Monday 23 April 2012

Spring greens

Soggy geraniums

It is raining outside.  A constant drip-drip-drip for pretty much the past ten days.  Living in East London this is a novelty because we haven't had any significant rainfall all winter, and we are now officially in drought.  I am rather excited about the rain, because I haven't seen it for so long.

Dripping lilac

The garden is green and lush - I'm not allowed to use a hosepipe any more because of the water shortage, but I don't need to at the moment.  I've been buying geraniums, herbs and lavenders for the garden, and potting them up a few at a time, when the rain eases to a drizzle.  The vivid pinks of the geranium flowers, mixed in with the bright, wet greens of all the grass and shrubbery, is very pleasing to the eye.

Soggy patio plants, waiting for planting

And when the rain gets too heavy, I come back inside and pick up my knitting, which is in the same shade of vivid spring green. 

French spring green shawl
French spring green shawl

I am knitting myself another shawl from this pattern, but instead of the multicoloured sock yarn version I did last time, I am making this one from a green linen and wool handspun yarn that I bought with Mum in France over Easter. 

Walking through Bruniquel
Walking through Bruniquel to the castle.  We filled Mum's basket with yarn.
A French textile fair - excitement!
A poster for Bruniquel's textile fair
We heard that there was a textile fair at a local castle, and went along on a cool, wet day much like today, not really knowing what to expect.  What we found was the most amazing selection of hand spun and hand dyed yarns and knitted and felted garments from right across the South of France.  Mum dived in to the mohairs, alpacas and angoras, and I was captivated by the linen blends and the bright colours.  We filled Mum's basket with yarn - a modest three skeins each - and came home with hastily scribbled notes about needle size and yarn blends stuffed into our pockets.

The colour of this green yarn was exactly the same shade as the new oak leaves bursting forth in the French forests while we were there, and now it is the exact same shade as the geranium leaves in London.  Perfect.
French spring green shawl

11 comments:

  1. That yarn looks gorgeous ... I can feel it just looking at it ... it's going to make a gorgeous shawl Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Part of me is pleased about the rain, but I am fed up of dodging showers. Your shawl is such a pretty colour.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That is the most amazing colour yarn. What a lovely shawl it will make.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I need to remind myself of those needle sizes....and then I can knit some handwarmers!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love that colour green xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh lovely yarn, it will be a wonderful summer shawl. It is the exact colour of all the new leaves on the hedge in my front garden. I am impressed you have managed some gardening amongst all the downpours, I have some sweetpeas I want to plant up but have braved the rain so far.xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh goodness, you sure know how to make me envious with your pictures of cobbled streets, baskets and hand-dyed yarns! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's so odd to hear about drought, when we're nearly always dodging raindrops. Still. Good for the plants.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That green yarn is luscious. I love a good downpour, me, which is lucky having moved back to Wales. Your garden looks like it's really flourishing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the photo of your mum walking up that cobbled lane. Happy knitting!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That yarn really is a perfect spring green colour - full of the energy of a budding leaf. It is good to be seeing some rain after so long a dry period but I do wish it could rain at night and be dry by day as I'd like to get out and do some planting too and I can't quite persuade myself to do so in the pouring rain!

    ReplyDelete

Even though I often do not have the time to reply to everybody, I really appreciate all your comments so much - thank you for taking the time to read my blog and share your thoughts on what I've written.