Hop to it!

After a week where I felt like I was running fast and getting nowhere, we’ve arrived at Easter weekend (for the Christian church) and I am back on full bean.  Hooray!  I’m pretty sure that Easter weekend used to be a full 4-day weekend but maybe I’ve imagined that, and I was glad that I could still get out and about yesterday as I needed to buy food.

What I didn’t buy, and what I do love very much at Easter time, is hot cross buns.  I had a go at making them for the first time last year and they worked out pretty well, so I decided to have another go this year.  I used a different recipe this year, one that I saw on the Instagram account @jeromecooksfood, and I think they were even easier than last year’s attempt.

The crosses were a bit hit and miss but so is my church-going, to be honest, so I didn’t worry about them.  It’s all about the intention, isn’t it, and I’m quite happy to speak to the Almighty in the garden if I need to as I figure that He’s there just as much as he is in a church.  I’m sure my hit and miss crosses won’t cause any offence.

Anyway, that aside, I can tell you that these hot cross buns worked out brilliantly well and I think I’m going to be making the recipe again during the year (sans crosses) as teacakes.  I mentioned during the Winter Haven KAL that I’d been reading a book called The Diet Whisperer (Amazon link) and I decided that I would do the reset plan in the book.  Two months later after following the plan to the letter, I’m at the point where I am starting to eat a wider variety of meal ingredients and a toasted teacake is definitely allowed now!  It has been a fascinating experience to follow the plan – I’ve lost the “shortbread shelf” that I was carrying around my middle which I am delighted about but more than that, I have completely changed my relationship with food and I feel much better for it.

It’s always been that Easter weekend is seen as the “gateway” to getting out into the garden for many people.  Now that the clocks have changed and the evenings are getting longer, it’s much easier to get out into the garden after a day at work and early blooms beckon you to the borders to admire their bright colours after the dull winter days.  Garden centres and DIY stores will be extra-busy this weekend selling gardening supplies, bedding plants and compost although sadly, the weather forecast isn’t really conducive to long days of gardening – I don’t know about you but we’ve had wild winds again and heavy rain battering the windows.  The felt on our shed roof is doing its best to take off this afternoon (I think we might already have lost some) so that’s going to be a job for very soon when it feels safe to take a ladder outside.

The sun shone very briefly yesterday morning though so don’t worry, I’ve still got flower spam to show you! 🙂

Tiny purple dog violets …

Heuchera “Marmalade” – I love the deep magenta flowers in the background in this photo as they set off the marmalade-coloured leaves beautifully …

It looks beautiful next to the Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ears) as well – it’s such a versatile plant!

The catmint is flowering and this is a rare thing – Hattie or other neighbourhood cats usually get to the plant before it has much time to establish itself so it looks like this year it’s had a bit of a head start!  I suspect the miserable weather (we’ve had so many storms over the last few weeks) has kept all the cats indoors …

The tulips are out – there’s just one flower so far and every year I forget what colour the tulips are so it’s always a joy to see it bloom …

and there are two varieties of Erysimum or “everlasting wallflower” currently flowering.  I’ve got a soft spot for these plants and there’s a yellow one thinking about flowering too …

In fact, considering that it was only a couple of years ago that I created this flower border from what had been the raised vegetable beds, it’s doing really well and is filling out beyond my expectations.  Gardening teaches me patience, and it’s been worth the wait!

Gardening also teaches me that sometimes, it’s better not to be too hasty when you think that you’ve lost a plant because it may just come back – and that’s exactly what’s happened to this Clematis armandii “Apple Blossom” which I thought I’d lost forever but surprised us being seeming to burst into bloom over night.  What a treat!

I’ve spent more time indoors recently than outdoors, though, and that’s been very good for my knitting progress!  I’ve finished my husband’s purple socks …

I used my Basic 4ply Socks pattern as a base as I know how many stitches to cast on for my husband and just changed the heel to suit him.  You can see my sock progress in other posts for the heel creation here and here.

The yarn is two shades of Yarnsmiths Merino Sock and the heel is a forethought heel because my husband likes his socks to look like bought ones.  This is not my favourite type of heel (it’s a bit of a disaster if you want to try to sock on because you knit the heel in later) but I think it’s easier than a short row heel if you want to avoid potential gaps at the heel joins and don’t mind not knitting the heel as you go along.  I used The Chilly Dog’s video on how to avoid gaps but to be honest, once you’ve set the heel up then it’s just like knitting the toe decreases so it’s very easy to get the hang of.

I’ve got a new pair of socks on the go for my husband now, and this pair has got a heel flap – hooray!  I was going to keep this yarn for myself (it’s Laughing Hens Super Sock in shade 14, Cleves) but he really likes the other pair that I made for him in Laughing Hens yarn so I decided to use this yarn for him.  If you want to look at the shades available, you can click here (affiliate link).

I’ve got one more project on the go to show you (and this will help to keep me on track, too!) – this is a Newborn Vertebrae cardigan (Ravelry link) for a friend who’s expecting a baby next month.  I’ve used my Winwick Mum yarn – this is Winter Icicle as we know what gender the baby will be – and it’s a lovely cardigan to wrap a baby up in for skin-to-skin snuggles.

I made one a few years ago for one of big daughter’s friends who was having a baby – we didn’t know what gender that baby would be but Spring Green worked beautifully.

Is wool sock yarn too scratchy for a baby?  I don’t think so.  I’d have put my girls in this cardigan and when I wash it through before gifting, I’ll add some hair conditioner to the rinse water which smooths everything down even more.

I’ve almost finished the body of the cardigan, I’ve just got the rib hem to do before picking up the rib band around the body and finishing off the sleeves.  It’s not a big job, it’s easy TV watching knitting and it’s a free pattern so it’s got everything going for it!

 

Right, I’ve got one last thing to tell you about for today, and I’ve saved the best till last!

A couple of weeks ago, I showed you the toes of a new pattern which I’m going to be releasing … the release date is Saturday 11 April which is next Saturday.  I’m very excited to tell you all about the pattern which is called Kaleidoscope Socks!  It’s one that’s been a magazine but it was many years ago and I’ve updated and re-written the pattern, helped enormously by my test knitters who have knitted some gorgeous versions of the socks.

Ah, it’s another teaser photo but you can see that as well as the Eye of Partridge toes that I showed you last time, there’s an Eye of Partridge heel flap … and there are contrast colours involved so take this as your heads up to start thinking about matching colours you could use if you want to knit the socks!

The Kaleidoscope Socks pattern is part of my Spring Sock Reset – ooh, what’s that?!  Well, I’m not going to give everything away just yet but suffice to say that as everything in the garden wakes up for the spring, it’s time to dust off your knitting needles and bring them out to the light of day as well!

One last thing – there’s going to be a discount for this pattern (and maybe more 😉 ) and a special discount for newsletter subscribers to say thank you for your support.  Not on my mailing list already?  You can click HERE to join, and you can unsubscribe at any time or set your preferences to just receive new pattern release info.  I’m not here to add to your email overwhelm!

So with that, my lovely friends, I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend if you celebrate, and a wonderful weekend doing whatever you are doing if you don’t 🐰