Summer Holidays ...

My summer holidays have been spent at home this year, finishing those little jobs off that you just haven't been able to get around to the rest of the year. This last week has been my summer holiday and although its only a week it is feeling a lot longer which is wonderful and proves I have relaxed, and with it being a bank holiday it continues a little longer! A little crochet has been done, but there has been many an adventure!

Those adventures started before I broke up for my summer holiday with a trip to the Black Country Museum, a wonderful place that I never tire of. The purpose of the visit, as well as pleasure, was to look at the crochet displayed throughout the museum as part of my diploma ... I'm not sure whether the crochet gave me a perfect excuse to go to the Museum, or the trip to the Museum gave me the perfect excuse to look at crochet ... but either way we had a perfect day!!

 

The street in the distance is a new part of the museum with another fish and chip shop ... no guesses as to what we had for lunch ... nom, nom, nom!

 

 

 

The view of the old street from the pub ... only soft drinks were drunk I might add!!

 





Much chip eating is always to be had at the Museum ... !! And now for some crochet ...

A beautiful doily ...

 Sometimes I take photos that astound me that I have taken them ... this one is so beautiful, I love the light, the flowers and the candle ... and the crochet of course!

 

A pot cover!

And a window dressing in beautiful crochet!!

The one thing I couldn't understand, and I regret I never asked the question, all the ladies in the houses were knitting ... not one was doing any crochet!!

And now for a few more lovely photos from the Museum ...

 

I love the notice on the other side of the window ... it seems at complete opposites to the flowers on the window sill indoors!

I doubt this view is taken that often but I loved the higgledy piggledyness of it ... !

I was thinking this iron work could inspire some crochet ... ?

 

I have also been walking in the rain ... as part of an aim to get fit my friend B and I have planned a number of walks around the localish area, and the first one the other Sunday took to the beautiful ancient Wyre Forest and a 3.5 mile walk. As we began the walk the heavens opened, and thanks to the foresight of taking waterproofs we continued on the walk and glorious it was too, there is something wonderful about walking in the rain and I loved the walk! Of course camera came along too,

One of the sculptures in the forest ...

The rain hadn't started yet ...

A plant to identify ... and you can see the raindrops.

I took this for the drops of rain on the leaves ... if you look closely you can see them ... honestly!!

Now there has to be a story behind this ...!

Of course the walk ended with a visit to the cafe at the visitors centre and a hearty bowl of vegetable soup served with lovely crusty bread and lashings of butter ...

... and delicious it was too!!

Then we come to last Wednesday ... a trip to see Dirty Dancing at the Birmingham Hippodrome with H ... what a brilliant day!! The day started in Worcester where H and I popped, en route to the railway station, into a wool shop to begin our girlie day with a little yarn indulgence! Then to the station to catch the train into Brum,

and of course there was crochet accompanying us both, H took a baby's Ballerina's Jacket and for me it was the Indian Summer Shrug from issue 19 of Inside Crochet designed by the talented Emma Varnam . I decided to sew the ends in on the granny squares I had already made, and the train journey proved to be the perfect opportunity to do this.

After a wonderful mooch around Selfridges in the Bull Ring off we went to lunch at the Centenary Lounge and then finally off to the Hippodrome ...

It was an absolutely amazing production of a much loved film, I am only sad that it is over, but the dvd is calling and will be watched on quiet Saturday evening with a glass of wine me thinks!

And so to my summer holiday week, on Monday B and I went for a girlie day out to Waylands Smithy a 5,500 year old long barrow by Uffington Horse and Castle. It was a truly beautiful and peaceful place, and very quiet too. B and I just walked around in our own thoughts taking photos and breathing in the atmosphere.

It is needless to say that we didn't take this path ...!

Almost there!

I loved these trees, the engravings are probably relatively modern, but love them I do none the less.

 

An offering by a stranger to those that are our ancestors.

On Wednesday it was a walk and crochet time with Soo and Z, the walk took us up the Malverns to the Beacon where we sat and enjoyed the view with a cup of coffee.

