By Helen

Autumn in York…

Autumn is here.  Yay!  The trees haven’t started to turn the beautiful hues of oranges, purples, greens and golds: but the weather has defiantly taken a turn towards Autumn with chilly, misty, mornings.  It seems like the perfect time of year to make chutneys, jams and pickle things!  I decided to make jam: bramble (black-berry) jam.  First thing I needed to do was to go and pick brambles: armed with a large tub, Si and I set off – foraging urban style!  York, in the city centre is very short on hedge-rows and we didn’t feel like driving into the country-side, so it was foraging city-style.  We knew exactly where to head: to York Cemetery.   York Cemetery is an amazing place full of high Victorian monuments and nature at every turn: from butterfly walks, herb gardens, ponds to, yes brambles…

Lots and lots of brambles…

The hint of Autumn was with us at every turn…

After a couple of hours picking the brambles, our tubs were full, so it was time to head home to make the jam.  Looking back through my blog, the picis I took of the jam making looked very very similar to those from a couple of years ago: there was something very reassuring that as the seasons change something’s stay the same. 

Fortunately we had picked sooooo many brambles that we found ourselves with a surplus: so we just had to make some bramble whisky – tis a hard life! 

yarnbomb York…

Remember that I mentioned that there was a yarnbomb in York?  Well it was last Saturday, at Rowntree Park, and it was even better than the last yarnbomb.  I thought that I’d share with you some of the memories…

Hope you like them? 

Ps – did you spot my contribution? 

yarnbomb York: next Saturday…

A very quick post to let you know that there will be a yarnbomb in York, next Saturday – 13^th July.  The yarnbomb will take place in Rowntree Park: as part of the park’s birthday celebrations.  People have been working hard to knit, crochet and stitch for the event…

You can bring along work to yarnbomb on Saturday, or there will be chance to sit in the park and make something there and then.  See you Saturday…

For more information have a look at Hippy Stitch's blog

crochet inspired by yo-yo patchwork…

I love that inspiration is all around us.  Usually when I am stuck for something to crochet, I look to nature and find myself crocheting flowers.  My inspiration doesn’t always come from nature.  Sometimes it hits when I’m wondering around York, looking at the amazing architecture (more about that in another post).  Sometimes I get inspiration from looking at the work of other very talented people out there.  Sometimes I get inspiration from visiting museums and galleries.  My latest crochet combines that last two: other people work and a visit to a museum.   I often visit the Quilt Museum, in York, I’ve mentioned it before.  On my last visit I came across the cutest little yo-yo patchwork (also known as Suffolk Puff patchwork).  I had to know more.  Thanks to the wonder of the internet I came across an amazing blog Sew Recyled.  I knew that I had to have ago: crochet style.  While I was flicking through one of my favourite crochet books Crochet Throws and Wraps by the talented Melody Griffiths: I came across instructions for crochet yo-yo patchwork / Suffolk Puffs.  Perfect…

I crocheted lots…

Using a wonderful yarn, by King Cole…

I decided to attach my crochet to a cushion cover…

I love how the colour change of the yarn gives so much variety from one ball…

I really think that the possibilities are endless, changing the yarn and hook size, you could have some real fun!  Crochet meets patchwork: a very happy combination. 

walking in the sunshine…

Here in England the weather-men tell us that it has been the coldest Spring in years: I am not surprised, I am still wearing winter clothes and my toes have forgotten what it feels like to be in sandals.  Yesterday, the last day of May, the sun shone: so I put on my sandals and went for a walk.  I didn’t go very far, just wandered along the river bank, close to where I live in York.  The river is so close that it is less than a minute from my front door.  I am very lucky: if you turn left at the end of my street you can be in the centre of York in ten minutes, if you turn right and walk for ten minutes you wouldn’t know that you were in the city.  The walk was soooooooo pretty; the river banks were full of wild flowers and the hedges quite literally sang, with all the birds hiding in them.  One of my favourite things was seeing the blossom still on the trees with the bright blue sky behind….

Just lovely, it made my heart sing.  The blossom and blue sky made me hopefully that we will have a Summer full of sunshine and warmth.  Today is the first day of June, and do you know what?  The sun is still shining, so maybe, just maybe...

Hope that the sunshines for you?  Have a good weekend...

xxx

second blogversary…

Wow!  I can't quite believe it, but it is almost two years since I started my little blog.  Two years!  I thought I was doing well to get to one year: but here I am two years on.   I have to say that I love, loVE, LOVE blogging to you all: and a MASSIVE thank you, to you, for calling by and reading what I have to say and looking at all the picis that I share with you (I know sometimes there is a lot), thank you!  I love this world of creating and sharing, that I am part of: and it is only possible because of people like you.  I thought that it would be a good time to look back over the last twelve months, and celebrate some of the highlights.  Here goes...

1. Discovering Mollie Makes I am now a complete and utter convert.  I love this magazine, if you haven't discovered it yet - you REALLY should!

2. Lots of brilliant things happened in May, especially seeing the blossom on the trees (I am witting that pattern up for you and will share it with you next month).  I think my very favourite thing was seeing my friend's little girl I in her crochet festival hat...

3. Crochet hair clips, you would not believe how much wear I have had out of these...

4. Lots of great things happened in July: if I had to choose just one thing then it would be my crochet Sunflowers ( if you want to have a go at crocheting them the pattern for the Sunflower is HERE)...

