Sunday, January 11, 2015

Pigs, Sprouts and Alpaca

Hello my friends!  How is your year 2015 going so far?  Ours is poking along at a mellow pace.. I've been crocheting and knitting and enjoying the hearthside of our country farmhouse.  And yes.. I did go swimming on Friday.  I had the place almost to myself for a change.  I missed Gracie, though!  And so, I would like to introduce you to Guinea Pig #2.  This one is for my granddaughter Paige.  Today I will box these babies up and they will begin their 3,000 mile journey to my little darlings tomorrow.  I'll miss them!  I will let you know what they name them.


Wheeeek wheek!


The little guinea pigs in their natural habitat.. :-)



When I returned from swimming I noticed that the snowdrops were coming up!  Woohoo!


We have an old Nandina ("Heavenly Bamboo", it's not bamboo at all!) and the birds haven't eaten all the berries for a change!  This is on the right of the walkway up to our old fashioned front porch and in front of our family room.



Aren't the berries bright and red?  I love them!



As I walked down the brick walkway I noticed that the squirrels have been slacking on their job of gathering acorns.  Some of these look like they're ready to sprout!  Maybe I should stick some down on the dirt and see if I can make an oak tree?  :-)


Tulip?  Hyacinth?  Hmmm.



What really excited me is that the Daphne Odora is heading towards flowering!?!  I sure hope we don't get another big freeze and snow which could harm the new growth.



The Irises are starting to come up, too!  I know some gardeners will frown at all our leaves and pinecones, etc. on the ground, but we let things happen in a kind of wild way here.  :-)


I put in an order for a few other colors of Drops Alpaca and saw this Drops cotton so I ordered two skeins to see what it was like.  Oh my.. I'm glad I didn't order more!  The photos don't show it, but these are small skeins and it's VERY THIN!  I'm not even sure what I will make with this.. it's like thread sized.  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  The color is wonderful, however.


I was hoping to get several colors different from what I have, I did succeed with a vanilla color, a grey and a red.  But unfortunately, I got several of the same colors I have.  Well... hmmm.. I am sure I will make good use of this.  You can probably tell that I love Alpaca and Cotton fibers.


I had planned on getting back into this project, but had forgotten that I needed to make the two guinea pigs.  Now that they are ready to ship, you will see more flowers blooming around here.  :-)



Did you have a good weekend?  I hope you did exactly what you wanted.  I've got a few rows of knitting to go to finish up my wash cloth and then.. flowers!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

27 comments:

  1. Brilliant guinea pigs, well done you. How lovely to see a few things peeking up in the garden. I hope you have a good week Teresa. CJ xx

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  2. Your sweet grand daughters are going to love those dear little Guineas. And I love that flower ścarf.
    I knitted washcloths with some thin cotton I had and they were so gentle and drift. Just a granny square with a picot edging xxx

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  3. Ohhh...just think of the delight those girls are going to experience when they open their box of guinea pigs! Love them! Love all the yarny goodness in this post, too! Can't wait to see the flowers you crank out! :D No sprouts here yet, but I'm in Pennsylvania. lol :)

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  4. I love all the colour in your photos Teresa, and those guinea pis are adorable.
    Jacquie x

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  5. OOps that should be pigs ...sorry , just noticed as I hit the publish button :0(
    Jacquie x

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  6. Good for you to walk around your house and see evidence of our Oregon spring heading our way.

    The mini guinea pigs need some miniature rocks with moss to take with them to their new habitat.
    cutecutecute. maybe a crocheted rock...

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  7. Cute piggies - I'm sure the girls will love them. My weekend resulted in buying a new lounge suite !! I got a nice comfy recliner and a lovely modern theatre style 4 seater. Have you thought of edging some pretty terry facewashers with the thin cotton? They do look nice. xox

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  8. Teresa,
    The girls will be so thrilled with their guinea pigs!!!! You really created a good likeness!! We have had a steady rain all day. So nice to sit by the fire, root for our teams, and work up a few more rows of crochet!
    XO Kris

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  9. I am sure that the girls are going to love the pigs! I would love to see green coming up in our yard. But we have a few more months to go yet. We had a good weekend. It was about 24 F today. Felt like a heat wave after last week!! Have a great week.

