Tuesday 28 September 2021

WOYWW 643 Seaside squares

Hello again! It’s Wednesday so here we are again, blog hopping via Julia’s  Stamping Ground 
I’ve had two ‘desks’ this week:
- My crochet squares where I’ve been riffing on Polly Plum’s Summertime square…

Joining as I go…


















- And my jewellery making ‘desk’ where I’ve been adapting these earrings to hang from my sleepers. I call them my Writer’s earrings and wear them for my Monday zoom session on creative writing. They don’t see them but I know they’re there. 😏


As we were having our flu jabs on Saturday, we went for a long walk down Folkestone Warren on Friday. It was a glorious day. 


Very sore arm from Saturday, but better now. 
The cats made good use of the garden till the weather turned yesterday. 
Here’s Gracie sunning herself in the vegetable bed. 









Bella likes the shrubbery down the garden. 










And finally…


We were lucky to get diesel on Friday morning. I feel sorry and angry for the doctors, key workers, carers and ordinary people and companies that can’t get fuel. This government is so useless. These seem to sum it up. 








Take care all and keep on crafting!

Hugs Lynnecrafts x

Tuesday 21 September 2021

WOYWW 642 Joins and growth

Hi all, back again c/o Julia at the Stamping Ground for our weekly blog hop. 
I’ve been working more on my squares cardigan. This week I’ve tried a new way of joining squares. I think this “join as you go method” works better for me than my attempts at zipper stitch. 

Here’s Bella totally non-pussed by modelling my crochet 😻

This blue square is quite Sex & drugs and rock n roll, in terms of its pattern I think. I might doa multi-coloured version. 


For my Sex Drugs & Rock and Roll challenge last week, I had one from Angela at Crafting with Jack to crochet a musical note into a square full of colours. Many thanks Angela. Jan painted a beautiful blanket with different items on every square. You know how your phone develops black holes? It’s gone and disappeared on me . 🧐
One appearance that’s really pleased me this week is a baby spider plant. I was given this plant some 16 years ago, by friends where I was working in Paris. 
It has never made babies before so I thought it never would; but here are roots!
We also went on a damson hunt this weekend. A farm near Sittingbourne had some. It was a bit of a navigational trek as the M2 was closed and our diversion took us through the wilds of deepest Kent. Worth it though- I adore damsons.  We’ve stewed some for the freezer, had a nice crumble and I’ve discovered the joy of hot damson juice and ginger tea. 


We also had a nice and very posh lunch at the Fordwich Arms in Fordwich, the smallest town in England. The restaurant has a gorgeous shaded terrace next to the river.  

Here’s the medieval town hall, next door to the restaurant. 




Bella and Gracie send meows to all your cats. They both have beautiful fur with long feathery tails. Bella loves rolling in the leaf mould in the garden, so she comes in looking like a mobile compost heap!

This is Gracie looking sneeped as Bella has got to my lap first. She curls up with me later in the evening, though. 

And finally…


Take care and keep on crafting! 
Hugs
Lynnecrafts 

Tuesday 14 September 2021

WOYWW 641 Sex, drugs and rock n roll challenge

Hi all, back for our weekly desk/crafting peek, kindly hosted by Julia at The Stamping Ground
Last week, when LLJ commented on my song- themed crochet squares, she wondered what a Sex Drugs & Rock n Roll themed one would look like. 
Sex Drugs and Rock n Roll Challenge 
(Sorry, it sounds wilder than it is 😏)
So, if you feel like it, here’s a challenge. Show me what you think a Sex, drugs n rock n roll square should look like! The squares start from the centre, so it’s helpful if the design is symmetrical on the four sides. You can share them via Facebook or email them to me at Lmcollis@icloud-dot- com and I’ll feature any next week. If any are within my capabilities, I’ll even have a go at one. 😀 Don’t worry about it being “crochetable,” it’s just a bit of fun. 
Polly Plum’s Stardust Melodies patterns all start from a square with double crochets in the back loop only. This gives a nice line of stitches to crochet down into. 
This one looks a bit like dope leaves but is called Dream a little dream of me. 


This is the easiest one. As Time Goes By. 






I started going off piste this week. The first one looks a bit Noughts and Crosses. 












With this one I made it off centre to try and get a bit of movement into the design. It looks a bit like a ninja square!

We  went to Sandwich with my cousin and her husband last Thursday. I don’t see her much as she lives near Exeter. We had a lovely day mooching around Sandwich. 
The market had an excellent bread stall and we bought some rye and linseed bread, like that I used to bring home when I worked in Denmark. 
We went to the Medieval centre, where the craftspeople were really interesting, showing us 15th century metal and woodwork, and talking about the life at the time. 


They showed us arrow types, for poachers ( a ball to knock out birds) , for armour-piercing, chain mail etc. I bought one (£3!) as it will make a good bradawl once I find a handle. B has suggested a paintbrush handle which is a good idea. 

I hadn’t realised, but in the 15th century, the port of Sandwich was huge, the third most important port in the country, used for wool export and wine imports. The centre is making a copy of a 15th century boat. 

My creative writing course has restarted. It’s always a brilliant inspiration. 
Big cat diaries 
Bella has decided this week that she likes my lap. Today I was instructed to come downstairs.  I thought she wanted food, but no, my required function was cat cushion. I know my place!


















There’s quite a competition now. They’re not cats who share easily. Here’s Gracie. 

















They send meows to all your cats 😻😻

And finally…

This one is for the BBC Proms season. Hasn’t  it been wonderful? Did you see St Saen’s Carnival of the Animals? Brilliant! It’s here (link only works for UK, sorry). The only one I won’t watch is the last night of the Proms. It’s very jingoistic. The song Rule Britannia makes my blood boil. “Britons never will be slaves” indeed. 🤬🤬 Only because they made so much out of enslaving others. It really should be banned. 
Anyway, the rest of the music was glorious. 

Stay safe and carry on crafting!
Hugs
Lynnecrafts x

Tuesday 7 September 2021

WOYWW 640 Mack the knife

Hi all, back for our weekly blog hop courtesy of Julia at the Stamping Ground (Click on the WOYWW to the right to find out more).
Here’s my “desk” this week. 

The Stardust Melodies  crochet pattern by Polly Plum I’m following, has each square named after classic songs. This one is Mack the Knife. 
The teeth are a bit tricky (1 treble, 3 doubles & 1 treble together), but it’s nicely 3D. 
The easiest one is Begin the Beguine. 

I’m alternating them with my multi-coloured squares for my cardigan. Lots of joining of squares to do 😕 so I’m  trying to do it as I go. 


The cats are as cute as ever. Bella has the loveliest smile. 

She loves the garden


Gracie prefers to stay inside. She gives the best cuddles. 

She woke me this morning by licking my cheek!

They help me to try and stay positive but I do get thoroughly fed up of hiding from covid risk. 

And finally…
You may have seen this before but I’m fond of this one…

Stay safe and keep on crafting!
Hugs
Lynnecrafts