OneChurchillsGreen

It's been a while.....

Wow! It's been way to long since I've visited my blog and it is looking very neglected!!! If I'm being honest, I simply haven't had time to miss my musings. The reality of my teacher training has taken hold and I've been working 14 hour days and sleeping very little. The children barely recognise me and the Sicilian and I just pass first thing in the morning and late in the evening! But, my first two phases are complete and I can take a big deep breath and reflect on everything I've learnt - mostly taught to me by the kids I've been 'teaching'. Yes, I'm shattered and there have been times when I've wanted to throw in the towel, but being the age that I am, life has taught me resilience and I never have been a quitter. So, I'm at my next school, preparing for the new school year and I just can't wait. I've got time now and in between lesson planning, reading and writing assignments, I am determined to pick up my hook and press on with my cotton blanket. And, whilst I haven't been 'actively' hooking away, the wheels of craft have been turning in my absence. A project I completed a couple of months back will be coming up in 'Inside Crochet'...

Yep, you know how I love a doily! And, after a very long day at school and a particularly difficult lesson, I arrived home to a delightful parcel from my publisher - my book, in Swedish!!!

I had no idea it was being translated and printed in Sweden, so that's five languages now - English, US English, Spanish, French and Swedish! If only I could read them all ;) xxx

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Spring sunshine!

True friends and crocheted blankets!

Now, I promised to keep my blog up to date and already I've failed miserably! So, no promises from now on, I'll just check in when I can. My life is heading in a new and exciting direction: my teacher training started yesterday!!! I'll be hurtling through a challenging and hopefully rewarding and enriching 12 months before achieving my end goal of Qualified Teacher Status in Spring 2015. So, time for reflection....

Sometimes in life, it takes the support of special people to help us reach our dreams. One such person in my life is my wonderful friend Liz. And here she is, with her beautiful 'circle in a square' blanket, which she began whilst attending my crochet course this time last year. I have known Liz for several years now and our friendship has developed very naturally - I can only summise that we are soulmates of sorts, cut from the same cloth. We have similar tastes, especially when it comes to yarn! But Liz also has a calmness that keeps me grounded and supports me in times of stress. I am so delighted to finally share both her and her blanket here on my special, calm blog space. Needless to say, my own 'circle in a square' blanket is far from finished, but here's hoping!!!

And here's a little glimpse of what inspires me.... a walk down to Kimmeridge with The Sicilian and the bimbi.... an unusual rock and the most heavenly coloured seaweed. It reminds of the kidsilk haze I used for Pipi's hat and scarf in my book (shade 'Majestic), and makes me want to hook up an ethereal summer t-shirt for her to throw on when the sun goes down and the cold creeps in.

I will be keeping my hooks busy, but in a more relaxed way, publishing patterns when I can, making gifts if time allows. So do pop by, although you might find crochet mixed with a dose of history and trainee teacher speak ;) xxx

 

Spring sunshine!

Couldn't resist sharing this quick snap with you...

The Spring sunshine is glorious and I'm at the kitchen table tech editing for 'Inside Crochet' magazine. I've got three patterns on the go for their 'floral' issue, and I simply couldn't resist hooking a couple of them up (I'm sure ed Claire won't mind me giving you a sneak preview - I'll let you know when the issue is on the newstand). I'm still enjoying the Yeoman 'Panama' linen yarn, and as you can see I finished hooking up my pink doily, which now sits perfectly below my hellebore bowl! Anyway, back to work ;-) xxx

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A glimpse of Spring ......

A glimpse of Spring ......

... as the flood waters' keep rising, we are conscious of just how lucky we are to be warm and dry. I haven't really ventured into the garden, it's just too wet, but I have been admiring the resilient hellebores nestled in the protective curve of the garden wall...

There appear to be three different varieties, each as beautiful as the next. As you can see, the buds are abundant, so I picked a few blossoms to brighten the kitchen table. I love the way the plant almost hides it's blooms, a shy beauty bowing it's face from public view. But I just love to look at every tiny detail of these breathtaking flowers...

Floating them face up in a bowl of water is the most effective way of displaying them in all their glory. And inspired by the delicate shades, I've picked up the Panama yarn I used for Pipi's summer sweater and am hooking up a doily to grace the table below the blooms.

