Cathy's Craft Project

I've just returned home from a ladies' meeting at church.  There's an opportunity to sit and knit, crochet or do some embroidery whilst we have fellowship and then a cup of tea.  Today there have been rain showers, but it was a good walk there and back.

Even though I can only do a little at a time the blanket that I'm crocheting at the moment is increasing in size.

Daughter-in-law gave me this book for my birthday, Feng Crochet:Calming Projects For A Harmonious Home written by Nikki Van De Car.  There's an explanation about the philosophy of feng shui which sounds complicated and not something I would want to take seriously, but the illustrations in the book are beautiful and there's some useful items to crochet. Other items don't look very practical such as decorated crocheted pan handles. I would worry about the fire risk in having yarn around a pan handle as I cook with gas on the hob. Perhaps as the book was published in the United States cookers are all electric? I might be able to manage some of the simpler ones.  For example, bookmarks, cushion covers, plant hangers and nesting bowls. There's a stitch glossary, advice on finishing a piece of work and several blank pages for notes. 

Joining Cathy's Craft Project today.

May and early June in the garden

The sun is shining today. The yellow rose, Arthur Bell, was glowing in the early morning light.  May was a month of rain and sunshine which did the plants a lot of good.  We've been busy in the garden replacing plants that have gone over and potting up new ones as well as purchasing a few more planters and plants from the garden centre nurseries.  The grass has been cut and hedges got a bit of a trim over the weekend.  Benches have been moved around and one of them has been painted a dark green to preserve the wood as well as a wooden table that usually goes outside in the Summer months, but is in the covered yard at the moment.  The covered yard is full of plants!

Here is an idea of our garden and covered yard in May and now in early June....

front garden

back garden

Geums - 'Totally Tangerine' and I bought a new one

called 'Mrs Bradshaw'

I planted out the hellebores in a shady corner and they're doing well.

The wallflowers and aquilegias (columbine) are almost over.

The aquilegia will self seed and I shall collect some of the wallflower seeds.

Fuschias and lupins are doing well.

There have been a few surprises when sowing from seed. This 

blue and yellow 'morning glory' seed turned out to be a miniature

 variety (convulvulus 'Blue Ensign')
 and only one or two germinated to produce plants with flowers.

 An orange Iceland poppy and other new plants were eventually

 planted out, some in a new terra cotta pot.

In the covered yard one of the olive trees has flowered, the cherry tomatoes are ripening and the lounger where I might sit and read has been pushed to one side to make way for mostly the tomato plants. It's a bit of a jungle out there, but we're looking forward to the produce later in the year.

Now it's the season for roses.  June is another lovely month in the garden.