How the heck is it January again?!

So, it's 2017!

Did I learn to knit in 2016? Did I heckers, like. 

Did I give up on all my woolly pursuits? Did I heckers, like. 

I'm starting the new year with a renewed enthusiasm for all things yarn. Maybe this year I really will learn to knit! 

2016's F.O.s are too numerous to mention (get me...) but this year I'll try and keep things more up to date! I finished my first project today, a pair of mittens for myself. Good job snow is forecast for later in the week! Post to follow. Honest!

Next up is The Crochet Circle's #TCCChristmasCAL - I've started a pair of Winter Wonder socks which will be my main project until they're finished. The CAL is running til the end of the month so, who knows!

I'm mainly to be found on Instagram these days, follow me @ohforhookssake why dontcha?

Until next time, chums!

Beatrix (not THAT one...)

Hello! 

How does this post find you? Hopefully, you're just peachy and all this wintriness isn't getting you down. I'm ambivalent about winter: I'd much rather be cold than warm, I love stodgy, stick-to-your-ribs type comfort food (I'm talking about you, dumplings!) and naturally my chosen craft means I can whip up an array of hats and scarves; but on the other hand, the short days really get me down and all that wool does NOT mix well with all the rain we're getting! 

So, post-New Year, I had a massively lazy weekend of crochet, chocolate, TV (mainly darts, I love it!) and hanging out with my other half and our dog. I'd take that over a weekend of debauched partying EVERY time - I used to worry that, by not wanting to go out to sweaty bars on the lash any more, I was missing out but I've long since come to terms with that! 

With Christmas out of the way my hooky plan is to finish off some WIPs, beginning with the Beatrix shawl kit I bought from Truly Hooked (https://www.facebook.com/trulyhooked/ or https://www.etsy.com/shop/TrulyHooked) - I got the pattern, plus a lovely gradient dyed sock blank in 'Electric Peacock' when I was at the Handmade Fair in September. I'd started it before all those pesky xmas makes got in the way and it is most DEFINITELY for keeps!

At this point, I'll confess that I try and work in US terms as much as I can so I find I'm constantly reminding myself of what I should be doing when working in UK terms, but the pattern was clear, easy to follow and even included a chart which I found really handy. I hadn't worked from a sock blank before and had some misgivings about how it would affect tension and counting stitches because the yarn is so wiggly as it unravels, but if anything this helped as you were supposed to keep the tension loose. And the finished shawl gets blocked to within an inch of it's life anyway!

Once I picked the shawl back up, I had it finished in two mammoth, darts-fuelled sessions. I was using a 5mm hook in this lovely, warm, polished wood that is one of my faves which helped! I am in love with the colours in the gradient and the transitions between them look absolutely great, there's no big jumps from one colour to the next. The shawl was transformed by blocking, it really opened up the lacy stitches and my slightly improvised border looks like it belongs there, phew! 

In short: buy the kit. Or at least the pattern! I'm already planning another. But for now I'm going to enjoy wearing project #1 of 2016! 

And the award for 'most forgetful blogger' goes to...

...me! 

I'm aiming for more frequent posts this year, honest! 

So much has happened since I last blogged; I've begun dyeing yarn, been adventuring with the Prince's Trust, I've crocheted myself silly, discovered loads of ace new makers of things, played shopkeeper at craft markets, had fun times with my crew, it's been Christmas (and New Year!), LOADS of stuff. 

Hooky project no.1 of 2015 is complete, I'll write a separate post about that though - and I've decided that this year I will learn to knit...knitting has been my woolly nemesis as I'm left handed, but I found a Craftsy course in Continental Knitting that maybe even I can follow. We shall see! 

Becky x

a Sunday well spent brings a week of content

...even if that Sunday includes cleaning the bathroom, right?!

Right! Even though I know (like many) I have a whole week of w-o-r-k ahead, I'm feeling more prepared than usual thanks to a lovely weekend of family things, beer garden chatting, a teeny bit of housework (don't want to overdo it), a new WIP (as if I don't have enough projects on the go as it is), experimenting with a DIY lightbox idea and eating minstrels. Whoops, eating Minstrels. Capitalisation is so useful sometimes...

Just a quick post as I have some Folksy listings to write, I had some AWESOME HAPPY POST on Friday; but more on that another evening.

Hope you had a lovely weekend, too.

TTFN :)

Introductions...

First post - I'm a bit nervous!

I thought it would be best to start with a little bit about me. I promise I won't always be this self-indulgent, honest!

Hello, I'm Becky. Nice to meet you! I'm 31 (which always comes as a bit of a surprise, surely I'm still 25...), I live with my lovely bloke of 9 years and counting and our retired greyhound, Bally. They're my crew. We live by the seaside, which is awesome. I'll grudgingly admit there's beauty to be found at the coast on even the most freezing cold, rainy, sleety winter days. I only usually realise this once I'm back inside, but still.

I have a job (thank goodness!) and an out-of-control crochet hobby which has spiralled into a little business, of sorts. The sort where I don't make money, but have so much fun. And so much wool!

I've dealt, on and off, with depression for most of my adult life - but this is not, I repeat, NOT going to specifically be a depression blog. I'm sure there are many out there; some bad, some good. I'm also 'curvy', 'plus size' or any other euphemism you want to use - ditto, I'm not planning to blog specifically about that either. I might drop in the odd post here and there though (that was a little disclaimer, just in case I share my thoughts on either of these things in the future).

I love: my crew, my family, wool, dinosaurs, shoes that look slightly orthopaedic, buttons, peanut butter, cups of tea, ladybirds, spelling things correctly, clouds, mint green, coral, grey, the colour combination of mint green, coral and grey, ice cream, anything with pecans in, quiet weekends, finding treasures, cheeky swearwords and enough things to fill about twenty five other posts. At least!

I hope to share woolly things, happy things and anything else I find along the way that interests me. Stick around, if you like - drop me a little comment to say hello, why don't you?

----- x x -----