Happy Mother's Day

To every mother everywhere, I wish you a happy mother's day!  This year the weather was so wacky that my 'mother's day' tree bloomed early and the pink flowers are gone, but I do have an old one:

It's been a busy, but happy couple of weeks for me.  Starting with Mary Jo's socks:

Mary Jo wasn't a sock knitter, but she is now!  The socks on her feet (above) are her very first pair.  Let me explain why she deserves a LOT of credit: she used a pattern that didn't even make much sense to me (and I've knit quite a few pairs of socks in my day), but with some help, she muddled through it.  She also never knit with more than two needles before, so that was a real challenge for her, but she did it. And she worked very, very hard to make them and she finished.  Congratulations, Mary Jo, on your first pair of socks! (Lion Brand sock yarn).

The Mother's Day sweater for my mother was a great success.  I made the Tappan Zee and sewed the buttons on this morning before I went to spend time with her.  Made with Elsabeth Lavold silky wool and US #6 needles:

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the sweater, but I was too busy today.  I would have taken a picture of her wearing it for the blog, but that didn't happen either.  I'll catch her wearing it and I'll get a shot of it.  She really likes it and she said it was perfect for summer.  Now I feel better about making her another sweater for her birthday in February.

Joanne and I went out to lunch for her birthday at a place called The Coconut Palms in the Bronx.  While service was slow, the food came in generous portions.  The appetizer was crab cakes:

The entree was curried chicken with white rice (that's Joanne's rice and beans in the background with her fish cakes.  She ordered oxtails):

Service was slow, the food was not spicy at all and the fish/crab cakes were unremarkable, not a lot of flavor.  I was expecting a more authentic taste so this place just got moved to the bottom of the list for Caribbean fare.

Lastly, I'm making the Tilia shawl again since I screwed up the last one.

I'm better than halfway done and still deciding if I want to dye it or not.  Pewter is gray, no matter what you call it.

Enjoy your day, everyone.