Spring is Springing!

Sorry for such a long hiatus, but I have been knitting, just so you know. Where I am, spring is springing. I don't know if it has completely sprung yet, but it is definitely getting there. I have finished several projects, and have started a garden out on the solarium so that the baby plants can grow before it is totally warm/hot outside. I planted oregano and cilantro in a strawberry planter.

Then I planted some broccoli and Asian peas in a disassembled three tier planter, and they are sitting on the ground.

And finally, from top left, there is asparagus, onions, and green beans. Then on the bottom left, or front left there is zucchini, sweet peppers, and spinach.

I'm so excited to have fresh veggies to eat this summer. I know that my garden is small, but I am really only feeding me, so I didn't want to have just a ton of food for it to go bad. So that's my garden. Anticipate garden updates as well as knitting updates in the future! 

I finished a preemie blanket for the Children's Mercy Hospital, where the preemie babies are generally taken care of here in Kansas City. So making blankets for sick babies will definitely be a thing for me in the future. I like them, since they are small enough to knit and not get bored or frustrated with, and I can try out different stitch patterns on them. I have plans for others in my head. This one is the kind of basket weave pattern with the slipped stitches that they do on washcloths a lot. I'm not sure who "they" are, but I think you know what I mean. The yarn was worsted weight Caron Simply Soft in lavender, and a Red Heart Super Saver Multi-Color. I knit it on US Size 7 needles, and it knit up in about 4 days of working off and on. I took it up to the LYS, which is the drop-off point, and they said that it needed to be blocked just a bit, so I will be blocking it and then turning it back in. 

Then I made a blanket for the Make-A-Blanket Day Project Linus competition. At the last Make-A-Blanket Day six months ago they gave the knitters and crocheters a skein of Red Heart Super Saver in Cherry Red and told us to make a blanket with it, so this is just from stash donations that I have, and it is based on the quilt block of Dutchman's Puzzle. It is all ready to go and be entered into the competition this Saturday. I'm really excited to go and see everybody and make another blanket!

And then I have three shawl/scarf type items done. These are all going to my mom, well, at least the first two are. I think that the last one may go into the shop, which I need to do another update, but I have been thinking, that most of my items are for fall/winter, so I might wait until it is closer to that season until I post other things. The first one is a Nairi by Amanda Muscha. It was made from Malabrigo Rios, but I am unsure of the colorway, since it was from stash. The pattern calls for fingering weight, but I did it with the worsted weight on a US Size 9 needle. The ladies at the LYS thought that I am a tight knitter and I should have used an even larger needle, but I like how it turned out. I liked the pattern and I thought that it knit up well. 

And then I finished a Curl from the book Curls by Hunter Hammersen. This one is the Gridelin. And I made it out of fingering weight yarn, named Army Girl by Pagewood Farms. I've shown this one as it was in progress, but it was a blast to work on, and I've started another pattern from the same book. 

And finally I used the picot edge from the Nairi and just improvised a triangle scarf, with a skein of worsted weight wool that I dyed myself. I really like how it turned out. I'm not sure if I'm going to give this one to my mom, or if I'm going to post it to the shop. 

In final news, I have an Instagram account! I'm spinningknitting1 on there too! So follow me, and I'll try to do mostly daily updates of my knitting on there.