A Baby Blanket a Garland and Other News

 Things seem to be quietening down in blogland at the moment which is to be expected when many of us are enjoying Spring and the better weather, who wants to sit indoors writing a blogpost when the outside beckons.  With this in mind you will have to excuse me if I seem to disappear for long stretches of time I want to make the most of the Spring/Summer for as long as it lasts.

Even my crocheting has slowed down, there's just not enough hours in the day, the last thing I made was this corner2corner rainbow blanket.

A rainbow blanket is given to parents who have had a live healthy baby(rainbow baby) following a previous pregnancy loss.

I totally forgot to show you my Spring garland so here it is..

It looks so pretty hanging up in my hallway, I intend to make a similar one for Summer.  I found the pattern for this in a magazine but Lucy from Attic24 has one that is nearly the same and you can find that pattern here.

I have nothing on my hook at the moment can you believe it! I have lots of idea's spinning in my mind but haven't quite settled on any one particular thing.  I have lots of patterns that are mere scribbles in a notebook waiting to be written up too but that will need lots of time and concentration both of which are in very short supply at the moment.

Other news

The embroidery continues and should be finished soon.

My fence is finished at last, he appeared yesterday evening and put the screws in from the neighbours side and neatened the tops of the posts, now I can paint the fence and tidy the poor neglected border.

I loved my red composite front door when it was installed but now its fading after just four years, luckily its still under guarantee, I have informed the company who installed it and am waiting to see what happens next, has anyone else had this problem? 

I'm still waiting for my new garage door to be installed, they now say it will be next week, we shall see. 

My daughter-in-law has just informed me that little Mikey my grandson has Scarlett fever and so has she which means of course my son will probably get it too. They are taking antibiotics so hopefully it will clear up without any complications.

You will be pleased to know that's the end of my ramblings for now but I will be back when I can, even if the posts are short or just to say a quick hi.😊

Take care until next time.😘😘

A few Grumbles, Crochet and A Lovely Walk

The Weather

The weather in my part of the world continues to disappoint, yes it is a little warmer but for the past few days we have had strong winds which makes it feel decidedly cooler. It always seems to be windy these days, I prefer the rain to wind any day. 

The Fence

My fence which was damaged during the storms earlier this year has been repaired at last, it has taken over five months to find someone to repair it and although he has inserted the posts he hasn't been back to finish it off, he has left planks of wood and his spirit level! wedged against the fence to prevent it moving while the concrete sets.

 It also needs screws inserted from my neighbours side. It seems like you have to chase everything up these days, I know how it'll go I'll call him to remind him to come and finish off, he'll give me a day then I'll have to text or call him the day before and on the actual day to remind him and still there will be no guarantee that he'll return. On the bright side at least the posts are in and if he doesn't turn up I'm sure my neighbour will be able to insert a few screws.

The Garage Door

I have an up and over type of garage door and I find it very hard to open, I've had problems ever since I moved into this house, either it jams half way or it just won't open at all. I have cleaned it and oiled it several times but it makes no difference. One day it will open no bother and the next it just sticks, added to which it needs painting again. So I decided to get a new electric garage door with a remote, out came the fella that supplies these doors,  he was charm itself very friendly and never stopped chatting, he took ages measuring up and said it will take three to four weeks. Now two months later there's still no sign of the door, I have called him several times and he always says it'll be at the end of next week, well here we are at the end of yet another next week and still no sign of the door. 🤦

That's it no more grumbles and thank you for letting me get that lot off my chest now onto nicer things.

The Walk

I go to a Lip reading class every Tuesday morning and now that the weather is better (apart from the wind) I walk to the Town Hall where it's held.  It's about a 30 - 40 minute walk depending on which route you take and just lately I have taken the longer route through the woods.

