NOT crochet related!

Well, sort of! Because, snacks! Mind you it was sort of awkward to crochet and eat these delicious treats, at the same time. They are addictive, to say the least. And absolutely no cheese is added. Honestly, they are so incredibly cheesy that I kept reading the ingredients label in case I missed something. I was sure nutritional yeast had been added, but no, not even a smidgen.

I was asked to review this product and for my troubles ( ha, ha ) a box containing six packets was delivered to my front door. I'm no fan of Kale, which is weird. seeing as it's considered the holy grail of non-meat eaters. Well, not by me. So it was with a small amount of trepidation that I agreed. I thought that if this doesn't sell me on Kale, then nothing will. And seriously, baked Kale is every bit as delicious as everyone else said it was. They were perfectly spicy, salty and cheezy.  Also, no soy, wheat, GMO's or dairy. Oh cripes, just looking at the pics I took, and my mouth is watering. Literally! :-)

A big basket of Easter!

Hello Everyone ( my three fans, tee, hee ). Well, Easter is over-ish and I hope no-one is nursing a too-much-chocolate hangover? It's been a quiet few days for me, mostly imposed, because of Flu. Mind you, the weather played along all rainy and blustery like so I feel I didn't miss a thing ( except crochet ). My head and eyes, and sinus's, and just about every other part of my body were involved and in spite of my best efforts, I could not put a hook to yarn. Mr T and I headed out of the city to our tiny off-grid cabin in the country ( only an hour outside the city! ) and sniffled and coughed our way through two seasons of Modern Family, snuggled deep under a warm duvet.

And then,we wobbled down to the shops ( only two blocks down the road ) for important supplies, like the latest Ideas magazine, and as I casually spoiler-flipped the pages...well! It had slipped my mind completely that I'd emailed them a fan mail months before! And there it was, with the image I'd submitted. I'm famous now so I'll probs have to get an agent, and an office, and some assistants. Hee, hee! It is a funny feeling seeing your own work in your favourite mag though!

 

Also, I'd been gathering some yarn together for a day-dreamed project and look, it almost exactly matched the colour co-ordinations on the cover! Patterns. I keep saying. :-)

Since finishing the Married Harmony blankie, I've felt a little lost, as we all do, right? My Water For Trees blanket is coming along, haltingly, but there's no feeling of urgency there seeing as it's for me. It's interesting, to me at least, that I will crochet by the light of the midnight oil for someone else, but my personal projects are waiting in line...usually right at the back of the queue. Again, I see patterns in this, and questions, and answers too. Although, I'm not a total loser here because I did crochet up a few satisfying little side-projects. Yes, Crochet is a perceptive therapist, when we know where to look. But here I go again, waffling all philosophical again.

You know, well maybe not, but I'm a huge fan of The Patchwork Heart. I just love her simple yet exquisitely beautiful work. And her palettes, or as she calls them "colour recipes" are faultless! Anyhow, I was inspired as I am, always, when I peruse her Blog and FB page, to crochet a cosy cover for me ol' hot water bottle. Since the Big M ( yes, Menopause ) I have experienced the excruciating discomfort of several UTIs! Anyone who relates, and that's almost all women, knows that our trusty hot water bottle helps so much! Even just hugging its soft warmth is comforting during this stressful time. I've never owned a hot water bottle "before this time" but when my dear Irish mom-in-law passed on I found that I had inherited one! Thank you!!

I chose a few soft Autumn tones from my usual good quality acrylic pick, Elle Pure Gold DK ( Suede, Blush, Plum and Amethyst)  and Elle Family Knit DK ( Coral Rose ) and a traditional granny square with a Cosmos blossom centre. Cosmos are a much loved floral show here at the onset of Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Although mostly on the "highveld" where I grew up. I would pick arm-fulls and fill buckets with these enchanting, cheerful wildflowers and not mind a bit that they would quickly, abundantly, scatter pollen and petals all over the floors, carpets and table tops. The *divine mess* I call it. I tried out a Lazy Waves design for the back which worked in my favour when it came to securing the bottom with buttons.

There was also a lot of mucking about in the garden and coffee-drinking at local cafes. I absolutely love it when Mr T has days off from work! The weather, so far, has remained right up my alley! Cool, rainy... and those Cape of Storms cloudscapes are back! EVERYTHING, has been absolutely parched here and to say we need rain is an understatement. So, here's to inclement weather, the oft under-appreciated ally of all crocheters and knitters. Bring. It. On!

Wishing you the best crochet weather, wherever you are in the world!
Love, always,
Jen
xoxoxo

Married Harmony Blanket.

Technically this is not really a blanket sized blanket! Almost, but not quite. :-) It started out as Lucy's Attic24 Harmony Blanket but then I got a bit bored with the same Granny Square design repeated through all 126 squares so I decided to crochet another 8 different designs ( 14 sets of 9 squares ). I wanted the blanket to be representational, in the tradition of old world crafts, and not just beautiful. I chose vibrant colours and different designs for the squares, to represent the wild and complex aspects of Marriage. I joined the squares with a lovely misty grey, to reflect all the grey areas within all relationships. Because let's face it...nothing is ever entirely black and white when it comes to relating to one another, right?