It's fun to see where the creative process takes you, I really enjoy hooking up a doily loosely based on one of my antique originals, it's almost like crochet 'downtime'. I don't need to concentrate too hard and I can just see the 'modern' version take shape. I posted the image on Twitter, primarily to show Emma Mitchell some of my vintage thread. Having swooned at the sight of Emma's beautiful tiny silver spools a couple of weeks ago, I asked if they were filled with vintage thread - I thought I'd share some of the pretty pastels I've collected over the years. Village fairs and thrift shops are my top hunting grounds for old spools of thread. Emma and I keep threatening to collaborate, ever since we met up via The Red Nose Day Doll project for Comic Relief, and she might have stumbled on the perfect opportunity - let's just say, I've promised to try my hand at the tiniest of doilies and the rest is over to Emma's creative genius, how exciting! xxx

 

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Simple treasures .......

A creative boost......

Creatively speaking, it's been a slow start to 2014. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but the ideas haven't been flowing and the yarn hasn't been calling! It's amazing what difference a week can make - my lovely editor Claire, at Inside Crochet, pinged a couple of tech editing jobs my way and just interacting with another creative spirit, enjoying the process of editing someone elses beautiful creativity and a trip to the Wool Workshop in Corfe Castle and boom, my 'crojo' is back!!! It's probably helped by a good dose of great news - people I care about who've been finding life tough of late seem to have made progress in the right direction. There really is light at the end of several tunnels right now and that's lifted my own spirits. And life is picking up pace, I've got my reading books for my teacher training and my first assignment, so I have an additional focus which always liberates my creativity, it provides just the right 'down time' in between more challenging tasks.

My wonderful friend, Cath, gave me some 'spare' wool left over from one of her gorgeous projects and I've started the beautiful 'Balloon Sweater' by Emma Robertson, published in the inspirational 'The Knitting Collection', edited by Claire Montgomerie. It's not the specified yarn, so contrary to all my natural instincts, I knitted up a tension square! 

Well, half of one! Circular needle at the ready and I'm seed stitching away!

And together with my brilliantly creative friend Sarah, we rescued some remnants of a precious old quilt yesterday and created a new mini-quilt for the next generation. To cover some small tears and faded patches, I hooked up some linen flowers to stitch on...

We had a wonderful afternoon combining our crafty skills with a healthy dose of laughter. There is something really special about giving new life to a tired but much loved item, knowing that the memories will be carried forward.

And writing of old pieces, I've been hooking up some colourful doilies. Each one a loose replica of one of my favourite originals - all of which are awaiting the creation of my 'crafting' table, which will hopefully take shape this Spring.

All of which just goes to show, creativity can be a bit like a 137 bus on the Queenstown Road, Battersea - there's never one when you're looking and then when you least expect it, three of them arrive at once! xxx

Knitting.....

.... since finishing my column with 'Inside Crochet' I have been giving my hooks a rest! Not to say that I haven't been crocheting at all. I have made a cosy pair of wristwarmers for Dante's teacher and I'm adding a few rounds to my circular rug (the one I'm making with the amazing Andean alpaca my brother bought for my birthday last year). To be honest, I am really enjoying not having a deadline to hit and have been playing a little. I shared my first effort with intarsia knitting last month and here is my second, a pair of super snuggly mittens for my boy.....

....I have discovered the perfectly sized circular needle to revolutionise my knitting in the round (still can't do the four needle thing!). At just 20cm long, it's ideal for socks, gloves etc. If you're looking for something similar try Addi Needles.

We've just celebrated our first Christmas here at Oak Lane Cottage and despite the wild weather, it was wonderful. I've been making curtains, potting on the winter bulbs I picked up for a song at Ikea and everything flowered in time for my Christmas day table. Here's the amaryllis looking spectacular with just 3 days to go!

The white hyacinth is looking pretty too. And now for a new year! I love a clean slate, a whole year ahead to plan and fill. It's going to be a busy one. My teacher training starts in April and I have lots of crafty projects to complete before then.... watch this space, I'll be back on a more regular basis. Wishing you all a great 2014 xxx

Pattern update....

A quick update for my flower pot holder pattern, page 41, Simple Crochet...

Round 8 should read as follows:

using main colour, 1 ch, * skip next dc, 1 dc and 3 tr into next tr, skip next 2 tr *, repeat from * to * to end, ss into 1 ch.

Loved finding this photo I took of the pot holder hanging in the sunlight at our old cottage. It's still very much in use here in our new home!

Christmas Tree Festival

This year has flown by and I can't quite believe it's time for the Christmas Tree Festival at Kingston Church. Once again, Beverly and the wonderful folk at the Wool Workshop in Corfe Castle are sponsoring a tree for charity. And once again it will be resplendent with all things handmade and crafted by our members. My contribution this year, my neon snowflakes....

