A Mug For Hooks

The WIPing Sessions - Vol. 1 Part 2.       Hello!! I promised you the second part, and here it is! I am so pleased that I decided to do this because it means that something that has been lying inert for so long, finally has some life!😀     Want a look?     Hello Mr. Snowman! I know I have the ends of the scarf to sort out but it was so blinking dark here today I really didn't want to risk spoiling what I'd done.     Here he is under the flash. The red's a bit bright innit? I don't mind though, at least it's cheery!     I used Double Crochet(UK) in the round to make the nose, and in rows for the scarf - I'd still be knitting now if I'd gone down that route! - and I was planning more stripes, but I think the three work nicely. As does the green! I'm really pleased with that!!     I would like to add a Christmas motif - holly, tree, bell or something - to the hat, so that the green is carried throughout the design and achieve some balance of the colours. I

     Another better day here even if it was quite wet in the morning! The clocks went back last night but to be honest I'm not sure I really noticed much difference. We had Stew and Dumplings for dinner today (one of my faves!!) and there's enough left over for one of us (me!) to have for dinner tomorrow or Tuesday! For pudding we had ice-cream!🍦     I fed the Wood Pigeons again today, and I actually felt their feathers touching my fingers as they pecked the seed from my hand greedily! When it gets to just a small amount though, one of them really doesn't like sharing and shoos the other off, but I gave them a good talking-to and the other took charge towards the end of their feed, so they each had about the same!     I said at the start of the week that I would bring you an update on my Yuletide Squares. Well, I have now finished each Round 5 on all 31 squares! And I think they're looking pretty good! I have noticed though that the last few have taken a bit longer, an

    Hey-ho! How's your weekend shaping up? As Barbara's Mum said, "Tomorrow's another day" and indeed today has been!😀     I woke up feeling much less tired than I sometimes do, and probably not as defeated as I felt yesterday. Despite the fact that it was very foggy🌫️ here first thing. In fact we did get some sunshine☀️, spot of rain🌧️ and yes, more cloud☁️, but otherwise it was alright!     Saturday is also traditionally when I have Shortbread with my cups of tea, and that always cheers me up!😋     At lunchtime we watched the last episode of "All Creatures Great And Small". Not sure if it was you'd call a good episode, not sure the series as a whole was particularly good, sometimes it's as if they forget the series is about a veterinary practice. More animals next time please, makers!       After lunch I had a bit of a treat!😄 We have a pair of Wood Pigeons which pretty much live in the garden and they know us quite well enough to know we

    Sorry, but I've got nothing to give you today. I didn't get to do what I hoped I would, and despite the day being quite bright, my mood has dropped continuously. Currently feeling naff.     I tried to write a poem for you but ended up feeling like a fraud so I stopped.     No, got nothing.👋😞

     Well, I don't know what was going on last night when I was trying to do yesterday's post, but it was bloody annoying!😩 I had to keep deleting pictures and re-inserting them, the font kept going back to the default setting and the Undo button didn't seem to work! Got it done eventually though!     In all the stress I forgot to mention AutumnWatch. I did watch it and there were some interesting bits, as there was yesterday, but I do find the presenters annoying. Their antics can sometimes verge on the silly and that's not what I expect from a programme about nature.     Oh. Sad news.😢 This evening, we finished the Spiced Apple and Raisin Loaf Cake. I know. I am consoling myself with the fact that it went to a better place, and that there is a Ginger Cake waiting in the wings.🥹     Also this evening we watched the greatest vampire 🦇 film ever made: Dracula - Dead And Loving It!, starring Leslie Nielson. It is a complete hoot and one of my favourite films, and if y

    After an illness-forced delay, my niece and her two humans came for a short visit today! 🐶 🐕     She was of course very excited to see us, a little too excited perhaps, but she soon settled down after the obligatory Digestive Biscuit! They brought Raspberry Ring Doughnuts with them and unusually they also had jam in, so they were extra yummy! And, as there is an odd number of us, there were 3 left over for our 7:30pm cup of tea/coffee!      It was a delayed birthday celebration and her Mummy seemed to like her presents very much - thankfully!     When they were leaving I was struck by the number of berries and fruit we have out the front, all of it shining in the sun. Are these CrabApples? Pretty ain't they?👋😁  This will probably be dated wrong! Not my fault!!

