Wipe off the cobwebs....cough, cough, splutter, splutter....

Hello!

If it's possible for a blog to have accumulated dust and cobwebs then this little blog of mine certainly has! It's been nearly 2 months since my last post and although I thought I would hit 2015 running, the days have slipped by like the stream in our new garden and here we are on the 17th Jan.... Hey ho....

So, what's been happening in my world? First up....WE MOVED HOUSE!!!! I'm not going to go into the gory details of the actual move (let's just quietly push that to one side and say that without the greatest husband and mother in the world, I wouldn't have gotten thru it) but here are some pics of our new home....

This is taken from the front gate but the house extends at the back quite a bit so is bigger than it looks here. The most wonderful thing about the house is the park-like garden. We have huge expanses of lawn (great for playing cricket!) and a stream and lots of lovely shady trees (very handy for SA summers - temps here have been +35C)....

Here's the stream complete with Pooh-Bear bridge (please tell me that you've also played Pooh Sticks off a bridge....)

There are zillions of plants but most of the flowers have died back now as it's been so hot. However, I did manage to snap a few before they finished.

A beautiful Buddleja - one of the first plants J and I bought in our first garden. Almost impossible to kill!

A Chilean Potato Vine - we had one of these in our garden in the UK and they are stunning when flowering. If you don't have one in your garden, GET ONE!

And this rather lovely little number which I think is an Orchid but I can't be sure. If any of you know, please leave me a comment....

The garden is full of nooks and crannies like this little water feature with higgledy-piggledy steps behind it going up to yet another lawned area. The birds love the water but my labs are a little put out that they can't sit in it to cool down!

So we've moved in, settled down and are very happy. It'll take us a while to get used to being back in a suburb again with all the hustle, bustle and noise that comes with town life, but in general it feels like we've been here for ages and it's only been a month! As you can see below our front door is always open so if you're in the area, feel free to pop in for a chat!

On the "needles" front, remember this from November?

Well, it got frogged (for those non-knitters among you, this means "unpicked") and became this

The cables just weren't happening for me and I'm much happier with this. Here's my Ravelry link. I really like the moss stitch sleeves and the "arrow" pattern on the front (very slimming)!

I also made a scarf for a good friend who has a birthday soon. She loves scarves and has to get up very early in the winter to get to work so really appreciates as many as possible! This one is red (her favourite colour), chunky, fluffy and has a little sparkle too, just for fun! I tried to make a heart shape with the scarf but now I think it looks like a really weird pair of lips!!!

And finally, I was given some yarn a while ago by a friend which is discontinued. She had no use for it and it's been in my stash for some time so I decided to make this. Here's progress so far....

Although the yarn is 4 ply which is usually quite soft, this particular 4 ply has 60% wool so is a bit "scratchy". I'm hoping it will soften up after a wash but to it's credit, it's lovely to work with and is the most beautiful teal blue. The pic really doesn't do the colour justice so I'll try and take better pics when it's finished.

So, that's me. Old year gone, new year up and running. School starts next week and mania will become my new best friend so for now I'm just enjoying these last few days of lazing around at home, knitting, watching TV and generally being a slob!

I hope your Christmas season was good and that your New Year has started full of good things.

Til soon.

xxx

Winding down.....

Sorry that it's been a while but life is pretty busy at the moment. In just over a week I'll be finished teaching my 'little darlings' at the preschool and moving on to bigger things!  I've decided to try my hand at running my own business and so will be putting my teaching career on hold for a while until 'my ship comes in' (or not as the case may be)...... In which case I'll be on the lookout for another teaching post but I'm not thinking about that at the moment!

Because of my sudden rush to get things up to date in my classroom and at least give the impression to the new teacher that I not only knew what I was doing but was organised too, this month has been a wee bit hectic but I have managed a few things so I thought I'd share them with you.

First of all, I made a little holder for all my beads and necklaces. My mom bought me the 'Smile' ornament and I just added some cup hooks. Cool hey? And Oh So Useful Too!!!!

Next up - I've been enjoying some Autumnal strolls through my garden. The light here in South Africa in the Autumn/Winter is amazing......Very crisp and clear.

This is a Weaver bird's nest. They hang from the trees and are so intricately made. A masterpiece of nature I 

always think.

I've also managed a little bit of this and that on the creative front. I started a commission - one of the Lucy Bags for a friend. Here it is after a couple of hours

 And here's one I've almost finished for her daughter.

Some flowers for the bag. These are the Triple Layer Flowers that we all know and love from Lucy at Attic24.

