Getting Edgy Again

Hi everybody, and thank you all for the comments you left on my last post. 

I have now finished the second of the pair of pillowcases edged in green and blue, and have since moved on to a few more. Am loving these crochet trims and am on a bit of a roll with them!

Several people have asked what yarn I used for the blue and green crochet trim, and I have since worked out that it must be Patons 100% Cotton DK, a mercerised cotton, based on finding a ball of this in my stash with the label still wrapped round it.

It makes up beautifully and is machine washable.

I found this pillowcase below that I edged with a simple crochet trim several years ago, but I crocheted the trim first and stitched it on afterwards rather than doing blanket stitch then crocheting into that, as I have above.

 I might have a go at some more like this as I like the pretty, subtle edge they add. You could add them to a vintage pillowcase or just perk up some of your current pillowcases. As I'm usually trying to give new life to unwanted fabrics, I like perking up any clean and good conditioned vintage ones I find.

I bought a few balls of Sirdar Calico cotton yarn last week, in white, primrose, pale pink and a pale apricot, as I managed to find another couple of sets of vintage floral pillowcases in the charity shop, again only 50p each.

The photo below was taken at night so the colours don't show up well. The pale pink looks more like the colour in the second photo below.

This is one of the vintage pillowcase sets I found, covered in sprigs of yellow tulips ( I think ), and I have trimmed them with a lovely coral Sirdar Calico DK yarn (60% Cotton, 40% Acrylic) from my stash, combined with a pale lime green Sirdar Luxury Soft Cotton 4 ply (100% Cotton) to pick out the colour of the tiny leaves. 

I now wish I had used the Patons mercerised cotton for the contrast green though, as this 4 ply kept splitting as it's very like a 6 strand embroidery thread, and it also wasn't really thick enough. 

It also didn't have the same visual impact as the Patons, and instead of giving that strong pop of colour I was after, like the green and blue trim, it looks scanty!

This new crochet book arrived at the weekend - I think I saw it mentioned over on Annette's blog My Rose Valley, and thought it looked a goody. 

Full of lots of inspiring granny squares for all levels of crocheters, with both written and diagrammatic instructions, and some project ideas too.

Moving away from crochet, it struck me this morning whilst doing the washing up, that the basil on my windowsill is still going strong.

I've had this pot of basil since last spring, when I sowed a large pot of basil seeds in the greenhouse, and it's been flourishing on my kitchen windowsill ever since, providing fresh basil leaves for numerous dishes throughout summer, autumn and winter. It is still producing new leaves even now although some parts have died back.

This prompted me to take my camera outside this morning into the soggy and sad garden to see what is happening out there, and I spotted a few hopeful signs.

The first daffodil......

a scattering of the first purple crocus, closed against the rain and dull grey sky

a lone bright pink cyclamen hiding under a rhodedendron...............

This hellebore I planted last spring, and as the weather has been so foul for weeks and weeks, I still haven't yet taken off the leaves as advised by Alan Titchmarsh.

This shouldn't be flowering yet!

A single snowdrop

new foliage unfurling on a rose bush

lots of bright orange berries for the birds

.................last years trailing blue lobelia in the hanging baskets is regenerating................

................and indeed is still producing the odd flower!

Sprouting fuschia against a backdrop of wet leaves............

And although the sun is trying to come out now, after a very wet morning when Logan and I got drenched walking in the muddy, soggy orchards, I think I shall just settle down to some more of this.........

Have a good week everybody!