Spring!

It has officially been Spring for around a month now, but the weather here has been slow to catch up. We've been enjoying the warmer days and the little hints that soon it will be here to stay - no more snow!

The first flowers are blooming, adding some brightness to the garden. These purple crocuses are always the first to come up.

One of our favourite garden visitors has been making daily appearances since the weather has been warmer. We're not sure who owns this cat, but he or she loves to sit on our fence and get some pets from us. He's not even afraid of Lola.

Speaking of Lola, she has been spending more and more time out of doors. She loves the snow, but prefers the warmer weather and the company of our neighbours who have been working in their gardens. She has also been enjoying the return of many neighbourhood dog friends that don't come out much in the winter.

I haven't quite decided what will be going into the garden this year (probably not much) since it will be a very busy Spring and Summer, but the warmer weather has me wanting to get some seeds started to put into the ground next month. I do want to try growing some zucchini in a planter since I haven't had luck in the ground for the past several years.

I cannot wait for more warm weather and more colour outside.

Knitting for the Bird

The knitting for Birdie has been coming along much faster than I had expected. I though I'd post what has been coming off the needles lately.

I finished up the Gift Wrap Romper by Carina Spencer. The sleeves really aren't as giant as they look here, I just took the photo at a funny angle. I loved this pattern, aside from picking up all those stitches for the band!

These Snapdragon Soakers were quick and easy knits. The pattern is free too.

Longies were knit from the Buttknits & Trade Basic Shorties and Longies pattern. Quite simple to follow, but these knit up HUGE. This is the smallest size, but they look like they will fit a baby 6 months or so. For the next pair the pattern will have to be sized down.

A sweet striped elephant sweater was followed by another, just a little bit smaller one..

I cannot wait to see Birdie in all these handknits!

On the needles right now is this adorable Whale Sweater. Once it's a little warmer and I won't want to knit much anymore, I'll break out the sewing machine for some fun baby projects.

Thrifting with LuluBelle

Lucy is so much fun to shop with! We try to schedule a thrifting date every week or two and hit up a few different shops each time. We have done a few big trips, hitting up 10 shops in just one day! We pack snacks and water, put all our stops on the GPS, and enjoy each other's company along the way.

I love exploring the aisles and searching for treasures with a friend. Even when we don't come away with much, or anything at all, we still manage to have a good time.

 

We're always on the lookout for something specific, but we tend to look at everything and take our time. Right now I have a few pieces of furniture on my "to find" list, and I've been stocking up on baby clothes for Birdie. Lucy has been on the hunt for skirts and high waisted shorts. Check out that awesome pink pair! We're both always looking for Pyrex, of course.

But you never know just what you will find that day.

And that's part of the fun.

Re-Learning How to Knit

I first learned to knit several years back, mostly from youtube videos. I started with a simple ribbed scarf, which became the "year long scarf" because it took me such a long time to finish. I was worried about knitting too loosely so instead I knit so tight that it took a lot of work to fit the needle into each loop.

With my next projects I learned that it was okay to knit more loosely and that wouldn't mean there would be holes all over my work.

Something was looking a little off though. My work wasn't sitting flat and I couldn't figure out why. I asked some more experienced knitters and their only explanation was that I was knitting "backwards". I was really disappointed when I knit up my Tea Leaves and the sleeves looked very strange. I am trying to will myself to pull out all those stitches and start again!

I kept on knitting and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I stumbled upon a comment left on someone's blog. The same thing was happening with her knitting. It turned out we were twisting our stitches. I was knitting through the loop properly (they can become twisted if you knit into the back instead), but I was wrapping my yarn the wrong way. Yes, it really does make a difference! I finished up the project I was working on, and then tried wrapping the other way. What a change!

Do you see how the stitches lay much more flat in the bottom picture? No more funny lines between rows.

I'm so grateful for stumbling on that comment since it has made such a difference. Now I have really learned how to knit! I guess there is always something new to learn.

Speaking of knitting, check out this adorable Owlie set that my mom made for Birdie..

There is a lot of knitting going on in these parts!