The KnitNurd: It's Spring...ahhhchoooo!!

Squaring (is that really a word?) up all of my quilt blocks, all 30 of them, wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. Thanks to one of my quilty friends who loaned me her cutting mat, because I wasn't sure if I wanted to make the investment lest I not continue my foray into the quilt world, it was the best thing ever!!! It has all the markings on it, just like a yardstick, and it makes the task of cutting, measuring, etc., so so easy! It really only took me a couple of hours two nights in a row to square them, so I could lay them out this morning to see how all of the puzzle pieces would fit. Like I said, my corners aren't going to be perfect, but it's perfect for me. Once I had the blocks all laid out the way I wanted them and the way the pattern instructs you, I numbered each one in the order they were to be sewn together. Next will come the borders which, my friend is going to show me some tricks to make that part easier and quicker. I'm still not decided how I want it quilted, but more than likely, since this is my first one, I will just do it on my own, as opposed to sending it out to have it done. I'm just so over the moon thrilled with it so far, and definitely see more quilts in my future.

All numbered and ready to go under the needle!

So yesterday I mentioned there had been some spinning going on. I have to admit that the gray heathered fleece, Felix, is...well, I still love spinning it, but I just needed some color right now. I've been watching several new podcasters who are also new to the world of spinning and have been using drop spindles. I realized yesterday that I have been neglecting mine terribly. I think I now have a total of six of them, two of which are Turkish spindles that I haven't really played with all that much. I chose a braid of fiber, which since I won it last year at the 'day of spinning at the winery' I have no clue what fiber it is... if I had to guess, I would say it's either merino, blue face leicester, or possibly a blend of those two. I believe I did ask the dyer I won it from though, and she told me it's BFL. The Turkish spindles I own are the Swan and the Delight, made by Ed Jenkins, and truly are a delight to spin, so I chose to use my Swan to spin this braid of beautiful color. I forgot how much I enjoy it, and it does make spinning more portable, so it got to go to knit night with me last night. I had a small cop of fiber already spun on my Delight, with just a tad bit more to go, so I finished that up first. I love how you can pull the cops off these spindles and it's already in a center pull ball for you. Then, last night, I wanted to spend some more time with Felix at my wheel, so I now have a bobbin half full. This is my second bobbin of this fiber, and I'm pretty anxious to ply it to get an idea of what the finished yarn will look like.

The Swan

Cop from my Delight

Felix

My sister and I were to have an early dinner together yesterday, but unfortunately, her plans were cancelled and it changed ours. I was so bummed about it, but then she sent me a text inviting us for dinner on Sunday. I'm so happy because it means I will get to deliver their socks I knitted her and her husband for Christmas (I was late with them). They are truly knitworthy people and look forward to their hand knit socks each year. It makes a huge difference when you get to see how appreciated your knitting really is!

While the drought here in California continues, you just can't help but appreciate the beautiful weather we are having!! Our two orange trees (navel and blood orange) are just loaded with blossoms and it's good to see the bees buzzing throughout them. Not to mention the heavenly scent that is enveloping my yard. Since we've made the decision to stop watering our lawns, and I had half way decided not to put our small pool (think 4 person hot tub size) up this season as well, I've had a change of heart. We seem to get such conflicting information on how much water we actually do still have, so I started thinking about how much my grandkids and the two of us enjoyed that pool last year. We had so much fun!!!! We have decided to go ahead and put it up again this year, and will still use way much less water than our neighbors who haven't stopped watering, or using their in ground pools. It's supposed to be in the eighties for the next few days, and I have every intention of getting outdoors to enjoy it. My grandson has a ball game today, and you can't ask for better weather for it.

My little bed of strawberries will get a new home this year. They have begun to blossom as well and they need a bigger area to spread out.

Strawberries!