"If in April"

If in April

If in April snow still lies upon the ground

With icy patches on the path,

You slip and bruise your knee

But still can struggle up and say

"I know that Spring is on the way".

Then you've got guts, my dear.

And if a gale has roared for days

And all your shrubs have been uprooted

And half the fence has blown away,

So last year's gardening was all in vain,

Yet you can say "I'll start again".

Then you have pluck, my dear.

And if the rain is pouring down

And your garden's one gigantic puddle

With all your seedlings washed away,

But you can calmly say

"I'll have to sow again".

Then you are brave, my dear.

But if in April, inbetween the showers

You see a patch of bright blue sky

And smell the scent of newly opened flowers

And see the shoots are breaking on the bough

It's then I know that you will say

"Spring at last is here to stay".

Peggy Watkins (1920-2017)

Puppy Dream Cushions

  
I can't believe that it was back in 2014 that I wrote a post about some cushions I made with fabric from sample books that a shop near me was discarding. I showed pictures of some of the other fabrics, with my plans for more projects. But just typical, I didn't get round to any of my great plans.

But recently I noticed my knitted cushion covers have got very tatty, so I have finally used my free fabric to sew some new cushion covers. 

This material is so velvety, and what I like is I would have never thought to combine the colours and patterns in this way, if I had not got these sample pieces. I did have to buy some zips (thank you Fabricland), and some backing material.

So although I know this is not the way to keep your new cushions in good order, they are clearly soft enough to let a puppy have sweet dreams.

Yarn Bombing

In Herne Bay, and once again they have been yarnbombing on the pier. It is nearly a year since I last took photos here. I was really impressed with the new displays. Here are two that appealed to me the most. The remembrance poppies were simple, but really effective. I like that the flowers are not all exactly the same colour. And I also liked this crochet peacock, which has been really well-thought out.

Meet Rosie

Meet Rosie, our new puppy. She has not been with us a week yet, but we are all in love with her. I expect you will be seeing a lot more of her, and perhaps this will become a dog blog. I haven't done much crafting since she arrived, and am having to keep all my knitting on a high shelf.  I have been banned from making her a dog coat, but ha, we will see about that.

We have never had a dog before, so it is a bit of a learning experience. At the moment it is just like having a new baby. She sleeps a lot, and then has short bursts of extreme playfulness. She is very relaxed and nice natured, and good at night. I can't wait for when we can take her out for walks.

 

I have tried really hard to get a photo of her playing, but so far none of them have turned out. I realise she looks doleful in all these photos, which is not really her character, but just how she looks when I point my camera at her.