Dark Kitty Crochet

 Well, with January finally coming to an end thoughts turn to February and in turn, Valentine’s Day. January always seems such a long month. One that never seems to end and that seems even more so this year with the lockdown that we have been living through.  February always gives me hope. It is a month that I welcomed in my first child many moons ago as well as a month that seems to be to me a turning point in the season. Whilst we can still get many wet and windy days as well as in the past snowy days where I live, it is also the month when I start to see the little changes happening in nature. The first spring flowers starting to show their presence as well as more evidence of animals and insects as well as the birds.  This year I decided that I would see if I could mix it up a bit with my cacti. To see if I could use the valentines celebration as a theme to extend my range. Christmas seems like such a long time ago but I still see lots of images of the gnomes/gonks that seem popula

 January is typically the month where all around you there are adverts for trying to have a healthier lifestyle. People make resolutions on the first of the month and try their best to stick to them longer than the 15th. This could be anything from taking up regular exercise, lose some weight or eat healthier by cutting out certain foods (and drinks) Dry January has been around for a few years and more recently I have seen adverts for veganuary. With the excess of Christmas in the past, these ideas seem to be sound in making steps to reverse whatever effects they may have had. To give a feel good factor by participating.  This year however I can imagine with more national lockdowns and going without so many things that in the past we have taken for granted giving up whilst being at home is even more challenging and my hat goes off to those still ploughing forward with their healthy resolutions.  One of my things that I have resolved to do this year is to expand the range of my designs,

 Well as you may remember I made a cactus the other week using the most gorgeous yarn and so therefore I had plenty of it left over. I have truly felt inspired by all the rainbow images that have been around in recent times and felt that I wanted to make more of my cacti using this colour scheme. Having made one of my larger size cactus I wanted to see how the yarn would look if it was scaled down. I knew that I would not have all of the colours present as they were in the larger version but I still was intrigued to see how it would come out.  Setting out to make one of the smallest sizes, I started making my little cacti. The yarn, by King Cole, is so soft and certainly makes working with it a joy. The range is Beaches and the particular colour way is called beaches and cream. The first colour was a gorgeous mint green which then went into a lilac as it striped down the body before finally finishing off in a lovely pastel pink. I was so pleased with this outcome. However I was intrigu

 Last weekend I was busy making a beautiful cactus that used pastel colours that reminded me of the colours that could be found in a rainbow and it got me to thinking. I don’t know about you but I think there is something magical in a rainbow and I can’t help but stop what I am doing and take in the wonder of nature. Rainbows have certainly become a symbol of hope in the last year.  That the storm will pass. I bought a while ago a pack of pastel rainbow colour yarns and in October I made my first cactus that used rainbow stripes. I really liked how different that version looked, it was a break away from the usual solid colours that I have used before. The idea came from a suggestion put to me and I am so glad that I gave it a go. I think it looks great. Making another one this weekend has reminded me to look for hope in the world around us. There may not be any physical rainbows to stop and look at, although I am sure there are somewhere, but there are the symbols of hope to be found.

 It is that time of year again when we make resolutions and reflect on the year that has just passed. And boy what a year 2020 was! I don’t think anyone could have predicted what the following twelve months would bring when sitting down on the first day and looking forward to new adventures.  I have heard a lot recently about looking forward as that is where you are going and not to look back as you are not going that way. I however think it is important to reflect as otherwise how can you learn from what has gone on. We may not like the journey that we have found ourselves on but through reflection we can use it to help shape the path we are now on. Of course there are things that we cannot plan for and it is in these moments we find ourselves having to dig deep. We all need to think about what is important to us. That for me has been one of my big takeaways from last year. To decide what is important to me. Time spent with friends and family are top of my list. Checking in to see how