Gardening Warrior Basket (with Voodoo Rabbit!)

Gardening Warrior Basket

This is a gift basket for a man who is an enthusiastic gardener.   He also has a never ending battle over that garden with rabbits.  It's going to accompany a gift card, and I had a lot of ideas for something cute and kind of funny, so I was elected.  I thought it turned out so cute that I had share.  I hope you think it's cute too.

It includes:

Garden-themed Potholder

Carrot-shaped Candy Bags

Potting Soil

Rabbit-shaped Candy Peeps

Rabbit Voodoo Doll

      and....

Ammo, in case Voodoo doesn't work.

Squirrel Fluff & Phone Update

It's been quite the day. As per my last post, my phone was immersed this morning, dried out and apparently it's now as good as new, albeit with a cleaner screen. Needless to say, I do NOT recommend this method of screen cleaning. So now, a post from my newly dried and useable phone. This picture is the end of a long story. I looked out the window this afternoon and laughed. That squirrels nest in the tree, probably 40' in the air, has a rather fanciful topknot of polyester batting. Originally I saw this batting at about eye level in the corner of my fence in some dried vines I was going to remove. It didn't look like much until I started pulling it out, but believe me there's more there than you'd think they could stuff into a place that small. I realized it was some kind of a nest and got a little nervous about what I might find. I had gloves on, so it was okay. Well, I found one squirrel sleeping, seemingly pretty good sized. I stuffed him and the fluff back where I found him. After that, apparently, the nest builder decided it would be safer to be out of my reach, and moved it to the nest in the tree. Somehow I don't think I'll be climbing the neighbor's tree to remove it again. The really strange thing is that when I first found it, I couldn't figure out where they had found all the nice, clean white fluff. I gave them credit for good instincts though. The next day I figured out their source. I have a very faded outdoor swing I was planning to recover. Well, I now have a reason to get to it quickly. The squirrels jumpstarted my project for me. Who knew they were un-upholsterers?

Shoes and Flowers

It seems that spring is early everywhere this year, and everything is blooming early as well. The wisteria is just gorgeous this year, and I got a photo of the smaller display on the top deck (3rd story). This was when it was just beginning to really show. It's almost done now.

From Drop Box

I could not resist showing you these great shoes. Just what I need. Not really, but they do intrigue me. They remind me of the pair of shoes Kenneth King almost couldn't get through airport security. He had glued his spikes on. These are done for you.

From Drop Box

Spring, and a Turkey Has Come

From 2011-04

It was nice in Chicago, especially on Sunday, but it's absolutely perfect Spring weather here in Lincoln. The forsythia had begun when I left, and there were crocuses, grape hyacinth, and other early bulbs blooming. Now everything is just pushing out, including the wisteria. Its buds are approaching 2" long, and have a ways to go before they'll bloom, but things are looking up. Spring is always so cheerful and hopeful. And then there's this turkey.

I saw the turkey once before I left, and now she's still hanging around. The photo is taken off the top deck, and the turkey is actually in the neighbor's yard. It seems perfectly calm and has apparently adopted the area as a safe place to forage. I'm wondering if there isn't a nest somewhere around close. It's fun to see it, no matter why it's here.

More Spring Flowers.

From 2011-04

This little stone bunny was my Mother's, and I think he looks quite serious guarding the daffodils.

From 2011-04

Helleborus Orientalis - Lenten Rose is just about done for the season. It's finally beginning to spread out a little, which is nice. It's a beautiful plant, and always blooms for me during Lent, as it supposed to.

From 2011-04

I planted some ferns a few years ago on the North side of the fence on the East side of the house, so lots of shade. They lived, but didn't particularly thrive. Until this year. Suddenly I have ferns coming up on both sides of the fence, and multiple times as many as originally were planted. I was so thrilled when I discovered them yesterday.

From 2011-04

View of the back from the patio. Note antique horse weather vane/lightning rod.

From 2011-04

Wider view of the back.

