Catching Up.....

 I missed my turn last week for the Yarn Along over at Ginny's..... and I've also missed the boat for taking part in  Jennifer's Winter Project posts for October but hopefully, I'll be able to join in come November (which won't be long in coming around!). So nothing much exciting to report 'yarn-related' except my progress with the recent Spice of Life CAL which is slow but sure. Nearly at the endgame now, with only 3 weeks to go before the finish line. I'm enjoying watching the blanket grow and the yarn is lovely to work with. In fact this is the best stage because the blanket is big enough now to keep the old knees warm while I'm working on it of an evening. I only seem to have time to crochet in the evenings! When you have the opportunity, when is your best time for crafting?

 

While I was awaiting the instructions for Part 5 of the blanket to be released, I thought I'd try my hand at a poncho since I've seen one or two around on t'internet which look really nice and cosy to wear but I have to admit, I was never a great fan of them back in the day, preferring to let others with panache wear them, e.g. Clint Eastwood! Anyhoot, I found a really old pattern among my collection so armed with some wool from my stash, I ventured forth.

 Cool, or what??!! I'm making mine much smaller and fringe-less and I may add a polo neck if I have enough yarn left over. Big hook, chunky yarn, what's not to like?

As for books, I'm currently reading this book by Jonathan Franzen. It really is the great American Novel and it demands total concentration so I keep it for bedtime reading. Depending on how mangled my brain is by that time, I may only get to read 2 or 3 pages per night! It's epic, that's for sure. It might take me a while to get to the last page. 

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TV land seems rather empty now that 'Bake Off' and 'Dr Foster' have finished but I am so loving 'Strictly Come Dancing' on Saturday nights. It really is the best family entertainment on telly right now and Jay and Aliona's Jive on Saturday was just remarkable. I'm sure Jay is a contender for the Glitter Ball Trophy.

see if you agree

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'Til next time. Thanks for stopping by.

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Lost in Translation

Pinch, Punch, First of the Month! Hello October!

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Blimey, how hard can it be to give your blog a new look?  Let me explain. I thought I would be very clever the other night and give my blog a little makeover now that Autumn is well and truly here. So I searched online for some free templates and found one that I really liked. I proceeded to follow the instructions for adding the html code and in my enthusiasm, did as instructed and deleted my existing code, thinking that it would only be the main body of my blog which would change. Oh but that would be too simple! When I clicked to update the template, after a quick, involuntary detour around the 'Google Drive' app, everything on my sidebar had completely disappeared!! Well, I tried to retrieve the old code from my recycle bin and everything but it was well and truly despatched into cyberspace, never to be seen again. So, it was back to the drawing board and what you see is the best I could come up with while I look for pretty little buttons to add to my sidebar.

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I'm too late to join in Ginny's Yarnalong but this would have been my entry had I not been struggling with things I should know to leave well alone by now.........

..it's going to be a (hopefully) neat little cardi for No 2 Grandbaby and I'm using a lovely yarn, kindly sent to me ages ago by my bloggy friend, Shaz The Shabby Chic Bohemian, with a smidgeon of cashmere in it - that's the pale pink one in the pic. I'm adding stripes with the darker shade, which I bought also ages ago, to 'pad' it out so I'll have enough to finish. The pattern is from the Debbie Bliss book 'Blankets, Bears and Bootees', which I borrowed from the library. Isn't the back of the cardi pretty too?

 I've also been continuing with the Spice of Life CAL and I'm really humbled by the amount of lovely comments I've had over on the group's FB page about my colour choices. They've proved to be very popular. Have a look....

There are over 4,000 crafty people doing this CAL and it's one of the loveliest groups you could hope to find. Everyone's so kind and helpful to one another.  A testament to Sandra, the Designer's talent and popularity. I think she's quite overwhelmed by it all! and it's not too late to jump in, there's always room for a few more!

(pic attributable to Sandra Paul)

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While I was waiting for Part 3 of the blanket to be published, I started on my Christmas Crochet (well, preparation is everything!) and I found a lovely Snowflake Pattern over at another one of my fav designer's blogs, Susan Pinner. I love her colourful world too.

 

It's quite a big snowflake!

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Anyhoot, that's it for now but I hope you all have a lovely, sunny and eventful weekend. The weather here has been unusually kind to us this week. I think I was rather premature in putting away my Summer gear. Who knew you could still wear 'Birkenstocks' on the 1st October?!!

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Ciao for now.

xxxXXXxxx