A Gardening Knitter - knitting, gardening and life in general: Tall Bearded Iris & Knitting

Yes I did, I knitted a whopping big bag, so big it may be useless. Its in the washing machine right now and I'm holding my breath that it will shrink enough to be usable. I forgot to take a picture before putting it in to felt because I was sidetracked by the strap. I sewed the bag together last night and attached the S-cord, that I spent several hours knitting for the strap and did I ever attach it. Once it was in place I realized it wasn't going to work. Not only did I not like the way it looked, it wasn't going to be strong enough for this whopper of a bag. I decided to put it aside for another day and so got up this morning determined I was going to either finish it today or dispose of it. I started by trying to take off the strap and spend the next couple of hours trying to take out the stitching without harming the bag (navy blue on navy blue). Once that was done I stuck the joker in a zipped pillow case cover and into the washer. Only then did I remember I hadn't made a picture. Once it has finished felting I will make some I-cords of a suitable weight and length and place them on the front and back sides rather than on the ends of the bag. I feel pretty confident that its going to work.

DS was home for Mothers Day weekend and it was so great to have him with us for a few days. On Friday night DD came out and brought beautiful Dariana; how nice to have them all here at one time. Yesterday DD and myself were taken to the village for a special Mother's Day brunch. We have a wonderful little bakery and sandwich shop in the village that is only open weekdays and Saturdays until around 3 PM. If you are there around 8:30 AM on any of these mornings, you can enjoy fresh hot-out-of-the-oven croissants and their scones are the best ever, especially the cranberry ones with white chocolate and nuts. Yesterdays brunch was beautiful and delicious. They only took 100 reservations for the entire day and everything was done to perfection. DD and I felt like special moms, but then I think the men felt special too, it was such a nice day.

Today I've shed my shorts and tank top for long pants and a sweatshirt. The temperature has finally gotten above 50 degrees and the sun keeps trying to peek out, although the wind has not let up. Needless to say, with all the rain the gardens are struggling, especially the iris gardens. We had fresh broccoli from the garden today at lunch and it was ever so tender and tasty. I've already put a few containers of turnip greens in the freezer and they should have been picked again on Sunday. Dariana was able to pick about a quart of fresh strawberries on Friday evening and she made a big dent in them before she went home. Of course she took the remaining berries home with her. She loves washing the berries and drying them, then taking the 'caps' off before popping them in her mouth and giggling. So sweet, she is. DD had to go to Washington DC for a business meeting on Thursday and 'I was so happy', not because she had to go, but because I got to take her place at the 'Mother's Day Breakfast' at Dariann's school. It was so special - I felt so special to be a part of it.

On Sat. DH and I went to a Garden Party at a friend's home and to see the irises in bloom. What a lovely afternoon with lots of wonderful friends and the delightful iris fragrance whiffing throughout the garden. Spring is such a enjoyable time of the year for me. We've had drop-in and call-before-I-come guest for the last few weeks to see our iris. Iris blooming time makes a good time to see some friends that we haven't seen since bloom-time last year.

As I mentioned in an earlier post our garden is scheduled to be open on the 17th but unfortunately it will not be because of the early bloom this year and so much rain. The garden was at peak bloom early last week and although we still have a lots of bloom, it is scruffy looking now. We have let as many people as possible know to come early for there won't be anything much to see on the 17th however, it is impossible to reach everyone and I'm afraid someone will drive a long distance to see the irises then be disappointed when they get here. Let me share a few more pictures with you.