Everything in the garden...

...is lovely.  Well, perhaps not everything since there's a few sad corners where the ice and snow dealt a fatal blow, but in the sunshine yesterday we felt that Spring is really here.

Looking over the valley, there was a distinctly green outlook.

The crocus, in particular, are shining stars and such a delight to see from the kitchen window.  We planted these in our first year here and almost twenty years later they've withstood all kinds of upheaval and replanting around them to put on a great show.

In the middle are just one or two "rogues" showing off their stripy petals and claiming attention amongst the plain purples.

Yes, there is a distinct feeling of content here right now which I'm sure had nothing to do with the superb dinner we enjoyed at Lumiere in Cheltenham on Saturday evening.  We had the tasting menu and felt utterly spoiled as one plate of delicious food after another was brought to our table together with a glass of something appropriate.  We're going to talk about the parsnip foam with toffee candy floss for quite some time...  (That's a basil blancmange with some other yummy accompaniments above)

In case you think we're sitting here smug, however, let me say that the carpet fitter just arrived and as soon as he's done his work, there are quite a few IKEA boxes to be unpacked and assembled and a room full of "stuff" to be put back.  Oh, and the odd three and a half thousand CDs to be sorted and put away.  The fun awaits!

A day at the races

Ladies Day at the Cheltenham Gold Cup Meeting was always going to be an elegant affair, especially since there was a large WI presence!  To celebrate Gloucestershire WI's 90th anniversary, the event had a strong GFWI focus and every reason to get dressed up and have a good time!

There was a rich diversity of outfits on this chilly March morning.  And not everyone was a WI member - I haven't seen this lady at a meeting, anyway.

There was a surprising amount of shopping opportunities, mostly tweed but colourful silks too.

From time to time, someone worthy of high security was accompanied through the crowd - in this case Lord Vestey.  We were amused by the security cordon formed by these burly chaps holding hands as if they were about to dance the Circassian Circle.

I think the chap on the right must have been on duty a long time and was in need of a break, don't you?

There was entertainment

 study of the form and high finance

and such a happy atmosphere.

Good to see a Royal lady was there to oversee the occasion and share the fun.

Yes, of course there were horses, too.  But sorry, you'll have to go somewhere else to see them I'm afraid!

Striped

Finished a "Noro Stripe" scarf for Mark today.  I've seen so many of these around the blogs I read, I fancied having a go myself and bought the yarn last weekend.  Having done one, I've now cast one another for myself - pinks and greens of course.

Update on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at 8:41AM by Gill Thomas

I know what Jordi means in her comment about Noro yarn being kind of scratchy.  I've only knitted the Kureyon yarn previously and that's certainly true of that.  But the scarf is knitted in Noro Silk Garden and though it's still not anything like cashmere or alpaca, after a quick soak in - erm - Soak - it's much softer and not really scratchy at all.

Yo

Frequent visitors to my photo a day blog may recall the entry from February 25, which showed a few "yoyos".  They form part of a scarf, given to me by my good friend Fanny, who had bought it on her travels in Thailand recently.

I wore the scarf for the first time yesterday and  received the frequently asked question "is it your work?"  Of course not - I counted those yoyos and found there were at least 500 in it and they are not the quickest thing to make.  But when I got home, I thought a bit and remembered something in my cupboard.

I love the little Clover gadgets and remembered buying these yoyo makers in Cheltenham one morning last year. I was not really surprised to find that I'd bought the "extra small" size too - I  love tiny things and always go for the smallest size available.

My eyes fell on another part of the packaging.  doesn't look too challenging, does it?

Sunday afternoon, then, and nothing on the agenda. I found a few small squares of quilting fabric which had been samples from a display, gathered needle, thread and scissors and opened the package to find the detailed instruction sheet.

Quite a bit there...but hang on....

...there's more.

Oh, good grief!!  How difficult could it be?!  Fortunately I noticed something before I decided to give up completely

Half that sheet was the French translation - German and Spanish on the other side, too.  Phew.  I gathered my stuff together and made a start.

 Very small pieces of fabric are required, which would make this an excellent project for using up all kinds of tiny bits or recycling a few odds and ends.  I could get four yoyos from one sample square of this fabric (and I had about twenty sample squares...my mind was racing ahead to another scarf)

The templates make cutting the circles really easy.

and the stitching is a cinch when there are holes to guide every in and out of the needle.

The hardest bit is interpreting the almost-too-comprehensive instructions - after a while, I decided to go it alone.

After all, what's the worst that could happen?

I gathered up the tiny circle and pulled tight, securing the yoyo with a knot as instructed.

Tada!  One complete, tiny yoyo - albeit not exactly circular.  But hey, practice makes perfect...

Half an hour later, seven tiny yoyos!

But what of the other 493 for the next scarf?  Well, to be truthful, I'm a bit bored with making yoyos now!

(I might make a few more, together with some slightly larger ones and decorate a T shirt or something.  We'll see...)

More snowdrops

A beautiful day here today, blue sky and sunshine - perfect for driving up through the Cotswolds into Oxfordshire with the good company of a friend and plenty of interesting chatter.

 

The lady in question has the most amazing collection of snowdrops in her garden and when we got back she offered to show me one or two of the treasures, including "her own".

  

I love the way that, from a distance, a the clean white heads all bob in the breeze.  But a closer look inside and all kinds of surprises await.  I didn't realise that there are yellow snowdrops until today.

The perfect patterns formed by these tiny petals and the delicate variations in shade, shape, formation and texture of the leaves -every small feature noted and appreciated.

Everyone was introduced like a familiar old friend and I was delighted to meet each of them.  I'll notice these little details when next I'm looking at snowdrops, for sure, but I'll need a pencil and paper if I am to have any chance of remembering all their names!

I think this is "South Hayes".

Though the snowdrops are undoubtedly my favourites, there were other little beauties looking lovely in the sunshine.  I thought the patterns on these tiny iris quite incredible and the hellebores grow in such a remarkable range of soft colours that a bowl full of them won their place as my photo of the day.

Last but not least, another snow-white beauty which stopped bobbing in the breeze long enough for me to take a photograph.