Since September last year I have been doing some adult education classes, which have really been great to get me out the house, meeting people and even doing a bit of exercise!
I'm currently doing beginners French, intermediate Spanish and a yoga class and it really has been great fun using my clapped out and often exhausted noggin again. And who knew I could be so bendy..... certainly not me, but some of the positions I can move myself into thanks to yoga is quite astonishing!
I haven't been neglecting my crafting either, Christmas was fraught with weaving in ends and late night hooking as I battled time to get everything finished. I had decided that where ever possible people would be getting homemade gifts and with the exception of my Dad, Uncle and brother in law I made Christmas 2012 a hooky gift one. I even managed to rustle up a couple of cards with crocheted decorations on them as well, get me!!
My 4mm crochet hook hasn't had a minutes peace since way before Christmas and has worked solidly since the New Year making blankets and draught excluders for the house as it has been an unusually long and cold (but thankfully not too snowy) winter here in Edinburgh.
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In between the blankets and draught excluders I made some lovely Easter bunnies for my niece from this gorgeous pattern (the owls she is referring to can be found here). I have to give a shout out to Lucy from Attic24 who posted the links to these originally, I just love her blog so much, it's full of beautiful colours and things I want to make!
In the UK we celebrate Mother's Day earlier than the rest of the world, for us it was 10 March, the day after my sister's birthday, she was in fact born on a Mothering Sunday, what a gift that was for my Mum I'm sure!!!
Due to money troubles we are all feeling my Mum gave me a stern warning not to get her anything for Mother's Day and being the good daughter that I am, I completely ignored this request!
And yes you are correct I didn't buy my gift I made it........ a crocheted flower and paper leaf picture collage.
For my Mum's collage I used a combination of paper leaves cut using my Cricut and crocheted roses and leaves, I also used a Japanese paper teapot instead of a crocheted pot. It worked out really well, no photo though need to get back in the habit!
And keeping with the paper and crochet theme, her card was small crocheted flowers with stems that I hand sewed directly onto the card.
The no money on presents theme continued with my sister's unusual birthday request - Crochet lessons. Happy to oblige there little sis!! Our first lesson was last week and we looked at chain stitches and single crochet (double crochet if you are in the UK). it's funny how we learn differently and she found doing chains kind of tricky, I think she was holding her hook too tight and the yarn not tight enough, but we got there and managed a row of singles before she had to go home.
Like all good teachers I have given her homework - find a comfy way to hold the hook and yarn, do lots of chains and then lots of singles, oh we'll be making blankets together in no time!!
well, I've blethered on for quite a bit now, so I'm off for a wee cuppa, but will leave you with some piccies of other things I've made, a teaser of what is currently on the go and a joyous photo of the tree in my front garden that shows spring is well and truly on its way. Hurrah!!
