Happy Midsummer or Midwinter :)

It seems like forever since I wrote a ‘New to Me’ post to link up with Fiona At Celtic Thistle Stitches – it’s so long, in fact, that I felt sure it was on the 15th of the month and I’ve just realised it’s not until 25th! No matter. I do have a couple of new things to share this month.

I have been crocheting Granny Stripes (which I’ve never tried before) and I’m confident I will have a blanket finished by the next Wool on Sundays.

And I’ve re-newed my kitchen tablecloth. The photo on the left, below, was originally an upcycle from two quilts, which were too small to be very useful and I loved this quilted cloth but it had become horribly faded by the sun so I dyed it. I had to choose a colour dark enough to cover the red so I went for navy blue and found I’d quilted in dye resistant white :( But I think it’s ok with a vintage cloth on top and it definitely looks an improvement.

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Apart from that, it’s been VERY hot. If you’re in Australia, I’m sure you’ll think 30+ degrees is nothing but with out humidity and lack of acclimatisation it’s been plenty hot enough! Today has been the hottest June day and this has been the hottest ‘prolonged period in June’ since 1976. It’s not quite new to me. I was ten years old in 1976 and I spent the rest of my childhood and many other rainy Summers hoping for a repeat but it is unusual and was certainly new to Poppy and Fiona.

I’m actually hoping that these clouds in the West this evening are blowing in with some cooler weather. Thunder storms (which I love) are forecast tonight and then a band of rain, which I would welcome after all the gardening I’ve been doing lately – not too much rain though! As the sun was setting tonight, the birds were much quieter than usual but there was a huge hullaballoo of cows echoing all around the hills so I don’t doubt change is coming…

In the garden, the most exciting ‘new to me’ has been a bird family that took up residence in a box nailed to the oak by people who lived here before us. I’m glad I eventually got around to taking these photos yesterday (even though the sun wasn’t in a good place) because today these noisy little birds found themselves so well fattened by the extraordinary quantity of insects and caterpillars their long suffering mother has been fetching and carrying to them for weeks, that they managed to fly away.

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My other ‘new to me’s are less interesting. I have managed to get the whole vegetable garden weed-free (which, sadly won’t last long) and tried to net broccoli and kale making hoops from tensioning wire. It looks ridiculous and I don’t recommend it but everything was free and the proof will be in the eating!

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And we have new-this-year courgettes and some runner beans grown, which is a new-ever to have by midsummer. Staying on the kitchen table all through April (owing to frosts) obviously didn’t do them any harm!

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I hope next month I’ll have more crafty ‘new to me’s to link :)

Janine @Rainbow Hare

I’m linking this post with Fiona at Celtic Thistle for New to Me: