Busy busy busy!

Wow, this last couple of weeks have been so busy, I haven’t had a minute to myself.  My very good friend Harry visited last weekend from Essex.  She’s one of my most favouritest people in the whole world.  One of those friends that even though you haven’t seen them for a while, you pick up exactly from when you last spoke and carry on as if it were only last week.  She did however distract me from what I hoped to do, which was write a new post.  That and buying a fancy pants coffee machine (not me, Coop, but it took a whole day of sipping samples to decide, which was actually rather more exhausting than you would imagine).  Now we can have posh frothy coffees at home whenever we like, it’s quite a treat.  

I’ve still found time for a little crochet however (funny how that’s high on the priority list hey?!) Firstly, I’ve tried out my new goodies.  I spent some time trying out tunisian crochet.  I’m kicking myself because I found a fantastic blogger in Australia who has some great starter posts if you’ve never tried tunisian before and it seems that when I was tidying my blog list only the other day, I’ve deleted the link to her site.   I’m so annoyed with myself, partly (and selfishly) for me, I wanted to do some of her other stitches and also as I really wanted to share it with you.  I guess I’m a victim of technology, I have so many bookmarks saved across so many devices that I can’t remember where I’ve saved the things I like.  Ahh well, if it comes back to me I’ll make sure to add it in as the blog is really worth a visit.  Anyway, my tunisian tries were of the basic stitch (yep, it’s not just the blog that’s slipped my mind but the name of the stitch too) and the star stitch.

I really like the dense texture of the tunisian swatch I created.  It has a nice wooly jumper kind of feel to it.  It did curl up a lot though, it would probably take a fair amount of blocking to straighten it out (which is why it’s pinned to a board in my photos!)  The process was a bit faffy to begin with, but I soon got the hang of the long hook.  I had to be quite careful to crochet more loosely than I usually would, to allow the stitches to move along the ‘needle’ of the hook but overall I was very happy with the two stitches.  

I also turned my hand to broomstick lace.  I love love love how this looks; it’s so lacy and delicate.  The technique was a little trickier than for tunisian.  I’m still not sure I’ve worked out a comfortable way to hold the huge broomstick needle but I’m really pleased with how it turned out.  I think the poor technique is probably due to my squiffy style of crochet; I am left-handed but feel more comfortable crocheting with my right.  However, my crochet buddy A Bunch of Buttons always gets into fits of laughter when she watches me, as I have some strange hybrid left/right style where I might be holding the hook in my right hand, but my left is still doing all the work.  Ok it looks kind of funny but if it aint broke etc.  

What I would love some help on is what to do with the lovely broomstick lace.  Do you have an ideas?  I’ve stumbled over only a very limited variety of stitches and it seems to be mostly used for scarves.  Any suggestions would be gratefully received as it’s so pretty I want to do something with it.

I’m hoping to keep in better contact from now on and have a few posts already mulling over in my mind.  So until then...x

Everything’s coming together...

I’m sorry it’s been a little while since my last post.  Things have been a bit hectic but finally, things are coming together; and there is much to be happy about in the Cooper household.

Firstly, in the typical British way, the weather.  The beautiful, hot, sunny sunny sunny weather we’ve been having.  I was lucky enough to make the long trip to Singapore and Bali a couple of months ago and was so grateful to finally remember what it felt like to have sunshine on my face after the grey, cold weather dragged on and on.  But what a summer we’re having now!  Lots of early morning beach walks with Sas and his Beagle friends, Hugo and Dexter.

This is them on their best behaviour; it doesn't happen very often!

To be honest though, I have hardly had a chance to enjoy the lovely sunshine.  I’ve been locked away indoors, tapping away on my laptop to get my university work finished.   I have been studying for a new degree at the very beautiful local university and for the past couple of months especially it has just consumed my entire life.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to learn.  I love the first scratchy ink marks in a clean, fresh notebook.  I love new stationary, long afternoons amongst the library stacks and sitting in a classroom with people as keen to learn as me.  Coop thinks its really funny to see how excited I get poring over a textbook, frantically taking notes, my head popping up occasionally with a new bit of knowledge to share.  I know he only humors me with a nod or “mmm, that is interesting” but I’ve always been a book worm so he’s used to it by now.  

Finally, the last assignment is over.  It’s been a real slog I won’t lie; the last time I went to university I was a full time student, young and ambitious, whereas now I have a career, a husband, a house, a pup and a life to keep ticking over.  I’ve loved the course, I’ve learnt loads, but I think me and education are done for a while.  I’ve told all of my friends to kick me if I even mention the possibility of another course to them anytime soon.  And the biggest reason that I grew weary of studying?  It ate into my crochet time!  It’s been  torturous to go up to my little craft room and see my multicoloured yarns and hooks waiting for me, but having to tear myself away to sit at the dining room table, staring at a white screen.  Really, it’s made me realise what a huge part of my life crochet has become.

So I celebrated in the best way I knew how.  I treated myself to some crafty treasures!  

Is it a crochet hook, is it a knitting needle?  Perhaps a bit of both

I’ve been itching to try tunisian crochet for a while.  I like how it looks like a combination of crochet and knitting, both in the tools used and the cloth made.  I’m not exactly sure what I am going to use the technique for, but for now I am content spending my first free weekend making a few swatches to test it out.  I’ve found a couple of blogs with some tips for tunisian, and I’ve signed up to a Craftsy class by Jennifer Hanson.  Have you heard of Craftsy classes?  Craftsy offer a whole selection of online classes in needlework, photography, cake decorating and all kinds of other things.  I’ve taken the Fresh Stitches Design Your Own Monster course before, and it was fantastic, so I have high hopes for the new tunisian crochet class.

Broomstick crochet (or broomstick lace) looks so pretty, I just had to get a ‘broomstick’ and give it a go.  I bought mine from PurpleLinda Crafts, but anything cylindrical would suffice.  Although I haven’t quite figured out how to hold everything all at the same time, it’s definitely on my ‘to do’ list this weekend.  

My new and improved cotton collection

Finally, I bought a whole heap of cotton to crochet with.  It’s been a while since I replenished my supplies, so I went to town and bought myself a selection as I have my eye on a cute little toy for a friend who’s baby is due next month.  If course, you’ll be the first to see it once it’s finished!  

So, I feel like I've got a lot to be happy about.  Summers finally here, and I'm free to enjoy it!  And best of all, I can get back to what I love best, my crochet.  Until then... x