Spring is in the air...

Usually at this time of year I am looking forward to and planning a holiday with my boys at half term, I stay at a working farm, I have this done for the last ten years, to me this means lots of fresh air and walks, we pack up our wellies and waterproofs and in case of lots of rain I am usually in the process of enjoying putting together a craft basket for the children. The great thing about our little cottage is there is a little bit of luxury, a swimming pool, let me tell you there is nothing better than a dip in a warm pool after a cold winters walk (except for drying off in front of a fire with a mug of hot chocolate). Sadly this year I will be unable to go at half term with the children, aah that thing called money really is a pain!!!But what this break means to me is the start of spring, its usually when I see the first snow drops, the sky starts to to be a little brighter and often blue with white 'Simpson' style clouds. Yes, it marks the end of the winter, I know there are usually still a few winter weeks ahead, but it lightens my heart and takes the weight off my shoulders from those short grey cold wet days... it fills me with hope, the garden starts to come to life and it loses that look of looking like a field after a war, black and bare.
So with thoughts of spring and knowing we are missing out on this special break this year I have been thinking a lot about the changes in the season and how I can capture that feeling on our little break at home. So I guess its not really a surprise when I look at the work I am making at the moment, it definitely has a feel of spring about it.
My two biggest sellers here at Dotty Red are simple lavender hearts and cushions, previous to my Dotty Red shop I knitted as a hobby so I have lots of odd balls of yarn around, so I like to mix the two things up a little and use the yarn along with the flowers. For Christmas I made little crochet Christmas trees on cushions and for Valentines day its been hearts and now with spring on my mind I am making little daisy type flowers to decorate my cushions.

I love the mix of textures and of course crochet work is very popular at the moment, so you will find me in the car at the few minutes before school run, in the line at the post office, at the kitchen table whilst I am waiting for the children to finish their supper... you will find me hook in hand and a little pile of cute flowers being made...
Remember the book I got the other weekend, well I felt so inspired I made a little house from the book, of course I changed the size and generally fiddled about with the pattern, I have even stuffed the roof with lavender to make it a practical thing of sweetness...

Once I had made one I went on to make a whole little village of them, which with my thumb recovering from the surgery was no easy task I can tell you. LAVENDER LANE...
I actually had a moment when I realised I couldn't sew, knit, crochet or even hold a pen to write... I suddenly realised how precious our hands are to us. Still a few pain killers later and ignoring the surgeons advise to rest...
I sewed away. Might pay for that later as its not really any better than before it was messed with!!!
Shhhhhhhh... I have a guilty secret, I bought some yarn. In my present financial position I have not bought myself any yarn for a long time, occasionally I have bought a few balls for Dotty Red but for pure self indulgent knitting or crocheting just for my own satisfaction, well its not happened. Then I saw a blanket I wanted to make, but to make it with the chosen yarn of the designer it was going to cost Eighty plus pounds. Mmmmmm eat or buy yarn, well I gave up on the dream, then a friend told me she had used cheap yarn, the sparky stuff. Its usually the stuff I get a bit snobby about... oh a yarn snob, yep that's me. A few months went by and I kept thinking about this blanket...so I priced up the sparky stuff and realised not only could I buy it and feed the children and myself that week but I could even buy it in one go, seriously under twenty pounds... can you imagine my delight when the post lady brought it to me this morning... I cant wait for tonight... boys in bed, jobs all done, I am going to sit myself down in front of the fire with a pot of tea and a cream cake and I am going to start my blanket... Its the simple things in life that really make us happy...