Diamonds and Dogwood

I've been on a roll this last week. I bought the PVC pipe and joinings to make my own home made knitty noddy, I've dyed some light weight sock yarn, done some color tests on other yarn and been working hard on a few knitting projects.

I got stalled on my 10 stitch blanket because I bought all the yarn from my yarn shop and they had no more and had to order more.  That should be in on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. I am looking forward to getting back to work on it.

My knitty noddy was fun to make. My son helped me out by holding the pipe while I used a hacksaw to cut the lengths I wanted. I realize after I made it that I should have bought the 1/2 inch pipe and not the 3/4 inch, but it will work all the same. I put the yarn back on the noddy to ball it. Next on my list of things to make at home is a lazy susan ball winder. I just need to save up enough to buy the parts I need.

I dyed the yarn for a bookmark for my sons teacher for an end of the year gift. I used Wilton frosting dye and sea salt for the mordant on it. I picked the colors to try and create a fade from pink to yellow. It is of course WAY MORE than I need for a bookmark, so I am trying to think of what else to make with it. It is too thin for hexipuffs, maybe more lace or some baby socks.

I don't like how the bookmark came out, so I will probably make a new one.



I started a shawl just because I have always wanted a super pretty one to have. I found a pattern that didn't look too hard for a first one. It it the Freya shawl from Ravelry. I loved the design with the increases happening throughout so the pattern was circular.

And I found out that a good friend of mine is expecting his second grandson so I am making him a blanket for the little guy. His family is a big fan of baseball and really like the LA Angels. I am doing a nod to baseball diamonds by making a diamond pattern, and then a baseball itself by doing it white and there will be a red stitch around the edge. I hope they like it. I wanted it to be pretty without being OMGBASEBALL.

I am really enjoying dying my own yarn. I think I may want to dye some and see if I can sell it. That might be a good way to bring in a little bit of extra money for some fun things. I will start small. They have some nice superwash wool at my yarn shop for a good price, I will buy three of them and dye them in a few popular colors and see if I can sell it on Etsy. If they sell, I will use that money to buy three more and go from there!

I wonder what colors I should start with. I am inspired by spring. I have a vision of a light green fading to a medium green, then a white space, a gentle pink fading out into white again. I was watching the dogwood flowers bloom and they just felt like the whole reason why spring even existed this year for me.

Starting the Garden

Finally the worst of the storms have come to an end here in the great Pacific Northwest. Spring is in full swing here and heading into summer.

I decided to try to make a new seed starting tray this year. I saw something online about using old toilet paper tubes cut in half, so I saved all of ours through the winter. Ended up only using a few because I am not going to make a big garden this year.

We had a little downpour expose the seeds, I need to put more dirt over them.

I am lacking the funds to put in raised beds, so we are just doing containers this year. I bought 8 tubs from a store and while 7 of them ended up in the yard, one of them ended up in my living room filled with yarn. Hmmmm.... I wonder if I can grow yarn!

I am keeping it small and going to try sharing space. This coming weekend I am buying tomatoes from the tomato guy at our local farmers market. He has all kinds of fun types. I started green beans, cucumber and yellow squash. I put my carrot seeds in a container and once the tomatoes are in I am going to put in lettuce to share the space with them.

I am super excited for the growing season. My apple trees are already making little tiny furry green apples, my cherry trees might actually give me a few cherries this year and my pear tree is once again infected with rust. Which  makes me sad and I am thinking I may need to tear it out and put something else in. I do not want to spray it with all the toxic chemicals needed to kill off that fungus, but the rust gets so bad it eats all the baby pears.

Blueberry blossoms

Cherries

 There is a robin nesting right outside my bedroom window, my friend wants to turn my rhubarb into jam, the kids have been enjoying the sunshine and I am glad to be getting outside. Finally.

We got out the dehydrator and did bananas and apples for snacks, but they didn't last long. The kids ate them all up in 2 days!!!!! I will have to make more.

 
And we emptied out our rock tumbler and then loaded it up with some new stones. I am just tumbling the ones that came with the rock tumbler. I think the kiddos will enjoy having them to look at.

My grandma is doing well, her physical therapy is progressing and she is working hard to get back to being able to walk. I am working on a gift for her that I finished the main part of but still have the details to work on. Glad to know that she is on the mend though.

Got to meet with Liam's teacher at his school and talk to her about his progress and what we need to work on over the summer. I am excited to hear how well he is doing in school and how far he has come since September. I will be glad though to have a few months off where I do not have to get him dressed and out the door every morning!

Yay for SUMMER!