Now Sweet April

 Happy April!

We planted Lilacs after we took out a do nothing hedge. If I can keep them alive, I will have a very nice group of flowers. These are Persian Lilacs, so hopefully they will like the weather better than the Eastern kind. They smell wonderful. Isn't spring lovely? I have loved watching this new neighborhood wake up this year. I admit to thinking about things I looked forward to each year at the old house, but I grab myself by the scruff of the neck and don't let me go there. Look forward, never back. How on earth would I get so many projects finished if I was Kim Hula-hoe hand I ask you? 

I have one side to finish binding to finish Mr. Whiskers from Star Rug Company. 

 This is such a fun little pattern. I just enjoyed it so much. I love whimsical rugs. I hope to finish his binding today. Binding is so hard on my hands, I don't know why, but they just get so sore, I can't even open a door. I guess I should stick to the hula hoe... Not!

I got that cute little book from With Thy Needle and Thread, Jelly Bean Jubilee. So many cute patterns. 

The hardest thing was picking which ones to do first. Such fun colors too. 

The big rabbit pinkeep is from Scattered Seed Samplers. The chick is from the Jelly Bean book. 

It was so much fun to do these spring things. I had made a goal for myself from January to March. I have accomplished them. Now I have to plan some goals for April-June. I know planting my teeny-tiny garden is in the works so I might slow down on the sewing and hooking front. Its such a different year from last year. We put the house on the market a year ago today. So glad to be here this year. 

So its all good. All of the babies born in 2020 are growing and are perfect. Crawling, trying to walk and rolling over. Sweet, sweet things to think about. I feel very, very blessed and happy. 

I wish you a wonderful Easter, full of blessings,

Kim

… the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ ”…

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 

 Spring is around the corner. The blowy days of March are here. I do love March. We get all kinds of weather in March and I love all of the changing clouds and bright blue skies. I love the wind and I love the rain. Then every so often a 70 degree day is thrown in for good measure. 

I have been happily hooking, sewing and gardening. We have a nursery just down the street from us and when I have to get out of the house for a bit, I can go down there and explore. Its a big nursery and I have yet to reach the end of the property. Ron is going to take the day off tomorrow and we are going to buy some Lilacs, Oklahoma Redbud and whatever else we can plant in our front yard. Ron has taken out the bushes, boring bushes that were here and replaced them with his Japanese Maples. We had a tree company come take out the diseased cherry tree and the Oleanders last week. 

That is the empty flowerbed we had everything taken out of. That tree and bushes are the neighbor next door. I had to be fast because I was still in my pajamas and when you have neighbors it feels pretty weird being outside in public. Even though, I am surprised that the neighbors do come outside in P.J.s 

I finished Windy Day, which is the reason for the post. Last year when Saundra did a post on her adorable rug, I bought it. Then we moved. I finally got to hook it a year later. Its a very lovely rug.

Its called Windy Day. By Primitive Grace.--- W. Cushing and Company. I love whimsical rugs and designs so much. 

My next rug is called Mr. Whiskers by Star Rug company. I love bunny rugs. Hooking is just so much fun that I don't have a million things to get done each day. In my other house, I woke up every morning so sore I just couldn't move. I thought that it must be because I was getting old. Then we moved. I haven't been that sore in six months. I wake up every day excited to be alive and some kind of fun list to accomplish which involves lots of creative things. It might be gardening or hooking or needle punch or working with wool. All of it is amazing to me. Ron has started working on his Bonsai again, He has grown these trees for years and now to see him finally get to create again is just just an huge incredible blessing. 

I hope you have the best day! I love Wednesdays. Well, every morning now, I love whatever day it happens to be. 

Blessings today from me to you.

~Kim~

Saint Patrick's Breastplate...

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger

 

 

Its is March; Yay!

 Happy March! 

It feels like spring around here. We have been busy making this house ours. Its so much more fun fixing this house rather than trying to get one ready to sell and then move. 

In February it was a busy month. We finally had the hot tub hauled off. I was so happy to see that thing go and the next day, Ron and Peter put this in.

Our yard faces south. There is no shade at all in the back yard. We have plans to add a bigger patio at some point, but this helps so much. 

That is it for a back porch. We have so much solar that I would rather be tree less in the back yard, after years of crazy power bills, I am so thankful to be here where PG&E is not who I support each month. 

The next project is making raised beds in what flowerbeds I do have. It really makes me crazy not having any food growing. I have never been without a place to grow food before. I was out in the back yard the other day, and I could hear a hen singing that she needed to lay a egg. So someone here has some hens. It made me happy. 

I do have a few finished projects that I did in February. Only three. I didn't get as much finished as I thought I would. It starts getting warm and I have to go outside and just look at things. 

This little rug by Theresa Kogut. I have wanted to do this rug from the first time I saw it. It was nice to hook after that big rug I finished in January. 

 This sweet bunny pattern from Scattered Seed Samplers called Spring Gathering. I have had it forever and it was all kitted and ready to go, it just took me so long to get to it. I am going to make it into a pen keep I think. 

This is by Maggie Bonami. I bought the pattern from Blackberry Primitives. Its called Autumn Blooms. 

