"Now my dears,"
said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, "you may go into the fields or down the
lane, but don’t go into Mr. McGregor’s garden: your Father had an accident there;
he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor."
from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix
Potter

A while back, Susan told me that she wanted to design a Bunny sock for me.  When the pattern was finished, I bundled up a skein of yarn and sent it off to a test knitter who had offered to test the pattern, as I was much too busy at the time to work on it.

For whatever reason, the test-knitter never got back to us, so having a little bit of extra time, I thought I would sit down to it again and give the toe up pattern a try.  (I suck at toe up socks)

As I was merrily knitting along on my lettuce colored yarn and VERY happy with how my short rows came out, I started thinking about Spring and gardening….and CARROTS! 

Hmmm….shouldn’t little Peter have carrots to munch on in McGregor’s garden? 

I’m sure you can guess what happened next?  Yep…I fired up the dyepot and in the blink of an eye, Peter is now hiding behind the cabbages in some lettuce and carrot colored yarn, and I am enjoying that little extra bit of color while I am knitting.

I have decided that this will be my April kit :-).  Along with the yarn and pattern will be one of these cute little carrot markers and maybe some lettuce seeds.

So while we still may have 5 foot snow banks in the yard, I am dreaming of my Spring garden with a little help from my friends :-).

Happy Easter from our home to yours!
(More about that yarn in a few days…..)

Do you know
Where you are
On your journey?
Deng Ming~Dao

I know that March is Margene’s favorite month, but March has always been a difficult one for me.

Many years ago, my life was touched with sadness one winter and March is the month that is always hard for me to get through. Finding my blogging mojo has really been a challenge this month as well.

I have a tendency to keep wildly busy during March and this one has been no exception….just ask my ever patient husband….

A few weeks ago, I introduced the beautiful Moroccan Day pattern, designed by Susan of Sunflower Designs, that I am offering on my website.

Today I am going to introduce you to her smaller sister, Magic Carpet Ride.  Is she not beautiful?  Go take a peek at Susan’s page for more pictures…you will not be disappointed.  It is lovely!

I am particularly excited, as I knew that I would not have time right now to attempt the larger stole, but this scarf is just the right size to add to my queue.

Now I know that I may be reminded not to forget my dear Bee, as I have a tendency to get side~tracked (it’s that ADD thing), but I am being true to my girl. 

Ok, I admit another small project jumped on my needles, but for the most part, what little spare time I have had this month has been spent with Bee.

Remember I told you I was going to block out the first half?  Well, once I realized that I was not going to be grafting each half together, but rather picking up the provisional cast on, I decided just to continue.  See those little diamonds?  That is the center join……..I tell you…that Anne, she is a genius!

 

Be still to know the absolute.
Be active to know the outer.
The two spring from the same source.
All of life is one whole.
Deng Ming~Dao~

A week has gone by….in the wink of an eye and would you believe, I have not knit nary a stitch.  The days have been full….maybe even a bit too full of dyeing and winding and winding and dyeing, but it is always rewarding to see the end result.

The picture above that looks like colorful spaghetti is yarn that will be heading down to Yarn4Socks for one of their monthly sock clubs.  Normally I don’t send big batches of yarn out like this, but Donna paired my good friend Anne and I up for this kit and knowing that Anne always comes up with something beautiful, I rose to the occasion.

Now the big question is…………will all of this yarn ever dry in time?  YIKES!  Drying yarn in the winter is always my biggest challenge when it comes to wool.  Thankfully Spring is definitely in the air in spite of all of the snow still on the ground.

Hmmm…..that Terry, she is a bad/good influence I tell ya. 

See how quickly that one can of Hot Cinnamon Spice Tea has turned into 3 new tins of Harney’s Tea and one tin of Adiago Chocolate dipped orange tea…..

…and the little infusing mug….perfect for one cup!  My afternoon mug of Joe has been replace with a bit of tea.  So far my favorite of all the teas I have is the Lemony Gunpowder….scrumptious!  Least favorite, believe it or not is the Chocolate dipped Orange.  Surprisingly as much as I love chocolate and love the way this tea smells………it just ain’t chocolate~  What is your favorite tea?

