For Jo

Thank you all for your lovely comments and hello to Jo, who said in her comments..........

Hello have just found your blog and love it for your crochet and walks, we are always after ideas for new walks with our two children. A quick question, as I have read back through some of your crochet posts and realised you are left handed as am I, do you crochet left or right handed? I am trying to teach myself left handed - it is not easy! Any tips?! Thank you Jo.

Hi Jo, I am steadfastly and resolutely left handed, so crochet using my left hand to wield the hook and my right hand to hold/feed the yarn.  

I was taught by my right handed sister in law who was patient enough to do a stitch repeatedly and slowly to allow me to copy (in reverse) until I had mastered it.

Having got the basics I launched myself on the wonders of the internet and youtube and just typed in 'left hand crochet' There is a world of lefties out there doing it very nicely thank you!

My initial problem was understanding and interpreting the abbreviated stitches. I found that there are several different names for each stitch with the main three being UK, USA and Australia.  Because of this confusion I found this site Yarn Forward for a quick and easy terminology conversion.

Crochet and More has detailed explanations how to do the stitches too.

Something else that can be a bit confusing - the differing names/sizing given to crochet hooks - this site - Karp Styles crochet and knitting has an extensive list and one I refer to frequently.

 

With all crafts, you learn and you adapt to what feels best for you - my only firm and unbreakable instructions is to try it out and ENJOY! Hope this helps :) let me know how you go one - good luck!

Right, best get on, I have a soggy cat sitting miserably next to me with fur dripping - suspect she either wants drying or the fire or  probably both - *sigh* wish the cats would learn to wipe their feet as they come dashing in - I've only just trained the boys to do it..........

Where have we been?

Here

There

Walking

Working

Crafting

Progress

Loving

Living

Normal transmission will return shortly 

when my life returns to normality. 

Ps watching the Eurovision (surreptitiously on my lap top coz Himself thinks its all a bit too girly!!)

A Tuesday Ta-daa

On Friday, in between having physio for my knee, getting things ready for Yarnival and having to go off to work earlier than usual to cover for a colleague on leave.....I did a random bit of crafting.

We'd planned to have a jar full of knitting needles at the knit and natter corner for any one to pick up and use and it was up to me to sort it out. I just did not have anything suitable and had been racking my already over-stuffed brain and could only come up with this.....

A hand thrown pot I have had for years and years and has gradually moved further to the back of the cupboard as colours,taste and fashion changed. I never got rid of it as there was nothing wrong with it - I had just become tired of it. In desperate need for a container for the needles and rapidly running out of time I had resigned to using this pot. Then it hit me - 

A few years ago, when I was still learning to crochet I made this - 

 

I blogged about it here and since then, this piece of crochet practise just hung around not doing anything, not becoming anything until Friday. I grabbed it, stared at it for a brief moment ~ and remembering the success I have had in the past with cutting crochet ~ I got hold of a pair of scissors and cut about a third off, wrapped it around the jar, stitched it tight and turned it into this.......

To say I am pleased with the results - is an underestimation of how surprised and happy I am at how it turned out. 

So a happy me skipped off to work (happy with my jar that is!) and on Saturday I was really chuffed to see it sitting there in the knit and natter corner filled with needles.

And now?

Well - funnily enough, it is now still full of needles and sits pride of place in the centre of the rumpus-room table, look - see what I mean!

Happy? - yup.

Madness is a state of mind - and yes there is a lot of that sort of state going on here - and I do mind!

As some of you already know, I have another blog called, Kyōyū kyōyū - share, where we knit and crochet squares for blankets as well as make toys for children and send them to Japan.  It is coming up to one year after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster and this has brought back to the surface that people are still suffering and are still homeless or in temporary shelter.  I have been linked up with another blog called Japan Alive. They have just been featured in The Wall Street Journal and on the video our blankets are there being unpacked and shared with the women who now use knitting and crochet to keep themselves occupied and keep themselves alive. I just had to share - I am so proud of our ladies that have spent time and effort to help across the miles - thank you xxx

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Yarnival - why oh why do I start these things!! 

It always starts off as a good idea....'I know - let's have a fibre festival'.....as if I know anything about fibres OR festivals, never mind the two of them together. 

