Well, I finally finished the tote bag that I made from the wool sweater I felted in February (you can see the before and after of this and a couple of other sweaters). It was a very fun project - I had to work out some design issues in order to show as much of the flower design as I could. I had planned to sew the neck together for the handle, but that didn't leave a very big opening. So I used one of the sleeves for a handle, and sewed it onto the neck area, then used a decorative blanket stitch around the openings.

I used part of the other sleeve to make a little pouch for my camera, and the drawcord is the ring of stitching where the sleeve originally was sewn on the sweater.

Working with wool feels so good - it was soft and cozy in my lap as I stitched, and it just feels good to the hand when I'm holding the handle. It will be comfortable to use, and I'll have a pillow if I need it!

Spring is finally here! Well, you can't really tell by the weather, but things ARE blooming and buzzing and carrying-on, as they will do in spring, so I guess we can consider winter over for this year. And what better to do than spend a morning with good friends making art.

But wait - there's way too much to look at, since everyone brought books and magazines and show and tell. Eventually, we did get around to working on our various projects. Carol shows the table runner she's working on, while Andy looks at my Heart book with the Photo Art Journal group. Jamie and Audrey look at some of the magazines.

Signs of spring, on this, the last day of winter....the salmon berry is one of the first wild flowers to bloom, before the leaves come out, in a tangle of brown brambles. The fresh green of the leaves compliments the vivid fuchsia of the blooms.

It's always a struggle to emerge, as this wrinkled blossom shows.Not as much of a struggle to emerge from the mud, the skunk cabbage reflects it's chartruese leaves in the dark, still water.

Spring is in the air! Last night we first heard the spring peepers, those tiny frogs with the giant voices. And today the little birds are bouncing about - a small flock swooped in under the covered porch and tittered and chattered and flew into the windows, then, just as suddenly, they were gone! As I waited for my oil change, I wandered into a near-by wooded area which was filled with robins and nuthatches and chickadees and other IBB's (itty bitty birds), busy first on the ground, then up in the branches, then back down to the ground again. It was a veritable flurry of activity! In the trees, they are working on the pollen from the alder trees.

The wearin' of the green! One of my favorite sweaters.

Steel-blue iridescent berries join fresh buds and newly-opened flowers on this viburnum bush.

It is best enjoyed close up!

We were awoken this morning by the sound of rain on the roof - and for us to hear it through the insulation means it's coming down pretty good! And so it was, but it didn't last long. I went out after it ended. The forsythia bush is beginning to bloom, and those new buds and blossoms caught a lot of rain.

I love the bright "yellowness" when you get right into the bush!