a very quick walk in the garden this morning netted me two good eats for today—strawberries for breakfast, a good-sized bowl of them
(i ate a few, but put forth a gallant effort to save the rest for david to put in his yoghurt; i’ll eat whatever’s left over)
they are nice and sweet this year, too, mmm.
and then i noticed that, out of nowhere, the garlic scapes have sprung.
they will taste great in the dish i have planned for lunch today—pasta with broccoli.
with just a few ingredients (garlic, oil, broccoli, pepper, parmigiano), it’s the perfect dish to showcase a special treat such as these. my mouth is watering already . . . mmm
another thing that’s happening out in the yard this week is that the hydrangeas are beginning to bloom. they don’t open all at once, so it’s a nice opportunity for a series of pretty photos. these two shots were taken the other day
when the buds had just started to rise up and open a few green petals.
then today i saw we had some faint pale colorw showing as well
(same flower, two days later)
these shrubs are just LOVING the spring and early summer we’re having—enduring all that rain is paying off in loads of blooming flower heads.
even my variegated hydrangea has multiple buds—this shrub has never bloomed before. it’s also doubled in size this year, so it finally has the presence int he front bed that i hoped for when i bought it six years ago.
speaking of rain, look at these shots from 10 am yesterday morning when a severe storm front passed through our county
it turned dark as night outside, so that the street lights all went on
i was worried that we’d get hit with a tornado—the sirens went off the day before here—but we didn’t, thank goodness.
it stayed dark like this until 1 pm and then the sun came out and it turned completely beautiful, all in the space of 30 minutes or so. crazy.
anyway, no matter; i had work to attend to in the morning—i’m deep in pattern writing mode this week with five or six in the works. i’m having to work on them in rotation though, not my usual strategy. but a good one in this instance.
the pattern for rené is now safely in ronni’s hands for thorough proofreading, so i’m making a push on finishing my cardigan sample in woolen rabbit grace, colorway scottish heather. here’s another benefit to working sweaters in pieces—not nearly as hot to work on in the summer. i never mind having a little sweater front on my lap when it’s 95 degrees, but a big hulking one-piece, worsted weight sweater? just shoot me now.
i’ve got several scarf patterns i need to write up as well, so we can get those out to you in time for summer knitting
this oval lace scarf in sweet georgia cashSilk is knitting up a treat; there’s starting to be some noticeable length on it now, which always piques my enthusiasm for getting a scarf finished.
this scarf has a nice plus, too
a very pretty reverse side, which will look even more smashing after a nice blocking. i’ll be toting this along to TNNA this weekend, where i should be able to make some excellent progress on it. i’m even considering making this the ONLY project i take, but i don’t know if i can bring myself to leave other things behind . . .
and i really should take on a sock . . .
since the kollage shawlette came off the needles (that’s another pattern in have int he works), i started something new that really is a secret. but, but, but . . . i really want to show you the yarn; i think that’s ok.
funny thing, i was working with nearly the same color LAST year at this time, when i was knitting rosebuddie in canada.
i love this kind of orangey-pink for summer knitting—it’s so inspiring. it makes my heart dance just to look at it. and i’m not even a pink person . . .
beckie came over the other night and we selected pieces from the “archives” to create the trunk show we are doing in the ravelry booth at TNNA. it’s a kickoff for the ravelry in-store sales program, of which we are taking part. we’re so excited!
(scene from a previous trunk show at the shabby sheep in dallas, TX)
if you’re going to be at TNNA this weekend, please stop by the ravelry booth #454 at 10 am on sunday morning to visit us and see our samples in person. we’ll have our slide show running on the laptop and a goodie for each store owner.
and last but not least, i have an update photo of the baby swans that i took the other day on my bike ride
there were only four today with the mother, but i did see a spot of white across the lake, though i don’t know if it was alive or not. will let you know as i get more information.
and speaking of that, time for me to get out there so i can be back for a good working afternoon.
