By Helen

more may blossom...

Just the memory of May blossom makes me smile.  The way the trees wear the blossom as if the weight of it is too much, the vivid pink colours set against the blue sky, the promise of fruits later in the summer.  Yes even on a rainy, grey, day like today: the memory of blossom makes my heart sing.

Blossom was an easy choice for May's crochet flower of the month, especially after buying the amazing Party Angel yarn, by Debbie Bliss, on my shopping spree.  As soon as I saw the yarn, I knew what it had to be crocheted into...

I love how the kid mohair, of the yarn, gives each of the blossom a fuzzy, hazy feel...

I am really pleased with how these turned out...

Just like the real thing...

May be?

looking forward...

The next couple of months are going to be busy ones: there are so many lovely things that I am looking froward to; a long hot summer (hopefully), holidays (definitely), trips out and catching up with friends.  I can't wait!  One thing that I am looking forward to is a crochet course I booked myself on ages ago.  Often when you see crochet courses advertised they are aimed at beginners: I don't consider myself a beginner anymore!  The one I found is different: crochet with wire.  The course is held at ArtisOn an arts and craft studio in the beautiful market town of Masham, in the Yorkshire Dales.  It will be a bit of an early start but it will be well worth it.  The course tutor Julie Glaze is amazingly talented, her work is just fantastic: I can't wait to learn from her.

Inevitably, my excitement got the better of me and I when out and bought some wire to play with, just in case I was a natural...

...I have a lot to learn!

loving this yarn...

Following on from my binge at Ramshambles I thought that I would spend a little bit of time crocheting some of the lovely yarn that I purchased.  I decided to start by crocheting my impulse buy, of two balls of multi-coloured yarn.  I am loving the results...

The yarn, Knitcol trends from Adriafil, crochets the perfect granny square. It is easy to work with, no splitting and the stitch looks great.   I am going to make mine into a cushion cover, just like the one I crocheted for my friend.

shop, shop, shopping...

Every now and then a girl needs a binge, a good old shop.  For some girls it is shoes, for some girls it is handbags , now I will admit for having a soft-spot for both of these, for me it is yarn (and books).  The last time I had a real yarn binge was when I went to Harrogate, to the Knitting Show and that was back in November, six whole months ago. 

I went to Ramshambles and here is what I bought...

The rainbow!  I have lots and lots of ideas of what to crochet with these, the problem will be deciding on just one of my thoughts!

Some Debbie Bliss' Party Angel, a mohair and silk mix.  I love the shimmer that runs through this yarn.  I think it will be quite difficult to crochet with, but the results will be worth it.

Not going to tell you what I am going to crochet with these two!  But two of my friends will (hopefully) be very happy when they see the results!

I have no idea what I am going to crochet these into.  These two were complete impulse buys.  I love the way the colours change, I love the feel of them.  I am thinking, possible, granny squares - I'll let you know!

All in all a good shop, most of what I bought I wanted and the others, well, I am sure that I will crochet them into something.  At the moment I am just enjoying looking at my purchases, thinking and dreaming of crochet.

even more crochet...

Over the early May Bank Holiday I didn't just spend time crocheting for me.  I crocheted my friend's little girl a hat for summer.  Little I loved the winter hats that I made for her, so I thought that I would crochet her a hat for when the sun shines.  I know, given the current weather there is some degree of irony in crocheting a sun hat - but rumour has it the weather is going to warm up and the sunshine is going to make an appearance.  Little I will be well prepared...

I am really please with how the hat turned out.  It is my own design!  I even wrote the pattern down so that (hopefully) I will be able to crochet it again...

A massive thank you to Little I for looking so fabulous and wearing the hat I crocheted.  A massive thank you to C for taking the pictures and letting me share them with you all.  Thank you!

time for crochet...

Did you enjoy the bank holiday weekend? I did! I spent the whole weekend curled up on the sofa with my crochet hook. It was so indulgent, it was wonderful. The first thing that I made was a skinny neck scarf by Lynne Rowe...

I had wanted to make the scarf for a while so I was delighted to actually get on and crochet it. The pattern was really easy to follow. Unusually, for me, I didn't mind all the counting that went into making the curly ends. I am really really please with the result...

I love the flower, and followed the tip to attach a pin to the back so that I can wear it a a brooch...

I can't wait to wear it...

Now what to make this weekend...

May blossom...

I have been sooooooooooo busy since my holiday I don't really know where the time has gone: I seem to have done nothing but work, no time for the good things of crochet, garden or baking.  One thing that has kept me going is the beautiful May blossom which seems to adorn every tree in the city.  It is all so lovely it makes my heart sing.  I love how the blossom makes the trees look fluffy.  I love how the blossom drops on to the ground making a carpet of confetti.  I love how, even on a grey day, the blossom cheers you up.  Here are a few of my very favourite...

Enjoy your bank holiday weekend: make sure you get out and see some blossom...