SPRING!

I'm late again, aren't I? I just don't seem to get myself together these days. Ah well, I suppose better late than never. Easter has come and gone, and our weather here in West Norfolk has been changeable to say the least; we've had dull, overcast, spotty-rainy days, bright sunshine but bitterly cold days, and, occasionally, bright sunny days which has warmed the cockles of our hearts. But that's what living in the UK is all about - variable weather!  And grumbling about it - it's a national characteristic!
So let me jump straight in and update you on what I've been doing.

What's on my plate?

I am having a THIRD attempt at keeping a sourdough starter alive! Two very kind friends have, in the past, given me a portion of their long-lived 'babies'. Which I proceeded to kill-off within a couple of weeks. Both of them! So I had given up sourdough bread making. However, my friend Blanche - whose wedding we attended last March - bakes regularly, and as we were going to stay with her to celebrate their first anniversary, I wondered whether she could let me have some starter from her very successful batch. She did, and I am the proud guardian of Doris, a healthy, bubbling starter who has improved each time I bake - only had one real disaster where the loaves over-proved and came out like flat bark-cakes!

What's in the garden? Sorry, the light wasn't very good when I took these photographs.

The garden is looking quite good, we've been enjoying lots of lovely chard and i've planted some more. I've put celeriac and several varieties of salad leaves in the raised beds, and I'm about to sow some vegetable seeds to go into the cold frame. Early potatoes are in their sacks. Oh! And some Jerusalem artichokes, much to Jim's disgust! And look  - the lovely Welsh poppies, given most generously to me by my blogging friend Dc, from Frugal in Norfolk  blog. They have popped up and are so beautiful - thank you so much Dc! The heifers are in the nursery field next door, and often come to look over the wall/fence when we are in the garden. And up on the summer house roof the cock-pheasant holds court - he had THREE young admiring hens in the garden the other day - as long as they leave my fresh young leaves alone they are welcome.

What's on my sewing table?

I stitch with friends once a month, and have to confess that this is probably the only time I work on my colour wash hexagons, so it is a slow job, but that doesn't matter, does it? I still have many patches to put together, but I'm beginning to get one of the larger pieces squared up, because I need to get it into shape soon. Still enjoying working with these lovely fabrics, they cheer me up!

What's on my hook?

Well, my Moorland Blanket (Attic 24 pattern)  is plodding into the final rows - at long last! I'm on the 'sky' now, and then I've got the 'ends' to weave in and the border to hook. I was desperate to begin this blanket but had a few false starts  - like many people, so I understand. And it is SO BIG! To be honest, I'm hooking to get it finished now, rather than enjoying the journey (as they say).

The "solid granny squares" are growing in number and I've sewn several strips together. This is going to be a 'snuggle blanket' for grandson Fraser. When the Moorland is finished I can get cracking on one for his big brother Dylan too.

This is an accidental throw - begun with left-over 4-ply and some fine Noro yarn. I seem to have amassed a fair amount of 4-ply so this will go into this throw which began as a way to use up bits and pieces. I don't know where it will go, or how long it will take to finish, but I'm enjoying hooking on it for the odd half-hour here and there.

What's on my needles?
Yes, you heard me - I have become a KNITTER! And a SOCK KNITTER at that! I won't dwell on the huge learning curve that has taken place, but I've wanted to knit stripy socks for quite some time now, and I took the plunge.

First pair… learned lots on these two socks, tried various types of needles and fought the good fight with FIVE double pointed needles at once, which does not float my boat! I much prefer the circular needles which I've taught myself to use. So this pair is a little mismatched but I don't care I love 'em!

Couldn't wait to cast on the second pair, and decided to knit them concurrently - after a fashion. Here I've int the heel flap and begun the turn on one and just catching up on the leg on the second. When these are done I want to try a cable stitch sock…. and a triangular scarf on the circulars too.

I also joined a small group of women who knit for charity - blankets for the homeless, clothes and soft toys for a local Family Refuge, and tiny woolly hats for prem babies. I'm knitting squares for a blanket , because I wanted to just be really relaxed and unstressed about my knitting time here. A couple of hours twice a month isn't too much to ask is it?

