Beginning of March

The Hygge is growing! I’m nearly ready for the centre panel embroidery. The rows of double crochet are giving a lovely firm base for the stitches. It’s 36 inches long here.

I’ve put the golf vest to one side at the moment as I became cross with it. The back is un picked and restarted and ready to go so it’s in a grab bag for outings instead. I will confess to buying yarn for a Fair Isle knit too. I have cast on as I wanted to see how my hands felt as it’s in 4ply and my thumb joints don’t like the finer needles but they seem ok at the moment. After stern words with myself I’ve put it aside until I’ve finished Hygge! An new thing on the table but nothing finished.

The Ammonite panel is finished, mounted and edged in self material. It finished at 10 x 18 inches and is now hanging in my gallery area waiting for the Dorset Art Weeks or the summer exhibition. Probably both!

Our art group had a life drawing session last week. I’m trying to exercise my creative bits as much as I can so joined in even though it’s a human. I don’t do humans. I’ve never enjoyed drawing them so I pushed myself to do something out of my comfort zone.

Leon is a bright, cheerful character but despite him being head to toe in red tartan I dip pen and inked him above and pencil left and charcoal with sepia pastel below.

I think I did ok, especially compared to the others there but I’m still not that comfortable with humans. I took part and tried though.

Speaking of trying, Ive being taking a course with Ardith Goodwin to try and workout what to do with journals and I’m really enjoying myself. Of all the tutors I have taken courses with she has got to be at the top. She just resonates with me and I’m actually taking notice rather that coasting along! It’s all been ‘head heavy’ this week as she calls it so nothing really to show.

Other than that this week has been all about the garden between downpours! I ache! But it is good. We’ve started work turning this area into raised beds. The path areas will have weed barrier and gravel soon.

I’m emptying the compost area and filling them up but it’s slow and heavy work as everything is so saturated. The old vegetable area is going to be refurbished and flattened so John can reverse the tractor mower in properly, it’s always been a bit of a struggle. My black gold is so full of fabulous worms!

As this is a good portion of leaf mould they’re the huge ones too, about the size of the Slow worms we find! Pleased and happy to have so many though.

The area behind the greenhouse was wrecked when the huge hawthorn came down a couple of years ago. I’ve re stacked bricks, hawthorn stump on the right. I know they’re not perfectly straight but I will be using some up soon on paths etc. The cold frame is having a refurb too. It was full of ivy and winter Jasmin this morning! That stuff roots everywhere.

I’ve also made stronger and higher platforms for the water butts, it’s where a lot of the bricks have gone! It has always been a bit of a struggle to put the cans underneath but that’s solved now.

I know we’ve had enough of rain but the butts are filling again which makes me happy. One and a half filled just yesterday!!

The girls have been invaluable in their help this week too.

Not sure my type of Willow will root in the soil though! 😄

Have a good weekend.