Windowsill Gardening





 Snow on the ground. Again. I NEED to grow something. ANYTHING. I stumbled upon these little articles on the internet the other day. I mean actually stumbled.I was looking at a coffee cozy pattern on their site. Anyway, First.....Growing Green Onions in Water. I LOVED this idea. On my way home from work the other day, I picked up onions. I used the tops in a Stir-fry for dinner, saving about 2-inches of the bulb end for growing.


Day 2

Day 4

Amazing how fast they grew! Then, I decided I should expand my windowsill garden with Sprouting in a Mason Jar. They had mentioned radish sprouts being sort of spicy. I LOVE radishes.....let's try radish sprouts!



Day 3

Not a super good photo......but, you can see some sprouts. Anyway, until I can get out and play in the dirt, Windowsill gardening will have to do!







2 More Blocks!

Not getting a thing done on my other projects. Blocks for the sampler afghan.....now that's ANOTHER story! I have 2 more blocks finished. First, Hint of Spring:

I REALLY had to concentrate on this block! I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

Then, there's Double Treble Burst Square:

Super fun to crochet! Kinda like a Basic Granny Square with a twist! I think I'm going to make a couple of these for JCCF. In fact, I think I'll start one this morning!

Signs of Spring?

Apparently, eastern Oregon is going to be the last place to see the signs of Spring. It snowed on the 20th (first day of Spring) and every day since then. Okay, it usually melts by the afternoon. Still, it's snow.

I started checking my flower garden for any signs of new growth. Here's what I found.....under the snow. Look closely!

Iris sprouts! How exciting is that? It won't be long now......Soon.......Spring!
So, I filled the hummingbird feeders for their future arrival.

I enjoy watching them whirring around the feeders. So, I like to keep them full from spring into fall. It's such a simple recipe to whip up:

Hummingbird Feed

1/2 cup SUGAR (no artificial sweetners!)
2 cups water

Heat for 2-3 minutes in the microwave until all sugar is dissolved. Let cool in the refrigerator for several hours(or overnight). Fill feeder. I prefer a feeder that has quite a bit of red on it (to attract the little hummers). Hang feeder and enjoy!

I'm "Hooked" Now!

I've finished square #4 for the Sampler Afghan. Never Fading Flower. Now that I've mastered "clusters", they're really not so bad! Anyway, here's the square :

Actually, there's four squares crocheted together using this method.  Yep! I'm "hooked"! Wanna guess how my other projects are coming along?

Two More Blocks for Sampler Afghan

It was a rainy, miserable day yesterday. So, I completed two more blocks. First Pretty Petals

I have to tell you, once I figured out what I was doing with the clusters, this block just FLEW! I finished all but the last two rounds in one evening! That's FAST for me! Love, LOVE, LOVE this block!

Then, since I was having such success, I made another Maggies Square. This isn't even a block for 2012 BAM/CAL (well, at least so far it's not), but I LOVE making it. That's all the criteria I need for a block!

I know it looks a little wonky in the photo. I was so excited to post photos, I haven't even blocked the squares yet! 

Now, I have to decide what to make next. I'm kind of thinking 4 6-inch squares sewn together? Just not sure yet. Some of the blocks I want to make need at least three colors. So, I need to consider adding another color to my color scheme. Since I'm considering this for a gift I'm not sure about this either. I really think a little black would look very classy with the off white and taupe. Maybe?

It only took me until MARCH to make February's square

In January, I joined Ravelry's 2012 BAM/CAL. Now, I only joined to check out different blocks and color combinations other people use. Maybe there would be a block or two I could use for blocks for JCCF .I had NO intention of making an afghan. Then, I got to thinking (this is the dangerous part for me). Wouldn't it be fun to make a sampler afghan. February's block seemed like the perfect place to start. I had seen someone had done one in a solid color. Maybe I should make one in off-white? I just didn't make a decision until March.
I began the block. It was going pretty good too. Until round 7. This is the round the designer warns you to follow the instructions and trust that by round 12 it WILL flatten out. Flattening out didn't seem to be my concern though. Getting the heart to CENTER was! I ripped back and started over SEVERAL times before remebering I had seen a tutorial somewhere. I found it! The tutorial here! Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU! So I ripped back to round 5 (it's the crucial round) and began again. Now, I should have 12 ch-3 spaces on each side with the sc of the 12th directly centerd  at the bottom of the heart. Nope! It took me awhile to figure out that somehow SOMETHING had gone TERRIBLY wrong in round 4! So, I ripped out round 4! After that......smooth sailing!
Here it is!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL? I think it's so elegant in one color. I was so-o-o-o-o-o happy to finish this, I decided to start January's square. Almost finished it in one evening. I'm on the last round. I'll post it soon!

Daylight Savings Time

So.......Daylight Savings Time. Now, I'll be behind an hour until fall! Yeah, I don't really need the government's help to get me behind. I'm perfectly capable of getting behind on my own! Oh well, it is what it is.
Well, we have four more squares for JCCF.

Maggies Squares

First, Maggies square....I had attempted this square before. I'm not sure what my hang-up on the crossed dcs was before, but this time they came out fine! I really like the texture the crossed dcs add. Anyway, I will definately make this square again!

Unholey#1

Unholey #2

Then, my "go-to" square......Unholey Granny Square. I love having a square that I can basically make in my sleep! Just change up the colors and it's different.

That's it for now! Time to find a fresh, new project!

Project Updates

So, it's the first day of March and winter has FINALLY decided to show up! Now, I'm not saying we haven't had cold.......We have DEFINATELY had cold. Just not snow. That all changed when it began snowing late on February 28th. Now we have about a foot of snow. I guess that Groundhog was right.....at least 6 more weeks of winter!
So, I thought I'd take a look at the project progress (or lack thereof):

Contest Afghan: I entered the contest with photos taken of my "not-quite-completed" afghan. I still have a little time to complete if I'm chosen as a finalist. I'm on my last two skeins and the length is 47" (it should complete out at 60"). I am ready to move on to something new, however!


Citron Shawlette: I'm about halfway through section 5 (I'm going to do 6 sections). The drawback (for me anyway) is shawls have TOO many stitches the longer they get! So each row takes FOREVER to get across! So, again.......ready for something new!

JCCF Squares: I've been working on a couple of Maggie's squares and am almost done with square #2. I'll post these once I have pictures.

Teeny Tiny Flowers: These were so much fun to make! I used them to decorate the mug cozy made for February's Coffee Cozy swap. This is how the finished cozy turned out:

Sewing Projects: I've been working on a couple different styles of project bags/tutorials. So, hopefully those will be coming soon!

So, as I contemplate Spring.....and Spring/Summer projects here's what I plan:

1. Projects that are quick and fun.
2. Easy, less complicated projects

We'll see how I do......I can get a little distracted.