Hello lovely people!

I have somehow developed this way of greeting my vlog viewers every time now. Not sure how it started. But my readers and viewers ARE all lovely people and I’m grateful for you. (My YouTube channel is Stitches and Slapdashery.)

So what’s been happening in May? Good grief, when you get to the end of a month how are you supposed to remember what happened at the beginning?

One of my non-making projects for this month has been to start looking for a new part-time job. So far, it hasn’t been fruitful. However I have started doing the markets, selling my bags locally in a nearby town. The first market was a one-off indoor market, where I did manage to make more than I paid for the table space. It was a good “trial run” for the outdoor markets, as for that first one I didn’t have to lug my tent, weights and chair along.

The first outdoor farmers and crafters market was a learning curve, and it was a bit cool and a bit damp. I was well wrapped up the whole time, even down to the fingerless mitts. I sold a few things but didn’t cover the cost of being there. I know things will ramp up as summer hits and the tourists start to outnumber the locals!

Obviously I have continued to sew stuff for my table. After that first market, I felt like I wanted to wait and see what was popular, so activity dropped off somewhat. Rather than batch sew things I have been making single bags out of denim. The inspiration can come from a YouTube tutorial or just from the fabric itself.

Knitting and crochet is ongoing too. I have been affected by startitis, which basically means that my WIPs can be a little neglected while I cast on/hook on something new. I have five WIPs – Ravelry link here https://www.ravelry.com/projects/NicolaKnits though the latest one just needs the ends woven in. And I haven’t yet created a project page for the beanie that I started while at the market and continued while walking yesterday.

My experiments with sourdough bread were initially promising but the last two attempts have been inedible. They didn’t puff up at all during baking and I think I’ve figured out that I haven’t let my starter get bubbly enough before making dough. I’ll keep trying.

It’s been a rainy May, what I’m calling a REAL spring! Most years, we are wilting from the heat halfway through May and it only gets worse from there. But we’ve been getting much cooler temperatures than usual which has allowed the garden to green up and stay green much longer. We can still see that some of the trees are in distress. The leaves have been slower to appear and are still patchy in places. The apricot tree may be done for good.

I’ll add my photos for the month below, and sign off for now. Thanks for reading.