I spent a few hours in the afternoon yesterday cleaning the flowerbeds up, and got a lot done, but I still have a ways to go. It's nice work, though.

Palm Trees & Papyrus

This was the view as I looked up from a bench near the ocean in Laguna Beach. It was so perfect, I had to take a photo to share.

We went to the Sherman Library and Gardens yesterday for lunch, and of course to wander in the perfectly appointed gardens.
This is their Central Garden Fountain. The Sherman is truly a tiny gem, and it's one of my favorite places out here.
They have the most darling little pond with the figure of an otter which holds a shower nozzle. There are two turtles sunning themselves on rocks below it, and you can see Lisa (or some of her) leaning over on the right. (She said she didn't want to see her face in my posted photos, and as her obedient sister, of course I would never do that.) I think the moral here is "be careful what you ask for". It is a nice photo in general though, and I have always loved the papyrus in the center of the pond. There are not koi in this pond, but they do have huge specimens in another larger pond in one of their greenhouses. The roses had all just been pruned, and so weren't blooming yet, but the orchids are at what seemed to me to be their height.

Here's me at the Gardens.


Later on, we hit the hot tub, which was fantastic for really relaxing, and unwinding after a day of being a tourist.

Decisions, Decisions

I got my skirt muslin altered satisfactorily, I think, and I'm going to test it in muslin one more time, but now I'm thinking about what I'm going to use for underlining for this skirt. I'm seriously thinking about using muslin, and I'm wondering if this would be a huge mistake.

The skirt fabric itself is slightly stiff, and has plenty of body. The underlining is going to provide a nicer 'bend' to the fabric when it needs it. I don't think organza is indicated at all. The skirt will have to be lined with such a non-slip underlining, but I would almost certainly have lined it anyway, so that is neither here nor there. It's no more non-slip than batiste would be, and that would be another choice. Do I need to get actual batiste, or could this be an acceptable substitute. This is a fairly thin muslin, and is a nice smooth fabric, much like sheeting, and since the entire skirt is on the bias with only the one seam, it needs to be something fairly light that can be supported mostly from the waistband alone.

I will try to post something soon on the elastic and findings dyeing I've been doing. Those who asked whether the general sewing of the things is time consuming will be glad to know that the answer is no. The panties especially are very fast, and the bras go surprisingly quickly as well.

I brought a book home from my mother's yesterday. I remember it always being in our home, and although it's promised to my sister, I brought it home to read and look through again. It's Encyclopedia of Needlework by Therese de Dillmont, published by DMC. There's no copyright date on it, but the British Library says 1907. It's just the size to put in a workbag, being about 3"x5" and almost 2" thick. Looking it over last night, I think I may have to get a reprint for myself. It has everything from plain sewing to needle and bobbin lace, tapestry, knitting, netting, just anything to do with needlework. I was very surprised to find separate instructions for handsewing buttonholes in linen and in dress materials. I like vintage sewing books, and I have a special feeling for this one.

Here's the first waterlily of the season. I was very surprised to see it as I hadn't even noticed the bud, and suddenly there was a beautiful flower.

Jeans Again, Finally

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I've been without any jeans for quite a while now, and I've been meaning to make another pair, but just wasn't getting to it. Finally, I cut them out and sewed them up, and I don't know why I waited. They're just what I need for what I call 'wearing around', which is my main wardrobe need right now. With the gardening season truly upon us, I think these are just in time. Here's a side view.

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Nothing new, special or fancy about these. It's my usual Burda TNT pattern and I think it's actually the same denim I used in the last pair I made about 2 years ago. I bought a whole bunch of denim several years ago and used a lot of it for tractor seat covers, car seat protectors, and anything I needed a big piece of heavy fabric for. I have enough left for probably one more pair of pants, and that's about it. Unlike the last pair, I didn't put on back pockets (I don't think I ever used those pockets anyway) and I didn't do any interesting topstitching on these, where on the last pair I used variegated thread and had a good time doing it. This time I just wanted pants to wear, in a hurry. I did do my usual size zipper, with a pocket stay and side pockets on both sides.

