Garden, Sewing Machine, Scarf

This is my small condo garden a couple of weeks ago. You can see four peonies, pink geraniums, some purple flowers and a white flowered bush. (I'm really bad at remembering flower names!) Right now the garden looks completely different, with lots of bright yellow snowdrops and some other yellow flower, and of course the peonies are gone by. It's a small area, but I can cram a lot into it.













And on another subject, this is the mohair scarf I knitted for Hubster's beloved Aunt Josie on my trip to Minnesota last week. Finished the last three inches when I got home. It's probably too short but I used up my entire ball of yarn - I'll give it to her with a pretty pin to hold it closed.










And thirdly, I have to relate my Internet triumph this morning. This story starts with my 40-year-old sewing maching finally biting the dust last month. I was undecided whether to buy a new one and try to get this faithful machine repaired. Then I found a yard sale with a (relatively) new Singer for sale for only $15. Worth a shot, I thought. This morning, I needed to mend something and tried the Singer for the first time. The bobbins kept jamming and I couldn't figure out how to set the various knobs and dials, and there was no manual to help me out. So I went on-line, typed in "Singer machine instructions" into Google, and got the Singer home page. It asked me for the model number, which I found on the side of the machine, and they downloaded the apppropriate manual (for free!) I followed the guidelines, set the tension buttons, and voila! - perfect stitching. Could this have been done without the Internet? Yes, but with a lot more time and effort. I love the Internet!!!! (By the way, Singer can send instruction manuals for machines back to their earliest models).

Three Complete, One Started

The Pearl Buck Jacket was actually "completed" last month, but I wasn't happy with the way the front edges curled in. A few people at the Guild meeting suggested I sew ribbon down the front, which I did. I had some lovely floral ribbon in my stash and sewed it down each edge, and also across the back of the neck. It still tends to curl under, but less obviously, and I like the way the ribbon looks.

I finished the Radiate sweater, and also finished the blue Clover yarn - just had a small ball left. I like this linen blend yarn a lot, and this is the third garment I've knitted from it. This is a nice summer sweater to wear with a tank top underneath. I'll be wearing it tonight at the Courthouse Restaurant for my weekly "date" with Hubster.

I started a pair of socks for myself using the Fancy Feet fabric, which you unravel as you knit along. This is a fun project.

And by the way, I got thumbs up on the socks I knitted for S1 - he emailed me that they fit just fine and he'll wear them a lot. Just what you like to hear!

And now I have to decide just what yarn/books/etc. to bring to the Knitting Guild yarn swap next week. I just sent out the newsletter, which is always a big project every 2 months, so I had some time this morning to work on Ravelry updates and this blog entry.