Week two be or not two be.

It was not to be. Week two came and went as I tried to catch up from my frogging disaster of week one, coupled with finishing my job on Friday and starting my new one on the Monday. Busy busy busy. Still OH (other half) is away this week so maybe I'll make big strides this week. I will set myself a target of competing week two and doing the crochet for week three by the end of the week. Targets. Targets are the answer. 😅😅 Tx

Bobble or not.

Week one has been quite enjoyable really. Not that I've finished it mind.  The furor on the FB page has been immense! The pattern called for bobble stitch. There were some that like it and some that didn't. But there were some that were so perfectionist it was so far over the top it was OCD bobbles. Honestly for something that is hand made and individual why obsess over whether they 'pop' or not. Mine don't btw. Am I dissapointed? I'm dissapointed that I haven't mastered the stitch, but actually I like an understated bobble more as my colours are understated. Now when I do the rainbow Hygge then, ok I'm looking for an improvement in my technique and that it will be a little more bobbly. 

So I'm almost there with week one. I started on Wednesday by doing no crochet at all. In fact all I did was prep my kit and watch the video that a nice lady called Esther puts up for us. Then others on the FB make their own videos to show how they get their result using individual techniques. Me, I'm more of a follow the rules kinda girl and learn as a go. 

Well it's been 2 weeks since I wrote the above and so far it's been a bloody disaster. I very nearly got to the end of week one, was tootling along quite nicely, bobbles were ok-ish when I noticed that I had somehow used the 4.00 hook for part of it instead of the 4.5 hook I'd stared with. So I had to froggit all the way back down to the third row and start again. And it's taken me until 2 march to finish part one, two weeks behind! Not happy with myself at all. I've gone ahead and finished the whole ball of stonewashed just to see how far a single ball would go. Not quite enough to finish week two. 

Here's how week one looks anyhow. Bobbles not very bobbly but I'm fine with them they way they are. It's a learning curve right? 

 

On to week two.... Tx 

Ready, steady, CAL

Today is the day. The release of the first pattern of the Scheepjes 2017 Crochet Along and there is some serious feverish excitement on the Facebook page. Some ladies are hurriedly doing housework so that they can just sit and craft this afternoon. The patterns being released at 1300 CET (Central European Time) which to us Brits is 12 noon. Should've checked the time out a bit sooner really as I thought it was 1400, an hour ahead not behind, as then I would've had something to do in my lunch hour, do'h! Had a bit of a look at the pattern and it looks ok, can't wait to get home and have a go. But I've got some chores to do first. Furry girls have to have a walk as a priority, lock up chickens, make my tea as I'm on my own this week.  I've also go to, without exception and absolutely mustn't wimp out, go on my spinning bike tonight. It's only a month until we go to China to visit my older daughter (#botherer no1 as we affectionately call her) and I've got some big mountains to climb, therefore fitness levels need to be addressed and pretty damn sharpish! Think I might be in for a late night. Tx

Team Mermaid

I got one!! Yay! I managed to get a Simy's Choice Danish mermaid Kit for the Hygge CAL. I'm so pleased. The reasons being that because I've lost my cro-jo recently I'm hoping that the group dynamic and pressure (self imposed pressure I might add) will motivate me as the weeks go my. 

So let my tell you about the CAL. It last for 14 weeks, starting on the 15 February 2017. Each week a part of the pattern will be released and you carry out the instructions. There also a video for you to follow. When they tested the pattern out it took on average 5 hours a week. So that's quite a commitment. 

A few days ago Simy release a little taster of what her colour choices look like made up. I'm ecstatic, it looks amazing. By far my favourite colour way.

 

 

 Fancy a quick,look at my kit? 

 

 

Lovely eh? And the opening of the box was almost ceremonial in itself. A bit like when you get a new phone or iPad lol

 

Well it a week to go before the start of the CAL and the Scheepjes company have released a test swatch for us all to have a go at because we just can't wait to get hooking. 

The yarn is lovely and squishy and soft. The main background colour is an  acrylic cotton blend in a stonewashed style so it looks a bit distressed. The colours are 100% cotton and are very vibrant. In the kit is a little pouch with some charms, a button, a stitch marker, a couple of wooden snowflakes (?) and an  embroidery/yarn needle. It recommends the size hook to use as 4.5 to gauge a swatch that is 10cm by 10cm square. 