I have to confess to playing very little music this last month, I've felt distinctly averse to picking up my instruments I don't know why. But it is the session at our pub this week so I'll be there and playing the melodeon so perhaps that will nudge me back into music-mode. It's not like me, but I haven't even been able to listen to music recently. How strange.

So there we are, I was amazed to find that I have only posted once before in 2017! I can't promise when the next one will be, but I hope to make it reasonably soon! Until then, keep smiling!

OCEAN

A very quick and short post today ….. I have finished my latest blanket, a gift for my younger son. It's called OCEAN because that is where he loves to be. I wove in the ends and added a couple of rows for a narrow border this afternoon, and am SO happy with it! I think I have managed to complete this in under three weeks. I know some people crochet much faster than that but usually a blanket this size would take me a few months!

Not my usual choice of colours, being neither very bright nor pale and interesting, but I think it's just right for a chap who likes the beach and the sea - what do you think?

I now have some new wool which is making me drool. I just have to decide what the next project is going to be. I don't really need another blanket  - even though Ocean will be posted far away - but I have some lovely patterns which have been calling to me! Though I'd like to do a shawl, if I could find a pattern not too difficult for someone who has most only crocheted throws and cushion covers. The wool is Double Knitting but is very fine, and is gently variegated. I'll show you when I decide what I'm going to make with it!

I expect you'll all be getting frantically busy in the run up to Christmas. I am happy to report we have actually got the decorations (very restrained) up and the tree lit up with fairy lights. All looking fairly festive here. Hope you are feeling the Christmas spirit, and not feeling too stressed out with organising things. I've read quite a few blog posts, and a number of articles recently urging people to not get drawn into the over the top hype, and then feeling inadequate compared to the 'people' in the adverts. Remember everyone will experience some stress, some joy, some disappointment and some happiness. I hope you have more of the good stuff than the not so good stuff!

Crochety!

The sun streaming through the windows encouraged me out into the garden to take some autumn photographs - clogged up with leaves as it is! Still a few summer herbs, and good old geranium. The bird house gets used as a perching post, but not for nesting, and the large bug hotel appears empty, but the one Jim made  has three or four residents I think.

     Hanging on to my parsley for grim death! Of course, when the frost hits, that will be it for the year.

           I'm hoping the chards - white and rainbow, will see us through winter, along with the kale.

                                Back of the cottage in the late afternoon autumn sunshine.

                                              Really pleased the bug house is being used!

                                                   And still the cranesbill survives!

I've really got back into crochet the last month or so; perhaps it's the weather! Lovely to cosy up with a basket of gorgeous wool and a crochet hook when the evenings are dark and the temperature drops. Colour-schemes buzzing round my head all the time.

I'm very excited that my wool has arrived for Lucy's (Attic 24)  latest  "Moorland" blanket, though it has to sit on the back burner until January when she begins the Crochet Along pattern on her blog. I haven't even opened the bag in case I'm tempted to dive in and use the wool!

I do have a fair amount of Stylecraft yarn which I've just boosted with a small delivery, in order to begin my own latest blanket which I am calling "OCEAN". I'm using the Lucy pattern from her Cosy Stripe Blanket, but have come up with my own colour scheme. A little like her Moorland idea, I used the natural colours of an outdoors scene. I wanted to depict the colours from the grassy dunes, down to the beach, and into the ocean. I haven't used a photograph, and my colours repeat as a block rather than as Lucy has done hers following the vertical striations of the photograph. (If that sounds skew-iff,  I mean the striations are horizontal in a vertical context.) I think that's what I mean anyway.

This is my "Cosy Stripe" blanket, using Lucy's pattern and colour scheme. This is our favourite of all the Lucy blankets I've made. It works up very quickly and soothingly.

OK so this is MY colour scheme for "OCEAN" It begins with four shades of green, depicting the grassy dunes, the sea-buckthorn, samphire and other seashore grasses. Then comes the dry sand at the top of the beach, followed by the damper sand closer to the sea. Then comes the almost white surf, and four more shades of blue as the water gets deeper and further away from the shore.  This 'colour repeat' is only 22 rows whereas Lucy's moorland depicts the entire vertical slice of her photograph, and is one single scheme with no repeat. (although colours are repeated obviously).

