TNT: A Return Visit

 

The Swedish Folk Sampler is done for the year. I'm quite impressed at how much I got done in just a few weeks. This usually simmers on the back burner for most of February.

Taking its place is this old chestnut. I've been working on this for years and I think I'm finally going to get serious about getting it finished. I'll give it until Halloween and then all bets are off. 

This is the main reason for its languishing. Have you ever seen a more ridiculous amount of floss for one project? It makes me crazy.

The other tiny needle is working on the next block of the Patchwork quilt. I think this is number six.

Dear Jane has decided to do a bit of fussy cutting with the E6 block. She did it with stripes and it was easier than I thought. It kept my brain and hands busy for the morning because....

...I'm always a wreck when the tree people show up. We never actually finished the job we started because of holidays, babysitting and bad weather. We had five trees out front that needed to go so Pup and I holed up in the sewing room with very loud music while the work was being done.

Out back we had stump grinding going on. The city is breathing down our necks to get the 24 replacement trees planted and we needed some of the stumps out of the way before we could get started. I've got some loblollies and some magnolias on the way and want to order some maples and river birch. 

The work trucks had just packed up and left when it started snowing. That was a surprise. It won't last long. It will be almost 50 today so I enjoyed every bit of it coming down. 

The Wearing of the Green

 

True Story: The Mister has a very Irish surname and his family has always claimed strong Irish roots until....I convinced him to do the DNA thing. It came back that he was only 1% Irish thanks to his great, great, great grandfathers's penchant for fair haired lasses it seems. He's mostly Germanic European. Ha,ha. Moi, on the other hand who never had an inkling that I had any Irish heritage came back as 20% Irish. Quelle surprise for someone who always thought they were French.

It probably explains why this is my favorite beer and I'm not much of a wine drinker but none of it really matters except as trivia because in March we're all Irish. *Follow me, I'm delicious.

*If you haven't already met this hilarious Irish dude on YouTube make it a point to do so. If this guy ruled the world we'd all be in a better place. And yes, Garron you are delicious.

In Like a Lamb

 

Thanks to the warm weather we're having, everything is popping up out there but for the most part it all looks pretty bad. The super cold temperatures that lasted for weeks took their toll. The daffodils look the healthiest at the moment but even they look a bit sad.

A patch of crocus down by the bay seem like they weathered the winter unscathed. Mine aren't showing much promise. What's come up is spindly and sparse.

Since these might be the only flowers I have this spring, I've decided to let my Valentine's project stay in rotation a little longer. Those flowers are a lot of fun to work on. 

 

Like a Hole in the Head....

 

That's how much I need more yarn but look what showed up yesterday. I can't praise this company highly enough in terms of their delivery speed. It's always here in a flash.

So what got me all hot and bothered? New colorways. I couldn't resist after seeing the YouTube short they put out showing them off. 

These two immediately caught my attention. The pink one is so pretty and the landscape pattern would make some nice, non-boring man socks. The socks that are on my needles now are coming off today so these two will NOT go in the stash but right into production as soon as I find the time to cast them on.

Also in the mail was more fabric. I don't need more fabric but I bought this pack of charm squares because I was running out of them for the Color Wash quilt and am too lazy to cut yardage into 1 1/2 inch strips. I love charm squares. I love anything that's already cut up for me. I hate working with big pieces of fabric. Too fiddly. 

And....look what else showed up in the mail this week. One of my soap friends made me this darling little purse and filled it with those tiny Barbie buttons I'm always on the hunt for. 

Look how cute the inside is. It's got all these little compartments. It boggles my mind how something like this is made. Thanks so much M! It is greatly appreciated. 

Friday Fluff

 

How it started. 

How it ended. I loved this fiber braid so much that I swore I wasn't going to ever spin it, just admire it but I did. It's not particularly soft so more than likely it will be next year's Croc Socks, the ones I pull over my regular socks when I don't want cold, wet feet. 

I also retired another stitch marker on the Pi Shawl and am close to retiring another. That will leave eight.

Yesterday's Betty race resulted in two decent loaves but there was a clear winner. A Better Betty.

Betty White was the best when it came to looks, texture and taste. Oh, dear. Now I have a hard decision. Do I abandon Brown Betty, my first born, and only keep Betty White (who is still a bit unreliable tbh)? Do I tinker with Brown Betty? Decisions, decisions. 

All By Myself

 

I was doing a happy dance when I learned earlier in the week that The Mister had a lunch date with his old work buddies yesterday. That means time alone for ME. I have a room full of half baked projects and was in need of a good putter around in the quiet. 

So of course I woke up with a headache. I struggled through this and that but didn't get much done. A few blocks on the Color Wash top and the next Dear Jane sorted out. E 5 is done but it's nothing to brag about. That center applique is pitiful. 

I put the last border rows on the punch needle coaster and finished up the leaves on the vegetables. 

Aren't they cute? I want to pet them. 

I did some knit planning. I dug out the bag of Icelandic wool that Daughter had brought me back from her pre-pandemic trip there. If I want a pair of warm mittens for next winter, this is the stuff they should be made of. 

The daily Betty experiment was a bread dough race. Brown Betty and Betty White were almost neck and neck today. That's a good thing. Betty White is getting stronger. The doughs themselves-not so much. Those high hydration recipes will be the end of me. It's like trying to wrestle jello. 

Wednesday WIPs: Going Straight

 

I knit so much during the Olympics that I don't have much interest in it right now but I have been trying to get a few rows finished on the Glennis Cowl and the Hue Shift thing every day. Both got taken off of their circulars and put on straight needles recently. I haven't used my straight needle sets in ages but these two projects work much better on them.

I love my shiny new Options set but those sharp points hurt my fingers with some projects so wood it is for now.

The socks I'm working on don't look much different and neither does the ski sweater but I have put a few doodles on the Doodle Cowl. I'm going to try to get one pattern block a month finished and when the holidays roll around and I'm tempted to start another stocking that I don't need or have room for, I'll pick up this instead. Sounds like a plan.