Well, I didn’t do too well with keeping my Summer Craft Challenge posts up to date and consistent did I? Life got in the way and all of a sudden we’re over half way through September! So here is a whistle stop dash through the last 3 weeks of my summer craft challenge for 2023 because if I don’t post it, I’ll feel like I failed! I did, however post most days to Instagram so I’ll cut myself a bit of slack!
Here goes…
Week 4 : Saturday 12th August to Friday 18th August
This week began whilst still on holiday in Scotland (Glasgow to be precise) knitting socks, and after a long drive back home (without knitting or crochet that day) I ended up crocheting circles back at home in Manchester!
It was Granny Square Day on 15th August and I shared this Daisy Granny Square I designed while sitting next to some daisies beside the water in Argyll the previous week…
I hope to be sharing more about this square, along with some others I’ve come up with in the coming months.
Week 5 : Saturday 19th August to Friday 25th August
Work was nearing completion on my Potato Field Shawl this week including whilst watching the Lionesses in the World Cup Final. Plus I discovered this haul of Granny Squares when I opened a bag I hadn’t looked though for a while. I think I feel another project coming on!
Week 6 & a bit – Saturday 26th August to Tuesday 3rd September
And we made it! Schools went back for my youngest 2 on Wednesday 4th September – we survived the long summer break with creativity along the way. I also managed to completely finish my Potato Field Shawl. I’m really pleased with it. You can find the pattern details for it here my rainbow colours stripes were made with yarn bought at Yarndale last year from Cuddlebums Yarn.
By this point I had just turned the heel of the sock I was knitting – I’m pleased to say I got it finished in time for Eldest to take away to university with him. I used yarn by West Yorkshire Spinners in Peacock and followed Winwick Mum’s Basic Sock pattern. This is my third pair to date…. I know there will be more!
I’m not sure whether he’ll wear them in public but at least they’ll keep his feet warm in bed if he needs them!
Thanks for following me on my annual Summer Craft Challenge. It’s been fun and much needed respite in this my first summer ‘holiday’ back in structured employment. It’s been a juggle at times balancing work, children and sanity, but we just about got there. Creativity is almost always the answer for me when things get tricky – failing that there’s chocolate!
Hello there, this time last week I was driving north to Scotland so didn’t get round to posting before now… so here’s a look back at my last 2 weeks of crafting.
Day 8 : Saturday 29th July
It was Black Sheep Wools’ 40th birthday party yesterday & today, so I popped along to join the celebration.
Eek, there I am… I may have made one or two purchases while I was there…
It didn’t leave much time for making though…
Day 9 : Sunday 30th July
I just felt inspired to make a daisy, can’t say why – it just leapt off my hook!
Day 10 : Monday 31st July
I ended the month on a high, almost exactly a year after I started it, I finished my Dragonfly River MAL shawl by Heather at Keep Calm & Crochet On and Kitey The Yarn Whisperer. Isn’t it lovely? I have no idea why I left it almost finished for so long!
Day 11 : Tuesday 1st August
Sticking with the circular theme…
Day 12 : Wednesday 2nd August
A very uninspiring circle was all I managed today…
Day 13 : Thursday 3rd August
A very busy day today, work, housework and preparations for a family holiday (yay!) meant not much crochet time…
Day 14 : Friday 4th August
I’m trying and trying to square my circle but my brain won’t work and I’m not giving in and looking up a pattern. That’s enough for today.
Day 15 : Saturday 5th August
I didn’t manage much ‘craft’ today it was a long day of driving from Manchester to the west coast of Scotland. It was a day of firsts as I drove onto a car ferry for the first time!
Day 16 : Sunday 6th August
My crochet corner for the afternoon
I felt inspired by the Scottish sunshine in the garden of our holiday let to make a sunflower. What a fabulous spot! There’s a very good chance I won’t want to leave…
Day 17 : Monday 7th August
Sock knitting with a view today… our holiday let had the most amazing views.
Day 18 : Tuesday 8th August
It was such a beautiful day, I felt inspired by my surroundings and wanted to create a little crochet square to celebrate it. It also gave me the perfect excuse to visit a lovely yarn shop called Jinty & Baa in the village of Kirn near Dunoon to buy some yarn to make the water/loch section of my square.
If you ever find yourself in the area, I would highly recommend a visit. It’s really well stocked with yarn, fabric and other needlecraft supplies.
Day 19 : Wednesday 9th August
Sock knitting at Tarbet Castle
Nothing to see here… just an embarrassing mother sitting on a historical monument knitting socks 😂. A cruise on the Waverley Paddle Steamer brought us to Tarbet, and we climbed up to see the castle.
Tarbet Castle
Day 20 : Thursday 10th August
Sock knitting on the beach at Ostel Bay
Beach day meant sock knitting on the beach – ignore the grey sky – it was deceptively warm even the water was! It was beautiful.
Day 21 : Friday 11th August
Sock knitting at the Shinty pitch!
Our last full day in the Kyles of Bute before heading onwards to Glasgow. The boys decided to have a kick around on the neighbouring shinty pitch near to where we were staying (I managed a few rows before being roped in as goal keeper). I imagine this will be last of my spectacular backdrops for a while!
That’s it for this week, I look forward to sharing more summer craft adventures with you soon.
Hello there, can you believe it’s the last day of 2022? I can hardly believe it and am shocked I’ve been away from my little blog for so long.
Life (as always) has been rather busy of late and blogging found itself at the very end of the to-do list. This time though, blogging felt quite unattainable – I didn’t have the words to write or anything interesting to say either. So here goes, the jolt of moving from one year into a new one might just be the impetus I need to get me going again!
When I looked back I was shocked to see I hadn’t posted for so long. When I changed from Postcard from Gibraltar to Making Stitches I assumed I’d be back again very quickly but hey ho, I’m here now. Here’s a little jaunt through the past two months in my world.
