Spring Peeper

One of my favorite things about living in the Midwest is how obvious all of the seasons are. Winters are cold and snowy; springs are made for rain boots and daffodils; summers are hot and sunny; falls are crisp and colorful. As far as seasons go, my favorite times of the year are the transitions from fall to winter and winter to spring.

What’s not to love about spring?! Flowers, pretty pastels, Easter, spring break, warmer weather… I love it all! Although there is a blizzard of giant fluffy snowflakes outside right now, spring is peeking out from under the warm earth.

Crocuses are always the first sign of spring 

My darling Husband just finished up his spring break. The end of his second year will be coming soon, but not before a little breather. He spent a long weekend with his buddies from high school doing lots of manly things like basketball games, brewery tours and poker. During the week he got some much needed rest. Then we finished up our break with a road trip back home. He had a very valuable experience spending time with the legal counsel at Mayo Clinic. While in Rochester, we got to chase around, I mean visit with, our little cousins. My, what busy lives they have for an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old! Somehow we fit basketball practices, piano lessons, basketball games, baseball practice, dancing, movie-watching, sleeping, and lots of eating into less than 24 hours! A dinner party, church, and Sunday brunch, all with family and friends from home brought an end to our weekend away.

I’ve lately had some wonderful opportunities to teach. My co-worker is part of a mother’s group that meets twice weekly to learn crafts and cook, and they invited me to come to teach them crochet! I am no crochet expert – I wouldn’t even call myself an intermediate crocheter - but I know enough to get them started. I had such a fun time teaching them!

Last Fall when my church held their annual chili cook-off and auction, I donated some knitting lessons and my dear friend bought them. We have been spending time together whenever possible and we are currently working on a beautiful but fairly complicated hat. She wants to learn knitting-in-the-round, lace, and chart-reading all at once. This girl is adventurous in everything she does!

Although I haven’t been doing much knitting of my own, I’ve been catching up with photographing my completed projects. 

This sparkly bangle was my Secret Santa gift for work

Meem's Christmas gift - arm warmers so she can stay cozy while she reads in bed

This was a Christmas gift for one of my besties from college

I knit this lovely sweater so long ago. I bet this has been folded up in my closet for almost four years! Way back then, the finished product turned out to be a little bit big for me. I felted it just a bit to shrink it but I wasn't happy with how short it turned out. I really ought to knit another one. It's such a great sweater. 

Mr. Kitty Cat has been staying cozy warm all winter in our Log Cabin Blanket too! 

Happy Spring dear friends! 

XO Natalie