Sunday Folk.

Happy Friday, Yarnarrinas! 

Hope you are all well in your patch of Crochetland?

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First of all, I want to say a 💗HUGE THANK YOU💗 for all the love for the Sunday Folk Hexie! I had no intention of making it because I know you are all waiting patiently for Part 2 of the Hibiscus Tea Block Extension which is due next Friday ( hahaha as I hear THAT deadline whooshing by ). But no, seriously, I am working full speed ahead to actually meet that deadline or else it will be Christmas before we finish it ( and there are still two more Throws to go! ).

Anyhow, you know how it is...it's Sunday morning, the Sun is shining, the Cats are lolling about in the shade, it's early, the streets and households in your usually noisy neighbourhood are quiet. Birds and butterflies flit about the plumbago and honeysuckle. So you make a cup of coffee, and still in slippers and Pj's you plonk yourself down on the front steps of the porch. The next thing, there's yarn and a hook in your hands and BAM...a Hexie pops up! I know you all understand exactly how that happens.

And I was thinking, as I made the Hexie how Crochet is one of the few handicrafts left where you have a direct connection to the Maker. Knitting can be made with a machine. Same goes for wood carving, lacemaking, embroidery, cut-work, tapestry, weaving and any number of traditional handwork that has sadly seen ( and been a victim to ) the introduction of mechanisation. Perhaps in the not too distant future Crochet will become part of this list and when that happens we will lose all connection to the people who made the things we love to crochet. I almost cried at THAT thought, but it also made me more determined than ever to support all Makers, all those little handwork co-ops, Mom and Pop Stores, Indie musicians, garage handmade producers, front garden vegetable growers, street corner wire artists, because who makes our stuff means something more to me than feeling like a recipient of a completely soulless mechanisation process. I would love to hear your thoughts on this?

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So saying, some GREAT news for all our local ( Cape Town and Surrounds ) Yarnarinnas! Cape Town will be home to the first ever Cape Town Yarn Festival which is going to be absolutely amazing given all our local Indie Yarn Dyers and fabulously lovely brands like Nurturing Fibres, Colours of Amalfi, Vinnies, Hartlam and many more but MOST OF ALL my all-time local Yarn Crush. Miss La Motte Yarns is going to be there! I have bought several of her hand-dyed skeins and they are so lovely I'm actually too scared to use them!

Next, today's Colour Mood which I called Sunday.

 I found this image challenging and there are at least six different colourways we could pick out here but finally, I settled on this. You could definitely throw in some Copper, Teal, Green or Saffron! I've used Stylecraft Special DK but you could match the colours up with Scheepjes Colour Crafter, Catona or any yarn range that gives you loads of colour choices.

On the subject of colour. I am always amazed at how my patterns change depending on how you clever colourists place your colours! Rene van der Westhuizen did this with the Sunday Folk Hexie and seriously, I did not recognise my own design! I mean I did, but she's picked out her light and dark areas so cleverly that I only realised when I looked at it, that I'd made Arum lilies! 😊

If you'd like to see more interesting colourways you could scoot on over HERE. As more are completed I'll keep adding them to the photo section on the Ravelry pattern page.

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I'm enjoying our Friday Giveaways and love showcasing other Designers. I've randomly chosen three Winners from last weeks Giveaway which was the Fjell Cardigan by Lilla Bjorn Crochet, so to all who left a comment please do check your Ravelry Library!

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This week our Giveaway is the beautiful Hotel of Bees Shawl by Christina Hadderingh from a Spoonful of Yarn. I know this pattern has been floating around for a while now and is VERY popular but if you still don't have it then here's your chance! 

To enter today's Giveaway just leave a comment below and DO NOT FORGET to add your Ravelry name if you'd like to make this gorgeous shawl by one very talented Crochet Designer! 

May your weekend be amazing and your yarn basket always full.

💗 Jen