(flower of the day: lady’s mantle)
i love the subtle flowerings of foliage perennials and vegetable plants—sometimes they are just a halo of miniature blooms around a mound of leaves.
or a spritely surprise, hidden in a crook between the branches
it always feels good to spend some hours in the yard . . . things change by the minute out there. yesterday i watered the small patch where i seeded my greens a few days back, searching in vain for sprouts, but found none.
this morning i went out to shower them again and
the rapini is up. and i think the hardy, mustard greens are breaking soil too—i saw evidence today.
no sign of the swiss chard yet though . . those seeds might not be good; they’re from last year and if i remember correctly, they didn’t germinate that well back then either (though why i went ahead and used them again i cannot explain). if they don’t come up well, i have others—i’m well-armed with seeds. yessirree.
(in fact, for some reason i have enough seeds for at least an acre of land. i’m enthusiastic i guess, if not all that good.)
anyhow, all that green reminds me . . . this is a knitting blog.
and i have some green knitting that i like.
in fact, i really like it. it’s a nice, snug glovelet (on you, it probably won’t be that snug; i have—ahem—rather large hands).
the pattern would be with the test knitters already if i hadn’t completely mufffed it.
i mean there are mistakes and typos in most first drafts, yes, but this was a royal doozie of a bad pattern. the only thing right was the cuff.
what looked perfectly reasonable and workable on paper made no sense on the needles whatsoever (and remember, i had already knit it, so what’s up with that?).
i should never ever do that kind of work when i have a lot on my mind.
but now that i’ve spent most of the day mucking around in my yard, i’m ready to go back tomorrow and fix all that.
last night i also made a swatch for what i think will be the next little nothing. melissa, who owns yarnia, the shop where i teach on wednesdays, found an interesting yarn from fiber isle, called niji.
a beautiful bamboo/bison/cashmere blend. she sweet-talked them into sending a skein for a scarf design, so i’ve been playing with it a bit (just a bit though; i don’t want to waste even a yard of the stuff).
i like this stitch pattern because it has a dancing openwork with cadence, and because the motif complements the yarn so well. i had hoped for the aqua color but they sent the amber (and really, look at the sheen on it . . like liquid copper. sigh. who wouldn’t love that?).
on the other hand this stitch might be a little too recognizable or overused, but how would i know? did another designer already do a scarf in this pattern that i haven’t heard of? if any of you know, tell me before i get started. there ARE other stitches i can use . . . i just like this one.
so, anyway, toward the end of my work day in the yard, just when i was finishing up the far end of the big hosta bed, our little bunny made an appearance for his evening meal of clover (we have lots. more than even this guy could ever eat). he hopped right out near the spot i was working and chewed away. so i put my hoe down and went in the house to get the camera.
when i came back he was still there but when i pointed the camera he took off for a hiding place
damn. and he stayed in there a while . . .i don’t blame him, it is a nice tent-like little space.
“look bunny”, i said, “here’s the deal—you need a meal, right? and i just want one photo, so c’mon, gimme sugar, puhleeze?”
then he must have decided it was ok to put a toe or two in the dirt outside (after all, the human sounded nuts, but she wasn’t exactly attacking him, was she? did someone say nuts? i like nuts!)
still quivering a little too much for a good portrait though.
then i mentioned the picture was for the blog.
37 thoughts on “foliage free for all”
testing
namboo cashmere AND bison.. be still my heart! Love that sample!
and your little bunnie friend oh so sweet.
Lady’s mantle.. I forgot about that one. I shall have to try and find some for my shady back yard :-)( thanks for the reminder!
Oh wow,,, your rabbit looks quite different than the ones we have around here,,, the Israeli was surprised but Joe said: yah,,, I know!
I love the look of that new yarn, beautiful!
Nice bunny shots — they are hard little buggers to catch on film, aren’t they? I’m loving the way that new little nothing looks; if you’re needing some test lovin’ on that one, let me know — leaves make me happy. (Oh, hell, what doesn’t make me happy?) I’m sure to be done with the mitts by the time it’s ready… 😉
Oh, I adore poppies. We do NOT have the yard for them, a lot of shade and clay soil on the tiny patch of sun. I pine for them, but Helen (age almost-90) two doors down has a whole row of them down her side fence. I can see them from inside my office. Wonderful.
I love Lady’s Mantle, would be perfect here. However, the first time I saw it at a nursery I wasn’t sure if it would be a good bet. Since then I have never seen it for sale. My sis in law gave me a tiny plant once but it did not have enough roots to survive me (learning to garden but still a novice). Sigh.
Someday. Meanwhile, your photos definitely bring a smile, as always.
I think your swatch looks gorgeous! I don’t really care if someone else already used that stitch pattern either. I want that yarn in that color in that stitch for a delicate fall scarf. And how cute that the bunny posed for the blog.
wow, i love that niji yarn and it looks great with that stitch pattern.
And I’m definitely going to knit those mitts.
Haha what a cutie! Looks pretty young. Mmm and that copper yarn… drooling on the keyboard here…
Awww, such a cute bunny ! Says the bunny lover 🙂
Oh my that new yarn you’re knitting with is so georgeous, no wonder you don’t want to spoil it !
