Spring!

Hello, Lovelies! Hope you are all well in Crochetland?

I know many of you are hanging in there for the cooler Autumn weather but here in Sunny South Africa, the temperature dial has been notched up quite a bit. And I'm not ready for the sweaty months...waaaaaa! However, I'm sure you are all SO ready for cooler weather, right?

Yesterday, I did the symbolic seasonal clothes packing away. I have one beautiful antique wardrobe that is compartmentalised in such a way that it houses all my wearables...to a point.  Come Spring, I have to pack away the woolly jumpers and other bulkier winter apparel to make space for my Spring/Summer wardrobe. Sounds fancy schmancy as if I have a ton of clothes, but no, I also do a disciplined thinning out ( those impulsive retail therapy items ), pack them into bags ready for collection by Tabisa and her little son who live in an informal settlement not far from where I live. There, the women sell used clothing to support their one-parent households. I find this whole clearing out exercise very rewarding. I enjoy regularly tidying up, even while I design when there is Yarn and Yarn fluff, snipped off tails, scissors, pens and notes liberally scattered across my worktable...I stop every now and then and tidy it all up! My brain begins to feel horribly messy and tangled when my living or creating environment is cluttered and disordered. I think one of my favourite things to buy are pretty storage boxes! No, I'm not a Marie Kondo fan, because BOOKS... I love them all and will never thin them out, you hear me Marie? I don't need that kind of negativity in my bookshelves! 😄


I wanted to tell you about an absolutely lovely book I ordered online recently ( which I have been reading during coffee breaks outside on the front steps of our house ). Called "A Stash of One's Own"  penned by Clara Parkes, it's aimed at Knitters but mostly at all of us who love and own, long for or hoard YARN! Yes, that is definitely ALL OF US! The book features personal essays from twenty-two well known Yarnarinas and it makes for very relatable reading.
CAT HEART EYES: 😻😻😻😻😻

This Friday the Colour Mood is most definitely COOL and CALM. Say no more, it's been a drama-filled year so far, for so many of us. Shooowee, crochet therapy has been needed in abundance.
Again, I've chosen Scheepjes Catona because !!ALL.THE. COLOURS!! but also, the inspiring colour names! Here we have: Root Beer, Brick Red, Antique Mauve, Topaz, Sky Blue and Baby Blue.

Many of you will have already picked up on the Final Part for our Golden Tea Floral Block which should be in your Ravelry Libraries? I've set Friday October 4 as the start date for the Golden Tea Extension and would love to have you all join me for another yarny adventure.

Here's Noelene's colourway which as always makes me regret all my colour choices. As many of you already know, Noelene Sampey is the amazing Admin of our HooksTales Pattern Workshop Group.

I've added ( better late than never ) a Colouring In Sheet so that you can play with colourways to your heart's content before making any Yarny commitments. I'm steadily working through making Colouring In Sheets for all my designs so look out for them ( on the Ravelry page for the pattern and also in the Workshop Group ). Here's an example of the Waresa Hexie Colouring In Sheet.

Next, our Friday GIVEAWAY! Three lucky Winners from last week's pattern Giveaway will find their "winnings" in their Ravelry Library so do scoot on over and check to see if it's your lucky day!
I absolutely fell in love with the beautifully whimsical Yura Wrap by talented crocheter, Jennifer Plonk. If you'd like to stand a chance of winning this lovely pattern all you have to do is comment, with your Ravelry name, in the comments section below. Good luck!

I'm so loving these cool, calm earthy colours. Sigh.

Hopefully, we will all have a wonderfully peace-filled weekend.
See you in Crochetland!
💗Jen