A quiet day

 

I’m sitting in bed with my lap top my view consists of tree tops and roofs. Today it is surprisingly bright with lots of lovely natural day light flooding in. It would be a great day to take photographs for Instagram as the light has been so poor recently. But today has to be a quiet day resting in bed, I’ve had a little set back with my ME and need to recuperate. I thought I could use the time catching up with a blog post as long as you forgive my ramblings. On days like this it’s sometimes difficult to find the right words to express myself.

I have such a lot to tell you as it was summertime when I last checked in, I think I will start with the Autumn Crochet afternoon which was in October. Carole and I worked so hard to make sure everything was perfect and it was such a great afternoon. The theme was all things autumnal and our tables were decorated with pumpkins, flowers, acorns, fir cones and conkers. The tables did look lovely and as much as possible we themed our afternoon tea as well.

Deciding on the crochet project is the hardest thing to plan as it has to suit all abilities from newbie crocheters to the more advanced crocheters. It also has to be something you can start off on the day but still be able to chat and enjoy lots of yummy cake, as it’s such a social afternoon.  A project that needs lots of concentration and quiet wouldn’t work very well.

I came up with the idea of a cosy scarf for the project quite quickly but the actual pattern took ages. I made so many samples before I was happy. The pattern I decided on was for a granny striped scarf with pom poms and a simple headband to complement it.

I shared my idea with Lovecrochet and they kindly agreed to sponsor my workshop and provided some beautiful yarn to make the scarf and head band.

Working closely with Jenni and Csilla at Lovecrochet HQ the yarn we chose to use was Paintbox Simply Aran which comes in an amazing array of colours and is so soft to crochet with. It makes a really cosy scarf without being heavy. Carole and I put 3 different colourways together and then made them up into project packs for the day, everyone loved the different colour combinations.  About 6 or 7 weeks after the autumn workshop, Carole and I attended a local Christmas Craft Fair and we bumped into at least four people wearing our granny scarf it was so funny and heart warming to see them wearing the scarf in all its different colour combinations. I’m planning to put the scarf pattern onto the Lovecrochet website as soon as I do I will update my blog post with the pattern link.

I was planning to run another workshop before Christmas but due to my health restrictions Carole and I had to cancel. This was very disappointing but I’ve learned to work around my condition and I have concentrated on smaller projects I can manage from home.

It’s amazing how many interesting opportunities come along when you least expect it. Hobbycraft asked me to design some fairy lights/baubles which was a fun project and the free pattern is still available on the Hobbycraft Blog  

In November I attended the Lovecrochet “Flock” Christmas party which was great fun and it gave me the opportunity to meet lots of the Lovecrochet team and some lovely Instagrammars and Bloggers.

As well as drinking lots of prosecco, eating some lovely cake and networking we made an adorable little Christmas wreath.

We also got the opportunity to sample some amazing new yarns.

Lovecrochet recently launched Willow and Larks yarn on their website and as a member of the Flock I received this adorable little package in the post such a lovely gift I love my mug but think I love the yarn more. The Yarn has some beautiful soft muted shades and is beautiful to crochet with.

Lovecrochet support a number of charities and I’m excited to be involved with a charity event planned for later in the year. I have been busy writing a new pattern for the project and decided to use Willow and Lark’s Ramble a beautiful soft but hard-wearing wool in soft pink and grey shades but unfortunately I can’t share very much at the moment, more will be revealed later in the spring.

I have also been collaborating with a yarn manufacturer in Portugal. Welcome Yarn sent me some lovely samples to try. I adapted my crochet bag pattern and have made a big shopping bag and also tried my hand at rugmaking for the first time.

             

The yarn was great to work with but I did need to take it steady as it’s quite hard on the wrists to crochet with for prolonged periods. I used a 15mm hook for the rug with t-shirt weight yarn and a hook a little bit smaller for the bag I think it was a 12mm. Such sturdy and useful projects I was impressed with the yarn.

I’ve also knitted (yes knitted!) a small lap blanket using a Weareknitters Blanket Kit. The yarn is the softest Peruvian Wool so easy to knit with, I was worried about knitting a blanket because as you know I’m mainly a crocheter but I needn’t have worried as the pattern was very easy to follow, everything was included in the kit, wooden knitting needles, sewing needle and the cutest label to stitch onto your completed blanket.

Weareknitters kindly sent me the kit to review and I can honestly say it was a lovely project from start to finish.  The colour of the first image isn’t quite true to life the coral shade is much truer on the second image, sorry to cause confusion, it was the light when I took the photo. Just to confirm I have had no financial payment from the company,  I loved making my little lap blanket..

     

Since Christmas I have fallen back in love with amigurumi as I received an amazing crochet book as a gift from my husband ( he had some help) Beetles Bugs and Butterflies by Lalylala.

It has totally inspired me the creatures are adorable I can’t stop making them. Lydia Tresselt is such an amazing designer I love her attention to detail. I made a few of her patterns for Posy when she was first-born, my favourite was a kangaroo with a little baby in her pouch.

         

One of the things I have missed is teaching so I have started running my crochet lessons from home again, which I do really enjoy

I find teaching on a one to one basis the most rewarding and I have quite a few new students booked in over the next month or two, I have also just run a crochet bag workshop and have another couple of workshops planned.

Before I go I have one last bit of news to share with you, a few days ago I was approached about a possible collaboration for later in the year. The project is really interesting and will be challenging for me but I am so so so excited about it, I will share more information as soon as I can I promise.

I am such a poor blogger these days and can’t really understand why as I do enjoy writing my blog posts. I think it’s just getting myself motivated that’s the problem, however it has been really nice catching up and reflecting on what I have been up to over the last six months or so. I say this every time so I apologise for being so boring but I am always surprised by how much I do manage to achieve and share with you.

I have to say my view from the bed has now changed somewhat as it’s dark and the curtains are closed.

It has taken me most of the day to write this post, with lots of rests and stops and starts but at least I have achieved something during my day in bed. ME can be so hard to deal with at times,  it’s the unpredictability that I hate most of all.  I missed my grandsons birthday party yesterday because of it, I need to get stronger as I have things booked in for later in the week that can’t really be changed, so it’s lots of enforced rest for the next few days.

talk again soon and I hope I haven’t sent you all to sleep

xxx