peony | bear loves dove

Sheesh, October came and went in a blaze of glory didn’t it? Lots of hazy days, stressy days, sick days, detailed days, planning days, crafty days, gardening days and emotional days all steamrolled me through to here, and today I can finally draw a breath and share some happenings and makings.

I finished my “Craft for the Soul” blankie. I kinda followed the pattern in the book (thanks Pip!) with a big stash of the soft baby alpaca yarn I brought back from Peru last year. It has the most delicious drape being all made with alpaca and is surprisingly light considering its decent size. One day I will actually get around to updating my shop with some new makes, its been terribly neglected for quite some time now, but hopefully you’ll see it in the shop before too long… unless I decide to keep it… I mean it is pink and aqua alpaca!

The wilds of spring brought with it fruit feasts and cakes and birthdays and parties and peonies too. I find those delicate petal pom poms are such a delightful greeting after a stressy day in the office and can be found burying my head in one upon arriving home from work. That and a little watering of the veggie patch is my detox from the computer screen filled days at work, it’s grounding and I feel like a new person when I walk back into the house.

The gorgeous textural grey wool came all the way from Iceland, my newlywed daughter and son-in-law brought it back for me during their elopement trip there in July. A bit like the Icelandic sheep, this is a rough and rugged wool and I thought a cushion would make the perfect gift for them, you know a little bit of their Icelandic trip on the couch with them every night. Last night they hosted a lovely party for friends and family to celebrate their marriage. I hope to share with you some of the gorgeous photos of their wedding ceremony soon, but in the meantime I thought I’d share a picture from last night. It’s almost a bit ridiculous how cute they are isn’t it? They are pretty darn perfect together, and it’s really nice to be able to just take a moment to exhale and think about how lucky I am. Ahhh life is sweet.

May you bury your face in a peony one day too x

It’s spring and my roses are blooming all over the place. I love it. The delicious perfume from some of these roses is intoxicating. These posies contain lots of David Austin variety roses, lavender and my very own home grown Peonies!

The rhubarb plant is going nuts after some regular worm wee/tea and we shall indulge in it’s delicious sweet tart explosion tonight. Fresh, organic and full of flavour, I feel it needs little else but a light stew with sugar. I know some people can’t stand the stuff but for me.. it’s Mmm Mmmm.

Well this is not quite harvest ready, but it’s our future harvest. Is there anything cuter than wee tiny baby apples? Well – maybe… I guess lots of things really but these little beauties are gorgeous in my eyes.They are my baby Golden Delicious apples.

And these little cutiepies are baby Granny Smith apples. I didn’t realise until this very moment writing this post, that the posies above were for a dear friend, and that dear friend actually gifted me the Granny Smith apple tree as a housewarming present about 15 years ago. Oh how I do love a sweet little unintentional coincidence.

These are my very beautiful Peony buds. I’m lucky enough to have a couple of large garden beds of these divine flowers and a hubby that knows how to grow them well. Again – they like the worm wee/tea – but then I guess I haven’t met a plant that doesn’t. This bed is brimming with buds… and when they open… oh boy… oh boy… are they a sight to behold.

Back to the knitting and crochet… Would you believe that I only have one project on the go at the moment? I know – shame on me! I’m off to go rectify that right now. I think this time I’m going to knit something for me. And I think I’m going to follow a pattern… again! OMG what’s happening to me??? I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it but my yarn stash has got to the point that I’m almost paralyzed by choice. The project wish list is so long I’m finding it hard to commit to just one, so I might have to just go and start two new projects to feel better.

Hope your day is lovely like a sweetly scented Peony & Rose posie.