Paid Work!
The main headline I guess from the last two months is that I’ve managed to secure the impossible – paid work for my crochet. I have rather excitedly been commissioned to design some things for a craft magazine. This has taken up a LOT of my time. Solid crocheting from the moment the Little Postcards leave for school in the morning until they come home! I’ve loved it, but it has been a lot of hard work.
The old spectre of self doubt popped into my head on many occasions during this work but I’m pleased to say, the first commission was gratefully received and got a stamp of approval so I’m thrilled about that. I have 3 more projects to complete by mid January and I’m in the midst of those right now.
I wish I could tell you more and show you photos of what I’ve been working on but sadly I can’t for now – just some of the yarn I have used for one of the projects (above). I will investigate further on whether I can share them once they are published.
New article published
Within the last week the latest issue of Simply Crochet magazine popped through my letter box complete with my latest article for them. It was prompted by the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the outpouring of support I witnessed in the online craft community. The main photo is of Amoami bears. This amazing social enterprise helping Ukrainian refugees featured in one of my podcast episodes too. You can listen to it here.
Inspired by their work, I ordered my very own mini Christmas Amoami bears. They were made by Yuliia. They look gorgeous on our tree this year!
A trip to the Lakes
Easedale Tarn
A very dear friend of mine and her husband moved away from our home town earlier this year and settled in beautiful Grasmere in the Lake District. It’s been something they’d been talking about for years, and this year ended up being the right time for them.
I don’t know this part of the world very well, but I have a feeling I’ll be getting to know it a whole lot better from now on!
In November we were invited for a visit to their new home – and boy what a move they have made. They have lost their old decent sized back garden but blimey with this on your doorstep, they have all the greenery they need!!
We took a walk from their front door up to Easedale Tarn. There were butties and crisps at the top to give us the energy to walk back down… what a picturesque picnic spot!
The weather was so kind to us!
It was wonderful to be able to share this with the two Littlest Postcards – unfortunately Eldest missed out by being away at University but hopefully he will be able to join us another time. It was remarkable to see a real change in the youngest two though, from their usual slightly grumpy teenagerish (11 & 15) demeanor to being full of life and scrambling over rocks as we undertook our walk.
We had one whole day of sunshine before the weather turned a bit grey and damp. We were so lucky to be able to truly see the beauty of their surroundings. We most definitely will be back!
November in a nutshell
Throughout November I took part in an excellent daily photo challenge on Instagram run by The Yarn Whisperer and The Pigeon’s Nest. It was called ‘Yarnovember’ and was lots of fun. That kept me rather busy on social media and reminded me just how much crochet has been in my life for the past few years which was such fun.
Also in November I competed my second pair of knitted socks. I picked up the ‘Hope’ yarn from Yarndale in September and used the Winwick Mum basic sock pattern to knit them. I love the colours – they are so autumnal.
I also had a lovely morning walk with Eldest to see the deer at Dunham Massey National Trust park early in the month. He managed to get home for a few days during his University reading week, and we headed out for a walk one day, coffee cups in hand to enjoy the greenery.
The big painting challenge
At the start of December I set myself a tough challenge – to redecorate our lounge in time for a surprise birthday party just over a week later. It was a tough one, but I managed it, despite 4 coats of paint to kill the pattern of the patterned wallpaper on the feature wall.
Before the paint!
I’d been living with wallpaper I disliked for 2 years, and the surprise party was the kick up the behind I needed to get busy. I’m very pleased to say I managed it (with a bit of help from the unsuspecting party recipient). We were all ready in time to welcome party guests to my lovely Dad’s 80th birthday party!
The delicious cake made by my brother & sister-in-law
Cold weather
Whilst it’s been rather mild recently, earlier this month, it was decidedly nippy. We had a proper cold snap in mid December which made the early morning school runs a bit on the cold side. I believe it was minus 9 one morning when my friend’s husband left for work. I walked with Littlest to the bus stop that day to keep him company as his friend was ill and I can confirm it was COLD! It had warmed up slightly when I drove son Number 2 to school (see below)…. It’s so hard to comprehend that a few months ago, parts of the UK were burning in the heatwave!
Back at Old Trafford
I managed to get back to Old Trafford to watch the Manchester United Women’s team play against Aston Villa. I went with my youngest two and my Dad. It was brilliant – the atmosphere is so lovely in women’s football. As you can see, the sun shone and they got a win too – a perfect trip out!
Betwixtmas
This year I’m taking part in the Betwixtmas Makealong by Black Sheep Wools. I have had a skein of Yarn Whisperer hand dyed yarn waiting for the right project to come along and I think this is it. I took it along to Black Sheep wools and picked out two contrasting colours to make up this ‘knitted’ – yes – knitted shawl. It’s pushing my abilities and a bit of a challenge but I have enjoyed putting my hook down for a while over the last few days. I wonder if it will be finished before next Betwixtmas?!!
That’s all I have for you this time, but it’s been lovely to be back and sharing my comings and going’s with you. I hope you have had a restful Christmas – I know it’s very difficult for so many people. I wish you a new year filled with joy and creativity.
Hello there! I hope this finds you well. It’s November – eek! How did that happen??
Here’s what I’ve been up to over the past month…
Autumnal colours
October began and ended in a blaze of orange! The first photo is of one of my little Acers which took on a great colour at the beginning of the month, we also enjoyed this sky of fire at the start of October (below) – the second sunset was taken on Saturday evening before the clocks went back to put us on Winter time….. the last hurrah of the summer that was…
Changing times…
Last month, you may have noticed that there were some changes on this blog from Postcard from Gibraltar to Making Stitches Blog. I won’t go into all the reasons behind it, as you may well have already read the previous post, but if you have just landed here and are wondering why Postcard from Gibraltar is no more, you can read why here.
