A Very English Garden

We're popping back to this year's Chelsea Flower Show for today's post to take a look at another of the artisan gardens, sponsored by The Claims Guys and simply titled A Very English Garden, as as the board said it was "designed to stand the test of time" and to be "simply a beautiful garden" and I think it manages that.

The detail in the stonework entrance, and the overall impression is stunning. It's reminiscent of a grand English country garden and hard to believe that this was only constructed for the show.  It also tricks you into believing it's a much larger space than it is, and just the entrance to a much grander garden.

The garden celebrates craftmanship and tradition and draws its inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement, and it does remind me of our first visit to Coleton Fishacre in Devon back in 2013, and my blog post is an old one and one that I moved over from my previous site, so the photos are tiny.

I think this garden works, not only because it's pretty, but also because of its symmetry.

The planting was, as you'd expect from a garden at Chelsea, fantastic and full of pinks and purples and something that is easily replicated in our own gardens.  I think that's one of the best things of the show, the planting is often attainable, but attractive too.

There's roses and columbines - or granny's bonnets - and while the latter can be treated as weeds in my garden, they're still pretty and allowed until they take over!

I think the garden set out what it intended, and is a simply beautiful garden.  I'm not the only one to think so as the garden was awarded silver-gilt by the judges and voted the best artisan garden in the people's choice vote, what do you think?

A crochet update

I've mentioned a couple of times here that my "Spring" crochet blanket is complete - named by one of the comments in a much earlier blog post for its spring-like colours, and the name just stuck - but other than a glimpse I hadn't shown any photos.  So today I am, I also said previously that it doesn't match the bedding currently on the bed, and you can see it doesn't, but I don't really mind.  It goes with the colour scheme of the room, and more importantly it is finished, ends sewn in and everything.

And I'm rather proud of it.  This is my first crochet project, and given that I taught myself last autumn, and the blanket includes my very first granny square ever - it's a pale yellow one - I'm pleased with how it turned out.  

I quickly got bored of plain granny squares though in the thirst to learn more and experiment with this new-to-me craft and so the idea of the 'pattern' was born.  I decided to try different squares to test myself, some I liked and enjoyed making and others I didn't; some I adapted part-way through, especially if I found the pattern too dull, or if I went wrong (more likely!)

And so it grew, but I was keen to move onto the many other projects I had lined up, so to add variation I decided that I needed one larger square in all of the wools I was using which would help it grow quicker, and give the patchwork look I was after.  And I reverted to plain granny squares to get it done. With enough squares completed and a layout decided - remember I used the bed and photographed it so I didn't forget - I started to join it together, first adding a round of white around each square to give some uniformity, joining with the granny square stitch.  

I learnt many stitches, the composition of squares which I know will help in future projects and that variegated yarn works so much better in crochet than it does in knitting somehow.  I've always liked the variegated wool, but not so much when knitted, now my love is rekindled, although it might be on hold for a bit as I've already several projects that I have the wool for, including the Kalevala which was the blanket that started this journey (and is still not started).

So, with the Spring blanket complete, what next?

Well apart from the two other projects on the go, one is a square a week in muted colours that I'm behind on in the number of weeks and the other is a lunchtime project that lives in my desk.  I rarely get to do this, that I should do more of it really, I decided I needed to start another of the projects I already have planned.

I wasn't sure which but then I remembered I'd already done some of the groundwork for the Vintage Sweetheart blanket by Cherry Heart which was serialised in Crochet Now.  The original colour-way of the blanket is great, but not very me.  I'm much more of a bright colour person and so I decided to ramp it up a bit with my own colours.  They're not too far away from the original, but they do have a bit more of a pop.

As well as creating my own colour chart - as I'm bound to forget at some point which colour is what - I've also listed which squares are in which section, so I can take a slightly different approach to making it.  I'm starting with the Granny Jean square and last night made four of them for three separate sections.  I'll need to work out how to label them so I don't get them muddled up and right now the simplest thing I can think of is to put each section’s squares into a separate bag.  Simple is good!

They're quite bright though aren't they?  And I'm already pleased with them.  These are a variation on the granny square, but use the V stitch instead of the more traditional approach.  MOH noticed the new project last night, asked what it was and then enquiries if I was expecting a cold winter, what with it being another blanket. 

It’s for another room I told him, but I hadn’t worked out which. Not that I shared that last bit, of course. However this morning as I was photographing the new squares, I think I found its new home:

What do you think?!

Post Comment Love and Blogger Showcase: 31 August - 2 September

Hello there and welcome to this week's #PoCoLo - I'm struggling to believe that the weekend will bring September.  I know I'm a serial under-estimator of time, but even by my standards this is quite something.  If you were here last week it was great to see you, if you're new here then you're very welcome, I'm sure you will find some great posts to read this week so please do take some time to take a look at some of them.