So this week on Wednesday the week before the start of the CAL Scheepjes have suggested we all have a go at a gauge square.  Basically a square that measure 10cm by10cm square is the correct gauge for this project and it will turn out the right size and more importantly you will not run out of wool towards the end of the project. Well I've  never made a gauge square before as I'm more of a 'wing it and see' type, but I thought I'd have a go. I dived right in using a 4mm hook. The gauge square was a chain of 20 s riches for twenty rows. Easy enough. Well it was definitely 10cm high, however it was 11.5cm wide. In order to get the square to measure exactly I would need to use a smaller hook. Problem was that the feel and drape of the square felt just right, and I was reluctant to go any tighter. I've decided to stick with the 4mm hook and just buy an extra ball or two if the need arises. 

Here's my square.

 

Then I had to have a little go at the cross stitch that brings the Hyyge to life. This was fun, I must admit. I have a lot of experience with cross stich and knew that this wouldn't be a struggle for me. I centred the design on the square by folding the piece in half and then in half again and using the embroidery needle pointed out the centre hole. Next I identified the centre stitch  on my cross crochet pattern and that was my starting point. Away I went. 

Here's the finished gauge square. So cute. I wanted to make another straightaway as I really did enjoy it but I'll wait until the CAL starts now. If I managed to source a rainbow kit I'll make a gauge square just for fun. 

 

Tx 

To moan or not to moan

There is a crochet along (CAL) starting soon with a company call Scheepjes. They're quite a well known company and have held annual CAL's for a while. I saw this years advertisement and thought "why not?", and promptly joined their international page on Facebook. It's quite something listening to all these ladies across the globe waxing lyrical about crochet. They are a very supportive bunch and their excitement at the new CAL had recached near hysterical proportions. Here's what the CAL will produce. It pronounced Hoo-ga and it's danish for cosinesss and warmth. A bit like a Cwtch.... 

 

Gorgeous, but quite challenging I think! But I've done cross stitch in the past so I thing I can do it. 

There are three colours to choose from, so I chose the rainbow (above) as my youngest daughter wants it. So off I go shopping on the internet looking at the suppliers who will stock it. It comes in a kit with everything included. There are three kits. Rainbow, Jewel and Pastel. 

 

Then, they added a special limited edition Danish mermaid colour scheme a week or so later. It's not been made yet so there no way of knowing what it looks like finished! But here's the colour scheme for what is called Simy's Choice. 

 

So the kits aren't going to be released for a few weeks and I have to register an interest in them on various well know yarn stockist here in the UK. 

A week or so later I get an email to say that the kits are in stock and I can place an order, which I manage to do within about 2 minutes of getting the email. I was really very happy. I want to do the CAL in time with everyone else as it kind of motivates you to keep up and share your progress, ask about any problems as you go along. I'm looking forward to it in my own sad nerdy little way. 

A few day later my kit arrives and I absolutely squeal. The Facebook page is buzzing with people ordering and receiving by now, so I'm looking to forward to contributing to the online conversations. 

When I opened the package it was obvious straight away that they'd  sent me the wrong colour, I'd received pastel. Ok, no biggie, mistakes happen, its not been done on purpose. So I call the supplier and have a quick convo with their customer service. They send me an email returns label and they offer me a refund. 

"Can't I just swap the colour?"

"No, no more kits available."

"These things are like rocking horse poo to get hold of!" I say, "Can you just send me the yarn colours instead of the kit" I plead. 

They called me back, "Yes that's fine. Send back the kit and we will despatch the yarn colour pack."

Lovely, happy, feeling relieved. 

I go and post all this on the Scheepjes CAL Facebook page. I got various reactions from across the globe. Some were worried that they might get the wrong colour kit, others outraged at the inconvenience and disappointment. But by then of the day, other ladies have come forward with the wrong kits being sent as well and all hell had broken loose! Demands for compensation, keeping the kits, discounts etc. But I am sanguine. I am unworried. My kit has been returned and my pack will arrive in due course. 

Or so I thought. 

A week has passed, and nothing has arrived. I call the supplier and they tell me that they're very sorry, but I won't be getting the yarn pack as they decided to wait until the get the kits back in stock (which so happens to be the end of February and 2 weeks after the CAL starts). I'm fuming. 

"Why didn't you let me know last week?!" I say, "I could have placed an order with someone else?" 

"We sent everyone an email." 

"Yes I know. I replied to the email telling them I had returned the kit and was awaiting the colour yarn pack. This was acknowledged."

"We're very sorry." they say. 

"I want a refund," I say, "all you've managed to teach me today is that unless I complain and throw a tantrum I get nothing. If your nice and polite your ignored."

I was telling my elsdest daughter my tale of woe. 

"Just order another one from someone else." she says. 