(i’m not even going to proof this for now—please forgive my typos! i’ll try to get back to it later on . . .)
17 thoughts on “berry me happy”
You have scapes already??? I’m amazed. Mine are at least a month away.
How delicious to see all your wonderful sweaters for the trunk show all packed up.
And I’m drooling over your strawberries – yum!
Berry me alive! I’m looking forward to seeing that scarf when it’s done.
I’m not really all the far north of you, but your garden is way ahead of mine. I just see a hint of strawberries.
Love seeing your suitcase filled with those gorgeous sweaters. Hope to see your trunk show one day.
i love fresh strawberries! my mom & brother went out to pick some yesterday (in paris maybe?) and got back just before the storm hit–perfect timing. and so delicious! we had fresh jam on buttermilk biscuits last night. yum!
i don’t consider myself much of a pink person either (at least i haven’t traditionally, although i seem to have more lately), but that is the perfect summer color…
Wow! Your garden and strawberries are soooo much farther along than mine! Our strawberries are itty bitty still. However, I’m still wearing handknits…it just hasn’t warmed up yet! And I’m suddenly feeling the need to have hydrangeas at my house! Those are going to be beautiful!
Oh man.
We are doing our first raised bed garden this year, and decided against strawberries because we’ve heard they can be really hard in terms of pests. But now I’m regretting that decision.
Our Farmers’ Market can’t start getting those berries in fast enough. I don’t think they’re quite ready in our neck of the woods.
The strawberries look DELICIOUS!!! YUMMMMMMMM. Your posts about your garden are always so happy. The berries and the flowers look so pretty and yummy. Well – gardening – traveling – knitting! What can I say? I want your life. HA
I do hope the baby is alive and well and was just exploring!
We went strawberry picking where we live in NE Kansas last weekend. It is unseasonably hot and I fear most of them rotted on the vine this week unless they got a lot of people to pick. We made the most delicious jam I have ever eaten! The best part was watching my 2 year old grandson get strawberries all over him.
Oh scary hearing those sirens go off – I didn’t realise you lived in an ‘at risk’ area. Stay safe. I hope you both enjoyed your strawberries. We have raspberries already, even though they are meant to be an autumn fruiting variety. I hope that doesn’t mean our summer is as good as over!! The weather has been somewhat weird so far this year. That pink yarn is so pretty, and I am seriously in love with that oval lace scarf. I just clicked onto the Sweet Georgia website – there are some lovely yarns there! I must be strong!
Your strawberries are gorgeous!!! I could almost taste them.
WooHOO, Rene is with Ronni. That’s good news. I want to make this one for my son. He’s done so much for us, that I think this will be a wonderful thank you gift for him. And now that I’m no longer afraid of steaming and seaming, I’m ready to rock and roll.
I hope you have a wonderful time at TNNA, Anne. Will wait to hear how all the swans are doing. Hope they’re all okay.
Those berries look so good–I have a lot leftover from my daughter’s wedding reception (not as yummy as yours, I’m sure). So I need to figure out what to do w/them. My vote was for shortcake, but it’s too hot to bake today.
Love that pink yarn!
Love all the pics from the garden, your latest knitting, etc. Enjoy your trip to TNNA. Will be anxiously waiting for your report.
always love your posts and photos.
you inspire even a honey badger.
Loving that reversible scarf!
And your strawberries are impossibly gloriously RED! 🙂
I really love the oval lace scarf…it is SO pretty!!
I am crossing my fingers that the little missing swan is ok. Nature can be so harsh sometimes. 🙁
Hydrangea lover here, but our bushes are decimated–it appears that deer love those budding flower heads, and thanks to the deer baiting new neighbors–healthy bushes, but only a few flowers this year. We surrounded our little veggie garden with fencing, but didn’t know the hydrangeas would fall victim.
The berries look scrumptious – would love to pop a few in my mouth for breakfast!! I AM a pink girl and LOVE that yarn – what is it?? I must acquire some for a summer shawl!
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