Works in Progress

I'm never short of works in progress!  This week, working on the pinwheel scrap quilt has taken a backseat to working on the garden.  Our gardening season in Phoenix is a little backwards.  Right now, the garden's approaching its peak and with all the rain this spring, it is quite a peak!  Our cherry tomatoes are going crazy, the greens are gargantuan, the beans are about to be bountiful.  We let some of our fall carrots go to seed and now are enjoying their beautiful blossoms.  The bougainvillea is gorgeous and it's almost time for our yearly battle with the birds over the plums!  We're very happy to share, but their idea of sharing is to take a few bites from each one.  And this spring we're having milder than usual weather, so we're able to be outside enjoying the garden more than is usual for May.

I have been getting in my knitting time, however!  Something for Charlie in Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo's Lula colorway .... 

and I'm trying my hand at knitting with beads.  So far, I'm hooked!  This is Sachiko Uemura's Jeweled Cowl, a free pattern available on Ravelry here.  The yarn is Shibui Knits' Cima in Mineral.  This yarn is like knitting a cloud - so soft and fluffy with its 70% baby alpaca and 30% merino fibers.  I ordered mine here.

And I finished a small shawl/scarf that was fun!  This is Michaela Jandacek's Aisling (not to be confused with the pattern for a larger shawl also named Aisling by another designer).  The yarn is Madelinetosh DK in Nassau Blue - and it's quite a bit brighter than I could get the photo to show.

Finally, remember the yarn giveaway back in March?  I randomly drew one of the comments and have been trying to get in contact with the person who won ever since ... unsuccessfully.  So, if I don't hear from Lori Molowitz by next week, I will be drawing a new name from the comments that were there by the deadline.  Check back next Wednesday!

Happy Creating!  Deborah