I can now purl, which is brightening up this so far dark and windy February. Of course, mild weather has it's perks... I'm sure...someone help me here... but nothing says "Wake up, it's time to enjoy life!" like a brilliant blue sky. 

Learning purl has already started opening my eyes to more pattern ideas, for example I could knit-purl for a weekday and then knit-knit for a weekend - creating a much easier to read diary of the year. Something to consider for next year perhaps!

Putting some of my handmade paper to good use in a re-useable goals check list. I'm using eye liner and tipex because dry wipe markers are notoriously smeary, and wet-wipe have disappeared from the shops. 

I'm really happy with this project, it allows me to look at my handmade papers every day as well as stay on track with my goals over the next six months, as I prepare for teacher training.

A quick photo tutorial for anyone looking to recycle some tin cans - word of advice, simple acrylic spray paint like the Montana range worked much better than the acrylic spray specifically designed for metal - beware!

Today I baked my first ever bread rolls after being inspired by a friend. 

The recipe called for 650g of strong white flour, I used 620g strong white flour, 20g milled linseed and 10g rolled oats to add a bit of wholesome flavour. I used sunflower oil, but next time I'll try melting butter instead.

I'm really happy with how these have come out -  they are more than edible! 

Just watch out for the burnt parchment paper on the base... any advice anyone?

Feeling inspired by my garden sprouting into life, I decided to use some stashed modelling clay to mark out which herb is which on my kitchen windowsill. This has been mostly guesswork.. so lets hope I got the names right!

I ended up with some beautiful markers which I'm very proud of, using clay, a teabag, PVA glue, and a lot of patience!

I decided to wing it with thicker markers, intricate leaves, and to stain my markers using concentrated tea.

Step 3: Leave to dry. Do not touch for 24 hours. Also - leave on a smooth surface, or the backs will become imprinted too. 

Step 4: Smooth off the rough sides very gently - the clay will still be a bit moist at this point. I used an old scalpel blade. 

Step 5: After a further 24 hours you are ready to paint the markers. Boil water and soak a teabag in a little water - just enough to paint the markers. I went all over the markers once, and then concentrated painting tea into just the imprints for another 4-5 times. 

Step 6: You guessed it, wait another day. The markers will be dry now, and can be painted with PVA glue or varnish to seal them.  I then wrote the names of my plants on the back - here is Parsley's marker in action

And that's all there is to it! 

13 overcast
7 days of blue peeping around the clouds
6 disgustingly rainy and windy days (that's right - only 6!)
4 days of brilliant blue sky
& 1 day of snow!

What a brilliant January it's been. 

Our unseasonal sun and incredibly heavy rain has started coaxing my garden back to life.. here's a round up of my veggy patch at the end of Jan. Over the next year I'm also planning to grow beans, courgettes, a couple of tomato plants and plenty of broccoli. 

Having loved the textured frame I made a couple of weeks ago, I went ahead with decoupaging the drawers I had got from a charity shop a while back. I'll put them to good use filled with embellishments for my craft work - ribbons, threads, stamps and buttons :)

P.S. The numbering of my crafts may seem a little haphazard, if you haven't seen my post on craftster, which is what they refer to. 

I've been feeling really under the weather so picked a quick craft to cheer me up! I masking taped up stripes on 3 terracotta pots, and used old wall paint to brighten them.. I wasn't too concerned with a perfect finish, since nothing seems to last too long in the garden! 

These will be planted up in March with my sweet pea seedlings, which I have just cut back to encourage growth; especially important since they aren't looking too healthy. 

I've also taken some advice from my Reader's Digest "Gardening Year" and moved my cold frame onto the soil. This way I was able to "plunge pots up to their rims in peat" - well, almost!

Do you have any more ideas for how to liven up my peas?