Happy Spring!

Finally, this week it feels like spring has hit New England and I couldn't be happier. Luckily, I don't have to fuss over an Easter dinner (sil is doing that). I've eveh been able to get some things done around the house, since Pete was home for a 3 day weekend, which was further extended by leaving work early on Thursday due to an emergency eye scratch - apparently it was quite bad and his eye doc thought it might have been an eye ulcer - ouch!

In non-knitting news, I have been working rather diligently on decluttering our house. We simply have too much stuff! In the past few weeks, I have cleared out at least 11 tall kitchen garbage bags of clothes, plus there is a TON of other stuff that has got to go. The challenging thing is determining what things to simply donate and what I could sell on ebay. I know that some of the clothes I have would do well on ebay, but not the slew of turtlenecks, knit pants, and tshirts I have in varying kid sizes. So I decided that I'm simply saving the nursing/maternity things for ebay and all other clothes are going to a yard sale (my choice) or donation (Pete's choice). The problem is that there is a ton of other stuff too, household things, craft stuff, things I will likely never use. Somtimes it is just hard to determine what to list on ebay and what to just donate, so it ends up sitting there, going nowhere collecting dust. In many ways, I just want it OUT OF MY HOUSE. So I guess that is a vote for donating it.

The first bit of knitting news: I got a sweet little surprise from my secret pal! It is the cutest little lamb measuring tape. I don't know who loves it more, me or the kids. Thank you Secret Pal!

While at the lys the other day, I picked up some Cascade Quattro, even tho' I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. By the time I got home I decided that it would be perfect for a Chickami, I've done about 3 rows of the bottom ribbing and really liking the way it is coming together.

I did finish my Bottoms Up Bucket with Cascade Sierra, but it really seems too big and sort of floppy for my head. I really love the brim, but the rest of the hat just isn't working for me. I still want to try lacing a ribbon or chain stitch length through it, maybe that will make it work. For my next bucket I think I will stick to the Classic Bucket, even tho' I dread picking up all those stitches.

I'm hoping to finish up Cobweb this week. It's hard for me to tell if the size is what I want it to be, since I know it will grow when blocked, and right now when it is all folded up in the bag, it scrunches down and almost seems to mat itself into a solid mass (luckily it unfolds easily). I'm a bit nervous about the edging and hope that if I follow the directions it will just work.

My latest felted bag is coming along nicely. I think I will end up making two, one for me and one for a silent auction. It is a cheery pink color with a strand of Eros carried along. I think it will be really nice when I'm done. My dark grey/teal felted bag seems so out of place in this warmer weather.