Knitting a rainbow

Good afternoon! It's a lovely sunny day here on the north Norfolk coast, and although there's still a real nip in the air, the blue sky more than makes up for it. It makes me long for warmer and longer days, sitting outside in the evenings. Mr JK and I listened to the birds singing first thing yesterday morning, and that was another reminder that spring is on its way. I was even able to go outside and take some photos of my Rainbow cardigan this morning. I'm really pleased with it. The pattern was a free one from Drops, and from what I understand, is pretty similar in construction to the Baby Surprise Jacket. It's knitted in two halves, and then you join the back, side and sleeve seams. I used mattress stitch, and was really pleased with the neat seams I achieved. I'm getting better at it each time I try. I love the buttons too.

Whilst in the garden, I spotted these tulips just peeping up through the soil. They were planted so long ago, I can't remember what colour they are! Oh well, it'll be a nice surprise. The garden is looking a bit of a mess at the moment. We need a couple more nice weekends to get out there and sort it. Mr JK has got his spuds chitting, and is sowing sweet peas this afternoon. We had loads last year, and always had a jug of them on the kitchen table. They're one of my favourite flowers.

I did a bit of spinning this week with my friend Sally. I managed a bobbin's worth, so need to get another one spun so that I can ply them together. Once I get back from France, I'm hoping that I might have a little more time. I think it's definitely a case of 'little and often' with spinning, to really see improvements.

As you can see, I'm getting lots of underspun bits, as well as overspun and ok-ish bits! It is good fun though, and I shall carry on trying to improve. My aim is to be able to spin yarn that is actually worth knitting into something! I've been pretty sensible about stashing fibre so far, and haven't bought anything special. I am doing a fibre swap with my knitting friend Cathy, in Canada, as she has just started spinning too. It's been fun searching out something that I think she will like. Once we've swapped parcels, I'll show you what I chose! In the meantime, I'm sticking to good old fleece! Have a good week.