Yarny news
Last month I decided the time had come to finally dig out my knitting needles and have another go at knitting some socks! About a year ago, I was inspired by Christine Perry of Winwick Mum, to have a go at knitting socks for the first time. Now I learned to knit well before I learned to crochet, but apart from an odd cardigan here and there over the years I haven’t done too much so the prospect of knitting in the round, turning a heel and using double pointed needles sent me running for the hills. (It turns out you don’t need to used DPNs after all – hurrah!) After interviewing Christine for Making Stitches Podcast, we got together for a brew and with her help I actually managed to knit a pair!
At Yarndale this year, I picked up a ball of Yarndale sock yarn called Hope (I have admired this colourway for a while). I have done non-stop crochet for so long, I fancied a change and early in October I cast on the first sock. Determined that it wouldn’t take me months to complete this project (as happened last time) I powered on through and had my first sock finished in less than a week!! I’m very pleased to say that on Monday (31st) (with the help of Christine’s fabulous book “Super Socks“) I Kitchener Stitched the toes of my second sock and I own a second pair of hand knitted socks made by me!
Up the Garden Path friends
Two new friends joined the Up the Garden Path gang in October, Oakley the Acorn Tree Sprite and Agatha the Fly Agaric Mushroom. I had loads of fun making these – they had both been in my head since last autumn, and finally I was able to complete the patterns in time to get them out for this autumn. Oakley and Agatha should actually have a couple of other autumnal companions but I’m afraid other things got in the way of getting to the finishing line with them, so they will need to stay under wraps (or maybe that should be hibernation) until next autumn.
I took them with me to the gorgeous Dunham Massey National Trust parkland for a photo shoot a couple of weeks ago on a bright sunny morning. It was so lovely to have the perfect excuse to get out of the house and enjoy nature for a few hours. It was great fun finding suitable spots for them to pose with the gorgeous natural backdrop. The only issue is that as it is a deer park, there are lots of lovely areas you can’t go into because they are exclusively for the deer. Any parts where you are allowed to stray a little from the path are generally rather well populated so there’s a ready made audience for a crazy middle aged lady arranging crocheted little people on tree stumps or next to fungi.
I tried to keep my head down and not make too much of a spectacle of myself but I was sniffed out by a rather lovely little spaniel on a super long lead at one point, and at another, I was asked by an amateur photographer if he could photograph my little people too. Those were just the passers-by I engaged with – with many others I just ducked down behind the ferns and tree stumps and hoped for the best! I think most people were just glad to give me a wide berth as I was clearly barmy.
Downloadable PDF patterns for Agatha and Oakley are available now in my Etsy Shop if you fancy making either of them and if you would like to make both, you can buy the pair as a bundle with a bit of a saving.
As you can see below, it was a truly stunning morning at Dunham Massey when I went for my photo shoot….
The first Great Northern Textile Show
A week or so ago it was the first ever Great Northern Textile Show, just down the road from where I live in Manchester. I stumbled across the event on Instagram and reached out to the show’s organiser Tracy Fox to ask for more details. Once I’d spoken to Tracy it became apparent that not only did I have to go to the show, but that I also had to go to meet Tracy and hear more about her story. Tracy is an artist working with textiles, she dyes fabric to create art cloth for art quilts and can use anything from leaves from her back garden to rusty saw blades to create the most amazing patterns. I interviewed Tracy for Episode 52 of Making Stitches Podcast which you can listen to below. Then, on 23rd October I found myself at my second big show in a month by going to the Great Northern Textile Show. It was fab – I met some really lovely people. I shared my experience of the day in the latest episode of the podcast which went out last week – you can also listen to that below too.
Tracy Fox – my guest for Episode 52 of Making Stitches Podcast
In other podcast news, I got a rather lovely surprise at the weekend. I noticed that there had been a rather big upward surge in my listener figures so thought I’d check on the Apple Podcast charts to see if the numbers had had an impact there – and they did! I found Making Stitches Podcast at the Number 1 spot in the craft podcast charts in the UK, Canada and New Zealand, at Number 2 (then up to Number 1) in Australia and at Number 5 in the USA!! What a thrill! The podcast has made it to number 1 several times in the past but never in so many places at once or for so long. Thank you to everyone who has listened to it, recommended it to a friend or left a review – I am a very happy podcaster!
A return to ABBA Voyage!
If you read my August Postcard, you may remember that I made the trip down to London with a couple of school friends to see Abba Voyage. The trip had originally been meant to be for my parents to join me but their holiday which had been booked for 2020 and had been rearranged so many times ended up clashing with the ticket dates. I was able to return to London this month with my lovely Mum, the person responsible for introducing me to ABBA in the first place. It was super to be able to share the experience with her. (It also meant that I was able to meet up with Eldest – who is now a London based Uni student – for the briefest of times for a quick cuddle before hopping onto the train back home).
Half term football fun
Last week was half term week for the two youngest Little Postcards. Youngest is back in love with football after breaking his thumb and really enjoyed being able to take part in the local soccer school for the week. There was some rain, but they were really very lucky with the weather. The pitches, despite appearances, were rather muddy so I spent a week with the washing machine going almost constantly!
Pumpkin season
After a busy half term week and a weekend grass roots football match, it was rather nice to have some time at home on Sunday. Sunday afternoon meant there was time for a session of pumpkin carving and pumpkin soup making with the innards. I may have been a little heavy handed with the chilli flakes – the soup is in need of yogurt to make it palatable but never mind. It was fun to do.
And that, is that. October ticked off. It’s been a pretty good month all in all and the icing on my cake was the arrival of Eldest home late on Halloween night for a reading week break from Uni. It was so lovely to be able to get him back home again and look after him. He has been very sorely missed these last six weeks.
That’s all from me for this time, thanks so much for stopping by and reading my October ramble!