Besides the jeans, I'm participating in Sigrid's Lingerie Sew Along, and I've made another couple pairs of panties. These are truly getting addictive.

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These are a plaid mesh knit that I've had on hand for several years, and some stretch lace from my FabricDepot collection.

Finally, here's a photo of my garden that I took yesterday.
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Knitting for Others

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Our neighbors will soon have a new baby girl, and I am very pleased to have finished this little sweater before she arrives. It has been a long time since I did any baby knitting, and it was fun. Talk about instant gratification. This pattern is the Seamless Yoked Baby Sweater by Carole Barenys. I saw this on Ravelry, and I really liked one version with ruffled edges, so I did that too. I used an easy-care acrylic yarn, Red Heart Ltd. Baby Econo in Sweet Dreams. The buttons are from my stash. I have LOTS of pink buttons.

I've also been working on my nephew's Xmas sweater, the Drops Cabled Pullover 59-6. I wondered how fast the pattern stitches would come back to me since I made 2 of these in 2007. Well, pretty fast. It's not really a complex pattern anyway, but it's nice to be able to do a few rows without looking at the pattern. Here's my progress so far.


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I've been busy getting a new computer up and going, and it's finally about the way I want it. I still have some basic things to work out and programs to add, but it's definitely usable. The biggest headache so far was getting hooked onto our new wireless network. My brother finally suggested that I call the router company, and they got me going pretty quickly. Not sure what was wrong, and their explanation of what was wrong and what they did do not seem to "compute" to me, but whatever. I'm just happy it's running. It's fun to have a laptop. Now all I need to do is get everything transferred to this computer, give him his loaner back, get our old desktop repaired and running, and I'll be all set. It's no longer an urgent project at this point, so that helps.

I ended up doing an emergency pond cleaning tonight. One of the ponds had a filter that got out of whack tonight right when I was ready to start dinner so I could go to Sewing Guild. I ran out and quickly re-did it all, added bacteria, and crossed my fingers that it would be cleared up tomorrow or so. The only good thing about having it happen tonight is that it was warm, about 60, and anytime I have emergency pond work when it's above freezing and the sun is still up, it's a plus. Pond emergencies don't happen often, but they always seem like a big deal. I do think the ponds and the lovely fish and all the birds and wildlife they attract throughout the year are worth all the work, and really, once they're up and running, they're pretty self-regulating for the most part.

Oh, and my Marfy patterns came last week! Excitement. Now I need to make a plan.

Fisher Skirt

Link to All Photos

I finished Onion's Fisher Skirt, and while I like it, I don't think it's by any means my best style. It's interesting, fun to wear and terribly comfortable. It's somewhat ungainly at the top where the flange folds over the tied belt, and I cannot for the life of me figure out something flattering to wear as a top with it. I think I'm too rounded for this style. I tried belting it at the hip rather than the waist, and I didn't care for it. I'm not sure this will see the light of day very often, but it was fun to make. I keep thinking it would be a great gardening skirt...



I used a fabric which purports to be wool, and may even be wool or partially wool. I love the interesting texture, but as I noted previously, it wasn't going to show the seaming without emphasis, and that's what the topstitching is meant to provide.


Click here for a better view of the stitching.

I've been working on Alex's Drops Cabled Sweater some and am up to about 2" of ribbing so far. Another 3/4" and I can begin on the pattern stitches. But, I am going to quit for a bit and work on a baby sweater which needs to be done sometime in April. Not by the first, I hope.


I'll finish with the first crocus of the year. I saw them a couple days ago, but never remembered to take the camera out and take a picture. Aren't they cheery?

Silliness

Something struck me really funny the other day, and I can't get it out of my mind, so as a friend says, Good Morning, Victims.

We were watching the business channel the other day, as we often do, and I happened to notice the name of a company going across in the trade listings that I'd never seen before.

It was called .................. Intrepid Potash.

I immediately wondered how potash could be intrepid?  Also, if there was intrepid potash, there must be timid potash as well.  