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  10. Plants sprouting already????not here. Not for a long, long while. So sad. I can just imagine your girls squealing just like the guinea pigs when they open the package. They are just the cutest little piggies I've seen. You did a fantastic job on them Teresa.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  11. squeegee they came out wonderful!!!!! i love the guinea pigs wonderful

    my weekend...i fell in love with a floor cleaner

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  12. I love your guinea pigs! The girls are going to be so thrilled with them. I can't believe all the bulbs and green things you have already. That's pretty exciting. My nandinas always have berries all winter, I don't think I knew birds liked those berries. I love my nandinas so much, they're one of my favorite things in the yard.

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  13. Everything looks so wonderful Teresa and those guinea pigs are very very cute and will sure be loved.
    Me, I have been doing a little crochet myself, trying to get a hat done for my 2nd son before his birthday 22nd jan.....wish me luck lol

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  14. The guines pigs are adorable. I'm sure your granddaughters will love them. I see nothing wrong with your pine cones and leaves. We use to leave all our leaves on the yard so they could continue the fertilizer cycle but now Hubs picks them up in a big vacuum thingie and puts them on the compost in the back. So we are still using them for good dirt. I love the yard colors.

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  15. Cute little guinea pigs, what a lovely gift. Try doubling up on the thin yarn and making a pot holder or wash cloth. I have a lot of bulbs showing their tips at the moment its beautiful, we are having such a mild winter apart from the winds. Your garden is looking wonderful.

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  16. Sweet tiny piggy's. The girls will love them.
    I've found that you just can't have to many skeins of yarn. An alpaca & cotton mix will keep the cotton from stretching if you make clothing. Found that out a long time ago.
    Spring is coming and it's popping up everywhere.

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  17. Love those two cute little guinea pigs, they remind me of the two (real) ones we used to have called Harriet and Pipsqueak....they made just the same sound as your two here :) You are so clever making them look so real, your grand daughters will be thrilled with them! ....and your crochet flowers are very beautiful, I will enjoy seeing more of those. Happy week, Teresa!
    Helen xox

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  18. Love those squeakers!!!! The girls will be so happy and very lucky to have such a talented grandmother! Can't believe so much is coming up, your place always looks so great, in all seasons. Love the yarns, xoRobin

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  19. The piggies are so cute!! Love all the beautiful colours of yarn you have there Teresa and such pretty flowers. We had a chilled weekend. Some gentle shopping ( and a treat for me - perfume) a visit from eldest son and his family. DH cooked a lovely steak - that was Saturday. On Sunday a lovely , lazy tie. DH went for a very long walk I did some crafting and cooked a roast dinner. Hugs Anne xx

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  20. Aw I love how cute your guinea pigs are! Not sure about what to do with the yarn, but if you put it into Ravelry you'll find loads of patterns / projects which have used it so you might find some inspiration; that's what I do with yarn I can't think of a project for.

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  21. Aww those little piggies are too cute. I know they will be well loved in their new home. :) The yarn is lovely. Not sure what to make with the pink and green, but they do look pretty together. Your flowers are so pretty (both in the garden and from the hook)! :)

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  22. Very cute guinea pigs--I am sure the girls will love them! Ah--you have brought me hope with your emerging bulb and daphne odora photos that spring is coming (hope it comes sooner rather than later) :)
    Blessings, Aimee

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  23. Very nice job on the guinea pigs! Wow! You have plants coming up already?! We have months of winter left to go here I'm afraid. Glad to see there's light at the end of the tunnel!

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  24. Flying piggies! At least until they arrive at the girls' house and the girls can hug them :-) We have a few open pink raspberry colored blooms on our camellia bush, but I wonder if we have some bulbs coming up, too. Your red berries are pretty and cheery! I love your shawl...it is beautiful so far and I hope you will enjoy finishing it! I've started my gray cowl...so soft! xx

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  25. I have used the Drops Safran to crochet myself a wrap. It turned out really well. It's what we call 4-ply weight here in the UK. So if you're looking for a pattern then that's what will work with this yarn. Drops have a website called Garnstudio with lots and lots of patterns for all their various yarns. You might find something there that you'd like to make.

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  26. Hi, Teresa!! Your guinea pigs are just adorable! I love the look of that Safran yarn too. I haven't tried any of that, but have ordered other kinds from Nordic Mart before. Look at that bag FULL of beautiful colors! YUMMY YARN!

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  27. Those little piggies are so cute!!!! The girls are going to love them. I think you are going to love that shawl when it is done. I have both of mine on display but have never worn them, I wonder why? I think I am more of a maker than a wearer.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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