Practicing Smocking

This is some fabric I received in a swap on Our Little Darlings.  I smocked it with red embroidery floss.  The pattern is one I modified (resized, etc) from a Rosemary Ionker pattern.  

My chickens are still laying at age 7!  This is the first egg of the season.  I still have four chickens left from the original 11.  The remaining four are Prudence, Ivy, Poppy and Buttercup, all Buff Orpingtons. They appear to be in decent health, with the exception of arthritic joints!

This weekend I've spent a lot of time outside, clearing out the garden and preparing it for planting.  It's been unusually warm, and we seem to be having April weather in March, which is OK with me!  My crocuses are up and I was able to fill up the ducks' kiddie pool today for the first time since about November.  Hooray for springtime.