I can just see the Intrepid Little Potash in it's brave pile, wearing a Robin Hood hat, with a jaunty feather of course. "Go forth, Intrepid Potash! Spread yourself far and wide upon the land." It all reminds me of The Brave Little Toaster, a darling cartoon. It was pretty silly too, but darling. Surely. the Brave Little Toaster would have been friends with The Intrepid Potash.

Finally, here's a sweet pea that's blooming now, and I thought it looked so much like an orchid.

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It's a very carefree flower, but it does tend to take over if given the chance.

Hollyhock Ladies (Now with Instructions)

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I don't know how many of you grew up making Hollyhock Ladies, but we certainly did. My sister and my cousins and I used to plunder my grandmother's hollyhocks to make hollyhock ladies. We'd play with them like dolls, and have Hollyhock Weddings with various bridal color schemes. My grandmother was pretty calm about the whole thing, although she thought one day of this was enough each year, and it probably was.

I've been thinking that I should make a couple and post them just for fun, and I mentioned it to a friend yesterday morning, and she was all excited about them too. So Judy, this is for you!

I still think they're quite charming. I put them on a bird table to take the photos, and below you can see them moving along in serene elegance to the Hollyhock Ball.



Amy made me realize that I didn't give instructions for making these. It's very simple, you just take a toothpick and put it through the center (or near it) of an open flower. Push it through far enough that you can attach the "head", a bud showing some color. How much color it's showing affects the look of your lady. Generally, matching flower and bud colors seem to look best. The angle of the bud gives your lady her personality. You may have to break off some of the toothpick at the bottom to make her stand up straight. That's it. Simple enough for a child to do.

After I took the pictures, I gave them to my little neighbor Harley. She's just the age for them, and I was a little sad to hear that neither she nor her mother had ever heard of hollyhock ladies. Well, now they know.

Here's the main hollyhock bed. The colors are just great this year, and they self-sow all over. I generally let them grow where they come up because they're just so beautiful. In another spot, I have a few that are deeper purple to almost black-purple. Obviously they would make more sophisticated ladies.

The color combinations just make me happy to look at them. The photo link under the first picture will take you to all of these.

On a sewing note, my cashmere fabric came today! I am excited, and somewhat intimidated, but it's absolutely as gorgeous as I'd hoped, and maybe even better. A beautiful, subtle color combination and a wonderful feel.

I've been working on the Marfy 1234 jacket and am ready to go on a button hunt. I need fairly large buttons, as they are the focal point of the jacket and without them, it looks rather sad. I have some lovely vintage green-aqua buttons that would be great, but I need 2 sizes and I only have one. They give me a real idea of what to look for though.

Back Again with Gloves

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Well, here I am again, and I'm so sorry not to have kept things up to date. I can only blame myself. I have been having a little pity party here and I think I've finally decided to just move along and do what I can. I'm still unable to get to my sewing room, and I am apparently more a creature of habit and familiar surroundings than I had thought. I find myself feeling that I can't do anything until I get to the "right place" to do it. Very silly and very limiting, but innate it seems.

The wisteria has bloomed beautifully. I was so disgusted with the birds who ate about half the buds before they ever came near to opening, and as you can see below, it was a nice show, but nothing like it should have been. This was actually several days ago, and by now it's rained and the wind has blown, and the flowers are looking rather faded besides which the leaves have definitely come forth. There will be flowers throughout the season, but the first bloom, before the vine leafs out completely is always the biggest and best show.


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Back to sewing. I'm still working, slowly, on my draped knit dress, and I am pretty happy with it so far. I don't have any photos yet, but I will remedy that soon I hope. I'm still sewing it all by hand, and it's slow going, yet I am enjoying it. I'm to the point of sewing the sleeve seams, which are at the top of the arm, continuing from the shoulder seams. I haven't cut off the extra sleeve length yet, and so have my options open. I think it's going to end up being long sleeves, and then I can push them up to 3/4 if I like, which I usually do.

