SPRING AFTERNOON....AND SPRING FORWARDS!

What a beautiful day it's been! Our Forsythia has come into full bloom during the last six days. Only green shoots were visible last Sunday! I've spent most of the afternoon sitting in the garden for the very first time this year. It was so warm. I cast on my Spring Forwards (rather early, as they are my April 'stash-bust' socks). The yarn is so beautiful....perfect Spring colours; violets, primroses and fresh green grass. It was a Sock Club yarn from the Natural Dye Studio and I have had it earmarked for the Spring Forward pattern for a while now. It's a very easy to memorise pattern and so far I think they look great!

Birdsong was noticeably loud this afternoon , with several common British birds passing through. We have a magpie 'living' close by ( NOT a pleasant birdsong, but a beautiful looking bird). I didn't spot it, but regularly heard it's rather harsh call. Amongst visitors to our bird feeder, were a pair of robins and these goldfinches; such colourful little birds with a very sweet voice!

Oh and before I forget, here are my finished Mad March Ribbed Feather socks. I love the pattern and the colours.

The pattern is from 'Sensational Knitted Socks' by Charlene Schurch and is very easy to follow and memorise. The heel version is called an 'In-place Afterthought or Forethought'. It seemed rather strange as I was knitting, but it does give a rather nice bullseye effect with the self-striping and a neat finish. The yarn is ordinary old Regia, but rather lovely I think!

I've made a little more headway with my Mardi Gras Jitterbugs too! Such fabulous yarn, but the pattern is plain (the Yarn Harlot's 'Plain Sock Recipe') and I get bored with it very quickly.

The last time I picked these up was whilst waiting for a teacher's conference to begin on the last day before the February half-term holiday began. No, I didn't knit through the proceedings....that would have been rude! I think I'll leave that one there....aren't the colours fab though!!!

SPRING MORNING ISHBEL....and airports!

I started this last week. The pattern is ISHBEL by Ysolda Teague. It's a really easy pattern to follow and there are two sizes given. I used some yarn from stash....YAY! I hear you cry! It's from the Natural Dye Studio and is a merino and tencel mix, so it has a nice sheen and drapes well. It was the monthly sock club yarn last August. It knits up really quickly, especially as half is in stocking stitch. The colours are lovely, reminding me of Spring skies!

I am supposed to be on a 'stash bust' at present, as I have enough yarn to keep me busy for the next 10 years at least. I've been really good until I spotted some fab, 'can't live without' sock yarn on my pal josiekitten's blog. I just had to have it! It's 'mini mochi' and it is the loveliest, softest, most beautifully coloured sock yarn ever. Don't you agree? So now you can see why I HAD to get some.


This morning, I drove my youngest daughter to Luton airport for a flight to Istanbul, where she is attending the 5th World Water Forum . She works with UNDP and Waterwikki has been her 'baby' for the last seven months. It is to be relaunched during the week-long event. We picked up an 'M and S' Meal Deal at the airport and at the checkout I spotted....the perfect sock project bag. It's small and neat...just right for an extra sock project.



Hurry along to M and S now! Perhaps they'll pay me commission!