Getting hooked.

A few posts back I showed these granny squares that I have been making.   I have made dozens of them now and they are gradually beginning to look like this. 

I am still not quite sure about the blue border but couldn't find any yarn in the right shade of red/pink.  The colours here are not accurate and are much richer and lovelier in reality.   I had no pattern to go by and no idea of how many squares I would need for a waistcoat in my size, so just made as many as possible out of three skeins of wool.  I limited myself to three skeins as it was rather expensive.  I have spent ages drawing little diagrams of squares in various arrangements as well as arranging the squares themselves and I think I will have enough.  I can always crochet wider or deeper outer borders if a little more width or depth is needed.

I was too impatient to stop and press these joined squares before I photographed them and no doubt they will look better for proper attention.

It's taking ages to join them all and weave in the little ends of wool.   If I'd been knitting a waistcoat it would be finished by now and being worn!   However, it is good to learn a new craft and one day I might even be able to follow a pattern and make something complicated.

It felt like April several times last month, but on my morning walks recently it has felt decidedly like March.  There's a nippy little breeze out there so don't pack your winter woollies away just yet.

It's Addictive!

You may remember I bought myself one of these recently.  I have at last had time to play with it and am in danger of filling the house with sheets of printed paper - there are quite a few more that I haven't photographed - I can't leave it alone.

Above are some of the things I have used to make my prints.  I find the wooden Indian printing blocks give excellent results and scraps of lace are pretty good too.  I like the cog shaped thing also, but have no idea what it is.  It came off something which had been broken.   I think the plastic comb came out of a Christmas cracker years ago and is perfect for creating swirling wavey lines.

My first attempt was far from excellent - probably because I used the cheap craft acrylic paint which comes in plastic bottles.

I quickly switched to the better stuff in tubes and found an improvement.

I even plucked up the courage to do a bit of doodling around the lace prints on these two.

With my late summer course with Frances Pickering in mind (the theme is black and white) I introduced leaves this time and used black paint.

Finally, I used two dabs of yellow and one of blue paint and an unwashed brayer still with black paint on it.  I rather like the dark colouring.  I quickly drew the design on the left and used a little fabric doiley for the one on the right.

Nothing is now safe from being pressed onto a painted Gelli plate if I think it will make an interesting pattern! There should be a warning with these things.

This and That.

I have been thoroughly spoilt by my children today, it being Mothering Sunday.   Our son has a ridiculous sense of humour and I couldn't resist showing you the envelope of his card, obviously written in his 'bestest' writing!  He can be quite sensible but is a 56 year old lovable loony!

I have been pondering for ages on whether to buy myself a Gelli plate and finally succumbed last week.  If I'd been an impulse buyer I could have saved myself nearly £5 - the price has shot up since I last looked at them.   I haven't had time to try it out yet but am looking forward to some messy playtime.   I had also looked at a Big Shot embossing and cutting machine but they are very expensive and I'm not sure I would make the most of one.   Also, I think I would find it limiting having to use the dies and plates that someone else has designed, rather than creating my own.    The Gelli plate is quite a different tool of course, but it will encourage me to develop my newly found drawing skills and create my own designs.

Friday was such a cold, wet and miserable day - I couldn't believe the weekend forecast was for warmth 

and sunshine, but it arrived right on time.   I hope it continues a bit longer - I've become a fair weather gardener and want to get out to sow some seeds in the garden and the greenhouse.  

I hope you have had a lovely weekend too.

Spring has sprung.

It's been quite a week so far.   It was my birthday a few days ago and my husband gave me this very smart and comfortable if rather scary chair - it reminds me of the Mastermind one.  My old one had become very wobbly and I was convinced that if I kept using it the seat part would snap off and I would end up impaled one day!   We took a trip to Ikea to buy it and in true Ikea fashion it had a name - Malkolm.  It was love at first sight and I soon found that Malkolm was the most comfortable of all those on display.    My husband, who shuns modern trends,  found the experience quite traumatic and vows never to go there again!   The trauma was not quite over, as he had to assemble the chair when we got it home, but all's well that end's well and here I sit in splendour.

Other gifts included this beautiful machine embroidered blackbird..........

................. some lovely balloons ....................

and this beautiful box.

I had various other gifts including scented candles, art supplies, and chocolates from two of my grandsons.   My children called my grandmother White Granny, my own mother was Sweetie Granny and my husband's mother was Granny Dolly.  I think I'll probably end up being known as Fat Granny!

Even in the garden there were treats waiting for me.    Frogspawn at last - I had begun to give up hope of having any this year.  I hope the newts don't eat it all.

The kingcup is blooming with at least two more buds to look forward to.  I divided it a couple of years ago and it has taken a while to recover.

And the pulmonaria is out - always a welcome sight.

I have also seen buttercups, daisies galore, dandelions and even forget-me-nots in bloom.  It seems a bit early for them and I always think of them as April or May flowers.  Everything is bursting forth.

We have had some lovely days and I've even had lunch in the garden two or three times though I did need a jumper and jacket to ward off the chilly breeze.   There have been loads of butterflies - Clouded Yellows and Small Coppers I think and even a couple of Peacock butterflies - ladybirds, and plenty of bumble bees so I think it's official and whatever the weather does now, Spring has really arrived.