I had been looking for a suitable yarn for winter snowflakes since last Christmas - I can't seem to master the starching or sugar syruping required to stiffen cotton. It was during the summer, whilst I was whipping up the macrame cord friendship bracelets that I thought I'd give the nylon shambala cord a go. And here are the results.

And once the festival is over, the flakes will be adorning my driftwood tree....

And decorating mine and the children's homemade crackers. I've got the old-fashioned cracker pulls ready and waiting, now we just need to fill them with homemade gifts and Dante's infamous jokes! It looks like it might be a bright Christmas here at the cottage ;) xxx

ps. the pattern for the snowflakes is in Issue 47 of 'Inside Crochet' magazine.

Soft, snuggly yarns... winter must be here!

It seems we've leapt from our glorious summer to a chilly, damp winter here in Dorset. Yes, it all looks very autumnal and beautiful, the leaves are turning, the ferns are burnished and shrinking, but frankly the sudden drop in temperature has seen me reaching for my super cosy yarns. We were lucky enough to have a fabulous week in Sicily, picking olives and basking in the Mediterranean sun and sea...

Pipi did wear her rainbow jumper (the grey sky in the background is here in Dorset, the sky was all blue in Sicily!). And the olives were plump and juicy, perfect for pressing oil...

We combed 950 kilos of fruit and pressed over 140 litres of oil, a successful working holiday ;-). But back home and the heating is on and the hooks are out...

Here are some wristwarmers ready for my friend Ali's beautiful shop, Sharland & Lewis. Some are in Rowan 'Kid Classic', some in Rowan 'Pure Wool DK', all are really cosy and finished off with birds-eye buttons, the perfect project for an evening in front of a crackling fire. Using a 5mm hook, just work 32-42 ch, depending on the length desired, then 24 rows dc front loop only to produce the pattern shown. Slip stitch the two edges together, 8sts, miss 10 sts for the thumb hole, then sl st to end before fastening off and weaving in. You'll find the birds-eye button tutorial in the 'free pattern' section of this blog.

And just in case you thought I had been resting on my laurels, I've decided to stretch my grey cells a little and am currently designing a pair of fair isle wrist warmers...

in some gorgeous Adriafil 'Sierra Andina' extra fine alpaca yarn. The plan so far, fair isle one side, plain knit on the palm, I'll let you know how they finish up! I've always loved fair isle and thanks to the brilliant guide over on The Purl Bee, I seem to be designing my own!!!

And speaking of my own designs, have a quick peek at the beautiful cover of the US version of my book, Simple Crochet...

I am so delighted that they have chosen to use the image of Pipi's blanket, all of the colours brighten a grey, wintery day here at the cottage xxx

A summer to remember....

...the weather is threatening to change, but whilst we're enjoying a last blast of glorious sunshine, I've grabbed the opportunity to share some of my summer memories with you. From the garden...

My mum's beautifully scented roses, just gorgeous. The garden here at the cottage is wonderful but not yet as full of flowers as I would like, a 'work in progress'. The Sicilian's vegetable patch has been a runaway success, he's finally found rich, fertile soil and a crop to prove it! 

I've spent some wonderful hours with my crochet - here I am on the little balcony of our garden 'shed' (still waiting to be transformed into my workroom!). In a departure from my usual palette and natural fibres, I have embraced this Yeoman 'Panama' (acrylic/cotton blend) in the most vibrant colours. Here I'm finishing off the pillowcase edging for this month's 'Inside Crochet' (circular, floral and traditional granny squares) and in the next pic I've used the same pattern but blended the brighter pink with softer shades of 'Panama' for a linen cushion, a gift for a great friend.

In amongst the garden and the crochet, we've been sailing with the kids, spent many happy hours on the beach and in the sea....

Sofia has enjoyed wearing her new sweater (my October pattern for IC - it's been a busy summer!), which is ideal for throwing over her swimsuit. And we all enjoyed a wonderful picnic down by the river for mine and The Sicilian's wedding anniversary last week.

Just time to relax before the hike back to the cottage! With so many patterns to write, my final column to submit and a new school to prepare for, there hasn't been much time for new techniques, so I have to confess to not progressing my macrame lace crochet! Still, it's amazing how much fun you can have with a simple cord - friendship bracelets abound...

Clearly, a quick visit to The Bead Shop was needed for the essential finishing touches, but if you're going to do something, do it right!!!

And so, I look back and smile - a summer full of sun, fun and happy kids - I miss them already, we're only on day two of the new term, but I've got my sights set firmly on our trip to Sicily for the olive harvest ;) xxx

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