life with a chronic disease and a really big yarn stash
The Saturday Update: Week 21
It was a really nice week. It was a warm and sunny week. It was a work in the garden week. It was a baking cookies week. It was, especially, a knitting week!
Knitting
I’ve made a lot of progress on the latest knitted cat project. This pattern is Cat by Claire Garland. My Ravelry notes are here.
Last night I got Maya’s ears and her eyes done. Now I have the white knitting of her tummy, neck and chin to do and then it will be time to sew her up! I have some idea of adding snippets of black yarn to make her have a longer coat, but we’ll see how that goes… I plan to start with her tail which is immensely fluffy. Do you remember Maya the cat? Here’s my first post about her.
I’m still fussing over yarns to knit a Breathe and Hope shawl by Casapinka. I finally decided to cast on with these two yarns to make a first shawl that I can use to learn the pattern. These colors are ones that I like a lot and will go with most of my wardrobe.Here’s the problem: reading over the pattern I didn’t have a clear idea of how the yarns display in the shawl. I’m using these two yarns that I like but don’t desperately love to learn the pattern before I cast on again with the yarns that I love immensely…These guys!! The plan is to double fade these guys as I work on down the shawl. Now that I’m working it I’m wondering if I can break the color changes by sections in the shawl. Stay tuned… I just realzed that I need to be weighing the balls of yarn while knitting the practice shawl…I’m also making some good progress on my Garter Snake Cowl. I’m almost to the point where the garter stitch begins. My Ravelry notes are here.
Garden
Lots of weeding is going on and babying of plants that are considering whether they would like to bloom soon, or maybe just grow some more for awhile. Those darn plants! I try to convince them to do both at once but they just do whatever they want no matter how much food and fertilizer they get.
Today the first bloom on my ice plant in the front flower bed opened. Yay! Soon there will be 5 feet of this blooming happiness along my front walk.This snapdragon plant, a runaway from a flower bed, is now blooming like its life depends on it. Which kind of is the situation as this guy just appeared in a rocked section of the front yard. I’m watering and feeding it anyway because… well… just look at it! This one little plant is almost the size of the big tub behind it!Finally, I am happy to report that my rose bushes, which were heavily frost damaged a few weeks ago, have all rebounded and are putting out new growth. This bush, a Home Run rose, was a big one covered with blooms all last summer. Last year’s canes are mostly lost, but there is an abundance of new growth coming up from the roots.. Yay!! I won’t be completely sure about what I have until this plant blooms, but I’m pretty sure it was not a grafted plant, so I should be getting the rose blooms that I want.
I’ve deep watered those roses every week using a big bucket and a tube to slowly siphon water over to the roots, and two weeks ago gave them a nice dose of fertilizer by the same method. Success!! Can’t wait to see the blooms.
Books
I’m still reading the treasuring The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel. It is such a rich book with precise text and reflective sequences that I am reading it slowly. Also, did I mention that there are 784 pages? Every morning I make a latte and take the book outside with me to read while I enjoy the morning traffic in the back yard. Today there was a blue jay! Did I get a picture? No. I did not. I’ll see what I can do if he come back…
Have a great week, everyone!!
Read a little, knit a little, and garden like your heart can’t live without it.
I weave, knit and read in Aurora, Colorado where my garden lives. I have 2 sons, a knitting daughter-in-law, a grandson and two exceptionally spoiled kittens. In 2014 I was diagnosed with a serious rare autoimmune disease called systemic sclerosis along with Sjogren's Disease and fibromyalgia.
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21 thoughts on “The Saturday Update: Week 21”
I DO like this. These diary entries are so enjoyable.
Listen: your roses .. They would like you to trim off the dead bits. Or are they too thorny ?
I trimmed off a big sack load of dead bits yesterday from the three roses involved. The parts that are still there have a little green tinge to the stems or managed to bust out a leaf further up the stem, so I’m giving them another week before I come back with the pruning shears. I also want to see how tall those new canes grow because if they don’t get as tall as the few canes that survived I will have to prune the tall ones down. It’s a work in progress, for sure!
Volunteers are the best! I’m hoping for some in my back flower beds. Maya is coming along… this was the easiest one to do the eyes and ears on. I guess I’m finally catching on. 🙂
Thank you. I’ve been concentrating on the back of the house and those flowers are doing well. The gardens in the back, however, are full of weeds. I need to clean them out and go on a hunt for some perennials that I can divide and transplant to other locations.
Definitely keep us updated – we need pictures of your fabulous garden!
I’m not so sure that it can be called fabulous at the moment. I spent an hour fulling weeds today and there is this whole strip that I refer to as the “weedy wilderness” that is just laughing at me. It has potential, but my goodness does it need work!!
It will be amazing within a month – you will whip it into shape!
Well I just can’t get enough of these photos of the gorgeous yarns. I’m glad to hear your rose is recovering. Those snapdragons really are showing off!
I know! I am such a sucker for beautiful yarns. It’s the main reason why I have so much of it!! Now that the warm weather is arriving I am going to move over to knitting small things and shawls, which means it is time to play with all of my yarn!!
Yarn, Books & Roses 
I DO like this. These diary entries are so enjoyable.
Listen: your roses .. They would like you to trim off the dead bits. Or are they too thorny ?
I trimmed off a big sack load of dead bits yesterday from the three roses involved. The parts that are still there have a little green tinge to the stems or managed to bust out a leaf further up the stem, so I’m giving them another week before I come back with the pruning shears. I also want to see how tall those new canes grow because if they don’t get as tall as the few canes that survived I will have to prune the tall ones down. It’s a work in progress, for sure!
Then I apologize humbly: I thought I’d seen dead canes amongst the new growth. My glasses are probably filthy. 😀
Well, you may be right. Time will tell…
Wow that snapdragon plant is absolutely beautiful!!
Thanks! It’s a plant that is determined to survive!!
All your flowers are just beautiful!! Volunteer flowers are the absolute best:)
Maya looks great! I love watching the knit cats progress:)
Volunteers are the best! I’m hoping for some in my back flower beds. Maya is coming along… this was the easiest one to do the eyes and ears on. I guess I’m finally catching on. 🙂
Knitted Maya is turning out so beautiful! And all your flowers are just lovely 🙂 Glad your roses are coming back!
Thank you. I’ve been concentrating on the back of the house and those flowers are doing well. The gardens in the back, however, are full of weeds. I need to clean them out and go on a hunt for some perennials that I can divide and transplant to other locations.
Definitely keep us updated – we need pictures of your fabulous garden!
I’m not so sure that it can be called fabulous at the moment. I spent an hour fulling weeds today and there is this whole strip that I refer to as the “weedy wilderness” that is just laughing at me. It has potential, but my goodness does it need work!!
It will be amazing within a month – you will whip it into shape!
Well I just can’t get enough of these photos of the gorgeous yarns. I’m glad to hear your rose is recovering. Those snapdragons really are showing off!
I know! I am such a sucker for beautiful yarns. It’s the main reason why I have so much of it!! Now that the warm weather is arriving I am going to move over to knitting small things and shawls, which means it is time to play with all of my yarn!!
I have never heard of an ice plant before, but I love how the blooms match your knitting!
It’s a ground cover succulent that I grew up with in California. Very hardy and requires almost no care. I love plants like that!!
I am looking for something like this for along my driveway. I’ll see if it is hardy in zone 5
I think I’m in zone 5, so it should be. Your local nursery will know.
Your gardens look beautiful! ❤
Well, I only show off the good parts, but they are steadily getting better. 🙂