Daisy May's crochet workshops Join me at Daisy May's in Wareham for:
Beginners & Intermediate Crochet. Call Fiona or Karen for information on upcoming courses 01929 551185.
Crochet @ The Olive Tree Easter courses for children & grown ups, come & crochet some egg cosies & pretty flowers at The Olive Tree. Plus, a four week summer course (one date per month, giving you plenty of time to work on your skills in between classes!), where we'll be putting together a gorgeous summer throw, amongst other projects. Call 01929 477260 for dates and details.
Couldn't resist sharing this quick snap with you...
The Spring sunshine is glorious and I'm at the kitchen table tech editing for 'Inside Crochet' magazine. I've got three patterns on the go for their 'floral' issue, and I simply couldn't resist hooking a couple of them up (I'm sure ed Claire won't mind me giving you a sneak preview - I'll let you know when the issue is on the newstand). I'm still enjoying the Yeoman 'Panama' linen yarn, and as you can see I finished hooking up my pink doily, which now sits perfectly below my hellebore bowl! Anyway, back to work ;-) xxx
... as the flood waters' keep rising, we are conscious of just how lucky we are to be warm and dry. I haven't really ventured into the garden, it's just too wet, but I have been admiring the resilient hellebores nestled in the protective curve of the garden wall...
There appear to be three different varieties, each as beautiful as the next. As you can see, the buds are abundant, so I picked a few blossoms to brighten the kitchen table. I love the way the plant almost hides it's blooms, a shy beauty bowing it's face from public view. But I just love to look at every tiny detail of these breathtaking flowers...
Floating them face up in a bowl of water is the most effective way of displaying them in all their glory. And inspired by the delicate shades, I've picked up the Panama yarn I used for Pipi's summer sweater and am hooking up a doily to grace the table below the blooms.
It's fun to see where the creative process takes you, I really enjoy hooking up a doily loosely based on one of my antique originals, it's almost like crochet 'downtime'. I don't need to concentrate too hard and I can just see the 'modern' version take shape. I posted the image on Twitter, primarily to show Emma Mitchell some of my vintage thread. Having swooned at the sight of Emma's beautiful tiny silver spools a couple of weeks ago, I asked if they were filled with vintage thread - I thought I'd share some of the pretty pastels I've collected over the years. Village fairs and thrift shops are my top hunting grounds for old spools of thread. Emma and I keep threatening to collaborate, ever since we met up via The Red Nose Day Doll project for Comic Relief, and she might have stumbled on the perfect opportunity - let's just say, I've promised to try my hand at the tiniest of doilies and the rest is over to Emma's creative genius, how exciting! xxx
.... we seem to be finding our feet in our new home. The Sicilian is most definitely on top of the garden, although I know he has much grander plans in the pipe line - primarily reclaiming vegetable beds from the rampant nettles. The nettle risotto, nettle frittata, nettle tea were all delicious and invigorating, but baby nettles soon turn into giant nettles and it's a battle that needs fighting head on! But, in between the nettles, we've managed some absolute beauties....
The palest of pale blue aquilegia...
The cutest pom pom on my fledgling vibernum - just the one flower head, but I love it!
The currant bushes seem delighted by their new position at the foot of the garden wall. Must remember to scour the thrift shops for some nets, otherwise it'll be the birds enjoying this crop!
The broad bean flowers look like little butterflies, all velvety with beautiful black markings on their pure white petals.
And the salad - picking daily now, delicious tossed in some of last season's olive oil from Gerbino. Cue lunch! And then off to pick up some cosmos seedlings from Mum - her passion for planting, nurturing and sharing has returned with a wonderful vigour that reassures me she is on the road to recovery ;) xxx
... yesterday evening was the last of my four session 'beginners' crochet course at the cookery school. To say that the course has been an absolute joy is an understatement, the girls have excelled and I've been challenged to keep up with them! So, with requests for edging fabric and increasing and decreasing on the agenda I arrived at the cookery school excited to see how they were getting on with their summer cotton blankets. All set up, I had a moment to enjoy the early evening sun and the beautiful garden just outside...
With some samples of linen napkins I've edged in recent years to inspire the girls in hand, I couldn't resist nestling them amongst the prolific aquilegia, resplendant in the evening glow...
And whilst the linen edging was a challenge - working with 8 gauge thread and a 1.25mm hook - and the ripple - 3tr tog decrease, (1tr 1ch 1tr)increase - stretched the girls, they didn't give up and I know they will become proficient at both within days. But seeing their progress has been astonishing and I know they won't mind a bit if I share their beautiful work with you...
