I feel like I've gotten a lot done, though most of it needs to remain hidden for just a while longer. There are several projects that are still fair game:

First, all of my craft "stuff" was organized and relocated. Initially, I was pretty defensive about my stash, but I realize, only now, that it really had gotten out of hand. It only looked mildly offensive, creeping out of the office corner, silently displacing art pencils and drawing books, but when I finally donned the organization armor, well, I had several moments of complete defeat.



I now have all of my "stuff," labelled and organized under the bed. Of course, if I buy any more yarn at this point, we're going to have to move. (By the way, this picture only represents a fraction--both sides of the bed are filled with my utilitarian clear (and clearly marked) containers.) (No one has noticed my laundry basket hiding under the desk containing all the stuff I am slowly repopulating the office with)

Within the last two weeks, I have also become self-taught in the arts of reversible fabric headbands.



We were selling something identical at work and I realized I could make them myself--much more cheaply than buying them at work, even with the discount.

A great way to hide my motley, unkempt hair!

I have some works on the needles, but not quite ready to share. Some are for the mum, and well, you know, I'd like to keep it a surprise. I'll post once I've sent those

Spring!

No knitting to show for this weekend, however I have spent it wisely pursuing other interests. It was such a lovely day today---J, L and I grabbed some Chinese food, took Q with us, and went for a walk. We ended up in one of my favorite places--a small, outside theater that's owned (presumably) by the nearby elementary school. It's right off the bike path, but nestled far enough back that you might just walk by unaware. Q loves it back there. He can run around, play and not have to be humiliated by walking on a six foot rope connected to a human. I love it back there because it's quiet and a good place just to go and clear your head. I don't know why J loves it, but it's some place where we've actually both, separately, thought about getting married. Anyhow, we enjoyed a delicious tofu lunch and J and L played some frisbee while I laid around and enjoyed one of the first real spring-like days.

We came home and I ran up the road to get some bird food. I had two feeders out back, both full of suet. Last year, I had wild bird seed that attracted a wider range of birds. I came back with my arms full!

Here's a look at my new bird feeder (shhh! it wasn't on the list). I moved the smaller, metal feeder that was hanging here to closer to the door, since I wasn't sure how long it would take for birds to get used to the newer feeder. Not thirty minutes after I hung it, I had my first diner.




I also planted all my seeds today. I have been really, really, lazy about getting this done, but here are all 100 of them in their new homes. This will be the first year I start herbs from seed. I bought all my tomato plants last year at the farmer's market and had so many tomatoes, I gave a lot away. I think I'll plan to get my tomatoes from the market again--besides, there's a lot more variety there than I can get anywhere here, and they were very inexpensive.

I expect that if I have good luck with all of these, I'll be sharing as well. I planted basil, cilantro, tarragon, dill, fennel (my new favorite veggie, ever!), and parsley. I also had a packet of oregano seeds, but they got lost under my bag and, well, by the time they were found, I had run out of room. I have plenty of everything left, though, so if anyone is looking for seeds, let me know and they are yours.





I also noticed that my chives from last year have already started to come back, and Q took a keen interest in the rosemary plant, surviving now for three years. (About a year ago, he got into some rosemary bread that had been sitting on the counter... needless to say, it was a horrible experience. I lost the vomit count at 19.)

Spoiler Alert!

Where have I been, my dear readers (er, reader, aka, hi mom)? Well, despite appearances, I have been a very busy bee. I am amidst my first Craftster swap--a knitted dishcloth swap... simple enough to not stress me out and get me off on a good foot.

My partner has already sent and so I've was very busy this weekend trying to finish everything up to get put in the mail tomorrow. Surprisingly, I actually got everything I wanted finished!

Here are the two required dishcloths I'm sending. The first is a two-color pattern that, although I didn't like the picture on the website, I do like how this turned out. It's much more fun in person. I'm a terrible photographer. I don't have the patience. You'll just have to trust me on both.



This second was from a set of geometric dishcloths I really admired. I think I may make a whole set for the house and this was a great, encouraging, start. Pretty easy pattern to follow.



The added benefit of this pattern is that it mirrored the design in the matching dishtowel I knitted. Hindsight being 20/20, I wish I had used a different cotton yarn. Though it turned out really pretty (again, this picture leaves a TON to be desired but, I've already warned you), I think it would have been nicer a little thicker. With this picture, you can only sort of make out how great the button is--I got a set of these polymer clay buttons from etsy.com awhile ago and I've been eager to use them.



I also knit this cloth and threw it in for good measure. I REALLY like this pattern, though the cloth itself is a bit small (mine was about 6 1/2 inches square). I've been toying with the idea of knitting a bunch of these and combining them into something a little along these lines



Lastly, I knit these I-wish-I-had-these-as-a-kid slippers. They're puppy slippers! I've already got one request to make another pair, too!