Friday 21 August 2020

A new Block on the block!

 Good morning, Lovelies, from sunny South Africa. Not in Cape Town though. It's rained for weeks!

I don't know about you but I have been struggling to catch up with August. When I looked up from my crochet it was already into mid-August! There was so much talk during Lockdown of having endless acres of free time to do "stuff " we never have time to do otherwise because, you know, no time, etc, etc. Yet, almost everyone I chat with says that time whizzed by! There was no "learning a new language" or " writing that novel" or " clearing out the cluttered drawers ". Anyhow, I just want to tell you all that I know why this happened. I know where the time whizzed by to. It was crochet, right? Everyone has crocheted like MAD! For the record though.....


Like a good little Virgo, I did declutter my stash though. There's a lovely lady who works at our local plant nursery. Her name is Angelina. I didn't know that she knits and crochets. She asked about my Beanie ( Beanie For Days pattern ) which I happened to be wearing at the time, and suddenly we became sisters-in-the-hook! I gifted her two huge bags of unused yarn ( neon colours I know I will never use unless I go blind, god forbid! ), which she absolutely loved and she's been making beanies and scarves for her Fam that will last them several lifetimes. There's always someone who will love what you've fallen out of love with, right?

Anyhow...enough idle chatter! I have a pattern for you today! I called it Moonflower. Actually based more on the Lavender Moonflower ( aka Lavender Moonvine, Morning Glory ). It's my interpretation of this pretty flower which is in fact not indigenous to South Africa ( but they are prolific in certain areas ). I know Morning Glories are quite invasive but I love them nonetheless.



This new design is a large cushion block size, 50cm x 50cm/ 20" x 20". I've used colours from my dwindling Stylecraft Special DK and Scheepjes Colour Crafter and my trusty 4mm Tulip hook. For those of you not on Facebook, Mr HooksnTales surprised me with an early B'day present. A gorgeous set of Tulip hooks! Finally, he knows what to gift me! And PINK! ๐Ÿ’œ




Also, I made sure to make the finishing round of the block 84st so that you can extend it using any of the four extensions I already have available: High Tea, Hibiscus Tea, Golden Tea or Green Tea! I'm still mulling over whether I should extend it but for now, I can't see it in my mind's eye. While we are on the subject of Pink... our six very, very old Almond trees are blossoming! Spring is creeping closer and to be honest, after this particularly damp, stormy, chilly, snowy Winter, I don't mind at all that the weather will be warming soon. I know that in a few months I'll be regretting this sentiment.



I digress, as usual! ๐Ÿ˜€Ten randomly chosen Lovelies will receive a free copy of the Moonflower pattern so do check your Ravelry before purchasing. I've struggled for DAYS to get a half-decent pic of the block, but sadly the skies remained grey and unyielding to my pleas. This was the best of 100! 


There was a lot more I wanted to share but I'm sure no one wants to read a small book today. It is Friday after all!

Take care, Lovelies and I wish you all a wonderfully relaxing and peaceful weekend filled with squishy yarn and loads of free time!

๐Ÿ’— Jen xx



22 comments:

  1. My!. Jen, that's one amazing block. A great project to celebrate the upcoming spring. And those crochet hooks are pretty. Wish you all the best, Jen.
    Cheers♡♡♡

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  2. Hi Jen, it's been a bit chilly in KZN as well. This is gorgeous. Now I can't decide on what my next project should be,lol. Stay warm

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  3. The pattern is gorgeous. I think I might use it for a pillow I need to recover.

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  4. Wow that pattern is lovely, and pretty sure I have ALL those colours in my stash!!!

