Thursday, April 20, 2006

Spring Arrives in a Big Way

And now for a bit of self indulgent photography...



The rain last night brought everything to LIFE including massive amounts of sturdy weeds. Nevertheless, they are overshadowed by the fabu Magnolias. Sigh. Springtime in IL is the best.

While I was away Dave mulched and landscaped like a mad man. I think it has something to do with earning sex points. Last summer I promised him gratuities if he cleaned out my flower beds. Like an elephant, he never forgets. I was delighted to see this area defined. I have it in my mind to have a settee and table back there, as the now bare locust tree will soon leaf out and provide a lovely bit o'shade mid-afternoon, say, around cocktail time.


The grass ceased to grown under the maple and now we have another cozy spot for a chaise lounge. Walking on this mulch is so much nicer too. Soft and spongy. And today, wet.

The morning mist. My shoes got sopping wet, but it was worth it for this shot.
Can you see the two birds in this tree? They are Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, the two loudest birds in the neighborhood. At 4am they announce the impending dawn. I would put them in a contest with any rooster for insistence, tenacity and intolerable decibel levels. They are not afraid of cats.

I just finished the last shawl I intend to make. It is huge and I look like a refugee from a yarn store wearing it. I guess it will stay near the downstairs TV in place of an afghan, as it covers mostly everything.

I never meant to make it that large. Like who ever checks gauge on a shawl?
The directions called for Koigu which is pretty fine, and 10.5 sized needles. I thought, which was my first mistake, that if I used dk or worsted it would have more body. Hmm. One begins at the outer edges and then decreases to the hypotenuse. Mindless knitting. Used up a big chunk of stash, which considering my vow to never buy another speck of yarn, is just what the doctor ordered.
I am doing a lot of washing out/ironing/dyeing etc this week in prep for my next set of gigs. I will be gone from late April til May 19. So that means thinking ahead. Am I up for the task?
We'll see.

7 comments:

  1. The yard looks great and I can see you sipping cocktails and making merriment under a full tree, but why do you have a play set in your yard?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, Mel, beautiful shots--and yummo fabrics.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mel, is it possible that he just really enjoys doing the work - Oh, I forgot, we are talking about that Dave!! Heh heh! Can't wait to see what he is up to each day.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous8:20 PM

    Hmmmm....THAT never works at MY house. I am still plucking last year's growth of weeds out of the main flower bed....I swear THIS year I am getting all that mulch spread out so next spring I won't have so many dead weeds to clean up!!

    The fabrics are great. Can't wait to go to work on the ones that arrived in my mailbox today!!

    teri

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW. I just "stumbled" upon your blog: interesting and visually pleasing. Your work in fabric and fiber is lovely. And your workshops sound great. How often do you teach in New England?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Melody,

    I'd love to take a class with you, but you don't seem to be coming to a place near me (of course, there IS no place near me!). I wonder if you've ever thought of doing an on-line type of class? You could send us your information and we could send you pictures...

    Just a thought. I loved the blow-by-blow from last week's workshop, and wish I could figure out how to participate in one.

    Sherrie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous12:33 PM

    Love your "Morning Mist" shot. I just want to step right in. And the fabric! FABULOUS!

    ReplyDelete

Hello,
So nice of you to drop by. I love your comments, and if you would really like a reply, please email me at fibermania at g mail dot com