Works in Progress

Oh dear, one post a year isn't very frequent is it ?! Regular, yes, but not frequent. But anyway, here I am, back with some hooky happenings (and other stuff) to share with you. 

Before Christmas I worked on, and completed, my Yuletide blanket by Lucy of Attic24. It was a  pure joy to work on, all those luscious Christmassy colours, it really was delicious. Out of laziness (I didn't want to count every round) I decided to make mine in a simple granny square pattern, instead of Lucy's actual pattern. Here are some pics of the finished item, I hope you'll agree that it's gorgeous!

... and speaking of Attic24, I've also been working on the latest Attic24 CAL - the Harbour Blanket. The colours in this one are so jolly and vibrant, it has really cheered me up, working on it through the dreariness of January and February. Its a 6-part crochet-along, I am nearly finished with part 5, so only part 6 and then the border to go....

.... I'm also working on a crochet minion (as you do), its from a kit that hubby bought me ages ago in Aldi. Oh and do you like my mug .....

... it was a birthday present a few years ago. Pretty perfect though:)

My last piece of crochet news is that I'm working on a crochet man! No, not life-size, this one will be about 30cm tall, he is a request from a local children's charity for a man that looks like one of their members of staff! I'm using patterns out of this wonderful book Edwards Crochet Doll Emporium by Kerry Lord.

It has over 20 heads and 20 bodies that you can mix and match. Here you can see the head and body that I've selected to work on.

I'll be making him bald though and changing the colours of his clothes to match the charity's uniform, and also doing away with the scarf. Here are a couple of progress pics ....

As you can see he is coming along nicely!

One of the other bits and pieces I've got on the go is a Christmas cross-stitch. Yes I know its over and that is precisely why I have stopped working on it and can't seem to find my stitching mojo. But oh well, maybe once I finish the harbour blanket I will pick it up again. 

I've been messing about with junk journals too, and my desk has got lots of crafty bits out. I've been making these little flowers...

... to go on these shabby tags ...

... and faffing about cutting these little pockety envelope things out ...

I'll hopefully have more of these junk journal bits and pieces to show you in my next post, along with a completed crochet man!

Til next time,

Jillxxxx

New Beginnings

Hello and  Happy New Year to you all !! I hope you had a calm and peaceful, relaxing one; we did. We spent the evening on a zoom call with 5 or 6 groups of friends, we played Countdown and bingo and had a quiz: very different from the usual party we go to, but lots of fun nonetheless. There was lots of laughter and plenty of bubbly.

Since New Year our weather has been very dry but cold and I've been doing lots of walking so I've decided to sign up for another 200km this month.

I've managed to get out for a walk pretty much every day, sometimes with Pixie, sometimes with hubby, sometimes with both, and sometimes with friends.

Often I walk past "spoonville", a little area where lots of local children have "planted" decorated wooden spoons. This initiative began during the first lockdown and continued to grow all through the summer months.

A lot of the spoons are looking a bit worse for wear after being there for so long - the elements have taken their toll - but a few are still looking at least a little decorated, including the rather resplendent Father Christmas, which is obviously quite a recent addition.

A local lady has put together a "gingerbread trail" for the children to follow, here's one of the gingerbread men - actually this one is a gingerbread girl ... the trail is made up of laminated mini-posters attached to lampposts. We also had a Halloween trail and a scarecrow trail last year.  I love that there is so much for the children to look out for to help get them outside with a purpose. 

There is also a house that I pass that has decorated its front tree with lot of hama bead decorations. The lady who lives there has made them for children (and some adults!) to spot whilst walking. They certainly brighten up the otherwise bleak landscape.

 

I say bleak landscape, but there are always bright splashes of colour to be found if you look hard enough.

And some houses still have outside Christmas decorations up, I particularly like this very wintery tree with its beautiful silver baubles...

Back indoors, my hyacinth plant is looking rather marvellous .....

The blooms are so massive I've had to string it up a bit and prop it up against the window to keep from falling over. It probably needed a bigger pot but I never got round to replanting it. I think it looks pretty amazing though  actually and it smells divine.

Meanwhile there is plenty of crafting going on. As is my usual style I have tons of projects on the go and am starting a couple of new ones too. I'm just about to start a year long needlework "blackwork" project. This is where you stitch a repeating pattern, traditionally in one strand of black embroidery floss, though this particular project has muted rainbow colours - how gorgeous will this be at the end of the year.... each block is a different colour and pattern, with the patterns being released weekly by peppermint purple.