     I've got to be quick because my battery is running down. I am not used to having to charge the laptop as much as I've needed to this month and it tends to catch me out unawares.     I've had a look at the Snowman today and I've decided not to be too finickity about the neatness of some the finishing features. After all, the ones we build in the winter (when we get snow!) are never that neat - they can't be - so perhaps I can get away with a bit of roughness on the buttons and so on.     I thought I'd be able to bring you the Yuletide Blanket update tomorrow as I only had a couple of squares left to work the current round on, and then I moved a ball of wool, and found at least four more! I just hope I haven't put any more squares in another bag, 'coz if I have - I can't remember which one!😳     Autumnwatch started tonight. I've recorded it as always but I'm in two minds about watching it. I'll let you know.     See you tomorrow.👋😴

     Gosh! We're in the final week of Blogtober, the past 3 weeks have gone by quite fast haven't they? It's strange how some things can seem so far off and then arrive all of a sudden. Like Christmas! Yep, nearly here.      I've got a few goals in mind for this final week of Blogtobering:    ⛄ Finish my Toy Snowman and bring you the 2nd part of The WIPing Sessions - Volume 1.   🎄 Bring you an update on my Yuletide Blanket Squares.     🧤 Show you the progress I've made on my Tunisian Mittens Project.       That seems like quite a bit considering there is only one week left and I have no idea yet how some of it is going to go. It could end up surprising all of us!😲 Have you got any plans for this last week?👋😀

  After a very dark and wet morning, a little light, colour and fun, is all you need. And cake. Which there was! 👋😄

The WIPing Sessions -Vol.1 Part 1.     Hello! Welcome to the first instalment of an occasional series in which I delve into one of the many bags of LFWIPs (Long Forgotten Works In Progress), and bring one out into the light of day, to see if I can finish the ruddy thing item quickly, once and for all!     First up, my oldest (as far as I can tell) WIP in the bag.      This dates from my knitting days, and as I can't exactly remember when I stopped and began crocheting, I cannot tell you how long it's been in there waiting.     It should have been a good pattern to follow considering where it came from, but there were problems along the way that needed sorting well before I got to the "stop" moment.     Of course, it's a Snowman, and if you hadn't already worked that out then I'm sorry, you're a numpty. It wasn't exactly hidden from view!     The pattern was a free one from the Jean Greenhowe website and I thought it looked rather cute and got to w

    Well, I have nothing really to say today. It's been so dark here, not to mention wet, that I haven't done anything interesting or taken any photos. I don't think I've looked out the window once today and it not be raining,🌧️ sometimes light drizzle, others heavy downpour. But always raining.🌧️     At one point this afternoon there was one of those weird light moments when certain colours seem to glow unnaturally and simply look amazing but, the one photo I took of some wonderfully red leaves🍂 really did not capture the spectacle of it. I was a bit disappointed.     On the upside of things, we watched the last episode of "The Cotswolds and Beyond with Pam Ayres" at lunchtime, and we've really enjoyed the series, we had a Tomato and Bacon Pasta Bake using a jar of sauce from Aldi for dinner, which was very enjoyable, and in the evening we had a piece of very yummy cake - Spiced Apple and Raisin Loaf!     I hope your day has been more rewarding than mi

     I have to be quick because my battery is about to die!     I chose a new book to read and it's this one,     I haven't read any of Robert E. Howard's work before but I am of course familiar with the Conan Films. This is a collection of his sword and sorcery stories and from what I've read so far it seems quite good! I have another collection of his writing which I think is more like supernatural tales and ghost stories and the like.     In completely unrelated news, I tried some Horlicks earlier. I ain't sure I like that! Gosh it's a bit icky! I may have made it wrongly though so it might be worth another try!     More tomorrow!       