If you haven’t already heard…….which would be hard to believe…..go take a peek at Cara’s brand new little Meli and wish her a warm welcome 🙂

I cannot sit and chat
with you,

the way I’d like to do.

So brew yourself a cup
of tea,

I’ll think of you, you
think of me.

source unknown

Bees…..

Do you not love the way the little bees line up all nicely in a row in between the honeycomb?

This section has been a bit trickier than the rest of the piece, but watching those little bees blossom makes up for it. 

Tonight I will bind off the edge and I have decided that I am going to block each half separately as I am just too tired to try crawling around on the floor blocking and pinning a large piece.

Tomorrow I will shoot down to Patternworks in Center Harbor to pick up one of these and then I should be able to block each half on the dining room table 🙂

and Tea…..

This teapot just way TOO cute, is it not?

Terry had given me that yummy hot cinnamon spice tea at SPA, but somehow
the little tea strainer thing a ma jig that I had did not do the tea justice.

So what does a girl do when in this dilemma?  Why she hops online to Adagio Tea and orders herself a new gizmo.

This little 17 oz teapot is fabulous!  It is just the right size for 2 people to enjoy a cuppa tea.

I love watching the tea brew in the clear glass pot and really really love the little infusing insert.

Hmmm….I guess that I am easily amused. 

I do want to say that I was VERY impressed with Adagio’s service.  I placed my order one day with standard shipping and it was here the next.  You gotta love that!

So today on this Walk with me, Works in progress, Wordless or Wordy Wednesday, you will not get any snow pictures because for once it did not snow………..instead you get ice…beautiful lacey ice.  This grrl is ready for Spring!

Breakthrough…..a peek of sun after the snow
Like shadows color of cold,
Willow branches weep ice.
Swan rises dazzling in the sunlight.
Deng Ming~Dao

You got it……..more snow.  It’s getting to the point of being almost ridiculous.

Every 3 days now it seems like we are getting a foot of snow on top of snow, on top of snow.

The dogs have created little mazes in the paths that they always run around in the dog yard.  The snow in the center of the yard is so high that I can not even see Maggie (the setter) when she is behind it…..but they are having a blast with all of this snow.

The rest of us however, are tiring of it.  Shoveling this snow is back breaking for those who are doing it and so many of the roads are in seriously bad condition from the frost heaves.

How bad are the roads?  Ken’s car was retired this week……the struts had said…"enough" with the rocking and rolling around potholes and ice divets… and that was the end of that.  She is old enough that it does not make sense to fix her…..so she will be replaced with a younger version.

Of course there have been a few highlights in this week though.  Bee is moving right along and I am almost finished with the first half.  Such a beautiful, beautiful pattern to knit

On the very near horizon though is flutter.  As much as I have tried to resist, this extra skein of Roasting Chestnuts is telling me that she would be perfect for this scarf.  She is also telling me that she would prefer a few beads here and there……….how could I resist?

Have a great Sunday…..stay warm!

As a person who usually has more than one project on the needles at a time, I feel as though I never get things finished…..but then all at once it comes together and I will have 2 or 3 items finished and it feels good!

Earlier this winter, I whipped thru my first Marie Antoinette with gusto and of course in my typical fashion managed to get side tracked with Oh!Canada and Bee.  I loved working on this sock so much though that when I did pick her up again, I whipped thru the second one.  These socks are completely fun to knit and so very pretty when finished.

I am really looking forward to wearing them this spring with open back clogs.

With Marie Antoinettes and Oh!Canada finished, Miss Bee now has my full attention.  I have finished the swarm area and will move onto the Bee and Honeycomb panel.

I do have to admit though that I have already been tempted my another siren…..this pattern has truly made my heart flutter a bit!

Snow….yes once again

Before I leave, I just wanted to share a picture of what our corner of the world looks like.  The snow this winter has been insane!! 

Last night another foot of snow was dumped on us with probably an additional 6 inches expected later in the day.

Let me tell you how sick of shoveling Ken is!  Can you believe that snowbank?  YIKES!

Keep warm!!

Golden lights skims azure bay,
Dense air heavy with laurel.
Windless dusk smears to night,
Sonorous pool in a sheltered grove.
Deng Ming Dao

The rest of the verse goes on to say, that though this world is turbulent, there are still days and places where we can be afforded some tranquility.  Renewal is a profound tonic.  With sanctuary and rest, we can prepare to go forth again.

