Good morning! I have a new finished object to share with you today, a gorgeous lacy pullover from Jennifer Wood of Woodhouse Knits. I've long admired her designs and was thrilled to have an opportunity to test one of her patterns. The knitting went fast and my job as test knitter was easy as there was not one mistake or unclear passage in the entire pattern. If you love the challenge of a bit of feminine intermediate lace then you will love this professional and well written pattern. I think most testers made this in wool with long sleeves, but I had this beautiful Shibui cotton in my stash and thought the pattern would make a pretty summer sweater. I'm thrilled with the result and look forward to wearing it this summer. You can't see by my pictures, but there is simple lace on the cuffs and hem for a lovely finishing touch. I've included Jennifer's picture of her gorgeous golden Margay so you can see the lace detail better.  Margay is knit top down. I have two extra skeins of Shibui Fern that I'm selling on my Ravelry stash-for-sale page. I have also listed most of my leftovers and some purchase mistakes too. 

my Ravelry project page

We had a sunny weekend and expect a sunny week ahead. The vegetable garden revamp is slowly moving forward. We will soon have both an improved layout and watering system, new beds, and will be bringing in some new soil too. I think in late March, when the greenhouse seedlings are ready to set out, the garden will be ready to receive them. I'll start my flats of zinnias in March and they will take up the remainder of the greenhouse growing space. I will plant the zinnia seedlings outside in the flower garden sometime in May so that gives me plenty of time to get that area ready. Right now it's a weedy mess, in fact everything looks like one big mess, including our patio, which at the moment is our staging area for all the supplies. My husband is working on the project a few hours a day and our son comes to help when he can. I know the gardeners would like to take over but my husband and son want to do this project themselves. There's not much that I can do to help at this stage, but I'll soon be busy enough with planting, weeding and harvesting and I can't wait! Also, the narcissi and daffodils are in bloom! It feels a little awkward talking about my sunny California garden when Texas is suffering under such extreme cold weather. It's heartbreaking to read the news but today's headlines say thawing and repairs are underway. God bless Texas.

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