Finally Finished

I finally finally finally finished these socks. I started them so long ago, that I can’t even remember when I started them. I am loving the way they came out and can’t wait for the return of cooler weather so that I can wear them.

Speaking of weather, it is starting to heat up around here. I know that the mid 80s isn’t actually hot, I know that people in the desert would scoff to hear me whine about the heat, but this humidity business is awful. My hair is frizzed out like a mad woman and it is just sticky. I blast my AC and then freeze inside my house. As the kids say, I must be cray cray.

I have been knitting away on my Vodka Lemonade sweater. I have my stitches saved for the sleeves and am working on the body. I love this yarn and the color, I can’t wait to get this one done. The yarn is a blend of cotton, rayon, alpaca and wool. I am really hoping that I can wear it in the spring and summer without overheating. I wish I could knit faster, I am having a serious case of “castonitis” right now and want to knit all of the things.

I am also working on these Hermione’s Everyday Socks. I am calling them my Night Circus socks because the colors of the yarn remind me of the Night Circus, a book by Erin Morgenstern, that I read a couple of months ago. It is not my typical genre, no one was bludgeoned to death in the first chapter, but I really enjoyed it. I read as a part of a read-a-long in the BookishStitcher group on Ravelry. It is really fun to get pushed outside of my own 9 dots sometimes.

On the quilting front, I have the top completed for Emily’s wedding quilt. Now I just have to load it onto the frame and get it quilted. Hopefully the learning curve of a new machine and adjusting the tension don’t take me too long, I have less than 2 weeks before we leave for the wedding – whew, writing that out just made my heart pound, I must hurry!

Here is my updated tracker for StashDash2015, I need to get my little puppy moving!

Adventures in Gardening

After 4 years, we have finally gotten started on the farm garden we wanted to do in the back. As you can see by the aerial shot below, we have quite a bit of back yard to work with.

First up however was the new lemon in the front yard. This is another item that has been on the to do list for years. There used to be a ugly stick in the front that would a get few blue flowers on it sometimes, but now there is the long awaited lemon tree.

I have to say I am very excited about this even though it will take a year or two before we will get lemons.

Next up was to tackle the back. Here is what the north corner of the side yard to the east looked like when we started out

Lots of tumbleweed, branches from trimming in the front and old grass clippings. Now we have the start of 3 raised beds.

The tumbleweeds and branches and dead grass have been cleared away. We also got started on a temporary pathway to the farm garden.

It doesn't look like much yet, but I have big plans. Next weekend I will get my drip system in and fill my boxes with soil and seeds. Also on the short list is fire pit and patio, This one from Pinterest will be my inspiration

On the quilting front, I have made great progress on a new project I will call circle of stars.

The original pattern is by Karen Styles and is called Robin's Nest. Since the mere thought of any kind of bird at all sends chills down my spine, I have renamed my version. The majority of this quilt has been done by hand and I am enjoying the process very much. Not too much to report on the knitting front.

I hope everyone is enjoying spring, wish me luck with my farm garden.