Strawberry Fields Afghan

I tell you, this project took forever! Well, six months felt like forever. Mind you I was in no great hurry to complete it either. I just loved the yarn I was working with.

My usual pick, the Elle Pure Gold DK. I honestly love this yarn. Besides being super soft and plush, it also has a fragrance that reminds me of freshly bathed babies! I'm wondering if that's why Babe loves it too because often she'll jump up on to my work and immediately begin to purr...nevermind me trying to crochet around her.

But see...I'm waffling on as usual. I started this project after checking out Lucy's Hexagon over at Attic24. That woman has a lot to answer for when it comes to my hooky addiction. :-) I'm always very drawn to bright colours, and yet when it comes to deciding on a palette I tend to veer towards more muted colours. Yes, it's true I am nothing if not a mass ( or is that mess? ) of contradictions. Other than following Lucy's Hexagon pattern, the rest I just sort of made up as I went along. But if you're even a beginner with a little experience you can figure out how it all came together?

The one regret I have is that I did not join the hexies as I went along. Lesson learned! Anyhow, it did all eventually get finished and I packed it up to take to our off-grid hovel out in the country, the rather lovely wineyard region not too far outside of the city, where it found a home on a sturdy couch I picked up at a second-hand shop in the city! I thought it looked very comfortable there.

My younger daughter has made a formal claim on it. Of course, I'd like to enjoy the fruits of my labour for just a bit so I did assure her that I'd make sure to embroider her name in it somewhere...just in case. I called this afghan *Strawberry Fields * because it reminded me of Strawberries and Cream! Yum.

I wish you many peaceful and happy crochet hours. You do know you deserve it?

Love, always.

Jen xxxxxxx

Soft Earth Afghan.

The other day someone asked me about my Blog, you know...why do you blog? what is the point? who cares about what you have to say?... and so on. I didn't have to think very long or hard about why I have a Blog. It's for me. For my own personal pleasure of writing, and crochet! The Blog is my cyber diary of all the little, simple, challenging and mostly enjoyable crochet adventures I love to embark upon. It's a reminder , to myself, when I look over the actual body of projects I have started, and completed, of how far I've come in my personal journey and particular hurdles I've somehow managed to leap, and not land entirely awkwardly, or on my face!

There was a time when I literally had NO TIME to crochet, draw, write or paint because I was deeply mired in duty and self doubt, brought on mostly by being raised in an environment where "Art" for art's sake was never a serious consideration. If you did insist on "doing your Art" then woe betide, you'd be damned to a life of living in a leaky attic, eating dry bread, while only Mice and Owls ever got to see your work!

Also, it's taken forever to finally let go of the guilt of creating without feeling I must also create a business, a successful business mind you, out of it. But anyhow, I digress. I decided to do this Afghan in the round as they say....just going around and around, and around until I'd reached the desired size.

Also, I'd be using a really easy stitch, a dbl crochet ( US term ) repeatedly, in clusters of three...the classic granny stitch.  I had no pattern so it was a work based on intuition...I do sometimes think of myself as an intuitive crocheter, and even when I do follow a pattern I'm inclined to change it simply because I "feel" it should be different to the pattern, here and there, :-) I also wanted something softer and easy on the eye, my eyes actually. I'd just completed my Mexican Wave cushion cover...and boy, was that BRIGHT! I used the Elle Gold DK which I just love!! It's a soft acrylic, and there are stacks of colours to choose from. I've been told that it's similar to the Stylecraft DK. Of course, Babe had to check it constantly and I had quite a battle getting her off the yarn as I was crocheting! She's such a little darling and I've come to see her as my crochet muse. Once I'd finished, and Babe had given it a paws up, I draped it over an old chair...and was really quite pleased that it fit perfectly!

I hope, wherever you are, that you make time to do the things that make you happy. The dishes can wait!

Have a lovely day!

Much love,

Jen xxxxxxx

Russian Rose Granny Square

Isn't it just damn annoying when you're happily immersed in whatever project you're busy with, and along comes an irresistible Rose, neatly tucked up in a gorgeous little Granny Square? I know, right? Worse still, you haven't quite got all that crochet pattern reading bit down to perfection BUT now you're just totally compelled to crochet said Rose? It was exactly like this for me. Oh my, something about this sweet, simple Rose.

And then I couldn't stop at one. So I made two. Much to my surprise I also slightly tweaked the pattern too, to suit myself, as we do. Which just goes to show that with a little motivation and effort almost anything is possible. I found the Rose, called the Baboeska Rose, quite by accident. Yay, for happy accidents. Again I learned a few new things, and afterall, that's my objective. It really is a very quick project, so a perfect detour. Just don't get hooked! Unless of course, you want to! :-)



Wishing you a lovely week, with enough time to crochet something lovely, everyday!
Lotsa love,
Jen xxxxxxx

Ps: I've highlighted the Link to the tutorial, in Red.

Adventures with Overlay Crochet

So , for ever so long I have been wanting to crochet something a little more robust. I say this all the time, but seriously, 200 years would not be enough time to crochet all the lovely things floating about. Like a butterfly I flit from one creative inspiration to the other which completely interferes with my determination to finish one project before embarking on another! But really, who can resist the beautiful circles designed by master crocheter Tatsiana from Lilla Bjorn's Crochet World. ??Impulsively, in the middle of my present project, I dropped everything and decided to do just ONE circle.

I wasn't picky about the colour palette. I just jumped right in...and then, of course, I couldn't stop! So over the course of a week I crocheted ALL nine squares. I made A LOT of mistakes but was too impatient to rip them out and start again so I sort of adjusted the pattern where I'd made the "mistakes". Anyhow...I finished the nine squares, in their random rather icky colours and learned so much along the way about overlay crochet. Which was the initial objective, increasing my crochet repertoire.

Of course, Babe (aka Augusta ) had been diligently overseeing my progress and quickly claimed the finished square as her own personal little blanket...after much testing for nap-ability. 

I will definitely be revisiting this pattern again, following the pattern and tutorials to the letter, and taking a bit more time to choose a lovely palette. I imagine various shades of Blue, with Ivory and Rose? I am so humbled by the brilliant, and generous crochet designers who share their beautiful designs so freely. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart! You are all amazing!

Have a wonderful week and remember, Happiness Is An Inside Job!

Much love,

Jen xox