Knit & Natter...

...has become a bit more "Craft & Chatter".

The knitting & crochet are still going strong...

...as you can see from this beanie hat that has been completed on a knitting loom. However, we now have quite a few folk pop in just for a bit of 'colouring in'...

 ...often for just 10 or 20 mins but they are enjoying being able to get away from their desks to do something a little creative.
Most folk who come along to knit have their own projects that they are working on but over the months we have managed to complete these squares...

...and there are another two almost finished so we will have our first cot blanket completed by the group. The squares tend to be something that folk 'pick up' out of our supplies box to do if they have forgotten to bring their own project with them.

The group is continuing well and it is lovely to see that we have some regulars as well as a few folk who only pop in now and then. It was well worthwhile starting this group and so lovely seeing what folk have made over the time that we have been meeting.............................................................

Fundraising for the RNLI...

...is still going strong.

I sent out an email to everyone at work asking for donations that we could use as raffle prizes and folk certainly 'stepped up to the mark'.

These were the photos I took just before the Easter weekend...

...and there have been a few additions since. People are so very generous.

What with end of year performance reviews and a complete restructuring of our line of business things have been a little slow on the charity front. However, even with just the trickle coming in from book & craft sales we have managed to almost reach £900. It is hoped that our raffle will boost interest and we should make the £1000 by the end of May - fingers crossed.

I have to say a very BIG thank you to everyone who has contributed to the fundraising.

It has been an interesting year of fundraising - book sales, craft sales, shipping forecast sweepstakes, raffles and afternoon cream teas - all done without any 'hard sell' as I didn't want folk to feel pressured into participating.

I will be continuing with the fundraising for the RNLI as I think it is a very worthy cause - I just need to come up with some ideas for the coming year to keep interest high..........................................

A stitch...

...in time.

I said that I'd done some more crochet over the Easter weekend...

 ...isn't this yarn pretty. The green & lemon combination is perfect for the season.
The knitting needles got a fair bit of exercise too...

 ...with this yarn being more for the Autumn. Such a lovely 'Fall'  combo of shades...

...even when fuzzy photos are taken LOL.

I really wasn't going to buy any more yarn until I had used up more of my stash but these were a temptation I just couldn't resist...................................................

Easter...

...in true British weather style.

The weather forecast for the Easter weekend was not great and in parts of the UK there was even the promise of SNOW. However, in my neck of the woods the temps certainly dropped but we didn't get the terrible rain storms that we had been threatened with.

On the whole, the weather in the UK has been pretty good for the last few weeks but it has taken the day a little while to get going with mornings often dull & chilly.

The other end of the day has been quite muted too.

What warmth there has been during the day has caused many evenings to be hazy/misty...

 ...but this creates quite a lovely effect when looking at the Sun going down...

 ...through the shadow of the trees...

...and the colours of the sunset have been quite soft.

The biggest problem I have had this weekend has been trying to decide whether to risk making a start on some more of the outside painting. However, with the forecast for my area being so unfavourable I really didn't want to start on something that would have to be left mid-way. I did consider painting the front door as it is sheltered from the elements but who wants to have all their heating disappearing outside as the door would have needed to stay open whilst the paint dried.

So the Easter weekend has seen nothing in the way of outside décor and to be honest not much has gone on inside either - other than dipping into a few Christmas movies. Yep, you read that right - True Movies had a whole day (Easter Sunday) of Christmas movies...go figure.

No decorating achieved but I did get a lot of crochet done.............................................................

Sunny days...

...chilly nights.

We have been really lucky the last couple of weeks. The weather has been very kind.

It seems quite strange seeing folk out & about in t-shirts & shorts during March/April.

Mornings have been quite chilly and often foggy and yes, we have had the odd spot of quite heavy rain...but on the whole things have been rather lovely. Lovely enough to switch the heating off.

However, later evening time I have been tempted to put it back on a couple of times but this is where my current crochet project has been a boon.

Using a variegated yarn in shades of blue with a hint of lemon, I have been making a throw for my bed...

 ...and as you can see, it currently covers the top of the double bed...

 ...but needs to be a bit bigger so that it hangs over the sides. The colours are really pretty...

 ...and I love the effect created by the random shading of the yarn.
This is the bundle folded...

...and I can assure you that it has quite a bit of weight to it.

With the evenings still being a bit on the cool side it is lovely to snuggle under this lovely soft blanket as I continue to crochet around the edge. No chance of feeling cold under this lot.

Today is our knit & natter group at work and the blanket will not be going with me as it is now far too big to carry easily to & fro on a commuter train. So I have a newly started blanket to take and a few little knitting items to get stuck into.

The weather tis morning is very bright but a lot cooler than it has been. Let's hope we don't get the suggested snow for Easter....................................................................

I did say...

...the fencing was looking a bit tired.

This is how the back gate looked....

 ...very shabby and scruffy where the previous coat of stain had faded & worn.
The two pots of pansies...

 ...dropped neatly into the two planters by the front door...

 ...and a drop of water soon had them looking perky.
However, here is the back gate after its coat of "Forest Green"...

...it certainly looks a lot tidier but it will probably need a second coat.

I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the new colour (despite my doubts) so it looks like I'm going to be busy for a while. Let's hope Mother Nature is kind and provides a few dry & bright weekends over the next few weeks. Good job Easter weekend is coming up soon.........................................................................

What a week...

...so much to do, so little time.

It is the end of the performance year at work and everyone has been busy putting together their self-appraisals. It is not a time of the year that anyone enjoys as there so much pressure to get everything you want/need to say into 500 words.

For me as a manager, there are 12 x 500 words to read through and 12 x 1-2-1 chats to carry out.

It doesn't tend to leave a lot of time or energy for much else.

However, despite everything that has been going on - Mother Nature decided to grace us with s few lovely days with temps more like Summer than Spring.

The grass got a trim and I started to look at fence panels & planters that had become very shabby over the Winter.

Probably the easiest thing to do would have been to just stick with the current fence colour - Red Cedar - but no...I decided I needed a change and ended up spending far longer at my local DIY super store than I intended.

I decided to change to Forest Green.

I got home, unpacked the car. Then the doubt kicked in.

So instead of getting stuck in on the fence at the front of the house, I had to 'try' the colour somewhere it wouldn't really show if I didn't like it.

I went for the back garden side of the back gate.

One & a half hours later...

The back gate is newly stained and looks very nice but I had forgotten how long it takes to get a good coverage as there are lots of nooks & crannies on the fencing.

This is not going to be a quick job.

Let's hope Mother Nature is generous with a few more lovely weekends so that I can actually get the front fence done.

The planters got a tidy and a couple of pots of lavender pansies but I have my eye on some sage coloured planters.

The next thing will be to give the front door a new coat of paint. Do I go for "Forest" or "Sage"?

Decisions, decisions...............................................................................