There are some weeks when time just seems to fly by and I kind of wonder where it went.  Andy and I have been working out in the yard and garden almost every night this week.  We have been debating on what to do with the flower garden that quickly became a jungle last year.  It's nearly impossible for me to work on it in the warmer months when the bee's are out.  I'm extremely allergic to bee stings as well as several other biting and stinging insects which makes gardening a bit tricky.  We have decided to take out most of the flowering plants and just leave a few of our favorites.  One of my personal favorites is our Columbine.  It never fails to produce beautiful flowers and has made a few babies.  We are also keeping all of our herb plants since we both enjoy cooking with them. I'm hoping by the end of next week that the garden looks good enough to take some full pictures of to post here.

I'm so excited to announce that Candy Necklace is now available on Ravelry!  It's a really fun and easy pattern.  If you have wanted to try knitting lace or get started in shawl knitting, this patten is a great way to start.  It's both charted and written and comes with diagrams and a schematic.  A HUGE thank you goes out to Beth, Linda and Debbie for test knitting.

Linda's Candy Necklace in 

Bohemia Fibers Barefoot Bohemian SockWoodlands

 Beth's Candy Necklace
 Sorry, I can't remember the yarn she used.  I think it's a Rowan Cotton.  It was quite lovely when  saw it in   person.








The original Candy Necklace in Cephalopod Bugga Mantis Shrimp



 I've started a page on Facebook for Lara Smoot Designs. I will be posting specials, coupons and other goodies (like free pattern give aways!) on there from time to time.  I hope you will come find me there.  I would love to see what you are making!







PS We went fishing last Sunday.  So far this year I have caught the most fish!  I caught one tiny bass, about the size of my hand.  So small that Andy had to remove the hook so I wouldn't get stuck in the finger.

Andy and I took a weekend off from fishing to do a little wandering around downtown Lynchbug.  One of our favorite places to visit is Estate Specialists.  They have everything and nearly anything you could ever want or imagine. It's fun to go and poke around for a bit just to see what's new.  The stained glass in the above photo is in the peak of one of their buildings. 

This interesting sculpture made of re purposed electronic components was in the lobby of one building:

I couldn't really decided if it was creepy or cool, I think it falls somewhere in between.

Ive been inching along (couldn't resist the pun, sorry!) on the Stripe Study Shawl for the Shalimar KAL on Ravelry.  The original pattern called for large stripes mixed with pin stripes.  This shawl is really in right now on Ravelry and I wanted to do something a little different while still keeping with the same pattern.  Ive made the stripes the same width with each color.  What do you think of this look?

And to finish up our weekend recap, we stopped by Andys parents house for Fathers Day. Somehow our wires got crossed and we missed them.  While we were waiting for them to come home, Andy and I walked around his moms garden and I took some photos.  Love this water feature and how the light is showing from the slats in the deck above.  It gave it an interesting perspective.