Craft actually

Signs of spring

The bulbs that my consultant gardener Pauline planted a few months ago are starting to pop up. First up are the petite snowdrops. 

 

The magnolia buds are also starting to grow.

 

I was hoping that while Mum and Dad are visiting from Aus that Mum and I could get out in the garden to prepare the veggie patch for spring but the weather is still freezing and rainy unfortunately.

But they have been enjoying their trip and spending lots of time with Sophie which after all was the reason for the visit ;)

  

 
 

Regrouping weekend

I don't have any photos today because yesterday I thought, "I'll take photos tomorrow when I clean up" and then today was so dark and rainy the light was too bad. I was going to show you the hoodie version two that I'm making in Sophie's current size not for a year's time. This time I'm using a beautiful Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed. Its light grey with flecks of green and pink through it so should go with almost everything. I'm hoping I can get lots of the yoke done tonight while watching the XFactor results show. 

I am looking forward to sitting down and vegging out. Not that this weekend has been hard core or anything but Miss S has had a tummy bug for four days so there has been a fair bit of cleaning up to do.

After Smithy being away for work a couple of weeks ago and then being very busy it seemed like we had hardly seen each other the past month but this weekend we just caught up which was nice. Friday night we went out to dinner for our wedding anniversary at a French restaurant in the Royal Exchange building in the city. Its a grand old building which is now quite posh. Its the first time we've been out together for  meal in town since our last anniversary dinner when I could hardly fit in the booth table. Last year we came out of the restaurant and it was snowing! Its not even that cold at the moment.

Saturday we braved Oxford St for a bit of shopping and today we' chilled out at home. Have I even left the house today? No too rainy. I tried to so some sewing yesterday but my machine is on the blink. Something is wrong with the bobbin stitching I think. I had it fixed a couple of weeks ago but the problem is back again. Very frustrating as I'm just at the last step for the top I'm making for Sophie.

Am off to put another load of washing on. Will be glad to go to work tomorrow for a rest :)

Pretty Flowers

Its gloomy and grim outside in London today so I thought some cheery pictures might be the ticket.

The camilla from Pauline seems to have recovered from being almost killed by the heavy snow last winter...it has been producing some gorgeous flowers throughout the summer. So delicate and pretty.

The dahlia I bought on a whim at the garden center has been going crazy lately and I"ve been picking loads of flowers to brighten up the kitchen. My gardening guru neighbour tells me you can split them at the end of the season to get more plants. Not at all sure what that means but will hopefully get a demonstration when the time comes.

The brilliant red colour reminded me of the bright red yarn I bought for this winter's cardie project. This photo doesn't do the yarn justice at all. The yarn is Malabrigio Worsted in Ravelry Red which is just so so gorgeous. I'm planning to make Vivian by Ysolda Teague - by far the most ambitious pattern I've attempted so far.

This giant dahlia is from my neighbour's garden - amazing isn't it?!

To give you an idea of the size comparison - makes the red ones seem like miniatures.

Pretty Party Frock

There has been a little bit of crafting happening here lately....just not by me. My sis Soozie whipped up this gorgeous dress for Miss S. 

The pattern is from Amy Butler's book and of course fabric also by Amy. We love you Amy.

It had a debut at the baby BBQ on the weekend. All the babes (and mums and dads) came over for feasting and paddling. We had a lovely warm summer afternoon.

Home!

Its nice to be back. I'm suffering a little bit from jetlag. Miss S woke up at 2am and while she is now sleeping soundly I am still wide awake at 5am. Once the birds started chirping around 4am I had no chance!

Our flight back was fine although it seemed a lot longer than on the way out. I don't think I slept as much this time. My sis flew back with me and was a star helping to look after S who didn't want to sleep very much. Sooze is here for the rest of the month so my mind is ticking over with all the things we should do to make the most of the amazing weather we've having here at the moment. We will start with watching the Wimbledon final this afternoon and maybe have a jug of Pimms for refreshments.

I'm sitting here admiring all the work that has happened in the garden while I've been away. We've had some raised beds put in on either side of the garden. On one side is the "tropical oasis" and on the other side is the vegie patch. A few of the seedlings I planted have survived while we were away. Two tomato plants are thriving and two basil plants are looking pretty good. The rest haven't fared so well, most have been the victims of the two little fox cubs that have been hanging around lately.

Its a bit late too late in the summer to be planting vegies now but I'll treat it as a practice run for next summer and see what we can do. Its been nice and hot so we might get some produce before winter.

Minnow has claimed her lounging position....

 

The tropical oasis

The work in progress vegie patch

Summer is here

Bare legs! Never before seen daylight!

Planted herbs - the girls supervised.

Planted tomato and basil seedlings - the babe supervised.

Strawberries, lavender and rosemary.

Barbeque.

Key lime pie and British strawberries and cream.

Knitting and basking.

Monday is here and its raining. Much more typical weather.

Give me some .... attention!

It has been observed by some that the girls aren't getting as much blog time as they were Before Bean. Just quietly, they're not getting as much lap time either! But they each have their ways of making their presence known. Mostly little ways like lying on sewing projects,

 sitting on keyboards, thus preventing said blogging,

playing with yarn,

and generally snuggling into whatever available lap they can find.

Minnow and I have spent some very pleasant hours like this recently, knitting Robbo's blanket, watching the magnolia bloom and listening to  old issues (episodes? cant think of the right word!) of the Stash and Burn excellent podcast. I love those girls! And my furry girls too.

Spring

Its such a great feeling when the magnolia blooms. This year the blossoms are particularly spectacular.

 

In celebration of spring I made Sophie this Argyle vest (Ravelry link - Debbie Bliss pattern and yarn) in bright pink. I did 6-9 month size but it fits well now!

More pink blooms on the cherry tree (?) next door.

Man Shed

Once the old shed came down it was very quick for the new one to appear in its place. 

After two weeks its nearly finished and the builders are just finishing off the inside this week.

It has two rooms - one for a study and one for a sauna (no I'm not joking). I think Smithy has put everything in his man shed that I wouldn't let him have in the house like the bright red walls in the study. 

Its been gorgeous spring weather the last couple of weeks. Coffee with the girls has been outside a few days and we had a BBQ yesterday. The magnolia is starting to bloom.

Shed demolition

There is nothing Smithy likes better than a bit of demolition with a sledge hammer. He is ripping down the old shed which our neighbour informed us has been there for more than 20 years and is going to build a new man shed. He says it is so he can work more from home but I strongly suspect it is so he can hide from us four girls (including the cats). An oasis in a pink and floral world.

We found quite a few things we thought were missing or had forgotten about including two boxes of home magazines. Score!

Minnow and Misty were both horrified at the destruction. They both used to sit on top of the shed and survey their kingdom. Hopefully they will like the new one.

End of day one. Most of this carnage is now in a skip although there is still come carting of rubble to be done.

Miss S and I watched from the warmth of the house. Sophie did a little reading and had a manicure.

Then she practiced her rolling over which she has done a few times now. Although she gets to this point and her arm is stuck and she doesn't know what to do. V amusing.