Today I have my first pair of grown up socks to share. These may look great, and frankly they feel great and I am proud of them, but there are some little things that bother me. There is a tiny gap where the heel starts it's V (I understand that's common) and the heel is too small IMO. If you are a sock newbie or a sock expert, come on it and read all about it!

I don't about where you live, but springtime in my garden means that the most peculiar little crops of mushrooms pop up seemingly everywhere, however THIS fungi grew from my knitting needles. The project was a mystery Knit Along and is my first mystery ever. For those who don't know, mystery KALs are very popular in the knitting community. I had never joined one before because I think I'm too controlling and want to know exactly what the finished product looks like before I start. I really walked on the wild side this time! Over a thousand knitters joined in and it was a very chatty group. It was fun and I'm happy with my little Professor Fungi.

We are all settling into a fine spring, the pups and us, and we took advantage of last week's fine weather. The pups are definitely more comfortable here and love being outside with us, so garden chores are very sweet this year. We picked and juiced all the oranges in one day, washed the windows (back yard only) and scrubbed all the outdoor cushions and furniture. I've still got masses to do before I can call the backyard summer ready, but still decided to take a break and make two flower arrangements, one for the kitchen and one for the patio. Come on in for a little bit of this and that.

Good morning on this absolutely beautiful end of April day! You probably think by looking at my snowman that I've gotten my seasons mixed up. I can't really explain why I'm making Christmas dolls in spring just when my roses are about to burst into bloom, but when the toy knitting urge strikes, I must succumb! My favorite toy designer is Susan B Anderson from Barrett Wool and Co. Come on in and see why.

Susan B Anderson of Barrett Wool Co. designs the cutest toy patterns ever! Here are two of her patterns that I made for Easter, the Reversible Bunnies topsy turvy doll and the Woodland Bunny. They are fiddly but fun, and sometimes I'm just in the mood for knitting something cute and fiddly! Links at the end.

Recently I decided to join a Mystery KAL, a first for me. The KAL comes from Imagined Landscapes who designs gnomes and only gnomes. She has designed dozens and they are all so cute. For the KAL she presents two clues a week, then we the knitters knit the little bits and pieces and try to guess what each piece is going to be. It's been fun and will take about one month to complete, but in the meantime I decided to knit an easy gnome and that is Gnathan, above. He's so fat and sweet. He'll sit here for now so I can admire him, but in a little bit he'll go to live with the other Christmas ornaments and come back out at Christmastime. Also, at the end of the post are some important recommendations.

Thank you for hopping on over! I have a spring inspired dinner party to share today and some gardeny stuff at the end. It was our turn for the monthly Second Friday Friends Group. My menu was inspired by what would be good and easy and springish to serve a group of 12. My colors were inspired by the green hellebores and yellow cymbidiums from the garden. I had this table for six in the dining room and another table for six in the kitchen and cannot believe I did not get pictures of that table, but it was just as pretty! I made beef stroganoff and the other partiers brought an appetizer of mini quiches, a first course of beet salad, the noodles for the stroganoff and chocolate lava cake for dessert. We were quite spoiled, especially yours truly, the hostess, as all I had to do was make the stroganoff and set the tables. Party day felt like I had a bit too much free time on my hands! 

The party favors were shortbread cookies from this recipe tied with string and adorned with a little wooden chickie. In case you cannot tell (and not everyone could tell) the wee chick is cracking out of its eggshell that is sitting in the grass. He still has a little bit of cracked egg shell on his head and a felt triangle for a beak. My friends still have small grandchildren so these are passed on to the appropriate littles.

All of the seeds have been started and we've begun to prepare the raised beds. There are a few seeds I'll plant directly in the soil such as the sunflowers and green beans, probably in April. It won't be long now before we begin the garden chores in earnest! 

First off--I love this, even though the entire time I was knitting it I was fretting over the color and the style. I wondered if I could pull this crazy thing off, but turns out that now that it's done, it's really not crazy at all. It's super easy to wear and feels more like a wrap then a cardigan, and the color is not terrifying but FUN, even if it's totally out of my usual comfort zone. I'm glad I went for it. I tried it on for my girlfriends last night and everyone loved it. We put it next to everyone's face and about half of us could wear this color and the other half could not. Color is funny and I honestly don't know much about it. 

Welcome California spring! We always gets a head start with February and March being our early spring months. The roses are leafing out. The camellias are blooming. The narcissi and daffodils are also in bloom. The flowering magnolia is magnificent and we are even getting some spring rains. Hallelujah. I took my cue from nature and started the earlier seeds last month. Next week I'll start the zinnias. Soon my husband will order the soil amendments and then the garden work will officially begin. The best time of the year!

I have a new warm and cozy sweater in my wardrobe and I loved the yarn so much I ordered two more sweaters worth. It's on sale! Half price! Read all about it......

Hello! Yesterday we visited the craft/sewing room, but I'm so glad you're here again today to see my knitting room, which is really a second guest room. We only need two guest rooms a few times a year so the rest of the year this is my knitting room; a much more practical use of space. The sofa makes out into a bed and I keep the closet half empty so guests have room for their things. But the rest of it is for knitting. I often sit in here and knit when the other TV has shoot-em-up movies on. This TV can only play Jane Austin type movies and Fruity Knitting episodes. No shoot-em-ups ever! Please read on as I have a few organization and declutter tips to share.

How do you like the gentle pace of our deep clean? One room per week! Little by little our house will sparkle. This easy going pace works for me because I can work hard for short bursts of  time and then walk away with no guilt. I promise myself that I will come back and finish, I'll be thorough, and the room will be finished in a week. This gives me plenty of time to finish without having it overtake my life or poop me out, but no way can I procrastinate. I know from experience that trying to do it all at once is not only impractical, but impossible. This week the master bath is on the agenda and I attack this room just like any other room so let's begin!

I have a quick post to alert all quilt lovers of the cutest sweater pattern for you to knit!

I loved making it and love wearing it. Details below :)