On the Horizon you could see the rain approaching, which seemed to come nearer and nearer with every minute, the idea of crocheting on the Malverns was put on hold and a hasty retreat was taken back to the car perfectly timed as the drizzle turned into a downpour! So once safely back indoors and after a wonderful lunch of crusty french bread, cheeses, ham and olives, truly continental, we crocheted the afternoon away. My project after a request from my wonderful man was a grim reaper (I think it was a request for something he didn't think I would find the pattern too!) ... and I have to say he is rather cute!!

I would love to show off my friends creations ... I am so proud of their work ... and as Soo's Dad said to me on Wednesday ... It's all my fault ... Ooops!!

And so we have Z's ripple cushion cover ...

And her Bertie Batty ...

And Soo's Granny Squares which will create a beautiful and snuggly blanket.

And so to the granny stripe blanket ...

The more it grows the more I love it, I hope it will be ready for those cold winter days ...

bye bye for now ... xx

All things crochet ... and a little knitting ... gulp!!! x

Well what a glorious week, as well as catching the Olympics when I can it has been a week of crochet ... and a little bit of knitting!! Never did I think I would say that!! My Nan tried to teach me to knit when I was about 8 years old, but her patience ran out with me, and that has always been my memory ... I just thought I didn't get it ... !! Of course over the years I have tried and tried again, not very convincingly I must add, but try none the less. Then there was last night, a family friend had offered to teach me, I warned her that I may try her patience, but she was willing to give it a go. I received a phonecall to say 'Well I am free tonight' and that was it I grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns and took what knitting needles I had (and for someone who doesn't knit it was quite a collection!!) along with some yarn and off I went.

As I am a crocheter, I thought my issues with knitting were resolved when I saw the continental style of knitting, I can remember watching some one knit this way and thinking 'Oh right I get it ...!'. I thought I would be trying the continental style ... but I was was told 'Give the English method ago' ... and to show willing I did ... and what amazed me I got it ... my ends weren't great, my style wasn't the most fluid ... but I had it!! And I am actually quite proud of what I produced ...

The knit side ...

The purl side ...

Now back to my comfort zone of crochet, its always to go back to something that is second nature.

The Granny Stripe Blanket has begun!

Last Sunday I spent a wonderful day with two friends Soo and Z, sat in the conservatory with the heat of the day warming us nicely, with the aid of tea and jaffa cakes (nom, nom, nom) and BBC Radio 4 playing in the backgound we spent a few hours crocheting and nattering the day away.

Just to remind you I am doing this blanket from Attic 24, the colours are in the order of ...

aspen, meadow, spring green, aster, cloud blue, turquoise, lavender, sherbet, wisteria, plum, magenta, clematis, shrimp, pomegranate, fondant, lipstick, saffron. The colours sound delicious and look absolutely fabulous, I can't wait to see what the blanket looks like once its finished. I hope there is enough yarn left at the end to make a couple of granny square cushions covers to go with it.

So by the end of Sunday I had got to doing three colours and its already looking glorious ...

It has continued to grow over the last week, the next colour is  sherbert ...

And an update on my diploma in crochet ... the next batch of samples are ready to go ...

This batch includes;

• A sample of chain and slip stitch with straight edges;
• A square of quadruple trebles;
• A square of raised double crochet rib;
• A triangle of trebles starting worked to a point;
• A piece of double crochet using a wide range of hooks;
• A strip of crochet working the smallest stitch to the longest stitch.

The quadruple trebles, double crochet rib and the treble triangle are all resubbmissions ... so fingers crossed for this submission!

The next batch of samples are becoming more complex with the intorduction of tunisian, filet, broomstick and hairpin, and while I am looking forward to completing these I am feeling a little nervous as I am onto new territory. It is, as I would expect, going to take a lot of hard work and concentration!! Please keep your fingers crossed for me and any words of wisdom would be gratefully recieved!!!

And just for your perusal a few more photos from my week ...