Its really big, much bigger than I thought it would be, I was thinking quilt block and its more like a table topper. 

So pretty productive for February I think. I am finally getting to the place in my mind where gardening is beginning to sound like fun again. I was really worried about myself, because it seemed like for so long, gardening was just to big in my mind. Ron has been taking out bushes and putting in all of his Japanese Maples. Its going to look so pretty when they leaf out all red. So far I think he has planted nine or ten. He has some more to plant. They won't get that big and they are ones he had grafted and grew himself. I am so glad they are finally in the ground.

I am writing my post and Max takes a flying leap to my desk. He thinks he has to be in the same place as I am, I think I would get more sewing finished if he didn't try to steal everything. Pens, scissors, wool. He is quite a thief. 

I am currently working on Windy Day.

It just makes me happy to hook it. Its a great pattern for March. 

I hope you have the best weekend. Its going to be perfect here. 80 degrees. But like typical March, it will be raining and cold next week. 

Thank you so much for stopping by,

~Kim~

*The Wonderful Things You Will Be

by Emily Winfield Martin

“I know you’ll be kind… and clever… and bold. And the bigger your heart, the more it will hold. When nights are black and when days are gray—you’ll be brave and be bright so no shadows can stay. And become anybody that you’d like to be. And then I’ll look at you and you’ll look at me and I’ll love you, whoever you’ve grown up to be.”

***You know who you are. ;)

Just a Brag Post.

 Hello my blogger friends,

I had made for myself a goal. I thought I would try to finish some things and post them at the end of the month. Sort of like closing out a month so I  could start a new month with new ideas. With that goal in mind, I really worked hard. These were very fun goals to accomplish. The above picture is from last week when we visited Cal State Bakersfield. Emilie is working on their gardening area, she works with Edible School Yard and she grows food to donate to food banks. Its a lovely area and she has built the beds and grown some of the things you see here. She is doing raised beds, and has a area for Permaculture and its just so cool that she can do this for a job. 

I loved the sky and the clouds out there and its so quiet. It gives you the idea you are way out in the country. Since the lockdown, the Botanical Gardens have been closed. I took this picture through the fence. It looks like no one has been here in almost a year. I hope it opens soon. I loved this place. 

Now for the brag part. 

I finished my giant Cape Ann. I thought hooking took a long time, but steaming and binding was a big chore too. I do love everything about hooking though and I love this rug. 

The pattern is by Edith O'Neal. I bought the pattern from Wooley Fox

I finally finished my Ann Womack 1838 by Shakespeare Peddler.

I know I worked on it a few years, and it was the only thing I could sit down and work on in the midst of moving and when my life was so chaotic. Its kind of been my friend and I was sorry to finally finish it. It really calmed me. I do love working with my hands and I feel so much more at peace with projects everywhere. 

I got a Maggie Book for Christmas. Pure and Simple. I love every single pattern in that book. The first one I did was the bird. 

After almost two years of not doing any kind of handwork, in a way its like starting over from scratch.

This was a good project for getting my feet wet. I told myself I want to make everything in that book this year. 

I have decided I am going to get back into needle punch too. I am not the most graceful person in the world so needle punch is a challenge for me. I only made myself bleed just a couple of times so I do think I am improving. But having in a kitten in the house makes it a challenge. Max, who is a kleptomaniac as well as a kitten makes it a bit harder.  He wants the needle threader so bad and even came up to take the punch needle out of my hand. Its like having a toddler in the house. I have to hide and pick everything up because he will come in after I leave and find something that I will find later in a different room. I am so glad he can't open drawers. 

I bought this pattern from Three Sheep Studio. I love all of Rose's patterns. She has the best service too. I think this was more of a reacquainting project for me. I am going to start a new pattern from Rose really quick. Mr. Baggins. 

The great thing about moving and down sizing, was I got rid of so much clutter. The bad thing about moving and down sizing is I cannot find things I thought I packed. I do not have any batting or stuffing or even very much fabric. I have no idea in my mind where it is now but I know where it was in the old house. So I have to buy things again. It is a very pleasant thing to do, get out my sewing machine, and just have a hook in my hand or a needle or a needle punch. When I get tired of that I can always rearrange my mantel. Which I do about twice a week. This is such a blessing of a house to me. Never would I have dreamt I would love this place so much. So I am still enchanted by the unexpected. 

I hope you have a wonderful day. Tomorrow is February. I have a lovely project on my dining room table and a new rug on my frame and a new needle punch all ready to go. Lots of very nice things to think about. Trying to not read or look at news. Trying to keep my mind on nice things. Focusing on those things I can change and not looking at the things I can't. Above all not being afraid. We have blue skies and crisp cool air. 

When I look at the things I could be afraid of, I think of the miracle that God gave to us. 

William our son holding his baby, at home. When I get afraid, I can go back to the things that happened that were so good, and ignore the things that didn't. 

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope your days are filled to the brim with good things. 

~Kim~

Lots of people go mad in January. Not as many as in May, of course. Nor June. But January is your third most common month for madness.”

― Karen Joy Fowler, Sarah Canary