There’s so much going on at the moment it’s difficult to know where to start so I’m going to start right here and end up at the end of the post and hopefully I will have made a bit of sense somewhere in between.
Casting my mind back to a few weekends ago I started crocheting a mitten on a long car journey to Cardiff. Oldest son was finally moving the last of his things to Luton where he recently started his new job. After we picked up his furniture and other items he won’t be in need of for the next 6 months we drove over to Penarth and treated ourselves to fish and chips on the pier (not exactly in harmony with my current low carb regime but what the heck! You can’t go to the seaside and not have fish and chips. Some things just have to be endured!
A little bit of crochet on the beach with a steaming hot cup of tea rounded off our dinner perfectly.
I’m not following a pattern for these mittens but have made it up as I go along. I’ve jotted down some notes so hopefully I’ll be able to reproduce it accurately the second time to make an identical pair.
The notes are rudimentary but should be adequate. As long as I haven’t accidentally left anything out it should be OK.
I’ve been busy with two submissions for a new book due out next year. Here’s a sneak peak at the patterns.
One for a rather rotund chicken called Cheryl.
Slightly more extensive notes were made here. Yeah I know, what a mess of scribbles and scratches, but I have this method of quickly taking notes as I go along down to a fine art by now and can hopefully write up the fully formed pattern from them. I don’t like to break my creative flow by getting too technical at this stage so this is the best method for me by far.
There is also a hamster called Hamish who will be making it into print later on. Here’s the beginnings of his little head, nestled cosily among the final batch of hexies which are eventually going to make up a seat cover for my crochet arm chair.
Hamish has been stuffing those cheeks with some tasty treats. I think there’s a strawberry in one side and a couple of peanuts in the other. Sounds like the perfect healthy breakfast to me!
I’d better not make too many of these or they’re going to eat me out of house and home!
I’ll be exhausted trying to keep up with the constant munching. Lets hope this crop of strawberries will keep Hamish happy for a while.
There has been a welcome swathe of very hot weather sweeping the country recently. Now I’m much more of a hot house flower than a frost resistant variety so I’ve welcomed the sunshine and blistering heat with open arms. Just as this seagull greets the sight of unattended food down at Brown’s Restaurant with open wings!
Note to self never to leave lunch unattended where seagulls are likely to be.
The most lovely thing about a heatwave is walking round the river and taking the time to watch the sunset while still basking in the warmth that the blazing sun has left behind.
As well as writing two new patterns for publishing I’ve been testing a pattern written by Noah of Younique Crafts. I just love this cuddly triclops and can’t wait to see the new book with all the other cute and crazy looking monsters in it.
I may have mentioned before about how much I love to make eyeballs so I was in my element with Noah’s design.
And Jeepers and Creepers were thrilled to meet a fellow book buddy, and they immediately invited him to take up lifelong membership of the Three Eyed Monster’s Club.
Of course, he gracefully accepted and now all three (friends, not eyeballs) are inseparable.
I’ve also been asked by lovecrochet.com to design a pattern based on a real life cat who was re-homed from Battersea Cat’s and Dog’s Home. She’s called Hazel and the poor thing only has one eye due to a road traffic accident. She’s still smiling though, thanks to all the love and affection she’s getting from her new owners. The pattern will be available in August 2017 and the proceeds from all pattern sales will go to Battersea Cat’s and Dog’s Home for six months to raise money on behalf of all the canine and feline orphans that reside there as they wait for their forever homes.
Amigurumi Hazel looks quite pleased to have insinuated herself onto the prime window spot with a very relaxed Mojo.
Minnie’s not so happy about the newcomer!
I think she thinks here’s been enough domestic upheaval to manage what with having Rubick around and now another interloper? Oh purrrlease…
Rather unfortunately I seem to like cats more than cats like cats, if you see what I mean. But harmony is being achieved between our four furry friends (and couple of crocheted ones) at a slow and steady pace. A bit of hissing (mainly from hyper reactive Mojo) the odd claws-retracted bout of fisticuffs (Pogo likes to box Rubick’s ears just gently when he oversteps the mark) and Minnie simply pulls that face, nearly all of the time, if the kitten is anywhere in sight. Lots more TLC and some clever mentoring and I’m sure we’ll all be one big happy bundle of co-habitation soon enough.
Rubick has a nice new cat tower-block on which to expend some of that crazy energy that kittens have. I’m hoping that if I wear him out that he’ll give my old and grumpy cats a bit more of a break from chasing their tails and generally trying to make too much physical contact for which they’re not quite ready yet.
If we’re lucky all that charging around and running up and down his furry tower gives us all a few moments of peace…
Zzzzzzz.
Pogo allows Rubick to get quite close now, though I have to say that face is enough to frighten the toughest of cats, or people too come to that!
When I’ve not been either mentoring the cats or working on book patterns or crocheting up charity commissions I took out a little time to make myself a pretty coaster.
