Beanies, for days!

Lovelies, how are you all? How are you bearing up in all this chaos worldwide?

It's still dark outside and very brrrrrrrr! I'm not complaining, I love Winter. A few days ago I was searching for my one and only beanie and realised that yes indeed, I'd given that one away too. I have a bad habit of giving things away that I actually need and it's made me think a lot about charity, or rather charitableness ( if that's a word? ). I'm not writing this for a pat on the back, because giving things away comes naturally to me. It's an affliction of sorts. I do it without thinking. I have literally taken off a jacket, scarf or beanie and given it to a person who looked like they needed it. Once, walking to work in the pouring rain, I saw two people huddled under a tree and yes, you guessed right, I handed over the umbrella and walked the further four blocks in the soaking rain. The next day I was hit with the worst Flu I have ever had which rendered me bed-ridden for two weeks with a further two weeks thrown in for good measure before I was strong enough to return to work. The phrase " a good deed never goes unpunished" springs to mind.

I could write a small book listing food, clothing, household items and even a very handsome crush I gave away to someone else I thought was needier than I was at the time. It's taken me almost my whole life so far to find the sweet spot between taking care of my own needs first, recognising the needs of others, and where ( more importantly how ), I can be of help in a truly productive way that adds to the dignity of the recipient. I've also worked on letting go of what I think people need. It's so easy to project our personal ideals on to a situation or person. We can never truly know what anyone needs unless they tell us, and the conundrum is...how many of us do the internal work of excavating deeply to unearth that information? We often discover that what we want and what we need are entirely two different things, right? It's generally difficult to ask for what we truly need and it's just as difficult to provide the help that is appropriate and profound. These days I ask " how can I be of help? " and without fail, it's always not what I thought I'd hear.

So where was I? Oh, right, my Beanie situation. I made a shortlist of Beanie Requirements.

1. Warm ( but not too warm seeing as Cape Town has four seasons in a day...layers, darling! ).
2. Colours I can match with any outfit.
3. No pom-poms or outrageous colours/patterns.
4. Covers the ears ( those icy south-easters! ).
5. Cannot actually feel it on my head. Heehee.
6. One for each day of the week...Beanies for Days.

I can't promise myself that I'll keep them all ( I've already given two to my beautiful model, Tanya who lives next door and is my youngest sons GF ).

I'd love to hear your thoughts about charity, so do please leave a comment below?
For your trouble, Beanies for Days HERE, is a FREEEEEE pattern ( whether you need it or not ). 😆

Until next time, Lovelies.

Stay well, stay safe, stay calm and crochet on!

💛 Jen

A very big THANK YOU to Tanya who was dragged ( lured with coffee ) out of her warm bed to model the Beanies in the rain! 

True North

Hello, again dear Lovelies!

It's been a few weeks ( cough, cough a month, cough ) and you'd think in Lockdown, time would slooooow riiiight doooown, but no. The days have been whizzing by in a flurry of mundane household chores, making three meals a day ( ugh, I hates cooking! ), mastering online grocery shopping, finding creative ways to walk Roxy ( and myself ), laundry...seriously, why SO MUCH LAUNDRY!? I haven't done any of the things I thought I might do in a Lockdown. For example: learn a new language, tidy THAT dark, dank hidey-hole of a cupboard under the kitchen sink, experiment with fabulous dessert recipes, alphabetise the bookshelves ( yet ). I did finally complete the Green Tea Throw and now, when I look at the Block it does sort of resemble the actual coronavirus with its spikey circular crown! I'll forever associate this particular Throw with these surreal times.

I'm sure you have all been on a rollercoaster ride of emotions? I know I have. When the world wobbles beneath our feet it's interesting what we reach out for to grab ahold of to steady ourselves, right? In this respect, these strange times have forced me once again to reevaluate my life's path. The father of my sons died suddenly in his sleep during this time. Although we'd been divorced for 20-years we always remained good friends and had spoken just a few days before. More than anything, coping with this unexpected blow which inserted itself into the incredibly complex tangle of Lockdown rules and regulations, and the fear of the virus itself, has forced me to once again find my True North.

After making the Green Tea Throw, I received quite a few messages with "suggestions" of what to make next. That's a very odd thing to deal with. I had a good think about it and what came out of " the good think " was that there are two different camps of designers. Camp 1: commercial designers. That is those who create for yarn houses or their own yarn businesses, and who will make varied items, continually staying on-trend and learning new techniques in the process. Camp 2: the designers who's hooks will not listen to reason. I follow my hooks desire and, for now, I go where my hooks heart goes. This is my True North.

So, without further yada yada! Tadaaaaa!

Wishing you all a very lovely, relaxing and fun weekend!
💗 Jen