Here I'm just beginning the first repeat. I love all these shades, so am excited afresh each time I change colour! "OCEAN" is intended as a gift for someone special, but no more about that just yet.

As a break from the blanket I'm using up all those little balls of left-overs to make solid granny squares. NO IDEA what I'm going to do with them, but they are building up nicely into a little pile; I'll just keep going with them until I have sufficient to do something with.

Each little ball makes roughly four or five squares. More left-overs will accrue, so obviously this is an on-going project.

                   More greens required - and some shades of red too, I think. Time will tell.

Rummaging through the sewing room, I found a basket of multicoloured granny squares which I began years and years ago - I'd forgotten all about them. They are a pretty disparate crowd, but I have thoughts about adding a couple of rows and pulling them together with one or two colours, so they will blend more easily. Again, no real idea of the outcome, but there will be enough of them for a throw.

The light in my sewing room wasn't the best when I took this shot; the squares are much brighter than they appear here. And of course, greens never seem to come out properly on the blog, for some reason!

No other stitchery going on at the moment, I am obsessing about crochet - and you know me - one obsession at a time! But of course I am cooking and reading, and even doing a little gentle walking! Yes! Me! I hope you are all finding something  lovely to obsess about and are enjoying yourselves.

EDIT :  APOLOGY!!!!  Whilst publishing the comments for the previous post, I inadvertently clicked on the "DELETE" instead of "PUBLISH" but I cannot for the life of me remember whose comment it was. Please, if you commented and haven't seen it posted, let me know - I never delete a comment and would hate someone to think I have whisked their kind comment away without publishing it!

Autumn Colour

No, I can't believe it either - two blog posts in ONE WEEK! Just like the old days! And don't be mislead by the title - this isn't about fallen leaves and gloriously hued trees - though there is much evidence of fallen leaves to be fair. It's about the colourful things in the cottage and garden which are still providing me with pleasure as the season gets a little murkier.

In the header photograph you can see my favourite cardigan - and no, I didn't knit it, don't be silly! But I DID crochet the little bag which tones so well with it. This is Lucy's (Attic 24) Weekend Bag and I chose the Heatwave colour scheme specifically to go with the cardigan. It's made using chunky wool and worked up in absolutely no time at all. A real joy to crochet.

Off out into the garden, and - aside from the profusion of fallen leaves still littering the place despite Jim's hard work with the leaf blower - there are still so many flowers hanging on in there long after they should be gone. A real delight, especially the fuchsias.

I was amazed to discover that last hollyhock, hiding behind the bins! And it hasn't been long since the rose decided to call it a day.

And speaking of crochet, HOW long have I had this granny stripe on the back-burner? The actual blanket was finished ages ago, but the ends needed darning in and the border put on. I finally sat and did the darning over the weekend, while the rugby was on, and began the pistachio border, but have run out of wool and am waiting for a delivery. Behind it over the back of the chair is one of my ripple blankets, also an Attic 25 pattern. She gives such full and clear instructions and detailed photographs of every stage, just what I need! It has been very soothing trebling along round the border, and I have another two rows to go - bliss!

Some more gorgeous colour which delights me each time I go into the kitchen.

On my lovely trolley I keep some of my favourite ceramic bits and pieces, my lemon/eggs/garlic storage and this fab food cover, isn't it pretty in pink? My blue and white salt pig we bought in Sienna many many years ago;  the lid is cracked and repaired, and the rim has a few chips taken out of it, but I will never part with it.

And how about these beauties! The spoon rest we found in Larners, up in Holt earlier this year, and the five small dishes I bought there also. When we were in Mallorca in September we found a shop selling the same patterned ware as the spoon, so we snapped up the three dipping bowls, and yes, we do use them for all sorts of things. (I have to say they were a lot cheaper in Mallorca than Holt, but you'd expect that!) It pleases my eyes immeasurably to glance at these items while I prep and cook. To my mind, colour gladdens the heart, and we could all do with a bit more of that these days! Toodle-pip, I won't promise to be as quick with the next post, but you never know!