A view of the Skipton Auction Mart from the Yarn walk
The last weekend in September is Yarndale, and this year, the yarn festival celebrated its 10th birthday. A week ago today, I jumped into my car and headed across the Pennines to make my third visit to Yarndale and it didn’t disappoint. Here’s what I got up to….
The famous Yarndale bunting
As always, the front entrance to the festival was decorated with metres and metres of Yarndale bunting, made by crocheters around the world (including one by me!) and sent to Skipton back in the early days of the festival. Another annual tradition was the introduction of a new Yarndale sheep… this year’s new addition to the flock was Tristen to mark the tenth birthday – do you get it? TrisTEN….
With his brightly coloured mandala body he was a colourful addition to the flock! I think they will need to look for a bigger display area for the sheep soon as they will run out of space to display them all!
The Yarndale flock
Tristen and friends weren’t the only woolly creatures at Yarndale this year, as usual, a number of ‘live’ woolly critters had come along to charm the visitors!
Yarndale can be a little bit overwhelming at times, there is so much to see and do and buy. I followed my plan for last years visit which was to do a full circuit of all the stands first before getting my purse out. On my initial wander I was fascinated to see this amazing yarny Shrek and pals created by the Hawes Yarnbombers. Isn’t it fabulous? So many hours of work must’ve gone into creating that – just brilliant! The stall was collecting donations for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance which was one of the charities being supported by Yarndale this year.
There was lots of bright crocheted and knitted bunting decorating the auction mart this year too and it certainly gave the place a lift.
Now to the yarn, well what can I say? There was so much of it, and it was gorgeous…
There was inspiration at every turn. The Cuddlebums hand dyed yarn was a riot of colour. I can’t resist a rainbow so a couple of skeins may have fallen into my bag (paid for of course!) to come home with me…
The highlight of my time at Yarndale this year has to be getting to hear Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet speak about her journey as a crochet designer as well as to meet her ‘in real life’. For those who don’t know Eleonora, she lives on the south coast of England and is inspired by her coastal surroundings – which is abundantly clear in her beautiful work.
It was lovely to be able to hear the way Eleonora goes from an idea, to choosing yarn colours and techniques to ending up with a new blanket design. It’s been a thrill to be able to watch Eleonora’s designs develop over the years and I clearly remember the day when she launched her first ever CAL (Crochet-ALong). It was her Seaside Stashbuster Blanket, and although I had about a gazillion other WIPs on the go at the time, I found myself digging into my stash to join in with it. That blanket became my Sandy Bay Blanket which I blogged about at the time – named after Sandy Bay in Gibraltar.
Later on came the Changing Tides blanket, another design inspired by Eleonora’s coastal surroundings. I thought it was time another blanket was added to my collection, so I had a go at that one too, but chose the colours to represent Catalan Bay in Gibraltar. That blanket became my Catalan Bay Blanket.
Although I’m no longer in Gibraltar, I will always have my Sandy Bay & Catalan Bay blankets to snuggle up in when it’s cold up north and I’m missing the Gibraltar heat! It also means that I feel linked to Eleonora and her crochet journey too as I was part of the community around the world which took part in the CALs – and it really was a special experience.
It was a real treat to meet Eleonora face to face at last!
I genuinely never thought the day would come when our paths would cross. Back when we first began our blogs about 7 years ago, with me in Gibraltar and Eleonora on the south coast of England, but thanks to Yarndale it happened!
Before I knew it it, it was time to head home. The Auction Mart was looking decidedly empty and I thought I had better head off before I was thrown out!
Outside the Auction Mart were a few yarn bombs on the grass. I have to say that this woolly representation of country fields is my favourite!
Standing at the top of the Yarn Walk steps and looking out across the valley. It really is in a beautiful spot. No wonder there is so much yarny inspiration in theses parts!
I remember on my first visit to Yarndale back in 2016, I set off along the Yarn Walk on the way into the venue and was blown away by the yarny lamppost covers. There don’t seem to be many of the original covers left from back then, but the new ones are equally as cheery!
The path through Aireville Park leads down to the Leeds to Liverpool canal, and that is where the Yarn Walk comes to an end.
I crossed over the canal on the bunting adorned footbridge and back into the Skipton town centre.
Thank you Yarndale, and thank you Skipton! It was fun. Goodbye until next time…
Thanks so much for joining me for my trip, if you would like to hear a bit of the atmosphere, you can listen to my latest episode of Making Stitches Podcast which features 10 chats I had with exhibitors at Yarndale, including a lovely conversation I had with Eleonora from Coastal Crochet. You can listen to it via this link or by searching for Making Stitches Podcast on your favourite podcast app.
Hello there! It’s the last day of November already eek! I’m not ready for December!!
It’s been a busy old month – perhaps that’s why it’s gone so quickly. It’s only now I look back at what we’ve been up that I’ve realised it’s been quite a lot.
In the latest twist of the Covid story it’s also been a month of regular trips to our local testing centre every time anyone gets a cough or sniffle or we are alerted about a close contact. I think we may have been about 10 times lately – I’m thinking of asking for loyalty points!! Fortunately all tests have come back negative.
Here’s what we’ve been up to this month…
A golden tree at the end of the rainbow
Yet again this year, after over a decade away from the UK I have loved seeing the beautiful colours of autumn this month. I may no longer have little people at home who like to make pictures out of autumn treasure, but I can’t help but pick up pretty leaves when I see them!
No it’s not Christmas yet!!
Eek – am I the only one who gets freaked out by early Christmas decorations? I took Littlest out for hot chocolate on 1st November to a local café and they had a huge tree, giant baubles… the works! On the first of November!!! Maybe I’m just a Scrooge but it’s seems a bit early to me. This photo was of the Trafford Centre on the first Saturday of November…. Christmas lights galore!
Meeting real people in real life!
One evening early in the month, I had the most wonderful time ‘out out’ in Manchester. Since February/March last year I have been a virtual member of a super community for podcasters.
