Craft - crafters' block (and a completed flower garland)

I love having a project on the go but sometimes (often? always?) I have the delusion that I'm much more capable of finishing things than I really am, and end up with numerous things on the go at once. Then I think - wouldn't it be nice to whip up a small hook roll or garland as a present for a dear friend.  Then I start to panic because there's a deadline, and the item inevitably doesn't get made on time, but I can't possibly get on with anything else because I have to concentrate on the present I'm making. Except I'm not actually making it.

This garland (and the hook roll I made a couple of weeks ago) were just this sort of project. I'd been putting off making them - and been busy with other non-crafting (or reading or cooking or running)  stuff - for so long that I'm sure I've been having dreams about them.  But once I knuckled down to making it,the hook roll got finished in one night. Then I made myself do a bit of the garland every evening this week.  And do you know what? It only took a few evenings.

The main problem was not quite knowing how I wanted it to be. First of all I made an enormous butterfly which was too big (and a bit scary) for the delicate garland I had envisaged.  So then I found a lovely small butterfly pattern, and tweaked this flower pattern to make some smaller flowers, and invented (=cobbled together) a new tiny flower pattern (I'm quite proud of that!) and they all seem to go together quite well.

The cotton is lovely - it's Cascade Ultra Pima Fine in Wood Violet, Pansy, Dark Sea Foam, Primrose and Spring Green from Wool Warehouse and was a delight to work with, soft and non-splitty with lovely muted colours with a slight sheen. I used a 3.5mm hook which seemed to be about right.

Run - spotted

My run today was hard, heavy-legged plodding. I had to keep reminding myself that I felt like this a couple of weeks ago and then had a great long run this week - better to get the bad runs out of the way now. One of the reasons it was so hard was due to running solo - I love running with others because its so social, and the chat is a welcome distraction from thinking about how heavy my legs are, or wondering if I need to stop for a wee.

But running alone does have the advantage of being able to stop where I like, especially if I see something worth photographing.  These lovely little flowers (I think they're dog violets) were hidden among the foliage at the side of the path I was running down - I was very pleased to have spotted them (not just for their distraction qualities).

Craft - finished project #1

I've finished something! A garland for a friend's birthday.

Details:
Pattern: Maybelle Crochet Flower Free Pattern, then chained together with a foundation chain and a row of dc (both worked on the right side).
Yarn: Rico Creative Cotton in Aran (this link goes to Wool Warehouse, where I get most of my yarn from, but lots of suppliers sell it) -  flowers in red, cardinal, cherry, royal, pistachio, light pistachio, green, candy pink, orange, tangerine, sky blue, chained together with pistachio 
Hook: 4.5mm 

Craft - 9 down ...

.. 2 to go.  This is the stack of flowers I've made so far:

I managed to finish another 3 while watching the last episode of Broadchurch this evening (which I've really enjoyed - I know it's been different from the first series, but I still think it's been full of great drama).

I'm pleased with the colours of the flowers so far - bright and cheery, which is just what I'd hoped. There'll be 11 in total, and I'm going to join them to make a garland / bunting - I haven't yet decided how though.  The yarn is Rico Creative Cotton, using a 4.5mm hook and this lovely pattern - I'll list all the colours when it's finished. Fingers crossed that will be by the end of the week - it will be great to have completed a project!

Craft - a new project

I know, I know. I already have too many things in progress and planned - I really shouldn't be starting anything new.  But I want to make a present for a very good friend's birthday which is more imminent than I'd realised.

Luckily I have a decent amount of cotton stashed away, so I could make a start on these lovely flowers as soon as I found the pattern on the internet. I'm making them in aran cotton with a 4.5mm hook, so they're coming out bigger than the originals, but that works for what I have in mind.  Just need to make some more before I can proceed to the next stage - to be continued ...