It's beautiful seeing the bright green lushness of the new Spring growth, I try to drink it in because I know the colours will soon change and that bright green will fade.  The walk takes me past the area where they felled the tree's back in 2020.  I'm pleased to see that they haven't as yet built anything on the land although holiday lodges were predicted, time will tell if that does happen but for now it's lovely to see the wild flower meadow instead of this...

Comfrey in abundance, red campion and bluebells....

Rapeseed in the distance

The English bluebells are beautiful this year

Through the woods and onto the road, past the field of the rapeseed shining bright yellow in the sunshine...

Past the rail crossing

It's lovely to see the trees have come back to life and are showing off their new green foliage'

You must admit it's a very pleasant walk indeed.

Crochet

I have finished the bunting which is being made to commemorate the queens platinum jubilee.  Both the knitting and the crochet u3a groups are making some and it will eventually adorn the train station.  This is my contribution it's 15 triangles wide and I quite enjoyed making it, I used Lucy's bunting pattern which you can find here, it's super quick and easy. I will show more photos once it's in situ at the station.

Remeber the pattern Azul I showed you in my last post well I did succumb as you knew I would and I bought it.  I have made a swatch with one of the tiles just to get an idea of size and tension...

There are 72 different tiles in the pattern so you can pick and choose which ones you would like to use for your project. They are very easy and straight forward and I would say that this is the perfect pattern for anyone wishing to try out Mosaic Crochet.  These tiles are very much in vogue at the moment and I love the fantastic choice of designs that are available in the pattern. 

Click below for the pattern

AZUL

There is also some embroidery going on, a bit of a late start for the birth flower of the month Lily of The Valley

I will be sewing this and deciding on which project to make with the Azul pattern, I have a baby blanket to finish off too so lots to keep me busy. 

Have a great weekend and take care until next time.😘😘

 

A Finish And What's Growing.

 My latest mosaic finish, I really enjoyed making this it was like coming home again as it's been a while since I made a mosaic blanket. They do have their negatives as in taking ages to grow and lots of ends to deal with but I always like the result so it's worth it.

I wove in all the ends as I worked so I wasn't left with a whole load to deal with at the end. It also meant that I didn't have to make a double border to hide the ends in.

Because the actual blanket is quite busy I chose to make a simple hdc border with a final row of crab stitch to finish it off.

The blanket measures 34"x 34" which I think is a decent sized baby blanket and I will be sending it to NHAP 

I used dk yarn for this which I already had in my stash and it used 450 grams.

The pattern can be found here

I have a few ideas about what to make now that this is done, I have a couple of things on the go at the moment, I must finish the spring garland I don't think it will take too long once I get going and I'm making bunting to adorn our train station for the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations. 

As for embroidery I have downloaded the May birth flower lily of the valley  I'll enjoy transferring the design and selecting my colours and I'll start sewing it this weekend.

It's another Stitchdoodles design and you can find the free download here.

Another month draws to it's close and I have to say I'm a little disappointed I was hoping that the weather would have warmed up by now but it's absolutely freezing. I have done very little in the garden because of the weather and because my fence still needs repairing after it was damaged by the storms earlier in the year, I'm hoping that I have found someone to repair it at last, but it won't be until, next next weekend, I have been let down time and time again, fingers crossed this time it will actually get done.

Things are growing despite my neglect, the bleeding hearts have awoken and are giving a magnificent display, I have had these plants for more years than I can remember and they always put on a stunning performance every spring, they are growing in pots and it doesn't seem to bother them at all.

There is an abundance of blossom on my little apple tree, I do hope that it doesn't get spoilt with the frosts there is one forecast for tonight.

Lovely cowslips and ..

I have tulips at last, not as many as usual I will have to plant more this Autumn.

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself because I haven't had any chocolate for nearly a week, I am still committed to observing my sugar fee May, I'm so pleased that some of you are going to join me lets hope that we can keep it up, think positive we can do it!😊

Have a great weekend and take care until next time.😘😘

Linking with 

Kathy's Slow Stitching Sunday