What Was I Knitting?

This  lilac bush is at the end of my building.  I walk past it with my dogs everyday and love to watch it bloom.  The white edge around a slightly pointed lilac blossom is something I have never seen until now. There are a few white lilacs around our condo grounds, too but this blossom is my favorite.  Annie and others said they were reminded of a childhood memories and that brought one to mind for me as well.  One of the houses where we played often had row of large lilac bushes along one fence line.  The bushes were so thick we couldn't push between the branches to go from yard to yard.  We would pick armfuls of flowers and bring them home, filling the house with vase after vase.  My poor father would sneeze all day.  It is rare to see large banks of lilacs that seemed to be everywhere years ago.

Katy and Teresa C both wanted to know what I was knitting while sitting 'in heaven'. And Norma, you can't get much closer to heaven than Snowbird, just like you said. I had just finished the back of my NB T when we decided to head out for our mountain sit-a-thon, so I started knitting the front while sitting in the sun.  It surely is knitting up quickly, the pattern is great and Calmer is a very nice yarn.  In other words this was heavenly knitting in heaven.  See her  just laying in the snow?  All the knitting enjoyed the day at the Bird, too.
I have black Calmer  for the Chinese character (for Love) that I want to put on the front. Unlike the pattern I won't be using it for contrasting neck and sleeve bands, however.  Since knitting is going so well I do hope to finish this soon.  But the Eyelet Cardi? Oh, la la...you'll just have to wait to see her.

This is a very cool RAOK from Jill. Thanks Jillz!  She sent three books of sock patterns to help me use up ALL that sock yarn in the stash.   I have been having sock dreams because of all the gorgeous sock yarn stuffed into that bin.  There is no excuse to not start something soon.  Oh, but wait, I still have the Spearfish Socks to finish and speaking of Spearfish did you see my Weekly Zen?  It's Kristi who is the designer of that sock and host of the Spearfish KAL.  She is also the co-host, with Snow, for the Gathering of Lace KAL. That makes her a KAL maven in my book.  She is a very good knit designer and you must check her side bar for links to her very cool photographic blog and her inspiration blog.

Please forgive my slow response to comments or email...work is very hectic this week.

Comments

[Kathleen]

I love the way you photograph with the snow...you, your knits. :) Lovely lilac picture. We had nice bushes at our old house in MA. The one here is a bit thin and sad looking.

[Colleen]

When I was a kid our neighbor had a few huge lilac bushes which I loved. He, however, didn't take care of them and they are long gone.

The Arnold Arboretum in Boston has an annual Lilac Sunday event in May. You never knew that there were so many varieties.

[Cindy D]

Love the white edging of the lilac flowers,too!!! The things we can fail to notice that are right before our eyes!!

Thanks for the larger version of the shawl knit in Judy's yarn!!!

Cindy

[Judy]

mmmmm. I can almost smell them.

[melanie]

oooh, I love lilacs! My mother in law has a gigantic lilac bush and whenever we go over she has filled vases for me and taken cuttings for me (never mind that I live 3 hours from her)...

They always make me think of college. Picking a sprig and putting it on the door of a boy you're crushin' on. Good times.

[Jackie]

Those lilacs make me think of my mom - they are beautiful.
Your NBaT is looking great. I can't wait to see the front - wish I could decide what to put on mine!!!

[Susan]

I *love* the lilacs! Ours are just getting their buds, so hopefully we'll see the flowers soon. You do only tend to see the huge banks of lilac bushes at older homes, and then only at those who still have their mature plantings. I'd love to have more lilacs at my house, but I just need to figure out where to put them.

[Beth]

Count me in as someone with fond memories of lilacs. We had several of them in our yard growing up and they're blooming like crazy here now. My favorite though, is the irises that will be blooming a bit later.

[Kim]

I love lilacs! When I was in grade school we used to pass yards full of the bushes--just thinking of it reminds me of the great smell. It also reminds me of trips to the lilac festival in Rochester, NY. Thanks for the look back :)

[Cathy]

The French hybrid lilac that got frozen is the lilac with the white edges. I so looked forward to seeing it in bloom. There are many lilac hedges around the old part of town. You promised to send sunshine and by gosh, we have it today. I found Kristi via the BellePapier yahoo list last summer and have admired her work ever since. Hometown girl rocks!!

[Kristi]

Thank you so much, Margene! I'm soooo honored to be your Zen blog of the week :-)

[Liz]

We bought a lilac just like that when we lived in NJ. It was so beautiful, but I haven't seen that variety here in ME to get one for our new house. Wish I could remember the name of the variety, but I really do love all lilacs.

[Norma]

Love you lilacs! That Calmer is lovely, isn't it? you'll love how it washes and holds up, too.

[Laura]

I love lilacs, I just noticed mine yesterday and it has the slightest hint of buds forming. I can't wait for them to bloom.

What is it about lilacs they make us all remember our childhood?

Thanks for the spring moment!

[Lynne]

This particular lilac is "Sensation" a beautiful hybrid...For Father's Day one year, we bought my husband five of them...one for each of the kids. When we moved from our cottage at the lake, we transplanted two of them, which grow here today. Lilacs just take me back to childhood...the smell, the smell... (however, Sensation is a hybrid for looks and not scent)