Giant pegs!

Hello again to you all. Thank you for visiting me here in this corner.

I really wanted to share this little project I have been working on with you yesterday, but time and good light got the better of me and so apologises for being Thursday and not Wednesday posting.

As some of you may remember, I have been revamping our small spare bedroom into a dual bedroom/craft retreat space. I wanted to make better use of the back of the door which in a previous life only had a couple of hooks for the odd item of clothing.

Last year I managed to finish some very old craft projects that had been forgotten and pushed to the back of my mind. This year I am trying a new tactic - the giant peg post it board.

I found these giant pegs from here and armed with a number of tester pots painted them up in different colours and added some decorative card borders. I then painted a piece of wood white and attached the painted pegs to it.

Here they are on the back of the bedroom door, ready to be a reminder of current projects on the go and maybe a few things that are next on my wish list to do.

 

 

 

Although this room is a bedroom with of course a bed, there is no real hanging clothes space, unless you count the back of my chair. So when the need arises , the pegs can be used to hold the odd item of clothing, thus relieving some of the floordrobe!! Well that is the plan anyway. Even if it doesn't work out that way it was a fun project for an otherwise wet and windy week in January.

 

 

Stay safe and hopefully see you here again soon xx

Parsnips and daffodils

 

While I have been waiting for my new veg seeds to arrive this week, my hubby kindly dug up the remaining parsnips in the raised beds we had made. They were a much better crop than I had expected, and a really nice surprise to end the week.

The seeds arrived on Friday and I am really glad that I ordered some more parsnip seeds. Parsnips grow best from fresh seed, so I am looking forward to another bumper crop this year. And even better I had two packets of free seeds, some coriander and some salvia.

So while I wait patiently for the seasons to change, and bring warmer growing weather, I found this quick project to keep me busy. 

It has been a few months since I finished my flower x stitch sampler and this daffodil was a quick project to complete. I wanted a new bookmark with something pretty on to make me smile when I open a book to read, and this will do just nicely. The design is based on a free pattern I found on the internet. 

This afternoon hubby and I went for one of our daily walks and this was the view from a bridge over a stretch of the A38 road near where we live. It is usually very busy here, but not so at the moment!!

 

I hope you have things to look forward to this week. Take care of each other and stay well x
 

Sweet scents

It's that time again, when the aroma of Seville oranges and the resulting marmalade is filling my kitchen. Last year was the first time making marmalade and it tasted great, much better than shop bought. Shredding the peel took ages last year so this time I used a sharp pair of kitchen scissors which gave a much finer cut and in a much shorter time. Still one lives and learns. Sometimes!

 

 The other sweet scent at the moment in my kitchen are these lovely  blue hyacinths, giving out a waft of perfume every time I pass. They are starting to topple over a bit so I have given them a bit of support. Hopefully they will last a little while longer but they are a very happy sight ☺

 

 

Today has been quite wet here but I did manage to go for a quick walk first thing, nowhere special, just local for daily exercise. At least the rain has washed away any remaining icy patches.

Thank you for visiting me here . I do love to share my ordinary comings and goings with you all. 

Enjoy the rest of you week x

 

Planning ahead

 

At the start of the week the garden was covered with a blanket of snow. But as the week meandered towards the weekend, snow gave way to more frosty mornings like this. I think the plants that have dared to survive above ground in the coldest and shortest of days seem to sparkle in their crystalised sugar coats.

 

 

Do you see the tiny shoot appearing out of this bulb? It should have been doing this a long time before Christmas, in time to put on it's bright red extravagent flowers for the big day.

But it was not to be (I was too busy doing other things and forgot about it) but now my Amaryllis can have a new beginning in 2021 instead. I am carefully watering it and I'm hoping for some beautiful flowers in the coming weeks. 

I have, however, managed to get ahead with ordering my veg seed for the coming year and was very pleased to get a 10% discount as well. I can now spend some happy indoor planning time working out which veg to grow in the various raised beds, pots and containers I have in the garden. 

This is my new cherry tree which arrived on Friday.The variety is called 'Stella' and it is self fertile. I know it doesn't look much at the moment but I am hopeful that when Spring comes it will show signs of new life. Eventually it will get planted into the garden proper but right now it is in a large tub and protected from the worst of the weather by the fence and the low wall.

 

The crochet bag is also progressing well, only the flowers and leaves to go now. I am going to line it when I'm finished, but I will show and tell as soon as I'm done.

Hmm that means I'll have to get on with it now.... No slacking 😁 

I hope that you all have things to look forward to in the next few weeks, and that you find things to make you smile along the way. Take care and thank you for visiting. You make me smile xx

 

 

New starts

This morning I woke up to gently falling snow again. It was a bit of a surprise, but lovely to watch and to go for an early walk with my hubby Mr W. 

This week so far has been all about new starts in this small corner.

I am trying to get out and walk a little every day, under the allowed rules, and so far it is going well. 

With snow on the ground it is a little difficult to do much in the garden, but I have been able to plant up this old wicker hamper basket with some plants. It has not been used for it's original purpose for many years so new life was needed for it. The basket has been varnished and lined for protection, half filled with some polystyrene offcuts from deliveries to make it moveable and then topped up with fresh compost. 

The plants have been plunged, still in their pots, to make a temporary display. Later I can move them to permanent places in the garden. They include some evergreens, grasses, berries and a few primulas. A few days ago they looked like this....

Now they look like this...

 

There are also bulbs and shoots starting to appear holding the promise of Spring coming. 

 

 

After the hexagon blanket, I thought the temptation to start another crochet project would be a while coming. But no, I have already got my hook and yarn out and have begun Lucy's Jolly Chunky Bag pattern. 

It is so bright and colourful, a real delight to work on in January. 

 

Stay well and safe and enjoy whatever makes you happy this week. See you soon xx