Floral Triumphs Summer 2016

Whimsical Tarot

I have found it less challenging and more enjoyable to maintain our patio garden this summer; and in spite of prior experience, ''hope springs ...'' yaddayadda ... I planted a few types of seeds, mainly bought on sale. Most impactful (apart from the French and Runner beans standing at well over 8 foot high and who belong firmly in Titch's domain) was the amaranthus, a.ka. Love Lies Bleeding.

The seeds are tiny, and my record with seeds isn't good, so I threw caution to the wind along with the seeds themselves, and sowed them all.

Of course, they all germinated, so I gave some seedlings away, and since I can't be fiddling with teeny stuff, planted some in kind of clumps - I figured, Nature will thin them for me. It worked:

That said little yellow flower in the middle ? That's Thunbergia (Black-Eyed Susie) of which I also had many sprouts, but when planted out refused stubbornly to really go upwards like the voracious climber it claimed to be on the packet.

The clary sage and the cerinthe did not emerge; the nasturtiums looked fabulous draping from my front planter - for about a day until the blackfly found them. I bugsprayed them but I think that just overwhelmed the plants, who crumpled and withered accusingly.

I missed the opportunity to take a photo of my dahlia in its full glory (the pic was taken a month ago when my Asiatics were also beginning to bloom) - it was maybe £2/US$2.62 to buy the tuber, but man, you get some bang for your buck ! It flowers forever ! Well, OK several weeks, anyway. My mother didn't like them - along with gladioli, she thought they were vulgar, but they're a great splash of longlasting color. Now if they were scented ...

But my favorite this summer happened accidentally: I had a couple of pelargoniums (which us oldies like to still call geraniums) - including a scented-leaf variety -  and a random hardy fuchsia hanging around, so I bunged them all into a pot, and look what happened:

I have very carefully tried to avoid any photos showing the actual patio slabs, because it is in desperate need of weeding, which is Someone Else's job always and forever and ever amen. I'll let you know how that goes ...

FO Friday 15/15: Cricket(s)

Housewives Tarot

I know ! I know ! What can I tell you ? Real life just keeps impinging - and you'll be horrified when you hear that I actually have not done any knitting for 4 days now because of it.

Yes, I know ! I can't believe it either !

But Mini Diva is on a cricket camp all day and Destructo Boy is my far more amenable child, so today I shall hoover and then - TA- DAH - spend the rest of the day scratching my knitting itch, despite the fact I have a bunch of admin stuff to do ready for Sunday and the official start of the cricket season: Titch and I have volunteered to run the snack bar/breakfast kitchen (in spite of the overlap with the end of the rugby season).

Yeah, I know. But it could be interesting - we've removed sweeties and fizzy pop from the menu ...

Anyway, I guess it's appropriate to post pictures of Mini Diva's new cricket sweater:

This was a great retro/vintage pattern, Wendy DK 1822: straightforward with no errors, for which I ended up using 11 1/2 balls/1378m/1507yds Drops Cotton Merino, which I thought was a super yarn: soft, springy, great stitch definition and great value when bought in a Drops 'party' at £2.00/$3.00 per ball. Yes, I am happy with this project, and it was very relaxing after the whole Tru Wuv experience.

So while I go prepare to do actual knitting, do pop FO Friday into Google and see what comes up ...

FO Friday: Summer MKAL Wild Flowers Shawl

Animals Divine Tarot

I thought the 6 of Wands for the unusual Animals Divine Tarot would be a good choice for today, as I have completed the Wild Flower Shawl MKAL.


I'm quite pleased with how it turned out; I'm glad I didn't bother with the 1700 or so beads that were part of the original - the sparkle of the metallic strand that runs through the Rico Design Creative Reflection yarn I used was more than enough.

I kind of wish I hadn't bothered with the nupps in the pattern - for the hassle involved, I'm not sure the results were worth it, as this yarn doesn't really show them up. However, looking at other people's projects, I noticed in many of them the same lack of ... not definition exactly ... but the 3D aspect that nupps ought to provide.

The sharp decreases near the end of the shawl may create a sort of gathered effect, and this may require careful blocking to avoid. You don't have to ask me how I know, cuz I know you know how I know already.

I did particularly like the bobble in the first amazingly long row - when blocked, they create a really lovely edging.

I know, I know, you're itching to see it. Wa-Lah !

The pattern itself is well-written and clear, and the designer is readily accessible through the Ravelry group if there are questions.

I hope you have as enjoyable a weekend as I am hoping for ....

Mystery Monday

Spiral Tarot Deck

Having survived both the torrential downpours and thunderstorms of Saturday, and the scorching heat of Sunday (endured while watching Mini Diva play cricket at a rather picturesque location), today is somewhat humid and overcast - but, ever optimistic, I have washing out on the line to dry anyway. We must hope that it holds off until after Mini Diva's Quad Kids competition (for which I could not find one single solitary updated link) this afternoon.

