Gardening and Bits & Bobs

It's always amazing where the time goes, March already and only 19 days before the first day of Spring.  Out and about, there seem to be daffodils everywhere and it's nice to see them.

One bit of the garden weeded and cheered up with primroses

One brave daffodil in a weedy flower bed

Buddleia after its drastic haircut!

Getting carried away with the warm weather of last week I've been out in the garden to make a start on the work that badly needs doing after 2 and a bit years of renting out.  Of course the tenants are expected to cut the grass but everything else has been left so the garden is very weedy and though some plants are doing well some have died or look very sick so it will be a long job to get it back into shape. To make a start I have bought a couple of packs of primroses and cleared one flower bed to put them in and that at least looks cheerier. Just the week before I cut back the Buddleia to half it size and David finished off the job for my by sawing off the thicker branches and I think looks a lot better for its (somewhat severe) trim.

At the beginning of this week I received my Quilters Guild magazine and just loved the colours of the front cover - the quilt is called "Pickles" by Frances Cakebread - just my colours! Gorgeous purples and greens. 

Another lovely this week was a postcard from Janet of Jan's Musing.  I liked her postcards on her blog from last year and I said I would swap with her, which I promptly forgot when the move came and went.  I think it was worth waiting for, thanks Jan.

Yesterday I caught up with washing some fabric (some of which I bought at the back end of last year) and until then hadn't realised just how much I'd bought so more to all to the stash.  The fabrics on the left are from Cherry Tree Fabrics in Boscombe and the rest are from visits to Bramble Patch which was halfway point on our trips between Dorset and Yorkshire.

And to keep me busy I'm also doing some knitting.  I bought some yarn when visiting Whitby back in January.  Found a pattern the other day and made a start.  It has grown since the photo was taken.  The yarn is called Riot, made by King Cole, and found this Sirdar pattern.  Starting on the back which is just plain knitting with shaping for the arm and shoulders it'll be something to do while watching the television.