Spring has sprung!

It was the Spring Equinox earlier this week so spring is officially here.  I think I would finally agree (despite knowing that it’s likely to go cold again) after seeing all the flowers appear magically overnight – or so it seemed!

Our Magnolia stellata seemed to be very far behind others that were flowering, and then all of a sudden, it had caught up!

There are lots of Magnolia and Camellia bushes and trees around Winwick and it’s lovely to see them whilst I’m out with the dog.

Our Camellia has had more flowers this year than I have ever seen so it is obviously happier in it’s more open space in the border that I built last year.  I’m not surprised, really, as it was tucked away under a lilac tree so it must be appreciating all the sunshine for itself!  I was really happy to see so many flowers – and was intrigued to see that one of the plants next to the Camellia had started flowering too.  I didn’t think the flowers looked like that, and I was sure it wasn’t meant to flower until later in the year.  I went to take a closer look …

and realised that during the previous windy night, lots of the flowers had blown off the bush!  This one had landed in the leaves here, looking as if it was meant to be there!  I found a few more flowers on the ground as well, so I put them in the pebble pool to try to keep them going for a bit longer …

They did last a few days before they went brown and I had to fish them out!

The miniature narcissi are out as well – so far so good with the bulbs in this garden, the mice haven’t found them yet! 🙂

I went up to Skipton to see my friend Lucy a couple of weeks back.  You know, I could have sworn it was only last week but last week’s post was the Muud bags review so I didn’t show you my photos and it’s been a whole week since then!  Thank you for your comments about the review, by the way, it’s always lovely to read them!

It was raining for most of the drive up to Skipton.  I go through Colne in Lancashire and that town always seems to have alll the weather no matter what it’s like when I leave home or get to Skipton – it was thick snow one day, heavy rain on this day – but by the time I got to Skipton the weather had cleared up.  Lucy and I headed out to Bolton Abbey for a quick walk and the rain started again just as we set off, but fortunately it was only light so we didn’t get too wet.  It was one of those days where the dull light makes everything seem a bit magical; even though it’s not bright and sunny, everything is very clear – do you know what kind of a day I mean?

Look at the moss by the river!

It was as if not having any sunshine to compete with, the moss could really turn up the volume and be as bright as it wanted!  It was so green, it was amazing!  Surprisingly, the river wasn’t too high despite the rain they’d had in Yorkshire, but it was still flowing pretty quickly and the ducks that were floating on it shot past at quite a pace – they did look funny!  Lucy told me about a duck in a tree making her jump one day, and I remembered someone telling me about their chickens that used to roost in the bushes and it had never occurred to me that chickens might do that … what high-brow conversations we have! 🤣

Lucy and I walked up to the Strid but didn’t go too close as the rocks were slippery and now that I know how dangerous it is, it properly gives me the creeps!  And then we turned back and headed to the cafe by the car park for a brew – when I was little, I used to think that stopping for a drink in a cafe during a day out was a complete waste of time when you could be doing something, but now I fully appreciate the experience! 🙂

I’ve finished my Spring Green Treasure Socks, just in time for the Equinox, although it wasn’t planned like that at all.  It’s really nice to have them finished and now I’ve got both a summer pair and a spring pair …

My Summer Sunset pair have been out and about quite a lot!

They’re super-comfy because of the double layer of yarn with the colourwork – just what I’ve needed for soggy dog walks!

If you’ve not seen the Winwick Mum colourways of West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4ply before, you can read about them here.  I know most of you will probably know all about them, but every now and again I get a new reader (hello to you!) and they might want to know! 🙂

Do you remember I told you that I was going to run out of yarn for my Twilight Rainbow emergency socks?  Well, after noodling on what to do for a while, I decided that I would go for something completely different and knit some contrast stripes.  A bit like when an architect adds a glass extension to a brick building so that there’s no way you’d think they had tried to match it up and failed.  I had a few goes at getting the stripes right, but I think I’m happy with these now …

Yes, the red stripe is narrower than the green one on purpose – there’s a yellow stripe that’s longer than the green one but you can’t see it because of the yellow toes.  I debated whether to break it up with another colour so that it would be obvious, but then decided that I’d faffed enough and they’re fine.  If I’d known I was going to run out I might have put the stripes on the leg, but I didn’t – know or do it!  The rainbow yarn is Twilight Rainbow by Yarn Unique and these are leftovers which is how I’ve managed to run out, Caroline from Yarn Unique doesn’t shortchange you on her skein size! 🙂

And finally for this week, there’s something new on my needles …

Yes, it’s a new pattern!  It’s a bit of fun this one … not so small daughter is off on her travels again this year.  This time, she’s going to Nepal with World Challenge (you may remember that big daughter went to Peru with World Challenge back in 2016 – gosh, that’s a long time ago now!) and it seems to be a bit of a tradition that I create or design something to help with the fundraising.  Super Socks in 2015 for Peru, Don’t be Koi Socks last year for Japan and now – this!  I’m not going to spoil the surprise but I can tell you it’s a mosaic sock, and it’s nothing like anything I’ve designed before!

Ha! I’d better get on and finish it so you can see! 🙂