* T H A N K Y O U * to every single person who ordered Maggie or her clothes or her supplies in the last few days!!! Thank you very, very much! The sale was wonderful and I couldn't be more pleased. I am so grateful for your orders and your enthusiasm for this little bunny. Everything went without a hitch this time on the web site (I think?) and we didn't run out, which made me very happy and did not give me a stomach ache like it did last time. The amazing Greta is already busy packing and shipping orders and will continue to do that throughout the coming week and next, I expect. I really can't tell you how much I love thinking about Maggies going to good homes all over the world. I'm hoping we'll have Maggie kits consistently in the shop now. I think that will be really nice. I love this job. Thank you for making it possible for me to do it.
We had a very, very, very nice weekend. Man, it was great. The most relaxing one in I can't even remember how long, actually. I needed it. We cooked a lot. Andy made my dad's chili (Chili Lobo; we make it with ground turkey), I made this yummy Dijon chicken and mushrooms with linguine, and Andy made homemade pesto to use in Ina's pasta, pesto, and peas, which is a staple here in the summertime (and, in winter, with jarred pesto, it's really good too.) We had breakfast at one of our favorite places. We got some flowers for my front-porch planter, and Andy planted them for me (the best). I had some help with my verggie garden from a very talented gardener named Alica (but who pronounces her name A-leesh-a, like mine), who prepared and planted my little beds for me. I just knew I wasn't going to have time to do this and it was looking terrible. Now it looks pretty, and we have tomatoes, peppers, basil, potatoes, herbs, flowers, butternut squash, pattipan squash, and onions. I pledged to water it every single day this week, though today it is so cold and the forecast says rain. But still. This I can do.
I cast on a new sweater for Amelia, and this made me so happy I can't even tell you. Every minute of knitting it has calmed and pleased me. After months of making bunny clothes and fussing with bunny patterns and re-fussing with bunny patterns it was a huge relief to just follow someone else's pattern. Oh sweet mercy! And what a cute pattern it is. I'm slightly concerned that the neckline looks overly large on some of the finished ones I've seen. But I think I'll make the ribbing a bit longer, and it will be okay. . . . I don't know. After seeing how fetching she was in her Nutmeg Cardi (made ever so long ago) this past weekend I was so inspired to make her more sweaters. She's growing so fast. (I wish that Nutmeg Cardi pattern came in more sizes; it's just 0-3 months.) It's been too long since I've knit something baby-sized (which feels huge after all the bunny-sized)! This is sized 2T (the pattern goes up to size 10, and there is an adult version, too); I have an idea to knit the ribbing on the cuffs quite long, as well, so the sleeves can be turned up quite a bit without looking funky and wrong-sided. I'm very happy to be knitting for pleasure again.
I think I should take a shower. Amelia is down for a nap. I have a pile of vegetables I'm going to cook up for her and freeze. Clover Meadow is lying on a giant buckwheat pillow and a huge throw pillow that are on the couch, all at the same time. I should take her picture because it looks so funny. It's so cloudy and dark outside. We'll take a long walk when Amelia wakes up. The roses are starting to bloom all over the neighborhood. My beloved peonies are blooming. And my allium (the fourth photo from the bottom)? This is her first year here in the back yard. I am so excited. I go out and look at her every day. She's just about to bloom.
*** My heart and prayers for comfort go out to the people of Moore, Oklahoma. Peace be with you there. ***
oh, such beauty - your pictures and words. LOVE visiting here.
So lovely to read your posts. Inspiring and calming at the same time. I too have one daughter (who is now 6) but you seem to be doing MUCH better as a babymom than I did. Oh well, we made it through. I love your sweater, do you know if it has to be knitted in the round? I'd say I'm an advanced beginner and am a bit intimidated by a lot of patterns.
Suddenly: spring!
The light, the blooms, the energy!
Everything is brilliant and infused
with a lilting gaiety... what fun, for us too.
And thank you for sharing all these lovely
glimpses, because, as so often happens here,
you have inspired me to open some windows
and do something lovely... do anything at all,
so long as it welcomes in the lilting gaiety!
I ordered another Maggie and got all the clothes patterns - I was so very happy to see them!! My daughter was squealing with glee when I showed her your site and all the choices.
Everything looks lovely there, we are dealing with terrible storms here but this too shall pass.
Amelia really does look fetching in her Nutmeg Cardi!
Flowers are so cheery and warming to the soul! Happy for your happiness and love your creations :)
I think the neckline on your cardi will be fine. You can knit enough ribbing to fill it in a bit if you need to, but the ribbing will draw the neckline up and make it allot smaller. You can save it for last and try it on A. and decide.
