miss marie's miscellany

In the garden yesterday

Ah, yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day, just perfect for some alfresco dining

Some tulip admiration

My cat friend who often pops by for a visit!

My new boots, oh how I love these; they rock!

Cherry tree covered in beautiful blossom, just breath-taking this year

More tulip love

And of course there was a some hooky goings-on, always very lovely to do this whilst sitting in the sun. I've just about finished this and  I'll be able to show you the finished article very soon

More of the same tomorrow, as the forecast is for a scorcher!

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!

 

Treading a purple path

I really can't get enough purple at the moment, I've been wearing purple garments, using purple wool in my makings, and these are my most recent acquisition

purple boots, I HAD to have them!!

And now there is some more in the garden. The route to the purple shed needed sprucing up, so some constuction has gone on.

It is a recycling of the sandstone slabs which were there already; they were lifted, cleaned, given a good solid under carriage, replaced and edged with purple slate chippings

Halfway there...........

Finally finished

so now, I can walk up my very own purple path!

 

 

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 :-)

 

 

Shed surprise

You may recall a while back, I was dropping hints like bricks about a mysterious project; possibly a crafty space down at the end of the garden. Things were going well, until the snow started falling, and work had to stop for a while. But thankfully,  once the weather bucked up a bit, we got it done and I'm very happy to report that, barring a little cosmetic tweaking, I now have a little studio!!!

Would you like to come and take a look inside?

It started out as a humble garden shed, but it has been made lovely outside and in - lined, painted and floored, so it looks like.......

this! 

I have a nice new comfy chair to park myself on, next to my 'Keep Calm and Crochet on' poster, a table/desk, some crochet adornments and a cork board for inspiring images and so on.

Plenty of space to be filled up, I'll show you again when there is more to see.

This corner bookcase is made using 3 storage boxes from IKEA which I bought a couple of years ago. I glued them together with wood adhesive and hey presto, a neat little shelving unit for my books and bits and bobs, perfect for this petite space.

I can't believe I am posting a photo of the floor but it's so good I feel compelled to!

I can look out of the fairylighted window at the garden

while I get busy with the hook.......this is my  inaugural row of stitches!

And now I'm ready for many happy hours of craftiness

It's the next best thing to being out in the garden, and if I have the door ajar, I can hear all the sounds and smell the outdoor aromas as if I was sitting out in the open air, except that I am snug in my cosy space.

It's taken quite a while to get this little dream finished; cold weather does not love plaster and paint and there have been quite a few times recently when I've found the paint frozen solid in the tin!  Kind family and friends have given me lots of things, most notably the heater and the flooring  and helped me do a lot of the hard work, so I owe them a huge and heart-felt thank you. 

 I can't quite believe it has finally happened but when I look out of the window, I can see the fruits of a lot of scrimping and saving  and much hard graft. It has been well worth the wait too......I love my little shedstudio  :-)