These last couple of weeks have been full of handmade fun and a desire to get organized and finish up a few projects.

I had a bid tidy up of all my yarn odds and ends which had somehow ended up strewn accross the studio floor (naughty kitten Rubick adding to the chaos by chasing them under shelves and chairs and desks) and shoved them, rather unceremoniously, back in their relevant pidgeon holes in the Moji-Moji wall of yarn. It’s a little more haphazardly filled than it was originally but the colours are roughly in their correct places and the important thing is that I can see what I’ve got at a glance. So useful when I’m mid design and need to scan what colours I have as quickly as possible so as not to break the creative flow by getting distracted rummaging around in dark corners of shelves and hidden baskets. As an added bonus, it keeps them dust and cat hair free too.

In my ongoing bid to zazz up my studio and turn it into my dream space I finished turning the stripy sampler I began back in February into a cushion cover for my comfy crocheting chair by simply folding it over onto itself, crocheting down the sides and sewing on some buttons to the overlapped part. It’s a bit wobbly by anyone’s standards but it’s bright and cheerful and is the perfect size and optimum squishyness to add a bit of extra support to my crochet cricked spine. I’m planning on writing up a pattern for a similar sampler piece so will have a new one on the hook soon. Maybe this one will make it into a fully fledged blanket this time…

Some welcome time out of the studio was spent visiting The Handmade Fair at Ragley Hall where I was delightfully distracted from obsessing about crochet and deliciously drawn into having a dabble with some other crafts.

In all the excitement I forgot to take pictures while I was there, apart from this rather splendid wicker bear, but I took some snaps of my retail therapy treasure haul when I got home.

I treated myself to a charming bone china mug made by Julia Davey. I’m in love with all things woodland and was completely captivated by the whimsical characters making their way around the outside in such a pretty procession.

Any excuse for another cuppa!

My second stop in the marquee of handmade delights was at the Artcuts stand where there was a tempting collection of delicate die cuts on offer. I could have spent a fortune here but was as restrained as I could humanly be and settled for buying just one packet of rabbits, a packet of stars and a set of wooden bunting.

I’ve been stashing packs of self adhesive fabric from Tiger into my studio whever I’ve seen new colourways appearing and the bunting was the perfect reason to finally rip open the cellophane and start making inroads into it.

It really was as simple as cut, peel and stick. Such fun, and not a crochet hook in sight!

I decided to string it up like so. Some sturdy cotton thread and a few pretty beads to help keep the wooden flags slightly spaced was all I needed to add.

Everthing’s a toy to Rubick. Bunting no exception!

My floral and polka dotty bunting has ended up taking pride of place in my studio window. It may help to distract me from the fact that my garden is such a terrible weedy nightmare at the moment! With all the rain and this sudden burst of warm weather, green stuff of all descriptions has sprung up between every crack. Nature is forcing a takeover and I’m too busy crafting to care!

There were some eye dizzyingly beautiful selections of Japanese Chiyogami papers at The Handmade Fair that were far too pretty to leave behind.

A plumptious packet of scrumptios squares made it into my shopping bag, primarily with my youngest son in mind. He has had a thing for origami ever since he was little, so I felt sure he’d be inspired into action by these striking kimono inspired patterns.

He loved the patterns and soon got busy. I had the bonus of a hands on origami lesson from him and can now make my own cranes without too much of a headache. I’m not so fast as my son but between us we soon got through the whole pack. Each paper as beautiful as the last, irresistably drawing us on to make another, and another until every last paper was used up.

When we were finished we decided that making them into a mobile would be the best way to do them justice so we searched the cellar and found an old bamboo stick. From my craft drawers in the studio we gathered glass beads and super fine fishing line, a pair of scissors, a needle and two hooks for hanging the finished masterpiece and we were good to go.

Youngest son sat for hours with me in the studio stringing them up with a most admirable display of patience.

The finished result looks spectacular in his bedroom, especially with the shadows dancing on the wall behind. It was so lovely to spend some quality time with him, making and chatting and enjoying each others company. At seventeen he’s usually at college studying IT, playing on his computer, or dashing out with friends, just as you would expect at that age, so this was a special kind of day for me.

Of course I did squeeze in some crochet too this week. Grabbing my bundle of self striping yarn and stuffing it into my tote bag for crochet-on-the-go.

A bus trip over to visit my mum gave me a good half hour of spare time, mostly traveling through a rural idyll of bright yellow fields studded with occasional oak trees and telegraph poles. A half hour is not so long for getting stuck into a project but about right to make it worthwhile hooking few more rows of my delicious self striping Caron Cake scarf.

Easy peasy rows of chains are turning into a beautiful fisherman’s net pattern that has the perfect drape. We’re not exactly having the sort of weather that would warrant wearing such a chunky winter weight project right now but I persevere because I know it will be cold again soon enough. Too soon probably, but at least I’ll have my scarf to keep me warm.

My mum and I decided on a walk up the Malvern Hills together. Such a tough climb up, but worth every creak of the knee and drop of sweat to see such beautiful views. I never ever get bored of this scenery.

Well, who would?

The tired out, gravity fighting leg stretch fatigue hit me on the bus heading back to Worcester but I wasn’t so tired that I couldn’t manage to add a few more rows to my scarf.

Don’t you just love it when the colours of the bus match your crochet? A little bit of unexpected harmony in an otherwise crazy and random world.

I’ve been busy with two new amigurumi designs and am really hoping to finish my Daisy Chain Hexi blanket this bank holiday weekend so I should have lots of crochet to share with you next time.

Wishing you all a fab weekend full of wonderful things!