Well,  despite the off and on showers/downpours that we’ve been having, things are really blooming.  One of my favorite trees of all time is the crabapple and I have a lovely old one right in front of my house and its just about exploding right now.  Unfortunately, pictures are never quite as saturated, sharp or striking on my blog as they are in photoshop–the lower res just kills them, but you get the picture…

Last week my thrifting wanderings produced this hand embroidered crabapple blossom pillow case.

.99 cents.  I also got some lovely all cotton sheets with blue flowers and an eyelet border–I think I may make some pajama pants out of them.  (Like I’ve got loads of time….)

Speaking of time, that is one thing that I do not have an abundance of–now that spring is here we have Little League two days a week, riding lessons on Fridays and now Ruby is competing in a talent competition every Friday night for the next 7 weeks.  Throw in football meetings for Doug and we’ve got a completely full week.  At least I can knit at most of the events–that keeps me sane!  I know that the weeks until Ruby’s graduation are just going to fly by….

So, sticking to Finish Up April hasn’t been so hard–I’m 2/3 of the way finished with the first sleeve on my Baby Alpaca Chunky cardigan, I’m making progress on one of two pairs of socks already on the needles (which is a good thing because I’m wearing holes in the heels of socks I made last year–I don’t know how I do it), and I’ve already finished the hoodie.  Behold…

No, I’m not pretending to be a Jedi–this picture was originally for my sister in California and I wanted her to see the hood because I changed the pattern slightly.  I can’t say how much I love this sweater!  It is so comfortable to wear and the Kathmandu Aran got so soft with washing that it hangs  beautifully.  Again, the picture sucks and you can’t see the pretty sage green of the yarn but Henry took the picture and it was bright out.

Back to Finish Up April:  I will admit that I’m a cheater.  I’ve already said that I started my Baby Alpaca cardi before April so that I could work on it in April.  Now I will tell you that, no, I haven’t casted on any new projects but…….I started a crocheted ripple afghan (from the book 200 Ripple Stitches by Jan Eaton.  Amazing book!)  That’s technically not casting on, its chaining on…there’s a difference.  I also dragged out the spinning wheel yesterday and started to spin some BFL that I got last October.  Also not casting on….see how my monkey mind works?  Its like Greg Brady in the Brady Bunch:  "You said I couldn’t drive our car.  You didn’t say I couldn’t drive."  Remember the "exact words"  episode?  I’m a sick and twisted puppy, I know.  (Have I sunk to new depths now that I’ve mentioned The Brady Bunch on my blog?)

Well, I’m glad its Friday….A good weekend to all!