April 2007 Archives

here's the cute flower brooch I've knitted for my Nan's birthday (from my lovely new knitted flowers book) I'm okay showing you now as Nan's not got a computer so won't see it (Maureen if you're looking sssshh!). I'm supposed to be getting on with the Phildar cardigan but I've been getting distracted trying different flowers with different wool.

On a gardening note this lovely sunshine and showers is wonderful for the little plants! they're all getting excited and doing well, here's the nasturtiums in hanging pots over the salad boxes ('cos you can eat them too!)

Rather embarrased yesterday I stepped into the greenhouse with the words "hello everybody how are you doing?" meaning the tomatoes, bedding etc (they honestly do grow better when you chat to them, but it's not something I do in company!) unfortunately didn't realise the neighbours were just behind the fence and I think either thought I was talking to them or decided to humour me as being quite mad!!

I must plant up my baskets and summer pots soon, I intended to grow my own bedding from seed but after a slow start I bought a few plugs and now have got carried away everytime I see bedding plants I buy more and my own are now getting going! should have a good show this year - although I still feel I need more height for my pots so I'm bound to wind up at the nursery this weekend buying more and then needing more pots for all the bedding to fit - because of course it's cheaper to buy trays of it!

Well after a lovely Sunday afternoon in the garden that's everything planted, On Sunday I put the sweetcorn out in their square bed (thought it might be a bit early but they were trying to climb out of their pots so out they went, cabbages (normal and red) and cauliflower are in the plot, I pricked the salad leaves lettuce out into one of the new boxes and the Basils into another one. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are coming on very well and the runner beans will go out to their canes very soon. So now it's sit back (apart from a regular hoe and water!) and wait for the harvesting!

We did have the first harvest of Rhubarb on Sunday, unfortunatly Paul left it in the oven while chatting to Nicci next door and when he came back half of it had glued itself the the oven floor!! So we had small individual Rhubard crumbles in ramekins - very yummy they were!

On a knitting note my very lovely new book arrived - Nicky Epstein's Knitted Flowers, which I fell for when ordering the also lovely Fabulous Felted Bags (as seen at knitting group where Laurence is knitting from it) by the same author - Amazon did it's 'if you like this..you might like...' and I fell for it but they are very lovely books.

Tiggy's 'got one on her' this evening - she keeps flying in and out of the catflap at a great rate of knots and fell off the table whilst diving into a box sh'd found on it, she also did her 'poke it with my paw to see what it does' to my shot glasses on the display shelf and was very excited by the " Tiggy no!" shout she got?!? Bob the bunny who's hutch overlooks the back door got a big pile of dandelions earlier on (his very favourites!) and is watching the catflap as if it's a really exciting film munching his dandelions as fast as I eat popcorn at exciting bits in films, just waiting for Tiggy to pop out again! If Tiggy starts winding the fish up again later I'm gonna get really worried about what's got into them all!

It's been the most glorious day for gardening! The greenhouse is now on final phase with 2 growbags of cherry tomatoes and 10! pots of plum tomatoes - last year we did 6 plum and we've now run out of tomato pasta sauce so need more this year, though there is a concern that in a couple of months we may not actually be able to get inside the greenhouse for tomato plants! especially as I've set up the extremely 'green' watering system from the water butt with 'worm juice' included'!

I think now everything is planted with some getting ready to plant out when we can be certain of the weather - lovely though it is, it is only April and I remember the year the potatoes were really quite big when they were hit by frost! Ooooh the heartache that year after weeks of lovingly chitting and then digging channels and nurtering to see leaves turn brown! The sweet peas went out today as they were trying to climb out of their pots - but they seem to be a bit tougher! the Rhubarb is going like crazy and I now realise is in a really awkward place to get round the back of the greenhouse, but I don't like to upset it by moving it when it's growing so well so I'll just keep carefully climbing over it!

The new border we dug out a couple of weeks ago (more lawn reclaimed from the lawn mad husband!) is looking very empty despite spending an alarming amount at several garden centres recently! although Bob the bunny seems to like bouncing around in it?!

Here are some tulips that have survived - when we moved in there was a mass of spring bulbs but nothing else at all and we had to move a lot to put the patio and path in, but these lovely bulbs have congregated behind the strawberry pot where Paul really can't say they're in the way, and they've been glorious today!

On a final note, here's the penguin jumper I knitted as modelled by little Ted! apparently they've been inundated with them so we've been instructed to hang on to them until they are needed again, it's very funny at knitting group to see the variety - especially the dayglo pink ones!

oh no, oh no, oh no! it was bad enough ripping the whole hat, then last night it struck me that the Phildar cardigan I'd started really was very 'light' indeed. It came with Phildar Aurore (71% mohair - very nice!) anyway I have the Phildar book plus the translation and after about 4inches I became concerned and looked again at the pattern, the tension square instructions (which I ignored this time - doh!) said knit with 2 strands, the pattern however made no mention of 2 strands, I think I know really I need to rip it and start again with 2 strands of yarn but I e-mailed Phildar just to be sure - but no reply yet!

I am soooooo peeeed off! I spent the last few nights knitting a hat to replace the one I had to give my sister as the one I knitted her was too big, tonight I was on the last few rounds and realised I'd screwed it up! the shaping of the crown I'd totally missed the knit rounds in between the decreasing rounds - hence the completely wrong shape and too short (that's what comes of trying to follow dvd's at the same time as knitting) I tried just to rip the shaping and pick it up again but with the pattern going on and the wool not liking being ripped (kept reattaching itself with determination?!?) so I ended up ripping the whole damn lot! NOT HAPPY! I miss my hat but I'll not now be in the mood to reknit it for ages! Paul tried to ask what was wrong as I sat there cursing but the blank look as I tried to explain didn't help!

Then Tiggy brought a mouse in! Paul went to retrieve it but he's got 'man flu' so after several minutes he yelled me to help him catch the mouse - there was some satisfaction in walking in with the box and the mouse surrendering straight into it!