This is the best bit of my daily walk to work - crossing the Forth and Clyde canal between locks 26 and 27. The canals in Scotland were all overhauled as part of a year 2000 project and ever since, they've been really well maintained and are great to walk along or lounge beside.
Here are a couple of photos of my pride and joy - my garden. This year I'm growing broad beans, lettuce, spinach, strawberries, spring onions and leaks in containers and tumbler tomatoes in a hanging basket. I've also got a rockery full of useful kitchen herbs. I've always loved growing my own food but this house has quite a small garden so I've had to be a bit inventive about how to get the most from it. Last year I grew potatoes in sacks against the back fence which was a huge sucess but as we're hoping to be moving house later in the summer, I didn't want to risk potatoes this year. I get very excited at this time of the year when everything starts growing quickly - the broad beans have grown about 4 inches in a week and the lilies have shot up about a foot in three weeks.
Finally we have a bit of yarn content. This is some Hipknits aran weight silk I found in the reduced bin here (the last few skeins of this colour in stock) which is destined for this pattern. Finally I feel like I've found my summer project and now I have to track down some 4/0 silver-lined seed beads so I can get started. I'm normally fairly monogamous in my knitting - I rarely have more than one major project on the needles at once but Betty is getting to me (though more progress has been made - I'm nearly at the arm-hole decreases on the back) and I need something to feed my desire for something a bit more glamourous! I think this pattern will hit the spot. I think I may even have enough yarn left over to crochet an evening bag to go with the stole.
