Gardens and puppies and knitting, oh my!

I've been (once again) quiet over here - I guess it's more like a pattern than an exception, which wasn't really what I had in mind when Bernice and I started up! Alas. Anywho, it's been an intense few weeks: spring has rushed over with all kinds of hustle, so I've been spending way more time outside in the garden (and picking off woodticks - don't get me started), doing some home livestock management with our ducks and chickens, keeping the cats from eating everything that's ever left unattended, and most of all, welcoming and attempting to train our new puppy, Clover! She's just nine weeks old so the training part is largely illusory but she's learning to come when we call, and also working on being left alone for short periods while we have to do other boring stuff like dishes and vacuuming (that's me, not my husband, haha). She comes from a large pack, so being alone is a weird new thing for her, but the cats don't seem interested in letting her join up and she kind of seems to want to murder the ducks, so we figure she'll just rock out on her own for now.

Other than all that home stuff, I've been attempting to knit and read as much as I actually want to, which is challenging with a job and other demands on my time! But I've managed a fair bit - reading technically falls under the purview of my job (librarian) so that works out, and knitting falls under the purview of the OTHER job (yarncraft) so voila! Work-related hobbies :D
My knitting news is pretty sweet - in the past two months I've worked on two tests; one Ambah O'Brien wrap, Lovetta, you'll have seen if you follow me on Insta, and one secret test for Tin Can Knits that I can't wait to show off because not only is the pattern easy and awesome, but it's with my hand-dyed yarn! So stay tuned for that beauty. In addition, I've been accepted into Manitoba Fibre Fest 2018!! So if you're heading down in September, you'll be able to find There and Back Yarns as a wee display there. I'll have patterns, hand dyed yarn, and hopefully a few kits and wooden accessories. I'm really excited, and also excited to get to all the dyeing...after the garden is all done, of course :P
So to that end, I was able to fit in a pattern for the MBFF2018 Make Along! It's called Snowy Path, and it's a nice easy cowl that's got enough embellishment to keep you entertained, but is simple enough to wear with pretty much everything, depending on your yarn choices or fashion sense ;) Since that's usually what I look for in a cowl, I'm pretty pleased with this little piece!

If you're interested in purchasing it, you can find it here: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/snowy-path-cowl-2
And if you want more details on MBFF2018, you can check out their site (with MAL details) here:
https://manitobafibrefestival.com/makers-challenge-2018/
Well, these tomatoes won't plant themselves, or so I hope...that would just be a bit weird for me. So I guess it's time to tuck my pants into my socks and get outside! Enjoy the rest of May (didn't it just start?!) and watch for some exciting pattern peeks in the following months as I get myself together and get some more of my own designs on the needles :D