Weekend Pottering

This weekend feels like a reward. After two really quite stressful and, at times, horrible, weeks at work, with the realisation that next week will be just as stressful, today has been lovely. Exactly what a weekend should be like. I know that there is still a day and a half to go until the end but I am feeling very relaxed and calm already.

The weather has been beautiful so far and I spent the majority of the morning in the garden, sitting on the patio with my crochet summer hat on, coffee and some leftover Easter mini eggs on the side table, just basking in the sunshine. Along with Ziggy, who basks supremely well.

We have a couple of pots of pretty little daisy type flowers on the patio, and our flowerbeds are full of Tulips, Blueblls and Forget-Me-Nots.

I sat and just crocheted for about an hour, watching the Bees buzz by, the clouds scudding across the blue sky and Ziggy trying out various positions around the garden to find the best spot.

His little face looks about as happy as I felt sat in the garden. All blissed out and snoring- him, not me.

Last weekend I bought a couple of pots of purple Osteospermums to decorate our table, and as I was in the mood for a spot of gardening this afternoon, I potted them together to give them a chance to branch out. They look so pretty and bright. I am really loving the above photo- no filter used at all, just the good old supermacro camera setting and the colour of the flower. Really beautiful.

I also potted out a couple of Prayer plants which have been sitting in a jam jar of water for a couple of weeks and have now sprouted roots, and my Poinsettia which is starting to turn red again. It's an amazing transformation really. I haven't done anything to it since Christmas time, it has just sat in the same pot, occasionally getting watered when I remember, and has gone from red to green and back to red again. I'm hoping that by repotting it, it will reward me with lots more red leaves to brighten up the kitchen.

Crochet Table Runner

Yesterday at work I was asked if I would make a crochet table runner for display using one of the patterns that we sell by DMC. I was intrigued by the challenge and said yes, immediately starting work on it when I got home. Following the pattern was relatively easy, it was well written and the fans were made up quite quickly. The table runner is made up of four fans, all measuring about 15 centimetres across, although if you have a longer table, the length is limitless as you would just add more fans. The wool is chunky and uses a 6mm hook, thicker than my usual 4mm. It's surprising how much of a difference it makes to hold, my fingers ached a bit after a while holding everything together.

The only thing I wasn't overly impressed with, with regards this particular pattern, was the instruction on how to join the fans together. It essentially said, join them like in the picture on the front...except in the picture on the front, the joins were hidden with candles!

I worked out a way to do it eventually, that involved having to alternate the front and back of the fans to make the sides nestle nicely into each other. I think it looks quite good when all stitched up, you wouldn't necessarily notice that they were slightly different.

I don't know that I'd make one for myself, we don't really have the right kind of table for this sort of thing- it would look nice as a display on a coffee table though, or on a deep window ledge (maybe dressed with some candles on!!!).

Elvis Goes To Scotney

We returned to Scotney Castle this weekend, it's only been a couple of weeks since I last went, but some of my friends wanted to visit and I was more than happy to oblige as it's such a beautiful place. Elvis and a couple of his travel hamster friends, Harriet & Hamilton, came with us as well so it was a proper day out!

It's funny how so much can change in two weeks. Last time I visited the garden was covered in Daffodils and there wasn't nearly so much green around. Now, the fountain has water in, there are protected Orchids blooming in the lawn, leaves bursting out of the trees and it is Bluebell season.

Elvis, Harriet and Hamilton were really enjoying running around the grounds, and found a little hollow in one of Scotney's oldest and most tended to trees (it needs more looking after in it's old age). They were very careful not to damage the tree but paused there momentarily for a quick group photo.

Elvis was imagining himself the Lord and Master of the ruined, old castle, putting on his posh accent and proclaiming things to the other people in the room from his window ledge position.

The weather was a bit variable and we had a few spots of rain. Luckily we found a very cool, sheltered spot under a tunnel of trees by the Chinese Bridge. I think this is a new favourite place for young Elvis!

Geo Style

Thought I'd give you a little update on my growing triangle/hexagon/geometric/mustard blanket. I've had to stop putting the shapes together to restock but I think it's looking great! I'm so relieved as I was really worried about this colour palette, it's just so 'un-me'.

It's also a bit of a relief to have the shapes turn into proper triangle segments rather than the circles that they appear to start out as. It's amazing the effects that can be created when you start joining things together.

I'm really excited to see this blanket grow and grow. Can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished!!

The Queen's 90th

Yesterday evening was spent in the chilly night air with the Guides, waiting for Uckfield beacon to be lit in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday. It was one of 900 beacons lit across the country in celebration of such a milestone, so quite a nice thing to be a part of.

From where we were we could see across the Downs to Lewes and further to Ditchling and Firle Beacons, which (funnily enough) had their own beacons lit. It was really incredible to look over and see all these little twinkling lights right on the top of these hills, I counted four or five right on the crest of the hills, and a couple in high points between them and us.

We sang Happy Birthday and said our Hip, Hip, Hoorays, then watched the embers fly across the field like little fireflies (it was quite windy). I absolutely love being a part of national things like this, it's really heartwarming, don't you think? Did you have a beacon in your town?

Sunday Sun

Sunday was a lovely day wasn't it? So warm and sunshiney. We went out for a lovely lunch to celebrate Dad's forty-twelfth birthday, and followed it up with a trip round to The Grandmother's for some tea and biscuits.

Her garden is really starting to blossom now, with all sorts of plants tentatively unfurling their leaves, and pots that we thought were empty and dead have produced pretty flowers and shoots. Goodness knows what else lies in this garden!

I sat under the pergola looking out over the lawn and vegetable patch. You can see over the fence to the farm lands in the distance which is rather lovely.

And of course I had my current crochet project to keep me warm from any lingering chill in the air. It was all very peaceful and lovely.

In the evening The Parent's suddenly announced they were going to the forest to watch the sun go down. It was a bit of race to get there before it vanished over the horizon, but The Mother made a sterling effort (Dad was still a little inebriated from the lunch earlier) and we got there just in time to watch the sun turn into a flaming red ball and sink into the hills.

Don't you love it in photographs when the camera can't cope with certain bits of light, or dust specks explode into colour and leave random circles of colour in the image? I really like the effect it gives.

It was a really lovely end to a very relaxed Sunday.