The First day of Spring

Although the official first day of spring was last Sunday (after the clocks here in the UK had 'sprung' forward an hour at 2 am) and the weather yesterday was sunny and a balmy 10deg in our back garden, today felt like the first day of spring as JTH and I ventured out for a brisk Sunday morning walk around a nearby village of Hartley Wintney.  We were following a trail posted on our County Council's website (more of that later)

The walk took us around the common

Past the duck pond (does anyone know why there is a scarecrow in the middle of the pond?)

Across farm land and down country lanes

and forest trails

Oak trees predominated, still in a winter leafless state their muscular anatomy was clearly on view

 
No sign of green on the pollarded limes either

 
But the primroses were out

So were the celandines

and the wild cherry

The guide told us that the oaks here were planted to provide timber for ship building after the losses incurred in the Napoleonic wars.  Presumably saved from the woodcutters axe by the development of iron hulled warships

On such a lovely day it was not surprising that there were quite a few people out walking, clutching print offs from the county council's website, many of whom like us were looking puzzled at the directions.  There is a problem with referring to road names around the village when the signs were either missing or at the opposite end to the direction of the walk.  Instructions to 'go straight ahead' tricky when the path came to a fork or when the route appeared to take us down a private drive

We knew about the muddy bits, however, despite the warning I did manage to step in one place where the mud came right over my walking shoes.

Such a lovely day and all cobwebs thoroughly blown away

xx

c

Love Story

For the past week my household has been in the grip of an enduring love story.  The excitement has lead one or other of us to rush out into the garden with a camera at each coo or whir of feathers.

The collared doves have returned for a second year, checking out the site of their last year’s nest to see if it is suitable for this year’s accommodation

My study window looks over the back garden and one rainy day in February 2010, I caught my first sight of the pair.  Not particularly bothered by the storm.

The nest they built in our grape vine was a rather rudimentary affair, just a rough platform of a few sticks really.  The young couple took shifts to sit, quite un-fazed by our comings and goings and all the attention from the family paparazzi

At my first sight of the baby I was amazed, it nearly filled the nest from its first day of life.

Nearly ready to leave

Resting after the first flight

It took about three days for the baby to fly confidently around the garden as he first made his way from nest to rowan tree, tree to fence and then took off into the air.  Once competent he flew around the garden with his parents.  We gradually saw less of the trio till by autumn we saw no more of them. 

Then a couple of weeks ago the garden was filled with their cu-coo-coos again.  On Easter Sunday morning they were perched together on the top of our open bedroom casement window.  Another favourite position is on the top of a drain pipe under the eaves of the house, Perhaps a position chosen for its sound enhancing properties.

No actual nest has been built yet but we have seen one dove staggering across the lawn carrying a long stick like a feathered tightrope walker and this morning flying up to the old nest site carrying a discarded plastic garden tie.

I have not been quick enough to capture this activity but this is one of the doves sat on our garage roof this morning, his feathers ruffled by the morning breeze

xxx

C    

PS more knitting chat coming up, I have reason to sit today and knit while watching television

Brain Storming

Remember problem pages in teen magazines?  The Agony Column? dispensing cheery advice from Agony Aunts?  Well this week I received a number of knitty related questions by e mail and on the blog and I was teleported back to age 13 and reading the problem pages in Jackie.  So I proudly tweeted yesterday that today's post would be called question time, I would be the knitters' agony aunt!

That is until this morning when I met other knitters in Sainsbury's cafe (we meet every Friday after some of us have taken some brisk exercise in the form of the Knitters Power walk)  and a lovely woman came up to us and asked a question about knitting on dpns.  As I heard three different solutions being given - all quite workable - I thought about all the ways of doing things with wool and needles and how as long as it turns out in a way that pleases you then it's 'right'

So this is not Question Time or Any Answers but brain storming.  Below are a few of the questions people have asked and my answers but I would love it if there were lots of comments with alternative solutions (and so, I expect, would my questioners)

If Caroline read my book review on Tuesday she will probably already know where these baby bootees came from (The Ultimate Book of Baby Knits)

I love it that many people who read this blog are not experienced knitters and Jan, a twitter friend asked what stitches I used for the cardigan and hat that were featured in my last post .

It still amazes me that everything we knit is made up of two basic stitches and a few holes!  The cream cardigan is made almost entirely in garter stitch, sometimes called Knit or Plain and abbreviated to K in patterns.  The shaping at the front is achieved by decreasing five K stitches in from the edge by knitting two together (K2tog) for the decrease on the right front and slip one, knit one, pass the slipped stitch over (sl1 k1psso) on the left front.  This way the front edges and decreases slope away in the opposite directions, towards the armholes, and produce mirror image symmetry. 

The lace patterned edge is a series of holes achieved by bringing the wool forward to the front of the work and knitting one of the decreases described above.  I always follow a pattern for lace, and this one is easy, a good place to start

The hat is knitted in stocking stitch (one row knit one row purl). 

The little blue bells are described in a bit more detail in my frogging post, the stems were made on my knitting dolly

Sandie, another twitter friend asked for trendy boys' patterns, in fact what she said was 'quick, while I'm in the mood what trendy patterns are there for 9/10 boys?'

That's a tricky one, one boy's trendy is another's sad.  I made a big chunky cardigan for DD2's boyfriend at Christmas.

My sons mocked saying 'you'll have to wear it you know'  Well he did and loved it, even wearing it to the pub!

But although it depends on taste I do think Rowan and Debbie Bliss have some very good looking patterns for men and boys

Caroline, also asked if I have trouble with cotton and bamboo yarn twisting up and making my knitting uneven.

Well I had not knitted with bamboo but have used a fair bit of cotton lately, for the little note books and the knitted name  and did not have the problem.  I wondered if the problem was too tight a tension or holding the yarn too firmly.  But  in my stash I had some bamboo and so in the interests of properly investigating Caroline's problem I cast on for a pair of mittens and asked the other members of my knitting group over coffee this morning about their experience.

Sorry to say they do have this problems and so did I -  the bamboo yarn (Sirdar Snuggle baby bamboo) does work itself into a twisty spiral. 

This is very annoying and if anyone has a solution (apart from risking dropping multiple stitches by hanging the knitting over the side of my chair), Caroline and I would love to read it in the comment below.

Lastly enterprising Vandy who's website selling all things wooolly Affinity Yarns has just gone live asked if she could feature this blog on her website and could she interview me for her blog, so if you want to know a little more about me and my knitting life, have a look here

I hope you all have a lovely weekend

xx

C

PS I am very pleased to report that Spring has definitely arrived in my corner of Hampshire and so I'm off now to enjoy lunch in the garden.

I