Yesterday the extra Terrain fabric I ordered arrived, along with some Kona solids. I had a crazy and delusional idea that once the fabric arrived I would just know what to do with my Hopscotch quilt – er, hmmm, yes…. well I think the grey has to go….and I’m quite tempted by the deep purple, but then again I could do something really psychedelic with all the oranges I somehow seem to have accumulated (despite not being an orange girl in the slightest)…

The end result. No decision made. I think the only way forward is going to be to start making up some blocks and then maybe I’ll know. It’s a strange one, really it is. I’m a dithering wreck, which those who know me will tell you is totally out of character, because I’m normally really decisive and I can usually get a pretty good picture of what I want in my head. I suppose that what people say about Terrain being deceptive and harder to use than you think it’s going to be might well be right…..

Anyway, I did what I always do when in doubt…

Yes, you’ve got it.

I started knitting socks.

Zora created by Regina Satta. A pretty straightforward sock, with some very nice cables – enough to make it pretty without making anything complicated. You can find it for free here

The yarn is Lana Grossa Merino Print. A little bit funky. Unfortunately it has been chewed in places….if you know what I mean (and no, I don’t have a dog). I’m wondering if I may need to to get all the stash out and do a major fumigation exercise. Every knitter’s nightmare.

Maybe there was only one little moth and it ate its fill and died or went a long way away.

My eyes are pinned!

Helen

This morning I went for a good long walk – the first since I wrecked my knee in January. I absolutely LOVE looking at gorgeous old houses and I spent a lot of time imagining how lovely it would be to live in one of them. This is all in the area around Bubikon in the Zürich Oberland – a quick 10 minute whizz down the road from where I live.

Lovely. It does a body good sometimes to ditch the chores and really enjoy the spring!

Now I’m back off to climb back up into my apple tree and finish cutting it back!

Happy Friday!

Helen

• 1. Emptying the compost heap
• 2. Cutting back the apple tree
• 3. Clearing everything in the garden that didn’t quite get cleared up in the autumn
• 4. Finishing clearing out my wardrobe
• 5. Baking bread and making soup for dinner
• 6. Writing invoices
• 7. Cleaning bathrooms

Here is what Bumble Bee and I are actually doing this afternoon…

20 degrees in late March. Unheard of and far too good to waste. Reading, knitting and enjoying the warm sunshine 😉

Helen

PS Thank you so much for all the lovely ballerina, rug and bath-related comments! I think I might well be starting another rug for the shower room soon and might even get as far as doing a tutorial for those who are interested!

Not a big strong man, but a will o’the wisp slender 17 year old ballerina…

And no, I don’t really know how she did it, but she is rather good at physics, so maybe she worked out something clever….or maybe she just pulled with more force than I could…

Helen

Well, if I’m honest, I do have one, but it’s just he won’t be home until this evening….and I need help NOW!!

My rag rug is done. It’s finished and I’m thrilled with it. Unexpectedly so. I sort of expected it to be functional but plain if I’m honest. The fact that I can see touches of Monet’s garden in it came as a huge surprise that I wasn’t expecting. I didn’t think it would be well… pretty and shabby chic with it.

My problem now is that I can’t for the life of me get it off the frame! There are metal rods down the sides which the fabric has been wrapped around (fairly tightly, er hm) and I have to pull them out before I can start to take the rug off its frame. And no matter what I do, it’s stuck and I can’t shift it a millimetre. Does anybody out there have a secret trick?? I’m hoping my dear husband will know what to do when he gets home, although he didn’t sound very confident on the phone just now. Maybe I really did just pull it all a tad too tight……

Oh well, somehow we’ll get it sorted out!!

I managed to use a lot of fabric, 15 yards according to my book. All the sweet little spriggy fabrics, the tiny yellow rosebuds, they’re all gone. I found some with 1992 dated in the selvage, some Jinny Beyer fabric from waaay back when and some original Laura Ashley (just ask yourself how many decades it is since LA produced anything other than furnishing fabrics). There were some uglies, but not all that many. Mostly it was fabric that was dated and which I can’t imagine using other than in tiny pieces in something very, very scrappy.

Anyway I’m happy that the rag rug is done, it will get a lot of use and I now have a couple of tiny corners in the fabric cupboard where there’s a little space! If only we can get it off the frame….

Mission (almost) accomplished!

Helen