Fleeting Spring

 Spring is here, sort of.  And I can prove it: chives!  These babies have been coming up for a couple weeks now and I have been eating them like crazy in scrambled eggs, soups, sauces, and my favorite vehicle for them...bacon-cheddar-chive scones from KAF!!!

Scones are not fussy.  If you can make biscuits, and everyone can, you can make scones.  These are a beautiful tri-color quick bread with the yellow cheese, the maroon bacon and the green chives.  I served these as the bread in our meal on Friday when my brother and in-laws came for supper.  We grilled some fabulous BBQ seasoned pork chops my brother brought and I made from scratch baked beans, potato salad and Julia Child's bread crumb broccoli.

 My father-in-law really likes these savory scones but my mother-in-law favors sweet scones.  My brother really liked these and he was going home to his family and my parents who were visiting them so I baked another wheel to send home with him.  Num num!  I tried keeping chives through the winter just for this recipe and had no success.  I've since bought a little acrylic greenhouse at IKEA and will try again this winter--more on that later.  All you need is a measly 1/3 of a cup of minced chives for this recipe and I would love to eat them in the winter!

 Our other joyful news is that our dear friend Hazel gave birth to a baby boy on April 22!  Hazel is my sister's best friend whom she met at her first nursing job at Mayo.  She has the most infectious personality and is an honorary family member and of course we are all thrilled for her.  I have to admit, as a knitter, she was kind of a pebble in my shoe because she didn't learn the sex of the baby prior to the birth.  I didn't dare start working on anything until I knew what I was dealing with!  Of course little Maverick will need a blankie and I found this darling cotton print at Joann's.  I did very well with my coupons that day and also got the backing fabric on sale.  I hope she appreciates my taste, because normally I would have gone for a blue binding--it is my favorite color after all.  But after going through pregnancy and birth with my sister 3 times, I realize that a lot of crafting/knitting/sewing done for the baby is done just as much for the mother.  I bound this with hazel green because Hazel is the mother and I've always loved her name.  You don't meet too many Hazels under the age of 80 and this blanket is for her just as much as it is for Maverick!

 I also did a little knitting for her.  I did some stash busting with the light blue multicolored sockies that are compulsory.  I just knit a pair of these for a co-worker and she just came back from maternity leave raving about them.  My sister always loved these too because they are ribbed and will fit forever and they STAY ON.  I also knit a pair of angora baby booties in a manly blue color.  Winter is thankfully a few months away but I knit an Aviatrix hat from some leftover cotton Boku.

 This is a Baby Surprise Jacket knit from some Blackberry Hills I bought at the state fair 2 years ago.  They are always in the dairy building and the very last thing we visit as we leave.  We get a milkshake and I dig through the yarn.  I'd bought a lot of alpaca that year and my husband was kind of badgering me as to what was I going to use THIS yarn for and of course I had no answer for him.  I bought 3 skeins knowing eventually I would knit something fabulous with it and here it is.  Thank goodness I got it because I don't know what else I would have used.  No offense Hazel, but I think boys are just harder to craft/sew/knit for.  This will need a good soak/block because the dye stained my hands blue as I was knitting. 

Finally I knit a Star Lace Baby Cap and am literally 2 rows away from finishing but I was too eager to post the picture already.  This is some fabulous Tosh Sock yarn I bought with my fair winnings 2 years ago.  I hope to get all these items blocked and packed and sent in the next week.  I am so excited for dear Hazel!  What a great first Mother's Day she'll have!