Summer weather in March!

We have had extraordinary weather this week - better than we get during many summers. It is really odd to be sitting in the garden in warm sunshine, surrounded by plants that are only just starting to come into leaf.

Not made by me!

A friend who loves to crochet has sent me these lovely items she has crocheted -aren't they amazing!

Bag - finished

I got the little bag for my husband to hang round his neck under his clothes finished. I hope he doesn't lose this one!



Anenomes

After years of cossetting spring anenomes and never getting them to flower, this is the second year these have flowered on a diet of total neglect.

Blanket progress

I am still working on the mitred blanket. I finished the first row of squares and have started the second row. I think it will be nice when finished.

Double knitted bag

My husband is prone to putting things down and losing them, so I make him little bags on cords to hang the really important stuff round his neck. He recently managed to lose one of them so I am knitting a replacement. The yarn is 2 strands of left-over silk. For small bags like this, rather than use 4 double pointed needles, I just double knit it.

Ginger

This was Ginger as a kitten. It seems such a long time ago.

Flowering

I can't remember what this plant is and it is too muddy for me to go and look for a label, but it is such a cheerful sight on a cold bleak day!

Orenburg Shawlette

I have had a difficult couple of months so I am knitting 'Playful' a curved Orenburg shawlette. I've done the bottom edging and started the body of the shawl - and it is cheering me up.

 

Another folded patchwork quilt

This was another make to give away quilt. It is a good thing I have given away a lot of what I make down the years as otherwise we would not be able to get in the front door!

Spring is early this year

The garden is weeks ahead of normal for the time of year. Our garden is north facing and shaded so daffodils don't start flowering normally until the end of March. My husband looked out at the unseasonably warm weather and said 'I suppose this means we will have snow in May!' (We did actually have snow fall and lie one year on May 6th). I hope he isn't right!

Ginger

Ginger tends to be the one I can't find when I'm taking photos, but I was lucky and caught him half-asleep on my husband's pillow.

Buds - and Sunny

This is my second go at growing a tree peony and I am so glad to see new buds on it.

And here is Sunny finding out that she no longer fits some of the corners she used to fit perfectly! Unfortunately she has hurtled round the garden at the expense of scratching her eye on a twig or something, so she had to go to the vet yesterday. She now has eye drops but is being good about them.

Handkerchief quilt

If I didn't have the photo to prove it I would have no memory of making this. It was a make-and-give-away one. It was made by the Japanese folded patchwork method using handkerchiefs.

Tigger

It is hard to remember that my gentle giant was ever this small!

Tigger

Hasn't he got amazing whiskers!

Cowl/hood

I needed an easy knit as I have not been too well lately so I made this hood. The pattern is Alasse Miriel Hooded Cowl. Despite what the camera thinks, the colour is a daffodil yellow. I find knitted hats a bit of a nuisance for hospital visits as I have to take the hat off and then try not to lose it, so I thought this might be a better solution.

Winter flowerers

I do admire plants that come out before the weather starts to warm up. This one looks so delicate to brave the bad weather.

Forgotten quilt

I had completely forgotten I made this quilt until I found a photo of it. The red was a cotton evening dress I had and the white was an old sheet. I was hard up at the time but it made a nice gift for my daughter.

Hasn't Sunny grown!

She still behaves like a kitten though. And hasn't she got beautiful copper coloured eyes!

Covered coathangers

While looking for a photo of something else I came across this picture of some padded coathangers decorated with tatting. I made them a good many years ago for a bazaar - I don't use padded coathangers myself but they were specifically requested and seemed popular.

Friends!

Sunny and Tigger. Ginger was there too but decided to move while I was fetching the camera!

Hints of spring

The weather is yo-yoing between unusually warm and unusually cold, but there are still some signs of spring in the garden.

Fish

Wondering what to knit next as a relaxation from garments, I came across an extraordinary pattern that tessallates fish, ducks and turtles. The pattern is On The Shore by Jana Huck. Yesterday I knitted a fish just to see how it worked.

I'm not sure if I would want to knit a whole blanket and at the moment I am unable to find a third good colour to go with the green and yellow yarn I have already. And the sewing up sounds as if I would find it rather a struggle these days. But I'm pretty sure I could fix that problem by knitting half creatures for the edges.

It is such a clever idea though that I just had to share!



Cardigan - finished

I have got my cardigan finished at last - and I am so pleased with it! Incidentally you can see that on the hanger the back is clearly longer than the front - this means that the hem will hang straight when I have it on.



Dolls in pre-modern dress

Here are most of the dolls in pre-modern dress.

Cardigan - sleeve

The pattern calls for the top down sleeve to be worked in stocking stitch - but I have used the pattern stitch. The tensions are not the same so I had to adjust my pick up of stitches and decrease every 8 rows all down the sleeve. I don't mind the pattern being 'upside-down'.

Starting the cuff. To match the body I have decreased so the pattern flows correctly.