I hope you’re all having a great summer, its been incredibly warm here in Northumberland! Obviously, not too hot to crochet. I’ve finished the pixel Ironman blanket & the heidibears hippo. I love finally finishing any project, especially one that’s taken as long as this blanket. Both items already have good homes & I’m ready to start something new 😁
I love listening to stuff when I’m crocheting. Mostly, I listen to audiobooks. Terry Pratchett & Anne Rice are firm favourites.
Sometimes, though, I fancy something a bit different. That’s where podcasts come in. They keep me amused & it’s like passive learning (if it’s good enough for Eddie Izzard, it’s good enough for me, lol)
Here’s whats in my ears just now, so to speak!
Poppy passed away on Saturday. She had a brain tumour & in the end, mum had to say the thing that Poppy couldn’t. That’s the deal when we have a dog. They give us their hearts unconditionally & one day, even though it breaks ours, we tell them it’s OK to go on without us.
Run on ahead, Pop, we’ll catch up one day.
Here’s what you were looking for – BEAR CATERPILLAR DRAGON FOX BIRD DINOSAUR ELEPHANT OCTOPUS CAT DOG FISH RABBIT
Remember back in January I said I’d post 100 times in 100 days?
Obviously, I didn’t reach my target (more on that later!) but I thought I’d share how I did & what I’ve learnt.
Posting every day is incredibly difficult if I don’t have a plan. I didn’t twig onto this til recently. What can I say, I’m a slow learner 🙂
From January 30th to May 10th (100 days) I made 61 posts. My best month was February, 28 in 28 days. Quite a few posts were made late at night.
OK, OK, a lot of my earlier posts were made late at night & some are what I’d call ‘fluffy’, kinda like diary entries for days where not much happened.
80% of my posts were made from my phone. It’s a Nokia Lumia & although its a great wee phone, its not the best for blogging. It was handy, so I used it. I’m more likely to have my phone handy at 11pm (when I’ve remembered the blog) than the laptop. So, if you’re a new blogger TOP TIP – Don’t post from your phone unless you have to. It’s great for drafting & I recommend you DO draft posts whenever you get a few minutes spare. But for posting and editing, I’m sticking to the laptop for now.
I didn’t really put much thought into what the purpose of my blog is. Don’t worry though, I’ve worked this one out.
So far, I’ve found blogging to be really enjoyable, and have I mentioned how lovely my readers are? they’re fabulous!
So, what are you going to do now, Trish? I hear you all ask
Firstly. There’s going to be a few posts today. There’s crochet stuff & sad stuff I want to share. It’ll be better done in separate posts.
Secondly. I’m working out a schedule. It wont be every day, because, you know, stuff happens. There will be significantly more crochet related stuff & it’ll be organised. Some posts might even be scheduled 🙂 I know, fancy, right?
Finally. There will be less ‘life’ posts. So, for now, Jax & the fish say adieu. They’ll still pop up on instagram, but they’ll only be occasional visitors here.
I’m on a tea break just now, then I’ll post the answers for the word search.
Whatever’s happening after that, I’ll keep you posted xxx
Everything has been put on hold, even my happypotamous. I’m frantically crocheting, my complete focus on this new pattern.
Why?
Because we’ve a wedding to go to soon & I need a shrug.
I’ve settled on a lovely one from garn studio.
It’s one of those things that’s been on my to do list for ages.
TO DO – crochet a shrug that I can wear, at some point before I need it. Something that covers my aging tattoos. If it helps me keep warm too, it’s a bonus 🙂
I’ll post an update when I can 😉
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a word search so I thought I’d do one on my favourite type of crochet…amigurumi.
Here’s the just of cute critters –
BEAR CATERPILLAR DRAGON FOX BIRD DINOSAUR ELEPHANT OCTOPUS CAT DOG FISH RABBIT
Enjoy xxx
All my WIP have been put on hold the past wee while as I work on my heidibears project. I though I’d give you all an update!
I started using the yarn left over from last years CAL, the photo above shows rows 3 and 4 being completed. I do them in bulk, I’m kinda impatient & want to see how this turns out.
All the pieces are being kept in sandwich bags, mostly to keep them together, but also to keep the dog hair off it! I think the bag was originally for trainers or shoes, I got it for 50p in a charity shop. The fact I can see whats in it, without opening it is a huge bonus.
I’ve still to decide if I’m ‘joining as I go’ in row 5. This is a new technique to me. I tried it in the Stylecraft Carousel CAL but couldn’t get the hang of it, so might end up sewing it together.