For the last time this week I'm joined by Suzanne from Chicken Ruby who's co-hosting with me while Morgan is on her holidays, so do please also pop over to say hello.  A huge thank you to Suzanne and Nikki from Someplace Strange who joined me co-hosting over the summer.

My big news of the week happened Wednesday evening as I was getting ready for bed.  Given the turn in the weather I decided that long pyjamas were needed and there, wouldn't you know, nestled in among my pyjamas was my long lost belt.  I'd given up finding it, and of course had that day received an email to say my new belt was on its way.  

I knew that would happen, but you know just finding this belt made me so happy.  Partly because I have my belt back, but mostly because the mystery has been solved, and my brain can now stop imagining bizarre and even more bizarre scenarios and hiding places for my belt.  It's been missing since the start of the month, and had been playing on my mind.  But now it's found.  Phew.

Blogger Showcase: Sarah from Five Step Sarah

1. Who are you? 

Hello! I'm a newbie blogger from a small town in northern Idaho. Writing has always been one of my favorite hobbies, so it's been very exciting to turn my hobby into a potential career. I love the outdoors, crafts/DIY, spending time with my 4-year-old son, my boyfriend, and my pets. I'm passionate about helping others, so my blog is all about making life easy! 

2. How did you discover blogging?

I was (and still am) tired of my 8-5 job and I was searching for a way to make income from home. I found a group about starting a monetised blog, and decided to make the leap.

3. Why did you start blogging?

I have a wonderful 4-year-old son that I'd love to spend more time with. I'd love to do more camping, hiking, and exploring with my family and most importantly, I'd love to be my own boss! I feel very restricted by my full-time job, like I'm missing out on my son's childhood, missing out on trips and experiences, missing out on LIFE, so I started my blog with the hopes of eventually being able to quit my job and blog full time.

4. What do you find most challenging?

Currently it's been very challenging to find the time to work on my blog. With a full-time job, a child, pets, and a house to take care of, it's difficult to find time to sit down and write. 

5. What is your favourite topic to write about?

I really enjoy writing posts that could potentially help someone. Money-saving tips, household DIY, and parenting topics are fun for me to write. I stick to the rule of 5. My posts are 5 ingredients, minutes, things, thoughts, etc. I want my blog to be a source that can help people, and my rule of 5 makes my posts easier for my readers to follow, understand, and implement. 

6. Are you blogging for fun or do you have goals?

As I said previously, my goal is to eventually be a full-time blogger. The idea of escaping my desk job is what keeps me going and keeps me motivated to work on my blog. For now I'm working on short-term goals like finding brands to work with, making connections, growing my social media, and creating content. My long term goals are financial freedom and being my own boss!

7. What is your favourite thing about blogging?

I've gained a lot of great new friends and acquaintances in the blogging community. I love how supportive bloggers are to each other and I've really enjoyed getting to know other people from different countries and areas. It's great to see who's out there and what they have to offer! It's also been a great joy for me to get back into writing and learn new skills that are required to keep a blog up and running. 

8. What are your three best posts?

Here are three that I am proud of:

• Money saving tips

• Meal-prep egg cups

• Reducing your plastic waste

9. Describe yourself in 3 words

Positive, creative, driven. 

10. Are you a tea and biscuits or coffee and cake person? 

I am most definitely a coffee and cake person. My blood is probably 75% coffee! I also have a terrible sweet tooth. 

11. What's your idea of the perfect night out? 

I rarely have nights out but when I do I love to get dressed up and go to dinner with my boyfriend, and then catch up with our friends and have a few drinks. There's also a painting class that I love going to where you do a wine tasting as you paint! 

12. Your perfect night in?

One of my favourite things to do is rent a couple of movies, order pizza, and stay up late watching our movies. We usually do this on Friday or Saturday night so there's no stress of getting my son to bed on time or getting up early for work. My son loves this because he gets to pick out whatever movie he wants and we always have popcorn, which is our favourite special snack! Plus, ordering pizza means I get a break from cooking dinner and doing dishes!

13. What would your best friend/OH/mum or kids say is your best quality?

People around me tend to describe me as strong but sweet and kind-hearted. I'm also the friend that always gets enlisted to help with craft/DIY projects due to my creativity and artistic abilities.

Thanks Sarah for sharing more about you and your blog.  Before you link up take a moment to connect with Sarah on her social channels: Instagram  -  Pinterest  -  Facebook  -  Twitter.

If you'd like to be featured in a future blogger showcase, then please answer the questions and get in touch, and we'll sort out a date.

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