Post #101

Today it was so cold here in south Texas -- I spent most of the day working on projects and photographing some new items (it was surprisingly sunny, despite the cold and wind.)

Here's one of the new items I photographed today in 2 different colors:

They are super-soft cuffs or wristlets. They're perfect year 'round because they give a little extra warmth in the winter, and they also look great as bracelets in spring and summer. I used Spa yarn from Caron -- it's a bamboo blend that feels so nice. They'll be listed this week at The Lavender Lizard. (They can be made longer and in other colors, so if you're interested in a custom order, please leave a comment here or click on Request Item at my shop.

Another project I've been working on is FRINGE, which I dread doing and usually put off until the veeeeeerrrrrrry last minute. I fringed these 3 scarves...

...and I still have 2 more to finish. sigh.

Another project is reworking this blanket. That means pulling out all of the stitches and starting over. It's wider now, plus I added the ivory color, which really balances out the bright variegated yarn. I'm much happier with the result:

I just wish I had started over before I had finished 45 rows. For some reason, it photographs better now too! Bonus!

The Accidental Gardener Strikes Again....

Saw this happy little sign of spring the other day:

The significance? Well, I thought we lost the passionflower that we enjoyed all of last year. It bloomed and bloomed and bloomed some more. It also attracted a mess of butterflies, so we literally had continuing cycles of caterpillars turning into chrysalises (or chrysalides, according to dictionary.com -- who knew?) turning into butterflies. We even took some of the chrysalises to school for our favorite teacher, Mrs. K. (She teaches the children in the gifted program and kept a butterfly house in her room.)

Anyway, we ended up with a pretty harsh winter for South Texas and the passionflower appeared to have suffered the worst for it. But now, it has three little sprouts coming up from the ground! Can't wait to see the blooms and the butterflies again!

No news on the afghan front for now. I did take a break from the three (yes, three!) different blankets that I have in various stages of completion to make something for me -- a top designed by my fave designer (and crochet genius!) Doris Chan in one of my favorite yarns ever -- Spa, an acrylic/bamboo blend.

DS2 took this photo of some stranger posing in my top. Ok, I confess, it's really me, but I think he must have had a dozen cameras pointed in my direction. You know, because one camera adds 10 pounds. Anyway, I love, love, love this top and thank you, Doris, for such a terrific pattern. (The pattern is available free on NaturallyCaron.com)

I'm planning on making a second top in yellow. The only change I'll be making is fewer rows on the body. Because the yarn is so drapey, it turned out longer than I thought it would. I may even get up the courage to make this gorgeous top, another Doris Chan design:

More WIPs and an Update...

It's been a busy, crafty couple of weeks since the boys finished up their school year. They all painted birdhouses for my parents' 51st anniversary, which was on June 15. My parents live about 30 minutes away on 6 1/2 acres of land with tons of trees. We thought the birdhouses would be a great addition to their enjoyment of the property.

From left to right, DS4's barn birdhouse, DS3's double-decker birdhouse, DS2's colorful feeder, and DS1's castle birdhouse. (Truthfully, I painted the barn. DS4 was not interested in painting at all.)

I finished one of the 2 scarves I started last week. It turned out great! I will be listing it soon at The Lavender Lizard.

I was not happy with the way the second one was turning out, so 5 rows into it, I pulled it all apart. The reason: I love love love the yarn (Caron Spa -- a bamboo/microdenier acrylic blend) and the colors are scrumptious:

But the pattern I was making was not taking full advantage of the drapey, silky feel of the yarn. I have new ideas for the yarn though, and I hope to dive into them real soon.

And here's what I'm really, really, really trying to avoid:

The only things missing from this afghan are weaving in the ends (yuk!) and 3 rows of a border. I must force myself to finish this, and I'll probably devote Friday to this dreaded chore. Wish me luck!