I had a sudden flash the other night. I was considering what handwork I should be doing, besides the knitting that's coming along well, and I suddenly recalled the glove pattern from EvaDress that I got quite recently. It's meant to be hand-sewn, with 1/8" seam allowances. What could be more perfect for my present situation? I began to read the instructions, and noted that there are many, many markings that must be transferred accurately to the fabric, and that some of the cutting is done only after completing part of the stitching. This is to control ravelling. It also said that the original pattern was actually a hot iron transfer. I thought this sounded like just the ticket, and googled around until I found that Sulky makes hot iron transfer pens. I ordered from Joggles very late on Monday and received my order today! 3 day delivery is nothing to sneeze at. Here's my loot.
Photo Link Of course I couldn't stop at just the transfer pens. I got a brown and a white. (I had wanted yellow, but it wasn't available.) I also ordered some Iris pins, some milliner's needles for the Rucci 'worms', and a yard of heavyweight buckram to test for a few things I have in the back of my mind.

I am thinking of trying a knit fabric for my first pair of gloves (said with great confidence!) since jersey is one of the recommended fabrics, along with several woven fabrics. I think dispensing with the ravelling problem while trying the pattern might be helpful. The pattern notes that these are Dressmaker Gloves, and are meant to fit rather loosely. It should be interesting. I have a pair of vintage gloves in a transparent fabric that remind me of these, and they are a little loose fitting, so perhaps that's what they are too.

Good Things Come....

...to those who wait. For the mailman and the UPS driver, apparently. Yes, it's another episode of Sewing By Mail. I was very pleased to get not one, not two, but 3 sewing publications in the mail this morning, and this afternoon a box appeared on the porch from FabricMart! What more could a girl hope for? Time to sew, perhaps.

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Clockwise from Lower Left, the fabrics and my tentative plans for them:

Cotton knit with fish print - summer tank.
Pink iridescent knit-back vinyl - rain jacket.
Turquoise and Gray-Lavender silk - bazaar scarves.
Rose print light cotton poplin - dress?

Burda WOF May 2008
Piecework May 2008
FSG Newsletter May/June 2008

I haven't even had time to do more than read through the newsletter, but I hope to take a good look at the magazines tonight.

And finally, heralding the actual arrival of Spring, the first wisteria raceme of the year is beginning to bloom.

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I've been waiting anxiously for the wisteria to bloom this spring. Last year the buds got caught in a late freeze before they could open and with the wild swings of temperature we've had this year, I was afraid it would happen again. So far, so good, except the sparrows and cardinals have decided that the buds are their favorite thing. I wondered what they were doing when I saw them working at them, but hoped they were getting ants or something, but no, they grab a bud and rip it off and eat it! The cardinal I can almost put up with doing this, but the sparrows can eat something else. There seem to be a lot of flowers left though, so I am still hoping for a large bloom. This is the first raceme to open so far. It's been way ahead from the early stages although I can't imagine why. It is probably the furthest southwest of all the flowers. Somehow I doubt that's it.

Sewing By Mail?

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This isn't sewing by mail, it's real sewing, but it's been all I could do lately to get this little bow made. I think it's quite darling, and it's the finishing detail on my 2-piece floral dress, so now if I can get it attached and finish up a little hand stitching, I will finally be done with the whole thing. I'm still unable to spend any appreciable time in my sewing room, so this is quite the achievement.

Now, on to Sewing by Mail. As many people have noticed, when we are prevented from pursuing the creative process itself, we have to do something, and many of us seem to get a little satisfaction from planning future projects. Of course, that planning seems to move right into gathering items to complete those projects. The computer and the credit card are handy tools for this process, and of course, things show up in the mail, or at least are delivered similarly to the mail soon thereafter. That's been my recent modus operandi. Today was a banner day for the mailman.


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I finally broke down and ordered the Iris Apfel book, and am I glad I did! I've only dipped into it for a short time this morning, and I can't wait to get back to it. What a great story besides the great photos. Very inspiring.