Then I finished off with a rosebud border. A bud, to represent a young marriage, and the potential therein, and roses to remind ourselves that marriage is a bed of roses, thorns and all where we learn about the true meaning of love through tolerance and acceptance.

This blanket was made with love in every stitch for my middle son and new daughter-in-law who were married in October 2015. I didn't feel too bad about taking so long to finish "their" blanket seeing as I did make their all-vegan cupcake wedding cake! :D

Also, it's been a sweltering summer here too. Those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them ( erm, let's not mention all the side projects ). Thus comes to an end the Married Harmony blanket journey. And, as is usual I think, there is always a bit of sadness letting go? Our creations are like little babies, all grown up, and set off into the world. Sigh.

But, here's to new beginnings. And there are always plenty of those, if you're hooky mad, like me!
Wishing you all many happy goodbyes to much-loved projects and even happier hellos to all the new ones just waiting to be crocheted into being.

Love, always.
Jen
xoxo

Ps: I did want to mention that I used a 4mm hook and  Elle Pure Gold DK, and Elle Family Knit DK throughout. They are both good quality 100% acrylic yarns and come in lots of lovely colours.

Lucky 13.

Yippeee, finally completed a simple wedding anniversary Sweethearts garland/bunting, which has 13 Hearts (my husband and I were married on a Friday the 13th!). I hung it over our bed, because we still haven't found the perfect headboard. Our 113 year old house is being painted, slowly, one room at a time by me...and I haven't settled on a colour for the bedroom. I'm leaning towards Duck Egg Blue. Sadly it's Ancient White at the moment.

 Also, got around to crocheting up a handy "colour reference pin-board", which I've been meaning to do since I first started crocheting around two years ago. Before that it was bits of yarn, attached to Prestick, stuck to a cupboard door. The labels eventually fade or fall off and I wanted something a bit more robust. This weekend I had a bee in my bonnet to tidy up all the lose ends floating in my mind, all those niggling  little irritations that do the rounds in your head while you're crocheting. So I crocheted up colour samples for my entire stash. And once I pinned them all up it was really useful to see the colours I gravitate towards , and the one (s) I gravitate away from...YELLOW. I have ONE skein of Sunshine Yellow!! Yellow is just not my colour it seems. Anyhow, with my lovely Colour Reference Board, I was able to put in a decent yarn order at my favourite online yarn store Kayo Bazaar. My intention is to fill in the blank yellow spaces with softer yellows...like Baby Yellow, and Banana Yellow. :-) Useful too, to shuffle colour combinations around on.

I'm more than usually excited about getting this yarn delivery because I've ordered 5 skeins of Coffee Cotton to try out. 60% cotton, 25% panfibres and 15% coffee extract. It had me at Coffee Extract!  I'll do a review once I've played with it a bit. Of course, all this "tidying up" is me busily procrastinating over the border to my Married Harmony afghan/blanket. I've reached that point and I cannot make up my mind over the border. It's even creeping into my dreams! I think I need to not think about it for a few days and hopefully , as it usually does, the perfect solution will just pop up...probably while I'm driving, or in the shower! I've learned that when I get anxious about finding a solution to something, anything really, the best thing to do is to just.back.off. Then like magic, the solution floats into consciousness. Always. I need to trust this process.

May inspiration always find you... close to your hook and yarn! :-)
Love, always,
Jen
xoxoxo

Bootifull Things.

I have a confession to share today. I am SO broody! It might have everything to do with both my grandsons reaching the ripe old age of 10! Officially the start of  " stop cuddling me in public ". To their credit they do still cop a cuddle, but only when no-one is watching. Babe is aloof, and will allow cuddles only when she settles down for her evening nap. So my mind has been on all things cuddly, and babies, and teeny things, And because I missed out on crocheting when my own children were tiny tots, I never learned to crochet * cute little things *. My bad, as the saying goes.

Sewing was my thing, but practical wear, like shorts, dungerees and skirts for myself. I saw a lovely, and for me, very moving video on youtube the other day which reminded me of exactly why I decided to eventually learn the fantastic art of crochet. Oh, here I go again, waffling on. To get to the point. I have been busily procrastinating from starting the border to my Married Harmony blanket...by crocheting baby shoes and booties. I can't stop! But what a satisfying addiction!

Again, all credit goes to Laura Eccleston from Happy Berry Crochet for her excellent and detailed tutorial. She's a perfectionist, so I relate, and more than happy to slowly follow her instructions. Once I "mastered" her pattern I jollily made a few smaller booties, using a downsized version of my own... but also inspired by this super easy tutorial. Again, I'm hooked! Now, all I need is a baby! My middle-son suggested I crochet Cat Booties. It might just come to that. And Babe is always close by.

Wishing you a splendid day, and may your dreams be re-ignited. As they say it's never over, 'til it's over.

Love, always.
Jen
xox