Talking turkey.

In our house Christmas doesn't mean turkey and sprouts. For a start, I absolutely loathe turkey, loathe it with a passion! I like bread sauce and stuffing, and the veg, but not the traditional centrepiece. We've experimented with different things, but this year we're going for what we know as a shopping tea, and no-one has to cook. A shopping tea is basically a buffet with all the things we like to eat - cheese, dips, raw vegetables, olives and so on. Odd, but we like it!

We've got our mini trees up and decorated, and fairy lights strewn round. I have one Christmas present left to finish, then I'm going to have a holiday of making what I like, cuddling with and walking dog Fig, and listening to audiobooks. Bliss!

Gareth will be doing his usual tour of friends in Leicester, but back here for Christmas food. Then off to his new house, which he finally moved into yesterday, after the usual traumatic this week, next week, sometime, never practised by solicitors. Come the after-Christmas, a trip to Ikea is planned, but he has kettle, cooker, fridge, bed, chair and tv. All the essentials.

My Christmas work shops are over; they were honestly a real flop. I'm not sufficiently well known to draw people. So I have to decide whether to give up now, or to do some things to try and make a name for myself. But I really don't want to waste time on self-publicising when I could be making new things.

I was quite pleased with some of the wreath stuff I planned for people. The top photo is a mini-wreath, about 3 inches across. The middle one is bigger; I'm using it as a candle jazzer-upper rather than hanging on the door.

The final one never got finished because the planned robin was way out of scale, and I ran out of time.

 I couldn't hang it up because it's only tacked together. I was pleased with the snow effect, and had fun with the snowman:

Caroline insisted he had a hat! The Santa to hang down was also fun.

I think I'll finish it for next year, though I've been thinking of shepherds in the field with the star ...

We had planned to yarn bomb the tree outside the shop, with lots of baubles etc. Unfortunately the weather has been appalling, with torrential rain and high winds. Maybe it will calm down enough to get it done. 

It's lovely to see so many friends popping in to the shop to wish us happy Christmas. Tomorrow we have some of Rhiannon's fudge. It's mince pie fudge, with home-made mincemeat marinaded in sherry. If you get a chance, come in and have a piece!

No excuses - just

nothing much to say! And since the blog is called 'the crochet year', I can't really talk about knitting. Julie showed me a new book by Louisa Harding and I couldn't resist!

But I'm still crocheting, don't worry. We had a Crochet-along at the shop on Saturday to work on Christmas wreaths. Mine was 'The Holly and the Ivy'.

I really enjoyed the workshop. Apart from how to do the basic wreath cover, we played with:

pine cones - great fun, if rather fiddly. I think Sandie is so interested in the technique that she's planning on a scarf using it.

Then 'the holly bears a blossom,

As white as lily flower ...

Three slightly different ones; I wanted to get a cupped effect. They are all short of their green stamen things in the centre.

And of course, 'The holly bears a berry,

As red as any blood':

These were a nightmare to sort out, but they are a lovely holly-berry red.

Of course, for Christmas you have to have bells. This one looked more like a doll's bonnet:

But these are OK.

I want them in groups of three, 'open' like this; Caroline has promised to try and get some bells to go inside; the ones we had in the shop were too big or too small.

And you have to have mistletoe depending from the wreath, of course:

You can't see the assembled wreath because I gave my covered frame to one of the other ladies, so I have to make another cover.

I have this idea for a sort of picture wreath - snowy, with trees in the background, a house, a snowman, and maybe Santa's sleigh driving across the top. Any one want to comment?

A little shop news to report. Julie and Caroline went to a presentation day with Theo Paphitis, to get their small business award:



And the big reveal finally took place last Sunday, after Caroline presented the cheque to Anne at a dinner-dance for the Felix Fund:



We raised £2,550 pounds by making and selling poppies. That's an awful lot of poppies!
So here's to:
Avril, poppy-maker extraordinaire,
Caroline the creative,
Jules the willing leaf-maker,
Maureen, late joining but prolific, and
Doreen, who cheerfully sewed leaves and pins onto poppies by the hundred.
We had a little help from Sandie, but basically the six of us made all this money. Wow!

And still ...

We're waiting for all the money to come in before we get the final total! Watch this space.

Now our thoughts are turning to Christmas. Caroline is preparing for the Christmas window and for yarn bombing; on Tuesday she was trying our her new Tulip knitting needles (free gift from the Knitting and Stitching Show) making an angel.

Major plans for more fund-raising have been postponed until next year, to give us time to recover from the poppies. It's amazing how making a simple thing like a poppy can sap your energy!