It is NOT HELPED by the like minded and easily led astray friends who say.....'Yes! what a good idea - yes!! let's have a fibre festival'....

When really what they should have said to me was....'NO-OOOOO..........put the thought down and step awaaay from any more DANGEROUS thinking like that'....... 

But no, they ENCOURAGE me! What sort of friends are they!!!??

Now, many sleepless nights later (and I am sure twice the many grey hairs too) I now have concrete butterflies skipping a merry dance in my stomach.

And...AND....AND what is worse (how could you!) there are voices mentioning things like...when we do it again next year... (WHAT!?!) 

So - to keep sane (well trying to make some attempt at sanity) I am crocheting.....knitting.....blocking....and drinking far too much tea

I have started using wooden needles - lovely to the touch - hand made, smooth and polished***

And rather large................ 'thank you' to my two assistants for demonstrating the dimensions of my knitting

Oi you two - gerrroooffff me knitting!!!

***thank you to Mr Threads through my life for making these needles for me :)

I would like to say that normal transmission will resume shortly but seeing that most of my life has been a bit, lets say, haphazard - fat chance.....

errare humanum est ummmm.....

Back after a short break, I know its only been a few days, but after a stint of writing a themed post for the last 21 days, I suddenly had had enough of being a mouse potato (huh?)***

It's been rather hectic around here recently. Our Yarnival plans are going full steam ahead and some days I feel that I can not keep up with all what's going on. Don't get me wrong, its all exciting and positive stuff and I am not a laggard but wow some days my feet (foot) hardly touches the ground (metaphorically speaking seeing I still have the gait of a one legged pirate on the deck of a ship).... but I digress.

I have, my dears never fear, had some excellent hooky time with string bags flying off my hook. I am also writing the pattern for them and testing them out to make sure all errata are eradicated (ooh a bit of alliteration, gosh my brain is all a whirrrrrr) *note to self - drink less coffee first thing in the morning and drink more tea instead*

I found it really easy to make the bags from the recipe in my head, it was only when a friend asked for the patten back in December that I started to have difficulties. Easy peasy I smugly thought as I quickly wrote down the instructions. Umm, I read through it and realised that I better make the bag following the written words rather than what was floating around in my head.  A rather wonky bag began to appear.
Scrap that. Start again.
So, this time, as I went along, I wrote down the instructions. Feeling a little better about it, I typed it out and with a few drawings to illustrate the steps, I handed over the pattern feeling rather happy about it.  Until I was asked for the pattern by another friend, easy peasy again I thought (think I should stop using that phrase - coz it usually ends up being far from it!) and printed out another copy. Said friend sat down immediately with me and started to make the bag.....uh ohh, I could see an issue happening. So using her as a test pilot (had to give her incentive to continue) and plying her with a mug of tea (nothing stronger as I needed serious test flying with this hooky pattern) we went through the pattern again.
Ah Ha! Sorted. She went back home (mind you - she's not reported back if she finished the bag....) and I continued using the now modified pattern (stored in my head - not good)

Now..... I am trying again, to write the pattern in proper terminology, with photographs and easy to follow directions - why? Coz I want to be able to sell a kit complete with yarns and instructions for people to buy at the Yarnival - easy peasy. Why do I set myself these tasks??

All my test bags are finally coming out the same and I'm love loving the jumblement of colours and yarns

The obligatory brew without which, all is lost - oh by the way - did you know I was a tea drinker?

Hmm, needs two grams more then it's correct! Told you it was a 'recipe'!

Well, better get on, have loads of ends to weave in and labels to stitch on, easy peasy! (Oh - hang on, also have to weigh balls of wool, type in correct version of pattern,  take and insert photos as I go along, match colours, bag up and label - err..... easy peasey!)

Ooh almost forgot ***mouse potato? Well - you have heard of couch potatoes - yeah? Well, a mouse potato is someone who is permanently attached to their computer or laptop and today that is certainly me! You heard it here first :)

Hearty❤ happenings and Yarnival preparations update

A quick heart posting today, I have about a million little flowers** to make! No, not really but I do have to get on and crochet like mad.

Today's hearts❤are very kindly supplied by a work colleague who sports them on her feet - thank you H.

