Of crochet and curses.

 I started crocheting back at the start of May. Unlike knitting, where I was taught the very basics as a child by my granny, I never learnt to crochet. But after getting into knitting again I decided I wanted to learn to crochet, so with the help of Bron at The Wool Garden in Newent, I started on my first ever granny square.

Despite her excellent teaching it was still all a bit of a struggle for me and that small granny square caused a lot of cursing and unravelling and re doing! 

I looked on YouTube for help, but it did not make it any clearer to me. But then I bought a fabulous little book on crochet , which made what Bron at The Wool Garden had shown me click into place. I need diagrams as well as hands on tuition, obviously!

After a couple (really, just two more) of small practise squares I settled on the colours I wanted to use and the pattern I wanted to end up with and started crocheting my blanket. Confident, or what? (Foolish me!)

I decided to crochet one large square rather than lots of small squares, because I wanted to and because I am an awkward so and so. This made my task harder I think, also, because if  when I made a mistake I would have to spot it and correct it quickly. If I didn't - I would have a lot of unravelling to do! More of that later...Suffice it to say I should have done lots of identical granny squares - it would have been so much easier! But I wouldn't be told.(There's a surprise!)

I picked up my crochet most nights while sitting on the sofa. I took my crochet with me sometimes when I went out, and did odd rows while waiting in cafes or in a car park. I did this until my work in progress got too heavy and bulky.

I guess you could say I got hooked on crochet.

This is what it looked like at the end of May

And this is what it looks like now. I have another three rows of the red to add around the outside and then I will repeat the three rows of gold, then red, then cream, then red, then green, then red. And then I will see if it is big enough for what I had in mind.

I chose the colours to blend in with the sitting room and because I really really like them. I didn't have any of the gold wool when I started, which is why it appears part way through, but I like the effect. The wool I am using is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino - some bought from The Wool Garden and some bought on line from
Fingers and Thumbs.

It is already really heavy and I have had to stop working on it over the last few hot and humid days because it was just too warm lol. But I am really enjoying working on it, even if it is going to be the most expensive blanket ever ( I justify this to myself by calling it an heirloom blanket ha ha) and even though I am a bit OCD about any mistakes - last week I cursed and un ravelled 3 rows when I spotted I had missed a stitch ( or whatever the correct term is for crochet!) That is a lot of crochet time and unravelling!

But I love doing this, just as I love knitting dishcloths - it is practical and I make something useful and I find my mind can drift off and meditate on stuff. I can even watch a TV programme now and crochet at the same time!

I have also started on a few of the items in my crochet book as well as buying several other crochet books and magazines, as well as joining a few sites and following a few blogs about crochet...

Oh dear - definately hooked!

What do you like doing as a craft? Any other crochet fans?

Thank you for reading xx

A walk in the woods.

 We decided to go for a wander around our woods to see what was happening in there - it has been so wet recently that we have not been doing very much in the wood, so when we had a nice sunny day we decided to have a trip "out" into the wood

We found lots of ferns growing, enjoying the extra moisture no doubt!

A very overgrown log circle! It is just cow parsley, but the wet weather has made it grow everywhere!

Compostman soon cleared some space with his scythe

while Compostgirl had fun up a tree :-)

I sat on a log and listened to birdsong

We then went a bit further down into the wood, and found this. It had been a bumblebee nest, sadly ( for the bees ) a badger had taken a fancy to it and dug it out. A solitary bumblebee was flying around, trying to get back in to the underground nest.

More ferns

Going back home

I love our wood

Busy busy busy...ouch...

Have been very busy here, despite having a bad back to contend with...

The run up to Christmas was very difficult for me, as I couldn't go to either CG's carol concert OR take her to the school disco...but my lovely CM stepped in and took over, leaving me to rest and recover a little.

I managed to make some Christmas decorations





and also some salt dough figures.



Then we had the sadness of Kitty cat being put to sleep ( see previous post)

However, once the school holiday started we had various friends around to visit, both ours and CG's, so much fun was had by all and we all felt a bit more cheerful. We also had the snowy, icy weather to contend with, with mixed consequences.



On the one hand it made the garden and wood look enormously pretty, the wood especially was like something out of Narnia. And at least the ground lost its swamp like consistency....on the other the hens disliked the cold snowy weather enormously and spent most of the time hiding in the lean to, waiting to mug me for any food on offer.



No 1 Cream Legbar chicklet(must think of a name for her!) contented herself with fluttering up onto my shoulder at every chance...warming her feet I think!



Christmas Day itself was lovely,

Our Beef multi rib was delish, falling apart it was so tender, but rare in the middle and really juicy..mmm...roasties, Yorkshires etc all perfect, and a lovely bottle of wine to go with it..

Dr Who..was..excellent I thought, and then we had fun singing our hearts out ( well CG and I, anyway,) to a Wii Sing disc (from Santa) which she was most surprised to see me belting out Blondie and Meatloaf hits in tune and on time, without looking at the words...

Our lovely cats Tom and Tabitha have decided to become lap cats, which is nice, and with the wood burner going 24/7 at the mo we were all so all cosy!





The decorations and tree were (I think) the best we have ever done and I even managed to tidy up properly beforehand! ( but the Study is a mess...full of stuff I "tidied" into it......!!)

All our presents were lovely, CM got me 40 more hens ! but before you all panic, they were for Save the Children, so he is happy as he doesn't have to deal with them...and I am very pleased by the gift! I have the Sookie Stackhouse novels to read, on which the C4 series "True Blood" is based, so am v happy as we both enjoy watching those programmes.

CM also got me the "Victorian Save All" book which is fascinating and full of good stuff....as was seen on "Victorian Farm" recently.

Boxing Day was quiet but fun, we played/read/used/listened to our respective presents and went for a walk in the wood in the snow. I did the hens etc, and we all settled down to watch Cap't Jack Sparrow on the TV with cats on our laps.

Sunday was going to be more of the same.....but then *I* managed to fall over backwards on the lethal slick ice whilst on the way to feed the hens...landed flat on my back and have made it much much worse....

So...have been laid up in bed for a lot of the last few days...instead of getting on with cleaning out the polytunnel and planting stuff, I am reading my new Sookie Stackhouse books and doing a lot of lying down.

CM has volunteered to do the routine outside stuff, as he says I am not safe to let out....(!)....he has a point....

Oh well..rest and recuperation is the order of the day now, hopefully I can get myself mobile enough to get to the chiropractor again.....

Hope you enjoy the selection of photos from Compost Mansions over the last week or so.

And that you all had a good festive season!

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood

I WAS going to post tonight about how our plant stall at Blossomtime went this weekend etc.

But due to my efforts over the last few days I am very tired, so rather than writing a post or several tonight I sat down instead to drink wine and watch TV with Compostman.

So I have just spent several hours watching BBC 4 Blues stuff.... So I am replete with Eric Clapton (HE IS God!) and now it is very late and I just have to go to bed....

If you haven't seen any of these programmes I DO urge you to watch them! As they are really wonderful and well worth the licence fee IMO.

I shall post about the Blossom time event anon.