Rain, Flowers and Knitting

Hello my friends.  Thank you again for your votes in my survey and also welcome to my new followers.  My house is finally back to normal (if that really exists) as my Christmas decorations are all safely tucked away until November.    This week we had rain...lots of rain.  The weather kept me busy since I was on school drop off/pick up for my little grandson.  I enjoy this new responsibility since my daughter is busy with my new little granddaughter.  For years, I lived south of Seattle were gray skies and rain were a common occurance.  But here in southern California rain means a totally different thing.  We experience severe downpours here.    Due to the wildfires that have taken place the last few years, when it rains there can be extreme flooding and mudslides.  Luckily, our area is not affected by these hazards but my heart goes out to those whose homes are in these areas.

Below is a photo of the gray skies  from my home .  Those hills in the background were a beautiful shade of green early last year.  But due to the severe drought they quickly became brown.

The past two days we have had sunny skies.  Here's a photo of the beautiful morning sunrise.

But, today's sunrise was even more amazing with all those colors in the sky.  The clouds are back this afternoon and we may get a little more rain this coming week.  But, that's OK as everything is so clean and green.

As usual, I planted some paperwhites and they seem to have taken off quite well.

A couple of them are blooming.  I love seeing these flowers take shape each year.

 

 On a crafty note, I pulled out this beaded scarf that I think I began back in 2013.  You can see my Ravelry notes here.  (I love the way your WIPs can "hibernate zzz" on Ravelry!  Anyway, I'm hoping to get it finished this week.

 

My blog friend Christine who is an extremely accomplished knitter,  shared her experience knitting a beautiful Norwegian style (fair isle) sweater that featured steeking.  Her post so fascinated me that I requested this book as a Christmas gift.  I don't know if I'll ever get around to knitting such a masterpiece but I may try a few practice swatches. 

 

One last thing I wanted to share.  I went to the dentist on Thursday and as I'm always careful where I park my car, I chose an end parking space.  I no sooner pulled into the space when I heard the funniest sound; at first I thought it was my car engine like a squeaky fan belt (do cars still have fan belts..).  But, it was a flock of birds up in the tree next to me.  I didn't pay much attention since they immediately flew away.  Well, it was a big mistake as when I returned to my car an hour later it was a mess!  Yup, and the rain had stopped.  Needless to say, I came home and washed it off which meant I had to dry it as our water is so hard it leaves spots.  I don't know what type of birds they were.  It was such a unique chirping sound all in unison.

Enjoy your week wherever you are.  Again, I appreciate your friendship :)

My best to you,

Pat 

I'm linking with with:

Handmade Monday ... 

TOP DOWN BABY SWEATER - Plymouth Yarn Company - FREE PATTERN

Have you ever felt that you don't have enough time to do everything you want to accomplish?  I have so many things I would like to create but I'm not starting any new projects until I finish the blanket I'm currently crocheting. I had purchased the yarn in the spring when I was in Istanbul.  I like the pattern but the colors I am using are rather drab and plain.  I guess I'm hooked on the bright colors I've recently been using.

But, here is a project I finished awhile ago.  It's my favorite kind of baby sweater to knit - it's a top down sweater knit in one piece from the neckline down.....

As you can see, this sweater still needs to have some type of neck fastening - maybe a cute button.

I purchased this pattern and yarn together.  (yes, I bought the pattern because I thought it was so cute).

But today when I was going through my patterns, I found that I also had found this pattern online.  It's almost identical except the pattern I purchased has more rows of the pattern on the bottom of the sweater.  The link to the free pattern can be found here.

I am linking up on January 20 over at Yarn Along.  That's why I'm going to share an interesting book that I've been reading.....

It's entitled The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook.  It's a nonfiction book first published in 1888 that gives practical tips about keeping house in British India during the Raj.  I find this time period fascinating reading.  When I was a young mother (so many years ago....) I think I read every book on India at my local library.  We lived in a small eastern Washington town that had a population of about 12,000.  I grew up in a small town so it was the norm for me.

(do you see the glass vases with the bulbs?  I am forcing narcissus bulbs in water - it's fascinating to see the way the roots are twisting about the rocks and how they are springing up with blooms now taking shape)

I'll leave you with this week's photo of Lilly.  We sat outside earlier this week since we had glorious weather.  Lilly of course, had to join us...

Her body fills this little patio table!  I think she looks like a regal big cat the way she's posing.

There's a new link up party that has recently started.  I suggest you stop by Planet Penny's Happy Friday where I also will be joining the party.  You will meet some wonderful crafters there.

I hope wherever you are this winter that you are keeping warm and safe.  Every night on the news I see wintry weather that's causing havoc on the roads.  We are expected to have a mini heat wave later this week although it's cool at night.  How I wish we could get some much needed rain.....

Until next time, I wish you the best.  Please feel free to comment to if you wish, you can follow along with the adventure of this blog via Bloglovin or signing up.

My best to each of you,

Pat