miss marie's miscellany

Tantalising tulips

It's time for my favourite flower of all, the tulip, to burst forth in the garden.......I know in warmer climes you will have been enjoying them for a couple of weeks (head over to Jane Brocket's blog for some floral eye candy, she is the Queen of Tulips!) but we have to wait a bit longer in Scotland. Today I spied a couple of lovely flowers already starting to show their gorgeous silky petals.

This lovely deep pink tulip is looking so good - I planted this a couple of years ago but it didn't appear last year, so I thought it had been a casualty of the freezing winter weather. But it must have just been having a year off!

I love this tulip so much; it really looks like it's on fire, with its glowing orange petals. I happily spend quite a few long moments just gazing at this beauty, it is completely mesmerising.

There are lots more ready to burst forth, some old  and some new; something really special to look forward to.

Wishing you a happy weekend!

In the garden today

 

There's a lot happening in the garden just now; in a couple of weeks, there's been a dramatic change from practically nothing in flower to a wonderful spring burgeoning of colour, a fantastic array of daffodils, primulas, primroses, early tulips and plenty of other plants awakening from their winter sleep.

I particulalrly love the colours in this photo; it's garden design by accident on my part, but I love the contrast of the yellow daffodils and black hellebores together. Beautiful!

March

Photographic pickings were slim this month; I seem to be saying I'm busy a lot, it's becoming my mantra but I have been, very much so! In the end I chose this photo on the beach by the sea, because I like the sky and the sun light breaking through the clouds.  A hint at the spring weather on the way soon after this was taken:-)

I will try harder to take more photos in April!!

Cherry blossom inspired

Some time back when i was starting to learn to crochet, all the crochet blogs I liked to read were buzzing with talk of African flowers. I wrote the pattern down and then got waylaid with something or other and forgot about it. Then the other day, I came across it again and after oohing and aahing about how pretty it looks, decided to try making a few.  The colours I chose were 2 different shades of pink, green, white and coffee brown.

I've seen many pictures of cherry blossom recently, particularly after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and maybe unconsciously I chose these colours as a reflection of those tributes; who knows, but they have the same harmony as the petals, leaves and tree bark of the cherry tree and they look lovely together :-)

The pattern is an easy crochet and yet they have a great rhythm to them as you make them. I think these will probably turn into a cushion cover, or possibly a bag, I'm not sure yet, but hopefully you will see soon.

If you fancy drooling over some more gorgeous colours, there is a Flickr group for these lovely flowers.......head on over and feast your eyes!

 

 

 

February

It was quite hard to choose just one photo this month; should it be something crafty, something garden-related or to do with the advent of spring. In the end I decide to pick this photo, for the colour and the oncoming season which brings us such lovely flowers.

I'll be showing you my big green blanket later this week, it's turned out very nicely and is also very spring-themed......soon :-)

 

 

 

Looking forward to spring

The good old British weather; just a week ago, there was more snow here in Glasgow, and it was bitter.   Happily, since then, the temperature has gone up quite a few notches, Saturday afternoon so warm that no jacket was required, and finally the garden is showing signs of moving towards a new season..

and some welcome colour

It doesn't seem to have cheered this fella up much

But it has made me feel very happy, it's always good to see the garden springing back into life after winter's icy grip

The azalea is a harbinger of spring for me; once it has these delicate pink buds, I know there will be many more lovely flowers to look forward to. Soon as possible, please!

A small piece of news and exciting for me: this afternoon I am going to teach a group of 14 ladies how to crochet! I hope I can inspire them, wish me luck!

 

I've been busy

Sorry I haven't been here for a while, time has run away since I last stuck my head round the door. But I've been busy with all of the different parts of my life and work, and I have lots to tell you about. Enought for a few posts worth certainly! Just so that I make up for being AWOL.

So I'll start with some snapshots of my recent crochet/crafty makings

This blanket is nearly finished!

I have been enjoying using my garden studio, it's such a lovely space to be in, cosy and comfortable, and the light on a good day is so bright and clear. And I have re-discovered the contents of my iPod too, it's been quite inspiring to listen to old and much-loved songs with fresh ears.

Trying out some new colour combos

I have a big stack of things waiting to be made too; I have 5 commissions, which is fantastic, so I will be showing them off when they are completed.

So that's all the yarny stuff up to date; next time I'll be out in the garden :-)

 

 

This week's hooking

All very busy here at MMM Towers. Which is good, I'm definitely glad to be in demand! 

But there's always time for some crochet.

Experimenting with Valentine's cards

Trying something new, 4 colour square

And a commission from someone special, I hope they like it!

I hope your week has been full of good things :-)

 

2010 retrospective

2010 seems to have sped by with great speed, and to be honest, some of the ride has been very bumpy. But despite that, when I looked back over my photos, there were lots of good recollections and happy moments.

The weather and seasons have been quite a feast for the eyes, sunsets and snow seem to be greatly featured in this collage.

I have carried on my love affair with crochet. It has kept me sane over some difficult times this year, and it makes me really happy to see how far I've travelled since I first picked up a hook early in 2009. And I made all of these! 

I've been on a few trips to places interesting and beautiful

And last but not least, the garden has been a wonderful source of inspiration and pleasure

Thanks to you all for reading and commenting, lovely blog friends; let's hope 2011 is full of adventures and new wonderful opportunities for us all!

Happy New Year  xxxxxxx

Christmas roses

I'm not sure where I found this flower pattern, I have a little book in which I jot down patterns and things I find when I'm browsing on the computer and it was in there. I thought they would make a good Christmas garland, and I think I was right :-)

They would also look good in what I call 'me' colours, purple and green, maybe with a hint of blue.....I may try that today as I will be staying put at home again. Tales of people being stuck all night in their cars on the main Glasgow-Edinburgh road and cars and buses skidding on the snowy/icy roads have put the fear in me, so it's stay here and go anywhere on foot for the time being.

Hope you are warm and safe wherever you may be.