A Whitby Glass Lucky Duck, a present from my Mom and Dad after a holiday up north, and a tradition started by my Nan ...

Hydrangea flowers from my garden, with my fences being replaced some of the plants in my garden had to be cut back, but at least I can still enjoy them ...

And a lovely close up ...

Bye bye for now ... enjoy the rest of the Olympics ... perfect crochet and knitting time x



Monday, Monday ...

... but I want to talk about the weekend!! What a beautiful productive weekend it was!! I was meant to be attending a Crochet Weekend in the beautiful Craven Arms at Westhope Craft College, but the course had to be cancelled so I found myself with a free weekend ... heaven ... !! Although I was disappointed that the course wasn't on ... imagine a whole three days dedicated to crochet ... heaven!!!

I collect china trios as in old teacup, saucer and plate and my collection is slowing growing and I have wanted some where to display them and an excuse to create a crocheted shelf edging too. After much consideration of what I needed, and going so prepared (not!) I popped to Ikea and we found two picture ledges ... perfect! I am now considering keeping them the wood effect or painting them the colour of my kitchen walls ... oh decisions decisions!!

Me and him both purchased lots from Ikea we weren't planning on buying ... my list of essential purchases that I never knew I needed included ... a blackboard (how exciting I now need to buy some chalk!), two candles and candleholders, three metal flower pots ... and some bag clips!!!

The Ikea trip was followed by a visit to a local town ... where I had to pop into an Oxfam bookshop ... always a must!! Where to my delight I found ...

... a book full of inspiration for my diploma course ...

 ... sigh with crochet pleasure!

I have recently had the pleasure of corresponding with Elizabeth Bryant, a Master in Crochet and Cabin Lace and on Sunday I was fortunate enough to meet her in person. It was truly inspirational meeting Liz, and it was wonderful to see some of her crochet and hear a few of her tales, about what inspired her and her designs for cabin lace. It was wonderful to share my love of the craft, and her inspiration has meant that for my diploma I am looking at the history of crochet, and its tradition as an english craft ... one reason for visiting Gloucester Waterways Museum recently. She also very generously gave me a number of books and patterns which provide much isnpiration for my diploma.

I spent a little time on Sunday quietly journeying through delights each of these books and patterns held and I truly can't wait to have more time pondering!

And as a thank you to Liz ... Rosie found a wonderful new home ...

And as Sunday was such a beautiful day I did spend the afternoon pottering in the garden ... I did bring a bit of the garden with me, as I accidently cut the heads of two roses, but they have brought the sunshine inside ...

As for crochet projects, I have today purchased 17 balls of wool ... oh my ... I was inspired by Wigglestowers and am now planning either a granny stripe, granny square or ripple blanket!

The colours of the balls of wool are aspen,meadow, spring green, aster, cloud blue, turquoise, lavender, sherbet, wisteria, plum, magenta, clematis, shrimp, pomegranate, fondant, lipstick, saffron ... don't they sound absolutely delicious ... I am soooooo excited!!! And to make it even better my friend has suggested a crochet day on Sunday ... sigh with more crochet pleasure!!! Of course I will let you see progress on the blanket, and in case you become inspired as I was by Wiggles ... here is where you can buy ...

bye bye for now xx



A spare half an hour ...

I have had the last couple of days off, I was meant to be going on a crochet weekend course (heaven!!) but unfortunately it was cancelled ... but it means I have two days to crochet at home!!

whoooooopieeeeeeeeeee!!

So ... a couple of weeks ago I brought a dress for my cousins wedding in just over a week ...

It's a vintage 1960's trapeze dress, and appears to be handmade, it feels absolutely wonderful on and I LOVE IT!!!!!!! This dress is so unlike me though ... usually I seek out black clothes, something so I can hide away ... yet this is colourful to the extreme!!!

I would like some jewellery to go with the dress and have been trying to decide what would go with it ... I have been thinking along the 60's theme and have been searching high and low ... but to no avail.

So ... I thought to myself why not make one ... so I did!!!

