Where did all my sunshine go?

There is one time of year in England when we here can gloat at those over there - Canada to be precise in my case - about the weather and this is that time of year. When new snow storms gather on the other side of the Atlantic fresh green shoots are pushing up through the earth here. Right now snowdrops dance by the roadside and purple crocuses are popping up in sheltered spots. They're gorgeous. They give hope for the springtime coming. They make me smile. Daffodils are pushing leaves up too, though it will still be a little while before the nodding yellow heads see who in the family can be the first to spot them. I love this time of year when the odd mild day makes you think that the cold dark days are finally done.

Of course it is usually all a lie and the weather continues on cold, dank and miserable for several months to come. Sometimes we wait for summer and that doesn't seem to come either, frustratingly so. Then it is time for those in Canada to gloat over me. Tell me about hot days, swimming pools and barbeques that go to plan. So this is my time to make the most of things. Therefore the fact that all these flowers are blooming despite the decrepid weather that is making outdoor photography something for the professionals, not me, has also meant I do not have one photo of a snowdrop, or crocus or any other green budding thing to show off to you. You'll just have to believe me - they are out there in all their glory, right now, as the rain falls - yet again.

This weather also makes taking photos of my finished projects and works in progress less than appealing. But it had to be done anyway because it is half term here and keeping children occupied will mean less time for me to look for just the right light and the best angle to make my 'things' look their very best. I need to do it now, while I can. So, despite the wierd unnatural colours due to atrificial lighting and the flash, here is what I have been up to -

One finished size small granny blanket...

... with an oversized border.

When I finished the granny blanket and looked around my sitting room which was a sea of remaining yarn, I made this -

It is not, as was the guess hazarded by  more than one person, a rather poor attempt at a Rasta hat. It did not involve a pattern. Now there is a surprise! But it was fit for purpose.

Now, I think that is an improvement on plastic bags and general disaaray. If only it was that easy to tidy up the rest of my life.

With that little project out the way I turned to my new bamboo yarn. I went online and looked at photos of crocheted flowers and thought 'I can do that', so I did.

The way I really impressed myself (rather easily done at times) was to remember how I made this flower because when I looked at flowers online I didn't look at patterns. I just looked at photos and then made my own up from there. This was not the first attempt. To prove that I remembered how to make it I made four more...

... and now I am looking at ways to incorporate said flowers into a little blanket, hense the off white bamboo being hooked on. Not sure if this is how I will eventually do it but it is a sight better than the first way I tried! No photo of that. Not a pretty result. Thank goodness crochet is so easy to pull out.

So rainy days result in less than favourable photography but do provide more hours indoors to contemplate puzzles like why I don't write down how I make things so when I do make something I like I can replicate it more easily. But that would be the simple way of doing things. No one ever said I was simple. Did they?

Susan