At last...a Mandala ( or six ).

Happy Friday Lovelies!

Weather report from Cape Town, South Africa: drizzling, hot and overcast with a 100% chance of mosquitoes.

Not crochet weather right? However, this time 'round, I am determined to work on my relationship with Summer. I didn't think Summer Hygge was a thing but when I googled " Summer Hygge " I was quickly set right. Although, not many of the Lists resonated with me. BBQ's, for example. You'd think that would be a Hygge thing but all I can think of is smelling of BBQ smoke! And nighttime swims in a River or Lake, or worse, the Ocean. Did those people not ever see Jaws? Ok, so that's crossed off my list.

Anyhow, after an hour of reading through many Summer Hygge lists on Pinterest, I couldn't find one that really hit the sweet spot. I compiled a list of Summer Hygge living ( I could add ten more ). What makes Summer especially comfortable for you? Bear in mind we are focussing on Comfort with a capital C! Can you think of special rituals or traditions, or your own practices that make Summer a bearable experience for you?

Which brings me to smaller Summer projects. I know so many of you are Brrrrrrrr...ing big time right now but smaller projects are always Xmas appropriate right? I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying making these Mandalas! They were trending some years back but as usual, I am unfashionably late to the party. Nevermind, I'm in Summer Hygge mode and that means doing Comfort! These past two weeks have been about getting the house in order so that I can put up my little Xmas Tree on the first day of December. That's how I found the long lost embroidery hoops! As soon as I saw them I knew exactly what I was going to do. I've had fun thinking up "homey" names for them.

The new Mandala pattern, Botanica, will be released later today so keep your peepers peeled! On this note, today our GIVEAWAY will be a copy of Botanica! All you need to do is leave me YOUR Summer Hygge idea in the comments section below ( don't forget to add your Ravelry name ).

Before I sign off...I HAD to share this little video of Augusta! I'm terrible I know. Next, it will be the photo-albums!😁

And then, because we can't leave Nisha out. You have to see this little Miss doing her nails!

Roxy had to get in on the action as well. She gets very upset when I don't include her in photo-shoots.

I'm looking so forward to reading your Summer Hygge ideas.

Until next time, Yarnarinas, hope your weekend is very cosy and comfortable.
💗 Jen

Tadaaaa!

Happy Friday, Lovelies!

Oh my gosh, it feels like years since the last blog post!
So much has happened in the meantime. Well, it SEEMS like so much!

There were the weeks of fostering Freya and her newborn Pups, who are now on to the next phase of solid foods! They have been moved to a "getting ready for adoption" facility where they will receive their inoculations, and their first very fancy puppy-food and have regular photo-shoots. Of course, little Freya will remain with them until they are fully weaned.

Then there was the curveball of stomach Flu which brought my former cracking pace with the Golden Tea Extension to a crashing halt and then once I felt a teeny bit better, a snail's pace! On the plus side, I lost 2kgs and I discovered that I could watch fabulous classic 1940s movies on Youtube. What a treat! Also, Roxy did not leave my side. She's honestly the Best Dog In The World ( we all say that about our furkids, I know ). That's the one advantage of being bedridden for a few days, being able to indulge in back to back Movies. Usually I just don't have that sort of free time.

Through all of this the weather played along perfectly. High winds and buckets of rain! Yum! Once my legs weren't feeling so wobbly Mr HooksnTales and I ventured out to our favourite local park with Roxy. This lovely green belt had been badly battered by the winds with some of the beloved old trees blown over! Roxy is very familiar with this walk and has an absolute ball every time! Diving into the river, rolling around in the long grass and insists on greeting every other dog just minding their own business with a high-pitched YIP, YIP, YIP! KIDS! I made a little Video which ends in me not looking where I was walking ( stubbed toe and blood everywhere! ). But Roxy stopped her high jinks immediately and walked by my side like A Very Good Girl the rest of the way. My take away from this walk? Wear appropriate shoes.

But, enough about me! I have some announcements which are actually about CROCHET!

1. If you've been making-along with us over on the Workshop Group HERE then you'll be happy to know that the final part, Part 4, of the Golden Tea Floral Block Extension is in your Ravelry library as we speak. Don't forget to delete your previous file as ALL the parts are in the latest ( and last ) file. I'm very excited to see your completed Throws! It's been a bit challenging trying to take some pics of the finished Throw though because of YOU. KNOW. WHO! Or should I say THEM?

2. I was REALLY hoping to complete all four Throws by Xmas but time is running away with me. Also, my hands are itching to make some smaller projects. I am going to leave the Green Tea Floral Throw for after Xmas. Which on the plus side. gives you ample time to finish off Golden Tea and also gather yarn for Green Tea. I absolutely love the Festive Season! Even though my five kids are all grown and living La Vie elsewhere and we very seldom have those Xmas Day gatherings like we used to when they were all living under one roof,  I still get into the Xmassy mood, BIGTIME! I can't wait for the end of November to put up our Tree...in fact, why am I waiting at all?

3. I have finally caved to pressure ( teehee ) and loaded up all my patterns to Lovecrafts HERE! I did have a few of them on Etsy but Etsy is not a good fit for me.

Todays Colour Mood is Berry Beautiful! It's an oldie but still a goldie. I do love these rustic images which always make me long for a simpler life, far away from the hustle, bustle and noise of my very Urban environment ( as many of you already can attest to from my video tutorials ). Although we do have the privilege of an off-grid cottage in Riebeek-Kasteel which is technically in the country, the reality of living there permanently is still a way off. In the meantime, I dream.

I've been meaning to do reviews on all the new Crochet Books I have recently bought but just never seem to find that block of time. Funny thing is, I flip through them looking for inspiration and end up doing my own thing. But, BOOKS, I love them so much and to me, a home seems very empty without a well-stocked bookshelf ( or shelves! ). Whenever I visit someone else's home I instinctively look for "the books" and " the pets ".

Today's GIVEAWAY is a really fun pattern in a simple tapestry crochet technique! It's called Square Eyes and designed by POP Crochet! I think it's adorable and can also be made into a tote bag. To stand a chance of winning this cute GIVEAWAY all you need to do is leave your Ravelry details in the comments section below! Good Luck!

Well, that's me, done and dusted for the week. I'm going to put up our Xmas Tree now!😺


Happy Weekend, Yarnarinas!
💗 Jen

PS: for all you avid Rugby Fans out there who crocheted, or worked in ends nervously through the Rugby World Finals.... 💗 GO BOKKE, you made us SO proud! 💗