Garden Update

I thought I would share with you the pictures I got of the cucumber plant this morning. There was a lot of dew on the leaves and the droplets were just gorgeous. I took a number of photos, but these were my favorite.



I had leaves growing and I didn't know what they were until a couple of days ago. Aren't these gladiolus really pretty? There are a number of them growing around our cul-de-sac area. They are all different colors, but I like ours best. There are another two stocks of these in our yard which will be blooming soon and I think they will be pink also.

The last picture is of my tomatoes----they are turning red! I only have one tomato plant, ES and C don't particularly care for them, but I wanted some fresh tomatoes and before long I will have them.

I don't have much of a garden spot, just some pots on the balcony, but they have been fun to watch and see what is growing there. I have teeny, tiny cucumbers and I'm not sure they will all make it to maturity. I haven't found any pumpkins yet, but they are still blooming. I pulled most of the lettuce, it was really kind of bitter. I would really like to find the type my mom used to plant while we were growing up. We used to eat it with sugar, if you can believe that.

Not much knitting has been going on this weekend. I have been doing some spinning, but not much else besides work, having dinner with friends, and chaperoning a youth dance. Not enough time in the weekend!

Happy knitting and spinning.

4th of July Festivities

ES and I spent the day on the Mall in DC. It was a fun day of attending the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, eating, watching people, fireworks, then more people watching, and shopping.

In the Wales section of the Folklife Festival, I got to watch a gentleman spin on a walking wheel and listen to a woman talk about dying wool with natural dyes. What a fun fiber related day and I learned something more about natural dyes. I haven't used many natural dyes, so talking with her was really interesting. I also ran into Laura from the Wednesday night knitting group and we spent some time in the Marketplace together.

ES and I were going to watch the fireworks from the top of the Cap Gallery, but ended up going and sitting down by the Washington Memorial when it came right down to it. The fireworks were really pretty and I think I got some good shots of them in all their glory.

My favorite picture of the fireworks has to be this green one. There were many more which didn't turn out, but that is to be expected.

I think one of the best parts of the night was standing ontop of the Cap Gallery, once again, watching the people head onto the metro and watching the thirty or more fireworks displays going on around the horizon. There were fireworks going off all over and they kept going and going. You could tell when each of them came the their conclusion as the grand finales were quite spectacular. We watched until about 11:15 pm by which time the metro line was managable and we felt like we could get on without too much problems. Glad we were on the orange line, as there weren't as many delays on that line.

The last picture of this loooong post is the fiber related goodies that I picked up at the Folklife Marketplace. Those are "Darn Pretty Needles" in a size 8, perfect for the scarf I'm knitting for the Red Scarf Project, and a new drop spindle. I haven't spun on it yet, but am looking forward to the spinning. I think I now have about a dozen drop spindles.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Catching Up

So, there has been a lot going on around here. C left yesterday to spend a month in Idaho with his brothers, sisters, and friends. Before he left, he wanted a new hat. His old one was lost in a puddle on a rainy day about a month ago. He reminded me he wanted to take it with him to Idaho on Sunday. I finished this hat by Monday morning and had him modeling it. He chose the colors and yarn from the stash. Now I just have to make some hats for all his friends that have requested them.

The first hat which I knit about a month ago, right after C lost his other one, ended up being too small for C and has since found a home with his friend Nate. I haven't seen it in use, but C says it has been worn. C also picked the yarn and colors from the "stash". What a great stash buster.




I have been watching the blossoms on the pumpkins growing in my planters on the balcony. There are quite a few blossoms and I am hoping to get a couple of pumpkins out of the deal. I also have some blossoms on my cucumbers and some green tomatoes on the vine. I just have to remember to water daily, as the planters dry out really quickly.

These are the skeins of yarn I picked up while in Chicago. The green is Dream in Color Smooshy (Happy Forest). I really like this color and there is 450 yards. The other skein is Alpaca Sox in colorway # 1858 with another 450 yards. They are both "my" colors, but will probably be knit and given as gifts.
Don't know yet to whom they will be given, but I'm sure someone will pop into the mind.


The last picture is of the clouds last night. They were really spectacular to watch as I sat on the balcony spinning. The colors of the sunset and the depth of the clouds were quite a combination and kept me entertained for an hour or so. That's what happens when I get home from work while it is still daylight, I get to watch the sky, people going by, and spin on the current wheel.