Its a pattern for crochet flowers by Lucy at Attic 24, I have created a brooch from the pattern before, it's so simple and easy to create ... and so effective!!

It is big for a ring ... nothing like making a statement!!!

I had previously brought another dress for the wedding, another vintage dress, a 1970's Maxi Dress, for which I planned to crochet a little bolero cardigan ...

 I wanted to do the 'Short and Sweet' bolero from Happy Hooker, I do love it, and am following the pattern, plus the corrections ... but ... its still not coming out right ... I think I thought I was bigger than I am ... so the sleeve join is half way down my arm and not resting nicely on my shoulder ... the body of the bolero isn't as long as it should be a the point I have gotten to ... which is okay as I still have lots more wool ... its just not gone well ...!!

I did think I could do another flower ring to go with this outfit ... but at the moment I am not liking the bolero ... so I may just unravel it and look for another pattern to do instead ... any recommendations?????

 

Mellie

xxx

The Tiny Bunnies Movement

I left a bunny today in a Gypsy Caravan, a caravan I and my wonderful man spent the night in last night, I thought and hope it will be a little reminder of a holiday for the caravans next resident. The bunny is called Midsummer ...

The others I have brought to life recently have included ...

Poppy ...



I left Poppy on a bench at a local park near where I live, after leaving her I stayed in the park to see what would happen and eventually a couple spotted her and took her home, hopefully she makes them smile each time they look at her.

And then there is Skye ...



Skye was included in a birthday present for my Mom, a little gift to make her smile everyday ...

Its been sometime ... but I have been busy ... honestly!! x

Well, the intention was, when I set up this blog, to post regularly ... but other things such as crocheting get in the way!!!

Christmas presents were finished and distributed (well almost all of them!!) and all hopefully were well recieved.

My sisters shrug turned out fantastic, although I was finishing it still on Christmas eve, mainly just sewing in the ends and on the buttons. I have since given all the materials for a lovely blue shrug to my best friend Soo for her birthday ... she can crochet but wants to learn to follow a pattern and as I got a hint that she would love this shrug I thought what a better way to learn how to read those patterns!!! I have promised to take her through the pattern, I am not so cruel as to leave her with it to master herself ... and that way I thought I could also be crocheting a shrug all for myself ... in pink too me thinks!!

Other Christmas presents I did ... well ... the posy scarf all finished off too here is a little photo of the finished product ...

The flowers are huge , but it is so warm ... perfect for those cold winter days.

So, whatelse have I been doing with my time, well if I am honest the work I am doing (or not doing) on the International Diploma in Crochet has ground to a stop!! I have picked up the squares again and have started off on the double crochet rib, so now I just need to keep the work going on this one! I discovered the beauty of ribbing on the shrug I did for my sister ... and the effect was fantastic ... so am loving doing this square!!

To help with focusing my mind, and make my home feel a little tidier I have sorted out my smallest bedroom so it can store better all my yarn, books, magazines, patterns, hooks, needles etc etc. I love it, only did it last night but its wonderful to have a little dediciated space to craft ... this may not last for long but while it does i will enjoy it!!

So last night I went from this ...

To this ...

And I have sorted my desk space so I have room to work ... also need to bring up my sewing machine and you never know I might actually get to use it ... rather than the couple times I have since I got it which was scaryingly 20 years ago ... gulp!!

And current projects ... I am finishing off the varsity jacket and satchel from 'Crochet for Bears to Wear', I will post a picture when its done and for fear of Mikey reading this I won't tell you what else I have done until he has safely recieved it!!

I am also ... trying ... to create the Crocheted Baby Converse by Loopysue for a colleagues new baby. First attempt didn't go so well mainly as I didn't ensure I had the right numbers of stitches I think ... but I do feel the best thing will be to start again ... and concentrate!!

My plans for other crafty things include looking at either crotatting or just plain old tatting, learning to knit and as I crochet I am thinking about the continental style rather than english ... I just need to find a very patient teacher for the knitting!!