Knitting and Crochet Diary Week 1
Sharing my week of knitting and crochet, and life in general.
Welcome to my yarn diary for my knitting and crochet business. A peek behind the scenes of what I get up to with knitting and crochet, and life in general. Grab yourself a cuppa, and I hope you enjoy my weekly diary.
Surprisingly, when I look at my photo dump for last week, quite a few lovely things happened:
There’s a bustle in the hedgerow
The Hedgehog family are back. Hubby spotted them in the garden one evening, so I popped out very quietly so as not to scare them. They were busy snuffling around on the grass, so I managed to snap a quick photo as they went about their business. I imagine they were looking for food. I had to run a quick Google search to see what they may have been looking for, and I found out some interesting Hedgehog facts:
- It seems that earthworms are one of their favourite foods, so no doubt they were searching for juicy worms to eat. They looked quite chilled and happy, which was lovely to see.
- The presence of Hedgehogs indicates a healthy garden ecosystem. They help to control garden pests like slugs and insects, so having them around can be really beneficial.
- They’re also considered a sign of good luck, so I’m very grateful that they have chosen our garden as a safe haven.
We feel really honoured that these shy animals have made a home with us. I think they are snuggled deep the base of the large Red Robin bush. There are lots of dead leaves that they can nest in, so I will make sure not to disturb them, so that they continue to feel safe and welcome.
A floral surprise
On Tuesday, I had a surprise flower delivery from my lovely cousin, who had sent flowers in the post, to say ‘thank you’. What a lovely gesture it was too. Surprise parcels are always lovely to receive aren’t they, and even more so when they are beautiful flowers. I have kept them in my office, in The Woolnest, next to my computer, and I have been remembering to change the water and snip the stalks so that they last as long as possible. I confess I’m not the best gardener, so I had to make an extra effort to keep them going. I’m doing well, as they are still going strong one week later, and they smell really lovely too.
Plus, they are a lovely reminder of a wonderful family wedding day at Sefton Park Pavilion, a few weeks ago. What a stunning venue it was too, and the whole day was absolutely amazing, with many precious memories.
Knitting and Crochet: Kicking off The Moomin Socks Book tour
On Thursday, I kicked off the Moomin Book Tour for Search Press, and I have thoroughly enjoyed knitting up my Snufkin socks too. I chose the Snufkin socks because I love the character from my childhood, so I was instantly drawn to them. I was hoping to find my old reading books, but alas, I’m not sure where they are. I’ll probably find them one day when I’m not looking (it’s always the case isn’t it).
The socks I’m knitting are in double knitting weight yarn (light worsted) and are a lot thicker than I usually knit, so it’s been enjoyable to try something new. I usually knit ‘vanilla socks’, just because they are so simple and I can knit them from memory, so it was a good challenge for me to follow a chart for the Snufkin pattern instead.
It was also the first time for me using Novita Yarns, and I found it really nice to knit with. The colours in their Moomin sock range match the characters, which is very cute. I still have the foot to knit, before I start on the second sock, so there’s still a long way to go before they’ll be completely finished. But they’re looking fab so far!!
Book details are: Knitted Moomin Socks ISBN 1800921772
To read more about this fabulous book on Amazon, click here: Amazon link (my Amazon affiliate link)
Knitting and Crochet: A ‘relax and crochet’ kind of day
Usually on a Sunday, I have a tidy round in the morning and then we visit mum and dad, who live about 26 miles away. Unfortunately, this week they both have Covid eek!!! So I’m hoping that they are both OK, and we didn’t visit, just in case we caught it too.
Instead, I tidied up the garden, and gave the paths a good brush (taking care not to disturb the Hedgehog nest). Then I sat with my pile of granny motifs and sewed in the ends. First, I managed to snip off all the ends I had already crocheted over (it saves so much time). Then I weaved in the remaining ends. They were blowing away up the garden, so I used my shoe to hold them, which worked really well. It took a while, and I had to dig deep for patience, but I got there in the end.
I can’t share the project itself as it’s for a book, and as I’m working to a tight deadline, I had to hop straight on to the next design too. Thankfully, the beautiful weather helped, and I sat and soaked up the suns warmth, whilst crocheting.
Ending the week with a walk
And there we have it. Sunday evening is almost here and we’re off for a walk now, to round off our week. I’m trying to increase my daily steps, to provide a balance to the time I spend sitting at my computer. I haven’t been walking half as much as I should, so it’s time to sort that out!! The sky is still blue and it’s still lovely and warm, so we have no excuse.
We may call in to see our daughter, en route, who works in a lovely bar in town, and then later I have a little bit of work to do, as well as planning my work for the week ahead. I like to sort my week out on a Sunday evening, so that I know what I’m doing when I wake up on Monday.
Which brings me to the end of my weekly chat. I hope you’ve enjoyed my ramblings, and I’d love to know if you’d like more. Pop a comment below and let me know.
In the meantime, I’ll remember to snap a few photos throughout the coming week, so that I can share my adventures with you.
Have a fab week ahead, Lynne x
P.S. If you love to knit or crochet, then I also share free patterns. My latest free pattern is a crochet pattern, for a teeny mandala hanging decoration, which you can find here: Crochet Mandala Decoration
Thanks Lynne, I’ve enjoyed reading about your week. I shall look forward to hearing from you each week. I have just finished a table mat which used up half a reel of leftover blue raffia, such a good feeling to have a tiny bit gone from my stash! I also saw a lady crocheting in the sunshine this morning outside a cafe, she shared the name of her blanket (lazy daisy blanket from Wool Warehouse) This is my next stash busting project as it will use up lots of dk as it doesn’t matter what colours you use! Your mentions of using your stash have got me into action! Best wishes, Kay
Hi Kay, Thanks for your lovely comment and I’m so happy to have inspired you. I love my yarn stash so much too – so many possibilities. I can’t wait to see your lazy daisy blanket. As soon as I have finished the current book I’m writing, I will be focussing on stash, so there will be lots more inspiration to come too. Have a lovely week and hopefully with more sunshine and crochet, Lynne x