THE COLORS OF MAY

It's a warm and soothing month of May here  in northern California.  Today we had a few rain sprinkles mixed with a lot of sunshine.  Even though it's warming, memories of cold winter days motivate knitters and crocheters to continue making items to keep neck, head, and hands warm when the time comes.  Here is another version of my favorite neck warmer that I've shown in previous blogs.  This pattern is worth every penny of the purchase price. If you're interested look for it here: Cabled Neck Warmer at Etsy store: http://homemadeoriginals.net/

also at Blog: http://homemadeoriginals.blogspot.com/

This one is a modified version of the mistake rib neck warmer. I used two yarns together, one worsted grey and one multicolored sock yarn.  I found these unusual buttons on a very worn out sweater at the thrift shop.  Bought the sweater and salvaged the buttons.  No telling what you can find at a thrift shop that you can use in your crafts, especially ribbons, yarns and buttons. 

In my last blog I showed three wool grey striped hats.  Here are two more wool hats to add to the collection that I'll be mailing to the organization, afghans for Afghans.  Their mission is to send warm, wool clothing items to children in Afghanistan before the harsh winter sets in.  

Their current campaign is for hats, mittens, and socks. The items need to be sent to their San Francisco address by a date in July. From there volunteer organizations transport them to Afghanistan.  If you are interested in participating, you will find all the information here: 

http://www.afghansforafghans.org/index.html

You know the old saying, "April showers bring May flowers."  It's true.  Wild flower seeds, and bulbs long dormant are popping up and filling in the flower beds.  Love it.  Our yard has never looked so good, thanks to Master Gardener, D's research and hard work. 

And the vegetable garden, too.  Master Gardener D's tomato structures are doing their job of keeping the plants leaves off the the ground and growing up like they're supposed to.  You can see the huge squash leaves in the background.  We should have some yellow summer squash in a few days. Yum.  More flowers below - We think these are a type of lupin. Love the colors. 

How beautiful is this!  This lovely red purple flower is a Day Lily.  More of these should be coming up soon. 

I'm currently working on snake scarves inspired by a pattern for a coral snake.  I now have one coral snake, one rattle snake, a rainbow snake (my own idea), and part of a green textured snake.  I'm not particularly fond of snakes, but appreciate the beautiful colors and patterns that some of them wear. Look for my snake scarves and the link to the pattern in my next blog.

Keep on knitting, crocheting, and gardening - nonprescription stress relievers. 

GETTING READY FOR SUMMER and WINTER

 Greetings everyone.  I've finally got things working again on my blog setup.  I had to download Google Chrome since my old browser no longer supports Blogger.  I'm sure Google and Blogger are friends, maybe even relatives.  So to have one you need the other.  So here's hoping all goes well - yesterday I was ready to retire my computer to the old computer's home.  It is old, but works just fine now.  

Things are moving right along in the garden so here's a few pics to bring you up to date.  Master Gardener D has been working hard and lovingly on vegetables and flowers, fertilizing, arranging, trimming, etc. and we continue to enjoy the results of color and textures.  This is the garden area after the winter garden plants were removed.  The irises were in full bloom.  This year's colors are lavender and purple.  These plants started as a handful of tubers given to me by friends in Elk Creek.  We have three times as many now as the tubers can be divided and replanted.  If left alone they will multiply on their own.  Love the colors. 

Master Gardener D working on his creation for a tomato support.  This year we're not crowding the plants since they grow quite tall and rangy.  If there's no support the plants will fall over with the weight of the tomatoes.  

Each string is measured and tied.  Patience is definitely a virtue here - this is fun for MGD, he says and satisfying, too - the orange wild flowers - Wow!

This is the garden today - we planted a few marigolds to help deter bugs.  Bugs, slugs, and sometimes mice love backyard gardens.  Besides the tomatoes, we've planted squash, peppers, pumpkins, eggplant, and leeks.  There is nothing better than eating a tomato right off the vine. A little salt, please. 

Two new additions to the flower garden are Asiatic Lilies - One yellow and one red-orange.  These plants are perennials so we'll get to enjoy them again next year.  Again, the colors are outstanding.  MGD also planted a Stained Glass Lily and when it blooms I'll put it in the next blog. 

On to the knitting.  My good friend, J, gave me a couple of skeins of wool yarn and just about the same time "afghans for Afghans" , an organization that sends warm, wooly hats, mittens, socks, sweaters, blankets to children in Afghanistan who must endure very cold winters, announced their current campaign for hats, mittens, and socks.  They ask for items to be knit from wool or mostly wool yarn because it provides the maximum warmth.  So with that in mind, these hats were created.  Thanks, J.  

This hat pattern is one of my favorites.  In fact I'm working on a fourth hat right now.  It's a free pattern called Grammy's Mitts and Hat - at Tanis Fiber Arts. It can be knit flat or in the round, uses worsted weight yarn, and has sizing for adult, child, and toddler. I've knit these in the round because I'm getting better at it - practice, practice.  

This scarf was created using variegated sock yarn and another light weight yarn - solid color in the broken rib stitch, another one of my favorite stitches. Just an experiment - but I'm very pleased with the results.  The stripes appeared because of the pattern in the sock yarn.  I'm going to keep this scarf for myself to wear this winter. I also have two neck warmers in the works - will show them in next blog after I attach the buttons. 

Finally, Mother Nature amazes me again.  This succulent - cactus welcomed Spring/Summer with it's own variety of flower.  I'm sure others like it in the Arizona desert are doing the same thing - just that time of year.  There will be more blooming cactus in the next blog - they're in the works. 

If you are a knitter or a crocheter, there are many opportunities to knit for charities - I've mention some in previous blogs, and lists can be found through Google.  The colors for the Special Olympics 2013 Scarf Project should be announced soon. I'm sure my friend J and I will again knit up a few scarves for this one.  It's fun to see the scarves that were made for the 2012 games. Just go to their web site or Red Heart's web site and see the huge variety.  It's exciting to me to be a part of this.  I know the scarves are appreciated.  What a great idea!!!

Keep knitting and crocheting - it brings peace of mind.