Our house has been a hive of activity over the last eight weeks as we have moved into the next phase of the house renovation/ up-do!  Our kitchen has been resprayed.  I sanded down and re-waxed the oak worktops and the bank holiday weekend was spent tiling the kitchen and fireplace.  

I have also managed to get a lot of designing done, which always tops me up and makes me feel like I am moving forwards with life. 

Our veggie patch is now an actual jungle and I have a better idea of what is going to grow well for us that we are likely to eat.  Sadly, all the peas have now been eaten. 

Hopefully you have all had a great summer/winter too?  I know that it has been really hard for parents that faced multiple lockdowns and then a further 6 weeks of entertaining kids over the last few weeks. 

 I also finished my Clean Lines shawl by Anna Nikipirowicz.  It was in issue 124 of Inside Crochet and is now also available as a standalone pattern on Ravelry. The yarn is a heavy laceweight single strand wool called Einband.  It is a very light shawl that is also very warm, so perfect for draping around me when the temperature starts to drop.  Mosaic crochet is nice to work on.  It does require quite a bit of concentration, but the reward is worth the effort.  I see more mosaic crochet in my future. 

I also finished up a Positivity Spiral cowl in the most luxurious yarn I have ever bought.  I used Blue Sky Alpaca’s Metalico yarn which is 50% Mulberry silk and 50% baby alpaca and 100% flufftastic!  I had already made the cowl using one 50g skein of the yarn and given that I had a second skein, I thought I would just make the cowl deeper and have an actual FO, rather than a time out project sitting in my craft room.  https://www.tribeyarns.com/products/metalico?

Some designs flow off the hook and others take a little more coaxing!  This second version of this hat was the latter, but I really love the results.  The pattern will go live on sale as soon as I know the Kickstarter supporters have the pattern and their yarn, but I wanted to show it off here too.   

You will see from the photos in the video ad show notes that I have a new model.  My niece Darcie has agreed to model for me.  We have a really lovely relationship and I think that shines through in the photos.  

The publish date of Moorit is inching ever closer.  If you haven’t signed up for a copy yet, you can get yours directly through the Moorit website or you can order it from me at Provenance Craft Co .  

Originally, the massive ball of WoolyKnit rug yarn was bought for a large macrame hanging piece but then I had the idea to use it for my Swell bag design rather than felting the 100% wool that I was going to use.  This means that the bag has moved on from the original design and will probably have to be made in two different yarn options.  

I love to make more work for myself, don’t I?  

On the upside, it will mean a more comprehensive pattern with additional yarn options and I do love to give options! Eventually, this bag will become a large market shopping bag with nice leather handles.  I have grand plans of taking it to the monthly Farmer’s Markets that I buy our food from.   

I also started one of the other bag designs but don’t have much to show you yet.  Also, a sock design, another bag design…

2 – Alyson of Moorit Magazine is hosting an Issue 1 Launch Party on 30th September at 18.30pm (BST).  You can come and be part of the launch party!  Detail are over on Alyson’s Instagram bio, or you can click here for info.

 3 – If anyone is heading to UK yarn shows in September, I plan to be at Sweater Weather on the Saturday morning and Yarndale on the Sunday.         

4 -  Time out gives you the chance to do some reality checks.  I made some tentative business decisions just before the summer and used the time off to decide whether they were the right ones or not. I’m going to stop vending at yarn shows.  I used to do 10+ shows a year, which wiped about half of my working year.  Whilst I love vending at yarn shows, it drains rather than tops up my batteries and I would much rather be working on projects that top me up.

5 -  I also decided that it was time to get ahead of my designing process.  It always feels like things are going out late and that I am slightly behind the curve.  So, I have been building up a bank of designs.  Come Autumn time, I should be able to publish patterns on a fairly frequent basis and try to work about 3-6 months in advance of seasonal trends.  

I don't sell thousands of patterns and so paying for a model isn't an option for me.  As much as I would love to be showing off the true diversity of the human race, that will have to remain a goal to strive for with my patterns.  

Until I reach that goal, Darcie and I will proudly show how my designs looks on different body sizes and ages, and have a lot of fun as we do it.

That is it from me. I will be back on the 1st of October.      Fay x