And lastly here are some bunting triangles which I'll be sending to Lucy for Yarndale. I thought she might appreciate some from Africa!

So not too idle!!! Have also got two beanies (with decorative flowers of course) on the go so my fingers are knowing no rest!!!!

Til soon.

xxx

My Love and I ......

Hello friends! I just wanted to pop in quickly to show you this .....

Is she not gorgeous?   I am indeed the luckiest chestnut on the planet as this week marked the 20th anniversary of my first date with DH!!! And he remembered with this beautiful orchid! Do you want to see more? No problem......

It really is so delicate. I even fell in love with the pot it came in. I know it says 'herbs' on the front, but I'm not complaining .....

DH also gave me a voucher for a local health spa so I sense a massage and a facial in the not too distant future....YAY!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend....thanks for sharing this with me.

Here's one last look....

Til soon.

xxx

p.s. Sorry for the quality of the pics - my camera isn't great but I really wanted to show you. xxx

Out In The Garden....

Hello!!! Thanks for stopping by. For those of you only interested in crochet, please be advised that this is a gardening post. I'll be posting on my current crochet projects later in the week.......

To be honest, it's been a while since I did anything in my garden. I did salvage a few last veg from my little veg boxes but nothing spectacular. My box of strawberry plants amounted to absolutely nothing and I'm not sure what I did wrong. I'll try again next Summer but they have one more season to prove themselves before I ditch trying forever!

This Summer has been unseasonably hot - I know that here in South Africa we should be used to hot Summers but where I live in the Natal Midlands, we generally have a far more English climate with plenty of Summer rain and very cold Winters. However, this year the whole country has had lower than average rainfalls and my garden has suffered as a result. True, I could water religiously every day like other people do but there's nearly an acre of garden to look after and our main flower bed is the size of a small country so watering would take me hours!!! Not to mention the cost! That being said, what did manage to flower did so very well and I really can't complain too much.

After a bit of tidying up there were a couple of empty spots in the bed so I decided to plant one of these -

image from www.community.birdsandblooms.com

Isn't it beautiful? For those of you that don't know this plant it's called Dierama but it's common name is Harebell. It has the form of a grass with these stunning pinky purple flower bells that sway and bob about in the breeze! If the one I've planted does well then I intend to plant many more on some woodland terracing that goes up the side of our drive. I think huge clusters under the trees will look really pretty. What do you think? Here's a close up of the flower itself - like tiny ballerina skirts.....

image from www.alpinegardensociety.net

Another newbie to my garden are my beloved Cannas. We do have a few of these in the garden already but they're the orange and yellow ones. These new plants are the bright red Cannas and by far and away my favourites -

image from www.bonniesplants.com

This is how they look after a few years at which time they can be dug up and divided (quite brutally with a spade if you're that way inclined!!!).

image from www.wunderground.com

And finally, my mom bought me four plants of something I have long wanted in our garden because of it's structure and form. Zebra grass!!!! If you've never seen it, here's a look -

image from www.toledoperspectives.blogspot.com

Planted en masse it really does look effective. Unfortunately I couldn't find a pic that shows this but the one below sort of does the job -

image from www.foodreference.com

Again I'm thinking of planting lots of these on the woodland terracing as they really do brighten up a dark area and the movement when it's windy is quite enchanting to watch. There is another version which is a much darker green (almost black) with cream stripes but it's very hard to get here and that variety doesn't grow very big.

I hope you've enjoyed my latest gardening ramblings. Maybe this time next year I'll be able to show you the actual plants in situ!

Til soon.

x

A Bit of This and That...

Hello dear friends!!

Thank you all so much for your responses to my Kids Zone idea. I'm VERY excited about it as I have an absolute stash of crafts and ideas to share and it will be so good to get them out of the dusty cupboard and into the bright light of day!!!

A bit of a mixed bag today as I haven't got a new finished bits to show you but I have got lots of 'this and that' to share....

Firstly, you HAVE to go and have a look at this.

Is it not the most exquisite blanket ever? When I first saw it I actually gasped! That edging is so delicate and gorgeous and antique...... Please pop over to Coco Rose Diaries and see for yourself. I defy you not to fall in love.....

Secondly, I was wandering through Matt and Dennis' blog and I saw this ripple blanket that Dennis made.

I've seen so many ripples in so many colour variations that I thought I'd seen it all but this REALLY appeals to me. Single colour but worked through the backloops so the ripples stand out. And that grey...gorgeous!

And finally for those gardeners and foodies among you, please pop over to Mark's Veg Plot if you have a moment. His blog is FULL of all things growing and cooking and his photos are AMAZING! His latest post is entitled Goulash and has this pic -

- it made me so hungry that I'm off to get a piece of chocolate cake from a nearby coffee shop.......

