Friday Roundup #20-19

Ok. So, I thought I would give you all a break from my Clasped Weft journey and stick with my traditional Friday post. I am sure we all need a breather. It’s not that I haven’t done any today. In fact, it’s moved on ok all things considered. And tonight was all things Eurovision Song Contest and it’s associated madness. It’s the Final tomorrow, so dinner will no doubt be a smorgasbord of Euro themed food.

However, I already alluded in comments on Wild Daffodil’s blog that her beautiful FO of the Lost Garden by Helen Shrimpton had prompted me to buy the pattern and yarn. And so, I thought I would share with you the colours I have chosen.

The blanket will be for a niece as she goes off to college in August, so I said I would make her a blanket for her dorm room. She picked purple as one of her colours, and also a teal-ish colour. But I took a little liberty on the green and truth be told, I could have gone a little lighter. My colour inspiration came from a popular climber that is currently in flower here; Wisteria. It made sense to link the Secret Garden to some plant or another.

I think it can be a bit of a ‘marmite’ plant. You either love it or hate it. And I have to admit, it is a boring, tangled mess the rest of the year. And the specific pruning regime is a pain. Anyway, I think the colour match is quite good. The two purples work as the flowers, the green for leaves and the stone colour as a backdrop such as a whitewashed, wall of a house.

Whilst I know the pattern doesn’t have long trailing elements, I am sure it will still work. So, watch this space, as I am going to need to crack on with this once my weaving is done!

Now, there is a bit of a plant theme this Friday. Another of my favourite flowers has opened today in the garden. Oriental Poppies! I know they don’t last long and can be easily damaged in the wind or rain, if unlucky. But when they come into bloom, you can’t help but admire these bright, tissue paper like blooms.

Another plant showing off in the garden is the Rhododendron. Bright, punchy magenta flowers. They last a while and are lovely. But this can be a weed in Devon as it’s quite prolific. Plus, I seem to recall it harbours a plant disease that kills oaks. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Lastly, here is one of my tubs on the patio. I know I’ll need to replace the violas at some point, but they are putting in a great show. Nice and bright and contrasting with the soft yellow of the Cosmos.

Well, that’s all today. Kind of short and sweet. The latest normal service will resume tomorrow with an update on the weaving.

Till then, ciao!