Mom's Garden: Before and After

Last year my parents sold their house, which was located on about one acre of property. The maintenance of their yard and gardens was becoming a lot of work and they wanted something more manageable where they could relax and enjoy their retirement.

For my mom, the new house presented a blank slate for new flower gardens. Nothing had been planted or maintained, other than a few tired-looking perennials that were ready for the compost pile. The existing flowerbeds in the front and back yards were overgrown with weeds. Mom started by digging up the few scraggly perennials that were still struggling out of the unkempt beds bordering the backyard and planted new beds. The "before" photo...
After she cleared out the old plants and weeds, she dug new beds and enriched them with better soil and compost:

Next came planning. Many lists were made. Much time was spent observing the light and shade of the new garden. Then she started planting. There were many, many trips to garden centres to get healthy new plants. Here's how it looks one year later:

Gorgeous. Lush, green, colourful, and thriving. She's got the greenest thumb I ever saw. Here's another before/after, looking at a back corner of the yard:

And this is only the BACK yard. Next post will show the front yard - plus the new potting shed. Great job, Mom!

Knitting for babies

A few new projects on the needles: a baby blanket, using colours that we'll be using for the baby's room (I think). The pattern is from Debbie Bliss's new book, "Blankets, Bears and Booties" and the yarn is Baby Cashmerino. It's the first time I've used this popular yarn, and I have to say that it's the softest, coziest yarn I've ever knit with. I love it. I can see that I'll be using it for more projects in future.

Here's a peek at the blanket from the book. Look at that cute little mouse in matching stripes! I am a sucker for stripes on kids. I'm modifying the blanket pattern slightly to make it bigger. I started knitting it as per the pattern directions, but soon realized that the finished blanket would only be about the size of a dish towel. So I cast on about double the number of stitches, and I think it will be the right size for tucking around a little one in the stroller or carseat.

Here's another sweet pattern that I'll be making up (in different colours) for my goddaughter. The adorable photos in this book are enough to make me want to knit everything in it. There are booties, sweaters, toys and even a beanbag chair that looks like a big bird - all modelled by the most beautiful babies you ever saw. Definitely recommended.

My So-Called Scarf

I made the popular "So-called Scarf" as a little gift for a friend of mine who appreciates a nice, handknit wool accessory.

I like the herringbone pattern and once I got going, I found it to be an easy knit. I followed a tip from someone on Ravelry who found a YouTube clip showing a slightly easier way to knit it and get the same result. It took two skeins of Manos del Uruguay to make a scarf long enough to wrap twice around the neck (shown here wrapped just once around the neck of my ever so patient husband).

Next on the list of knitting WIPs: some baby knits, including a striped blanket and a few other wee goodies for the new little one who'll be arriving here in the spring!

Halloween fun, part 2

Halloween came and went, leaving behind discarded pumpkins and leftover mini chocolate bars (which seem to get mini-er every year). There seems to be fewer and fewer kids trick-or-treating every year, too. I'm not sure why that is - maybe they have more Halloween parties and don't bother walking around to collect their treats?

Regardless, we decorated the house with bats and pumpkins made of black and orange construction paper. We also carved two pumpkins, "one with a scary face, and one with a scaredy face," per Ronan's request.

I also made two pumpkins which I can use year after year - these ones made out of wool roving and yarn, with twigs for the stems. I saw these in an old Martha Stewart magazine and have been wanting to make them for a while. They were quick and easy - just strips of yellow and orange roving wrapped around styrofoam balls, and fuzzy orange yarn wound around them to hold the roving in place. A dab of hot glue holds the stem to the top of the pumpkin.

I made one pumpkin according to the directions - with the fuzzy orange yarn wrapped around it to hold the roving in place. But I made the second one with just the roving and it didn't seem to need the yarn. I'm not sure which one I like better.



Actually, my most favourite little pumpkin is this one:


Happy Halloween!