The Garden Is Zinging!

The sunshine and blue skies of this weekend have really made the garden zing.

The Chaenomeles Japonica is superb this year, it's smothered in flowers!

There are clematis flowering too

Clematis Constance

Clematis Foxy

Clematis Maidwell Hall

A tulip has opened (I can't remember the name or find the label!) as has the self sown lime green spurge (euphorbia)

Under the maple the epimedium is flowering as are the self sown wild violets

The exochorda has got one flower open and the snake's head fritillaries are doing well (although there are no white ones this year for some reason).

There's just about blossom on the amelanchier

and most of the garden seems to be smiling, apart from the actinidia that is.  It looks as though the sharp frost last week has destroyed most of its leaf and flower buds - maybe it'll recover?

Poor thing!

A Row of Tags

In the midst of the lounge decorating that's taken somewhat longer than planned I have finally finished a textile piece.  I've done several over the last year but haven't really liked any enough to finish them or show you.  At one point I got myself so bogged down in the 'rules' and 'balance' etc that I lost all my confidence.  This time I started small and decided to just do things so that I was pleased with them rather than trying to work to someone else's formula etc.

Having said that, I did keep to some self imposed 'rules'. Each piece is on a brown tag and each piece has something 'found' in nature on it and some simple cross stitching.

Each piece also has old lace and buttons,

and they are all of a similar colour palette (one without much colour which is what I always seem to gravitate to!).

Some have text from old books and shredded bark cloth.

All have recycled sari ribbon and some have music and vintage fabric,

and some have string.

They sit side by side, tags in a row, 

and, for the first time in ages, I'm actually pleased with them, and also pleased to have some confidence back! They will hang in my lounge once the floor is laid in a few weeks' time.

Take One

Take one skein of very soft 4 ply merino wool in colour way 'Finch' (from Meadow Yarn),

add a couple of weeks and several many stitch markers,

and you end up with a crumpled looking mess!

Now add a couple of days of severe blocking,

and voila, the crumpled mess turns into a lacy shawl.

It's very soft and pretty and I'm looking forward to wearing it on a lovely warm evening.  Soon I hope :-)