rubykittyruby

  Another sunny day, and it's amazing the countryside's so green & lush when we've not had more than the merest sprinkle of raindrops for the best part of two months.  I was hoping for a bumper crop of strawberries on my allotment, but the plants are desperately thirsty and I don't reckon I'll be scoffing bowlfuls of plump, juicy berries this year. But at least the foxgloves are almost ready to flower, and they've self-seeded everywhere.  It should be quite a show.   A couple of years ago, at least, I planted a packet of red clover seeds, and not a single one germinated.  Then, low and behold, look what's popped up.  The seeds must've been lying dormant until conditions suited them.   A patch of this also appeared.  I know it's a plant classed as a 'green manure' as it's good for the soil, but can't recall it's actual name.  However, it's a bee magnet.  They absolutely love it, and we've all got to do our bit to help t...

  Yesterday was my monthly StitchArt session at the local art gallery, and very enjoyable it was too.  We trooped upstairs to a room I'd not been in before.  (Honestly, the building is like a maze!)  We were concentrating on one particular abstract painting, but there were plenty of others to provide us with inspiration.  The session was all about colour and about applying paint to fabric.   Firstly, there were some stunning pictures in the gallery.  I particularly liked this 'Off the Irish Coast' by Jack B Yeats.  The colours were much more vivid than can be seen in this photo, with brilliant blues and green in the seawater and soft pinks and pale purples in the sky.  (Apologies for the wonky-ness of my photos.  I was trying to take them without getting in anyone else's way.) Here's another beauty.  'Silver Estuary' by C R W Nevinson, showing a scene near Rye in East Sussex.   However, the painting we concentrated on...

  Irises are the strangest looking flowers, aren't they?  These purple ones on my allotment are flowering, and they're such a beautiful colour.   There aren't many flowers on my plot at the moment.  The hyacinths have finished, the tulips are nearly over, but the Love-in-a-mist are about to emerge in their jewel-like shades of pink, purple and blue.  Also the vivid orange of Calendula.  That should keep the bees happy and well fed.   Back at home, I've been finishing a couple of crafty projects that've hung around for too long.  I stretched this fishy embroidery over a square of cardboard, then added a felt backing and a hanging loop.  (Funny, but until I took this photo I never realised the doors on the bookcase weren't hanging entirely level.  How could I not have noticed?) I also made the stripey binding for this wall hanging.   It's waiting for me to hang it on the wall, which I will get around to.  Honestly,...

It's been glorious weather, and I really am getting used to the sun shining.  That's not always guaranteed around Easter and the May Bank Holiday.  In the garden these cowslips are starting to go over, but the flowers have been so pretty.   This peony is doing well, and it should have plenty of blooms in the coming months.  I was passing a market stall today and the chap was selling these for £2.00 each or three for a fiver.  Well, it would've been daft not to treat myself, wouldn't it?  I really like the moody colouring of the Heuchera, and I've always liked lupins, especially the way water drops settle on their leaves after rainfall.  Like little jewels.  Echinacea is a plant I've tried several times to grow from seed, but not had a lot of success, so I was pleased to find this plant.  It should hopefully result in vibrant pink flowers that'll be very attractive to bees.   I've also been doing my regular rounds of the charity...