Vacation, Gardening, Knitting!

Whew! I've been busy! I haven't posted in a while. Knitting usually falls to the wayside during the beginning of gardening season ... plus, I spent a few days in east Texas, at my dad's mosquito-and-poison-ivy ranch. Above is the source of the mosquitoes ...

And here is a plant representing a tiny fraction of all the poison ivy there:

I blundered through this stuff constantly, but luckily, didn't get a rash.

Here's part of the creek that feeds into the pond. It was lovely back in the woods, but the mosquitoes were truly horrendous.

On the way back to Baltimore. Smooth flights both ways.












And the gardening! I've been keeping them fairly weed-free so far, but I am fighting a losing battle with the #*$&% wild strawberries.

And I may have gone a bit overboard with the squash. I just hate to thin plants. I always worry the one I leave behind will fail later, and I'll have nothing.

Two tomatoes, an eggplant, a sweet mini-bell pepper, coupla cukes, and an undisclosed number of zuch and yellow squash.

Herbs to the side ... lotsa basil, chives, oregano, parsley, lemon balm, sage. Eucalyptus that comes back every year.

Pretty Kitty, the queen of the backyard.

I had some hyacinth in the front ... realized finally that it's just too much sun. Unfortunately, I don't really have a good shady place for them, so I moved them out back by the herbs. I hope they thrive, but I dunno. It's awfully sunny.

I planted some flowers in the front, instead, around a pink hibiscus.

Georgie Girl in her favorite shady spot, between the clematis and the hostas. Can you see her in there?

Spot of the Front Yard. Also known as Patches and Reese's. I call her Spot, because I'm imaginative like that.

I put all those potted plants out in an effort to hide the disintegrating sidewalk.

My front porch. I might hang some more plants ... when I get enough of them hanging, I can sit on the porch in my nightie and no one can see me.

I'm still slowly knitting a pullover-type thing, and another pair of socks. Slowly. Sloooowwwllly. 

Oh, and my Texas Aunt has a little black kitty that looks just like my late Edgar kitty ... I spent a lot of time carrying this kitty (Tucker) around, telling her how much she reminded me of my Edgar. She obliged me by sleeping with me and hanging out in my room. 

And finally ... this is my cat (Molly) on nip. 

I'm not sure which of us is blurry.

Thanks for stopping by!

Finally! Finished Socks.

I started these Be Mine socks  back in January.

Here they are, getting the obligatory cat scan.

There's a cabled heart going down them. I didn't feel like taking them off to photograph upright, nor could I contort myself enough to turn my leg around the other way. I think you can see them well enough here!

These languished for a long time. I'm so glad to have them done!

I have another skein of this yarn left, so I'm off to see what else I can make with that skein.

Have a happy, safe Memorial Day weekend, all.

Georgie Girl wonders why so much of her hair is on the floor, and not on her where it belongs...

Spinster Gardens

First, the knitting!

While I was at the Sheep and Wool festival earlier this month, I bought some 50/50 wool-silk from Kiparoo Farms. It came with this pattern:

I thought this would be the perfect over-blouse to wear to work, over a sleeveless shirt.

It's just straight stockinette stitch with a few dropped stitches. I dislike knitting on big needles, though.

Also, the Slowest Socks in the World trudge on. Perhaps they'll be finished by next winter!

The colors are super-saturated ... there's a big storm coming, and it's overcast and the atmosphere is kind of heavy. All the colors are really standing out!

I decided to do a garden this year. It's not that it's a tough decision, it's just that the last two years the weather was terrible for gardening. It got super-super hot, or it rained for days. Everything was stunted. I feel that the fact that my seedlings didn't sprout this year (I had to buy plants) was a bad omen; we'll see.

Here are the vegetables and herbs:

Not to much to see! Two basils, chives, parsley, lemon balm (I love this herb so much!), the usual stuff. The oregano and thyme came back from last year, along with the eucalyptus.

The vegetables are in the middle bed. Two tomatoes, five squash (don't judge me), and a delicious eggplant. I still need a cuke.







The front is where all the pretty is:

The front wall, with it's itty-bitty scrunched up space, just perfect for ... well, not much. Usually I put allysum here, and it flings itself over the wall in protest of the small space. Now it's phlox and two other plants I forget the names of.

The bleeding heart gets bigger every year!

Note the gray and white kitty.

Clematis in the middle. Another yearly return visitor.

There's also three hostas and several house plants behind the clematis and bleeding heart.

The front porch. I do the baskets myself--I think it's a smidge cheaper than buying them already done, but not by much.

Note the phenomenally lazy fluffy white cat asleep on my chair.







Silly Annabelle.

Silly Pretty Kitty, investigating the knitting. 

And a nervous Georgie Girl, letting me know she knows there's a storm coming and we should take shelter. Preferably on my bed, under the covers and pillows just to be safe. 

Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in reading about my first half marathon adventure, follow the "half marathon" link to my other blog. I had a great time! Well worth it. Plus, I slept like a rock at night for about two weeks after the run. A big plus for me. 

41st Annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!

Yay! The Sheep and Wool Festival was today!

After walking in from parking the next county over ...

I saw yarn bombing...

Frizzy sheep...

Curly sheep...














Sheep that had apparently had their fleece relaxed...

A few other attendees and I were taking turns sticking our fingers into this sheep's fleece to see how far our fingers went in (up past the first knuckle, FYI).

The sheep seemed amused by it.

Little baby sheep!












I was very tempted by this fleece, but I sternly reminded myself I have probably a pound of huacuya alpaca at home that still needs processing.

Just two alpaca this year. Mom and daughter, I think.











They have such lovely eyes!

And lots of goats in a little pen. They were Pym-somethings ... crossbreeds, but it was all very technical and I couldn't quite follow it. Angora or cashmere bred with something else ... sorry, can't remember the specifics. 

This little guy was waiting for his buddy (the owner's teenaged granddaughter) to come back and play with them. She had been in the pen with them but left to get something, and they were all looking for her. 

Goat fleece! 

I spent some time in the barns, too. Shawls were really big this year. Aren't they gorgeous? 

I had to be restrained from diving into these bins.

One day, I'll buy a loom like this. Probably a little Cricket, though, something small. 

This guy is at the festival every year, making nostepinnes and spindles. 

Or chair legs. Dunno.  

So, I bought some Noro Kurayon and a skein of 50/50 wool-silk, which I bought for a specific pattern. I'll probably start knitting that today, it looked fun. 

It's 650 yards of the blue wool-silk and 1,000 m of the Noro. I don't know what I'm going to do with the Noro, I have to go Ravelry-surfing to find the right thing. Something for the Autumn, though. 

Thanks for stopping by!