Yarny adventures.......

Many friends already know that learning to crochet 

has been on my wish list for a very long time now...

I think I've been hoping for someone to magically appear...

who would patiently sit with me and show me how it's all done...

but I finally came to the conclusion that it was possible or even very likely
that this was never going to happen.

If only my lovely blog friends with their hooky wizardry lived close by
(but then you're probably relieved that this isn't the case...
 I'm sure you have far better things to do with your time!)

Over Easter I decided to sit down and finally try and work it all out

(along with the help of a book (The Happy Hooker) and YouTube)

and I can definitely say I'm having so much fun now that it's all beginning to 'click'

...now that I've survived that difficult bit when everything looks...

well, lets just say not quite the way it should...(Yes, I did almost give up)

It probably still only adds up to a few hours with my hook and yarn

(so there's definitely room for improvement!) but it's making me feel very 

happy to be learning a new craft and especially one that I've wanted to attempt

for so long....I love to learn new things and if it's a bit of a struggle at first then
I always feel it will be all the more worth having when I finally get there!
I've been practicing with yarn oddments from my stash along with

some free crochet hooks from one of my knitting magazines and have
now invested in a few different ones to try including the 'KnitPro Symfonie' 

as I already have the straights, circulars and dpns for my knitting and love them...

 (so I feel a little more in my comfort zone)...I've been getting very attached to my
Clover hook over the last few days though...Any favourites out there?
I have to add I'm still quite relieved when the talk is all about the things
that I'm well acquainted with...yarn weights, needle sizes, tension squares....hurrah! ...
but I can follow patterns fairly easily (now that I've cracked the code!) and I love the diagrams.

I just need to practice whenever I can find the time...often just before I go to bed

(or when I'm actually in bed...which has normally been the case!)
It would be lovely to combine it with my knitting projects eventually.....(...already dreaming!)

Other yarny matters of the knitting kind...
You may remember Mimi from my Easter post...
who I created from a mix of the TEAROOM and CORNISH Mice knitting patterns
along with a few minor changes. For anyone who already has these patterns
(as they will be needed alongside the project)
if you would like a free copy of the 'MIMI Project' pdf to add to your library
which includes the yarn details and any changes made then just
send me a quick email and I will send her straight to you.
It will also be useful if you're substituting the cotton 4 ply in the original patterns with a softer yarn.
and she will also be sent out free with any future purchases of the MICE Collection.
For those who like to download from Ravelry or here on the blog just let me know
 and I'll email her to you after your purchase (or now if you have bought previously)
It's a fun project using lovely yarns and I hope to do more free projects in the future.

I also wanted to share this lovely book with you today....
If you'd like to learn more about the gorgeous yarns on your needles
(and I can never learn enough in all honesty)
then this is a fabulous reference source packed with all kinds of facts
It's definitely my kind of read and lovely to dip into when you have a quiet moment
(Apparently, there are an estimated 1,400 sheep breeds around the world!)

(How lovely are they?....and there are lots more beautiful pics in this fabulous book)
As soon as I read in one of the reviews that it takes the reader on a
'magic carpet ride' I knew I would love it and wasn't disappointed...
and it's clearly painstakingly researched.

Finally, a pic of my present from Ashley
shortly before she returned to study in Portugal
(and pictured here just so that she knows for sure that I'm taking good care of it!)
Both my gorgeous girls are now back at uni....Easter flew by...
and it's soooooo very quiet here without them...
(...sometimes peaceful...but I'm whispering now...)

Time to go 
~ Speak soon ~ 
(and as always thank you so much for calling by
I love to read your comments!)
xXx

~♥~
P.S Do you use Google+ ?