What's on my Needles?

What amazing weather we're having, the sun in shining and the garden is in full bloom, I think June is the best month in our garden.

I love all the colour, I think it's impossible not to be out there and smile with gratitude for how beautiful it all looks.

Thought I'd show you today what's on my needles... sometimes it shouldn't be... look at this cheeky little boy, he often comes and perches on the needles or my fingers, bringing any knitting to an abrupt halt.

I'm currently knitting a cardigan for Zackary. It's age 18 months to 2 years, so will be ideal for the autumn as he is growing at such a rate! I'm using Knit craft 'cotton blend plain' from Hobbycraft, it feels lovely to work with, 50% cotton and 50% acrylic. I'm using Denim and Light Blue and there was quite a few different shades to choose from.

I also have some crochet on the hook too. I don't know if you can tell yet from the shape, but it's going to be a budgie!

I've posted this next picture on Instagram, I absolutely love it. Adam and Holly were going to a wedding and popped in on their way to show us little Zack in his suit. Isn't he a little stunner the little darling  with his little dickie bow and quiffed hair, I love this little man so, so much.

As I've been posting dog and budgie photos, I thought I should show off Mitzi too, but she was too shy to turn round for the camera.

Take care
xxx

Firsts and Lasts

It was Father's Day last Sunday and it was our sons first one! I bought some light air drying clay during the week and managed to get Zackary to press his hand into it (the hard part was to then distract him with something else as he thought it looked like fun and wanted to play with it). When it was dry I popped some backing paper behind it, Zack's name and into a shadow picture frame it went.  Adam was very happy with it and Holly made sure he had some other lovely things too.

We decided to all go to the coast and had a lovely walk along the front followed by fish and chips sat on benches looking over the water, so no cooking and no washing up to be done, so both fathers (Adam and Andy) had a lovely day. I managed to get a quick picture of Holly holding Zackary, no one else stayed still long enough to get any more pictures.

I've been spending some time playing with my sewing machine. I think I've got the hang of using the inbuilt alphabet, I do need more practice though to learn how to change the sizes of the font and position on the fabric.

I really enjoyed playing with it, found it quite exciting, so many possibilities.

As well as Adam having his first Father's Day, Imogen had her last day at school. Exams are finished and she is now officially on holiday until September when she goes to sixth form. I'm going to find the photo of Imogen's first day at school and put it next to this one taken on her last day, what an amazing young woman she's grown into, it's gone so crazily fast!

Still my baby girl though, falling fast asleep in the car on the way home from the seaside on Sunday after all that fresh sea air.

Just to finish off, here are a few photos I took this afternoon when we drove to the coast again. Zackary was so tired and past himself, but just wouldn't or couldn't get to sleep, so we put him in the car and went for a drive, he ended up sleeping for an hour and a half and was full of smiles when he woke up.

Take care
xxx

Lunch Out with an Unexpected Guest

Our routine has changed, we were having our little grandson Zackary for 3 days a week, but now that mum and dad are both working full time, little Zack has been enrolled and started going to nursery and we now have him twice a week. Poor little Zack is not impressed with nursery and makes his poor dad feel awful in the mornings when he drops him off by screaming his little lungs away, though is usually playing happily when mum comes at the end of the day to pick him up, little rascal. It has made him very clingy though, when we're doing our babysitting duties, Zack doesn't like either me or Andrew to leave the room and is wanting extra cuddles (which I have no problem providing at all).

It's a long day for such a small person, from 8 till 6pm, so when Zack has his days with us we try to go out for a while in the afternoons to break it up a bit for him. We had some lunch out the other day, a nice cup of tea

and a healthy salad with a baked potato, simple and very tasty.

Zackary enjoyed sitting outside, watching people come and go.

We were being watched while we ate by this little robin red breast, perched on a chair looking for scraps.

When the person next to us left their table, he swooped straight in there, picking about to see what he could find.

Quite a tame little fellow, I caught this picture just after he'd been on the floor between Andrew and Zack, an unexpected guest picking at Zack's dropped pieces of food. He seems to be on a good thing here and we'll be looking out for him next time we go.

It's funny as it's only an extra day a week, but we seem to have more time and it's been nice to spend some of it outside in the garden when the weather was a bit warmer. I found a comfy seat with a cup of tea, good book and some hexis I'm working on.

The book is Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. I really enjoyed her other book, The Girl on a Train, and this one is just as gripping and written in a similar way, from different peoples perspectives.

Little hexis waiting to be made into something glorious....

I wasn't the only one enjoying the new free time, Gary stretched out and caught some ZZZZZs

I had to show you little Alfie too, what a face he was pulling at me here, another one who likes lots of extra cuddles!

Take care

xxx

Garden Flowers

I took a few photos of the garden the other day when I was out there enjoying the sunshine, I'm glad I took them when I did as yesterday rained most of the day and today is very gloomy and overcast (very warm too though, feels very close).

I wanted to show you our beautiful foxgloves and thank everyone who identified them when they first appeared.

Looking quite glorious now, lovely trumpets for the bees to go in and out of.

We have a few tubs around the garden, this one has petunias tumbling out of it (I kept Honey in the photo, she's nice and relaxed in the sunshine).

I'm rather fond of Geraniums, good staples to have in pots providing such vivid colour.

The camellia has finished flowering it's beautiful full pink blooms.

This is a new addition, a Honeysuckle to grow up our pergola. It's in a pot so I'm hoping it still manages to thrive, there are lots of buds waiting to burst into flower.

The rambling rose climbing up the other side of the pergola, also full of buds.

Lupins too,

more Lupins along the back of this raised planter.

 Pretty anemone, closing every evening then waking up each day and stretching open it's petals.

Couple of hanging baskets starting out

Sweet williams and our heuchera.

It's had a lick of paint this year, our tiered planter. Full of trailing petunias, lobelia and some geraniums too. It's just started flowering, so hopefully each tier will grow and reach down to the one below, filling the garden with colour.

Looking over everything are the green men

The vegetables are doing well too, we have lettuces, cauliflowers, peas and brussel sprouts in the trugs and tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse. There are a few things we haven't planted this year such as radishes and potatoes, which I shall miss, if only there were a few more hours in a day (more space would be nice too).

Andrew's watching the rugby so I'm going to go and sit in the conservatory and do some patchwork while the light is still good.

Take care

xxx