All the rain and sunshine has been excellent for the gardens this year - the last remaining rose we inherited on our move to this house has finally showed not only it's colors, but that it, too, is scented:

So it is only the scentless red rose on death row. He may be joined later by the incredibly boring columnar cypress ....

The Wild Flower MKAL continues - here is mine at the end of Clue 1:

Yep, looks like a ruffly sparkly nothing, and probably will until it's finished and blocked.

That's your lot for now, just a little update while I remembered; I feel the urge to go raid the kitchen for red velvet cupcakes. 

What diet ?

WIP Wednesday: Bagatelle

Tarot of Durer

I know ! I know ! I keep meaning  to post ... and then I blink,and even more days have passed by post-less. But we have been out and about with the kids' various sports things, and also bouncing on sofas and buying a suite. It is orange and I love it. I shall love it even more when it arrives and I no longer have to sit on the old sofa and sink slowly through the cushions to come to rest on the floor.

Yes, I had a little windfall thanks to the PPI refund thing, and je suis désolée, désolée, désolée au fond de mon coeur to have to tell you I was totally adult and grown-up about it all, and wasted frittered alloacted nearly the whole blimmin' amount on bills and paying down debt. Man, I don't like being sensible, it's just no fun whatsoever.

Also summer arrived last weekend (and left today). But it meant the roses whooshed into bloom, and of the 3 roses in the front of the house, two are showing their colors:

This one can stay: it is scented, I like the color, and although it's a hybrid tea (SO passé)   it is generous with its blooms.

This one ? Will have to work much harder to merit being kept: the color is fine, the flower shape is 'meh', but by far its worst sin is to have no fragrance. Destructo Boy claims there is a faint scent, but he may be full of pity for it:

  
And in spite of feeling like I've been out all the time, and outside, I am managing to knit a little:

An arty shot. A rubbish arty shot.

It is a baby pattern, 'Star Jumper' from Woman's Weekly Knitting & Crochet Spring 2010. Of course, we sniggered when we read that it demands 3 balls of Rowan Cashsoft DK,(rrp £5.75/$9.69 per 50g ball) and substituted it with the far more practical and inexpensive Cygnet Kiddies Supersoft DK in 'Lemon' at £1.79/$3.02 per 100g ball.

I can no longer maintain this light and airy manner, any nonchalance (and more French vocabulary) is on the verge of deserting me in the subsuming panic I feel at heading off to the dentist for a check-up momentarily. While I trickle down the road in a river of my own fear-driven sweat, why not pop over to Tami's Amis to see what normal people are up to ? 

 

FO Friday 148: Colorful Chores

Spiral Tarot

School was finally out for summer on Tuesday. I spent Wednesday blitzing the house and laundry; the kids did an excellent job of mucking out their rooms (I am not ashamed to admit that bribery was key in getting this done). Thursday I spent in the sauna created by lots of steam ironing, rewarded by a trip to the library, and Friday involved a treat trip to Morrisons' bakery department - I have a thing about their 'secret centre' muffins, especially the lemon variety. It is hot and sunny, we have stayed up late and got up late. I love it.

And with all the ooky chores about done (in spite of the couple of thunderstorms, the ground is still too hard and dry to weed, don't you think ? Yes, I thought so too), today I have a job that I am looking forward to:

This is my stash of fat quarters. I was just going to put them into tidier piles and put them back into the shoe  storage boxes. However, Mini Diva has informed me that I have no taste whatsoever, and that she will be in charge of putting them into some kind of color family order, and some may simply have to go, as what was I thinking even buying that color ?!

Speaking of what was I thinking (answer: nothing, of course) I was privately gloating recently over a score of Malabrigo Lace at a superb price from someone's destash. On my monitor, it looked blue, and the colorway is called 'Sky' - so I snapped it up, knowing what fabulously soft and amazing yarn Malabrigo is, after making this shawl in the 'Jewel' colorway a couple of years ago:

Waves of Leaves Shawl, 2011

This is what arrived:

The colorway name 'Sky' must have been referring to an overcast winter sky. In remotest Scotland. On the coldest day of the year, just before a nasty freezing sleet starts to soak you from above. Gray is simply one of those colors that is too subtle and classy for me to fully appreciate as it no doubt deserves.

So wasn't it lucky that in the same destash I also obtained this ?

 

I can totally see why these yarns were in a destash ! For the same but different/opposing color reasons, if you see what I mean.

Perhaps Mini Diva may have a point about my taste ..... so go and see some lovely examples over at Tami's Amis.