And, my KnitPicks order came. I got the nickel-plated modular needles for Christmas and thought I needed a few more cable sizes as well as needle markers, a few circulars in sizes smaller than the set has, and a set of their colorful laminated double-points that are in the foreground above. So, no excuse for not knitting now.

I've been knitting away, but not very quickly on the cropped cardigan with the textured stitch pattern, and it's very slow going. I decided to add darts in the front, so that's another element. I'm on the left front and am making careful notes so I can duplicate the shaping on the right.

It's raining here now, but when I took these photos on Wednesday, it was sunny. These are the first tulips of the year for me. They're species tulips.


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The grape hyacinth below are so darling, and so easy to grow. They multiply extravagantly over the years, and I have them naturalized into the grass under trees where it's thin anyway, and it's such fun to see them popping up in the spring. This works if you mow the lawn yourself, or have a cooperative mower, since you need to let the leaves (grasslike) grow for a while before you cut them off. So there are a few taller spots in the grass for a while. It doesn't bother me, but if you need seriously perfect grass, maybe it's not for you.


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Apologies to those who've tried to read this and found that the photos weren't showing up. There's definitely a problem with Blogger photos. I finally uploaded the photos to my Pbase photo site and linked from there. Even now it seems like Blogger is having a hard time with the second photo. It comes, it goes. So, if you want to see it, just hit the Photo Link link under the photo (or under where it's supposed to be) and it will take you to the photo on Pbase where it really will show up. I've been using Picasa albums and Blogger to post some photos lately, and it hasn't really been a problem until now, although I hate the fact that you can't make it so you can click on the photos and a new page will open. With these photos, I can do that, at least with the link. I used to be able to make the whole photo a clickable link, but Blogger has "improved" that out of existence.

Thanks for the heads-up on the photo problem, Rhonda!

Inspiration Welcome

Summer always seems to be a hard time to get a lot of serious sewing done. There are just so many things that need attention right now, and sewing is one of the things that gets put on the back burner for a bit. I'm still getting some knitting done, as I can do it anywhere, while the sewing is much less portable.

Except for the planning and inspiration processes. I'm almost never without a small notepad or notebook, and I love to make lists of planned garments, coordinates, fabrics, etc. The fun just never ends! As an adjunct to this, I am looking at lots of publications for ideas, as well as online sources of course.

I just ordered the new Marfy catalog (Fall 2007/2008) today.

There are supposed to be six free patterns with it this time. The Spring issue had 3 more free patterns than advertised, but I think that was a fluke. I'm kind of excited to know that it will soon be here. I went ahead and ordered it with courier delivery, so it may even be here next week!

I got my new copy of Ornament Magazine yesterday.

I really like this publication. It has a lot of things besides textiles and clothing, but everything is of a very high standard, and one idea does lead to another....

I've also been redoing my closet and finally decided to seriously begin using my former sewing room (an extra bedroom) as a dressing room and closet adjunct. So, with a lot fewer clothes in my main closet, it's much easier to see what I have, what I want to wear, and where it all is. I also ruthlessly weeded things out, much more so than I've ever been able to bring myself to do before, and I'm so pleased with the results. It's definitely a work in progress, and probably always will be, but I'm going to try to keep it up.

I'm happy to say that the wisteria is finally blooming, although certainly not as much as it would have earlier if not for our very late, very hard freeze this spring. Since the vine is fully leafed out, it's also not as dramatic as the earliest bloom usually is, but it's very nice to see it. I've been pruning bushes, weeding the lawn and flowerbeds, and dividing waterlilies and moving them around to various ponds which need more or less shade. I just keep telling myself that it's really good exercise.

And the Wind Blew!

Quite the disaster in the back yard this morning, as I was planning to water flowers and weed a bit. I put up the patio umbrella, as there was no wind, and it was already sunny and getting hot. I went around the house to get more hose and came back in just a couple minutes to find the umbrella had vanished! It was nowhere, and we have a large yard. I didn't see how it could just vanish, but it had. It was a large, heavy umbrella made of wood and canvas with a brass pin to hold it up, rather than a crank system.

