Cards and Garden

Finally some time for blogging!  I have been so busy in the garden (I think early spring is always a struggle to keep up with rampant growth!)  Although I have managed to do a little crochet from time to time.  I want to make cards using crochet motifs, so have been trying out a few ideas.  This flower is I think quite successful.  I used no 10 cotton and a 1.5m hook.  I think any bigger than that will make the cards too chunky for posting as letter post.  I might try some using no 20 cotton and 1m hook, maybe a mini lacy doily to stick on the card?

I am very pleased with this camellia I brought it last year and it displayed three flowers this year but as you can see it is rather showy.  Er lost the label and can’t remember the name!  But I love it and can’t wait till it get bigger it is only 40cm at the moment.

Here is evidence of my labours in the vegetable patch.  I decided to keep the two front beds for vegetables as they get more sunlight, the ones behind will be the cottage flower beds.  There are still leeks and fennel from my winter garden which I hope to use up very shortly.

This year I have decided to plant more soft fruit , especially blueberries.  However yesterday I managed to get some pots of raspberry canes from the car boot market.  

Peggy Sue always has to inspect any new item brought onto the property!

Today the weather is damp and dismal, so no gardening, a chance to do some blog reading catch up and do some crochet.  Or maybe I should chill out like my three furry friends!

Have a happy day and see you soon.

A bag and a parcel!

One of the things I managed to get completed this week was this little bag.  I was given a lot of curtain and upholstery fabric samples,   I immediately thought bags!  On Pinterest I have seen some awesome bags using doilies; however I thought that this material called out for a softer flap.  

The samples have different colours of the same pattern so I used a darker brown for the lining, maybe the bag could be reversible!  

I was lucky I had some clay buttons that I used for the embellishments.  They matched the scalloped edging colour perfectly.

Early on Monday morning I was very pleasantly surprised to get this parcel from Spain.

It was the give-away from Amanda of Crafty in the Med that I won.  That was quick 6 days to get here, it takes longer for parcels posted within NZ!!

So I made some coffee and open it to reveal these goodies.

Thank you Amanda!  The colours of the wool are lovely and I could not help myself.  They screamed to me a ripple cushion, which I have been doing during spare moments.

I just love the basket, I think I will be making a few myself soon!

These Mediterranean colours must have been on my mind as when I poked my nose in my favourite wool store I espied some lovely cotton and managed to whip up this small doily.

I so love these colours and the cotton is lovely and soft I think I shall go back and buy some more balls and make a shawl that I have seen on the net.

In my garden this week I was pleased to see that the freesias were in flower.

And the Bluebells….

Well that’s it for today see you soon and have a lovely week and thanks for visiting.

Bear Hat

First of all welcome to my new followers,  Paula and Compostwoman.  Also I would like to thank Ilona of Life after Money for the link and mention.

I have been doing a bit of stash busting this week.  I have been invited to a baby shower and needed to do something for a baby boy.  I had been told that something for 3 months to 6 months would be nice as the mum-to-be is awash with new born gifts already.  I thought I would do a bear hat as I think they are so cute. 

So I went to Ravelry and Pinterest, there were hundreds of variations and patterns!  You would think that I would able to find something, but no, I have realised that I am picky!!  In the end I picked a basic pattern and started it was dreadful, so I frogged it and just got to and made it up as I went on.  It worked!

So much so, that my visitor this afternoon wants me to do a pink version for a 2 year old girl.  I am thinking that I might write a pattern for it, improving on some of the kinks.  I will post it when I do.

I have been doing some other stash busting and will post them when they are finished.

This week has been about the garden, spring is well and truly here.  I have been digging compost into the future cottage garden bed and the vegetable patch ready for planting in a few weeks.  Also I have been sowing seeds galore and the potatoes are nearly ready to plant..

Blooms are starting pop up everywhere and I was pleased to see the bees swarming over my white borage.

In the flower garden the Bergenia  or ‘elephant ears’ is putting on a wonderful show.

Well that’s it for today, thanks for looking and see you soon.

I am linking the hat to Linda of Crafty Corner’s Septembers Stash-buster link party.