Four Plant pots and a Wedding

OK, the Four Plant Pots is a bit of a literary device, but you catch my drift! The wedding of which I speak is that of Blanche and Chris. Blanche invited a group of Burwell Bashers to join in the celebrations and to provide some musical diversion in the evening. Isn't this the loveliest photograph? Those of us who are more used to seeing Blanche at Burwell wearing cropped jeans, tee-shirt and trainers were a little gobsmacked to find out just how well she scrubbed up! 

The wedding was held at Gravetye Manor Hotel, in West Sussex, a 16th Century manor house standing in wonderful grounds - do google and have a look, the gardens are quite famous. 

                 Just one part of the gardens, in front of the original 'front' of the house.

I WISH I had managed to zoom in for this, but didn't really have time. Jayne played Blanche in with that lovely old Irish tune "Give Me Your Hand". So beautiful.

       Blanche and Chris cutting the cake. Is that a beautiful wedding dress or what? SO elegant!

Ah, now this is me, having just had a master class from Melanie Morris (BurwellBasher) on how to smile for the camera - something which I have never been able to do; I end up looking like I am either grimacing or saying something off-colour out of the side of my mouth! Not sure there is much improvement to be honest!

My old friend Sam Pirt - how lovely to meet up again with him - he and Blanche are long-time good friends. It was such a treat to share a platform with him, what an accomplished player he is.

Well, here we are, fitted and working and now part of the cottage; I'm getting used to a very different manner of cooking from the Rayburn, but loving having a gas hob again. The griddle is a brilliant piece of kit. Cooks marvellously, drains off the fat and even fries eggs with no more fat added. We love it!

April view of the rock garden - I'll have to do something about those muscari - I love them but they are just one big tangle now in the old sink. I've re-done the alpines so it looks a bit bare in there at the moment.

     Overnight, another chook took up residence, so that is one happy rooster we've got here now!

The chard which was evacuated from the square foot garden has resurfaced and not doing too badly - I've had quite a few leaves off the white chard plants; the rainbows need a while to recover.

The Willow Bird found its final placement and is enjoying the pink ranunculus - how I love these flowers! I've got a load of corms planted up for next year.

This purple collection is largely waiting for final resting places. I have wild violets coming up all over the garden and I'm trying to transfer them to where I want them, when the top half of the garden plan is up and running. (More of which another time) The French Lavenders will stop in the buckets for now, but I'm planning on having a collection of lavenders - there is a place which sells herbs over towards Dereham which we want to go and visit, I can buy a variety from them.

So, for a chap who was vehemently against raised beds… Jim bought me the square foot garden if you remember for Christmas 2014 and it never really did much. Now I have sown two types of chard,  two types of beetroot, and spring onions, with space in the centre for something else. He also built the brick raised bed for me, which has red veined sorrel you can just see, and under the fleece spinach, radish (two differently timed sowings) and rocket, with bulb fennel going in next month. AND he has just shown me a surprise in the garage (no, not the woodshed!) - another raised bed all waiting to be safely treated AND he says there is enough wood for another smaller one, so that entire space will be raised beds! And I never even asked! So with other plans up our sleeves for the rest of the garden things are looking quite exciting - and I say that as someone who has never raised a trowel in anger in her life!

Just to re-establish my credentials as a stitcher, here is the latest crochet offering, a slightly more muted version of my Caravan Granny Blanket - which has actually gone to the caravan! This will fit in better with the existing ripple and granny/treble blankets in the living room. Just a few more rows, sew in the ends and maybe add a border… what do you think? The original inspiration for this blanket was of course Lucy, at Attic24 blog.

And, just because, a photo of my favourite chair, next to the dresser, covered in colourful blanket and cushions of all persuasions! This collection cheers me up every time I glance at it.

So, there we are, a few plant pots and a lovely wedding. There are loads more wedding photographs but I've already shared them on Facebook so wasn't feeling like trotting them all out again. I hope you are enjoying some of this lovely spring sunshine - in-between the showers and high winds! Catch you next time!