Summer is Icumen

Whimsical Tarot

Well, it's official - summer is here for at least a week and Andy Murray is the Wimbledon Champion. I am expecting a lightning strike or a lottery win at any moment. No, today I don't feel my expectations are unrealistic at all, actually.

But instead of chatting with you all, I am off outside without sunscreen or even a hat - oh yes, I live right on the dangerous ragged edge, I do: me and that crazy Wallenda chap are twins, did you know ? - to tackle the mammoth job that is the annual re-potting of houseplants.

DH is always surprised at how many plants our window sills and shelves hold; for me, a house is not a home without some living green in it.

And since I am female and as you know, we are ALL about multi-tasking, I am washing all my living room curtains too. Which of course means that I am cleaning the windows as well. And all this simply because the sun is out, it is warm, and I am bored, bored, bored with tiny skinny knitting on tiny skinny needles.

Why yes, there is some wine chilling in the fridge, I wonder how you guessed ?

FO Friday 51: The Wheel Turns

THE END OF SUMMER

The summer days are fading, as they must
From endless hours to short and fleeting light
The bird's once bright, immortal tune, now cries
A melancholy aura to the dusk
The children fiercely climb, and dream, and race
Before their wild and unchained days depart
And yet beneath the zeal lies a half heart
For there isn't time, there's only enough space
The sun seems low, a hazy orange sphere
Now reminiscing sweetly of the days
When endlessly before you summer lay
And as in the deep, crimson dusk you stir
Your soul joins with the birds in wistful brood
Crying for lost summer days, for childhood

[author's name removed by her own request, received via email 26 Sept. 2011]


The wheel of the seasons definitely feels like it's turned this week: what with the gales, rain, clouds, gray skies and chilly evenings, it seems like a switch was flicked: beginning of term = autumn. And looking at our patio reinforces that:


May 2011


end July 2011


beginning Sept. 2011

It's clearly time to pull the summer bedding and get ready for planting spring bulbs, and winter/spring bedding.

Another FO today is a batch of Aztec Queen Soap: loaded with cocoa butter, a creamy mix of vanilla and chocolate makes this a smooth and special soap ....



Head over to Tami's Amis to see who else is talking about Autumn ....

WIP Wednesday 3

So the meme today is WIP Wednesday, and all I haven't got to show for it is Mini Diva's school cardigan, an old pattern I got from somewhere that is acres of stocking stitch only enlivened by a minor cable on the front side edges. So there's no photo of that seeing as how a) I can't stand the color and b) I'm only on the back, and it's boring to look at.

Instead we will talk about the end of the season: recently we've suffered from very high winds and heavy rain. Apart from having to pick up the tub the green beans are in quite a few times - and they are much the worse for being blown over - it has done for me 'matoes too, even though it was only a cherry tumbler bush, its low profile did not save it:




And while I was out there, I cut back the petunias very harshly: they were blowsy and done, so if they come back with just one more flush, that'll be lovely; but if they die - Gallic shrug - then at least they're tidy deaths. That's them, along with the dead lavender flower stems, lying in the messy heap there ...



I find it just all too melancholy, heart-sinking and weep-making, the turn of the season from summer into autumn: I despise and hate the winter with a vengeance, the short, cold, dark, wet days of perpetually feeling miserably yuk. And of course this year we have had a small, tiny, meagre, grudging summer - all the nicest, hottest sunny days were back in June and a bit of July; and since we had that horrible long winter that just seemed to drag on for ever, you'd think that'd be balanced out by a lovely long hot summer, wouldn't you ? Although I haven't quite given up hope of a summerly redux: an Indian summer ....

So I cheered myself up by posting off my Blog Hub Swap box to its recipient well before the deadline date:



I think they should get it either today or tomorrow ....

You can find a list of other bloggers taking part in WIP Wednesday at Tami's blog, here.

Simple Pleasures

Gardening is such a rewarding pastime - for so little effort (if you plan it right) there is so much reward.

















borage





















patio rose 'Sweet Dreams' and patio rose 'Sweet Magic'

Both are scented - no point in having roses without a fragrance; the pansies you see with 'Sweet Magic' I bought last year at B&Q in the reduced section for £1.00 for a tray of 16 plants; cut them back in autumn, and they have come back beautifully this year. I do love a bargain.

And this is why I want to come back as a cat in another life:



This is Jewel and Inky on the back wall of the garden yesterday, where they spent all afternoon. Around 9pm Inky tottered in, ate, and then went straight to sleep on the back of the sofa. Sleeping in the sun is obviously tiring work. Jewel now comes to me to be stroked and cuddled - DH even managed to stroke her once or twice; although she is still a wary creature. It has taken about 6 months for her to get to this stage, but totally worthwhile, and so satisfying.