Back in the saddle...

Happy Friday, Lovelies!

It's so good to be back in Blog Land again. Ok, so I know my absence was self-imposed but it's been a tradition of mine since forever to mark my B'day Month as "downtime", a month of reflection and I guess, a time to summarise and categorise, to compartmentalise, file away...oh darn, YES, I'm a Virgo! And yes, I DO need an entire month to make sense of all that has transpired over the past B'day year. My brain hates chaos, so tying up things ( ok, that came out all wrong ) is essential before I can move on to the next year. You get it, right?

Of course, my hands itch to be occupied, so instead of mulling away the hours in pre-B'day contemplation, I made the Waresa Hexie Bundle. Sheesh, those half-hexies are quite the brain teaser! I really enjoy the challenge though. So much so, that I casually committed myself to make 10 x Hexie Bundles ( that is 1 x Full Hexie + 1 x Half Horizontal Hexie and 1 x Vertical Half Hexie. Times 10! ). Then I remembered the half hexies, then I panicked because that's A LOT of brain-teasing, then I panicked further because I'd committed myself out loud on paper and couldn't very well back out of a commitment seeing as I'm not that kinda girl and well, welcome to my world!

In between all this contemplation and downtime, I also made a start on the next Throw! This is #3 in our 4 x Blocks + 4 x Extensions Project. As I mentioned in one of the Videos, the challenge has been to create four very different Throws so that should you choose to mix and match the parts thereof you really will get very different results. Once #4 is done and dusted, I am hoping to see some very interesting mix and match Throws popping up! Besides this, I also completed my sweater. I made some mistakes and it did turn out a little on the big side but it was a learning curve and much easier than I thought making an actual wearable would be. I'm excited to explore this in more depth next year ( watch this space! ). I bumped into an old friend a few weeks ago and she asked me when I'd have time for coffee and a catch-up natter and I replied: " in about three years time?". That's the Crochet Life for you!

Today is the release of Part 1 of the Golden Tea Floral Block ( ahead of deadline ). Part 2 will be released ( ahead of deadline ), next Friday, 13 September! Now that I think of it I'm beginning to realise just how productive downtime and contemplation can be! I should really do it more often.

One thing I missed was our Friday GIVEAWAY... you know how much I like gifting! I've always enjoyed giving away "stuff" far more than I do receiving "stuff" although, to be honest here, this B'day I did actually get quite excited about the gifts I received! Two really good books: When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron and The Sane Society by Erich Fromm ( made my nerdy heart beat a little faster! ) and a few other "pretty things" but the cherry on the top was...wait for it, an Apple iPad with an Apple Pencil!! I've wanted one for ages and there is a very solid reason for this which is TOP SECRET at the moment but I think you're all going to love it!

So, without further ado, today's GIVEAWAY is this truly amazing Throw designed by Briana K Designs, who was inspired by the Gaudi pavement designs in Barcelona! Wow, I was blown away by this intricate, clever design. This pattern is up for grabs for three lucky randomly picked Giveaway recipients. All you have to do is leave a comment + your Ravelry name in the comments section below.

Wishing you all a full yarn basket always! Happy weekend and see you next Friday!
💗Jen