After months and months of zoom virtual meet ups where we hear from real ‘professional’ podcasters and swap advice and help amongst our community, I actually got to meet everyone in real life!! What a thrill. (People were so much taller than I expected after spending so long just seeing them on my phone/laptop screen 😂! )
The occasion for this meet up was to celebrate the club’s 3rd birthday and the 30th meet up in total. There were drinks and even birthday cake!
If you are a podcaster yourself or are thinking of starting your own podcast do come along to a future zoom. The group’s called MIC’s Podcast Club and although it’s based in the North West of England, there are members from much further afield (like America) and I was still living in Gibraltar when I first joined. You can find them on Twitter @MICsPodcastClub and maybe one day you can have the thrill of seeing your own podcast up in lights on the wall of a real-life meet up!
Costa del Ship Canal
Littlest’s football match got cancelled one week and instead the team coach opted to run a team building training session in our local nature reserve.
It was a perfect morning for it – definitely worth setting the alarm for an early start on a Saturday!
Just look at those blues and the golden leaves….
That water almost looked Mediterranean – well almost – it is the Manchester Ship Canal!
Plastic hedge be gone!
In this era of everything needing to look perfect and be convenient, we end up with situations like astroturf and plastic hedges. I am not a fan at all. I’m a bit more slap dash and enjoy going with the flow with nature, plus I really enjoy gardening. So when we inherited this delightful plastic hedge at our new home last year, it’s days were numbered. It did a lot better than expected as other jobs took precedence but this month, it’s time was up.
It didn’t take long, it was so rotten inside it practically fell apart – very little force was needed at all. I’m looking forward to installing a rather more environmentally friendly replacement soon!
Yorkshire Sculpture Park
A few weeks ago I received a message from a lovely friend I used to know in Gibraltar. She, like me has moved back to the UK and is now based in the South East of England. She wanted to let me know she and her partner were having a few days up North and would I like to meet them at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park? Yes! Was my answer!!
Barbara Hepworth sculptures
Before we moved to Gibraltar, we lived in Wakefield just a stone’s throw from YSP and it was a regular destination for us as a family on a weekend. It was so lovely to be able to go back there – albeit briefly while the Little Postcards were at school.
Ai Weiwei’s Chinese Horoscope Characters
The weather was so kind to us. It was very cold but it was beautifully sunny. The perfect conditions for having a wander through the beautiful park and sculptures.
Close-up of one of Ai Weiwei’s Chinese Horoscope headsYou can never have a big enough hand bag!A Diamond ring made out of car wheels!
We didn’t spend too long together as I was clock watching to get back across the Pennines in time for school pick up, so we didn’t get to see the whole of the park but one exhibition both myself and my friend (who’s also a crafter) enjoyed immensely was one by Joana Vasconcelos who likes to create amazing things out of everyday objects… like giant stilettos out of pots and pans…
…. Lots and lots of crochet!!! Viva crochet!
Just look at that intricate work!!
Close-up of the above statueAnimal heads enrobed in intricate crochet
But the next fabric structure stopped us in our tracks… it was huge!
The photo doesn’t do it justice – it was giant and filled the huge exhibition space. It was a combination of patchwork, embroidery and very complicated crochet.
The photo above shows the end of one of those tentacles and was over a metre in diameter.
There were also pictures made of bulbous crochet structures…
Finisterra 2018Close-up of above pictureHeartbreak 2015
How about this for a giant pouffe for your living room?
There was also a sculpture made purely of red plastic knives & forks..
Red Independent Heart #3
And then more examples of intricate crochet covering everyday household items…
A double sinkDetail of the sink piece aboveA urinal called ‘Purple Rain’
And a fabulous chair…
The back of the chair above
The Joana Vasconcelos exhibition is on until 9th January 2022 both in the underground gallery and with pieces in the open air too. The artist’s work is said to be “sculptures that comment with a feminist perspective on cultural identity and tradition and celebrate the creative lives of women” – YSP Guide.
It was a lovely visit to the YSP and fabulous to be able to see my friend again – who I hadn’t seen since pre-Covid times. I can highly recommend a visit if you haven’t been, I’ll certainly be back when I can spend longer there.
Sock knitting update
Remember the pair of socks I was knitting thanks to Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum’s fabulous book?
Well they’re finished!!
Knitted using the Winwick Mum Basic Sock Pattern in West Yorkshire Spinners 4ply in ‘Brightside’ also designed by Winwick Mum
I now have toasty warm toes!
In other crafty news, I’m currently working on Eleonora from Coastal Crochet’s Winter Walk Scarf CAL.
It took a while to get started as my hand-dyed skein I’d been saving for the right moment got into rather a big tangle…
But I got there in the end…
And I’m on my way!
Making Stitches Podcast
In podcast news, there have been 2 new episodes this month – both of them yarn inspired.
Emma Leith (photo credit: Emma Leith Atelier)
The first was with the hugely talented and inspiring crochet designer Emma Leith. You can find that here.
Sara Mulvey from Black Sheep Wools (Photo credit: Black Sheep Wools)
The second was a real treat to record because it meant I was able to go ‘back stage’ at the fabulous Black Sheep Wools Craft Barn and speak to Sara Mulvey. What a joy it was to have a proper chat with Sara after months of watching her videos through lockdown – it was such a positive part of a rather unpleasant time. You can listen to Sara’s episode here.
And finally…
My first ever crochet patterns have been launched and are available to buy from my Etsy Shop!
There’s Flora the Gardener and Hope the Snowdrop and all being well they will be joined by some more friends very soon!
And that’s just about it for this month. I hope November has been kind to you.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Lindsay x
Edit: I forgot to mention the snow! We also has some of the white stuff fall in the last few days – super exciting even if it was very cold!!
Hello there, it’s been a while since I’ve sent you a postcard, so I thought our recent trip to North Yorkshire was the perfect opportunity to send one!