"I can't. They're all sold out everywhere. They sellout, like in half an hour of the emails, it's crazy."

"Wow, it's like they're the Kylie lipkits of the crochet world."

Sheesh 21 year olds!  Pmsl.

Three years later......

Three years have passed since I last looked in on this blog. Why did I stop? Life, that's why. It just kind of happened and you stop doing something that you enjoy because you become focused on other things in your orbit. So now that the things that circle me are a little less, I've decided to return to this and have a little muse about my hobbies and work and life. 

Work

Well since I last mentioned this I have well and truly completed the computer course I enrolled on. In fact I started a new job in a pharmacy, which I loved, and finished my qualification for that about 2 years ago. However the winds of change have blown through again and I handed in my notice to the pharmacy this week after securing a new role.....watch this space!

Life

Big, huge, enormous changes here. Both my girls have flown the coup, both off to university. A year apart. #1 is currently in Beijing on a years exchange, having a ball. In fact it's her that's inspired me to return to this as she has just started her own blog on her year in China. #2 is in gorgeous Aberystwyth and  I get to visit lots, which is great for my Welsh practice (yes I'm still learning Welsh, it actually never stops). Other half (OH) is always busy with his job but it has is upsides, I get invited along to some pretty fabulous long dress-up occasions and stays in nice hotels occasionally. My furry girls (dogs) are still a huge centre of life for me and quite honestly, with spending such a lot of time on my own, I'd be lost without them. 

Hobbies

Well this is a little sporadic really. One of the reasons I stopped writing about my crochet and hobbies is because I lost my cro-jo. Yep it's an actual thing. Cro-jo. Not to be confused with #2 daughters nick name Clojo. Over the last three years I have made quite a lot of things from yarn/wool but more recently in 2016 I hardly completed anything. Well anything worthy of showing off. I thing my skills have improved somewhat, but I still regard myself as a beginner/intermediate. I follow a few crochet groups on Facebook that give me a lot of inspiration and I've recently joined Pinterest. I joined a new Facebook page a couple of weeks ago and am planning on doing a CAL (crochet along) with an international group of about 20,000 others so I'm hopeful that my cro-jo will be nourished. The hype and hysteria to the release of the kits for it is certainly something that's made me excited.  Something I can talk about separately . I haven't been completely unproductive though, I've amassed a huge pile of stuffed animals that I will talk about in another piece with photos. And I've still got a huge pile of WIPs. I'll get round to doing that WIP walk of shame too. 

So I'm going to try and write this blog for me, for my enjoyment, to try and encourage me to stick at it and continue to improve my skills and learning on not just the crochet, but on design and colour. And I might add in some random life stuff as well. 

Tx 

Autumn just wizzed past me!

Good grief where has the time gone!! It's like there's a big hole in a bucket labeled 2013! It's been a busy busy couple of months. Since I last blogged I've been busy in my work life. I've enrolled at college to do some computer courses and update my computer skills so that I can maybe, fingers crossed, get a new job in the new year. Exciting changes are afoot in Somerset! In my crafty life I've been quite busy too. My wool stash is completely out of hand and I really must organise it at some point. I've for several WIPs on the go which I will photograph and list later. I got a couple of commissions for a hippo and an elephant for Christmas which were delivered on time (relief). I have another to be ready for February. 

One of the most exciting things that has happened, was in November I went to Iceland (no, not the frozen food shop). It was fab from a hooky point of view. They have a Handknitters guild there and produce the most gorgeous pure wool jumpers. 

Just stunning!

I found myself in a wool shop called Allafoss just outside of Reykjavik on the last day of my stay. They were very nice and let me take phots. So as a thank you I though it was only polite to buy  half a suitcase  of wool!! Not Yarn mind, proper pure Iclandic wool!!!! Unbelievably cheap. Came home and wished I'd gotten more to be honest, but hey-Ho, it's another excuse to go back!!

Yarn porn!

 More yarn porn. 

Not a ball of acrylic in sight! All pure wool.

Look at the size of that! They sell them like that lol. 

It was a lovely visit and my brother bought himself an Icelandic jumper.  I wish I'd bought one now as they are absolutely stunning. But after buying my balls if wool I couldn't justify the expense. The nice thing that I liked is that there's a little label on it telling you the name of the person who kitted your jumper. Anyhow here's  a photo of the one he bought.

Cost a lot, I can tell you but it'll last forever. I bought myself a little wool bundle as I mentioned earlier. 

I haven't decided what to do with it yet, but the one thing I must do first it sort through all my WIPs. It's getting out of hand! Tx