Nickerjac

So yesterday I started to release what were formally my Road to Korea double filet blanket Squares. The patterns had originally been released back nine 2023 as just graphs as part of worksheets I had put togther for the East London Crochet Group Workshops, they have now been upgraded to include written instructions plus a photo of the reverse of the square as well as the front.

This is the first square of at least 64, i have designs of at least double that, over 60 written instructions written up long hand.

They are available free on Ravelry here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/droxil

Originally I had planned to charge for the pattern three years ago and the bag of squares have been sitting on the side in my bedroom for three years and last week I began imagining that in 20 hopefully 30 years time my family clearing my stuff after I pass looking at them and just throwing them all away. The patterns are absolutely sound but to bring them up to what I would deem sellable level plus all the after care would take far more mental or physical energy than I have right now.

So the photos are no where near the standard I would like, less said about the grammer the better and there will be no support videos. I sometimes don’t think people realise how much work goes into putting a good pattern out there let alone all the support and promotion that means you spend a lot less time doing what you actually enjoy. There are amazing designers out there especially for double filet/interlocking crochet and I recommend supporting them by purchasing their patterns too.

This is the square I released today, I’ve enjoyed designing these and hope others enjoy them too even in these more basic form.

So 2025 was a year, we won’t go into details but I am very happy to get to a new year.

Life is changing here as it naturally does for everyone, Lb started at Uni in September and it has taken a while to adjust the shopping lists and get used to the quiet. Not that Lb was ever noisy but just the normal noises of living in a small flat. Also having lost George earlier in the year we no longer have to worry about being home at any particular time, or consider what there is in the house to eat quite as much. Mine and OH bodies are aging too which means that plan to climb Everest may have to come off our bucket list lol, so we are settling into a new routine and I think finally now I can start making some crafty plans.

I don’t make New Year resolutions, I am learning as I get older that just causes me stress, instead I have some wishes for the upcoming year

I have three, yes three crochet blankets basically complete that just need doing and a border added that I would like to finish.

I want to return to painting the moonstone miniatures and other models I have been storing.

I also want to sort through my craft supplies and get them better organised and donate those things I have double of or no longer think I’m going to use.

No pressure to achieve any of these but it would be nice and you never know I may blog a little more.

Happy New Year everyone.

Sadly my friend Jacqui lost her Mum recently, I had know her for over 30 years and the funeral perfectly reflected her and brought back many memories.

One of the requests was that rather than sending flowers that we should each buy a plant for ourselves in her memory so I present to you Dinah

She is a Pink Arrowhead (Syngonium Pink Podophyllum-Neon Robusta) who has found a wonderful home on our kitchen windowsill which, because of the angle of the flat, doesn’t get direct sunlight and is flourishing.

And this is Layla, a String of Hearts Plant which has grown so much in the week we have had them both. They were brought online from Happy House Plants and arrived perfectly packaged with clear instructions.

I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed having plants, I used to keep the front garden at my parents house and would love to just potter and add the half dead plants I would find in the local garden centre and would watch them heal and flourish. Unfortunately we didn’t have access to a garden for a while and with us moving so much over a few years keeping even House Plants became impossible so when we finally settled here I didn’t replace them. Just watching these two plants throwing out new shoots has been wonderful and may have to gain a few more, thank you Mary.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has helped Lb (Pete) with his fundraising, we have just paid the first part of the trip and it is all thanks to you.

He’s grown up a little bit since this photo

He is now a very tall 14 year old who we are very proud of, don’t get me wrong we have our moments as anyone who has a teenager in their lives can testify to hormones have a lot to answer for, but we were amazed when he first decided to enter himself for the selection process to go to the Scout World Jamboree in Korea next year. As a family we are all involved in scouting but hand on heart I hadn’t suggested it, I had just shared it with the whole group but he just decided this is something he wanted to do. He headed off to the selection weekend not knowing anyone who was going to be there, I would never have done that at 14, and had a brilliant time. Since being selected he has met up with the group he will be travelling with a couple of times and I can honestly say it’s the happiest I have seen him in a long time.

I won’t lie it’s a bit scary letting your teenager travel to the other side of the world without you but I trust him and also know all the safety and security that will be in place from my own experience of just running an evening session of scouts will keep them all safe. The second scary thing is the fundraising, and this is where you have all been amazing, we would never be able to do this by ourselves and we are feeling so loved at the moment from all your generosity, from people all around the world, some we have known years, some only a short time, it has been amazing. Pete is hoping to set up some form of social media so you can follow him on his trip and maybe inspire some other scouts/explorers to take the leap and attend the next World Scout Jamboree.

Details of more fundraising activities will be appearing soon. Once again thank you.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/peter-walker-wsj?utm_term=6maRJyep8

Ok so I may be a little late with that wish, I won’t lie the last Lockdown kicked my butt both mentally and physically.

In previous lockdowns I managed, with help from friends and family, to keep going we were both shielding and actually returned early to shielding, before the government directive, as the numbers in our area were rising way above the national average I also stopped feeling I could go out and do my short walk, people were really not being respectful of distancing. I know lots of people have been in the same position so are probably in the same boat. I am trying to turn it around now.

I have continued with my 50hoops, thanks to some wonderful birthday presents I am over half way and Nancy Gamon’s wonderful creative sewing get together has just restarted on a Tuesday night which always provides me with lots of inspiration and have started on a new hoop.

I have also been doing more miniature painting, I have been completely taken by the miniatures that you use in the Moonstone Game, for my birthday I treated myself to Klaus.

And next on my mat is Chubs

The ELCG (East London Crochet Group) is still going from strength to strength, we are still online but we are looking forward to our annual crochet retreat in October.