I decided that I'd do this project from my stash, and not buy any new floss for it, so I had to delve into my little wooden embroidery floss box thingammy which I inherited from my friend's Mum.

It needs a bit of a sort out, though I was able to find all the colours I wanted to use.

The other new project I am starting is the Meadow Cal from Lucy at Attic24. The first section is being released today, so I'll be working on that over the weekend no doubt. Just look at those colours - gorgeous...

And finally Gaynor, who runs my local crochet group, the Barkham Hookers, is going to be doing a chunky poncho Cal which I'd like to have a go at as well. I don't have a link for that, but when I do I''ll share it with you. Its going to involve some serious stash diving as I have a lot less chunky yarn and have no idea where it is. It could get very messy ......

I'm still working on my stitchonomy SAL ... look at the little reindeer  aren't they so cute!

... and work continues on the Christmas cross-stitch. I rather suspect t will turn out to be an Easter cross-stitch though, what with all the other projects going on. I am very far from being a monogamous crafter.

My Triana Shawl is getting quite big now ...

... I'm onto the last skein of yarn, oh I can't tell you how excited I am to finish this one and get it blocked, its so soft and gorgeous.

Well, I'm just off for another wintry walk - its very very cold today and threatening to snow - it will only be a little I'm sure, but its trying !!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend,

Jillxxxxx

End of the Year

Today  is the last day of 2020, can you believe it? And what a year it has been. Who'd have thought, this time last year, what this year would bring, that this Christmas and New Year we'd be essentially still in lockdown, unable to meet many of our loved ones. Hard and strange times indeed.

But let's not dwell on that. This week, mostly spent at home apart from a few long walks, has been actually really lovely and relaxing. I've enjoyed the lack of pressure to be anywhere or do anything much, except crafting and walking - I completed my North Pole Challenge to walk 200km in December. 

I'm really chuffed to report that I did a 12km walk on Tuesday 29th completing the 200km well within the allotted time window :) This was a virtual challenge meaning I signed up online, completed the challenge in my own time at my own pace, and then later I will receive a medal in the post - sometime in January. I really feel I earned it (I enjoyed all of my walks, but rather a lot were undertaken in pouring rain or, at least, persistent drizzle) and I can't wait for my medal to arrive!

I've decided not to enter a January challenge, instead I have signed up for a "5 weeks to 5k" programme in order to get me running again, I used to run, and loved it, but putting on weight made it a lot more difficult. Now that I've shifted some of that weight I feel ready to get back to running - at least I think I do! Ask me again after the first run!!

I can also report that I have finished my  Attic24 Cottage Ripple Blanket - more on that in  my next post. But here's a sneak peek ...

My Stitchonomy stitch-along continues: part 3 - snowflakes - was released last night. 

It was all going very well until I realised I'd made one snowflake too narrow so of course I had to unpick a load of work and redo it. I'd love to be more relaxed about these kind of things but I just know they would always annoy me.

Oh, do you like my new needle minders ? Aren't they super-cute ?

I found them on ebay, from a little shop called Wood and Cat, I thought they were just adorable ....

I'm also progressing my Christmas cross-stitch - more snowflakes ....

... but now I have a decision to make. Should I keep on with this one, bearing in mind its only just over half-finished and is very obviously Christmassy, or do I store it away with all the other Christmas bits and pick it up again next year ? What do you think ? Also bear in mind I have umpteen other cross-stitch projects requiring my attention, including a new one that I received for Christmas, and one I started 20 years ago for the millenium !!!!

Meanwhile I have picked up another WIP to finish - the Triantan Shawl from issue 52 of Crochet Now ...

I'm using a gorgeous Amano Puna peruvian baby alpaca in a rusty red colour, its super soft, I'm really looking forward to the feel of it on my neck once finished. The pattern is a really simple 3-row repeat, even my tired old brain can keep up with it easily. I started it some months ago but it was cast aside in favour of something else, and then the work and the pattern got separated and the tired old brain forgot the pattern, so I had to wait until I found the pattern again before resuming!

Its working up very quickly though so I'm hoping to share another Ta Da with you shortly.

So how are you spending your New Year's Eve ? We will be on a zoom call with friends, doing a quiz and games night, including Countdown, Wheel of Fortune and Bingo! And lots of bubbly!

I wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year, may 2021 bring happier times for us all.

Jillxxxx