Happy Almost-Spring!  It’s warming up, finally, and I actually got to walk home from work yesterday!  Very exciting.  Almost all the snow is melted, leaving what hardened rime of muck there is to hulk like a menace in the shadows.  (Hmm.  Must be feeling poetic, lol.)  We’re going to the zoo today.

But first, I wanted to show you the lovely scarf that Rachel is making for the Keepsake Tour!  This is the second of the two grand prizes.  It’s a little less GREEN in real life, but it’s hard to get the digital camera to cooperate.  She used a large needle, so the fabric is nice and cushy.

This next image is a different angle, but you can see the honeycomb pattern of the half-double crochet stitches that she used.  She likes this pattern because it crochets up quickly and makes a nice, lacy fabric that’s warm.  She used a soft, synthetic yarn that’s easily machine washable so it’s not fussy to care for.

The lovely quilt underneath it was made by Anna Xavier, who is an amazing textile artist in her own right.  Rachel handed me a pillow when I said I was cold and I just stared it her, thinking, what the heck am I gonna do with a pillow?  Wear it on my feet?  She came over and flipped it open and it spread out into a lovely blanket.  Magic!  🙂

So, Dear Reader, here’s my question to you:  now that the weather is warming up in the Northern Hemisphere and not yet too bitterly cold in the Southern Hemisphere, what outdoor activities do you like to do?  

Remember, all commenters during the Keepsake Tour will be entered to win some neat keepsakes, including this Emerald Keep Scarf, hand-crocheted by Rachel Wilder!