Sowing Seeds and Knitting

It’s been a busy fingers week. Sowing seeds, knitting toys and sewing. All of them pleasant occupations.

In the garden the Spring flowers are still lovely but some are fading fast. The pear blossom has been a treat but now the petals are drifting gracefully from the trees.

Lots of lovely colours and beautiful shapes among the other flowers.

Even as they fade Hellebores look lovely. I’ve had so many flowers from them this year. It’s been lovely to see.

My Clematis “Freda” is opening it’s flowers and will soon be a picture on the fence. It’s a beautiful plant and very special. My sister gave it to me as a gift because it had my name. I love it.

I can’t resist taking photos. The only way to fully appreciate plants is to look at them close up. Here are a few more.

In the vegetable garden the spring onions and chives are at their best. Fresh, sweet stems to liven up a sandwich. Just scissor-snipped over an egg and mayonaisse or cheese, gives added colour, a pleasing hit of flavour and a little more nutrition.

I have chives scattered around because they grow wherever the seeds land but it’s a good idea to have a pot of them by the back door in a sunny spot. Within easy reach when preparing a sandwich. Easy to snip off a few stems and leave them to grow more.

I’ve sown another couple of rows of spring onions in the tunnel. We like these while they’re tiny. Lovely and sweet and not too “hot” at that stage.

I’ve had to resow the celeriac. The seeds are extremely tiny and a bit difficult to get going. I’m determined to grow them again this year. We had some delicious ones during last Winter and they’re good raw or cooked.

Indoors, I had a “make do and mend” job. The zip broke on Allan’s favourite old garden jacket. The jacket is a good one and although it’s faded and frayed on the cuffs it has lots of good use in it yet. So I bought a zip, removed the old one and sewed in the new one. Not a posh look but with the cuffs trimmed and oversewn it will serve him well for a long time.

You might remember I made a tiny toy owl last week and wanted to make some more little things. This week I made two tiny dolls. I used the patterns in my lovely book by Sarah Keen but changed them a little to make my own versions. They’re fun to make and so cute.

Now I’m knitting teddies. A tiny brown one is on the way and I have some lovely golden yarn to make a couple of slightly bigger ones which will have jumpers and trousers. That’s the plan, at least.

Here’s a poem I wrote about the knitting.

Toys and Teddies

Needles clicking. Knitting! Knitting!
Fingers busy
While I'm sitting.
Follow the pattern, take a look,
Each one tempting
In the book.
Snuggly teddies, playful toys,
Little dolls
Like girls and boys.
A happy way to while the hours.
Simple pleasure
And creative powers.
Producing something at the end,
Making treasures
For little friends.

That’s all for this week. I hope you have had a good Easter and the sun has warmed your back. Bye for now. With you again next week.