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  5. Bellรญsimo!! Felicitaciones por semejante trabajo. Ame ๐Ÿ˜

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  6. It's been sunny but absolutely freezing in Jo'burg these past few days but it's warming up nicely now.
    My wool stash is depleting rapidly from all the crochet I did during lock down. As a fellow Virgo, I de-stashed my entire house!
    The moonflower is beautiful!(Ravelry name - shapeshoulder)

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  7. It's so beautiful Jen, you are an amazing designer. When one day soon I hope, you and your hubby come to Greece, its been too long for you, since your last visit. We will drink our Greek coffee, more flavor's, way back when you were here there was 1 type of coffee, then I would love to pick your brain, and see how you come with all beautiful ideas to crochet. Sending you many hug's and my love. Sofia xox

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  8. Oh wow just amazing ,the colours the pattern stunning, hope this time I would be one of 10.. ThThankyou for all the lovely patterns

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  9. This pattern shows your great creativity nature, it's amazing, I have all these colors in 3 ply wool. So I will make it for medium size (18 x18") cushion. Congratulations for great work.. ❤️❤️❤️

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  10. One of your most beautiful patterns yet and I was so surprised and appreciate seeing the pattern in my Ravelry this morning. Thank you so much ... your kindness is never-ending! I can't wait to hear what else you wanted to share with us, hopefully in a future post!

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  11. That is a very nice present indeed! A dream’s present ๐Ÿ’
    Lovely!๐ŸคŽ๐Ÿ’œ๐ŸงกI’ll try to make this cushion cover for a cushion that’s always on the back seat of my car, for when the kids go along to run some errands and fall asleep ๐Ÿ™ƒ๐Ÿ˜ด

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  12. Lovelovovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove
    Have I told you yet how much I love the Gorgeous Moonflower Cushion Block Xx

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  13. My what a lovely bunch of hooks you have there! And that pattern - well, gorgeous as usual. I'm sure your leftover stash is lovely as well. Wow, it's spring there and our summer is just starting to wind down, although it is still around 90F days for a while yet. Enjoy the pretty blossoms and budding of spring!!

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  14. Hi Jen
    I really look forward to reading your blog on a Friday, it brings a ray of light into whatever my day has been!
    Yes! The famous August winds arrived and blew the month into the past rather rapidly eeeeeck ๐Ÿ™ˆ
    Oh those hooks ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’• and the Moonflower block too wow, just STUNNING!!! Love the inspiration ❣

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  15. Hi Jen and a very happy early birthday. Love the pink hooks, & love my tulip hooks too! Your new creation is glorious! I have Morning glories growing on my back fence! Adorable!,,๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿ’• I can see that pattern in many color combinations.....thank you for all your beautiful works๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป

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  16. Love your blog and your designs - I've been living in Canada for 23 years and still think of South Africa as my spiritual home and miss it so much. Hooks 'n Tales is my way of maintaining a connection.

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  17. Hi, Jen. Not sure how this random picks thing works, but I'm collecting ALL your squares. I love the TEA series. The bit I love most of all is, I can use up most of the bitty balls I have left over from other larger projects.Thank you so much for your stunning designs, free and paid. It is the biggest thing keeping me sane with all this lock down stuff. (Here in Bendigo,Victoria,AUST ),we are in the 2nd lock down of our state, all because people don't do the right thing when asked.
    I hope all is well with you and yours, please keep on with your sharing, for the sake of all our sanity. Edith from "Down Under"

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  18. I love reading your block, it is like listening to a dear friend ( which I do count you as ) The block is gorgeous as usual. Thank you for inviting us into your world.

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  19. I love this block and bought it as soon as it was available!
    But I was looking at your Ravelry pattern page and saw there are a few you "Officially Retired." Is there any chance they're just "undergoing renovations" and coming back? Because those Solstice Square/solstice Beach Bag sound like they'd be an exceptional addition to my collection!
    Thanks,
    Mercy

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  20. Hello Jen,thanks for yet another beautiful pattern. I love your Moonflower! I'm seriously considering early retirement to have time to make all your patterns. In the meantime I've got 3 on my hook - just about finished the second of a pair of Riebeeck Kasteel cushions for my daughter, challenging myself with a mono colour High Tea (thank goodness for your video when I can't refer to a previous round by the colour ��)... and I've bought the yarn for my Port Isaac mat!!
    Cheers from a warm Pietermaritzburg
    Liz
    (LizDtoo)

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  21. Hi Jen, happy early birthday wishing you healthy & happy always. Such a lovely b'day present!
    Thank you for another beautiful pattern. I must to have it to make a gorgoeus cussions to bright my home, my revelry Yunitarismawati

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