How Does Your Garden Grow!

Quickly, I think the answer is! I can't keep up with the speed things are growing and seem to spend loads of time repotting things into bigger pots. Unlike the balmy South, Ooop North we can't put tender plants outside yet, so the greenhouse is looking decidedly cramped!

It really feels as if the garden is coming alive again after the long winter sleep. Lots of flowers are blooming, despite Paddy and Alfies best attempts to eradicate them, either by trampling or eating!

Unlike the garden, things have been quiet on the knitting front. I'm progressing slowly on the Regia socks. I love these colours, they are so cheerful and put a smile on my face each time I look at them.

I couldn't resist sale bargains at Hipknits either, I think it was the colours that called me again.

I really shouldn't buy any more yarn for several reasons,

• I have plenty in my stash to last me years!
• I'm going to Fair Isle to learn to spin, so I can make my OWN yarn.
• I'm also going to Woolfest and should be saving, instead of spending!

BUT

• There are some gorgeous yarns out there.
• Even when I can spin, I'll have to learn how to dye to get some of the yummy colours!
• Knit shops keep having sales!!
• I NEED to try different yarns, patterns, books, magazines.............!

There's more things in the second list, so I reckon that means I'll just HAVE to keep on buying!

I don't know, life is SO tough!

Wool And Walkies!

I've been soooo bad lately, in keeping up with the world of blog. I hopefully will soon be able to catch up with everyone's blog! I hang my head in shame!!

We had a wonderful few days in the Lakes. The weather couldn't have been better, with unseasonally hot sunshine to relax in. We stayed on the shores of Lake Coniston, which is beautiful and not as busy as some of the other lakes. This is an early morning pic of the southern end of Coniston.

We stayed in our caravan, which is going to be put to good use again in June. Five of us County Durham knitters are going to 'caravan' at Graysonside camp site , in order to visit WOOLFEST!! Woohoo!!

As you can see, the caravan isn't massive, it's going to be very 'cosy' at Woolfest!! Please excuse the pic of topless hubby, he was slaving over a hot stove at the time!!

I finally got my shawl blocked, and persuaded my dear daughter to model it!

I'm really pleased with it, the border really made a difference when I FINALLY sussed it out. I'm still not sure if it's on backwards, but it looks OK!


I also knitted a couple of the Booga bags, which are drying post-felting as we speak. This is what one looked like before felting.



I've also been playing with my new toy, the swift! It's absolutely brilliant! It winds a skein in no time. I wound three yesterday, Two Jitterbugs from Colinette and my precious Socks That Rock! The colours really complemented each other and I couldn't resist taking a photo.

I'm knitting socks in Regia 4 ply at the moment, I started them at last Fridays KnitnNatter, which was a lovely morning as usual. Bev gave me two of the dinkiest pens I have ever seen! Thank you again Bev! I've always been fascinated by miniatures. I love the mini wheel that Artis-Anne recently bought too!

Speaking of gifts,inkyartitude gave me a belated birthday pressie of some beautiful metallic acrylic paints, in gorgeous colours. Thank you again Lynn!

Aren't they beautiful? Can't wait to use them! Just need more hours in the day!

I'll leave you with some pics from our garden, after a light shower. The spooky thing was, Carrie Anne showed me some pics she'd taken of flowers and they were the same flowers that I'd taken pics of! Spooky!!
I've put the photo of the Grape Hyacinth on, even though it's blurred, just so Carrie Anne can see the coincidence for herself!

P.S. Thanks for all your wonderful comments, they really mean a lot.

Is It Christmas?

The postman knocked this morning. I opened the door and he said,

'There's a few parcels for you today!'

Then he added,

'In fact all the parcels I've got today are for you.'

So he gives me 4 parcels. My heart starts pounding, I feel like a kid at Christmas!

All these are for me?

Parcel number one: My belated Easter pressie from Ian, my longed for swift, woohoo!! Thank you darlin', much better than a choccy egg!!

Parcel number two: Noro Kureyon destined to be a Booga bag for my sister in law. Lovely colours!

Oops forgot to rotate photo!

Parcel number three: Not for me :( , a book Ian ordered on CBT for work stuff. Boring!

and then Parcel number four. The cutest little sheep finger puppet from Craftydramaqueen! Thank you Andrea for this gorgeous pressie. It was a lovely surprise and is sooo adorable!

Have you seen his little heart feet, aawwww! It really cheered me up to get his little woolyness!

And as if I haven't been lucky enough to get all these lovely pressies, we are off to the Lakes for a long weekend.

I better get back to caravan packing! We always take far too much, I'll be ready for a break by the time we get sorted!

Happy Easter!!

Warning: LONG BLOG AHEAD!!
Long time no blog! Where does the time go?
The garden has been calling the loudest these last few weeks. I think the sunshine definitely helps. Ian and Tom have got most of the veggie garden ready for the new growing season, and yesterday saw Ian plant the tatties, just before going to watch Newcastle Falcons rugby team win!! Woohoo!

The veggie garden is never pristine like some gardens, like our neighbours gardens ! But I don't like it perfect, I prefer it a bit rough around the edges, more lived in. We grow the veg organically and in the photo I see I've captured the bucket of chicken poo!! Nice!

My brother and sis-in-law visited on Saturday, and we went down to the Food Festival in Auckland Castle. What a fab morning we spent, wandering around the food stalls and craft marquees. We bought organic meat and veg from local farms and some yummy cakes, breads and teabreads, most of which we ate the same day, as another one of my brothers called with his girlfriend . I think they smelled the food cooking ! We spent a lovely afternoon, having a BBQ, in the sunshine, eating gorgeous food and slugging some wine, with some pleasant company. Bliss!

All the yomping around the Food Festival, plus the pathetically small amount of weeding I'd done on Friday, meant I was out of action yesterday. But every cloud has a silver lining and I cracked on with my knitting.

I FINALLY finished my second sock. The Piece of Beauty yarn was a dream to knit and I love the Boathouse colour. I'm desperate to start my STR, but I've also got 2 lots of Jitterbug that I got before the STR yarn and I would like to try that too! Decisions, decisions!!

I also started the border on the shoulder shawl I've started from VLT. Now I've had real problems with this, but I think I've finally cracked it. I know as a novice knitter there are loads of things I don't know, but I thought that there would have been clearer instructions about attaching the border. I think it's the one thing about VLT that I'm disappointed about. I think I may have knit it on back to front, but I'm carrying on anyway!! I'm just round the point, so it should soon be finished.

I was up early yesterday due to the various aches and pains but I was rewarded with a beautiful view from the back door.

Well I apologise for the photo-heavy post, but I MUST put some photo's of 'the boys' in. They have had a whale of a time in the garden this weekend and have slept like babies each evening!


This is Alfie, after he found some shade, and Paddy is drying out after a pond dipping session!





All those with of nervous spinning disposition, look away now! This is the result of my first spin on the wheel. It's very slubby, but I did get better as I went along! Not that you'd notice! But I plied it up with some yarn that was on a bobbin that came with the wheel when I got it and this is the result.

It actually doesn't look as bad as it does in the photo, but I wanted to document the NUMERO UNO, no matter how bad!

Oh I forgot to say, my DH has ordered me a swift for Easter! I think he got sick of holding the skeins. So along with the woolwinder I got from E-bay, I should be able to wind some tidier looking balls of yarn!

And finally, I promise this is the last photo! Last but not least.

My Dad died in June 2004 and I miss him so much. So when Tom found some'forgotten' about photo's, I was overjoyed. They were taken only a few weeks before he died and despite him being very frail and in pain, he still smiled and joked as usual. So I'll leave you with my Dad.