Our CAL, 25 Years and Counting, is finished with all the squares available free either on Ravelry or in our Facebook group. I am still working at joining all my squares and can’t wait to see everyone’s results.

And finally I have to say goodbye to my bullet journal this month, I’ve had it since February 2017 and the flexibility of being able to keep all my info in one book has really worked for me and is great to look back over all the memories it contains.

Things haven’t really improved this week, unfortunately it looks like my OH will be laid off at the end of the month as the furlough scheme comes to the end, he works in a community centre and because of the restrictions a lot of the groups can no longer meet and it means that it has had to reduce its opening hours dramatically and don’t have enough income to pay wages. It’s such a shame that at a time when a lot of people in our community need support that the centre won’t be there but I know they aren’t the only ones in this situation.

I have still been busy even though pretty much confined to home, we released Square 26 of 25 Years and counting this week, This is my version.

I have taken the basic pattern and changed colours in both the contrast and background colours, it was great fun to see how different I could make this basic pattern look.

I also continued in my attempt to have 50 hoops in time for my 50th Birthday, I have mostly concentrated on the Willow pattern kit by Susan Ryder, I’m nearing the end and hope to finish it by the weekend.

I have been trying to think of something positive to do in the run up to Christmas, because yes, there are things we aren’t going to be able to do because of Covid but I want to refocus and find something we can do, a different tradition, maybe a weekly Christmas film watch along or, decoration making Zoom sessions, tree decorating Zoom party, I don’t know, I just want to do something positive.

Oh it’s been a couple of weeks!

On the rough side unfortunately due to recent infection rates and a local testing centre which means my bus is full of people going for a test I am pretty much back into shielding. I know it’s the sensible thing to do for me, and with the weather being as bad as it has been I probably wouldn’t be wandering too far anyway but can’t help feeling a bit down in the dumps about it and my sleep pattern is all over the place.

In the better news and a great distraction we had the ELCG Autumn workshop where I get a chance to see everyone’s work but also the group had designed a whole batch of new designs. These are my contributions.

I also took two of the ELCG colour change squares and produced written instructions to go alongside the original charts.

I need to tweak them a little bit and hope to add it to the 25 years and counting CAL group and on Rav next week.

You may or may not now but we have a rescue cat named George.

We’ve had George for about three or four years and is a house cat and generally just sleeps a lot unless we have guests in which case he needs their undivided attention. So all our visitors think he is a wonderful cat, so friendly and adorable.

Well let me tell you there is another side to George.

I am sat here at quarter to three in the morning waiting for all the grey smoke to clear from our flat so I can close the windows and go back to bed as George decided in his wisdom after three years of showing no interest at all in it, that tonight would be a good night to investigate the toaster. The toaster is on the side in the kitchen, which he is obviously not allowed on for obvious hygiene reasons, and during his exploration he had managed to some how press the toaster on and then tip it on it’s side and by the time we’ve got to it there are flames and smoke billowing from it. Thankfully we have very good smoke detectors or it could have been far worse as I managed to put the flames out quite quickly. What was George’s reaction you ask, well he was just very excited as he thought that it must be breakfast as we were all up.

So don’t be deceived by Georges cute exterior, it’s all a front I am sure he is plotting to take over the world.

It’s true, recently my blog hasn’t had much knitting content which is where it all started but I do actually still knit.

I’ve knitted gloves of all varieties before mostly for other people but I have always struggled with two colour fairisle either mittens or gloves for me as I have quite large hands and find on most of the patterns I can alter the circumference of the gloves but struggle to extend the length. Don’t get me wrong I probably could if I did a lot of knitting and frogging but I think I may have finally cracked it.

My most recent cast on came off the back off a great online class with Angharad Thomas on online resources for knitting gloves which was part of the KCG recent Un-convention.

So after much searching of patterns I have cast on Into the Labyrinth by Miranda Grant with 2.5mm circ needles using St Ives 4ply and some of my hand dyed 4ply.

They are fingerless which helps but there are a couple of easy places to slip in a couple of extra rows to extend the length easily, I have just got to the thumb gusset and so far it fits really well.

Some of you may know that over a year ago I started helping at my sons Scout group and it will come as no suprise to those who know me in real life that I am now a very proud Beaver Scout Leader, it has been an amazing 18months, I have done some amazing things that after my hospital stay last year never thought I’d do again, including scout camp (I get an indoors bed) and I am really enjoying doing the training.

As you can imagine since the lockdown started at the end of March it has been a whole new challenge, our group, as well as many others troupes around the country, have risen to the challenge and have continued to meet each week via Zoom. Our groups have actually continued through both the Easter and the Summer holidays as we felt it was important that the kids still had the opportunity to socialise with other kids, and we have now completed over 30 online sessions.

This photo was from early on where we had a funny hat night, it’s amazing what you can do with a bit of cardboard and a hot glue gun. The kids have been amazing and my group alone this year have earned 60 badges, we have sung and played games, learnt about water safety, tackled origami and of course we’ve done scavenger hunts. The parents have also been very supportive taking them on long walks and camping in tents where possible in the garden and putting up with, what must sound like chaos every Monday night.

Unfortunately we have struggled with funds, our poor committee have applied for every grant going with no success but friends and family were amazing in helping get things from our wish list which means when we finally return to meeting face to face every child has their own set of equipment so no cross contamination and the fundraising committee continue to do their best to keep us going.

It has been an amazing experience and although I’d rather be meeting face to face I am looking forward to the challenge of at least another month of Zoom meetings and here’s a hint to next weeks activity.