     Hello! I'd like to start by asking a few questions to those of you who have been using silicon-handled hooks longer than I have.     In the last few days I have notice that the hook I'm using most has developed a weird ickieness to the handle. It's not sticky or rough, just not right. My others don't feel like this. I even washed it the other day and if anything it made it slightly worse.      Could this be a reaction to the hand-cream I use in the evening to lessen the roughness of my fingers? Is there a way of fixing the issue, and is there a best way of storing and caring for this style of hook? Comments and solutions would be most appreciated.😀     I finished reading "The Tears Of The Salamander" Monday night, and tonight I will start reading something else. I'm just not sure what yet, it may end up a point and grab situation. Whatever it is I probably won't have read it before and I'll let you know what I choose.      Yesterday I mentio

     Hey-ho peeps. I've had a headache since last night and it still hasn't shifted, not even after taking paracetamol. I should have known something was going to happen when I thought the lights were too bright when we put them on. Lesson learned.     Today has been another bright and sunny one and I actually stepped outside to take a couple of photos. I know, wonders will never cease.     The garden next door has an acer in it, right against the fence, and I thought it looked very autumnal in the afternoon light.     And although most of the flowers in the garden are over, there are still a few Lavatera in bloom, isn't it a lovely pink? I love the little pom-pom centres these flowers have, and when we've had them in the past the Bumble Bees used to get so dusted in pink pollen they looked like a new species!     Oh well, I have to publish now or there won't be any of the 18th left.     See you tomorrow!👋😀  

    It's been quite a nice day here with very blue skies, white fluffy clouds and a bit of breeze. The moon was in the sky again at lunchtime but a bit higher than at the same time yesterday. It's a shame the clouds were constantly interrupting the view because at one point there was a plane, complete with trail, heading straight for it and we could have pretended it was NASA's latest rocket attempt. Has that happened yet?     One of the highlights from yesterday was the music🎶 we played while we had Sunday lunch. We always put music on Sunday lunchtimes, it's a bit of a thing here, and this week I thought it would be a good idea to play a greatest hits of Roxette. It was ever so good, and it made me wonder if anyone still makes this sort of 80's / 90's style music anymore? From what I hear on the radio the answer is no but maybe it just doesn't get played. We played about half of the CD and we'll play the rest of it next Sunday.     At lunchtime today

     I'm starting this post at 12:45am simply because I'm still online. I know, daft reason, but there you go. I'm about to switch off and read for a while before I try and go to sleep. For the last two nights I haven't read and I'm wondering if it contributes to my overall mood the following day, as the last two days haven't been as "up" as previous ones. It'll be interesting to see and I'll let you know later. ********     Well, that worked! Not! Sometimes I have to remember that there are outside influences as well!     This is just a short, quick post because I barely have any time of the 16th left.     The other day Winwick Mum asked us if we'd seen anything extraordinary and I mentioned a very low-flying Buzzard. Well, today at around lunchtime I looked out the window and saw this: Midday Moon     I know you do sometimes see the moon during the day, but it never stops being a surprise, and I don't think I've ever seen it out

     It's been a weird kind of day, one of those that never really feels "right" if you know what I mean? Sometimes things would be fairly normal and then all of a sudden, they were off. Or I was off. Very weird. The weather was all over the place - it really couldn't make up its mind and was nothing like what was expected. Even the road was busy today which, as I mentioned earlier in the week, is not normal now.     Probably the best thing about today was the film📽️ we watched, "Spider-Man: No Way Home".🕷️ We started it at lunchtime because it was a bit longer than most of the films we watch and finished it off in the evening, and I have to say it was really rather good! I'm not going to give anything away in case someone is reading this who hasn't seen it yet and intends too, but I think it's more watch-able than the previous two "Spider-Man" films.      And yes, this week we did remember the sherry! And very nice it was too!😉    

     Another full week of Blogtober is over and I think it's fair to say I've struggled a bit with it. Hitting that midweek low was a surprise because up until then I seemed to be having a reasonably good run at it, it just caught me off guard. Perhaps I should have something waiting in the wings so to speak, so that I have something to post when I don't feel I've got anything interesting to say?     It's been a mostly grey day here, dank is probably a good word for it, and we had about 3 or 4 hours of heavy drizzle from around midday.🌧️ But now, at about 5pm-ish when it's far too late to do any good, the sun is trying to make an effort to appear. I don't think it will succeed!🌥️     Something that has cheered the day up though was lunchtime. We watched last weeks episode of Pam Ayres in the Cotswolds, and we had a chippy!🍟 I had a Battered Sausage of course and it was incredibly yummy! The chips were nice too but we don't get as many of them as we us