Interestingly, I was only looking for a verse that would lend some color to these shawls, but when I read the verse, I took away so much more.  Some times we all need a little bit of tranquility in our lives to help us appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.

Susan has finished the pattern for this stunning shawl!  The lacework is so intricate and incredibly beautiful.  The talent that the girls who design these patterns never ceases to amaze me! 

Give me any pattern and I can knit it, but ask me to design even an edging on my own and my brain freezes…..feels like a math problem.  You know what I mean….if a train is traveling 500 miles an hour….ya, that kind of math problem. 

The kit is available on my website in these 2 colorways.  Custom colorways are welcome, but will take a little bit longer.

As much as I would like to join the KA for Moroccan Days, I am working on my beloved Bee, so I will have to catch up later.

Bee has my full attention now that SPA has come and gone.  I really really love this shawl.  The pattern is so easy to follow along with….another shawl with a relaxing rhythm.  Who knew I would love purling through the back loop so much…not me…but I do!

Speaking of Spa, I was unusually well behaved in my purchases.  The only thing that came home with me was this lovely roving from Amy of Spunky Eclectic .  Ummm…..do you see a trend in what I like to work with?

Honeybees depend not only on physical contact with the colony, but also require it’s social companionship and support.  Isolate a honeybee from her sisters and she will soon die.
The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men

I know I have posted this quote before, but somehow it was appropriate again for this weekend.

Winter in New England can be interminably long.  The days are short and the long cold nights seem endless at times, so when SPA rolls around in February the grrls(and Dave) are ready to spend some long awaited quality time together and have some fun….and fun  was had by all for sure!

I did managed to get Oh!Canada blocked and ready for her SPA debut and she was very well received.  Anne’s pattern flew off of the table and it’s easy to understand why.  The pattern is such a relaxing and rewarding knit…each and every stitch is a joy.  I was sad to finish this stole but I am looking forward to finally wearing her!

As usual, I didn’t get many pictures as I was much too busy chatting away with the grrls.  I know, it’s hard to believe…..:)

Going back to that sisterhood thing, I have to say that I was completely blown away by the generosity of my sisters in the various ways that they looked out for me this weekend.  Treats from Starbucks…..offers of help when unpacking and packing…. and when I was frantically looking for ones and fives for change, the grrls were there to help me out.

Fiber people are by far the most generous of all souls that I have ever met in my various walks of life!

My dear friend Terry, made sure that I had some fabulous, out of this world, yummy hot tea throughout the weekend and I swear, she may just convert this life long coffee drinker.  She has some of THE most fabulous teas ever!  Thank YOU Terry!!!

As the weekend was winding down, and the booth was packed back into the car, I snuck down for one last visit with the grrls.

I think this pictures sums up the whole weekend. 

Love you grrls!!!

I only have time for a short visit as I am wildly busy getting ready for the NETA Spa, but I wanted to stop in and say hello, if even for a minute.  I apologize for not being able to respond to comments last week, but as always, I LOVE hearing from you :-).

Last fall when I was working at Fryeburg Fair, I made a few beautiful purchases.  Every year we have a "special" fiber artist whose work is on display for the entire week.  This past year, the fiber artist was kept quiet until we all arrived to set up our spaces.

We were all quite surprised to see our very own Gale Belleu’s work featured.  Gale is the woman who works tirelessly for the fair, year after year, putting our schedules together and seeing that everything runs as smooth as possible for the week….and she does it well.

Gale found a new and different way to work with fiber.  She calls it Hairlock Painting.

As soon as I walked in and saw that beautiful woolen rabbit, I knew that this woolen rabbit needed to have it…..but at the time, it had been promised to another…..Gale’s mom.

At the end of the week, Gale came up to me and told me that she felt that the rabbit should go home with me…..and I agreed!

If you look at these pictures, the paintings are done on felted wool backgrounds.  The painting itself is done, lock by lock with Llama hair.  They are truly amazing.

As much as I love the rabbit, this little guy is my favorite.  How could you not love him with his sad little inscription .

Haven’t we all felt like this now and then?  He is just so precious!

I hope that you enjoy my new little friends as much as I do!

Hopefully next week I will be back at full steam again….until then….enjoy your days!