Primroses and Bluebells

Since I wrote last, Rhiannon, Fig and I have spent a week in Dorset, in a lovely quite cottage near Swanage. We were lucky enough to have sun most of the week, though the wind was cold. We pottered around the area, taking Fig to run on various beaches. The photo is typical of dozens we have - her enjoyment is infectious so we keep trying to capture it on film.

You can see (just) the ball in her mouth, but not that she is soaking wet. I haven't cropped the photo because it shows Weymouth's lovely Georgian sea front. It was warm enough that day to have coffee outside, soaking up the sun and enjoying the smell of the sea.

There are such beautiful places in Dorset, especially Lulworth Cove. The wind that day was brisk enough to take our breath away, otherwise we wouldn't have wanted to leave. It is so perfect.

Another delight was the hedgerows; I have never seen so many primroses.

They have been favourites since I picked them on a bank in Shropshire one Good Friday, and took them to decorate the church for Easter. When we got home I looked at patterns for primroses, but there were none I liked, so I made my own. They have the right number of petals(5) and the right shape. I'd like to find some silky-looking yarn so they look their best.

When we got home, my first task was to finish the stegosaurus. He is ENORMOUS.

Then it was back into routine. At the Crafty Bees, Caroline and I sat at one end of the tables and just enjoyed the buzz. All those ladies, working together to make charity things. The significant word is 'together'. People share techniques, bring patterns to share, wait on each other, admire each other's work. It's amazing how quickly the team has formed.

Saturday we had an Easter workshop. There were baskets to make:

This one is made of scarf yarn and used a 10mm hook.

And this one is DMC Petra 3. Julie made a beautiful one during the workshop; she beaded the scalloped top and added 2 flowers. It was so little, and so pretty!

There were also eggs:

They are hinged, so they can be used as containers for little gifts. Full of bravado, I set out to make one a flapper girl. The fringed skirt was all right, but when I put the headband on, she looked more like a sheik out of a silent movie! Another one had plaited hair, but I could NOT do the face. So there are no photos!

There was a mug holder. Now this I am proud of! All my attempts so far have sagged sadly so that when you life the mug, your crochet masterpiece falls off, dangling from one place. But this one stayed put.

Admittedly, it was meant to be an Easter chick. The beak looked as if someone had punched it, and the wings were way too big. The little tuft on top of the 'head' was cute, but it had to be re-born as a flower.

It was a happy workshop; Jenny brought a doll's blanket she'd made after doing granny squares with me. She'd used single-round squares to make flowers, and put them at all the joins. It looked so pretty!

So now it's a grey, drizzly and windy Sunday. But for the first time this year I saw bluebells blooming in Stock's Wood. Only a few, but soon I'll be able to smell them, and they will look like a blue haze among the green. I love Bournville.