I went from innocently reading your blog entry to planning a trip to Portland. All because I clicked on the link for Slappy Cakes! One look at the menu and I know I have to try their delicious sounding food. It's a three hour trip from here but I have a new driver in the family who is itching to do the driving, so it's a win, win. I've never been to Portland before, so it will be fun to explore and do some shopping.
I love reading your blog, our decorating and style tastes are so similar. The nutmeg cardigan is adorable. Thank you for the trip idea!
Your sweet girl has the cutest clothes ever! Still loving your blog. Amazed at how you seem to have transitioned so easily into motherhood. Big hugs!
I'm in southern England and we're having quite a cold Spring. Our gardens are long way behind yours. The aliums are beginning to bloom as are yours but the lilac is still in tight bud. I daren't put out any of the bedding plants until June as we can still get frosts in May. Night time temperatures can be 6 degrees celsius. We're all hoping that the weather will buck up soon - we need the jet stream to be further north (over the Atlantic Ocean) so that we can enjoy better weather. Keep up with the blogging - I love reading about your life almost 6,000 miles away. And I love your home!
Pretty photos, yummy recipes and little Miss . . . delightful!
I know what you mean, about switching between knitting tiny toy things, and then people things. I've been trying to knit myself a cardigan for a year now, and each row seems to take ages. I find it's easier if I work on them in situations that fit the scale of the project, so toys get knit during little bits of time (like a radio show, or a 20 min tv show) and bigger knits get done during longer activities (like a movie, or audio book).
I really need to get moving on my Maggie bunny too. I ordered one of the first set of kits, and she's only half done! I'm so super busy right now, but she'll be at the top of my list once my current work is finished.
Heavenly flowers, Alicia, and, of course, a Heaven-sent daughter!
I am the same: busy fussing over tiny knits for the hares and mice I sell, and then, as a treat, knitting large-scale patterns. It makes me laugh how BIG three-year old patterns (for my youngest, Angélique) look now in comparison to the teeny patterns I make for my creatures.
I love your sense of colour :-)
Happy flowery week to you.
Stephanie
Oh goodness.. so many wonderful images of our Spring.. the yummy meals and best of all the adorable sweetness of Mimi. I've never heard of that restaurant, we'll have to check it out. I'm happy for you for the success of Maggie! I need to order a sweater pattern. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
I know Amelia's wonderful birth story but she is looking more and more like Andy in these photos...such a beautiful child!
Oh my, that little smooshy face with food on it. Scrumptious! I could nearly succumb to my children's pleas of having another baby when I see her. Nearly. :) I so wish I knitted. That nutmeg cardi is just adorable. I love seeing how pretty your every day looks.
That photo of the allium is amazing! It's spring in one photo.
Amelia is so yummy delicously adorable I can barely stand it! She has such an expressive face and some of her expressions suggests she knows things, she is contemplating all she sees and hears. And those chubby wee thighs....well you are just one lucky gal....and so is she.
My 17 year old, Victoria,and i both got Maggie kits from the first go round. I guess you never REALLY grow up, because we both love our Maggies! Thanks to Victoria my Maggie has quite the wardrobe! She has even made the knitted dress for my Maggie already.
I don't know if others would be interested, but we would definitely be purchasers if you made just the dress/shawl sets as a kit without having to buy materials for another bunny.
Pasta, pesto and peas ~ now that's a tongue twister I'm tempted to try! :)
Catherine Denton
Amelia's sweaters are lovely. Re: the sizing issue on Nutmeg, and don't you think you could just knit the same pattern in a larger gauge yarn and get what you're aiming for? You might have to jigger the arm and body length a bit, but that's not a big deal.
Wow, what beautiful photos Alicia. You really do put magic in them, I don't know how you do it. They are always sensational. If you could bottle it... Loving that nutmeg cardi, and the photo of Amelia on the sofa, she is gorgeous. Glad you had a great weekend. Looking forward to seeing a picture of that allium when it's fully out. Oh, and big necks on baby jumpers aren't always a bad thing - I've had a few with small necks, and they have not been popular!
Amelia is the most darling little lady. My littlest is 15 weeks old and I had so many lovely cardis and sweaters. Alas, Georgia didn't have a very cold winter and many of the items she only wore once if at all. Sigh.
Enjoy your walk. All of your flowers look beautiful. I think I saw some poppies, they're one of my favorite flowers. Amelia is changing a lot, getting prettier and sweeter all the time.
She gets cuter with every post, it makes me barely be able to wait to have this little one of my own xx
Such a wonderfully, delicious post! From the flowers to the yummy food, and of course, adorable baby Amelia...she is so precious! My peonies are blooming this week and are making me very happy, too! My sweet girl has her first ear infection and is not feeling well today. I am off to nurse her back to health with lots of fluids and an antibiotic. Ugh you feel so bad for them when they are sick.