A few photos from this weekend.

First, somewhat prosaic but none the less beautiful for that.
I actually managed to wash these bedclothes and get them out on the line and they were mostly dry just over an hour later, just slightly damp around some of the edges. It was a wonderful spring day, breezy but with glorious sunshine and blue skies. I did take them in just after taking this photo though as about one minute later, this appeared:

Followed by this: Better safe than sorry and I was glad I had brought them in as the rain fell on and off through the afternoon building up to a big storm last night. I normally try to rotate by bedclothes a bit but once these had finished drying inside on the back of a chair I just put them straight back on the bed. Just love the smell of fresh air in bed.


Otherwise this weekend I spent most of my time knitting. It's my last class this Tuesday and so I wanted to be finished so that I can spend that last class putting it all together and learning tips for finishing. Here's where I am now: I've also knit the neckband (on the bus into work this morning) so this evening I just need to finish the other arm. I've got a much better handle on the rib at this stage though so it shouldn't take as long as the first one did. Hopefully I haven't just jinxed myself by saying that. Despite having made it a couple of inches longer in the back and the front than given in the pattern it still feels a bit short to me but I'm hoping that once it's all sewn together and I'm actually wearing it, the weight will drag the rib down a bit rather than being as springy as it is at the moment.

And finally, the bread I made yesterday as well. Not quite the small cake of soda bread I intended (this is about twice the size it would normally be) but close enough. I had no ordinary wholemeal flower left so used wholegrain spelt flour instead. I was also a bit generous with the liquid, I think spelt just takes a bit longer to absorb or something so I thought it was dry and added some extra water (didn't have enough buttermilk left) which then left me with a much too wet mixture. Decided to just bung it in the oven and see what happened and got what might be the nicest bread I've made for a while. It could probably have done with a few more minutes in the oven as it's a touch doughy in the middle but it makes the best toast I've had for a long time.

I also found some phalcelia seeds left over from last year and sowed a good lot down at the back of the garden in the shady spot where very little else will grow. At least we might attract a few more bees in with it.

And, to my surprise, I found this growing from a plant I thought might have finished already. I didn't think carnations flowered more than a year or two and since this is technically this plant's third year and, since it is only March (carnations are supposed to flower July to September) I wasn't expecting to see a flower. Smells divine though.