I saw the weirdest thing today (whilst knitting, obviously). There I was, flicking through a perfectly normal gardening catalogue, thus proving through one simple action that I've left my youth behind forever, when I came across the most spooky mutant plant thingy that I've ever seen. The TomTato. And I'm not even joking. Look:- How spooksome is that?! You plant this oddball in a pot, and whilst above ground you get a lovely crop of cherry tomatoes, below ground the roots are busy making... Continue Reading
Dinner Is On Its Way
Just as I love to be able to turn any ol' yarn into something you can wear, or sit on, or fly from the flagpole atop your roof, I also love to be able to pop a vegetable seed in the ground and wait for it to turn into DINNER. OK, you do have to wait months for that dinner to even be ready to cook (just like you have to wait weeks for the cardigan to be ready to wear), but hey, it's good to work up an appetite, no? Last spring was a wash-out on the growing things front (final unsuccessful IVF, Continue Reading
Autumn Outdoors
It's a satisfying time of year to be outdoors, clearing away a season's-worth of overgrown undergrowth whilst it's still mild enough to work unencumbered by eight layers of clothing. Also the colours, of course. Ah, the colours:- Many times before, I've mentioned this village's long cherry-growing heritage, and now the few remaining cherry orchards are in their autumn livery. I'd been feeling guilty about 'growing' yarn vegetables in the garden of my big-crochet-house-project whilst Continue Reading
When Did ‘Doing Something’ Become Such A Thing?
So it’s our first ever school holiday, at the end of the twinnage’s first ever term of school, and the boys and I are embracing the gentle art of pottering. Unscheduled, routine-free time suits us far too well, and it’s entirely possible that I’ll forget to send them back to school next week. The only downside is that I can’t go running, because the Stoic Spouse is at work and the boys are with me whenever I’m not at work. But anyway. Tempting though it is to stay home and crochet whilst Continue Reading
In The Yarn Garden
Evenin'. I've been busy in the garden. Not the real garden, you understand, where overgrown shrubs fight vicious battles for legroom, and where convolvulus sneaks across the lawn when it thinks nobody's looking, although if we're talking about the real garden, I'm quite partial to this quiet corner:- No, I'm talking about the garden of the crochet house-related project. It's going to be detailed, with paths and a pond, and lots of flowers and general garden stuff, but you have to begin Continue Reading
In Which I Fail To Murder The Roses
I was hoping to have some more dramatic progress on the big-crochet-house-thingy-secret project to show you by today but, well, chicken pox round two. So we're back to quarantine and crazy sleep-deprivation. Poor Twin 2 has got it bad, but he's a stoical little chap, having endured far worse in his short life. Much time has been spent cuddled up on the sofa reading him stories whilst I knit a Cladonia shawl. Because after two nights of a couple of hours of sleep, I'm a bit zombie-like and not up Continue Reading
Mostly Outdoors
This summer, the toddler twinnage and I are spending lots of happy time (and a fair ol' portion of grumpy grizzly Mummy-I-Want-To-Go-Home-NOWWWWWW time) outdoors. Much of this hasn't been compatible with knitting/crochet, but the toddler twinnage seem to be under the impression that I should actively parent them. So we've been to say hello to the rescue donkeys (where we met a pig who, rather confusingly, kept saying 'woof')... ...and I knitted my way to a music Continue Reading
Flora, Mandalas.
Saturday evening staying-in indulgences: wine, knitting, and home-grown strawberries/raspberries. As I write this, please excuse the frequent pauses to take sips of wine. Also, the increasingly slurred writing as I proceed through this post... The Stoic Spouse is away for a few days visiting relatives, so I've been pottering about at home with the Toddler Twinnage, observing the garden:- Now I'm not someone who likes pink (sorry), or roses (sorry), but even I concede that the above is Continue Reading