5.  Discovering the sudden revival of friendship bracelets which I hope will continue this summer: as I have something very exciting to share with you about friendship bracelets very, very soon!

6.  September saw the chaos of the start of remodeling our home, this meant spending lots of time out of the house, so that the builders could get-on-with-it, this meant spending lots of time in my favourite shop Ramshambles. Tis a hard life!

7. The building work chaos continued into October, but I did find a little bit of crochet time ready for Halloween...

8. November saw Christmas come early as I crocheted samples for a course I was running in York.  There will be more classes in , and near, York very soon.  Look out for them!

9. December meant Christmas; where I tried to wish you all the best in all the different languages of people who I know are reading my blog.  Sorry if I missed your language, let me know so I can include you ALL next time.

10. January was a brilliant start, to what is turning out to be a brilliant year!  I loved sharing my crochet Hellebore with you...

11. By February our back room was finally finished after finding the most perfect table. Now I have somewhere to blog from, somewhere for my sewing machine, somewhere to craft, oh, and somewhere to eat! 

12. March another brillaint month: despite of, or because of, the cold.  I loved the way my fabric flower sampler tured out...

13. This brings us full-circle, back to today.  My favourite thing in April?  Well that has to be my wreath made up of crochet Daffodils which reminds us that Spring is REALLY here...

So, there it is, another year on.  Once again a massive thank you to all of you for calling by, please do keep checking-in as I have lots of exciting thing happening this year and I can't wait to share them with you!

Love Helen

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learning something new: tunisian crochet…

A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be a very good thing to have ago at learning something new.  I promised Si, no more new crafts (I think he despairs at the thought of more unfinished projects) so technically learning tunisian crochet, isn’t something new: just an extension of what I already know.  Right? So I went to Ramshambles,York,  where the wonderfully talented Katey showed me how to get started. 

I started by learning how to crochet the plain or basic tunisian stitch….

Tunisian crochet is a cross between crochet and knitting, you crochet one row and then (kind-off) knit the next…

Very quickly your crochet grows…

The crochet does curl: but that is nothing a little bit of gentle blocking wont sort out.    Once we were happy with the basic stitch, we moved on to crocheting the treble stitch…

Again, you work one row crochet one row (sort off) knit…

Again, your work grows very quickly…

We then moved on to something a little more difficult: crochet mesh…

I found this a bit tricky as my tension went really tight: this is bad for tunisian crochet and very unusual for me!  Next we moved on to colour work…

How pretty!  I really took to tunisian crochet and can’t wait to crochet some more.  I just hope I can remember how…

what a difference a year makes…

Ok, the snow in York is no-way as bad as it is in other parts of the UK.  No big snow drifts, no power lines down, no real snow; just lots and lots of coldness.  Despite the lack of real snow, I had to share this with you…

And what was it like a year ago…

Do you see my point?  The poor shivering Daffodils…

So, if anyone those in the know are reading this, please; a little bit of greenness and a little bit of sunshine.   If it is not too much trouble? 

where I’m blogging from…

I’m very excited and rather pleased with myself!  Sorry to sound smug: I have good reason.  Remember how our back room, was almost finished apart from needing a table?  Well, ta-dah…

We have a table!  I can’t tell you how happy I am with it.  It finishes the room: makes it complete.  We have somewhere to eat, somewhere for my sewing machine, somewhere to craft…

…somewhere to blog from!  I have to admit, that I didn’t think we are going to get a table.  Ever since next-doors cat dug his claws into the table, that Si had made, and surfed on it (it wobbled so much).  I knew that, as lovely as that table was, I was never going to at my dinner off it.  We had to buy one.  I had my eye on our table (our table, how wonderful that sounds) for a while but the lady in the shop was a little reluctant to sell it to me.  The table was part of a beautiful set: chairs, sideboard and table, and we only wanted to table.  Understandably the shop owner didn’t want to split the set.  I get that, I really do: and I was willing to wait.  Time and time again we visited the shop, tape measure in hand, measuring all the tables she had: and while some came close to coming home, nothing was quite as right as my table.  Then on one of the visits, she said the magic words: ok then you came have it! So we did, no negotiating on price, we settled on it there and then: got the screw-driver out, took the legs off and carried it through York, home to our back room.  The table is perfect, look how well it fits…

I know you are probably thinking that I am a little over-excited by a table: well I am and make no apologies about it!  I’ve lived for ten years without a table: it might take me the next ten years to get over the novelty!  I love my table!

Yarn Bomb: York...

Yesterday was an amazing day: there was a Yarn Bomb in York!  It was in celebration of our amazing Art Gallery, which is now closed for a two year renovation and redevelopment project.  I know two years sounds like a very long time, but by the time it is finished they will have increased their display space by a massive sixty (yes sixty) per-cent.  How good it that going to be?  To celebrate all that is to come, yesterday was a community day: where people could drop in a take part in all manner of art related activities.  One of those activities was the Yarn Bomb.  I have to confess that I didn’t take along any of my own work.  I have been sooooo busy of late (with lots of exciting things which I’ll share with you all very soon) and sometimes it is just lovely to look in awe at all the brilliant stuff made by very talented people.  In case you weren’t able to go, I took lots and lots of picis for you…

Isn’t it brilliant?  Brilliant what you can crochet and knit your yarn in to.  Brilliant that there are so many talented people.  Brilliant that we get to share it all with each other.