Update ~ Rescue Plant Mission

Ok...so, I'm still trying. I've been called "The Fountain of Eternal Hope" many, many times in my lifetime for many different reasons. When I first started this plant rescue, my DH asked me how long do I plan on leaving this pot of dirt sitting around?

He even attempted to insinuate the thought of only one mere month! The nerve!! Knowing me like he does, I was totally shocked that he would even dare ask me that question. He knows when it comes to plants, my "Fountain of Eternal Hope" is just that - eternal!
Here's why...

I have a plant like the pic above. It was spectacular for a long time. Then after awhile it stopped growing. We all thought it just totally gave up. Being in denial, I kept watering the dirt anyway. One day, lo and behold, it started sprouting again! That was when I learned about plants that become dormant for a brief period.

Ok...so, maybe African Violets may not be one of those plants, but who knows what those roots are doing under that dirt! I removed the leaves that were dead, but I was careful to keep the roots under the soil. I know it doesn't look like much yet, but we'll see!! I still have hope....

Dizzy Sheep

I so heart Dizzy Sheep!! Not only do they have great daily deals, but I love reading the crazy daily shenanigans!! One of my friends introduced me to Dizzy Sheep a few months ago when this yarn was the deal of the day.


At that time, I didn’t realize it was a daily deal. I dilly-dallied trying to decide on a color – there were so many good ones to choose from. It wasn’t until the next morning that I finally made that very difficult decision. Not only did I decide on a color, but I figured out what sweater I wanted to make with the yarn! I was so excited with my decisions and was finally ready to make the purchase! You could imagine my dismay when I went to the website and the deal was gone!!! I watched every day for months. Finally, that yarn came back. As soon as I saw it, I logged in and ordered the yarn – colorway: Durfee

After a few days, I received an email from the Dizzy Sheep stating they were a skein short of what I wanted. The Dizzy Sheep representative gave me a couple of options (ugh! More decisions!) and I opted to wait for the next dye lot to get all the skeins. I had other projects in progress, so I wasn’t in a hurry. Dizzy Sheep was so nice and felt so bad making me wait, they gave me a 15% discount on my next purchase. I was happy. This is not over….

NEXT, I get an email from Dizzy Sheep saying the yarn company is not making anymore of that color after all!! I could either take what they have or cancel the order. I decided to take what they had thinking if I don’t have enough, I’ll make the sleeves shorter or won’t add the cowl to the neck. Again, because of all the craziness happening, Dizzy Sheep made sure to keep me happy by not charging me the shipping fee! Not only that….they shipped it immediately and I received that yarn in 2 days!! I so heart Dizzy Sheep!

Seeing Stars

I've been on a star kick. Not only because they are so awesome looking, but because they are so easy and fast to make. I've had to make a bunch of baby blankets in record time. This one is my favorite so far. It took about two weeks, but might have taken less time if I didn't play around with the border so much (deciding which one to use, getting it to look just right, etc. etc.) and if the yarn cooperated more. It kept wanting to split and I had to slow myself down. My hands did not like that one bit!!!



The next picture was my first star. It only took about 10 days to make, but would have taken less time had I not run out of yarn!!! This has five colors and I personally think it would have been better with only three colors. It looks much better in person. Everyone at the shower ahh'ed and ooohh'ed over it and the mother actually considered naming her baby "Star"!!

Here is the one I've recently started, but I missed the deadline, so it's in my "on hold for now" pile. I love the colors I've chosen. The third is a varigated blue, green, aqua combination that is stunning. I'm not sure if I like the way the different types of yarn look together though, so I may end up changing my mind going forward with the exact colors I've picked on this one.

And finally, a dishcloth I made for Brittani. Again, it looks better in person. This was my first attempt at a yarn over and what a friend recently told me is called a "short row", which I know the knitters out there might be saying, "But that's so easy!!" To me, I was proud that I achieved a new knitting stitch and technique no matter how easy. Oh and I was doing the yarn over wrong for the first wedge. Leave it to me to do that!

Amazing!

I'm knitting this sock...
It's my first sock! The yarn is Berroco Sox, a self-patterning yarn. It so amazes me how the pattern evolves! How in the world did they dye it to do this? The sock pattern I picked is very simple and perfect for a newbie knitter. The yarn pattern is what keeps my attention. I love seeing what emerges as I knit.

I was so proud of finishing my first sock that I texted a pic of it to a bunch of my friends! The most popular response: Now you have to make another one. Seriously - almost everyone said that!

I was very pleased to see the mate to my first sock had the same red band at the top. I really, really love that red band and was hoping it would happen that way. Little did I know the same exact pattern would continue as well!! Does this always happen or is it beginner's luck? So cool!!!

Jeremiah!

Well, this is no bullfrog....but I'll consider him a friend of mine!

If you look very closely near the flowers, under the leaves there is a frog. I named him Jeremiah. He's living in the planter on our front porch!! I'm not sure if he's there to stay or just visiting. I'm pretty sure his original home is the nearby pond, but he's welcome to stay as long as he'd like!

I love living in the country!

Rescue Plant Mission

Look at this poor thing....


I so feel like calling and reporting this to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Plants! The only thing stopping me is I know it was not intentional. This little sad sop was given to my mother-in-law as a party favor thank you for attending a baby shower. It was in a beautiful decorative tea pot. I'm sure it was nestled tightly in a box amongst a million other African Violets (yes, it really is an African Violet) on their way to a loving home. I could tell from the leaves it's been crushed, maybe sitting in a cold car overnight or watered improperly. Somehow abused!! So sad!

If you've ever been to my house, you know how much I love plants and African Violets are a favorite. I have 5 of them - had 6, but gave one up to my daughter when she moved to her own apartment. I also have a leaf. This lonely guy has been just a leaf for about a year now.



You can actually grow new African Violets by taking a leaf, placing it in water until roots form and then plant it. I've done this before very successfully. I'm not sure what happened here. I keep seeing leaves trying to come up in the soil, but then they go away. Maybe I scare them because I usually get excited and shout, "I see leaves!!! Leaves are coming!!"

So when my mother-in-law saw the condition of her party favor, she passed it on to me thinking I could nurse it back to health. We'll see if I can get it to look like this...

Meet Lily

This precious angel was born May 6, 2009. I got to meet her this past weekend! It's been a really long time since I held a 3-day old tiny, tiny baby - she weighed in at only 5 lbs., 5 oz. Lily was born over 3 weeks early (due May 31). She was excited to make her way into the world and into my heart. I got to hold her almost all day on Saturday while at my gram's 90 year-old birthday party. It was so hard to give her back to her mommy (my cousin). I was trying to figure out a way to sneak her into my purse and bring her home with me. I need to get a bigger purse!! It always amazes me how much noise a newborn could sleep through. We were in a houseful of people and Lily barely opened her eyes. And even then, I think she was dreaming. What in the world could she be dreaming about??? They say babies don't really smile until they are much older, but I saw Lily smile! It was when I told her I love her!!