A Funny Sort of Day

Well hubby was back to work this morning after the rainy May Bank Holiday, I think he would have preferred to stay at home.

Tuesday has been a mixture of lovely spells of warm sunshine and dreadful rain showers...to me it feels more like April than May.

I changed the bed sheets this morning thinking I would get them washed, dried and ironed...by the time the washer had finished and I'd got a line full of washing out it had started to rain and I had to bring them all in again!

I was looking through my stash of yarn and wool last evening and came across a gorgeous reel of blue cotton which was just begging to be made into something light and lacy....so I got out the crochet hooks and decided to turn it into a baby girl's dress.

By bedtime I had just got down to dividing for the armholes

I am hoping to crochet a few more rows on the skirt part this evening.

I have also challenged myself to try and list in my Folksy each day as I think it is looking pretty bare and I'm sure I will attract buyers if they have more to look at..so....I listed this cute pair of baby legwarmers

Please Don't Think I'm Being Rude!

I am having problems trying to reply to comments left on my blog and also when trying to leave comments on blogs that I follow... is anyone else having the same problems with their blogs??
I cannot see who my followers and am unable to follow other blogs....it is all very frustrating!!

Frustration aside I have had a pretty lazy, laid back sort of day.  I had a lie in this morning which was quite novel as I am usually up with the larks be it a week day or the weekend.

I've spent the day catching up with my knitting and I also managed to list a pair of booties in my new Folksy shop.

I also experimented with my camera  to see how close I can get to my subject before the picture  goes all fuzzy and out of  focus.  I have a lovely jug of flowers on the dining table so chose one of the flowers and snapped this lovely bloom.......I was quite pleased with the result

Pottering About

I spent Friday pottering about the house and garden.  It was quite a bright day just perfect for getting little jobs done that have had to be put off all week because of the rain.

Here's my new mint plant which I managed to get potted up today....mint is such a vigorous grower and I love to use it chopped up over boiled new potatoes.

When I was a little girl I have fond memories of being at my Nan's house for Sunday lunch and being asked to go into the garden and gather mint leaves.....I would then bring them into the kitchen and chop them as finally as I could, put them into a small jug, add a teaspoon of sugar, a dash of boiling water and top up with vinegar and I would then have the most delicious jug of homemade mint sauce to go with the roast lamb.  I still use this method today to make yummy mint sauce.

Domesticity

Have spent much of the last two days catching up with housework and the 'dreaded' ironing.  I quite enjoy the routine of cleaning house but really don't like the ironing or the 'putting away'...but I can't bear to wear un-ironed clothes so I'll have to keep doing it.  I've started to put a few drops of lavender oil in the water and the gorgeous aroma as I iron makes it a much more pleasurable chore.

I even got around to doing a little baking this afternoon and made a homemade steak pie which was quite delicious and a trifle for afterwards.

I'm hoping the weather will be a little brighter tomorrow as I want to get out in the garden to do some potting up.

This is a mint cutting that I have been cultivating in a glass of water

It amazes me how quickly little roots form and once potted up you have a new plant which has cost nothing.

Productive Morning

A little bit of sunshine always spurs me into action and a perfect day for photo taking.

This is the chunky cardigan I started a few nights ago...a very quick & enjoyable knit

Close up of the cable design

I really enjoyed knitting this pattern and I would definitely recommend the design for anyone looking for a quick knit.

I was asked to knit an outfit for a baby girl due later this year...and here it is

I used shades of grey and white which I think gives the set a modern,up to date feel. 

I hope her mummy will be pleased with it!

Wet n Wild!

It feels very wintery here today we have high winds, driving rain and it feels soooo chilly too.  I have some runner beans in my greenhouse desperate to be planted out but I'm afraid they will have to wait until the weather picks up a little.  The weather in this country of ours never ceases to amaze me, it is so changeable from day to day. 

I took these photos in the garden on Friday, it was such a bright, sunny day just perfect for pottering about outside.

My Californian Lilac is looking gorgeous this year, such pretty flowers

We are looking forward to another bumper crop of strawberries this year.  I hope the sun will soon be back to ripen all these yummy berries.

What A Busy Morning...

I've been so busy this morning typing up my new knitting design 'Rosie'
Typing out a lace pattern is never easy as one missing yfwd can throw the whole pattern out.  Anyway I carefully got it typed, printed and proof read my efforts and found a few typing errors so had to amend those (part of the course!!) and the pattern is now good to go......and here it is

The outfit consists of a traditionally styled matinee type jacket with a delightful eight row lace pattern used as a border just above the hem line and on the yoke.  As with all lace knitting concentration is a must but the finished effect is worth the effort.

I gave the outfit a a lovely matching beret style hat complete with a tassle on the crown, short pants and a delightful pair of button fastening ankle strap shoes.

The outfit is knitted throughout on two needles in Baby Double Knitting Yarn or Light Worsted if you are a US Knitter.

Find it here: Rosie @ Tipeetoes.co.uk for baby knitting patterns

Casting on!

I always love casting on a new project especially a pattern that I have never knitted up before.
I was going to make the little boy's hooded jacket and when I checked my huge stash of yarn I was a ball short of what I needed so I've decided to go with the little girl's short sleeved version.

One thing I love about knitting in chunky yarn is how quickly you see the fruits of your labours.  I managed to get the back knitted last evening and will hopefully start on the fronts later today.

I'm enjoying knitting the cable design although it does take a little concentration at first.

The shade I'm using is called Cork but to me it's more like a stone colour

I think it will look great with a pair of denim jeans!

Tentatively Dipping My Toe!!

My first blog...yikes

Not able to do much crafting today due to a problem with my shoulder from tooooo much crocheting so I thought I would have a go at creating my own blog.  I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed with it all to be honest but I'm sure in time I will find my way around. 

It's a rather dull and overcast day here in the North West of England and quite chilly for the time of year.  I thought I would share with you  a few pictures from my garden which I took a couple of weeks back when the weather was much brighter.

These beautiful little rockery flowers are called Aubrieta and I love them, they are so bright and cheery

My rhubarb is growing great this year and soon I'm looking forward to making a rhubarb crumble with lashings of homemade custard!