I think that my second cold virus, which came hard on the heels of the previous one, is on the way out and the awful lethargy which came with it is beginning to lift at last.   Hopefully I'll get the greenhouse up and running this weekend and do a bit of tidying among the herb pots on the patio.

It's never too late to learn!

I recently saw a photograph somewhere of a lovely crocheted coat made entirely from granny squares.  I thought 'I want a coat like that' but the only way I would get one would be to make it myself.  Unfortunately I can't crochet but have set about learning.   I fell in love with this beautiful yarn which is more vibrant than it appears here, and have decided to make a waistcoat first to see how I get on.  The yarn is 4ply and quite soft.  It will be fine for a waistcoat but already I can see that a double knitting yarn would be better for a coat and make a firmer and more practical fabric.

Granny squares are the simplest type of crochet so I bought myself a little book of designs and started with the basic one.

I am slowly building up a nice stock of these.  What a pity I'm not a size 12 - I wouldn't need nearly so many to make a garment!    I found that I could work out what I was supposed to be doing better from the photographs in the booklet than from the written instructions.  Not the best way to learn perhaps but our local wool shop runs classes for beginners in knitting and crochet which should enable me to learn the terminology and follow a pattern.   I shall put my name down when the next ones are announced.

It is a lovely therapeutic pastime and this weekend I have even sat in the garden making my little squares.  I have also got dirt under my fingernails at last and done my first gardening of the year.  The front garden looks as if it has had it's hair combed as my husband has cut the grass.  There was quite a chorus of lawn mowers from all directions around us over the past few days - the sunshine has obviously stirred all us fairweather gardeners into action.

It has been so lovely to sit outside in a sheltered corner and I have seen several butterflies, ladybirds and bumblebees.  I hope the weather doesn't turn colder again and take them by surprise.   The snowdrops which were such a joy a week ago have suddenly disappeared, but all sorts of other things are arriving to take their place.   It really is a lovely time of year.

Rain, rain, go away!

I nipped out into the garden yesterday to take these photos, and not a moment too soon as it has rained nearly all day today, getting steadily heavier as the day wore on.  This evening the gutter over the front porch was overflowing and even though it is under cover, the rain was reaching the outside doormat.  I hope it hasn't battered my precious hellebores - I love them so much and they were all looking their best.

It's only in recent years that I have been able to grow them, and now they are nicely settled and even beginning to spread so that I can transplant their babies.

I love this delicate pink one - there is also a yellowish green one which I was unable to reach owing to the wet soil.  Parts of the garden are on a slope and it gets very slippery in places.

This one with the lovely freckles is one of my babies which I transplanted last year.  I'm so pleased it likes it's new location.

I must plant some yellow crocuses next autumn.  I used to have some but they have all disappeared.  I think there may be something in the yellow petals that appeals to birds and have noticed that my yellow primulas go the same way.  Just as they come into flower something pecks away all the yellow petals.  The very pale lilac crocuses always flop in wet weather so goodness knows what they'll look like tomorrow.  The purple ones are a little sturdier.   Everywhere was beginning to look springlike yesterday.  It's two steps forward and one back all the time, but at least I'm not waiting for floodwater to recede from my home.

I have seen a wonderful crocheted coat made up of granny squares and would love to make it.  The snag is that I don't crochet!  I must have a word with the lovely lady who runs our local wool shop - I think she gives classes in knitting and crochet.  I shall need a quantity surveyor to work out how many squares I'll need to make a coat in my size!    If it gets too much it could always become a waistcoat, or a cushion, or a potholder!!

Hello! Do you remember me?

I don't think I have ever had such a long gap between posts.  I have had nothing interesting to write about and don't like writing a letter unless it can be cheerful and interesting.  What with the weather, a heavy head cold (now better) and a very uncomfortable leg which makes walking difficult and extremely tiring, I didn't want to transfer my down-in-the-dumps to everyone in Blogland.  The leg is slowly improving and I have been out in the lovely sunshine this morning and even managed a little bit of gardening.  I am longing for the ground to dry a bit so I can really get to work out there and realise how fortunate I am not to have to wait for several feet of water to subside first.

I am unable to post any pictures today - my computer has days like this occasionally.   I had taken photos of two of the fashion pages in today's Sunday Telegraph supplement.   It is a Sunday afternoon ritual for me to settle down with a cuppa and have a chuckle at 'what we will all be wearing this year'!!   Today's photos are real crackers.   There are seven full page shots in all, but the best/worst one shows an ensemble comprising of a black knitted openwork jacket £4,180;  white silk and wool waistcoat (which is barely visible in the photo) £527; black and white dog's tooth skirt £783;  white cotton and silk shorts £985; red leather gloves £620 and to top it all off a lilac satin bow for £500!   That's a staggering £7,595!  The model looks as though she hasn't even combed her hair, suitably bored, undernourished and in no way attractive.  How can these ridiculous outfits and their prices be justified?   I know the fabrics used will have been the best in the land and probably exquisitely stitched, but the final effect doesn't do them justice.   Does anyone actually buy and wear these overpriced garments?   Anyone could look better dressed in clothes bought from charity shops.   What has happened to fashion in recent times?   When I was young the models looked beautiful, graceful, well groomed, the clothes were flattering, and we all wished we could afford them.   How times have changed.