crafts & knitting · garden stuff · summer

longest day

Can you believe the longest day of this year has already been and gone?

My Summer solstice was a quiet one with Toby in respite for the day, Amy out with friends and H off cycling. I made the most of the peace by settling myself in the shady spot at the end of the garden with my knitting, notes and computer and I worked on getting the seasonal sweaters pattern finished.

It’s pretty much done but later today I need to take a cover photo and give it all a final check through and then it should be ready to share. I’ll tell you more about what is in the collection later in the week.

Being outside feels so good and the weekend weather gave plenty of opportunity to do just that. There were some pretty interesting skies too, with perfect conditions for contrails which took ages to disperse, the sky above our house soon becoming criss-crossed with them.

Yesterday was also a garden day. Toby had lots of fun on the trampoline while H and I pottered around, tidying up some of the shrubs that have become overgrown and weeding out the chicken run. A few months back we lost Butterscotch, the last of our 3 original chickens to a mystery illness and we thought we’d wait a while before getting ourselves a new flock – just incase there were still some germs lurking around. I think enough time has passed now so we’ve tidied up the run and I’m hoping we’ll have some new clucky friends very soon.

The garden is very green and fresh looking at the moment. We’ve not had intense summer heat yet and although there’s not been much rain of late the water butts are still quite full and I’ve been diligently watering each night. I love all of the different shades of green in the various corners of the garden…

Well, I’m off to get everyone ready for their respective day and then I’m going to try and take that cover photo for the sweaters pattern. I hope to be back later in the week with news of that, so until then have a good week x

garden stuff · general stuff · summer

snippets of summer: garden

I’m afraid I’m not getting much computer time at the moment – young master Toby has other ideas for keeping me busy. Today though he is elsewhere so I thought I’d pop in and show you some snippets of recent days in the garden.

We’ve been…lazing in the hot sunny weather and blue summer skies and then scrambling about like mad to gather in washing and toys in the sudden heavy downpours, marveling at the dramatic clouds as the storms blow over, eating chilled nectarines from the farmer’s market and homegrown salads picked fresh from the garden and enjoying the rampant growth of everything in the garden and all of the attendant wildlife.

As I mentioned keeping Toby occupied and safe is a full time job as he needs constant supervision to keep him out of mischief (thank goodness for CHIPs summer club and respite days that have given me some time off). Sometimes though the mischief is of the playful kind – I snapped this yesterday evening when I was making a cup of tea, I turned my back to empty the pot after warming it and turned back to find him wearing the warm cosy as a hat and sniffing the teabags (sniffing everything is his new thing at the moment). He found it very funny!

I hope to pop back soon with some snippets of summer knitting. All of the hot weather hasn’t made me feel much like plunging my hands into wool but I have still managed to add to my large basket of stuff in progress ๐Ÿ™‚

See you soon, keep well and happy x

garden stuff · general stuff · summer

summer hols

The school summer holidays have arrived here. Amy is excited and busy making all sorts of plans to be out with friends, while I’m doing my best not to feel panic at the thought of 43 days to fill with activities for Toby. Previous experience though has taught me to take each day as it finds us and go with the flow as much as possible, so in some ways I feel prepared and he does have a few CHIPs club and respite days booked in so I’ll definitely be putting my feet up with my knitting on those days. As usual we’re holidaying at home but I’m happy with that. With the new room at the end of the garden and the weather being so hot and sunny it feels just like being on holiday in the Mediterranean but without all the hot and bothered hassle of actually getting there ๐Ÿ™‚

The warm weather paired with lots of watering has really helped the plants grow here. My little mixed bed of herbs, vegetables and flowers is doing very nicely, and I’m really pleased with the rusted iron plant support which is forming a frame for dwarf french beans to climb. H has worked so hard and completed all the paving and laid new grass. And the room itself is now completely finished and getting lots of use. It feels like a little haven of peace and a place for year round holidays for us all.

So that’s us for the holidays, what are you up to?

Whether you’re venturing afar or staying at home I wish you happy times. I plan to pop in from time to time so hope to see you soon x

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PS: If you’re a bunny knitter and have made one from my patterns then please come over and join the little cotton rabbits ravelry group. At the moment we’re have a fun and friendly contest ๐Ÿ™‚ with the theme of bunnies on vacation.