❤❤❤

**About those million little flowers - our Yarnival preparations have been going full steam ahead and this weekend we put our display out in the Post Office window. Our local library has also kindly agreed to let us display some woolly goodies. Our Post Office is on the main route through the village and a rather busy little place, the lady who runs it has themed displays in her window regularly through out the year so we are really chuffed to be allowed a slot leading up to our woolly festival.

Any hoo - last night I was (despite a heavy cold) crocheting up a storm making butterflies - they are so easy to make and so-oo cheery and so-oo happy and I am so-oo-oo in love with them! They are to be displayed on a 'topiary tree' (also crocheted) along with some wonderfully crocheted birds (thank you dear sis-in-law).

And one last quick photo - just look at little miss snooty

I suspect we have just disturbed her beauty sleep .......

Surprise Hearts

Some hearts are collected through out the year and some hearts appear out of the blue. This is one such heart or group of hearts in this case.

A small gift left for me at my back door with a beautiful get well card. I have had some really pretty cards. How lucky am I? (please excuse the furry face - it seems to get into EVERYTHING at the moment...) At this very moment she is sitting next to me purring like billy-o!

Thank you dear kind people - thank you xx

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I am using this time at home (cosily wrapped up under my ripple blankie with the fire and the catlings for company) to crochet madly and organise our Yarnival fibre event.
After yesterday's little preview, thought I'd share some more snippets except that these snippets are a little more less obvious as to what they will end up as!!

Any Guesses??

Just look at all those ends I need to weave in! 

gah.

Any ideas yet?

Hehehehe thought not!!

box of various shades of green

rigged up yarn feed

direct to my waiting hook

to make.....

this......

it is only about a quarter it's finished size, 

so better stop blogging and get hooking!

I can't wait to share and show what we are making and doing for the fibre event, it is so exciting!!


ps - added later - I've just realised this is my 500th post - wow! Whoda'thunked it!

As promised!

As part of our 'Yarnival - adventures in fibre' woolly weekend we are all knitting and crocheting like mad. So I thought I would share with you some of the goodies that will be part of our display.
So - for starters - fancy a pot of tea?

Don't forget we need some milk!

Some flowers would be nice.....

Ahh - nice.

Uh oh - we forgot the iced bun!

No we didn't - yum yum!

And - should you feel the need for the healthier option -

pass me the fruit bowl someone!!

Wait - there is more - much much more but you will have to hang on and I will keep you posted -

For more details pop over to

Yarnival

Adventures in Fibre

Saturday 17th March 2012

10am - 3pm

In which I have a mini crochet-athon.........

I put it down to nervous energy. I also put it down to new-startitis and a severe case of never-finishing-itum and oh yes I definitely blame short-attention-span-icum and butterfly-brainism......
So... what am I getting to?
Well.

I present exhibit A

A classic granny square.

In a nice chunky cream wool.

I have frogged it back several times as I was never completely happy

(still not)

It no longer looks like the photo.....

Aah.. this more like it.

Not quite finished and probably about to be frogged again.

I ran out of wool 

and had to eke it out very carefully.

Fortunately fav sis-in-law has a cone of it left 

and generously offered it to me!

Woo-hoo!!

Yes - my toe nails are different colours....

S'pose I could be forgiven then for not finishing my granny mat w.i.p..

I now present exhibit B

Bright colours in cotton and buttons

A quick and instant gratification fix

Bunting.

I oohed and aahed at it's bright little bunts

 and the happy little buttons.

Himself asked where I was going to put them.

The catlings (yes - they have grown) thought 

they were brilliant and tried to steal them.

They now reside in a box. 

(bunts not catlings - although that is an idea hmmm)

*sigh*

I also present (part of) exhibit C

A slipper clog for Eldest.

Made with two strands of pure wool (pre-felted)

The wool is something out of my stash, 

a bag of 4 x 50gm balls .

He loves it (it? - where is the other?)

here.................

Youngest is waiting for his slipper clogs too.

I present exhibit D & E 

String bags - I am at it again. 

Thought that making 17 over the festive time would have been enough....

Apparently not.

And the reason for all this nervous energy? Well - I have so much going on in my head regarding our YARNIVAL that I feel that it will explode! Never mind, at our next knit and natter we are going to get down to the serious side of things. 

*watch*this*space*is all I can say!!

Ooh how exciting!

Shame I have to do this boring thing called work!