Out of blogging hibernation

It's been quite a while since I have made a post. I have lots of knitting projects and ideas to catch up on that's for sure. Time does really pass quite quickly, whether we like it or not! I have taken lots of pictures but now when I look at them I realize they were taken in wintertime. My projects do seem to follow the seasons quite a bit. I have lots of sweaters I want to knit but now is not the time.I will be more inclined to knit those come September. This time of year I am drawn to bright happy knits!

I knit this cutest little baby sweater for a young friend who is having a baby. No I am not a grandma just yet! When a long time knitter as myself hears a baby is coming and the mom loves handknits and is learning to knit herself, well it is pure cr*ck. Baby knits are so much fun. They are small and can be fairly quick to knit. Baby patterns are so cute and adorable and there are so many lovely yarns to choose from. As I remember we had  Beehive 3 and 4 ply wools and Beehive Astra to choose from when my kids were little. Pastels ruled the day, there was a pale bink, pale blue, yellow, minty green and white. It sure is nice to be able to choose lots of different colours now.I have saved some of my mom's baby knits books from the forties,fifties and sixties. They are really nice to look through. Most of the garments are knit with very fine yarn, you sure dont see 3ply yarn very often anymore. I guess you could use a heavy laceweight or a light fingering as a substitute. I think a sock or fingering weightt could be substituted for a 4ply

 This lovely little sweater is Baby Tea Leaves. It is knit with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in an orchid colour. Not only is this one of my favourite colours it is also a favourite of the mom to be. Double bonus. I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn. It has a super tight twist and the stitch definition is great. It is not splitty and the colour palette is lovely including some beautiful bright jewel tones. If my memory serves me correctly her palette has been more subdued and had included more subtle muddy colours in the past. I love the ruching on the sweater! Adorable!

Ox Eye Daisies and Hansa Rugosa Roses in my backyard, if you squint it doesn't look too bad!

Gardening has been rather late this year, actually just started this weekend. As I was out I was approached by two sets of neighbours. Both sets inquired if I was ok as no one had seen me in awhile and my front garden sure looked weedy. Ouchies!! Talk about a Tough Crowd! I assured them I was still alive there were no new garden beds in the backyard or mysterious smells. My garden style is a semi organized chaos but I guess it was a little too chaotic! My front garden is really for the benefit of the neighbours as I really only see it coming and going from the house. I am the only one with a big front garden in our cul de sac so the pressure is on! I haven't been able to do any gardening for the last few years and there sure is a lot to do. I spent the weekend pulling out lots of weeds and garden bullies (with a head cold, dear neighbours!). Some plants just take over. I lost several long established perennials and rose bushes over the winter. I wondered about that as we really had a pretty easy winter. It was very dry and not much snow cover so I am wondering if that was the problem.Hmmm. Oh well. We went to the Greenery a few days ago and I bought a few plants.Seems like another trip is in order. Hooray!!

I have a lot of  assistance from Archie too.It can be challenging gardening with a terrier. Oh are we digging? I can dig too? Lots. just watch me go! He also goes bonkers anytime a hose or a sprinkler is used. Don't know how this is going to work out. He sure does make us laugh. It is our daughters dog and he is her baby but he has lived with us for a lot of his two years.

Having some issues with my margins, so excuse my untidy paragraphs.Time to go soak in a hot bath and get some sleep. Apparently garden work is in order! Happy knitting friends.  Chris