Pink Clouds Everywhere I look!

The sky was so beautiful this evening, pink clouds hung low, scattered by fluffy fist-full all across the summer evening.







I couldn't resist sharing these with you.



More pink clouds.



It looks like pink clouds are popping up everywhere for me, I'm busy getting this fiber blended and ready to spin. It's a joy to work with, I really love the process.



I've had this pattern for awhile now, I was inspired to knit it up...even though I have other projects I should be focusing on. It's a quick knit and I was pleased with how fast it felted. It seems like in the past it took forever for my projects to felt!



My Squirrel Tote turned out cute, it's just the right size for this little guy, I'm sure he will appreciate this cozy felted nest spot when the winter winds blow. I don't know about you, but I'm in no hurry for winter weather to return.

Have a great weekend! Blessings friends!
Melissa

Lamb Locks! (I think I need to get sheepy!)

Ooo, aren't those little curly locks delicious! I bought a lamb fleece from a guild member and picked it up from her last Saturday at the Fiber Fiesta in Greenville. I haven't processed the whole fleece yet, I have some other projects that I'm working on, but I could not resist scouring up a couple of generous fist-fulls of this luscious fiber! It's so lovely that it makes me want some little sheeplets of my very own!



It spun up nicely into this soft skein of sport weight. From 1.5 ounces of lovely curls, I have 115.5 yards of yarn (12 wpi) which I will use to make one of the little free form scarflets I've been knitting up lately.



I've also begun carding all the fiber I dyed for the Seven Shades of Pink project...the carding may take awhile since there is a ton of fiber and only two hand cards plus two tired arms to put it all together! I may have to borrow a drum carder from my guild for this project.



I knitted up another free form scarflet earlier this week as a gift for one of my knitter friends birthday. I'm really enjoying the one that I knitted for myself from my fuzzy-wuzzy coil yarn, it does double duty as a cute collar effect scarf. I think I'll work up some more of these in silk and cotton for more of a summer weight scarflet.

I hope you have a delightful weekend! Blessings Friends!
Melissa

Container Gardening

I finished adding the mosaic to my birdbath, I've had that project on the burner for awhile now. Last year I painted the base, which came from my folks old house, it's now a creamy white with soft lavender dry brushed over top to accent the pretty dove pattern. Then I began my quest for a pottery basin to match. Who knew it would be so difficult, apparently they are not producing them in ceramic so much anymore...plastic is everywhere! They were able to dig one up for me at my trusty local hardware store, that was last season, I had in mind to work on this over winter, but only just got to it. Better late than never, right?



Here's a peek at the mosaic I added, I love flowers. I hope the birds and butterflies enjoy it!



Now this just makes my eyes happy and my heart sing, I transplanted babies from some of my favorite garden plants into this pretty pedestal container. The columbines are just about ready to pop, I think they are only waiting for a nice sunny day...maybe today will be the day, it sure looks promising!



My geraniums have had a wild ride, they have been bruised, battered and even uprooted at one point (gotta watch that Mum of mine every minute!) and they are still blooming away, soon it will be warm enough that I can move them outside for the season.



Last but definitely not least, I wanted to show you what I'm doing with the trumpet vine given to me by my friend Jan. I've got it moved into another one of my big pots with a tower trellis, it seems very happy in its new home. I'm going to plant old fashioned sweet pea along with it, I can already picture the beautiful swell of orange from the trumpet vine and lavender and white from the sweet pea.

I hope you are having a lovely spring! Blessings Friends!
Melissa

Finished Shawl

I've had this on and off the needles about three times. First I decided it was too big, then I couldn't decide which border stitch to use, if any...rip, rip, rip, then the third time I felt like I bound off too tightly, well geez, as long as I have it back on the needles, why not add a couple more repeats of the feather and fan pattern...it sounds like a mess of fiddling, right? But I must like that, or I wouldn't keep doing it, for me it's all part of the process. Noodling around until it feels right. It's all blocked as you can see by the photo above, using tons of pins and blocking wires. Hurry up and dry already!



The guardian of the shawl? Not likely! How do you like the little protective playpen I made with various chairs? I don't think it would hurt to have Cissie take a little nap on my shawl, it might even help it dry faster! I was concerned about all the pins though, I wouldn't want her to get injured, so up went the barricade! I usually employ large books, set up like little tents all around the perimeter, this is so much faster, easier and a much more efficient deterrent. I think Ciss has checked this out from just about every possible angle, I'm sure she thinks it's curious the things we humans do. I'm excited to wear this, it was great fun to knit. Today we have the perfect weather for a shawl, cold and rainy, it's good for my newly transplanted plants. Perfect for letting them get settled into their new homes.

Enjoy! Blessings Friends!
Melissa