I still have the matching mandala cushions to finish up. It’s really just the backs that need crocheting so I’ve put them on my to do sooner rather than later list. I shall aim to get them finished this week. That will be a perfect mini project for the summer evenings and not too taxing, or too bulky for the heat.
In the meantime one of the cushion fronts has ended up lining Rubick’s sleeping corner but it’s been much too hot for curling up, better to do the heatwave sprawl!
I’d also like to finish up the Daisy Chain Hexie seat pad cover to add the finishing touches to my green wing backed crochet corner arm chair. I’ve made another batch of 100 hexies so far and have begun to slip stitch them together across the short rows. I’ve a fair way to go yet but this is another project that can be picked up and worked on in fragments whenever I get a chance.
It’s all been a bit too warm for mittens but I finished up the first one anyway. Now I have to make the other one. It will be cold enough again, and too soon as well, if the great British summer sticks to its usual form.
I love the variegated marbled yarn that I’ve used for this Mitts but I can’t find the ball band anywhere so can’t share with you what it’s called. I think it may have been by Sirdar… If anyone knows the name of this yarn please do let me know what it is! I’d quite like to get another ball and make a scarf to match – but the other mitten must come first. I have enough projects on the go as it is!
I reckoned that this should be enough yarn for a minimum six hours in the car and a few hazy hours at the Jurassic Rocks Festival on Saturday, plus a lazy Sunday on the beach. And in case I do run out, I have a back up project. Little necklace purses for my next craft fair. Both projects are using self striping yarns so I get all the fun of working with lots of colour but without having to pack up tons of different balls of yarn.
I can cope for the weekend if I forget a change of clothes or my toothbrush but I’m not so laid back if I don’t have a project to keep my hands occupied. It’s my meditation and recreation all in one. So Saturday morning has arrived and we have woken up to thunderstorms and torrential rain here in Worcester. Time to check the weather forecast…and it’s not looking too good, with severe weather warnings in place for much of the country, most specifically down south which is where we’re headed!
Not to be deterred we pack up wellies, waterproofs and umbrellas. A good time will be had – regardless of the British weather. After all, a rain sodden car journey can always be made more tolerable and much brighter with a few balls of cheery coloured yarn.
In the end the wet weather and stormy clouds cleared completely by the time we reached Weymouth. So glad we didn’t chicken out and cancel our weekend. Instead I got to do a bit of drinking and crocheting while listening to some local bands and basking in the sunshine:
These lovely blue skies certainly cheered everyone up and added to the bon homie! Several hours and several bands later it was time to retire to the tent with a whole day by the seaside to look forward to tomorrow. Bliss! After packing up the tent in the morning we headed off in search of a cup of tea. It took us longer than we anticipated because of all the distractingly beautiful views on the way from Portland to Weymouth.
But we got there in the end. In fact right at the bottom of this street was a life-saving brew. 
(Those are hubby’s hairy arms by the way, not mine, but you probably already guessed as much!) With the morning ritual of a good old cuppa sorted we were ready to head off to Chesil Beach for a few hours of rest and relaxation. I took some photos of beautiful tangles of fishing nets on the way as I can’t resist anything remotely yarn like!
Time to have a good look through my Granny squares from yesterday evening.
Hmmm, I think this one may have been made after one too many ciders last night! It’s definitely not very square. I love the way the colours echo the sea and the pebbles though.
I made a few more squares but then decided a bit of beach art in the form of a yarn bomb might be more appropriate. I got hold of the biggest pebble I could lay my hands on and, inspired by all the fishing nets I’d been photographing, I set to work. An hour or so later and here’s my homage to the sea-side.
There’s plenty of eating places to choose from so we took our time and had a wander around all the little alleys full of wonderfully tacky kiss-me-quick hats, buckets, spades, saucy postcards and the obligatory sticks of rock.
…where we ate the perfect crab lunch from the Ivy Coffee House on Cove Row.
Lovely views and an outdoor table in the shade made it all just perfect. 
Now for a tub of cockles and a bit more exploring before we head off home.
On the horizon is the Isle of Portland where we spent last night camping underneath the stars.
The clouds have been very kind and stayed light and wispy around the periphery of the sky all weekend. We have a car boot jam packed full of wet weather gear in all it’s forms but I’m certainly not complaining that we didn’t get to use it. Back in the car at last and the journey whizzes by. I’m a little sun burnt (yes, we packed wellies but didn’t think we’d need to pack any sunblock, but as the saying goes – ‘Life’s a beach and then you fry’). I’m a little tired too but the Radio is on and I’ve still got a ball of yarn left and so I embark on the last of the Granny Squares. Looks like rain again as we get nearer to Worcester.
Ah well, no-one can say that we haven’t had our fair share of sunshine this weekend. By the time we arrive back home I’m glad to unpack, have a cool bath to take the heat out of my lobster red shoulders and take a minute to assemble all of my weekends crochet achievements. Not a bad haul for such a busy couple of days. Now the next fun bit is deciding what to make with them. Whatever they end up being used for they’ll always remind me of my gorgeous weekend of fun in the sun.
