Crafting with cotton...

I definitely recommend having a good old rummage in your wool cupboard/ baskets/ bags/ drawers/ under the stairs cupboards/ vintage suitcases...ok I think I've covered a few bases there. Where do you keep your 'stash'?

My stash is stored in one of those wood and canvas wardrobe affairs which was Ella's until she grew up. Inside I have boxes labelled according to wool type ie. DK, chunky, superchunky, etc. A lot of it was acquired when I used to knit. I know I've said this before but I started out with brightly coloured DK wools and a handful of Jean Greenhowe booklets. Those knitting patterns are expertly written and ideal for all levels of knitter. Indeed I did impress my Nan by knitting up some Grandad and Grandma characters and I hadn't been knitting long. If only there was a Jean Greenhowe in the crochet world. There's a lot of amigurumi patterns out there but none have the consistency, range, charm and simplicity of a JG pattern, in my humble opinion.

So, as I unstacked the boxes and came to a box titled 'misc' (it's like the man drawer of the crochet world!) I had the most fun discovering mostly unusable yarns - have you ever tried crocheting chenile or eyelash yarn? Don't. They have been added to the charity bag. Right at the bottom was an untouched ball of 'craft cotton' which is probably just a fancy name for string, it is exactly the same as the white string of my childhood, and I know this for a fact because I threaded my conkers onto it!

Every now and then I browse through the crochet magazines and the patterns in the latest issue of Inside Crochet were the first to catch my eye for a while. The stool pictured looks very similar to one that we have that currently has a tatty knitted cover. I took the string, a hook and the magazine to a cricket match today and made a start.

Half way through the match E was bored and asked me to teach her to crochet. This was probably the third time, and the third fail. I think you probably have to want to learn, rather than just pass the time!

Today was one of those typically British cricket matches. Sunshine, freezing wind, rain. The last two overs were played in a heavy downpour, I think the umpire was keen to get home.