I know for a fact that the garden and colour fashion has invaded my making. I don’t know when… but probably two years ago when I fell in love with the Café au Lait dahlia. Then last year everyone in gardening was going hoopla about a new Cosmos colour – Apricotta. We didn’t grow it in our garden. But I was tempted. Just looking it up now… and I promised I haven’t checked beforehand. Do you know what the pantone colour of 2024 is? Peach Fuzz! Now that is scary. Well there you go. We cannot avoid it. The garden and probably blush tones in fashion have been invading my little grey cells. Peachy ..read more

We are making a few changes in the garden, including digging a new flower bed which has extended pretty much into the centre of the lawn. Risky dramatic business – not really. But I have been thinking about this project for about 18 months. What I have discovered – pulling up turf and digging over the soil, is my oh my how full of clay our garden is. It is no surprise that our grass lawn is pretty much a moss lawn. There is very little drainage. Nowhere for the North West wet weather to go. Long ago I have put aside the plant desires of the warmer south-west. My folks can grow completely di ..read more

It all starts with left-overs. There is a nice contained discipline in thinking – what would be fun to make out of this? I know that I can’t be the only person to see the beauty of making something out of what is left. Then there is the middle of the night, crashingly early morning creative planning. Compelled by a little nugget of an idea I tiptoe towards my yarn stash and with the subtlety of a baby elephant start extracting balls of yarn and some needles or a hook, ‘to have a quick go’. These are special moments. This time it is the left-over aran yarn I have accumulated from my last book ..read more

Whilst January is a month of new starts… new promises… new/old intensions, I like to squeeze in a few little January traditions. Firstly, catching up with good friends. Whilst Christmas can be a whirlwind, I do like to sprinkle a few ‘catching up’ with pals in the diary. Last weekend I indulged in seeing my yarny best friends for our traditional laughter-advice and wisdom session. It would not be easy to speak so consistently about yarn, knitting and crochet with many other people. Understandably some of my other good friends would reach for a telephone for distraction. But when I see my craf ..read more

I have been inspired by patchwork for such a long time. Seriously it is the craft I would love to do – but I don’t. Why? I mean I love it so much and I understand the basics. I have even done some English piecing when I was young (you know covering little paper hexagons with fabric and sewing them together). Yet I never seem to carve out the time. I had lovely memories of a house I used to visit as a child. The mother of a friend had made beautiful hand stitched patchwork curtains for every room. They were mesmeric. Very beautiful and such a labour of love. When we first moved to our current ..read more

I respond well to lists – there must be some deep seated, school based reason – but lists work well for me. I am not obsessive. I can function without them. In fact most of the time I do function without them. But if I really need to get something done – a good list is ideal. Just before going back to work after Christmas I made a very prosaic list – you know boring stuff like… put away clothes, put away Christmas decorations, clean fridge, book hair cut. How ridiculous – all these things were staring me in the face, but to really get them over the line – the physical list had to be made. I do ..read more

There are lots of brilliant things which I enjoy about crochet. I’ll be honest, what I really like is that it allows me do indulge in my playful side. In the last week I have been binge watching a programme on Channel 4 about the Duchess of Northumberland. She has the most amazing imagination and incredible drive. A few years ago we visited her incredible garden at Alnwick and it is the most amazing vision. The television programme charts her two year journey to create a fantasy play space for children. It is obvious from the footage that she has a mind that enjoys thinking about how children ..read more

I like the fact that there is a seasonal rhythm to our year. I like the fact that in January I dedicate weekends to full blown marmalade production. Now at the end of August the trees are heavily laden with plums and my mind turns to sticky jam making. All is pretty pink and has soft tones in that late summer light. This year has been very book focused. So much so that I have failed to share with you my latest book published in any detail. I promise I will. One book, started in the very early Spring is now finished. Things will happen in the background now and I won’t see it until Spring nex ..read more

I am being rounded up…a very clear order is being given. ‘It is time that you collected your crochet…your coffee and you need to sit in bed…so I can sit on your lap…come on…. let’s go…’ For a cat, Stanley’s communication skills are well developed. He speaks fluent human and is actually very eloquent. Well he gets what he wants. When we first brought Stanley home, my husband and I had a difference of opinion. My OH thought he was not the sharpest knife in the cutlery drawer. I, in blind loyalty refused to believe that. Unlike other family cats, Stanley will very, very rarely respond to his nam ..read more

So many people think that as yarn crafters we throw away the hooks and needles as the seasons heat up and the yarn is banished to all the normal hiding places for the short months of summer. But I love the changing seasons for my crochet. Yes I love to make snuggly blankets for chilly months. Come January I frequently make a new hat for the out-door pursuits. But then summer is just as inspiring. The good people of Stylecraft asked their Blogstars designers if they would be happy to take their either their organic cotton yarn, or Naturals Bamboo cotton yarn and make something perfect for the ..read more