Spring

It's a lovely spring day ... time to neglect that To Do list and go for a walk (in my defence I scrubbed the patio tiles yesterday and I cleaned the BBQ this morning .. a job I had forgotten to list yesterday).

It's a very pleasant 17 degrees outside with a light breeze ... perfect!

One of the local stables that we passed by ... there are many around here.

I do like this house (oops -  I should have straightened the photo up) and I would love to see the view from the top of the turret.

There's still a very autumnal feel in the woods with all the crisp, fallen leaves.  

Right ... off to clean some windows (honest!)

Normal Blogging Will Resume Shortly

Image source

.... once I've worked my way through my rather tedious To Do list:

• tame the garden ... the weeds seem to be winning already *sigh*

• clean the patio again ... the tile cleaner I bought didn't work, so I guess it'll be a scrubbing brush and some elbow grease instead

• clean the windows ... absolutely my least favourite activity mostly because even if you're 100% convinced you've got them clean, in a different light they will always still appear dirty / smeared

• plus a little bit of spring cleaning, although to be honest I got most of that out of the way in February when I was trying to rid the house of dog hair after Pip died.  

Happily the garage cleaned my car when I took it to have the winter wheels changed out for summer ones during the week :-)

I rather foolishly agreed to host the quilting group's meeting next week, so I better add tidying the house up to the list and then we're away next weekend - a flying visit to Nürnberg (just because we've never been) on the way to München to visit friends.  I'll take my camera and post some snaps when I return.

There has been the odd bit of crafting thrown in - a top that's almost finished and some crochet.  More of which when I get back.

Joining the squares

 

I've only made 2 blocks for my blanket this month as I've decided that I'd better learn how to join them all together before I make too many more.  I certainly can't face the thought of getting to the end of the CAL in December and having to start joining them all then.

I'm not a fan of the top block - it wouldn't lie flat until I blocked it and now the pattern is slightly twisted.  I'm admitting defeat - it'll do!  

The second block I love - it was fun to make and taught me a new stitch.  Happy days!  And it made me think that I need to hook a simple granny square for this blanket - that's effectively what the base for this second square is.  It's on the list.

So for the last few days I've been researching how to join these squares up.  The discussion forums on Ravelry are a gold mine of information on things like this for us newbies and I soon found myself clicking across to You Tube to watch some videos demonstrating joining techniques.  I've opted for flat braiding and it's coming along slowly:

Due to a cold that refused to go away (although I'm feeling tons better today), I haven't made much progress on other projects.  I have a jersey top cut out ready to sew, but I need to dig out my course notes to check what I'm doing with the overlocker before I dive in.  I haven't used it since I did the course last autumn, so it's wise to wait till I've found the notes and my head is a bit clearer.

And my next priority is going to be turning some skull and crossbones fabric that I inexplicably have in my stash (zero recollection of where it came from!) into some pirate-y flags and things for a friend's nearly 4-year-old son's pirate-themed birthday.  Better get my skates on ... the party is soon!

Not feeling like it

Give me a week with oodles of time to craft and what happens?  Yep, got a stinker of a cold and completely lost the ability to co-ordinate my head and hands.

So there isn't much to show you.  Last weekend I whipped up a zipped pocket purse using a Keyka Lou pattern using some offcuts of some lovely Japanese cottons (see photo above - this one was to test the pattern out) but when I tried to make a second one on Wednesday for a gift (under the influence of the cold), it all went horribly wrong and ended up in the bin.  Sigh.

I'll try again next week.  I should have regained control by then!

In the meantime I did manage to finish the handles on this crochet bag.  I bought the extra yarn needed a month back when I last posted about it and never got round to it.  Even with a cold I can just about manage single crochet!

Might have to leave the March blocks for the blanket CAL until I'm feeling more like it though - they tend to be rather challenging even when I'm on form!

Linking up belatedly with Our Creative Spaces.

Jewel

Yep ... I hate having my photo taken!!  And it was a bit chilly outside.

This is my new Jewel sweater.  

Sweater .... tick

I finally finished my sweater!  I wish I could show you a photo of it on, but Andy hasn't been around to take a photo in decent light.  Instead here it is being blocked along with all my blocks for the CAL (which look so much better blocked).  You'd never guess I like orange, would you?!!

The sweater is a Doris Chan pattern called Jewel from her book 'Everyday Crochet'.  It took a little while to get my head around the construction - this is a no sew sweater which in my book makes it just about perfect!  You start from the neckline and work down the body seamlessly.  The beauty of it is that you can try it on as you go.  Fantastic idea!

Linking up with We Did It Wednesday and Our Creative Spaces.

Postcard from Colmar

We keep going back to Alsace.  It's only a two and a half hour drive from home; it is pretty, is an excellent wine region and is also renowned for its cuisine.

Being on the border of France and Germany Alsace has changed hands a number of times in its history and this shows in the architecture, the culture and the dialect.  It's an enchanting place to visit.

Of course, it's prettier in summer with blue skies and window boxes planted out with bright geraniums ... but I think it retains a lot of its charm in February despite the grey skies.

These photos are all of Colmar, a small town between Strasbourg and Mulhouse. We usually head here for a wander round when we're in the area and before we head out wine tasting.

We met up with some good friends from Switzerland and stayed in a village just outside Colmar.  There was much eating, drinking and catching up!  A very relaxing weekend!