Cottaging

I ran away for the weekend, needing a little break from all the goings on of life in the city. The weekend started with some challenges, like trying to fit two full sized futons into one car and attaching a Seadoo trailer to the back of that very same car, forgetting keys half an hour away, and having one very grouchy kitty pee in the car 15 minutes into the trip, but at 1:30am we were off, and at 4am we arrived at our relaxing destination. If the skies had been clear, I would have stayed up to watch the sun rise. I have always wanted to do that.

It was a wonderful weekend, despite the mosquito bites and sunburn.

Sometimes this happens..

I don't order much Pyrex online, mostly because shipping costs to Canada are so high, but also because searching out that just right piece is so much fun. I have been lusting after a certain set for quite some time, I broke down and bought one on ebay. Today I came to regret that decision.

Ouch! Both figuratively and literally - I cut myself on one of the pieces. Unfortunately, the seller wrapped the dishes in one layer of deflated bubblewrap. Another dish added to the Pyrex Graveyard. At least one of the pieces made it through okay, so I can still do this..

I love stacks of Pyrex!

And the broken pieces? Well those are being sent off to a couple of crafty people to be turned into something beautiful.

Out Come the Berries

First thing each morning I slide open the back door, step onto the warm patio bricks, and creep over to my little garden, dish at the ready. Beneath the little green canopy are plump and juicy red berries ready to be made into breakfast smoothies. The hanging strawberry baskets are not doing as well as in previous years, so it is nice to have the little patch of berries planted firmly in the ground. Each year it grows as I transfer the potted berries into the garden at the end of the summer season.

There has been some sewing going on too. The pink/yellow side of my Folksy Flannels quilt is nearly finished, and the blue/green is coming along nicely. I do have to say that sewing with flannel in the summer is not the best idea.

I even have some help..

Growing, growing, growing.

The Lily of the Valley have finished, but the peonies are in full bloom and the garden is thriving. This time of year is so refreshing, so full of life.

My messy little strawberry/veggie patch will soon be a sea of green.

Tiny grape tomatoes beginning. Hopefully this plant with flourish as much as ones in previous years.

Green beans sprouting out of the warm soil.

And red, juicy strawberries for morning smoothies and late afternoon snacks. I will never get tired of garden fresh produce from this little plot of land of ours.

The Tea Leaves is also growing, after hitting a little snag that had me knitting backwards ten or so rows to fix it. I'm back on track now, after a wonderful knitting date with a good friend I met at school this year. She is an accomplished knitter with lots of knowledge and advice to share.

She's working on a gorgeous featherweight cardigan. I cannot wait to see it finished!

What I've Been Up to Lately..

Pin cushion pattern from last minute patchwork gifts

patchwork owl pillow, inspired by others I've seen around blogs and flickr

A lot of time has been spent out in the garden and crafting, often at the same time. It has been a nice break!

Quilt Inspiration

Several months back I purchased this fat quarter set of Anna Maria Horner's Folksy Flannels. I had been admiring this fabric for a long while, and finally convinced myself I really needed some in my life. The plan was a colourful and oh, so soft quilt top. I spent weeks cutting out the squares, here and there when I needed breaks between assignments and planning.

My stack grew and grew until I was ready to start piecing it together. And then I hit a snag..I hated how it looked when I layed the squares out. The softness and beauty of each print was lost among a vibrant, busy, mess of flannel.

Feeling defeated, I let the squares sit in a pile for months. I barely looked at them and did not want to have anything to do with this quilt. It wasn't until I stumbled upon the beautiful blog of a craft mama that I changed my tune. Inspiration hit! She had split the fabrics into colours and made a double sided quilt. Of course! Now, why didn't I think of that? I quickly pulled out my flannel squares and started sorting.

One side for the pinks and yellows..

and one for the blues/greens with a little purpley-pink thrown in because I didn't have enough.

And now? Now I love this quilt.

Spring, or Something Like It

'snow' on my neighbour's lawn. the rain sure did a number on his cherry tree blossoms

Yesterday, I spent what little time it wasn't raining out in the garden. Wet ground makes the abundance of weeds easier to pull and the rain keeps the bees at bay. My neighbour wont pull his weeds, so they spread into our garden and are spread further by my sweet Lola who runs through them. I find myself pulling seeds out of her fur every time she comes inside. After the weed pulling I spend several minutes warming my freezing cold, muddy hands under the tap, then curled up under a blanket and sipped on some hot chocolate. This is quite a Spring!

After warming up I went back outside to partake in the first harvest of the season - Rhubarb.

A delicious - and warm - rhubarb crisp was much enjoyed on this chilly Spring day. The warmth of the oven was a nice bonus.

I also took advantage of the extra time I have now that homework is through and my lesson planning done to work on some more crochet.

I've started to assemble the granny square blanket. I have a couple more rows to add on too. I think I will just keep adding, and sewing them together as a I go, until I feel the project is done. I plan to make a lap blanket rather than a full size. The yarn is quite bulky and it would just be too heavy. A nice lap blanket would be nice to curl up under on days like this.

I also purchased the yarn for my Tea Leaves cardigan, which I cannot wait to start on. It was a challenge finding a shop that carried enough skeins of the Madeline Tosh yarn I wanted to use, but they're on their way to me now!