Last minute!

Finished the baby blanket.
Finished Obi Wan Kenobi.
Finished 2 hippos.

No top for me, however. I just can't make up my mind about what yarn, what stitch etc.

But at least I got the other stuff done. Here are the carcases of the hippos:

And one with innards:

I haven't reported on Teasel the cat for a while. She's not a popular cat at the moment because she's proving to be a great hunter, and Rhiannon takes exception to having to rescue a teeny mouse in the early hours of the morning, or to waking to the sound of bones crunching beside the bed. So she is being stuffed with multiple courses of food in the hope that she'll be so full she won't want to hunt!

Last night was  Stitch Bournville. We had bread pudding fudge, made by Rhiannon. Very rich and lovely, though I still love the rose and pistachio fudge she made last weekend.
 Catherine brought her latest creation, Nellie the elephant, another of Heidi Bears designs. I hope Catherine won't mind, but I'm going to 'borrow' her photo, because I fell in love!



You can't see it, but there is the cutest little tail.

Tomorrow I'm off on holiday. Rhiannon and Fig and I are going to a cottage near Tintagel. I wouldn't go to Tintagel for years, being sniffy about fake Arthuriana. But once I had been dragged there I loved it. You walk down the steep path to the cove, and there are looming rocks and splooshes. If the tide is right you can walk into the cave that led to the legends about Merlin receiving the infant Arthur. It's very wild and very beautiful.

While we're there we'll go to a herbery that we've visited before and buy lotions and potions. There's a crab and lobster festival at Clovelly. And maybe we'll go to Rock and take the ferry across to Padstow. Fig will enjoy a swim or two in the sea and no doubt be spoiled rotten.

Wooooooooohoooooooooooo!

Fingers to the bone

I've been crocheting hard. First of all I had to finish the shawl for Kath:

Not one of my better photos. But I'm pleased with it.

Then I had a baby blanket to finish for Gareth's friend's little boy. It's not blocked yet, but I'm quite pleased with the colours. The centre is Tunisian entrelac, with plain crochet round the edge. I used Rico baby because they had the right sort of colours. It doesn't look like a traditional baby blanket, but he'll grow into it!

I'm also working on organising my workshops better. Yesterday Linda started her drop-stitch checked blanket, and two new ladies made granny squares and then squares with a 2-layer flower at the centre. They learned all the major stitches, and several useful techniques. The leaves are from a lesson prepared for Linda.

Fig went to the vet for her jabs today. I was quite nervous because the last time I went to the vets was to have Hesta put to sleep. Fortunately Fig has a clean bill of health. The vet's waiting room fascinates her, what with the smells and the noises and other patients. At least she doesn't try to leap up and get the toys, unlike one of the little dogs there. Good thing too - Fig would be able to reach them when she jumps.

At the shop, the winter yarn is starting to come in. Or do I mean autumn? There are two kinds of fluffy yarn, and some great colours. The Reflections yarn, which was new last year, has some new colours, which are really tempting. Reflections is a glittery yarn that knits as DK. Then there's a new Bergere de France 4-ply, with 75% wool. There are some printed shades, and the solid ones co-ordinate perfectly with them. But I'm not sure about the name - Goomy!

One of our customers is making photo props for her photographer husband. We gave her lots of ideas. She wasn't excited by some of our more creative suggestions, but she did go off with pompom yarn to make baby blankets.

So am I having a rest from crochet? You're joking. I'm making another 2 hippos, and there's a cone of Frangipani 5-ply waiting to be used. We're going to Cornwall for a week at the end of the month, so a wrap of some sort would be useful. And then there's Jules's shawlette, in orange Arauncania Botany Lace.

So if I don't blog much, you know why!

So much happening!

And no time to report!

I've been working on a shawl for a friend of Rhiannon's who is having chemo, using Lilygo's Remember Me pattern. It's a great pattern, and if I had time I'd do her mystery CAL. Then one of Gas's friends had a baby, Ben. I'm working on a blanket for him but have had major problems deciding. I saw a pattern called Ebbtide on Mainly Crochet (a new subscription website with some legendary designers) and loved it, but couldn't quite make it work for a baby. So I tried these:

Not what I wanted. So another try, which I like better:

It's too hot for big blankets on the knee, so motifs it is.