I'm playing with various ideas. How about this?

Not everyone has a plant support in their living room.

And then there's these:

Five wreath frames. After making the poppy wreath I've discovered I'd rather work with these than with the polystyrene wreaths.

They do, however, have some rather sharp bits where 2 wires meet. I fiddled about with toy stuffing to pad it, thought about quilting-type wadding. Quilting wadding wouldn't go round the bends. The toy stuffing wouldn't stay where it was put.

I needed to find a way to hold it in place.

And then it came to me:

I've bound the joins with Elastoplast!

So then I needed the crochet cover to sew things to. Never listen to kids when they tell you Maths is useless. The trusty formula of πd came to my aid and I made about 32 inches, the circumference of the inner ring. 

I've used double crochet into the back loop so it's quite elastic and should stretch to fit the outer ring.

As you can tell from the colours, it's a Christmas leaves ring. But I've got this snow one in my head too.

Busy busy!

Interim update

Poppy making is over for this year.


 


Caroline did an amazing, eye-catching window, with photos of Brett Linley, in whose memory we were selling poppies.

Christine's had another nice write-up in the Birmingham Mail.




















I've finished one, very purple blanket:

And begun another:

This one is for Gareth, who should be moving into a new house in a fortnight or so.

But this is only an interim update, because I'm waiting for the launch of the next charity drive before I start burbling about it.

And I don't know yet how much money we raised for the poppies. I know we exceeded our £500 target.

Watch this space!

Get your poppies now - last few days!

We've had an interesting week in the shop. On Monday a man who was passing stuck his head in the doors to tell the 'girls' to get a copy of the paper. (People do things like that in Bournville). This is why:



A feature on the village carried this photo of Caroline and Julie as its main focus. There was a very nice report to go with it.

Then on Wednesday it was Stitch Bournville. We'd run out of poppies AGAIN, so Jules and Sandie were making leaves and I was on poppies.


I'd hoped to introduce us individually, but the photos are all stuck together!

Top left introduces Gillian and Kate-the-Nurse, both of whom appear regularly in the blog. Gillian is our felting expert; she's just made a fabulous new bag for display in the shop. Kate-the-Nurse has made some amazing tea-cosies which are being sold in aid of Marie Curie.

Deliveries included more colours of Louisa Harding's Amitola, which left me panting, and the complete range of Rico 2-ply cotton. I very much want to try it; the colours are really vibrant.

Caroline and I have been protecting our poppies from people trying to buy them - or sell them, come to that! She's been working on some of her extra-extra special ones to make a vase of them for Julie's window; I've been making a wreath for the other window.

I acquired a metal frame from Louise's shop, two or three doors down, some weeks ago, but all the experiments with leaves were unsuccessful. Then there was a kerching! moment: the florist at Louise's had talked about moss!. So I made 'moss' and wrapped it round the frame.

Then I sewed on the string of leaves I'd made. Those who know me realise I have all sorts of lazy ways; this one saves darning in ends all the time.

And finally I added the poppies. Of course I miscalculated when it came to sewing them on, but it will have to do; I have fluffy poppies to make!

Note the elegant hanging device; here we have the whole picture:

That's Rhiannon getting arm ache!

For once, I'm quite pleased with something I've made, and I'm going to use the basics to make a Christmas wreath. But it won't be red and green!

And the beat goes on ...

Well, OK, not the beat. Just the poppy making. We're struggling to keep up with demand. We never thought it would be like this. Just a few poppies, we thought, to help out Anne with her money-raising.

We reckoned without Amanda, who is selling them at the university, where she works.

We reckoned without the effect of people wearing them out and about and telling where they got them.

So on Saturday I took in another half dozen frothy ones. A drop in the ocean. But the wonderful Avril came in with SIXTY FIVE.



Now the actual poppies and leaves are quick; it's the assembling and pinning that takes the time. Doreen has been a champion, and now we've had to press Maureen into service, too. By the end of Saturday she was ready to have nightmares about poppies.

Avril is sitting in the Craft Studio at the shop. I call it that because, when it's empty, Phil uses it as a studio and can be found painting in there, and when he allows, I use it for crochet lessons.

Of course, it's rarely empty, because there are deliveries! This week we had some Italian buttons; there were some pretty flowery ones, and Hallowe'en ones; perhaps I'll manage a photo so you can want them too.

