miss marie's miscellany

View from the castle window

Blue sky Sunday at Linlithgow Palace.

A splash of red

I thought it was about time I did another colour-themed post;  it's cold and grey and wet outside so I think something bright is called for;  I choose red!

 

I love my  Ipod. I still marvel at how something so small can hold so many songs.

This is my mystery flower from the garden, I've no idea what it is or how it got there, but it's so pretty I'm very glad it is!

Making a cherry cake

Scarlet wool, waiting to be made into who knows what!?

I love these funky ice-cube trays

Dahlia, 'City of  Rotterdam', looking lovely in the garden just now.

Gorgeous sparkling heart-shaped lights, brightening the evening.

Wishing you a happy weekend whatever you're up to!

August collage

My favourite shots from August. I was thinking what a quiet month it has been, and also how awful the weather has been, as I look out at the pouring rain and grey clouds; but I'm cheered up looking at this collection of photos because of the variety of colour and all the good memories it's brought back. Especially the sunshine!

Woolly weekend

Yesterday  I went with friends to John Lewis for a Rowan yarn show. We enjoyed a slideshow of the latest designs, had a feel of some of the newest yarns and knitted them too,  and saw (and tried on)some of the designs made up. There were patterns books to look at and free tea and coffee and delicious Danish pastries. We all got a Rowan magazine, 2 patterns and a 10% off voucher for purchases of Rowan goods, and all this was FREE. Excellent value, I'd say! Well worth checking out your nearest JL store as they have lots of these on all over the UK. It was a great way to spend the afternoon, away from the hustle and bustle of the retail-crazed Saturday shoppers and nice to meet other yarn lovers too.

A browse in the wool department was necessary afterwards, of course.  I picked up some bargains in their sale corner. Here they are

These will be used in my hexagon blanket project, more of that below!

And I couldn't resist these pretty buttons

So, as I'm in a woolly frame of mind, I thought I'd show you my crochet hexagon blanket. I'm still miles away from being finished, in fact, I think this will go on well into the winter months. It's the joining up which has taken ages, although it's been great seeing it coming together. I'm liking how it looks, and it already feels cosy.

Soft greens, pinks, purple, and blue with a little black and brown and random splashes of red, yellow and orange.

I think I need to make another 150 or so hexagons, so I'd better go and get crocheting! 

Hope you are having a lovely weekend, whatever you're up to!

Stained glass

I admired these beautiful windows which I saw at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow. The predominant blue colour is so striking, and luckily, the sun was shining, so the colours are richly vivid. You can read more about the design here, a very complex musical and historic inspiration - explained far better than I could ever hope to(the history of piping is not my forte!), and I'm sure once read, it will illuminate this stained glass even more! 

Anemone love

I planted some pots with anemone bulbs in the spring and they've been blooming over the last 3-4 weeks. The flowers have been gorgeous shades of blue, pink and red so far, but this week this little beauty appeared. Isn't it lovely?! 

I'm very taken with it

It's all curled up after a rain shower above, and below, open to reveal the scarlet markings on the creamy white petals

When I leave the house, I stop to admire it- it'll soon be gone, like all flowers, so I'm enjoying it while I can!

Delightful!

Over the hedge

The hedge in the front garden was disgraceful. I'd turned a blind eye to its rampant growth for too long, so yesterday when the sun shone, i decided it was the day for a bit of hard work. Shears out, gloves on and 3 hours later I had something more presentable, and can now get up the path without having to push back the Amazonian undergrowth. I couldn't bear to show a photo of how awful it was, suffice to say I had another 5 trugs full to add to these 2

That's better

Afterwards I enjoyed this wonderfully perfumed honeysuckle; I wish blogging allowed me to bring the scent to you, it's delectable!

Smiled at these fuchsia which remind me of old-fashioned boiled sweets

Noticed 2 lovely new rosebuds

Then I enjoyed a well-earned treat!

Lovely!

And watched the evening sky turn pink

Colour photo

The Tate Liverpool has an interesting exhibition on just now, Colour Chart; Re-inventing Colour. As well as exhibiting works of artists from 1950 to the present, they are collaborating with Flickr to create an photo group of colour monochrome photos sent in by anyone who has a Flickr account. They will choose 36 of the entries to make a Colour Chart poster which will be displayed at Tate Liverpool. I'm sure there are lots of fellow bloggers who have taken great pics which fit the bill ; I'm quite tempted to have a go myself. Quite a difficult remit though; I take lots of photos daily and usually try to fit in lots of different colours, very rarely just one.

 

Would something like this do?!

There are a selection of photos already showing on the Tate website  (in fact all entries will be displayed online) and as ever, it's interesting to see how different people interpret the brief. 

I took this photo last summer standing outside Tate Liverpool. I will be in Liverpool again in a few weeks, and will be doing my utmost to get along to see this exhibition. Sounds like just the thing for a summer's day, bright and vibrant.

Tulips

A quick post today,as I'm having a few gremlins with my internet connection. Normal service will be resumed by the weekend..

I love tulips, so here is a collage of some of the loveliest of late, a mixture of indoors and outdoors.

Tripping the light fantastic

Dancing at my friend's birthday ceilidh..... the whirling of the dancers and the glowing lights of the hall echoing the party atmosphere......good times!