When Will All the Flowers Begin????

I keep singing that song in my head with these words..... All around the blogosphere, I keep seeing flowers. We are still getting snow! In the last 5 days it has been white twice. But the snow did give me a chance to take some wintry photos of a pattern I am working on. Julia isn't quite as obliging as she used to be when I am taking photos. I've got to bribe her with money and then it is pretty torturous for both of us. Do you see the snow ball in her hand below? You can only imagine where it landed - at least it wasn't on my camera. Hard to believe it was April 1st, isn't it?

I received the prettiest little thing in the mail the other day from Robin in Minnesota. She came to the October "Get Stitched on the Farm" knitting retreat.

And a beautiful letter.

Dear Kristin, Attending your class in October of last year was one of the highlights of my year. It was so much fun! I've had more fun playing with color and feel a lot more confident. I've been knitting a lot, but I keep getting distracted with flowers. Here's one that reminds me of your sunflowers. Robin

What you can't see is Robin inserted a wire into the stem and the flower is totally bendable. It is exquisite and is cheering me up sitting in a little vase on my windowsill above my sink as I wait for something green to begin here. I was really tickled to receive this flower. As she was spending time at the farm last year, I could see her brain being turned on and a real creativity developing in her knitting. Robin is an accountant by training and letting loose doesn't come easy to her. As I sent her off into her knitting world, I could tell she really was taking away a lot of good information and that "I had gotten to her." To receive this little gift was truly special for me as a teacher. Thanks Robin!

I'm teaching the "Get Stitched Flower Class" in September here at our Farm. So far, there are no takers so I may have to cancel it and try something else. Or maybe the date is just bad. Or maybe noone wants to come.... There are only 2 spots left in the October 2/3 class so if you are on the fence, think about signing up soon.The July class is completely filled with a group of friends from Maryland. I'm looking forward to all the preparations, cleaning up the garden, airing out the house!

If you are looking for a nice Spring, Easter, or Passover gift to knit for friends, I must suggest my "Olympia's Knit and Crochet Flowers" pattern. (That is the pattern Robin used although she improvised a bit - yay Robin!) Who wouldn't like a knitted flower for a hostess gift or a centerpiece. I think maybe I will use my rustic basket with felted flowers as an Easter basket this year. 

The felted flowers also look beautiful when decorating a grapevine wreath. They are so quick to knit and totally addicting. A nice "carry around" project when it gets too warm to drag around big bags and heavy wool.

The pattern is available for $6.00 on my website via PDF Dowload here.

Don't forget to add your question to "Ask The Farmer." Either you all are too tired of reading the blog or don't have enough time in the day..... Or you are still working on your taxes like we still are. I've got a really busy week this week and next and I am hoping The Farmer will fill in for some of my posting.