News and a new bag...

This new project bag may well be the last of my productive recuperating crochet phase! I've entered a new productive phase; repairing guttering, hacking down overgrown branches, jet washing mossy decks...I make it sound like we live in the house from The Money Pit with Tom Hanks where it pretty much falls down around them. Let's just say that between work and cricket season my usual handy man is AWOL.

Jake is so tall now (he's over six foot) that he was able to stand on the path outside the conservatory and hold up one end of the guttering while I had to stand on a chair to fix the other end. I'm pretty sure I can line up some other jobs for him. I may not even need my magic apple picking gadget this August when the apples are ready to be picked, or better still I can tie a basket to his head and just pop them in from my position on the top rung of the stepladder!

It's a pity our gaggle of cherry trees at the top of the garden are still only producing small tart cherries. I manage to get through an impressive number of punnets all by myself every year.

Yes the new project bag is a very odd combination of colours. I am steadily working my way through the odds and ends in my cottons basket. This was the last of the useful quantities, less than 100g per colour. This was quite a dedicated make for me. It involved dc throughout with a 4mm hook which is pretty tough on my hands. Htr's with aran weight and a 5mm hook would have been less strenuous but I love the neat fabric the dc's make. The pattern is in a book called Crocheted Gifts: Irresistable Projects to Make and Give by Interweave. It starts with four pieces that kind of end up looking like a child's windmill. Then the stripes are worked onto that after a small bit of sewing seams. It's quite clever.

You can see that I've currently got lots of baby yarns in there...because I am now, officially, an Auntie! I have a niece! I wish I could share a photo with you. It seems I can email the photo and save it but I can't seem to put it in a post. Trust me, she's as cute as a button! When she's a whole lot bigger I think she might like one of these crochet bags to hold a few favourite toys...

Which reminds me. Way back...nearly 18 years ago when Ella was born a good friend of mine decided it would be a good time to learn to knit. I'm not sure that knitting and crochet was enjoying quite the boom period with knit and natter groups that it is now but she did manage to find a local group of old ladies who mainly knitted acrylic baby clothes and four ply sweaters. At 27 she was the youngest there by about fifty years. It proved to be the most amazing way to learn to knit. The first item she knitted was a small jumper for E which consisted of squares of knitted fabric knitted together with the corners folded down to make a collar at the neck opening. It was very simple but worked and E wore it a lot (I loved anything hand knitted). When Ella was toddling about she decided she was too big to knit for and move do on to knitting for E's favourite doll, originally named 'Dolly'. Dolly has a comprehensive wardrobe of fabulously co-ordinated items ranging from outdoor jackets to evening shoes. Dolly is carefully packed away with her special clothes in a small child's suitcase waiting for future grandchildren to enjoy!