Looking a little Closer

Hello Lovelies,
It's been a stunningly sunny day here and on the eve of the spring equinox I really felt spring had arrived. By the afternoon the suns warmth tempted me into our sunny, south facing front garden for a little light weeding...

There's something wonderful about digging over your own little patch of earth . I can clearly recall the first time I weeded the garden of my first home, a newly built  ,very small, townhouse . I had been dreading the job and was totally shocked to find myself enjoying it so much.

Today,while I was down at ground level, I saw lots of tiny spring flowers you would hardly notice standing up (or maybe it's my eyesight!)

The Violas are self seeded and really teeny weeny, here they are next to my very pink finger for scale....

It's a great joy to have a camera that can take macro shots ....though they only turn out this good when the light levels are high ........

This is lungwort, another very small plant , but so pretty and such interesting foliage,it's a real favourite of mine and  it flowers for ages.....

I don't even know the name of these tiny spring flowers but they looked gorgeous in the sunshine this afternoon......

These Hellebore are much bigger but they are so droopy you can't see the pretty flowers unless you bend the stems a little.....

The oriental poppies are a while away from flowering yet but the foliage is growing like mad.....

The sunshine also brought the boys outside to play and they decided to take the Rabbits for their first walk of the year. Here's Dusty in her smart black harness.........

And here's Sparkle in royal blue ........

This shots a bit blurred but I had to include it.....

Don't Rabbits look adorable when the wash their faces like this , so Beatrix Potter :0)

In the background of this image you can see my poor dead Hebe , I think a lot of these plants failed to withstand the extreme cold we had this winter :0(
Oh well, I suppose it's a good excuse to buy a replacement and thankfully  I haven't noticed many other casualties.

Here's hoping tomorrow is just as nice .
Jacquie x

Give a Granny a Whirl

Hello lovelies,
I think this post is going to be quite long , so bear with me :0)
Firstly lets talk about granny squares. You see them every where but they are timeless, gorgeous , and most of all ,so easy.......

I remember learning to crochet as a youngster , probably about 12 years old. The first thing I made that I was really proud of was a granny square bag . It was two big  granny squares sewn together on three sides with a drawstring at the open edge.

I frequently get comments from lovely ,clever, crafty types saying they wish they could get the hang of crochet . I  think the basics may feel awkward and tricky to start with but, really , don't give up .

Today I took loads of pictures to do a granny square tutorial  as they are a great way to start Crochet, but it's amazing how many images you need when you want to include the very basics.A photo tutorial would go on forever.

So on to plan B , I decided to find a good video to recommend to you lovelies.

 After watching several I think the clearest one I found was this HOW TO CROCHET A GRANNY SQUARE
It is aimed at total beginners so I think it's perfect for novice crocheters .The link is to part 1 .Then follow the link on the video to part 2.
I would recommend getting a 4.0 mm hook ......

And some yummy coloured  inexpensive yarn , if you are in the U.K. Wilkos has a decent range( £1.27 a 100g ball) .....

Or try your local yarn shop , the Range or Hobby Craft ( rather over priced in my opinion ) Stylecraft special  ,Bonus and Cygnet are the nicest of the budget brands.Patons FAB is quite nice too.

Then sit down with the video and give a granny a whirl , once you master it you will be hooked ( ha ha )

Next I have some pictures taken on Saturday ..... A lovely sunny day that showed up all the dust and dirty finger prints ! I spent most of the morning cleaning and tidying my bedroom. My circle blanket had it's first wash and I hung it on the line to dry.........

Ahhhhhhhh , still love this blanket .........

I'm rather depressed to say some of my circles are coming a bit loose and I think some repair work will soon be needed. I'm never just crocheting over the ends on a big project EVER again.You live and learn.

Never mind,  what do you think girls , pretty hey??????.........

O.K. not much feedback from the bunnies but they were certainly enjoying sunbathing in the garden at last.

Lastly  ( are you still with me ?) I've taken some pics of my latest quick make ..........

Some rather less colourful little crochet squares !?!    the idea is to sew them onto this knitted dress.......

More of how that goes next time . Hope you've had a good St. Valentines day .
Jacquie x