Monday, April 7, 2014

Spring!

Spring time is happening! (I think...there was a layer of snow out this morning).  The turkeys come around everyday and eat food by the birdfeeder and in the garden and around the yard.  There are about 20-30 of them that walk around together.  I think the different groups of them are meeting up and hanging out...flocking if you will.  There are at least 3 males but I'm thinking there are two more, younger ones.  Those are called Jakes.  They puff up all their feathers and walk around regally and try to attract the females.  We haven't seen any actual mating yet, but my dad says the male birds jump on top of the females.  He also says that when you shoot them, you have to shoot them in the head, otherwise the bullet bounces off their feathers.  He then showed me how good their eyesight is.  He grabbed an unloaded gun and stood by the sliding door with it, inside, and they saw him and the unloaded gun and took off.  I don't know how they knew the gun was unloaded...but my dad was sure to point out to me that it was.
I have been busy with crafts when I am not with Lilly.  Currently I am knitting me a pair of socks.  They will be my first knitted socks and I think easier than I ever thought they would be.  I used to think they would be really hard to make, so I didn't try.  But I have been reading Elizabeth Zimmerman books and learning her style of knitting.  She doesn't use patterns but knows how to do the math and percentages to knit without them.  I'm using a mix of that for the top of the sock and the foot part of the sock, but am using the instructions for turning the heel I found in a different book.  Her heel turning instructions are too confusing for my first time turning a heel, but in the future when I know what is suppose to be happening, I'll be able to use Ms. Zimmerman's book.

For Christmas Presents I made out of wood a Growler carrier.  It's like a carrier for a six pack of beer bottles, only it holds two growlers instead.  I'd show you a picture, but apparently it's on a different computer.  I knitted a nice dishclothe with a tree on it and I made a doll ornament.  It was a very small doll and at every step my mom told me to start over b/c it was too small and there was no way it would work.  Well, I proved her wrong!  It worked. I stitched yarn on her head to be hair and fashioned her a red dress and found some glitter paint for her shoes.



My latest finished project is a knitted bunny rabbit.  I've been knitting it since we've moved, so my parents have been waiting to see it finished.  They think it's missing its head.  I think they are crazy.  He looks just like he should look.