... quite contrary

.. we grew some deep red poppies, something like this, and this year we have the original colour together with some variations in colour and texture. These poppies are all self-seeded, and get pulled up if they are in the way.

I took a petal from the original poppies and colour matched it to a paint card. A year or so later, in 2000, we had an extension built on the back of our house. I already knew before this wall was planned what colour it should be. Here is a petal from this year's poppies placed on the wall to verify how close the match is.

Another item that has taken years to show its worth is this rhododendron. Bought at this time of year, something like seven years ago, it has just flowered for the first time. I had forgotten what it might be like, so this was a pleasant surprise. The first colour showed on 19th May, and it has just gone over today.

The next question is whether I should repot it or just leave it?

And lastly, a quick tally of geranium flowers this year. I managed to find 15 different colours this morning. We do have more, but this is a candid shot taken when most are flowering.

Labels: garden, geraniums

A Saturday away from the Art Room. Finally, a day to enjoy on my own.

I woke early, but was too lazy to rush for the first train to London.

So I took the next one, arriving at St. Pancras round about 09.30.

Took the tube to East Putney, then strolled along to Stash only to find that I was 1/2 hour early. On the previous occasion that I tried to visit, a couple of years ago during a break in a conference, I arrived just after it closed on the Saturday and could only peer in through the window.

I went into the cemetery park behind the store to relax and wait for it to open.
There I came across Jackie and her dog "Lady".
We had a good chat, and I failed to get any more crocheting done.

I am using some handspun wool/silk mix using a complicated pattern, and am only on the third repeat having started it a month ago, so haven't memorised it yet.

At 11.00, I went to the store and found Nic was in, but teaching a sock class. I looked around, and it was so good to handle yarns I had only heard about. Although I see some at the shows, it isn't a relaxing environment to take stock of them then.

I ended up teaching Nathalie a slip stitch that I use a lot.

This is the only image I could find just now. (I must make a good sample and photograph it.)
I first found this stitch in a Swiss pattern book in 1971/2, and have only seen it a couple of times since, always in German publications.
It is great for colour mixing, and makes a warm fabric.

My lunch was a muesli bar from Mei's place a few doors down from Stash.

Leaving Putney I took the train to Waterloo and hunted down "I knit London".

Instinct should have taken me straight there, but I got a bit confused by the apparent number of sides that the station has. I arrived to find a small crowd that included Sue.
It soon got busy as people returned from the WWKIP treasure hunt they had run earlier in the day.

I did my best to browse the shelves, but gave up as it was hard to see them for the people. It was good to see that they have some Habu yarns.

Moving on, I loitered briefly in the Leake Street tunnel under the station. Crowds of people were there looking at what is left of the "Cans Festival" (stencilled art) held at the end of May.

This was just a brief interlude on my way to the Hayward Gallery to see the hyperbolic reef . This left a short while to visit the Royal Festival Hall for the British part of the reef, before heading back to St. Pancras and home.

There are too many inspiring parts to these reefs. What a pity that I had no camera with me.

Today I stayed at home, did laundry, re-found part of the path around the lawn and made bread. In the course of the day I cut back many hardy geraniums, and took samples of the flowers into the house in a shallow bowl. I could do with many more days like these!