WOYWW 639 Square dance

Hi all, I’m back for our weekly bloghop. Click on WOYWW to the right to find out more. 

I’ve improved my use of the joining zipper stitch this week. My tension was too tight. And I’ve discovered a new set of patterns for crochet squares. They are beautifully detailed self-coloured squares from the pattern below. Some have the virtue of looking more complex than they are, but others are trickier. I’m thinking of alternating the easier ones with my multi-coloured squares .

The example above is Shades of Teal from Polly Plum's pattern Stardust Memories

Stardust-melodies-crochet-along

It’s a well- written booklet of patterns with videos. 

The cats have been doing advanced cuteness displays this week. Apart from the Wacky Races, they’ve both been posing upside down for me. 

Gracie above and Bella below. 

B

Gracie has this adorable way of getting kefir out of my breakfast glass. 

There’s a pub near here called the Cat and Custard Pot. It’s very much the same as their pubsign. 

We went for a walk along the seafront at Hythe yesterday afternoon. I do love living near the sea. It was warm but the clouds were dramatic. 

 

And finally…

Take care and keep on crafting!

Hugs

Lynne

WOYWW 638 Spirals, squares and treats

Hi there, back for our weekly blog hop courtesy of Julia at the Stamping Ground. ( Click on the WOYWW on the right to find out more).  

I’ve been crocheting more squares for my blue and white cardigan.

 I struggled with joining them with zipper stitch but I m not happy with the results from sewing them either so I’ve found a video for leftie zipper stitch. It’s still not very flat. 

Here’s my first try at zipper stitch. 

It’s fun doing spirals but they don’t lie flat easily either. Maybe blocking will flatten it all out. 

Bella and Gracie are not speaking to me today as they’ve had their monthly flea treatment. 

They both go out now, Gracie just a little and Bella whenever she can. 

Gracie has taken advanced cuteness classes and (normally) lies with her head looking up at me. 😻

Bella has boundless energy and whizzes up and down the stairs at high speed, making little  squeaky mews. She brought in her first mouse this week 😒

She goes out via the cat flap but still doesn’t come in via it, apart from when I’m training her with little bowls of food. At least she runs across the garden to me when I call her. 

I’m still staying home most of the time, but went as far as Macknades this week. It’s the most amazing Italian deli and food shop on the A2 in Faversham. We bought pear Mostarda, wild boar sausages, lots of odd varieties of tomatoes, cheese biscuits that have apricots and pistachios in them, risotto rice, all sorts of stuff. When I go to a supermarket like Aldi, I struggle to find anything I’d like. Macknades is the opposite. A real treat. 

And finally…

Take care and keep crafting!

Hugs

Lynnecrafts 

WOYWW 637 Squares and not going out

Hi all, here we are again for this week’s blog hop, hosted by Julia at the Stamping Ground.  (Click on the WOYWW logo on the right to find out more.)

I carried on for a while with the Delft pattern but it is too fussy for what I want. 

I may use a couple of them but it would be too busy overall. I’m currently working on varieties of blue and white squares instead. 

 It had occurred to me when I made my cat stitch shawl last winter that the 3 rectangle shape could be sewn up, and 2 extra rectangles made into loose sleeves to make a cardigan. 

We’ll see. Sewing up isn’t my favourite occupation. Maybe, if I make panels as I go, it will work. 

Rant (skip to Going out if you wish 😏)

This has been a bad week for women.  The way the Afghans have just been abandoned instead of the West transitioning to a peacekeeping force has left Afghan women without any recourse. According to the Guardian, one of the reasons the Taliban was able to over-run the country so fast was the minuscule budget the govt had, compared with the vast profits the Taliban is reaping from opium. What price reducing overseas aid?

The terrible Plymouth shootings have made me aware of the awful “incel”movement. That is just as much terrorism against women as that of the Taliban. The idea that they blame us for their “involuntary celibacy”, that they have some “right” to sex that we’re denying them, just makes my blood boil. That this pathetic excuse being used for violence and murder is just despicable. 🤬🤬🤬

Rant over. 

Not going out

I asked my GP for a blood test to check how my immunity to infection has recovered after my recent illness and steroid medication. It’s come back “satisfactory” Yay! However, although I was planning to go to the Epic Iran exhibition at the V&A on Wednesday, covid cases seem to be rising again and I’ve got cold feet. 

In a Guardian article by doctors today, they were saying they wouldn’t go to a museum: Guardian article

 I really wanted to see the Iran exhibition, it’s been sold out for ages, but I’d feel so stupid catching it just for an exhibition. 

The cats have been going out a bit though. Bella loves the garden. She still thinks that her human servants opening doors is the proper way in and out 😸 rather than cat flaps. I need to guide her through a few times with little bowls of food. Gracie goes out briefly and then often panics and runs back in. If she prefers mainly to be a house cat, that’s fine. 

Neet’s comment on cat flap training last week reminds me of a time we came home from some posh do we’re B was wearing a DJ and bowtie. We’d locked ourselves out and B got us in by taking out the door panel containing the cat flap. It was if he went through the cat flap. Our then cat Kelly’s face was a picture 🙀

Gracie has developed a liking for kefir and will happily lick out my kefir glass, with a clever way of getting to the bottom of the glass. 

They both must have taken cuteness master classes. 

Bella makes enjoying having her chin tickled look positively decadent. 

And finally…

Take care, and keep on crafting!

Hugs

Lynnecrafts 

WOYWW 636 Squares and hexagons

Hi all, 

Back for our weekly blog hop via Julia at the Stamping Ground (click on the WOYWW to the right to find out more.) 

As well as making more crochet squares, I’ve been trying out another hexagonal Jamie Crow pattern, Delft, which is available on Ravelry. Delft blanket  I’m thinking of using it for a cardigan. 

I don’t know if it’s me or if it’s because I decided I wanted to make it in cotton mix, but it’s a bit messy at present. 

The charity likes textured squares as well as ones with appliqué. 

sorry I didn’t do much visiting last week; I had a week of cluster headaches. Better now. 

That’s why it might be my inexactitude with the complicated pattern at fault. With these though I know it’s best to keep going and see if it looks better at the end. 

Cats

Bella and Gracie have got us well trained already. They have enormous energy and chase each other up and down the stairs, before collapsing for a nap. 

We started showing Bella (the more adventurous of the two) the garden today. More work needed there to make sure they know how to get in via the cat flaps. 

They occasionally allow us a bit of the bed 😻

And finally….

Take care and keep crafting!

Hugs

Lynnecrafts 

WOYWW 635 the hare and the moon in dragon vein

Hi, this week I can finally show you a pendant I made for Jan’s birthday. 

I saw this Dragon’s vein agate crescent and it called out to me to combine it with a silver hare. It’s not a stone I’d heard of but I couldn’t resist it. 

I’ve made a few more squares and have been playing a bit with Tunisian crochet. It makes a dense, textured fabric, with little stretch.

I like the shading effect, but it curls terribly.

For comparison, here’s the same combination in linen stitch. Boring but well- behaved! 

 I’m not sure what I’d use the Tunisian crochet for, maybe a cardigan button band? 

I did a couple more blanket squares as well. 

I’m waiting for the yarn to arrive for a new project. More about that next week. 

In the meantime my recovery role continues to be that of cat cushion to this delightful pair, Gracie and Bella. 

And finally

1.For Susan Renshaw…

2…..

2

Stay safe and keep on crafting!

Hugs

Lynnecrafts