Rainy Morning Crochet

Hello Lovelies,

the sunshine over the bank holiday weekend was SUCH a treat, yesterday the rain came and it didn't make me feel depressed at all. I know the garden will benefit from a good soaking and the rain is the reason our countryside is so beautifully green. I don't mind the odd rainy days, it's a good excuse to stay indoors and I have a project I'm very excited about on my hook at the moment. The square at the end of my previous post has been abandoned ....the colours were all wrong.



This is what I'm working on at the moment........

 Oooooh, these colourful , happy granny squares are really making me smile. I just love how they are turning out.

As I listened to the rain pitter patter on the conservatory roof I enjoyed a sweet treat and some yarn play.......

My big project bag is full of Stylecraft Acrylic from my stash........

which I'm using to make these granny squares. I just love granny squares don't you ....the possibilites are endless.
I'm feeling particularly happy with this project as I've developed a sort of system to make choosing the colours a bit easier.

I do find random is hard to do successfully so I've made myself some rules. I wonder if any of you do this too ?

My bag contains 6 main colour groups, they are

1. Blue / Turquoise shades
2. Lilac / Purple shades
3. Pink / Red shades
4. Green shades
5. Orange shades
6. Yellow shades
Each square has to contain only three of these groups , so if we look at these four squares in the picture below , top left contains purple, orange and green shades.
Top right has yellow, pink and green.
Bottom left has orange, green and pink.
Finally bottom right has yellow, orange and blue........

I just love the way this is making choosing colours so much easier. But the main reason I'm doing this is because I want the squares to be a bit like different coloured patches. It's hard to explain ....I'm aiming for a sort of patterned patchwork effect. So each square will look like a different fabric in a square patchwork.
I love  solid coloured square  granny blankets ( I made a baby blanket like this HERE ). I love Lucy's Granny Patchwork picnic blanket, but I didn't want to start another solid coloured square blanket at the moment. I'm also very influenced by the two gorgeous granny blankets I linked to last week...they are HERE and HERE if you missed them last time.

I suppose it's a funny time of year to start a blanket . But, like Lucy's, this is going to be an outdoor, picnic blanket. Something relatively quick to make, using inexpensive yarn, that will be easy to wash .

I had such a nice time looking out at the rain while I played with colourful yarn. Tom Tit was sitting on the fence and Mr Blackbird came right onto the patio while I sat quietly hooking .

The garden looked lovely despite the dampness, so I even braved the rain to take a few close up pictures...

Then I was glad to come back indoors and finish my ninth square.......

 Each square is seven rounds so they are a good size........6 1/2 inches or 14 cm.
I'm thinking seven rows of seven squares with a wide border will give me a blanket that's big enough to be useful but not too big to carry around.........

I'm going to sew them together as I want to be able to play around with the arrangement of the squares at the end. This will also mean it's a very portable project.
I'm having a lot of fun with it so far and looking forward to using this Summer blanket on family outings this year...so I think I better get on with it :0)
Jacquie x

A Sunny Morning Run

 Morning Lovelies,
Today I thought I would share a run I enjoyed on Saturday morning . Would you like to join me ?

  First I  jogged along pavements in the early morning sunshine, before climbing over the style and going off road . The footpath goes through a field of sheep , this mum has three big lambs, very cute...........

Looking back you can just about make out the path in the grass......

 Then it's over another style and into the darkness of the railway tunnel, if you look back you can still see the sheep and the style on the left.....

Then it out into ......a field of Oil seed rape........wow it's bright after the blackness of the tunnel.....

Love the blue and yellow and the pylons marching across the landscape......

These yellow flowers are pretty in close up too.......

Even though the morning dew  made  my  feet wet and their pollen stuck to  legs

Phew , that's a bit easier , but there's a steep hill soon....

I said  hello as I passed a friendly dog walker.......

 And climbed that hill....it's O.K. to walk this bit :0)

And it's important to pause at the top and admire the view..........

Then it's off again , along a narrow cut through , which I call a snicket....it's funny and fascinating how local words develop don't you think...

Past a tiny  old caravan that hasn't moved in many years.......

 Not far now, just a few more pavements , overflowing with cow parsley.......

Past the bench on the corner....

 There's always time to peer over the gate and check how the allotments are doing......looking good.....

Then I headed home , remembered to stretch, and  enjoyed breakfast in the garden ....with the first al-fresco crochet of 2013 :0)

I hope you enjoyed that. It always makes me happy to get out in the fresh air, walking is just as nice but I do feel lucky that I can run ( slowly ) too if I want to.....if you would like to know how I got started have a read of this post.
Thanks for coming along , it's always nicer to share a happy time , and you guys are great company :0)
Jacquie x
P.S. if you would like to see what the same route looked like in winter scroll down this post , Brrrrrrr.

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 21/52

Hello lovelies, 

all my happy things pictured here are from yesterday, it was a particularly happy day.

1. My eldest telling me that the first poppy had opened in the morning. I love that he noticed and I love these flowers...they had their own post last year :0)

2. Getting ready for a family barbecue, recycling last years diamond jubilee bunting  ....I love any sort of bunting.

3. Making simple accompaniments for  barbecue food ( Mr BM and his brother take charge of the grill ) ....this is Ratia ....I made it with mint from the garden ....perfect with spicy food .We also ate the first homegrown lettuce of the year.