Heidi Bears is still having problems with pattern theft, and the latest sufferer is Helen. But my favourite horror story is the designer who found her FREE pattern being sold as a kit, with the photo of her wearing it on the front!

Let's see. Rhiannon is back to baking: this week we've had Gooseberry Frangipane and Blackberry cheesecake brownie. The brownie was yummy: when you bit in, there was a lovely ooze to slurp. The ladies at Stitch Bournville certainly enjoyed it.

Stitch Bournville was a bit quiet this month - holidays drawing people away - but Katherine came back from Devon to show off her two latest happypotami. One was in DMC perle 5, and the other in no 8 crochet cotton. I loved this last one especially - so plump and cuddle-able. I must start taking the camera down with me.

Workshops continue at the shop. My favourite this week was the lady who didn't know how to thread a needle ...

Customers come in all shapes and sizes and nationalities. This week one lady was visiting from Hungary and had come back the second day without her son. I know what that feels like!

Then there's Margaret, who has made 495 blankets for the Cats' Protection League!

Ann came in to show us her latest poppy - it's perfect and I'm hoping she'll share the pattern.

The hot weather has kept people focused on the cotton yarns, but the autumn/winter yarns are arriving daily. There's a new Sirdar yarn which is very interesting. It gives the effect of mohair but is mainly cotton and doesn't itch at all. There are some lovely colours.

And talking of lovely colours! I followed a link online and discovered Sophie Digard. So of course I fell in love and wanted to try my own, and after a lot of online thinking decided to try wool intended for crewel embroidery. It's 2-ply and comes in small quantites. These packs are from Renaissance Wools. If there's ever time, I'll have a play!

And finally a sad note. Gillian's mother died this week. She was still knitting, and had in fact won the tea cosy competition this year, with some super designs. I'm sorry, Gillian.

The best and the worst

This week has seen both aspects of the crochet world.

The good bit is the bunting for Yarndale. Lucy of Attic 24 designed the basic triangle and sent out a request for people to make some. The packages are coming in now, literally from all over the world. It's amazing the way crochet has brought us all together.

The bad bit is about Heidi bears. She designed the magical Happypotamus which people like so much, an elephant and the latest, a pony which is going to become a unicorn.

Her patterns are really thorough, with photos to help at all the tricky bits, and the designs are exciting. Now, however, someone is pirating  her designs. It's so easy to buy one pattern and then photocopy it for friends. I won't do that, because designers have to make a living or they stop designing. But to issue the pattern on the internet is appalling. Please support these independent designers and stay away from the cheats!

I'm working on classes, so playing with post stitches. Here we have the front

and back

of a cushion.

I paid a flying visit to the shop this morning and was chatting to Phil about the need to demonstrate stitches, and moaning about the slow progress. He suggested I do a throw. I pooh-poohed the idea (sorry, Phil!) but then came home and thought about it some more. Making swatches is a lot faster than cushions, and they can be joined when I'm ready.

So here we have one of my favourite swirly things, adapted to make a square:

 and a pattern adapted from The Harmony Guide to Crochet Stitches. This one was very difficult to photograph, to get the texture, but it does demonstrate a use of crochet chains:

This morning Julie was stroking more new wool - Louisa Harding Mila. The colours are stupendous.

And finally, a lovely thing that happened today: a thank-you note from Doreen's granddaughter Ellie for the hippo I made her. It even had a drawing of a hippo. I'm still smiling.

Never too hot

to crochet! But it's all motifs, because it's much too hot to have stuff on my knee.

So what's new? Well, not much. Here we have (yet another) hippo, this one for Doreen's granddaughter.

Please note the turquoise eyes!  I've just one more to finish, then on to elephants and a unicorn. Jules and I have been playing with colours for the unicorn; you can't have anything ordinary for a magic creature.

