We are currently repainting the entire house - basement walls, decks,weatherboards and when not scraping, sanding or painting we are building gardens - our front garden is flat, then has a row of native trees where it slopes rapidly down to the road, we have planted a mixed orchard, a rose garden (to deter intruders from climbing the fence into the entertainment area) with stunning Dublin Bay, City of Sails and Mrs Wakefield (white with the heady scent of turkish delight!) roses, and now a "council special" to camouflage a large manhole which was an eyesore - take a large pile of compost,dump it in the area to be enhanced (avoid covering the manhole) plant an assortment of grasses, hebes and cabbage trees to ensure a a pleasing arrangement of heights, textures and colour, cover with mulch (placing a large rock on the manhole cover for future access) stand back and admire.
In the moments between the episodes of hard labour I have been working on the long shorts I envisioned to work with the baby aran from the previous post (now named 'Clipper") I started them on 2 circs and think I will write the pattern using that technique as it is so easy for working decreases and generally just seeing where you are at, I am inordinately delighted with the gusset shapings front and back and am now working out the waistband - I think I'll go with the adjustable button elastic in a casing worked with 4 ply instead of the 8 ply I am working with - to reduce bulk, and maybe a partial drawstring (for the cuteness factor more than usefulness!) Next the hat - Blaise is pushing for a tam, but I have something a bit more sculptural in mind...
