Shades of lavender

I was struggling for a title for this one, but for some reason the project I'm currently working on and the next one up are both in shades of lavender so I figured I would throw that on there.  Little known fact, I'm allergic to lavender (the flower not the color lol).  We've had a good couple of weeks since I last blogged and there are definite signs of spring.  We are having a true March that swings back and forth though.  I am really enjoying the ferocity of the seasons...I know, I know, people think I'm crazy.  I love bundling up in the handknits and I love the soft springy weather that still has some crispness to the air.  Autumn and spring are my favorite seasons and often spring around here is far too short.  It's like winter just becomes summer with no reprieve.  I think the gentle temps where one can have the windows open and smell the lilac bushes (we have a few outside our living room window) and have coolness for sleeping are just magical and wonderful.

I'm really looking forward to being off with the family at the tail end of spring and early summer.  It will be so nice to go outside instead of being shut up with a newborn.  I think we will have a lot of fun-hoping to do some zoo trips, walks, maybe a bit of flower gardening.  We are scaling back the veggie garden this year just knowing we will have a new baby.  I think probably just cover cropping most of the beds and buying a few tomato plants, potatoes, and onions.  Those are the things we eat the most and I can't let a whole season go by without growing any food-it just seems irresponsible since we have all that space and it does save us money.  We shall see how it goes, but those are all pretty low maintenance crops.

In the crafting world, I've been pretty busy!  I am working on a secret project for someone so I can't share that but I'm about 50% of the way there and I love how it is turning out so far.  I hope they like it as well.  I finished a pair of socks out of the Patons Kroy Blue Ragg sock yarn I've seen everybody using lately.  Nothing special, it's just from JoAnns but I really loved the stripes.

I finished these super early in the morning on a day it was still super cold and was lamenting that all my socks were in the wash and then remembered I had a brand new pair.  I popped them on as soon as I got out of the shower.  I got more of this to make sleeves for a sweater for the new baby.  I was thinking stripey sleeves with a solid navy body and maybe some fun buttons that match with the stripes...might even use the fun science buttons that I got in a swap from my Itty Bitty Knits group.  They make me think of the Big Bang Theory show-which if you haven't seen it you really should.  It's hilarious!

Yesterday, we made some new bunny crayons.  We did this two years ago I believe and I've been saving all of Maegwin's broken crayon bits when I find them on the dining room floor.  It was to the point where I had a quart size bag of them so as part of the cleaning process we did yesterday I decided it was time to make those into something useful.  We peeled and sorted so we had mostly tonal or single color ones and there were a few rainbow ones that she wanted to make.  Popped them into the oven at 225 for 15 minutes and bam we had new crayons.  She colored a picture or two but had a lot of fun just stacking and arranging them.

She was talking about making a mousetrap and was using some playdough, some appetizer toothpicks (for a clothes stick for them to hang their clothes on, she said), and these bunny crayons arranged in a circle.

Some sort of druidic mouse ritual?  Who knows?  She might just be building a better mousetrap.

Note the princess dress-she pretty much alternates between the two that we have until we make her peel it off.  She goes exploring in them with jeans underneath.  We were keeping them down in the basement to make her wear other clothes but then I thought "Hey, she's only going to be this age once and who am I to keep her from being a princess if she wants to be?" so we just let it be and let her have fun.  She literally asks to change out of her pajamas as soon as she gets up and finds some shoes to put on.  She LOVES shoes.  Not sure where that came from.  I have some shoes and I certainly appreciate a good pair of shoes but I also repair mine until they can't be worn anymore.  I have some shoes that are 10-12 years old.  She likes to put on my shoes or her little mary janes, or boots, you get the idea.

Recently I've also won a few prizes on Ravelry!  It's been so fun since I don't often win things.  I participated in a worsted sock knit along and won a really pretty bag and mug for finishing and having my name randomly picked.

The yarn inside wasn't part of the prize but it fit five skeins in there so it's a nice little box bag.  That is one of the lavender yarns that I was talking about that I'm going to use to knit Cinnamon for Maegwin.  I think it will be a pretty transitional sweater for spring.  (I hope you all can see the link-Ravelry says no account needed to see pattern pages).

I also won a prize package for finishing up the slippers I shared that were for Josh's mom for her birthday.  It came all the way from New Zealand!

Two skeins of yarn I have never knit with, a little ruler bookmark, a silk notions pouch, and a sheepy luggage tag.  Maegwin has her eye on that luggage tag so it might go on her backpack for a bit.

Finally, I won a copy of the ebook Head to Toe: Kids Knit Accessories from Cooperative Press.  This was a prize from the Homespun podcast which is one of my favorites.  I was so excited about this one because it has such beautiful stuff in it and I can make things for Maegwin and for next winter for both kids.  Really looking forward to working some things out of this book.  I think my first project might be one of the pair of handwarmers because Maegwin almost wore hers out wearing them constantly when she went out to explore in the yard and they are too small for her now.  She definitely needs some new ones.  I love when she goes rummaging through our warm things basket to find stuff to gear up for going outside.

That's really all the news that I have.  We are heading out to Mom's today for her birthday lunch.  I made a pistachio bundt cake which Maegwin is referring to as the big green donut cake.  She says she wants one just like it for her birthday but it needs to be pink...and rainbow...and have ponies.  So really nothing like it.  lol