And we had some Louisa Harding Amitola arrive. Unfortunately, it's so popular that Designer Yarns sent only two colours, but here we are:

This ball is a sample which the lovely Julie gave me to play with. Here's what I'm making:

It's an edging from Margaret Hubert's Complete Photo Guide to Crochet, and when I've used half the ball (thank goodness for digital scales), I'll turn round and make another side, linking to the 3-chain loops you can just about see.

Amitola is 80% wool, 20% silk. The colours are jewel-bright, with nice long repeats of each colour. Was I tempted? Well, of course.

This is destined to be a long shrug for Rhiannon.

It's been a stressful week, having a new kitchen installed. Tomorrow we expect the tiler, so next week expect photos. I popped down to the shop on Tuesday (to deliver some poppies!) and came back to find dog Fig in the street, so after that I stayed home to guard her. 

When I went down on Friday, Caroline had done a new window with an Autumnal theme. More news of her work next time.

Busy busy busy busy

The shop has been humming this week! On Friday, Caroline didn't manage to have a drink until four o'clock, let alone any lunch. Phil was wonderful, making tea and coffee for us, even though it didn't get drunk. We had a delivery of knitting needles and notions, but apart from my set of double-pointed cubix, and Caroline's puff maker, it hasn't been unpacked.

Customers continue to make our life happy. This beautiful baby blanket was made by one; she pops in most weeks when she is down in the village. The amazing thing is that as far as we know, she is over 90.

This has been Wool Week. On Friday Caroline celebrated the end of the week by making cakes:



The ones with the icing were especially delicious, but I admit to trying both!

Also for Wool Week the shop was marked out with a lurid, eye-popping yarn bomb on the tree outside; the Foundation design students from the college liked it. Avril thought it should have been bigger. She's right, of course, but time was short, and the tree is actually  three feet around so took some covering. The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK - not the most appropriate for Wool Week, but really good to crochet with, and a massive range of colours.







As you can see from the photo of the cakes, we are still working on poppies. We are struggling to keep up with demand and have pressganged Doreen. Here she is making up poppies from Avril, Julie's and Caroline's work.

At the same time, Amanda is selling them at her office, and Sandy is making and selling them. It looks as though Caroline's target will easily be exceeded.









At home I am working on a cowl in Araucania Botany Lace, which is one of my favourite yarns. It's probably about a 3-ply weight, and beautifully smooth. The colours are really vibrant.

There's a bit of a purple theme going; also on the hook is a blanket for a friend who specified purples.

This square is fun to make because you have to concentrate and count all the time (yes, I'm strange that way). It's designed by Julie Yeager. I love her squares; they are textured and innovative. This is another one that I found when I was tidying up ready to move the kitchen into my work room.

In case anyone is concerned about the hole in the ceiling, it is now fixed and the plaster is drying. Tomorrow the kitchen is being started. There are units in the garage, tiles in the hall and boxes of equipment wherever there is an empty space.

The bright side of chaos? No house work possible.

Congratulations ...

... To Jules and Caroline!

How about that? Runner up in the Midlands for the best local yarn shop! Jules and Caroline went down to the Knitting and Stitching Show at the Ally Pally to mix with the movers and shakers, and to collect the certificate. They had a great day, and when Julie downloads the photos, I'll sneak some of them to show you.

A remarkable thing about this award is that most people didn't even know the shop had been nominated. The LYS which won has talked openly about their campaign to secure votes. Christine's didn't have a campaign. I don't think it was even mentioned on Facebook. So that makes the award even more pleasing: customers really do like the shop.

While the bosses were away, the dream team (Doreen, Phil, Maureen and I) kept the shop open and delighted in telling people why we were on our own.


One of our customers bought 10 pairs of small knitting needles on Saturday. She's a teacher, and running a community activity teaching parents to knit. They are making the little hats for Smoothies. She tried to get us to make some, but we just pointed towards the poppies. The shop has now raised £350. We're going almost flat out to keep up with demand, and have pressganged Doreen to sew the pins on the backs for us.

These are the two models I'm making; the one at the bottom is from the British Legion, but I don't enjoy making them so have an alternative. The flat one at the top will have stamens (made from Fun Fur Yarn) in the middle, and both will have a leaf. After lots of trials, and Caroline making rude comments about one of my efforts, I've settled on this one:

It's from Suzann Thompson's book, Crochet Bouquet. 

And here you see the pile of pieces waiting to be assembled.

Apart from the happiness at the shop, it's not been an enjoyable week. I seem to have spent a large part of it waiting for plumbers, and this is the current  state of play:

This is the tasteful hole in the ceiling. So this week I'll be waiting in for people to replace soaking wet floorboards and ceiling, and then next week they will be installing our new kitchen.


