Wow – it has been quite a while since I’ve posted. Life has been pretty busy the last couple of weeks. It looks like assorted “random bits” memes are going through blogland again. Julie tagged me for the “7 things” – I generally don’t join in on memes; however, I’ll use that tag as the framework for writing about the random things that have been going on. (After several lovely days here in Chicago the weather is cold & gray today – so pardon the pictures…)

1. I’ve been working on the railroad – Last month I started a project with a new client here in downtown Chicago. Within the last 3 weeks I’ve visited 2 of their divisions in the southeast and have spend quite a bit of time around rail cars. The required outfit included a hard hat, safety glasses and ear protection. The travel time gave me plenty of opportunity to work on the current socks on the needles.

2. It’s tea time – Knitters Tea Swap 3 is in full swing & I’m co-hosting this round. For this one we have decided not to have secret swaps. I’m swapping with Katie. Now that spring is here the iced tea pitcher is always full in the fridge these days. Currently I’m loving Black Currant tea with a sqeeze of lemon – I first became hooked on this combo when I did my college internship in Houston in 1995 & became a frequest diner at Cafe Express.

3. Peony in Love – I recently received an advanced copy of Lisa See’s latest novel. I thoroughly enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan last year so I was looking forward to getting started on this new one. This newest novel was an excellent read – I started it on the plane down to Atlanta last Friday morning & had it finished by Sunday afternoon. Stay tuned for a review about it in the coming weeks.

4. Kansas Knits – As a Kansas gal, when I saw Laura’s request for squares for afghans for Greensburg I knew I had to participate. When looking through my stash for yarn for the squares I knew I had just the thing – some Sunflowers superwash that I picked up from Cabin Cove Mercantile last summer.

5. Early Blooms – So far the only attention I’ve paid to gardening has been to kill off the weeds in the flowerbed. In the coming weeks I look forward to planting some new plants & working in the garden in the evenings. A few perennials from 2 summers ago survived through the neglect of my travels last summer and now the clematis has climbed up the fence, the sedum continues to grow and the Bachelor’s Button is in bloom this weekend.

6. Family Knits – While visiting the family in the ‘Ville over Mother’s Day weekend I had everyone try on the socks that I’ve already made – ya know, just so I could see how they would fit in case I were to make socks for the Artisan family in the future. Artisan Mom was gifted with plenty of hand knits while I was home – for Mother’s Day and for her birthday. For Mother’s Day I knit 3 garden themed dishcloths (red ladybug, sage hummingbird & yellow sunflower) – hmm, I thought I had taken pictures of those when I finished them back in January but evidently I didn’t. For her birthday I made the Berthe collar from No Sheep for You in bamboo. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of it – maybe when she is up here in a couple of weeks she’ll bring it so we can do an appropriate photo shoot. I had plans for a cotton Bejeweled scarf for Grandma for Mother’s Day; however, evidently I can’t talk & knit on this pattern – I managed to mess it up while talking with Mom once I got home, so it will be done for her birthday in August.

7. Healing Knits – In the midst of everything this month I’ve continued working on squares for the Hokie Healing project. I love the subtle shading variations of this maroon and burnt orange. One skein of each has yielded 2 grandma’s favorites, 2 bejeweled and 1 double heart square. These will be going in the mail this week.

If you haven’t posted in a while or haven’t been tagged by a random meme – consider yourself tagged!