FINISHED IN TIME FOR SPRING!!!!!

I have been working on this hats since January and finally finished 

them in time for spring.

Both hats are made with a lovely light aqua blue silk and wool blend

by Louisa Harding.  

I added a chocolate brown alpalca silk to the Watchman's cap.  The combination of these yarns made this hat incredibly soft.  

For the beret type hat, I added a purple muti colored Mohair/Rayon 

mix and this too was extremely soft.  I really enjoyed mixing these

yarns to come up with a new color palate for my knitting! 

This is my son, Ryan wearing the Watchman's cap.  He did go up

to Lake Tahoe, but it was too hot to wear the cap.  Well, maybe 

next year!
My daughter, Shannon, and her favorite friend, Bellaluna,

is wearing the beret like hat that was made in a seed stitch.

I suppose now I need to make a cap for Bella.

HAPPY EASTER! HAPPY SPRING! HAPPY PASSOVER!

Well, I'm 'springing' back after a four month sabbatical and I am happy to begin sharing my quilts, knitting, gardening and whatever else comes up.   I finally figured out how the pictures really work so I have been unleashed just in time for spring!Dutch Iris is one of my most favorite flower.  I have planted at least 300 bulbs of various colors of periwinkle, cobalt blue, white, even one with rust with orange on its petals.  Sadly, the dark periwinkle color above are the only ones that come back every year.  I should at least be happy about that.  When I see these happy flowers, I truly feel that spring has sprung.

This plant is called Caribbean Lily.  A friend of mine bought me a tiny plant many years ago. Now I have this beautiful plant all over the yard.  It is a bulb that can easily be moved anywhere.  It is almost weed- like in its tenacity to grow.   The petite violet clusters of flowers are lovely.  I grow it in the full sun, although it could be grown in shade.  The leaves, here in California, start growing in early fall and the flowers start blooming around Easter every year.

What a treat!

Oh, this is one of my favorite plants, the tricolor Lilac.  The blooms are magnificent and the smell is like pure heaven on earth.  The Lilac must get enough water until the roots are very established and you have to be careful how you prune it.  I have had two other plants for several years that have never bloomed.  So these plants can be a little fussy. I am also partial to lilac scents and candles.  I can't get enough of this wonderful smell.

SILK SCARF WITH BEADS

This scarf is made with the beads already attached.  It was a lot easier than putting the beads on yourself.  The yarn is silk and it is incredibly soft.  It's a treat for me because I am allergic to wool.  It feels so soft around my neck.  Purely decorative.  This is a picture of daughter-in-law- to- be modeling the scarf for me.  Cute, huh (I meant Meghan)!!!!

BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

This is the Princess Diana Hybrid Tea Rose.  I took it a picture of it very early this morning and it has frost on it.  It's December, and I still have roses.  California is amazing!  The temperature this morning was 28  degrees.  In the afternoon,  it was cool, sunny and pleasant.  But for Northern California, winter is finally here.  Now we just need RAIN!!!!!!!

THE GIRL WITH THE STRAW HAT

This watercolor painting is named The Girl in the Straw Hat, but I called it the Girl with the Mesmerizing Eyes.  The artist, my good friend John, seems to have captured the very essence of her being through her eyes.  I often watched him draw and paint and he did it with such incredible concentration that I believe he became the object that he was painting.  Sadly, we lost this talented artist and wonderful friend today.  I am so very sad that I will not be able to paint with my friend again.  My family grieves for John.  He has many friends and family who will grieve for him.  But he is at peace now and I wish his family comfort during this very difficult time.

AMARYLLIS

Orange is not my favorite color and most of the flowers in my garden are pink and purple.  But every year for Thanksgiving I buy orange mums and then plant them on my orange side garden.  This amaryllis was given to me as a gift several Christmas's ago and has decided this year to bloom for Thanksgiving.  I took  2 pictures of it.  One is the rich orange color and the other is the sun back lighting the flower.  I thought it looked awesome and think I might paint it in watercolor.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I have a collection of Christmas Catus.  They are all different colors and shapes.  This morning one of my Thanksgiving treats was the opening of the pink flower bud.  All the plants have buds on them, getting ready for Christmas!