Dena's blanket was inspired by the unfurling spring leaves in all their shades of green...
..and here are some of her gorgeous flowers.
And here is Ann, with not one but two fabulous blankets! The 'circle in a square' blankets are works in progress and I can't wait to see how they finish up. The only picture missing is the wonderful Liz - she couldn't make it this week, but I will be sure to catch up with her and snap her fabulous blanket too.
Photographing the girls like this reminded me of one of my favourite creative girls, Cornel - if you don't already you need to check out her blog 'i love pom-poms' or the 'craft share' group on facebook. Cornel and her fellow South African crochet girls get together once or twice a month and C snaps them with their projects - totally inspirational! xxx
... Spring is finally settling in here at the cottage. My precious magnolia, so carefully transplated by The Sicilian, is breaking into flower - I love the delicate white blossoms bursting forth from their little fur coats...
And the structure within is fascinating - it's moments like this when I remember back to one of my 'what I want to be when I grow up' plans. This one being a botanical artist, capturing the detail of flora in all it's wonderful, natural detail - maybe put that one in the think tank for future exploration!
Another bloom turning my head this week is my mother's Viburnum 'Eve Price'. It probably has something to do with my passion for pom poms! In this case, the prettiest pink buds, exploding into delicate white blossoms, all wrapped up with a beautiful, delicate scent, another one for my 'must have in my garden' list!
And just in case you've stumbled across my blog via Pinterest or similar, thinking you'd find a whole heap of crochet, then apologies on this occasion. There is invariably a large dollop of yarn and hooks but I've been so busy designing and making of late, I've decided to dedicate this post to the countryside in which I'm nestled and give you an insight into what inspires me on a daily basis.
My childhood was spent on long country walks or sailing the harbour waves. My children's time is spent wandering the beautiful estate that sits literally on our doorstep. They are forever stumbling across 'treasures' which they methodically bury in their pockets and bring home for closer inspection. In the absence of a 'nature table' at their school, I've decided to create one of our own.
Pipi's collection of feathers is filling out beautifully. Dante is more inclined to gather stones - mainly large, predominantly non-descript, but in a departure from the norm, he stumbled upon an interesting little bone (we suspect it's part of a duck's skull with what looks like a long bill) and a skeletal leaf...
All fascinating, inspiring and great for engaging the children with their environment. You see, it's these simple pleasures - gardening, walking, collecting and sharing - that inspire me. And don't worry, the crochet is in hand, although this morning I downed hook and picked up the needles again - 4 of them to be precise!!! One of the wonderful girls at the Wednesday Wool Workshop in Corfe Castle, Anna, ran the first part of her 'sock' class. I have knitted socks before, but on two needles, and this time I was determined to crack the 4 needle casting on method. With huge thanks to the endlessly patient Beverly, sock knitter extraordinaire Anna and the other determined ladies, I now have 60 stitches spread across three needles with a fourth needle in hand ready to knit - amazing!
And in case you need a crochet 'fix', check out the lovely, talented Emma Varnam's blog, where she too has been knitting socks and with her left over yarn she's whipped up the 'Amore' jug cover from my book 'Simple Crochet'. I love seeing my projects 'made up' and I'm honoured that designer/writer Emma has chosen this project, thank you!
...The Sicilian and I tripped off to Basingstoke earlier this week, delivering a consignment of our delicious Veru Truly Sicilian 'Pistachios in Acacia Honey' to a prestigious wine merchant for inclusion in their Christmas hampers (yes, I know it's only August, but these things happen well in advance!). So, with the children in the capable hands of their Sicilian 'nonnini' we decided to stop off at Ikea on the way home. I have been hunting for a curtain system for some time now and knew it was exactly the sort of thing I would find at Ikea. Armed with two sets of 'Deka' (curtain wire and clips) and one metre of 'Aina' bleached linen, grand total of £13, we headed back to the little cottage in the woods. Within minutes, the wires were up and just a couple of hours later, Nonna Rosanna and I had made two curtains; one for the kitchen, one for the utility room. It took another hour or two to attach the motifs, but here is the finished curtain in situ. Finally, a project to utilise my cotton motifs (pattern featured in my post earlier this month). This rather untidy corner of the kitchen had long been crying out for a curtain to hide the busy crates, storing everything from recycled bags to tupperware. I've mentioned many a time how dark the cottage is, so I keep the kitchen as light, bright and simple as possible. If I had more natural light I might be tempted to introduce more colour and can imagine this same project but with pretty coloured motifs, stitched on to running stitch stalks, like flowers in a meadow. Speaking of flowers - the roses are flowering and my 'Limelight' hydrangea is positively groaning under the weight of its' huge blooms, couldn't resist taking a quick picture to show you! xxx
It's been a busy time at the little cottage in the woods. The bantam chicks are growing fast, all twelve of them!!! We will be looking at giving several away, our garden can only sustain a few more, or my flowers really will take their last gasp. My cutting garden plans haven't quite hit the target, but I do have clouds of white cosmos blooms, which look quite ethereal. Just a shame that the contrasting dahlias and sweet peas haven't materialised. Luckily there is plenty of mint and oregano flowering to add to my hand-picked posies for the house and the climbing rose is in bud again, so it won't be long before I have delicate pink roses too.
