Spring?

Maybe?  See the tiny spikey leaves poking from the ground?  See the little hints of white, yellow (and yes, even purple)?

Note to self: plant next year's bulbs in bunches.  I was trying to maneuver 'round the perennials and the crocuses ended up in a row instead . . . 

I wasn't sure 'bout the clay-like soil in my garden bed (I need compost and maybe even some mulch 'round the perennials to add stuff to the dirt), so I didn't plant as many as I should have.  Yup, definitely need more bulbs!

Happy Feet

My son's feet are happy.  His new slippers fit very well (yay!).  And they feel smooshy.

My hubby's feet will soon be happy too!  One slipper is done.  The second is on the way . . . 

Have a great week!

Tink, Tink, Tink

That's the sound of my needles busy at work . . . 

First, the baby cardi (aka Avocado) is happily off the needles.  It needs some darning of ends and sewing of buttons . . . Ahhh, buttons!  Which ones to choose? They could all work, but I narrowed it down to two: the pearl ones and the wooden ones.

Truthfully I had always envisioned the finished item with wooden buttons for a casual, rustic feel, but the pearl ones look pretty . . . Decisions, decisions!

While I pondered my button choices, two requests came in from my family.  Everyone needs slippers!  The slippers of my youngest  fell apart.  Considering he got more than a year's use, I can't complain.  My own slippers lasted a few months before falling part--guess I'm hard on my feet.  Since I had lots of the same yarn leftover, I made the same style using the same yarn.  The Non-Felted Slippers by Yuko Nakamura  are a great design--easy to follow and quick to work (you may recall the pattern mods I posted here).

The slippers were completed over a few days (lunch and naptime are the best times to  squeeze in a few rounds of knitting).  They only need some seaming (of course my mind pondered the possibility of creating a solid sole by using Judy's Magic Cast-on--could it work for this many stitches?  I wonder . . . ).

And dear hubby requested slippers too.  His old ones were the traditional two-tone Phentex slippers--and they were dying.  For a change, he's willing to try the Non-Felted Slippers, mainly because these moccasin type slippers are a quick knit.  And if I use Phentex yarn, then they should still be quite durable (he's tough on his feet too).  Since hubby's feet are much bigger than mine, I've made mods.  I added extra stitches at cast-on, but am still working the same number of increases.  I'm hoping they will be sufficiently larger to accommodate hubby's man-sized feet . . . we'll shall see in a few days.

Now back to my reguarly scheduled studying (after this week's exam, I'm a free woman).  Have a good week! :)

Happy Egg Day

Dyed Easter Eggs

Pretty eggs?  The kids and I had fun playing 'round with the dyes.  We even went egg hunting in the melting snow . . 

Plastic eggs found in the snow

Now don't think it was all work--lots of R&R.  There's nothing like a long weekend for extra rest and relaxation.  Surprisingly warm temperatures and loads of sunshine left me further contented.  And of course, there was plenty of delicious meals, goodies and treats . . . life is good!

Little peep on a chocolate treat
courtesy of foter.com

Hope this bodes well for the rest of the week.  Have a good one!

Like a Lion . . .

March came in like a lamb, promising warmer clime and less snow.  Alas, she has deceived all!  Winter still reigns here, y'all!! **grumble, grumble**

This week we had not one, but two snowstorms!  The last of which caused most of town to shut down.  Snow isn't so much the culprit as strong winds.  Even on a clear, sunny day, if the wind is blowing hard enough it'll drift the snow back onto the road or cause white-outs.  Not fun.

So with lots of time on my hands, I worked on my course (yay, finished the first complete draft of my essay).  And yes, there was knitting.

My sock is almost ready for the toe shaping.  And with the continued snowy weather, I'll have to cast-on the second sock pronto as I'll probably still wear my woolies well into May **sigh**

Sock Almost Done

As I near the end of my sock, a nagging doubt plagues my thoughts: I fear the yarn will run out before completion. Thus far, 1 ball of Patons Kroy has had enough yardage for one Acrylic-girl sized foot.

Yarn Remains: Enough?

And I also began work on the second sleeve of that lovely Avocado.  

Sleeve Detail

I kept notes on stitch counts, shaping and such (and yes, I will post that info ASAP). Not too hard to change the original pattern from bottom-up to top-down.  I certainly enjoy the top-down process more than the other way around.

Cardi in Progress

If I'm diligent enough, I can finish this cardigan before it becomes too small for my niece to wear . . . 

Waiting for the Green . . .

Vintage Photo courtesy of foter.com

I know its St Patrick's Day and all, but I'm still waiting for the green--the green of spring!!  All the snow actually melted this past week . . . And then it came back a few days later.  And even though it was a lovely sunny weekend, it is currently snowing  **sigh**

Shamrocks courtesy of rgbstock.com

So for now, I'll content myself with the green of shamrocks  . . . 

Hope you had a nice St. Patty's Day ;)

Slowly . . .

Frozen Lake

Amidst the gnarled tree limbs, you feel it.  Springtime slowly makes its way to our parts.  Not in big melts and sudden bursts of spring colours.  

Knarled Tree

Instead a steady sun slowly picks away at the snow piles, melting them ever so slowly.  The earth warms up and then it happens.  Brown, yellow and faded green peaks here and there through the white stuff.  Tufts of old dead grass poke through. . . 

Spring is coming.  Slowly.