WOODBRIDGE SUFFOLK

Yesterday Michael and I drove up to Woodbridge as he needed to return some boat moulds to Eversons boatyard. The boat in our garage continues to be "work in progress" but hopefully within the next year it should be looking more like this one, which has just been completed at Eversons.It was on the chilly side yesterday so we didn't wander too far along the river, that meant more time around the shops. There's a really good kitchen shop there which is well worth a browse. I bought myself a new casserole as I'm going to be doing plenty of cooking over the coming weeks when we're having our family together time!

We also stumbled upon a fairly new shop called Twist, which had a really beautiful knitted blanket in the window. Well, I quickly stumbled in there, I can tell you. Beautiful yarns, which I refrained from buying, (remember I'd just purchased a new casserole) but I did buy this book.

There are lots of lovely patterns in it, I haven't decided yet which one to make. First though, I need to finish my Debbie Bliss summer top and then I may well have to drive back to Woodbridge to get my wool, buttons and beads!

SPRINGTIME

It was so lovely to open the back door this morning and feel the warmth of the sun. While I pegged some washing out you could hear the bees' buzzing as they darted in and around the cherry blossom.

A butterfly resting on the garage wall, opened it's wings to take in the sun's rays.

The magnolia is laden with buds. This is Charlotte's tree, we bought it for her when she was born, so it's nearly 5 years old. We've recently transported it to a tub in our garden ready for when Jo, Rob and the "girls" move to their new home. Eventually Rob wants it to grow big enough so that he can hang a rope ladder from it for Charlotte & Jessica to swing on. This was something he used to do as a little boy when he went to play in his grandparents garden.

We didn't have much hope for this particular magnolia at first, it seemed to be very slow growing. But, at last now it appears to be on the move in leaps and bounds.

These little tulips are new to my garden. I planted them so long ago that I'd forgotten what type and colour they were. Clusters of these yellow flowers have brightened up the borders.

What a beautiful day!

HOW TO BRIGHTEN A DREARY DAY!

Yet another dreary old day. So, having found this free pattern on the Debbie Bliss website a couple of weeks ago, I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon knitting a few rows of this top. It'll be all ready to wear when we finally get a glimpse of the sun in the summer.

I do have a list of things I want to complete during the next couple of months but my mind seems to be racing along faster than I can knit.

My news this week is that our son, daughter-in-law and grand daughters are moving in with us at the end of March for a couple of days, or weeks, or .........MONTHS! (I do apologise, I think I'm exaggerating!) while they wait for their new home to be finalised.

For those of you reading my blog back in January/February 2010 you'll know we had great fun when our daughter and her boyfriend came to stay for 6 weeks.

Perhaps, knitting may have to take a back seat for a while or possibly, it may help transport me to a more tranquil zone. We'll have to wait and see!

I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT!

A quick cake update for you.

I spoke to Jo, my daughter-in-law this morning and they did indeed love the little cakes.

When I explained that I'd been heavy handed with the cochineal, she was surprised. I did have to laugh, she thought we'd made them specifically for Comic Relief's "Red Nose Day".

Apparently, they tasted very nice. So, I suppose, in the end, a good result!

AN OVERDOSE OF COCHINEAL!

The other day Diane wrote on her blog telling everyone about her baking disaster.

I felt it only fair that I should join her with these very artistic delights.

Charlotte made the little sponge cakes and made them very well.

I have to own up and say, I wouldn't let her any way near the cochineal, explaining to her that you only need the tiniest drop.

Oops, I slightly over did it somewhat as you can see.

Once the icing had set, I quickly popped them in a bag so that Charlotte could take them home.

I'm sure her parents will love them.

YO YO OR NO NO!

I finished the Sirdar Yo Yo jacket yesterday and I'm sorry to say the jury is still out!

All the time I was knitting it up, I kept wondering a) how it would turn out and b) would I like it. Well, this is how it's turned out but as for liking it, I can't say.

The yarn feel's rather harsh and as you can see there isn't much shape to the whole thing.

I do still need to give it a little press and once I try it on with some jeans it may well look better. I suppose trying it over my night attire didn't do it much justice.

Still at least there is one positive note, both sleeves are the same length!

Yesterday morning Michael and I took Charlotte and Jessica out and we went along to the gardens at RHS Hyde Hall. They now have quite a lot of things for the children to do there and armed with leaflets for I spy, looking for birds and other wildlife and fauna, we set off and spent a good hour on our nature trail.

It was really chilly and by the time we'd worked our way round most of the garden we were grateful to get into the restaurant for a warm drink and cake.

The children loved looking at the fish in the pond, although Charlotte was a little disappointed, she was hoping to see an alligator!

Children do have such great imaginations.