Spring in the garden

Yes, it would appear that spring is finally here.  The birds are singing, the bees are buzzing, and the sun is shining, at least for the moment.  Our gardening started in earnest by planting seeds over the Easter holidays, courgettes and French beans, and these have been growing happily on the windowsill.  But they grew so much (as they do tend to) that they got too big, and needed to go out in the garden, whatever the weather decided to do.

I've spent a while trying to find suitable containers that don't cost anything and then planting out the plants.  So we have three bean plants in an old jute supermarket bag with the plastic lining removed, and three courgette plants in, from bottom to top, old tyres, a broken plastic box and a fruit crate.  They may not be the most aesthetically pleasing containers but they do the job.

The other things I've planted are potatoes.  I love growing potatoes and discovering all that potatoey goodness hidden in the soil when we empty out the tubs (so do the kids, it's like a treasure hunt).  We use plastic dustbins with holes drilled in them that we've had for several years now.  This year's variety is Maris Peer, and they are poking their leaves above the soil now and growing at a fantastic rate.  I am a bit behind, but they're second earlies so they'll just be a bit late.  I can wait.

Other things going on in the garden include fruit trees and bushes blossoming...

...and how could I forget the rhubarb.  Crumble, anyone?  I love spring!

Crochet!

I learnt to crochet before I learnt to knit, but never got very far with it.  However, I was challenged recently to try some crochet again, at least that's how I took it, and this was the result.

Eventually.

What do you call a polygon with five-and-a-half sides? I don't know either but I made one, and that was the second attempt.  Anyway, after two weeks, much ripping (with appropriate language) and a short sojourn in hospital (unrelated), I finally managed to produce a decent looking tortoise, with which I am quite chuffed.

I am now back to knitting thank goodness, but I suspect I will be crocheting again soon.

Leverage...

We've started a group at school making story sacks, currently working on The Hungry Caterpillar which involves knitting a lot of green balls. Now I've always known I was a slow knitter, going for consistency rather than speed(!), but at the first meeting it got ridiculous. So I've been inspired to try to speed up my knitting, or at least make it more efficient.

After much envious watching of the Yarn Harlot on youtube, and after reading somewhere that if you do something every day for a month it will become a habit, I decided that my just-started cardigan was the ideal project on which to learn lever knitting. I'm knitting Common Ground, which starts with garter stitch (practise the knit stitch first), then has a period of stocking stitch (add in the purling) before doing a little light lace work and ending with the ultimate challenge, ribbing.

I'm now part way down the lace section and I can report that the knit stitches are ok, the lace a little more challenging, and the purling still rubbish. Still, I've got till New Year to practice, and I should get a bit more knitting time once Christmas actually gets here.

Advent stars

We went to visit a friend on the Glossop Christmas Art Trail at the weekend.  She's a stained glass artist but was busy making stars from dogwood twigs, so she taught us too.  The children were using them as magic wands, I went a bit mad and made quite a few and then wondered what to do with them all.  So now we have this:

advent stars hanging above the fireplace.  It must be nearly Christmas!

Grey days, or seaside?

It's a grey day today and we're back to normal after the weekend.  But we had a good weekend!  In amongst the usual stuff (and the odd party) it was time for the annual Amnesty craft fair.  So we all got together and set up our stalls.  The fair was twice as big this year, and for the first time we had two rooms.  There was lots for the kids to do to, including tile painting, corn dollies and face painting.  Hannah went down the traditional route and had her face painted as a butterfly, but Steph (as ever the individual) went a different way:

I don't suppose the face painting lady gets that many requests for 'the seaside'!  It did remind us all of summer though.

Mitred squares

I've just published my first pattern on Ravelry, it's a mitred phone cosy, and it's free!  While we were at BOB there was a lady sitting knitting mitred squares to make a waistcoat, and she'd made fingerless gloves, and we were all intrigued and getting a masterclass on how to do it.  I came home inspired slightly obsessed and have been playing around with the technique ever since. 

First there was this:

 then this (it's a work in progress, obviously):

then these:

 and finally the phone cosy was born:

and another one too, just to check the technique you understand.

So I thought I'd write up the pattern and offer it on Ravelry, for anyone else who might be similarly obsessed looking for something exciting and modular to knit.  You can download it here.  Enjoy!

A very colourful day

Much dyeing has gone on this evening, and yesterday (and before that too), all in preparation for BOB next weekend.  It looks like being a cracking show with lots of crafty goodies.  I've got some new colourways and new base yarns, and also (dun dun dah, as the kids say) I've being trying my hand at dyeing fibre!  I've got some gorgeous BFL roving dyed in some of my trademark colourways.  So come and see - you know you want to!

This afternoon we had a trip to a large Swedish furniture store, which turned into craft heaven.  Rebekah and I ended up colouring in on a tablecloth - yes, they have designed fabric to colour in! (I had words with R about colouring other fabrics when we get home though.)  And the bigger girls made houses with lots of fabric and ribbon and glue.  Lots and lots of glue.  Apart from fending off Rebekah wielding marker pens it was a very enjoyable time.