed the chaff it also made carding incredibly easy and as a result, the carding is going faster.
I know. I am pretty sure I do not experiment enough, especially with fiber prep and spinning. I need to give myself permission to step out of my comfort zone, which is not always an easy thing to do.
Soon the spinning can begin in earnest.
Speaking of spinning in earnest, I am going to attempt to spin the braid above entirely on a drop spindle. I am aiming for a dk weight single. I struggle with this on my wheel, because of the ease of spinning and too much twist. Hopefully this plan will help that a bit. Add to that the portability of the project with just a drop spindle and a bit of fiber and it seems like the perfect summer combination. So far, so good!