4. We were blessed with wonderful warm sunshine yesterday, but when the sun went down and it got a bit chilly, sitting round the chiminea, chatting with my boys and their cousins was wonderful.
A day to treasure.
Jacquie x

Along the Roadside and in the Garden

Hello Lovelies, 

I'm very lucky to get time off work in the week. It gives me the opportunity to spend a bit of time with my Mum while the rest of the family are at school or work. We usually head off to a local market town via various quiet roads. They are not the quickest route, but we both love to potter along , noticing the changes in the seasons and finding new vistas.

At this time of year the roads themselves are  lovely......the trees in the hedgerows are just getting new leaves and the verges are so pretty, all lacy white and fresh green..........

We often stop the car and take a few pictures....great for my blog and Mums painting inspiration. Sometimes we don't even have to get out of the car :0).....

 This was my attempt to get the view behind us in the rear view mirror.........it didn't work out but I still like it.

But I do like to hop out and get pictures from a different angle too......

I loved to blue of the Alkanet with the frothy cow parsley under this hedge......

Back in my own garden things are looking wonderful too.....My Alliums are on the verge  of flowering.........I love watching the buds  slowly opening up.........

What a wonderful colour they are.........

I'll be sure to share some pictures of these beauties when they are fully open.....it wont be long.

 I'm lucky to have a week off work to spend with my boys who are on half term break next week. We don't have any fixed plans and are really looking forward to the lack of routine.
Hope you have a great Bank Holiday weekend if you are in the U.K.
Jacquie x

Bunting for Lucy

Hello Lovelies, 

I know most of you will be familiar with  the wonderful blog Attic 24....my stats tell me most of you find your way here via Lucy's deservedly popular site.

Lucy is currently one of the talented people organizing Yarndale. I'm very excited about this event and plan to make the trip up to Yorkshire to visit it.....try and keep me away :0)

When I read this post asking for help to make bunting triangles to decorate Yarndale I didn't hesitate.

I've been missing my hook a bit lately , but not sure what I wanted to make. Of course I SHOULD return to the blanket at the bottom of  this post....but I fancied a quick , colourful project and Lucy's granny bunting looked so yummy that I had to start immediately.

I made half a dozen of these triangles, they really are quick and easy.........

I love their happy colours ( I used Stylecraft special DK ) and perfect points. Of course they don't work up like that , but Lucy shows you how to steam block them in her post and it works beautifully........

How happy this picture makes me....it's been too long since I had any pretty crochet to share with you lovelies ..........

I was on a roll now....grabbing my crochet and pegging it out between showers yesterday....

 Crochet on the washing line....yay ! I've missed this .

The traingles with seven colours are my favourite, but I think it's good to have some plainer ones too.

I hope  Lucy will have a HUUUUGE response to her request for these fun granny triangles as I would love to see masses of colourful bunting decorating the hall, or wherever it's used ...I think it will look wonderful don't you.


As I was making my donation I wondered if I would be able to spot my own work in among all the other peoples........and an idea popped in my head.........

Eeek, I hope Lucy doesn't mind but I've added a little felt bunny to one of my triangles.....I thought it was appropriate  for Bunny Mummy and I hope I can have a bit of a Where's Wally game trying to spot him :0)

This is the back .......

This week has been so inspiring for crochet in blogland...as well as this bunting there have been some gorgeous blanket ta-dah's HERE and HERE. I keep looking at my stashmerino ( luxury yarn collection) and wondering...........

It's a big decision of a girl who's used to the budget option.And I think I need a few more colours before I can start on a project with this.

That's why it was so nice to get my crochet vibe back by giving something back to Lucy, who has inspired and helped me so often in the past.........

If you would like to make some of these fun granny triangles there is a pattern link in Lucy's post and she is going to do a photo tutorial soon.

Any of you lovelies planning a Yarndale visit ?

Jacquie x

A Woodland Walk

Hello Lovelies,

On Sunday we went on a woodland walk. We haven't visited this particular wood before so it was all new...and what a perfect time of year to discover such  a gem.

The new leaves were an amazingly bright, zesty green in the sunlight..........

and the paths were brightly lit too, in places where the trees were a little thinner. It all looked very lush, with lots of cow parsley and nettles lining the path.......

Sunlight illuminated the beech leaves........

I took this photo after I saw my middle sun capturing it on his camera....he's a great photographer and I love that he enjoys taking photos of similar things to me....his pictures are often better than mine.

Some of the trees were huge. It made me feel a bit dizzy to stand beneath them and gaze upwards....

Of course I was secretly hoping to find Bluebells ....they are the most gorgeous woodland flower don't you think. I had begun to give up hope of coming across any when we found this sweet little clump......

And a bit further along.... among much younger trees we found this wonderful sight.........

Perfect

I especially loved this wood as it was so varied and had great paths. It was lovely to wander from relatively open areas of young trees and then find yourself in a thickly wooded part with towering mature trees.........

The young Sycamore leaves were pretty too.........

I was fascinated by these huge Fungi , but I didn't dare get too close........

and this fallen tree made a striking sight.......

At the edge of the wood you could admire the view across the fields......

In another thinly wooded bit there were masses of gorgeous, teeny blue Speedwell.........

It was very different to the older part of the wood ........

Masses of Red Campion  thrived here and I thought they too looked wonderful en masse.........

As we left the cloud was building and I couldn't resist taking one final picture .......

It was another special May outing and it was so nice to share this one with my family

Jacquie x