Grany square day

International granny square day started back in 2014 in Instagram by @suregal27 and this year it is being hosted by Simply Crochet Magazine. I am joining in showing my all time favourite square, which is my heart bonding square and to celebrate the wonderful grannies everywhere I am sharing my pattern for free (see below). 

But first let me show you a load of all time favourite granny makes.

These are all time favourites and you can find them all here in the blog. There's the one square blankets, the pastel granny and the all colourful granny blanket that was made by my students, all charity makes. And the bottom left is the calm blanket that was made for a lovely little baby girl, who still treasures it... many years later... 

So today I am sharing how I make my super easy granny square, please click here for the step by step picture instructions. 

What is your favourite granny square? I would love to hear...

Winding fibres to wind down...

I have been knitting and crocheting for over 20 years now (and that’s more than half my life) most times with yarn from the big producers. But I have always been drawn to natural materials, wool and cotton especially.
However recently, I have had the need to work with the most natural materials, hand dyed if possible, or not dyed at all. And so I have been toying with the idea of dying and spinning my own yarn.

Not sure how it is going to balance my excitement and patience... I generally love easy quick projects that I can get done in a couple of weeks at most, but a couple of hours preferably.

When I went to the New Forest Country Show a couple of weeks ago, the ladies at the weavers and spinners guild were super nice and I had the chance to have a quick one to one lesson on spinning. Next thing I know I had already ordered some fibres and a drop spindle to give it a go.

I am absolutely loving the process, I find it the most relaxing and meditative craft I have yet tried.
I just simply wind down... So I find myself working super slowly, parking the spindle as I go, enjoying the process and not really caring about the end result. This is so not me, and I love it.

And that's why I find it so surprising that I am winding up yarn to wind down... to relax. I am meditating through the fibres, the twisting motion, feeling the twist in my fingers and letting it go up the fibres to create yarn. It also smells so good! like being transported back to the countryside and a lovely British hill in the sun!

And I bought more fibres that I will be able to spin in my tiny drop spindle, but hey ho, I am learning a new lovely craft and hopefully, eventually, one day, make something beautiful to wear that will remind me of the amazing transformative process of the yarn.

My love today to all the makers out there, that create, transform and fill the world with beautiful things, one spin at a time!

Reward charts - chasing the carrot works?

This is quite an unusual post for me, but I am feeling more and more the need to share more than just my crafting. Hope you like that and choose to stick with me on this one too.

Our son has been potty training during the last month and there has been a lot of praise and gifts to encourage the toilet action. But it got to a point were going to the toilet was no longer an issue and he was asking (more like demanding with a nice pleaseeeeee at the end) for gifts at all times. 

So we decided to introduce a rewards chart. It was a spur of the moment thing that I just drew on a paper, with spaces to add stamps when he does something really well or that's helpful, some smiley faces for some "fun activities" along the way and a present at the end of the chart.

It has worked a treat. He understands the concept of the rewards for things well done and is really looking forward to his present. He also gets to choose his fun activity, which mostly consists of us singing and dancing crazy in the kitchen to a couple of Katie Perry's songs. I am happy to oblige!

And as I was sharing the news of how well the chart is going in my family WhatsApp group, a certain brother in law said that his wife should have one too! So jokingly I made one for her, but instead of empty circles I wrote activities that I knew my sister would need to get done. And then I made one for myself.. and I was honest, like I haven't been in years, about all of those tasks that really needed doing...

… the box of handbags that still sits in the loft from two moves ago...

… the dreaded spare bedroom closet...

… the little one's clothes that need sorting and taking to the charity shop...

… and so on.

 And I displayed it proudly next to my son's. So I get questioned daily by him how many stamps I got each day.

Well let me tell you it is actually working. Not sure if it is the fact that it is very predominantly displayed in the kitchen, or the fact that my son is constantly reminding me that I need to get more stamps. But it is working and I am getting things done. The not so happy part is that I am starting a new list already for the next chart... buy hey, I have stopped procrastinating over those tasks, that were hanging over my shoulders...

Do you think that's something you could give a go? Are there a few things that you have been procrastinating for weeks, months or even years? or any tasks you want to achieve in the next few weeks that a chart with a promise of a nice reward can help you with?

I would love to hear.

 

My wish list

A new month and a new update on my wish list... I do love colourful things and this one won't disappoint... watch out in the upcoming days for some pictures of things I added to my stash lately too... Oh the shopping!

Enjoy the picture list below, links in caption text. As always I have picked all the items in the list and are actually things I want to get for myself. I am in no way related or sponsored by any of them.

Seamstress key ring by Pink Coat Club

Wild Olive tomato needle minder - Cloud Craft

Be a lovely human by Nutmeg and Arlo

The positive planner

Hope you enjoyed all the lovely items here, this time I have chose all UK small business to showcase as I have fall in love with their makes lately. Happy crafting!