My vintage hand towel is done.

A few weeks ago it seemed as though spring was here.


Trees were blooming, birds were singing and the sun was shining.



And then winter returned. This was the view from the back steps after days and days of torrential rain and cold. It's always a treat to see snow on the mountain tops because it doesn't happen very often.

And look at what might be coming:


With apologies to my friends in the mid-west, east coast, Canada and other countries who are sick to death of cold and snow, I have to say ...


YAY!!!

But eventually I emerged. After all, you can't feel too uncomfortable in a place that offers a display of crocheted bacon and eggs.

I've gotten in the habit of frogging knitting projects that I doubt I will ever finish instead of letting them languish at the bottom of the knitting basket for months and months.

(For non-knitters, "frogging" is ripping out the rows. Rip it. Ribbit. Cute, huh?)

It feels pretty good to know I can finish all of my current projects in a reasonable amount of time. Now I just need to actually sit down and do it.

I wanted to learn a fairly easy technique for the New Technique Knit-Along this month, so I chose to learn to knit mitered squares by starting with this Mitered Hanging Towel.

I've seen lots of gorgeous mitered patterns over the years, like this shawl, and always planned to learn how. The dish towel is a little too easy-peasy, but I have so many other projects going on this month I didn't want to take on anything too overwhelming. Next month I hope to learn something a little more challenging.


Lots of goodies have been arriving in the mail lately. Today I received this floral clutch that I purchased from Annie of Pink Paintbrush, who is the daughter of Jane of Maiden Jane.

The clutch is so pretty and the quality is exceptional.

It's warmed up here to the point where I can comfortably knit outside on the patio. I'm working on my first baby blanket in this soft organic cotton. It's for my sister's baby, also known as "the bun" (hence the name of the blanket), also known as my future niece, due to arrive in June.

I usually avoid knitting blankets because I don't like to work with such a large number of stitches, plus I'm in to the whole instant gratification thing (or as instant as you can get with knitting) and blankets take forever. But this one is gratifying in a different way because I get to sit and think about the bun as I knit and send her my love with every stitch.

Last weekend I picked up this green chair at the Goodwill for a song. I'd been wanting to find a chair to place by my bedroom window so I can enjoy the view of the eucalyptus trees and keep an eye out for feathered friends.