Yarn Along

I remember my mother having a drawer of special things, in the trusty chest of drawers they'd shipped back from America.
 As a little girl, I loved looking in there. Amongst them was a cream lace collar, the button black with a 'diamond' in the centre. Even then I found it charming, and had a sense of it as style from another time, another place. I imagine it worn over a simple black dress...velvet probably, in her years in New Jersey. I doubt she ever wore it once back in Ireland. She gave it to me recently, knowing my interest in such things of late.
Inspired by this and by a lovely artist friend Liz, I went on a little journey making crochet collars. I posted here about my first one which came about quite by accident : ) 

The first several rows of this one are from this pattern, (unfortunately no longer available online) the last few rows I just created as I went along. I so enjoyed making it .

                                                               Thanks to Henneke for these last two photos


Happily joining Ginny and the gang over at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.
I'm reading Carol Shield's Happenstance. I'm very in love with the cover although really its far too much like my partner and I to be funny ; ) The front cover features her sitting up late at night under a work lamp, stitching, with great resolve...the back features him falling asleep.
 Oh Dear, sound familiar ladies..? ; )
Thank you for your visit and for so many lovely comments on last week's post x M


P. S. I posted about the Spring Figures in my new header here.

Yarn Along

And so it is that I find myself knitting lambs
 something I never imagined myself doing ; )
 in preparation for the next handwork project for class 1. The knitting of them is a pleasure, but my,
the stuffing and sewing may be tricky for little hands at first. It was for mine!
I do love this book:


 

Out walking in the fields behind our house we happened upon this little scene.
 I was deeply charmed, and it put me in mind of an Elsa Beskow story 
where the old women gnomes of the forest 
wash the gnome beards and hang them out on branches to dry : )

Happily joining Ginny and the gang over at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.
I've got two big projects going on these days, one involving wool the other involving plaster.
 It's been so busy I've not had the chance to post about them here. But I shall 
so watch this space!
Thanking you for your visit xM

Yarn Along

Happily joining Ginny and the gang over at Small things for this week's yarn along. 

One of the many things I appreciate about participating in this community of stitchers is that I get to document most of the little projects I'm working on, some are just for me, many I'm trying out for school. And I can easily check back in my Yarn Along archives to see what I made and remember how it worked out, especially for the children : )

I'm working on a crochet hairband  that they can make and I spent an evening this week working on the progression of a flower, to decorate it. Really fun. I especially loved Lucy's flower tutorial over at Attic 24, she makes it so easy to follow each step. 

Reading time is short, but I have reached my favourite part of Jane Eyre : )

I look forward to seeing what you're all up to out there, and thanks for your visit.

Yarn Along

Happily joining Ginny and the gang over at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.

My small boy's been asking me for ages to make him a pair of wrist warmers. I also needed to come up with and test a pattern for my crochet students at school. I'd neither the time nor energy to trawl the web looking for a simple pattern, simple enough for eight year olds to make ; ) A lot of such projects call for a crocheted rectangle that you then seam up but leaving a gap for a thumbhole. But we can do better than that surely and working in the round is sooo much more satisfying! So I just sat and made these up as I went (that's something I've always wanted to be able to do : ) )
Smallie's happy and I am so excited to see the children make a wearable project for themselves.

In the fleeting moments before sleep Jane Eyre is my current read. 

Thank you for stopping by and for all the much-appreciated comments on last weeks post : ) 
There is a big piece I've been busy finishing off, which I'm excited to be sharing here in a few days time.

  A Breather

It was the last weekend of my thirties(what..?) and with smallie in good hands with family, I took off for a couple of days to the lovely Galway, a city that is still new to me and one I am growing very fond of. I longed for some solitude.
 Doing something like this seems out of the question when you're a Mama I know! But is it...? I'd never allowed myself this before and though it was to be a break, I did needless to say have my survival pack with me ; )

I've often recalled how as children there were two words that my mother told us not to use. Hate. And Bored. 
Thanks Mom! Boredom is something I just don't understand, or ever experience. For I have quite the opposite problem ; )

At any one time I have about five different work projects on my mind. And those are just the ones that are alive to me then, that my fingers are itching to make and that are keeping me from sleep at night! Then there are the others...But I'm working on all that ; ) on focusing on one piece at a time and trying to let that be enough.
 Multi-tasking has become an integral part of our lives, no? But my nervous system and brain seem to have been designed for a far simpler life! I imagine it is this way for many. You know how hard it is to keep life simple these days. Hard. Though not impossible.

It is an ongoing challenge to strike that fine balance between work and life. As for me, my work is my life and I realise that what i always choose to do in my 'free time' is my work. Oh dear. Is there such a thing as an excess of enthusiasm..?!

 In Galway I walked and walked and soaked up the colour and vitality of the city with its buskers singing and playing out loud on the streets.

Heartwarming to see local businesses with hand-painted signs still out there.

 I'm really interested in the whole Yarn Bombing Movement, but I'd never witnessed any before. While away, I got together with an old friend from my schooldays who lectures at Galway University now. It was so fun to stumble upon this lamppost while checking out the Quad. Impossible not to smile at the mouse peeking out.(middle top of photo) I loved seeing some of what the students there have been up to.

With no need to drive, cook, or care what time it was I stitched and wrote, filling pages in my work journal with ideas and plans. Such a rich time : ) one I feel very grateful for.

The wonderful Bob Dylan said: 
He who is not busy being born is busy dying.


Too true my friends! Thank you for reading.

I'll be back here on Wednesday for Yarn Along x M