Summer in Ireland is a fleeting thing! Our unpredictable four-seasons-in-one-day climate means that a balmy evening can turn chilly in a heartbeat, and a day that starts out grey and drizzly can transform into a real scorcher by lunchtime. That’s why the very second we see a blink of sunshine here, we drop everything and rush outside to enjoy it… because in five minutes it could be pouring again!
So I’m sure you can understand why I was delighted to get a sunny morning while I was away in the west of Ireland with Explorer Beastie last week. And I brought my camera along to capture all the colours of the Irish countryside, which have inspired the colour palette for my latest round of Barróg Beasties. In case you’re new to the BeastieBlog, Barróg Beasties are a subspecies of Beastie native to Ireland. They’re made from Irish wool, and sport particularly Irish accessories! They get their name from the Irish word “Barróg”, which means “hug”.
These are the colours I chose:
I picked blue and white to represent our summer skies – there’s usually a cloud or two up there somewhere!
And these colours match a couple of the plants you see at this time of the year too! On my wanderings, I found tiny blue forget-me-nots and a few tufts of bog cotton that had survived the recent downpours.
Of course, including green was a bit of a no-brainer.
And as for that rich bronze-brown… That’s what the bog looks like in summer! You can see it a bit in this picture – unfortunately the bog is incredibly tricky to capture in photos!
And finally, I chose purple because it’s just about everywhere right now – tangled through the hedgerows, creeping along the ground and peeking out from among the tall grasses!
And after all that (plus a bit of knitting), some Beasties appeared!
I’ll be giving each of them a unique Irish-inspired accessory today… I wonder what they’ll be?
PS WordPress tells me that this is my 100th post! Thanks to all my readers, especially those of you who have been here from the very beginning!
Life becomes brighter when I see a Beastie of yours and those nice new so Ireland inspired ones are tender indeed 💜💜💜
Awww, thank you Tajana! Your little purple hearts would fit in perfectly with the natural colours here at the minute too! Hope the weather has cooled down a bit where you are ☺
Oh,yeah,it has!! It is still hot but not like it was last week! I’m back on my bike and can tidy up my home at last!!! 😃😃😃
That’s a relief for you! Trying to do anything when it’s more than 30C is NOT fun… Especially cleaning! 😝
😀 😀 😀
I love your colour combo and your Beasties are fab! The purple is especially lovely x
Thanks Kate! I always welcome any excuse to pick up some new yarn…
Your nature inspired Beasties look oh so smart, I can’t wait to see what accessories you come up with….Ireland sure looks beautiful, I’m not surprised the countryside is such an inspiration
Cheers Roma! And you’re right, the Roscommon countryside certainly is inspiring… So much so that my relaxing break turned into a whirlwind of activity! Oh well, I suppose I’ll just have to book another trip to the farm sometime soon… 😀
LOL Who needs a relaxing break anyway, I’m sure you would much rather spend time bringing your wonderful Beasties to life 🙂
Yes… I’m not quite sure what I did with my time before I had Beasties to look after! And even when I take a day off, I usually end up doing a little bit of knitting or sewing. Craft addiction is a terrible thing!
Love the summer inspired beasties. Congrats on your 100th post
Thanks LucyAnn, hope your own summer crafting is going well 🙂
Congrats on 100 posts!. I love your nature photos 🙂
Thanks! I love getting out to take pictures in the countryside, especially when we get a sunny day ☺