May Madness!

Hello, Lovelies!

Hope you are all well in your corner of Crochetland?🌼

Everything is abundantly green and lush again, here in Cape Town...the rains have arrived! We harvest our Apples in Autumn so it seemed appropriate that today's colour mood would be Granny Smith Apples ( not MY favourite. I prefer Pink Ladies ).

As many of you already know our darling Alfie had to walk over the rainbow bridge last Wednesday and it was the hardest thing I have experienced in my entire life. On the outside, he was still this sweet. lovely, adorable healthy-looking boy, full of beans and as goofy as ever... but inside was another story altogether, and we had to say our goodbyes. It was just too soon. Many of you working through the pattern video tutorials heard him in the background, snorting, coughing or barking at Mr Noisy Neighbour and many of you also often asked about him and his ongoing battle with the super-bug MRSA. So, darling Alfie, from all of us who knew you ever so briefly, we raise a hook in your honour. Goodbye, sweet boy.🌹

I have been making an effort to get on with things. So, good news...I am already making some progress with the Extension for The Hibiscus Floral Block! Gosh, you clever Crocheters certainly bring my patterns to life with all your gorgeous colourways! They just inspire me to stop moping and get cracking so that I can see what you do next with your yarny cleverness! Just look at these Blocks so far!

Made by Joanne Kinter

Made by Margaret Barendrecht

Made by Noelene Sampey

Made by Tineka Joldersma

Made by Sandra Salas

Made by Amy Gallant

I love how the whole feel of the pattern changes depending on how the colours are placed.

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This week my Crochet Crush has been Lena Fedotova who runs her website called Cup of Stitches  HERE. Find her HERE on Ravelry. So it stands to reason one of her outstanding patterns is up for the GIVEAWAY today! If you can't wait to make this pattern you can find HERE!                     

To stand a chance of winning this cute pattern all you need to do is tell me: if you were stranded on an island but luckily it was filled with your ONE favourite fruit ( tree, bush, creeper, vine etc )...which fruit would that be? Don't forget to leave your Ravelry name so that I can send you your free pattern.

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I have selected 6 x Winners today ( I missed last Friday ). 

So please do keep an eye on your Ravelry Library you Six Lucky Fishes!

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Wishing you all a wonderfully yarny weekend! I'm going to bury myself in a heap of yarn, cuddle up with my loved ones and watch a bumper binge of Suits ( I mean, how often will we EVER get to see the Dutchess of Sussex in underwear again now that she's married her Duke! 😄)

Until next Friday,

💗 Jen

And as we say goodbye to May ( #mentalhealthmonth ) let's continue to be kind to one another, and especially, most importantly, to yourself.

Take Five and Revive!

Hello again, Lovelies! Friday's Child here ( haha ),

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You're probably laughing at my cheezzzyyy blog title but seriously? How often do you remember to take five minutes ( or more ) just to catch your breath in our hyper-fast-paced World these days? I read somewhere that you can pretty much be mindful anywhere ( not just in a dedicated Meditation spot ). Mindfulness sloooows evvveeerrythiing doooown. It really does. Just try it. Next time you wash the dishes by hand, stop thinking about the shopping list, or the next household chore or the running commentary we have about other people or ourselves...just. wash. the. dishes. One by one, taking care, involving yourself in every cup, side plate and utensil. It will seem as if you have stood there for a week but when you look at the clock...it's been ten minutes. Magic. You have slowed down time. Interestingly, Crochet seems to make time speed by. What are your thoughts on slowing down time, or speeding time up? I am practising Mind Fullness and it is an interesting and therapeutic experience. Gotta try everything at least once, right?

The colourway today is definitely right up my alley. A quiet place to rest mind, body and spirit. We could call it The Revivalist Colour Mood?

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Many of you probably already know about Philippa Stanton? I've been a fan for many years and her Blog ( HERE ) is an absolute delight. 

She's the author behind this beautifully presented and enlightening book called Conscious Creativity ( which you can purchase HERE ). 