Last weekend we packed up the car and headed off up North from Manchester to visit the North Yorkshire coast. It’s been about 20 years since I’ve been up in this part of the world so I was very much looking forward to seeing it again.
We stayed in a modern apartment right on the side of the River Esk which meets the sea in Whitby. Not only could we see the River and the boats near by, we also had steam trains chugging past on the opposite side of the river!
We arrived on a beautifully warm and sunny Saturday and once the car was unpacked we rushed out to make the most of what was left of the day and the sunshine, knowing the good weather wasn’t expected to last for long.
Whitby looked stunning in the sunshine!
On my previous two visits, we had come out of season and I’m pretty sure it was in the depths of winter so it was lovely to see at least a few hours of summer here!
Looking south
We ventured out along one of the long curving piers – something which I hadn’t done before and wasn’t entirely happy with… I’m not great with heights and despite there being railings along the side was worried I may lose a Little Postcard or even myself over the side. I was very glad to get back onto terra firma and not entirely sure I would repeat the experience!
The view back to Whitby from the pier
Being a bank holiday weekend and being very sunny, pretty much everywhere in Whitby was rammed which made us feel a little uneasy after months of avoiding crowds. We did find a few spots which were quiet though…
Henrietta Street
And this made me laugh… experience told me there would be a few of these this holiday.
We woke up on Saturday morning to grey skies – as had been forecast – but wouldn’t let that stop us getting out and exploring. Our arrival in Whitby had coincided with Whitby War weekend, which was being held on a large field behind the ruins of Whitby Abbey.
On our wander about on Saturday we had spotted a number of people dressed in 1940s style clothing so my interest was piqued and I dragged the Little Postcards up the hill to discover what was going on.
We were immediately greeted by some America civil war soldiers. There were demonstrations going on in the main arena.
And lots of folk in costume from lots of different conflicts from around the world including the Spanish Civil War, Vikings, Roundheads & Cavaliers as well as World War I trenches and World War II memorabilia.
The Little Postcards found it a bit odd why the Confederate flag and Swastika were allowed to fly freely on British soil. That led to a heated debate about whether certain factions should be airbrushed from history or remembered for what they did.
In other news, they did enjoy the archery!
As we left the War Weekend event, we walked down past the atmospheric Whitby Abbey ruins which were hosting a medieval event. We didn’t go in though, opting instead for an ice cream!
The views from the cliff top were beautiful in spite of the rather dull weather.
We popped into the beautiful St Mary’s Church and saw the first of many references to craftiness we would see on our trip…
It’s a beautiful old church with ‘boxes’ for people to sit in rather than pews.
And there were more knitted & crocheted remembrance poppies inside…
Then we ‘did’ the famous 199 Steps the easy way… heading downwards!
It gave us a great vantage point to see Whitby’s rooftops from above.
Later on we climbed up the cliffs on the other side of the river to see where we had been.
Bank Holiday Monday gave us the same kind of grey weather unfortunately along with a fair amount of misty rain so we got into the car and headed south to Robin Hood’s Bay. Although I have been before, I had very few memories of the place so it was lovely to visit it again and enjoy the quaint narrow streets down to the sea.
It is so quaint it almost felt like a theme park rather than a real place where real people live!
The cottages are so lovely and well looked after although if there are any people still living there full time, they must find the invasion of tourists a bit of a drag (apologies for that!).
It can’t be easy living on such an incline – especially in winter. I know what it’s like to live on a hill after our time in Gib but at least we didn’t experience snow and ice there.
After taking a walk through the village and down to the sea, we explored the cliffs above the bay for a while.
And we happened upon a lovely mosaic on the sea walls. There’s craftiness everywhere if you know where to look… it says “A community knitted together. Woven in time”
Do you see the giant knitting needles?
I thought this was lovely.
We hopped back into the car again and set off for Scarborough next. It was a typical British bank holiday… crumby weather but still some brave souls on the beach. I believe Scarborough ‘enjoyed’ the UK’s coldest weather that day! Typical!!
Inspite of the grey skies, the beach huts were looking bright and cheerful. I am a great fan of beach huts, having had many holidays in Norfolk & Suffolk over the years but never in all my days have I seen two-storey beach huts before!!
A quick lunch & wander through Peasholm Park brought us back to our car.
Peasholm Park
We headed back to Whitby to have some dinner before heading out on a spooky ghost walk with Dr Crank!
Dr Crank in action!
We heard stories of a headless horseman, a hand of glory, grey ladies, terrible terrorizing black cats and of course, lots of information about Dracula and where Bram Stoker got his inspiration from. It was a super 90 minute-long walk and talk with plenty of jokes and banter. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Whitby whalebone arch – the beginning and end point of the ghost walk
If you’d like more information about this Whitby ghost walk – which is suitable for families (ie – not too gruesome) please visit the Whitby Walks website.
Whitby harbour at night
Tuesday was our last full day in Whitby so we headed back into town and climbed up through Pannett Park to the Whitby Museum and Pannett Art Gallery, as recommended by Dr Crank the night before.
It’s very reasonably priced – it cost us just £6 to get in and that granted us a year-long season ticket! It’s filled with treasures from Whitby’s past from fossils to Whitby Jet jewelry, and antique toys to the town’s seafaring traditions.
Some of the samplers on display
There were beautiful examples of embroidered samplers and handicrafts from overseas brought back by the town’s sea-going explorers.
Examples of native North American beadwork
It really is worth a visit. The Little Postcards loved the huge array of model ships on display including a model of HMS Victory which, of course, was captained by Admiral Nelson in the battle of Trafalgar and had to be repaired in Gibraltar before returning to Britain with Nelson’s body. There seem to be links to Gibraltar wherever we go!!
There she is! Ever present in maritime history…
Around Whitby itself there is a lovely collection of metallic sculptures to commemorate the town’s history. They even gave a nod to knitting too.