     After a false start my new project seems to be going okay and I'm hoping that it won't take forever to finish because I wish I'd done it earlier in the year!     Let me tell you about the yarn🧶 I'm using. It's a self-striping yarn from Wilkos that my Sister got me for Christmas a few years ago. It is 75% Acrylic and 25% Wool.🐑 I think the idea was that I would use it for French Knitting as I do with most of the variegated yarn I have, but I always felt it needed a project worth using it on.      And now I have thought of one! Well, I thought of it some time ago but have only now decided to get on with it! Wished I'd done it sooner given the weather!     I am going to try and make a pair of fingerless mittens for myself and, although I do have a pattern for such things in one of my crochet books, I thought it might be an interesting exercise to use Tunisian Crochet for the main part of them! Am I nuts? I don't know but it's worth a try! Another rea

    Well, I really don't have anything for you today, it's all been a bit naff here.     The project I started yesterday suddenly looked iffy so I frogged it and started again. I think it's looking a bit better now.      It seems that the weather has turned a bit gloomier and the grey does nothing for my mood.☁️☁️     Oh, and we watched one of the worst films I've ever seen seen Steven Seagal in! I reckon every other word was the "F" one! In some films it just passes you by these days, but used like this it's just too much!     I'll try better tomorrow.👋😞 

    For the first time in ages the motorway was quite noisy last night. It made it quite difficult to go to sleep, and although I tried drowning it out with meandering thoughts and breathing techniques, it just kept on going. In the finish I just allowed myself to listen to it, following the rise and fall and tone of the varying rumbles and hums, and eventually it faded to nothing and I dropped off soon after.     Ever since the first lock-down started the roads around here have been much quieter than they used to be, as I imagine they have been everywhere. But even now, during the day there is less traffic, and the nights are noticeably more peaceful, so to have it noisy again was a bit of a distraction. The cold night and wind direction probably played it's part too.      I started a new project earlier today and I hope to have some photos of it to show you tomorrow.      One really strange thing from today is that at least twice I found myself thinking about the "Battlestar

     Happy Monday Peeps! How's it all going? I have to say that the last few days have been quite good, both in terms of the weather and the general mood of the place, so I'm feeling a lot better than I was at one point last week     Another great thing that has happened recently is that I have started reading regularly again. It's been a long time since I did any serious reading, spending most of pre-bed time on the computer. But with the encouragement of my doctor I have been trying to restore some sense of normality and health to my days, and reading was one of those things that we both agreed would be a great thing to get back into.     It wasn't easy though and did take some time to break the old habits, but I am now reading most nights of the week and I am enjoying it!      Most recently, I finished a book that I've had on the go for ages, "The People Of The Mist" by H.Rider Haggard, if you've not heard of him he also wrote "King Solomon'

     As I was going to bed last night I was mentally preparing myself for today. I had a notion you see that it wasn't going to be a good one.     "I'm not doing sheets on Sunday, it's going to rain,"🌧️ It's not going to be like this tomorrow, it's going to rain all day!"🌧️ That's all I've heard about since Friday morning.      So, I wake up this morning and it's cold. But it's not raining. In fact it is very sunny☀️ with even more breeze than yesterday. And remained so for pretty much the rest of the day. "I'm sure she said it was going to rain?" I should be thankful, in dreary weather the mood here is not good.     I don't know about you, but I haven't found the weather forecasters on the telly very reliable for ages. They ramble on about fronts and highs and lows and isobars like we've all had their education (OK, so it was covered in Geography, but that was a long time ago!), and have you noticed that at

