Friday 5th April

 There is apple blossom on the tree, and there are violets in the grass. But there aren't any photographs yet. Soon...

There was also a dopey newt hiding in the largest weed under the sitting room windowsill at the front! Our gardener found it when she was hard at work trying to make the front garden look tider. No photograph of the newt either, I'm sad to say, but she quickly took it down to the bottom of the back garden and released it into a suitable patch of dead leaves and weeds under the hedge.

CROSSTITCHING

Ang received my box yesterday morning; I stitched another spring garden for March. I used paler variegated threads in blue/lilac or yellow/orange for larger star-shaped flowers, and darker ones to fill in the spaces with smaller ones. Then I added cross-stitches everywhere else to fill all the remaining squares.

Here's the whole thing;

We now plan to do a darkish green backstitch line around each picture and then think about an outer border. Easy stitching for a bit!

I enclosed seeds for snapdragon and hyssop. 

Ang's parcel to me arrived in the afternoon; I'll post about it tomorrow. 

I LOVE my CrasyTrio 4mm double pointed needles! 

All other knitting has ceased! My friend's daughter is expecting a baby girl next month, so I'm learning how to knit teeny tiny socks with this gorgeous Adriafil dk I had in my stash. I started yesterday using a set of ordinary dpns, and then the shiny CrasyTrios arrived in the evening. I couldn't wait to swap over!

Once I sorted them out, it was no time before I reached the heel flap. Something went very weird with the heel turn, and I had to redo it, and them I managed to get a twist in the gusset (that sounds quite odd, come to think of it) and had to redo that.

But lookee lookee - by lunchtime today I had made this! Oh so cute. I have designated this the prototype... let's just say that this is the 'good' side. I wouldn't want anyone who was really good at knitting to see the other side! I'll keep this to cuddle, like a small soft toy. The wool is merino and very, very soft.

 I have started another one and have already finished the heel flap.

I am getting the hang of the construction now, and by the time I have made mini-sock number three I will have more of a clue.