Piecework

Last week I joined the sewing circle at my church.  I spent a morning pinning quilts together and listening to the older ladies talking about the delights of JELL-O, among other things.  Two of us worked on pinning quilts while a group tied squares in the dining room.  I took home a stack of squares to piece together as homework.  

Sowing Seeds

Kale, Snow Peas, and Lettuce...

Herbs...

Strawberries...

Chard, Green Onion...

Wildflowers...

In Pursuit of Spring

Despite the ground hog's warning of six more weeks of winter, we've already begun our apartment's spring cleaning.  We plan to go through every box on every shelf in every closet.  I'm sorting every piece of fabric, every skein of yarn, and every half begun project.  Needless to say, the apartment looks like a disaster.  There are piles of storage boxes, recycling, and donations all over the place.  The only thing keeping me sane as I look around the room is the bunch of purple tulips in my new vase from IKEA...

The Socks on my Feet

Last August, I bought a beautiful skein of yarn from Button & Needlework in Victoria.  Alas, I only bought one skein - not enough for socks to fit my size 12 feet.  I found the same brand of yarn (Shibui) at the Seattle Yarn Gallery, and this time I bought 2 skeins.

When Grandma passed away the socks were put on hold.  It was the last project I started with her; and it was hard to think about working on them without being able to share my progress with her.  But I knew she wouldn't be happy with an unfinished project just sitting there.  So a couple weeks ago, I got it out and started knitting again.  Last night, I cast off the second sock.  And today I get to wear fun socks from my own knitting needles!  I think Grandma would approve.

(I used a DROPS pattern for ankle socks.)

A New Year in the Rooftop Garden

Right now things are looking rather bleak and miserable up on the rooftop.  The snow is gone and what's left isn't pretty.  Admittedly, I haven't thought much about my garden since September--and it shows.  But it's a new year, a new beginning, and time for imagining what's possible in the spring and summer ahead.  I'm reading Seattle Tilth's The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide and re-reading The Bountiful Container by McGee & Stuckey; and I've just decided what to order from Lettuce Link's seed fundraiser.  Now if I could figure out an easy way to get a dozen bags of soil and compost up six flights of stairs...