Yesterday Afternoon Was Sunny & Warm

so I planted the large pot by the front door. I should probably pinch back those double impatiens, to encourage them to fill out. But the flowers now look so pretty that I don't have the heart. There's a little lavender plant just in front of them that will probably be towering over them by the end of the summer, but if that happens I'll just swivel the pot so it's in back.



Today is cloudy and not so warm (though Mr S put his tomatoes in). I stayed in and worked on the handwarmers.

There has been some ripping back. I started out intending to do separate fingers, got through the little fingers on both hands, and changed my mind. These have a decidedly rustic aesthetic, but I like them.

About Those Needles

Kmkat asked about the double points shown in the post below. They are Swallow Casein Needles, made in Australia and purchased so long ago that I don't remember where, though I'm pretty sure it was from a catalog or online.

They are warm to use, not slippery, and the tips are rather on the blunt side. I don't use them often, mostly because I like sharper tips for most purposes, but for the right project (like almost complete stockinette) they are very nice. And they are pretty.

Some cats want to chew on them. Casein is a milk protein. Maybe the cats can tell.

Out of curiosity, I Googled to see if I could locate an online source. Didn't come up with much of anything, though the company website shows up.

Keep It Simple

For the past two years I have had a skein in my stash that I couldn't decide what to do with, mostly because I couldn't thing of a project that I thought would be worthy. It's handspun 50/50 merino and mohair from Puff (the Magic Rabbit). It's a subtle lavender and softest green color combination, thick and thin in texture. And I kept thinking that I should come up with some really fancy, complicated design for it. But nothing came to mind. I swatched a couple of stitch patterns, but didn't really like any of them. So the yarn sat there.

A couple of days ago I finally thought "What the heck, what small item would I like to have for myself?" And I answered, "Some new handwarmers"; and I decided that I would make them extremely simply and just let the yarn speak for itself.

The lavender looks kind of grey in this picture, it's prettier than it shows here. Once I got going I almost wished I had opted for socks. They would have been cozy. But I'm just not into hand washing socks any more.

For a Non-Knitter

my girl has very good taste in yarn.



This was my Mother's Day present, and it's lovely. A skein of superwash merino from Honeypot Yarns. This is a local indy dyer I was not even aware of. The colorway is called Shitake. I'm not sure whether to use it for socks, which would be so soft and warm, or mittens. I'm kind of leaning to the latter, because they would show more.

Due to scheduling complications on Sunday, we celebrated Alternate Mother's Day yesterday, and it worked out very well. Wonderful Daughter brought equally Wonderful Mom down here and we had lunch at the new coffee shop, a very cute place, than went out to The Salad Garden, an extremely good local plant nursery. It was a fun, relaxed and relaxing time together.

I came home with plants to go in the big pot by the front door. It's too cold and damp today to enjoy putting them in, but tomorrow looks more promising.

Not Totally Abandoned

The Really Bright Socks have been sort of pushed to the back burner, but not completely forgotten. I made it as far as the heel on both, and decided on red.



Both heels have been completed and I'm through the gusset deceases on this one. Home stretch.

Yikes!

They're everywhere.



I did get out yesterday afternoon and grubbed out most of the front flowerbed. That only leaves the side bed and all of the back yard. (Sigh!)

Fortunately, the Bleeding Heart is also in bloom.



As are the last groups of tulips.

Guess I'd better get out for a bit and tackle the rest of the Dandelion legions.