Arts in health and wellbeing, how arts and crafting helps me and how it aids my well being.
Retrospectively REWRITTEN DUE TO TECHNICAL Difficulties in 2026... The simple cotton square. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t demand to be admired. It just works; in the sink, in the shower, in the rhythm of your hands as you make it. I remember the time when my crochet practice was consumed with these cotton commanders. I didn’t know it then, but those experiments with 3D stitches, the bobbles, the ridges, the raised lines that made the cloths look almost architectural, meant developing and feeding my fascination with the craft. Cotton is heavier than wool. It highlights every wobble, every moment of hesitation, every place where my tension betrayed my mood. And still, it held…
...when you cannot see forward, to see clearly where you are going; look back at how far you have come... Suppose I should listen to the things I say to others- listen to my own advice sometimes… I have managed a to submit two pieces of work into the exhibition currently (May 2018) at Arts for Recovery in the Community (Arc) in Reddish, where I have been part of the volunteer team few years back, which made me somewhat reflective. My memory crochet blanket (LOOK) is displayed so that the tactile quality comes across really well and apparently visitors have been enjoying moving it around, unfolding and folding again to reveal/ discover different…
A little thing could make all the difference! Start the day right. I have recently felt how true this could be. I have had the repair of my favourite handbag in my TO DO pile for absolute ages. I have LOST the second button i have put on, and the strap needed reinforcing. So on Saturday, i decided to do it, because i was up, sleep was no longer an option for the loudness of my busy mind, and so the sewing machine came out and i decided to do this one thing at least, because, well, why not now? The day took a brilliant turn from there. We ended up visiting Black…
A little while ago i had an idea to finally connect my samples, trials and favourite patterns into a rainbow rectangular rug. It started well. The idea came to me back in June 2015, after seeing a blanket my nan had made for my cousin. A basic zig-zag pattern, using double crochet stitch. It was so very intricate and soft and rectangularly shaped and very inspiring. Full of enthusiasm, i started off the next time i had my own yarns and hooks at hand. it started growing, all was well. then, somewhere along lines, as it can happen with freeform projects, stitch counts on opposite, parallel sides stopped matching. it was too exctiting…
Hello All..... So this is something exciting.... I have had a conversation with a fellow art enthusiast a little while ago, about organizing some crochet workshops in connection to the cycle phases and representation of these in some crochet pieces... We are both quite excited about getting this going, but, i thought i would get the feel from you, as no workshop is possible without lovely juicy participants.... I have been looking into the cycle phases and the changes that these bring within us for about two or maybe even three years now, as i struggle with the Creative Phase in my own life - and you can see some of my creative…
What have i been up to creatively since the last entry? Mish-Mash of creative activities to be honest; there ARE a few patterns lurking in the murky black waters of my to do list; for example, meringue stitch adapted into a pentagonal stained glass inspired blanket and summer cotton over-sized hats (watch out! it is never to early to start preparing for the next summer...). Worth mentioning is that I have made a seventies inspired tea cosy for a present following a fabulous Ravelry pattern which was well received and is pictured below... I have been mostly delving into some more sewing and customising projects in the last year, items that needed…
With Winter approaching - even though October and some of November have been quite mild this year - HATS are the word!! The Innocent big knit is now being prepared, my hats have gone a little while ago and will hopefully make the person who gets to own them smile... Age UK are doing a great job and it seems like there has been a few people getting involved this year again, knitting and crocheting hats for a great cause. And once the bottle of smoothie has been drunk, the size of the hats are brilliant for boiled eggs.... Here are some of the designs that i have sent over to do my…
It may be a little early yet to be thinking of winter hats, but if you are to make one for each member of your family - as i can almost guarantee you will have to because they will love yours so much - you better get cracking... Following this new pattern you will make a gorgeous medieval looking, Nordic (Scandinavian) style little red riding hood hat... I love it because it has lots of pompoms.... Yours doesn't need to include any, but the added bonus of it is that if girls want to wear their hair up the small space on the top of the hat offers itself to accommodating your pony…
Some of you will remember my inability to follow patterns without changing and adjusting them - even my own... Others may remember my strange obsession with making any favoured stitch - or at least attempting to - work in a circular configuration... And lastly a select few may remember that the struggle to achieve this has not brought any fruitful results as of yet with the BAVARIAN CROCHET STITCH aka the wool eater, one which has become quite popular recently...... To find out more about where i got to so far read about it HERE.... Well..... Hold on to your hats!!!! I HAVE DONE IT!!! I have finally managed, by hook and by…
This week was mostly spent finishing the lemon meringue crochet blanket (Get it?!) so i could therefore finish and publish the pattern... This in turn meant adding a new page, specially dedicated to crochet lace, which you can see HERE. The pattern is ready, and so is the blanket... YAY! Well, it is ready to a point of being big enough to be photographed for the pattern sample. I may still add some rows, as with crochet, you could easily go on indefinitely - or at least untill you can get yarn to work with - and crochet around your whole house.... There's an idea... :) Anyway, I am planning another one which…