Rather than leave his garden to chance, The Sicilian has wisely surrounded his vegetable patch and fruit bushes with chicken wire. And here are the results of his careful planning...
...and with these all packed up, he's off to our local 'home producers' sale; once a week the local growers pile into the meeting rooms with all their delicious goodies, the doors open at 8.30am and there is always a queue of eager customers. Gorgeous home grown goodies, tended with love and care, the flavour and quality far exceeds anything you will find on a supermarket shelf and the locals know it!
And between nurturing chicks and growing berries we've been gripped by the Olympic excitement here in the UK. We were lucky enough to see a morning of show-jumping in Greenwich park and an evening of fencing at Excel, not to mention a ride in the Emirates Air cable car, which gave us a great evening view of the Olympic stadium lit up in the distance. There was a fantastic atmosphere in London and we felt really lucky to be a part of it.
Now back in Dorset, we're planning to make the most of the summer holidays - bike rides, picnics and sailing all on the menu. In fact a bit more of this.....
Happy days xxx
ps. I have been uber busy with my gorgeous Namolio linen yarns, so next post will definitely be packed to the brim with summer crochet!!!
Now, when you're told something is 'old fashioned' or 'not in vogue', do you walk on by? No, of course not, after all 'vintage' is all the rage isn't it? Hence, I scooped up two fabulous little pewter vessels last week at our local thrift store, Re-loved. Something I can never have too much of are flower holders and I instantly fell for the simple design and dull patina on these English pewter pieces, the perfect foil for my 'unfashionable' peonies. And back to that, how can a flower as heavenly as a peony ever lose favour? I don't really understand horticultural fashion, I just know what I love and peonies tick every box in my book. After my bargain bunch at the market, I've set to thinking about how I can improve my crop at home. Last year I had four or five blooms, this year it looks as though it's only going to be the one. No doubt the chickens scratching my precious 'Duchesse de Nemours' as she poked her head through the soil didn't help her cause. So you can imagine my delight when I visited my friend Camilla's kitchen garden, the two peony beds resplendent with big, beautiful blooms. Luckily for me she had her scissors to hand and I'm now the proud owner of several 'duchesse' flower heads - pictured here in my pewter cup and vase. Their heady fragrance is filling the house with the scent of summer. And I'm more determined than ever to find the right growing spot for some more of these beauties.
Featured in this month's 'Martha Stewart Living' magazine is peony farmer Kathleen Gagan, owner and founder of Peony's Envy. If only I were closer I'd be heading straight over to Kathleen's New Jersey farm for some words of advice and several plants! Interestingly, Kathleen settled on peony farming because of their beauty, deer-resistance and low-maintenance, sounds like three very good reasons to be planting them in our little corner of Dorset. Maybe I can convince our landlord to rent me a piece of the woodland right here on our doorstep ;) xxx
The sun is out, it's a rare but welcome sight here in our little corner of Dorset. And, in an effort not to miss it, I'm going to post the photos for today's entry now and will fill in the words later - needless to say, the perfect day for eating al fresco, not to mention a photo or two of some blousy but beautiful English peonies.......
Right, back to the garden before the sun disappears behind the trees! x
My first posy of flowers! The garden is springing beautifully into life; the roses are in bud, the peonies are unfurling their leaves and the herbs are filling out by the day. I felt inspired to bring in my first little bunch of flowers - aquilegia, sweet cicely and budding sage. All so delicate, as if the garden is teasing me in anticipation of the striking hydrangea blossoms and sculptural alium balls yet to come. My seedlings are nearly ready for planting out, the cosmos is frothy and light, the scabious a little more robust, my only hope being that the hens don't trample and nibble them to the ground. Maybe I'll get The Sicilian to construct a low willow fence before I chance it xxx