Awww, cute bunny! For some reason, at my folks’ house we would always call the bunnies that were munching away on the lawn el jefe. My dad never cared for that too much, because he’s the boss of his house, after all… But we still called the bunnies el jefe.
Wow! Love the glovelets!
And I have two pet rabbits and they’re hard to photograph with all their hopping about and such, so kudos to you for your wild rabbit pics! 😀
Now you know how a Woolen Rabbit feels about bunnies….what a little cutie!
LOVE that green mitt!! I have a pretty bamboo mix that I may have to give a try with this pattern 🙂
The combination of yarn, color and stitch pattern is fabulous.
I agree with Ronni. Leaves make me happy. I don’t think it’s possible to do too many leaves. As for another designer using that stitch pattern, even if another designer did, you’d do it in a way that made it your own.
Peter is back! I’m glad you coaxed him out for a shot. I love the mitts and the yarn for the new Little Nothing. I like that color. It’s different for you. Thanks for the plant shots!
A little sweet-talking never hurts anyone! (grin)
Looks like Peter Rabbit has lost his waistcoat again!
Anne- I like the swatch- a whole shawl with a leaf theme would be divine-
You should see what B’rer rabbit has done to my burning bushes!
I wouldn’t worry about how someone has used a particular stitch pattern before. Stitch patterns are out there for everyone to use. It’s what you do with it – how many repeats, how you work the edge, etc., that matters. The odds of your coming up with exactly what someone else has are next to nil (though I remember the situation that has made you a little jumpy on this issue).
I love that stitch pattern. I’d stick with it, it’s like Tana said, they’re out there for everyone to use. Plus, ideas are constantly recycled. I can’t tell you how many socks I’ve seen that resemble your Rococo socks.
Thanks for the bunny picture! I just saw my first wild bunny last month and it was thrilling. Not as thrilling as my first squirrel siting though!
It looks to me like you had a very rewarding day in the yard. We have tons of bunnies but they are all camera shy. You have a real ham there you know…lol
cute bunny, great gauntlets, good swatch… I don’t really recall having seen this see-saw leaves before. . And the yarns from the previous post! simply beautiful.
My bunny is too skittish, but i had to come tell you that he spent a goodly-portion of yesterday sleeping out in the open (though in long grass) in my back yard. It was adorable, but my camera lens is in no-way capable of taking a pic of something so cute/small, so far away.
Eventually he went in search of lunch I think… and Hub was finally able to mow the lawn, lol. (Which of course I told him he couldn’t do until the Bunny left of his own accord).
Love the new mitts! Pretty pretty! 🙂
bamboo/bison/cashmere?!? Wow — is it as softa s it looks.
I almost spit out my soda when you said to the bunny “gimme some sugar”. Too funny.
I *love* the colour of the yarn you are swatching for your next little nothing! The aqua may have been pretty, but this one is simply gorgeous!
When I moved from Ohio to Missouri I brought some of my Lady’s Mantle with me. It didn’t like it here and died. I love how it holds the drops of rain or dew on the leaves.
I love the lace pattern you chose for the scarf. Go for it.
Hee, always a good time here! That little bunny, ‘gimme sugar’, touches the little heart strings. sweet.
I also really like the new little scarf design, it reminds me a bit of stained glass, other than that I don’t know that I’ve seen it anywhere else… it also whispers Art and Crafts style to me which I love.
I love that pattern for the fingerless glove. When will it be ready to buy?
Good bunny, too.
such pretty greens! (all of them…) and that last swatch is very pretty – that yarn looks just luscious. so many laces, so little time!
Hmm, the curves of the scarf motif remind me of a bison’s silhouette. LOVE the bunny photos, and the peonies, and ALL. Thanks for bringing us closer to nature.
I was admiring the new life in the leaves, then reflected in the knitting, but did you hear me breathe “Oh!!!” out loud at the little bunny, all new life himself as well? Thank you for enjoying it. Not everybody would remember to appreciate it there.
I love those mitts in both the varigated yarn and the semisolid yarn I might have to make a pair in each of them. Also I think that stitch pattern for the next little nothing is beautiful and I haven’t seen any other scarves in the same stitch pattern.
You had me at “bamboo, cashmere and bison” + that beautiful color + the lovely stitch. Even though I have too much on my plate, I think that little nothing must be mine!
Rabbits are absurdly cute. Is it the eyes? The ears? The expression that says, “She’s crazy, but she’s got a blog, so…”
Love your nature shots & the little rabbit is so cute. Wish I could take such great pictures.
I am delighted to find your blog, and beautiful work. I must admit that I so admired the transition in the glovelette pattern from cuff to hand(!), I did not see it as a flaw at all. Back to reading the archives.
I’m glad you weren’t upset about the bunny. I know they can wreak havoc on vegetable gardens! We had one last year who hopped all around the neighborhood, but she hasn’t been spotted again this year. I miss her. 😉
Cute bunny! I’m loving the new scarf!! That yarn is gorgeous…are you using it in the lace weight?
I have a whole folder of pics of Lady’s Mantle with water droplets…Love.It!!! 🙂
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