Well, that’s about all for today. I figure I’ll be ready to make this guy by the end of the next bank holiday. Which is next Monday! It’s definitely the holiday season here in the UK at the moment 🙂
catch up with everyone soon xxx
I cant believe its been four days since I’ve posted. My humblest apologies, readers.
It’s been busy, busy in this house. I’m not making excuses, but everyone’s been coming & going since Friday, its been chaotic On Friday the 21st, my youngest turned 14. I still can’t get over how my cute, chubby wee baby has grown into the intelligent, athletic & beautiful young woman that is our Niamh.
Alas, we had no time to celebrate, as the kids were heading to Uist to visit family with their Dad. As he lives in Glasgow, he had a major amount of driving to do over the last weekend. But he was outside our house at 9 on the dot & off the adventurers went. I had an hour of quality puppy time and then headed down to pick up Poppy.
If you follow me on instagram, you’ll know that the dogs did cuddle up on the sofa. Once. What really happened was that Poppy fell asleep and Jax sneaked up & snuggled in inch by inch so he wouldn’t wake her! Also, he moved before she woke up, so she may be completely unaware he sneaked a cuddle. I’m glad I got a photo, as I might not have believed it myself.
The rest of the time they were playing, chasing each other, hitting each other with toys (I didn’t know dogs did that!) As Poppy is a, shall we say, lady of a certain age, our walking schedule was tweaked to include a lot more breaks to sniff. We still had a wander round the golf course & our favourite saunter along Cow Road, it just took a little longer.
Although Pop normally sleeps in mums livingrooom, she didn’t settle in ours, crying & crying til we took here upstairs with us.
DID YOU KNOW- a Labrador & a Jack Russell breathing in their sleep sounds EXACTLY like an axe welding serial killer. Neither did I, til 3am Saturday morning 😦
We had a lovely 2 days, just my other half & I, with a big dog & a little dog, having nice relaxing walks in the sun.
Needless to say, I’ve been too busy playing taking care of the dogs to do any crocheting.
Poppy went home teatime Sunday. I suspect both dogs were happy to have time alone by this point, she was asleep soon after getting home & Jax was out like a light for a change, even sleeping through the kids walking in the door. He’s a really rubbish guard dog, lol.
The kids got back late Sunday night, full of stories of the Islands. They had an amazing time and were exhausted. It was over 400 miles 🙂 I’m full of admiration for their uncle & his family. I found it hard leaving a city to live in a small town like Berwick, so I can’t imagine adapting to Uist, although both girls did say they could understand how people could live that far from the mainland. Lots & lots of photos were taken!!
It was really late by the time I chased them to bed, they were knackered. So much so that we all slept in this morning & they ended up with an extra day off school(oops!)
Now everyone’s back where they should be, we’ll be back in our normal routine tomorrow. Fingers crossed x
We’ve been having a great time over the last few days, so I haven’t managed to do my blog. The weathers been great, bright with a slight breeze. Perfect beach weather for Northumberland.
Yesterday the girls & I took Jax to Spittal beach, to walk along the promenade & let Jax run off his energy on the sand. The tide was going out & there was tonnes of drift wood, some already chopped up. We have a few businesses here that recycle drift wood into fuel, with I’ve always found pretty cool.
Tomorrow the kids are heading north with their dad, while we have the pleasures of dog sitting Poppy for a few nights. I’m not sure how it’s going to go. Jax sleeps in our room, supposedly in his bed on the floor but in reality at the end of our bed. Poppy has a lovely padded bed & is used to sleeping in the living room. Fingers crossed it works out.
When we decided it was time to get a puppy, how Poppy would react was part of the discussion. I had visions of my hairy wee sister cuddling up with my puppy, teaching him dog stuff & generally mothering him.
In reality, by twelve weeks he was too boisterous for her & their time together was supervised. I dreaded Jax jumping in his gangly, goofy way & damaging her.
All these months later, it’s gotten a lot better. For the first ten minutes or so, Jax is hyper to see pop. He runs in circles, barks like a wee puppy & licks her face. For her part, Poppy had a nosey round for any treats he may have left lying around & then proceeds to get comfy on the sofa. Once he realises she wants a nap, he lies on the floor at her feet, gazing up lovingly at her. He’s besotted.
Occasionally, she lets him in the sofa. I wish she’d tell me how she gets him to behave!
agent crochet 