Til soon.

xxx

The Day That Was.....

Hello!!! Here I am again.... Not much to post at the moment as I'm busy putting together various crochet items that are nearly finished but not quite there yet. I had earmarked yesterday to finish them all (I have three in my basket) but unfortunately things did not go to plan....

Firstly I tried to put together my Blooming Flower Cushion but went hopelessly wrong and ended up having not only to unpick but CUT (yes, you heard correctly) the last two rounds of the front AND the back in order to get it back on track! Was I mortified??? In a word, yes but thankfully I've now got it back into some sense of order so WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!

Then I started a back section for another cushion and got three rows from the end only to realise that I'd done the whole thing 6cm too small!!!! Please don't ask me how I managed to do it because I couldn't tell you but needless to say the air was blue and there was a lot of frantic pulling out .... ! Not very grown up I know but you crafters will understand - you have a limited time to do a certain number of crafty things but everything you touch goes wrong - have you been there recently?'

I should have taken a deep breath, stopped everything, had a cup of tea and an iced bun and thought things through. That's what I SHOULD have done. Is that what I did? No. I picked up yet another project and attempted to finish it. It didn't work but I won't go into details. That particular project is now neatly rolled back up into little colourful balls in my workbasket eagerly awaiting another day and another project ....... into......

In words of one syllable, yesterday was NOT a good day. While I was huffing and puffing around the house generally throwing ALL my toys, Little D and I were also attempting to do a school project about weighing things. That, I'm relieved to say, went without a hitch so at least I got something right! He was very pleased with it and I know will be as proud as punch on Monday at school when he shows his class!

In retrospect I would much rather Little D's thing went well and mine didn't. What are a few crochet items compared to a 7 year old's first school project? No comparison.

Oh yes. One thing did go well for me yesterday. I picked my last crops from my little veg garden. One cabbage and a whole bunch of spring onions! The cabbage is in the fridge waiting to be made into coleslaw this evening and the spring onions are all gone - I made a massive salad for lunch yesterday which was scrummy!!!!

So, how was your weekend? As many ups and downs as mine? I hope not.....
xxx

Creative Plans For 2012.....

Since I'm very restricted at the moment on my internet usage, I thought I'd post very quickly on my creative plans for 2012!

We all make silly resolutions in January of each year about losing weight, getting fit, etc etc and some of us even manage to keep them until mid January but my REAL goals are always the creative ones, the ones that result in me holding something and saying 'I made/grew that!!!' - those are the resolutions that I truly hold dear.

So, what are they I hear you ask... Well, on the crochet front, I would like to tackle a cushion made of these which you can find here

Then I thought I'd have a go at something like this.....

(source: http://yarnroundhook.blogspot.com/2012/01/autumn-blanket-pattern-notes.html)

I LOVE the idea of chocolate brown, strawberry pink and cream ... Neopolitan ice cream on a hot Summer's day .....

.....and I really really really want to make a cushion like this

(source:  http://rosehip.typepad.com/rose_hip_blog/2008/11/index.html)

and when I'm done with all those I'll probably run up another Ripple Blanket.  Little D's is finished but I haven't been able to upload the photos yet so it will have to be for a future post.

On the gardening front, I want my veg garden to look more like this

(source: http://www.fennelandfern.co.uk/blog/2010/01/28/real-gardens-the-old-rectory/)

and less like the jungles of Borneo!!!!! A tall order I know but I think with alot of hard work I may manage to produce something worth eating.... That is, of course, unless we get another Storm From Hell!!!

So, those are my creative plans for 2012. What are yours????

Storm Survivors!

For those gardeners among you, I thought I'd post what little survivors we've found so far in the garden after The Storm From Hell!!!

The cabbage plant that Little D brought back from a farm trip with his school is still going strong. He's very proud......

Unfortunately my standard roses haven't faired so well. Not a bloom to be seen.....

My strawberry patch is still producing leaves but no flowers or fruit.....

And my veg area in general looks very sad. The peppers (front right) are almost completely destroyed but I'm keeping them in just for a few more days to see if they come back to life. The spring onions (next to the peppers) are a little bedraggled but I'm hoping that beneath the soil......and the spinach leaves (back left) are full of holes but there are already new leaves sprouting so there may be hope!

Apart from that, there is no colour left in the garden at all except for these daisies (can't remember their real names) that I planted in some pots by a sheltered wall of the house.....they flower bravely on.....

So, that's our garden post storm. Let's hope we don't have another one......