At first glance I thought she was knitting a sock, but upon reading the plaque you can see she is knitting a fisherman’s gansey – a sweater which would protect her fisherman husband from the elements.
And for any real life crafters visiting Whitby, I have to recommend a visit to Whitby Crafts. What an amazing Aladin’s Cave of crafty delights it is, with floor to ceiling racks of fabric in every hue of the rainbow as well as embroidery kits and yarn too.
And in the blink of an eye our holiday was over. 4 nights in Whitby gone in a flash. We’re now back home, the washer’s on and the cases are up in the loft again already! Thank you North Yorkshire for a lovely time even if the sun didn’t shine much!!
Hello there. Sorry I’ve not been about much of late. Life has been very busy and I’ve just not had the time for blogging lately. However, I did something yesterday which I simply had to share. Here goes…
Mrs Pankhurst helping the Craftivist cause!
I’m not sure when I first heard about Craftivism, but I know it was well over a year ago. I have followed the work of Sarah Corbett from the Craftivist Collective for quite some time and found her method of ‘gentle protest’ so inspiring. The act of making for a cause; to raise awareness about something which needs to be spoken and thought about but in a quiet, gentle, thoughtful way rather than by shouting and waving placards. Whilst there is always a place for such things sometimes being quiet has a bigger impact than getting peoples’ backs up and shouting loudly.
I was reminded about Sarah’s work when I watched the BBC2 documentary ‘Craftivism: Making a Difference’ with the comedienne Jenny Eclair. In it she explored different methods of craftivism with different activists on topics from equal pay in the production of fast fashion by placing little notes into the pockets of clothes in shops to encouraging women to have smear tests by putting pairs of miniature knickers in public toilets. Sarah was one of the craftivists Jenny spoke to and she gave a compelling case for the effectiveness of Craftivism and the art of gentle protest.
After watching the documentary I was compelled to buy Sarah’s book ‘How to be a Craftivist’ and on reading it was amazed to see the amount of workshops she had led and the sheer scale of her one-woman mission. She’s spoken to groups all over the UK and many overseas as well. At her workshops she encourages people to mindfully craft something which will help focus attention on a whole host of causes including minimum wage as worker’s rights, to the environment and equality.
The book ‘How to be a Craftivist’ came beautifully wrapped with a ribbon and a yellow ‘Crafterthought’ pencil to write down my own crafterthoughts after reading it!
I decided that I had to contact Sarah and ask if she would consider being a guest on my Making Stitches Podcast. Much to my amazement, despite being a very small scale podcast I was thrilled when I got a positive reply. Our interview date was set and in the intervening weeks my trepidation grew at speaking to such an inspiring woman. There was no need though, she was so lovely.
Sarah Corbett Photo Credit: Craftivist Collective
We spoke for more than the hour we had planned and by the time our chat finished I was more than won over to the cause of ‘gentle protest’ and offered my services to help with Sarah’s latest campaign to raise awareness about the need to reduce carbon ahead of this year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow.
You can hear my chat with Sarah for the Making Stitches Podcast here.
I became the contact for a ‘flock’ of Canary Craftivists who would get together in an iconic spot in Manchester (as many flocks will do up and down the UK and further afield), dress in yellow and mindfully create canaries either by sewing, knitting or crocheting them. The plan is to then send the canaries to our local MPs to put pressure on those going to COP26 to remember the need for urgent action to halt the rapid pace of climate change.
I have to admit that this is not my usual kind of thing to do on a Saturday morning. I felt well and truly out of my comfort zone co-ordinating a small group of crafters from across Greater Manchester to get together and quietly make a stand.
My attempt at a crocheted canary
Why Canaries?
First of all canaries are yellow, and yellow is such a happy uplifting colour which inspires hope. Secondly though, canaries played an important role in checking for clean air. Miners would take the birds down pits in the knowledge that if the canaries stayed alive, there were no poisonous gases about in the tunnels and shafts. If the birds died, it was time to get out and up onto the surface quickly. These little fabric birds are our way of saying it’s time to do something before we choke the planet with poisonous gases any more than it is already, and in fact we need to reverse the trend and quickly.
We kept the location and time of our flock secret to avoid attracting the attention of any troublemakers who might want to take advantage of our action. It was also a deliberately small group both for Covid reasons and because all of us are new to this – the aim of this campaign is to attract people who perhaps wouldn’t otherwise join a climate protest. I have to admit that our group was slightly smaller than we had hoped but the dreaded Track and Trace ping hit a few of our planned flock.
Our uniform was to be dressed in some yellow. Yellow isn’t a common feature in my wardrobe, although I did have a pair of yellow jeans. I added to my ensemble by sewing a yellow face mask and crocheting a yellow canary cape.
I finished my cape the night before and added the ribbon which came wrapped around my How to be a Craftivist book to be an appropriate way of fastening it at the front. The words on the ribbon say ‘little by little we travel far’.
The weather was kind to us, we woke up to bright, clear blue skies above Manchester. I jumped onto a yellow (on message) tram into the centre of Manchester ready for the flock.
We chose St Peter’s Square as the venue as it’s easy to get to via public transport, it’s very central and has the iconic backdrop of Central Library, trams & the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst too (someone who could teach us a thing or two about campaigning!).
We set up camp on one of the benches and got busy!
The Manchester ‘flock’
Gemma and her daughter Evie wore the most amazing costumes they had made for the event…
It was a really positive experience- my fellow Craftivists were all lovely as were the people who stopped to ask us what we were doing and why. We were able to direct them to the Craftivist Collective website so that they could find out how to make their own canary to send to their MP.
Crafting by the Emmeline Pankhurst statue
All in all, this ‘flock’ has been a truly positive experience and an opportunity to meet some lovely crafty folk.
Outside Central Library
If you would like to have a go either forming your own flock or making a canary to send to your MP, please visit the Craftivist Collective website for all the help you’ll need.