But she is also so much more than an accomplished author and blogger. She's a painter too! What is so unique about her work is that it's all created through her specific "lens" of Synaesthesia. If you're wondering about that you can read more HERE. I often turn to her colour boards for inspiration.

If you're stumped for Colourways...just drool at her Instagram HERE!

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My IG find last week ( clearly I have been living under a rock! ) is Zoya Matyushenko over at HERE and HERE.  If you're a big Grace Fearon fan then you'll also love Zoyas gorgeous doily designs. As soon as I laid my eyes on this beautiful, intricate design HERE I knew it was our Friday GIVEAWAY for three lucky Winners. 

All you need to do to enter is tell me which is your favourite colour and why. Don't forget to leave your Ravelry name in the comments so that I can send you your pattern! 

The Winners for last weeks Friday Pattern Giveaway will have received their patterns 

SO PLEASE DO CHECK YOUR RAVELRY LIBRARY or messages! 

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Before I close off I must say...THANK YOU ALL for the absolutely lovely colourways I am seeing for HIBISCUS TEA! If you haven't already, you can join all the fun HERE but mostly HERE.

Henny Fiserova came up with a gorgeously delicate colourway!

And Sandra Salas has dipped her magic hook into her bejewelled box of vibrant colours once again.

For more Hibiscus Tea eye-candy just head on over to the Ravelry pattern page or IG.

Part Two, where we extend our work to a Block measuring 50cm x 50 cm will be available Friday 24 May ( or sooner if no Gremlins entangle themselves in the works! ). 

Until then, happy weekend and I hope you find all the time you need to crochet

( mindfully, of course) and revive a little after your busy week.

💗Jen

Mystery-Make-A -Long and Moms!

Happy Friday and welcome to the weekend, Yarnarinnas!🌷

💗Happy Mothers Day for Sunday 12 May!💗

My Father and I were never on good terms and he always told me I was born on a Wednesday
( Wednesday's Child Is a Child of Woe... apparently! ). However, when I turned sixteen my Aunt gave me a "baby book" in which my Mother had kept a timeline of my first baby year... a lock of auburn hair, baby photos and detailed notes, in her neat handwriting, of my first -year milestones, and the first five birthday cards before she passed away so young at 24. This little album is my most prized possession because it's all I have of my Mom. The first entry, she carefully notes "baby's time of birth",  8:15pm, weighing in at 8pnds 4oz, on FRIDAY the 29 August! So much for Wednesday's child! 😊 Fridays have always been my favourite day. Like Monday ( my other favourite day ) they are both the start of something...a new week, a new weekend!

This weekend, wherever you are celebrating Mothers Day in your corner of of the world...whether you are a Mom to Human kids or Furry, Scaley or Feathered kids, I wish you a lovely day and that those who love you make sure you know how important you are to them. If you think about it, we were all Mystery-Make-A Longs at some point ( before scanners! ).

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Today is the beginning, that is, PART ONE: RNDS 1 to 25 of the Hibiscus Tea Floral Block MMAL ( Mystery-Make-A Long ). If you have already purchased the pattern you will have seen that it is already in your Ravelry Library! If you'd like to join in all the fun you can... HERE and HERE! I won't say much about it here seeing as there is oodles of information on the Ravelry pattern page ( scroll down to the NOTES section as well ), and also daily updates on the Group ( THANKS x a million to Noelene Sampey who is so graciously hosting the MMAL ).

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Today's colour mood is very bright and fruity! May have something to do with the wonderful weather we are currently experiencing! It's GORGEOUS for Autumn! 🍁

Colours Scheepjes Cahlista 100% Natural Cotton 50g/ 85m

Hook size: 5mm

🐑 Marichi 608

🐑 Tangerine 281

🐑 Delphinium 113

🐑Tyrian Purple 128

🐑Kiwi 205

🐑 Green Yellow 245

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Next up! Winners for last Friday Giveaway where I asked about your favourite Teas!
 * drum roll*

Weaving Heart UK

Scotchchick

Mlbook

💛 CONGRATULATIONS!💛

This week our Pattern Giveaway is the absolutely lovely Bronwyn Shawl pattern by Toni Lipsey

All you have to do to win a copy of this lovely Shawl is to tell me which day of the week you have a special affinity to, and why this is so. I'm looking forward to your comments! 😊
DON'T FORGET TO CHECK BACK NEXT FRIDAY TO SEE IF YOU'RE A WINNER!