I looked up and it was on the garage roof, behind the pergola. As I stared and wondered how I would ever get it down, it came down. Hard. Right in the flower bed, breaking a few of the ribs naturally.

Needless to say, that was the beginning gusts of the wind coming up, and it's been blowing between 35 and 50mph even since. It's also about 90 degrees, so not a very nice day.

I went out after lunch and weeded a bit anyway, and since then I've stayed in and worked on the finishing for my Norah Gaughan shell from her Knitting Nature book. I think I'm going to like it.

Oh, one other weird occurrence. I dyed my feet red Sunday night.

Not on purpose. I was cleaning a pond, which is a wet job, so I put on a pair of cheapie slip-on canvas shoes which I'd never worn, as they're a bit small, but water wouldn't hurt them. Or so I thought. When I was done, I went in the basement door and started to take off my grubbies, and took off the shoes, which were completely saturated, and there was a perfect pattern of where they had been in bright, cherry red! I was horrified! The first thing I thought was that I wouldn't be able to wear sandals or even open-toed shoes to the luncheon on Monday. (First things first, of course.) I scrubbed and scrubbed, and they'd look clean and in a moment, they were red again. It was as if the dye was just coming out of me. I finally got it pretty good, and told Pearle if I had some weird allergic reaction, it was the shoes. I had visions of weird, lead-laced dyes, since the shoes were very cheap and probably had no quality control whatsoever. Apparently I'm fine. Just hope it wasn't Red Dye #2.

Life is so exciting, isn't it?

Waterlilies & Terriers

 

I was so thrilled to find 2 waterlilies blooming at the same time in the small waterfall pond that I had to take a photo. I just put the yellow flag iris in with them this spring also, so they must be getting along well. The water seems to be extra clear and nice, which is what lots of plants is supposed to do for you, so it seems to be working.

 

The little dog checking out another pond is a new neighbor. His name is Fox, and he and his brother are now living next door. They're very friendly, extremely sweet, and almost completely silent. Their escape-proof gates are supposed to be here this weekend, but for now, they come visit now and then. We quite enjoy having them, and I put Fox in the back this morning, as he seemed determined to roam the neighborhood, and we are on a very busy street. He was happy here, and his family could open the gate and take him home when it was safe. He's a terrier although I'm not sure exactly what kind. Wire-haired perhaps. His hair is pretty wiry.

I've also been playing with a borrowed Roomba. It's a little round robot vacuum cleaner, and it's quite fun. The cat is not so thrilled however. I'm not sure if I'll get one, but maybe if there's a good sale sometime, I could justify it.

I Have a Wagon!

 

I am the proud owner of a lovely wagon! This is the wagon my mother has used for quite a few years as a substitute for a wheelbarrow in the garden. I always hoped to find one like it, but for the time being, a wheelbarrow was working fine for me. With my shoulder injury last year, the wheelbarrow became difficult if not impossible to handle, and when my mother offered me her wagon, I jumped at it.

It's fairly large, as you can see, and not new, but very well made and pretty well cared for. It's been painted numerous times, and is a deep blue at the moment. It even has a piece of carpeting cut to fit the bed. The cat found it to be the perfect napping spot in very short order.

And since it's Mother's Day today, here's my Mom.

Twisted Flower Sock

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I downloaded one of CookieA's new sock patterns the other day, and began to knit using elann's Esprit sock yarn, which is cotton/elastic, so nice and stretchy, which cotton yarn certainly is not by itself. It's actually a very pale green. I like how the pattern is knitting up, and the instructions are extremely complete, giving you charts for the leg, heel (which is also decorative) and the top of the foot. No excuses for mistakes, I guess.


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I also managed to snag a photo of my frog! I'm so thrilled to have a real frog hanging around the garden and the ponds. He likes to sun himself on the pond heater, so I'm a little loathe to take it out, even though I think the cold weather is well and truly gone. Right after I took this picture, I tried to move in for a little closer one, and he dove off the heater and swam away very quickly. Shy, that's my frog.