I, like many crocheters was taught by my Mum and Gran. They also taught me to embroider, sew and knit. As a mother of 3 boys I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to pass these skills onto the next generation, but to my pleasant surprise I was asked by Number 1 son to teach him cross-stitch several years ago and he made a small picture for his room. Since then, at various times over the course of at least 2 years, he has asked me to teach him to knit. I haven’t been too successful so far, and as is the way when you are young and keen, he has very high expectations (like being able to knit a whole scarf for himself within a day). So far our yarny adventures haven’t been 100% successful.
In the run up to Christmas I spotted a knitting loom in our local knitting shop and thought perhaps that could be the answer for him. It appears that if you put it down and forget about it for several weeks or months between sessions it should remain intact and not all slide off the end of a needle (as has been the case for us before). At last I had the time to work it out and get him started. This is it so far, it is rather loose (not sure if that’s what’s supposed to happen). Perhaps using chunky wool would be better? Although the lady in the shop said DK would be fine. Anyway he seems to be enjoying it this far lifting the loops of wool over the pegs with a little hook rather like one of those knitting dolls I had as a child. Any advice anyone could give me on this would be greatly appreciated!
Cavalcade Tuesday of course meant the Cavalcade in Gibraltar (see my previous post for more on this), but it marked the end of the Christmas festivities and really the end of the Christmas holidays for me and the boys. We had a lovely afternoon – we went to see the Peanuts Movie, had a quick dinner in Kings Bastion Leisure Centre (where the cinema is) while dodging an almighty downpour and then met up with Mr Postcard to watch the floats and bands go past. A lovely end to our holiday together.
Med Steps Challenge
The gauntlet has been thrown down and I have been set a challenge for 2016 – well until May 2016 anyway. Regular visitors to my blog will have heard me mention every now and then, the Med Steps (or Mediterranean Steps to give them their proper title). It’s a footpath which winds up the Southern and Eastern sides of the Rock of Gibraltar to the summit and is a route I walk fairly regularly to try and keep fit. There’s a contest twice a year which involves walking/running (for the super fit) up the steps and back down again 5 times (yes you read that right) 5 times in the one day. A couple of friends who I have done the steps with in the past have decided to have a go at the challenge, and I am considering having a go too. Thursday marked the first day back at school here in Gibraltar and therefore, training began for us. We managed it… once, in a time of 31 minutes from Jews Gate up to the top. I have heard of much faster times, but for a first training session and after a month of virtual inactivity and perhaps just a little overindulgence over Christmas, I don’t think it was too bad. How on earth we will manage to do it 5 times in a row, I have no idea but I’ll keep you posted on our progress!
Cosy stripe blanket progress I reached a big milestone this week. I finished the stripes of my Attic 24 Cosy Stripe Blanket. It was begun in November 2014 as a CAL (crochet-along) and over the course of a month or two, crocheting several rows each week, it was due to be finished at the end of the year (2014 that is). I so admire crafters who can knock out several blankets a year, I even saw one crocheter talking recently on Instagram about the fact she had completed 60 – yes 60!!! blankets last year. Well I’m afraid I’m a bit flighty and get easily distracted and like to have multiple crafty things on the go at any one time so I tend to be a one blanket a year (make that 14 months) kind of girl. Now to darn in all those pesky endy bits and crack on with the border!
Mr Potato Head lovers – look away now…
….I think he may have exploded! Now I’m sure I said ‘put all that away before bedtime’ but perhaps I was just talking to myself. Do you ever get the feeling no one’s listening to you???
Colourful start to the weekend
Yesterday morning we had a real treat outside our front door – double rainbow in the Bay. How beautiful!
Colouring for grown-ups
I’ve had loads of fun this weekend playing with one of my Christmas presents, a grown-up colouring book. I had been a bit dubious about the claims of relaxation and mindfulness relating to such activities but I’ve been convinced. It’s not the best effort so far but I’ve had fun doing it!
Sunday sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie at Threads & Bobbins.
You may have noticed that over the past few weeks I’ve ditched my crochet hook and picked up some knitting needles for a change. It’s been good fun actually, I don’t always get on too well with knitting as I can come unstuck with tension and I find it difficult to maintain a smooth end result when I keep stopping and starting (usually because I have to do it in short snatches between interruptions). One of the reasons I love crochet so much is that you can stop mid row, chuck on a stitch marker and you can restart days, weeks or months later and it all remains looking lovely.
Last Christmas, I was given a knitting book by my brother. He often buys me craft books, and I love using them to inspire my future projects. This book, as I’ve mentioned, was knitting rather than my usual crochet, and rather than teaching new techniques or containing projects for the home (as is my usual fodder) it was purely hats, animal hats no less!
Last year, when there was a dressing-up day at school I used the book to knit a rabbit hat for one of my boys as part of a costume. I found the pattern really easy to follow and quick to work up as they are all worked in chunky wool. There’s nothing more satisfying than having something to show for your efforts in a relatively short period of time.
I decided right back on Christmas Day last year, that I’d have a go at making one of the hats as a gift for my brother (he loves hanging about on mountains in inclement weather taking gorgeous photographs so he needs a hat 😉 ). Then when he got engaged recently to his lovely girlfriend, I thought I’d better make one for her too, so she wouldn’t feel left out!
And so it began… Before long I was staring at a rather boss-eyed frog!
I’ve never attempted that twisty rope effect before – it was fun to have a go at.
Then for hat number 2…
Can you guess what it is?
A fox!
It was great fun revisiting pompoms – it’s years since I’ve had a go at making them.
Let’s have a look at them both together, his & hers… Mr Frog & Ms Fox.
Aw I think they’re rather cute! I’m very pleased to say they were well received…and the engagement’s still on despite the fact his weird sister knitted fox & frog hats for them! Whether they’ll get an outing up a mountain in the near future or not, I’m not sure!