Time is being spent on projects for crochet workshops: if you learn post stitches, this is what you can do ... sort of thing. So this is the start of a blanket for a Moses basket:

Then there's this:

I was thinking of a bag, but then Rhiannon thought it was a tortoise, so perhaps a tortoise cushion?

And:

Note the spiral theme. I love making them! This one is an experiment to create a cat cushion. I think it might have to be a black cat with a white chest.

It's been fairly quiet in the shop - in fact Bournville has been quiet. Jules and I have been drooling over yarn - of which more later - and I'm ashamed to say I was sniffy to the rep over the crochet patterns. OK, they look like stuff from the seventies, they're very simple and dull,  but I didn't have to tell him.

There's a nice write-up of our Marie Curie day in 'Knit Now!' magazine:



Jules is closing down the funds for this year with the total at £2,600! She and Caroline worked so hard on all the unseen stuff, but that total is pretty great, and it's nice to see them getting the publicity they deserve.

Don't worry, we'll carry on raising money by making little toys etc during the year.

So many choices, so little time

After a very happy workshop on Saturday with Sandy, her aunt, and Sharon, I have a week to concentrate on plans. They might be plans for future workshops, or for patterns, or just for crochet - who knows?

Sandy went off with some no 20 crochet cotton to make ear rings. It occurs to me that we could do a workshop for crochet ear rings so Jules, Caroline and I had a discussion about stocking crochet cotton. What we really need is a supply of little balls like these from Yarnstick :

They have enough thread to experiment with, and not so much that you'll never be able to use it all.  Nice earrings, a chance to use beads. Yes, we'll try that.

After Gillian appeared at our last night with a stunning new knitted bag, I've been experimenting with crochet motifs for the same effect. Here we have part of a cushion in Drops Poem:

I really like making these little hexagons; the swirl is created by post stitches, which I love doing.

 And then Julie pointed me towards some new sock yarn.

The colours are much brighter than the photo shows. I'm in love.  I'm thinking of making the green/blue ones into a tortoise.

I'm not going to show - yet - two new Katia yarns which have fantastic colours. I need a rainy day to try for a decent photo. Or you could come to the shop, and see the whole column of vibrant colour.

The weather having finally decided to be summer, motifs are much more appealing than something that warms the thighs! So how about a workshop for a freeform bag? I love doing Irish crochet rose leaves, so here's one with another leaf I was trying:

Caroline says the rose leaf is like a cactus.  But I don't want cacti on my bag!

On the other hand, I was wondering if they could be turned into Christmas trees. In case you don't know, Bournville has the most beautiful Christmas tree. One of the trees in the ground of the Quaker meeting house is decorated; when you first see it, it takes your breath away, and it becomes a symbol of Christmas.

Other motifs I like:

The surface crochet is fun to do, and perhaps a topic for another workshop. (The big one is Aran weight, the greeny one is Bergere de France 4-ply Coton 50.) But what shall I make with them?

If my hands would work faster, or there were more hours in the day, see how creative I could be!

Workshops are back!

We began the new 'term' on Tuesday afternoon. Jules and Caroline had done a great job on the workroom; Phil's painting of the shop looked good on the wall, and the bunting around was an inspired thought.

People who come for their first workshop are often really nervous. That makes me nervous too, because I don't want to put them off the craft! Linda, on Tuesday, was surprised that she was tired; most learners aren't used to concentrating so hard, for such long spells. Linda, in fact, did very well, and has gone off vowing to practise.

So now I'm preparing for Saturday.

The wool is wound - granny squares are more fun with multiple colours.













I'm still working on content. This is a square from Debbie Bliss:

It's really pretty, BUT the flower is complicated unless you use different yarn for each of 3 rounds of petals, which leaves so may ends to get rid of. So I tried a pattern by Kristin Omdahl:

Much simpler, but too hole-y - the holes take away from the flower. So this morning I tried adapting it:

I like this one better. But first I have to write it up.

On Saturday Sandy, one of our Knitting group is coming for the workshop, so I want to make sure she has something new to learn.

So I have to write up the flower square, add the needle finish to the general instructions, tinker with the mug cosy and print out the lessons. I keep trying to cut down on the amount of paper I shower people with, but I'm failing ... miserably.