It is pretty close to what we call winter where I live. I am on the east coast of Australia and it is getting quite nippy here. Our summers are very hot and unpleasant, summer is also our wet season so the humidity only adds to the discomfort – I am a cold weather girl myself. Admittedly the word cold here is a joke really and I have never even seen snow, but the fire place needs to be lit and the warm winter woollies have to come out. A lot of you reading this will probably be either coming into warmer weather or are well and truly there now.

Crocheting when it is cool is therapeutic. It is nice to snuggle up and make something warm and fuzzy – it is just good, that’s all I can say. What happens in the warmer months? Do you find crochet sort of takes a back seat? If your crocheting does come to a bit of a halt, then I need to ask WHY?
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We’re redecorating our master bedroom, this is a good thing right? You would think so. We have purchased the new light covers, new floor lamp, new curtains, bed cover, and even new towels for the en-suite, all laying in wait for the final assembly. All that was easy. Now for the tricky bit, the accent color. So far all is a bland mixture of some black, silver and an ivory sort of color (it’ll be nice, I promise). I have in my head the color I want, unfortunately the MOTH (man of the house) and all the shop keepers I have met are not telepathic. If another person shows me something eggplant colored again I won’t be responsible for my actions.

I am on a mission to find an object that is the same as the color in my head. The grand plan is to paint a feature wall and crochet curtain tiebacks, maybe crochet a nice edging on the very plain curtains and towels and most importantly I want to do some throw pillows, and whatever else I can make.
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Puppies, crochet and love seem to be directly connected, according to my almost 14 year old daughter. Want to know why?

We are getting puppies, possibly lots of puppies, to foster that is. I use to – many moons ago – foster puppies for the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). I am not sure if you have ever had the “pleasure” of tiny puppies but they are messy – really messy. The true horror of very young, almost immobile puppies that have no mommy to run around after them to clean up cannot actually be described. But they are cute, even thought at some point they will develop razors where there teeth should be.
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As a person that crochets, I have plenty of silly little bits and parts of skeins / balls left over. I am assuming you do too. There are only a certain amount of tiny projects you can do to use them up. So let’s investigate the “magic ball”. A magic ball is like a leftover dinner, if you like leftovers it can be as good, if not better than the first helping. For those of you that have no idea what I’m going on about, a magic ball is the consolidation of all your leftovers.
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You have crochet patterns and more patterns and then some ‘just in case’ patterns. You have books, leaflets, ones you have printed from the internet, free ones, purchased ones and websites bookmarked for future reference. You kid yourself that you are going to organize them – how, you are not sure and the space on the bookcase is now too small.
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How many times have you been asked that while you’re crocheting? Why do people assume you are knitting all the time? I get confused when somebody asks me what I’m crocheting because it happens so rarely. Little children I am okay with. A lot of times their terminology is not spot on anyhow. Plus I figure they may have less exposure, and they are cute.

Depending on where I’m at and the specific situation determines my answer. Sometimes it’s just easier to block out the K word and simply answer with scarf, or whatever it happens to be. Other times I get brave and correct politely, this gets mixed reactions no matter how nicely it is said. Sometimes I end up in a lengthy conversation other times I get looked at like I don’t know what I’m saying.
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When I met my husband in 1986 I already had a reasonable supply of wool. My stash was all wool, as I have a thing for natural yarns. I made him a jumper and he thought I was the most talented person in the universe, mind you when you are first in love these things happen. On our honeymoon some 14 months later he took me to a yarn shop and we purchased some lovely mohair, I had never had anything so expensive before. As the years went on more yarn was purchased. Soon I was pregnant with our first child – excellent excuse for more wool. Mind you I probably needed to have sextuplets to justify it all. I wanted another child so the quantity was OK I reasoned. However I purchased more during the second pregnancy.
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Crochet hooks multiply! Well in my house they do and I have heard other people are in my position. So why do they?

There are many reasons why mine multiply and these are in no particular order. Hooks, or sets of hooks on sale, if they are a good price I tend to buy them – I don’t really know why, I just do. Heading out to somewhere that I have an hour or two to crochet and I’ve forgotten to bring something to do so I purchase even more yarn and a suitable hook so I can make a scarf or square or something, I should probably just read, a magazine would be cheaper. Finding I have my crochet yarn and pattern with me and no hook, it probably slipped out of my bag and is in the car somewhere. When I actually get to cleaning my car out or vacuum under the cushion on the sofa I tend to find wayward hooks, it’s like being reunited with an old friend. None of these things are really a reason to purchase new hooks but I am guilty anyhow.
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I have a random ball of wool. Let me tell you about her, I am not sure if it is a girl but let’s go with that.

She is actually not just wool but 50% virgin wool and 50% nylon if you want to get technical. She is soft – so very soft. She is a funny pinkish, beige, mocha color, not sure exactly and I am not sure if I even really like it. She has funny fuzzy nobbly things every couple of inches and she says she wants a 10mm hook (apparently that’s a Susan Bates / Annie’s Attic ‘N’). The dear little thing has a sale sticker on her proclaiming she is $2. She is alone. She is covered in dust bunnies.
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So you’re in a hurry for a personalized present or maybe you have lots of presents to do and not enough time. Do you need lots of cute little things in a hurry, maybe for your child’s scout group or her little friends, the office people or play group mums who you’d like to give a little gift to at Christmas?

Then all you need to do is stick a flower on it. Figuratively speaking.

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