     Another late one from me.     Today has not been what it was meant to be. For over week now it has been planned that my niece would visit, with her two humans, and we'd have a early birthday lunch for one of them. But, unfortunately they both caught colds of varying ickiness, and the visit was postponed.     Now, on one hand this shouldn't be much of a problem but it does tend to lead to: "What am I going to do now?" Not much was the answer!     Having a normal lunchtime meant we could at least watch Pam Ayres travelling around the Cotswolds, and beyond, and that is always an enjoyable 40-odd minutes. We still had the planned meal, Leek and Potato Soup, but at dinner time not lunchtime. Sadly no puddings were consumed, but we did have Cake at 7:30pm while watching "Cowboys Versus Aliens". A very good film which I highly recommend!     I've just realised, we forgot the Sherry!! Bummer!!     It's also been a bit of weird day locally. It was so qui

  Tis the seventh of Blogtober, Just over three weeks to go, What on earth we'll find to talk about, I'm certain I don't know! A little bit of this and that And maybe some of t'other, Sprightly tales of wayward cats, Or the mood-swings of me Mother! Yummy food and warming drinks And crochet on the hook, Knitting socks here and there, Enjoyable reading books. Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find Plenty to say about it! So stick around, we'll blow your mind, And there's nowt you can do about it! 👋😁

     It's been quite a sunny day here, but it's only now that the condensation has finally cleared from the windows. It's been quite blowy too which at least means that some of the washing has dried more successfully than on other days recently.     Thursdays are not most favourite day of the week and I am feeling a little zonked out. I'll try and go to bed earlier tonight, although I often say that and it don't happen.     Barbara raised an interesting notion yesterday. She said that she was looking forward to seeing my morning crochet. Well, all that was was a bit done to one of my Yuletide Squares but it got me thinking. Could I/you/we have projects on the go that we focus on at only certain times of the day? I mean, there could a morning project that you spend just a few minutes on to get your brain and fingers working first thing, or to relax you after some of the initial chores of the day are done. A main day project, perhaps a gift for a friend - something th

     I'm a bit earlier today, have been all day actually, and at the mo' the sun is shining quite nicely! We have a fair bit of rain again though and it's been a bit windy, but that's nothing new here!     Thanks to the marvellous Winwick Mum I think the DVD problem has been sorted!😁 I shall box some of those that I feel I'm unlikely to watch for a while and put them somewhere safe, so I can get at them if I want them. And if it turns out that I don't want to watch them I can then think about getting rid of them!  I shall write that on a "To Do List"!😉     I mentioned yesterday that I'd updated my Links page. Umm, can anyone see it? Although it says it has been published, it's not appearing on my screen. Hmmm, perhaps I'll see about putting them on the side bar after all.😕     I had to get up a bit earlier today to cut both my hair and my Father's. (Mother won't let me give her a crew-cut. Don't know why?) It didn't seem

    Yeah, I know, It's a bit late again. I'm a bit fed up about it too. Every time I thought I would get a few minutes to at least start this post, I didn't. I'm either having to do this or do that, or I'm being held up by someone else's activity or I'm being asked for my opinion on something that I really have no clue about. It's a bit of a bugger.😬     I was going to go outside and photograph some of the flowers we've still got in the garden, but it rained. 🌧️🌧️And it wasn't just proper rain, but that awfully fine drizzle that comes down like a living mist of sticky wetness. Sadly it completely altered my mood as well and I don't s'pose that helped with the doing of things.     The sun did come out for a little while in the afternoon, but by that time the flowers were in the shade and I really couldn't be bothered to try.     Another thing I wanted to do today was go through my DVDs📀📀 and see if there were any I could get rid

     I thought I'd try and get this posted earlier today!😁       As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have most recently been working on my Yuletide Blanket. I know probably everyone else has finished theirs a long time ago but mine has always been a "filler-in" project when I'm between projects or need a break from one. And my ideas for it keep changing.     At first it was just going to be done in the way that Lucy designed it, although in different colours, but then after I completed Round 8 my thoughts altered. I just loved the colour sequence and the warmth of it and I didn't want to loose that by adding another round of colour, and I did try a couple! I started thinking about just doing lots of these smaller squares and sewing them together. Then the shape changed from a square blanket to a rectangular one, perhaps with two contrasting colour schemes in play. And now I'm back to thinking about just square blanket with a squared interior, wi