Finished projects...and basil update

The Multnomah Shawl (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/multnomah")is officially completed. As you can see, it doesn't look like much before being blocked.

But after blocking? Oh, my! I do enjoy knitting this pattern. I think this is the third Multnomah I have made, or maybe it's the fourth. The pattern is free on Ravelry. If the designer had charged even $2 per download of this pattern, she'd be one wealthy woman by now.

The Tea Leaves cardigan ((http://madelinetosh.com/store/index.php/patterns/tea-leaf-cardigan.html finally has its buttons. I don't know why it took me so long to sew them on. This was quite an enjoyable knit, albeit a bit monotonous once I finished the neck design. I added a crocheted edge to the neckline to prevent it from stretching.

The Hiker's Waistcoat, a free pattern at Kelbourne Knits,  (http://www.kelbournewoolens.com/hikerswaistcoat.html) finally has its buttons, too. And I know why it took me so long to sew them on: eight of the little buggers. I think this will be a gift for a friend at Christmas. The trick will be to determine, somehow, if it will fit her before giving it to her. She was at my house a day or two after I'd finished knitting this secret project. As she flipped through my latest issue of the WEBS yarn catalogue, she spotted this exact waistcoat, held it up for me to see, and said, "Isn't this a nice vest?"

I can see that I need to block the waistcoat again before giving it away. I had it stuffed into a bag for several days, so the wrinkles are obvious in this photo.

And the Basil Project? So far, so good. The tender little seedlings have been loving the stretch of 80-degree weather we've had for the past few days (and again today). They're out on the sundeck, in fact, sunbathing this morning.

It's going to be difficult to adjust to more typical March weather this weekend. Temperatures in the 40's and 50's will feel brutal, for sure.

For now, I'm headed out to the flower gardens to do some more raking.