On the craft front, Iam FED UP of losing my scissors. It used to be tape measures, but I got round that by using the heavy, metal retractable ones: you can tell where they are from the weight of the bag!

But scissors is (are?) another matter. Now Gillian's mum made her a lovely knitted holder for hers.

In the old days, ladies had chatelaines - keys and so on attached to their belts for security and easy access.

So, scissors on a chain? But I don't wear belts very often. Market traders pouch, only smaller? An apron? Current favourite is a sort of segmented pocket; I just have to think of a way to attach it to my person, and then I'm set.

Anyone with any ideas out there?

The Felix Fund

At Christine's we meet all sorts of people. Currently the new intake of students for the Art Foundation course are visiting us weekly for materials for textile projects. This morning a young lady asked for knitting needles with holes in! And last week one of the young men was (temporarily) yarnbombing the lamp post outside the college. He'd finger-knitted the fabric and was happy to discuss his project and how he hoped to improve it.

One of our regular customers is Anne Linley. Her son Brett was a mine disposal expert. Yes, was. He was killed making a mine safe in Afghanistan. At first Ann raised money for Help for Heroes, but now she has decided to concentrate on the Felix Fund.

The Felix Fund provides the money for proper aftercare for mine disposal specialists. It's not really possible to imagine what it must be like to be searching for and disposing of mines for hours and weeks on end. The strain must be intolerable. When they finish a tour of duty they need time to decompress; the government funds minimal time, so the Felix Fund steps in to try and save these young men from Post-traumatic stress.

Last year Ann crocheted and sold poppies to raise money for the fund and was amazed at the interest. So this year at Christine's we have a box which we are keeping filled with poppies. Another customer, Avril, has made a lot. Julie also makes the basic poppy, and Caroline does the really important work of putting them together and making their leaves and centres.

So far we have raised £250; Caroline's target is £500.

We are planning a poppy yarn bomb for the tree outside the shop to advertise  for those who don't visit us for wool. This green thing is the bandage to go round the tree:

To it we plan on sewing poppies - our last yarn bomb was stolen, so we're taking no chances. And if time allows, I have a frame for a small wreath.

I've watched Ann pull her life back together after the death of her son. She is a hero too.

In the moment

That's the result of my holiday: a resolution to live in the moment, to be alive to where I am and what's around me.

It was a wonderful holiday. I ate Port Isaac crab in Port Isaac; had fresh-caught fish at Tintagel, and various other Cornish treats.

Cornwall in the sunshine is spectacularly beautiful. From the cottage we had views of Bodmin moor, but the weather was so good we just wanted the coast.

We went to Padstow twice. Now I'm far from being a Rick Stein fan, but Padstow has developed, since we went there thirty or so years ago, into a friendly, lazy sort of place. You can hear gentle, live music wherever you are. There's delicious local ice cream to sample, places to sit in the sun and drink coffee. I was happy to people watch, or to watch the tide coming in.

Most people seem to have dogs; Fig had sensory overload when we left, after all that sniffing.

At Boscastle I had the great pleasure of listening to the hollow booming from the blow hole.

And we went to Tintagel.

The photos are by Gareth, when he and I went to Cornwall two years ago. As you will see, his photos are brilliant.

When you go to Tintagel, you leave the village and go down a very steep path to the bay. It's so steep that they offer Land Rover rides up and down. This is the view from half-way down; there's a place where the stream is accessible so little brown dogs can have a drink and cool their tummies.

At the bottom is a good cafe, serving fresh food, and the English Heritage centre and entrance to the castle. I don't go up to the castle. It's far too exposed, and I have absolutely no head for heights. I go down to the little beach. There's a pretty waterfall:

When you've climbed down the many steps there are boulders to negotiate before you reach the small amount of sand. Fig had the most amazing time down there, playing with the waves and surfing. She disappeared among the rocks at one point, and I was just getting anxious when she reappeared from the opposite direction, grinning all over her face.

Down there are caves, and especially one which actually goes right through the cliff.

I'm a real wet blanket and don't like caves any more than heights, but this one has such amazing light effects that it takes my breath away.

Climbing back up to the village is a  penance. No, I didn't ride. My pride wouldn't let me.

The village has a lot of fake Arthuriana, but the legends are so compelling I can understand it. And in spite of the tourists, the touristy shops and places, the place has a real magic about it. I'm looking forward to my next visit already.

What, no crochet? Well yes, of course. My next effusion will introduce visits to Bude and to wool shops. See you then!