Spring Zing

We've had a bit of a hiccup in the Spring weather here, with rumours of snow on the nearby hills in the past few days. Nevertheless I've been stitching away at a couple of little spring scarves for myself. Here's my favourite one still on my needles.

It's a Patons viscose-cotton blend called Sorrento. It reminds me of the eighties slubby cotton knit tops that a friend of mine used to wear. I'm just increasing at the beginning and end of every row to form a wide triangle. 

Lemonade

It's a beautiful warm spring day. Yesterday I made lemonade. It was easy and today it's cool and tangy. So is the green wool which I've just pulled from my drying rack.

I've had a busy week and not quite enough sleep, so a sleepy sunny afternoon is just what I feel like today. 

Promise of Spring

I mentioned a new lovely lace yarn in yesterday's post. Here it is:




















It reminds me of spring and believe me, that is a good thing. It's winter in Melbourne and it's been a particularly cold and grey July. I know it's really cold and grey because even the people who have grown up in Melbourne are complaining. So the soft greens of spring with an occasional glint of sunshine is just what I need.

Spring Day

After a morning of bright blue skies, we've had a bit of grey rainy weather. Now it's undecided, which is a pretty good summary of a Melbourne Spring day. I'm sharing the sentiment. I've had a slow start: a bit of cooking and cleaning up, interspersed with a nap or two. I'm just beginning to feel as if I'm ready to start the day, and it's lunch-time already. These geranium buds are a little more confident.
They're growing in hanging pots outside my north window and are just starting to cheer the place up. I've got a list of phone calls to make and work to do in the garden as well as the usual indoor tasks. I guess I'll wait and see how long the sunshine and my energy last.

Tulip Time

What better way to celebrate the Spring Equinox than to visit a Tulip Festival in the Dandenong foothills! I was more focussed on humans than I normally would be in a situation like this, but despite that, I have come home with hundreds of flower photos--probably enough for a tulip a day for the next year. Rather than choosing carefully, I'll just give you the first tulip of the day: It was a day for using my macro lens. That's a good thing. It was also a day for much bending and crouching to get close enough to the flowers to get the shots I wanted. That's not such a good thing. I have so many aching muscles today! Oh well, I guess it's another aspect of beauty and pain--or is it another activity for my mythical textile gym?

Welcome Spring

Most years I'm a bit skeptical about welcoming Spring on the 1st of September, but this is pretty convincing:

That's my Silver Princess gum tree. Look at all that beautiful new growth! There are dozens of delicate little tips like that all over the tree. And yes, the sky really is that colour blue this morning.

Now remember, this is Melbourne and the forecast is for 16 and partly cloudy, so who knows what will happen next. There was snow overnight in the mountains. I've got my heater on in the living room and crocheting a wool blanket which is draped over my legs as I work is quite comfortable, but despite all that, it does feel like spring. Maybe I'm finally getting used to what Melbourne spring feels like after more than ten years away from Sunny Queensland.