And now dear Friends.... I must away to join in the fun of the Hibiscus Mystery-A -Long!
See you in Crochetland!

💗 Jen

May Daze!

Hello, Lovelies!

Hope your week was a good one? I'm going to say it " IT'S ALREADY MAY!". Wasn't it only Christmas two weeks ago?

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Mr Hooks'nTales and I were having an age-old conversation we swore we'd never have when we heard our Parents or Grandparents going on about how time speeds up as you get older. But, yep, that's exactly the conversation we had. We decided that the most effective way to slow down time was to do absolutely nothing at all but sit out in the garden ( preferably in a hammock ), hat over eyes, and nap. Occasional trips to the coffee machine or 'fridge were allowed. Maybe a book. I'm sorry to say but Crochet is not allowed because it definitely speeds up time! There are never enough hours in the day to finish all those projects, right!?

Today's colour mood is again Vintage themed and I'm beginning to suspect that the reason I'm so drawn to these back-in-time themed images is that I'm trying to slow down time by going backwards!

The colours I've chosen are from the recently released Scheepjes Metropolis, a fingering weight blend of 75% Merino and 25% Nylon. They come in 50g/ 200m balls and the recommended Hook size is 3mm. I should mention that I'm not paid to promote Scheepjes Yarns! These are just colours/yarns I'm crushing on at the moment and it may very well have something to do entirely with Therese Eghult @crochetedbytess colourway for High Tea!

Many of you have probably already bagged your copy of the High Tea Extension but if not you can get the Block HERE and the Extension HERE and if you're not going to do the mix and match thing, you can get the Throw HERE! I'm sorry the Throw is 60c more expensive on ETSY but that was their doing, not mine.

🐑 Bangalore 052
🐑 Dubai 047
🐑 Sydney 048
🐑 Cota 024
🐑 Medan 005
🐑 Liverpool 065

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I haven't forgotten that we have some lucky Winners to announce from last Friday's GIVEAWAY of the gorgeous shawl pattern by AnaD, called Falling Blossoms. Oh my gosh, I so loved reading about your favourite flowers and I was reminded of some that were definitely high up on my favourite flowers list!

Supagran1942

BrendaKitchen

Saleha

💗 CONGRATULATIONS!💗

Also, I am super excited to announce that I am pregnant! JUST KIDDING! 😉Well, I am sort of pregnant with a brand new design! It's the second Block of the 4-Part series of High Tea mix and match Blocks and Extensions. This Block and Extension will be run as an MMAL ( mystery-make-a-long ) and the first part will be available on FRIDAY MAY 10! I've called it Hibiscus Tea and you can head on over HERE and check out the details. Here's a very teeny sneak peek.

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Next up... our FRIDAY GIVEAWAY! You do realise I am vicariously making these gorgeous patterns through our Winners, seeing as I never have enough hours in the day left to crochet ALL. THE. PATTERNS! 😀

The pattern up for grabs for 3 x Winners is by the amazingly talented Sandra Eng (MobiusGirl on IG) I fell right in love with her Marguerite Blanket Pattern when I first saw it. I've purchased one for myself but will I ever get around to making it? Mmmmm.

Our question for today is: Which Herbal Tea is Your Favourite! Mine is definitely Hibiscus. Its tangy tart flavour is just up my herbal tea street ( although Coffee remains my first love ). Leave your comments in the comment section below and don't forget to add your Ravelry name!

I hope you all have a wonderfully peaceful and luxurious weekend. Don't forget to spoil yourself!

See you in Crochetland

💗 Jen

PS: On a non-yarny related subject, a few of you Lovelies were asking about Alfie? Maybe this pic says it all? He's in his element!