Craving Colour

Oh goodness, it's been so cold and grey this week, I have felt quite fed up at times. Just a little patch of blue sky and a glimpse of sunshine would be good!! We even put the heating back on and I dug out my hot water bottle again!! I hope that the weather improves in time for half term, which begins next week. I'd like to be able to sit outside and enjoy the garden. Having said that, we are still managing to get out virtually every day to see what's new! The previous owners were obviously keen gardeners and thought very carefully about their planting. We seem to be getting sequential colour which is just beautiful. It's amazing to see just how much the garden has changed over the last month.

Here's how it was on April 21st........

 

Two weeks later .......

And this photo was taken today, another two weeks on......

New this week are the irises, standing elegantly with beautiful purple blooms.

These have also caught my eye this week. There's so much packed in, it's wonderful.

Flo is loving the garden! She spends lots of time bird watching (so far she's not caught anything, thank goodness!) and hiding in the borders. Tree climbing is a popular pastime too!

The desire for colour has crept into my knitting too, trying to escape from the greyness. I've started the next colour strip on my 64 Crayons blanket. It's fun choosing which two balls to use. This time I've gone for one that is mainly blues and greens and am contrasting it with a more neutral one, but with a wicked zing of orange in the middle!! I can't wait to see how that looks as the stripes emerge.

 

 

I've also done some spinning, trying to get myself into training for this year's Tour de Fleece. I'm turning this mixture of Shetland, bamboo and sparkle from Hilltopcloud, colourway 'velvet' .......

 

 

into this.......

Both bobbins are full now, so I just need to get it plied. With any luck, I'll be able to show you next time.

 

I'm taking part in two swaps on Ravelry. I received my first parcel this week from Cynthia in Maine. She chose lots of locally produced goodies, including this beautiful skein of yarn. It's 100% organic merino and is incredibly soft.

 

As well as some local honey and maple syrup (mmmmmmm, blueberry pancakes for breakfast very soon!), there was a pair of knitting needles. The balls on the ends are made using maple wood from Maine and birch dowels from Lithuania, before being assembled and decorated in Russia! I love the feel of them.

 

Cynthia also included a stich counter in the form of a bracelet which I'm looking forward to trying out.

 

I'll see you after the bank holiday weekend. Mr JK and I are off to London for a couple of days. xxx