You might have seen on social media last weekend that I decided to teach myself to crochet. It's been a long time coming, and you might be wondering why now? That's a fair question as I originally said I wanted to start crocheting back in 2014, and I've not really got close to it before. It was one of those aspirations, that well remained just that.
At least though I'd bought some wool, some crochet hooks and a granny square book, and mum sent me the Learn to Crochet booklet. It doesn't have a date, and I hesitate to call it vintage, but let's just say the price on the front is 2/-
And I made good progress; four traditional granny squares and a foray into something more adventurous too - the Blooming Granny, complete with popcorn stitch flower (get me!) - and mum's asked me to show her this stitch.
I'd always looked at crochet diagrams in bemusement, but I quickly realised with a bit of decoding, the learn to crochet guide and a peek at YouTube it wasn't anywhere near as hard as I thought. And much to my surprise the crochet diagrams are easier to understand than the written instructions.
I've always been a knitter (some might say knit) and so working with a single hook seemed alien. Over the weekend I learnt that the hook does all of the work and it's quite fascinating to watch and see my granny squares develop. On the plus side, it seems progress is quicker than knitting too, which for a beginner is just awesome...
BLOOMING GRANNY
So I've seven completed squares, and the crochet has been in my bag every day at work this week. It hasn't quite made it out yet, but lunchtimes this week have been a bit rushed, but it's staying there because I'm an eternal optimist. I was starting to tire of using the same wool, but the pistachio green and candy pink wasn't quite the look I was going for, so off I headed to Hobbycraft after work on Monday.
It's great, I walked there and then home again so I could feel totally virtuous with the 13,500+ steps I clocked up that day, and thankfully walking meant I had to carry my purchases. I wasn't sure what I wanted, other than a change of wool, but I left with more yellows, mint greens and creams.
MOH hasn't seen them yet, and he doesn't really need to just yet - he's already asking what I'll do with the growing pile of squares I'm manufacturing. The answer is clear, I'll make a blanket. Obviously. He looked less than convinced, but it'll look great in our spare bedroom.
But I haven't told you why last weekend yet, have I. And my granny squares are just that, they're nowhere near as beautiful as the Kalevala CAL in the title of this post.
The Kalevala CAL
Early Saturday morning saw some Facebook browsing and I came across a post about the Kalevala CAL, which I had no idea what it was. But the lady that posted seemed excited by it, so I took a look. And maybe, the image below might have caught my eye.
I mean, isn't that blanket fantastic?!
My ambition for learning to crochet was always to make an afghan (or blanket) with various patterned squares, but like learning to crochet I'd done nothing more about it. And here, fortuitously it had been presented to me and so with my simplistic way of thinking, it was clearly meant to be.
My Facebook browsing was abandoned and I went into research mode. I learnt the Kalevala CAL is a project to celebrate Finland's 100 years of independence. The blanket is made up of twenty four squares, plus the join and the border and each square relates to the Kalevala poetry by Elias Lönnrot.
But could I do it?
Well laying in bed there Saturday morning the answer was clearly no, but I thought if I could learn to crochet then I'd be in with a fair chance. And so that's what I did, but first I dived into what colourway my Kalevala CAL would be. And yes, I contemplated yellow, but decided this would hopefully be something that would be around for a long time (finished I mean, not part-made) and so an olive green would have better longevity.
So I ordered the wool and I'm waiting for it to arrive.
Am I mad? Yes!
Will I have a beautiful hand crocheted blanket? I hope so!
This was my year in Greenwich Park
The more observant among you will have noticed there hasn't been a "a year in Greenwich Park" post yet this month, and that's because I've been debating with myself whether or not to continue with this series. In the end I decided to keep it to a year in Greenwich Park as that has a better ring to it than "another year in Greenwich Park!"
It's not that I've fallen out of love with Greenwich Park, far from it, but I've noticed that I'm taking less photos and enjoying the park, its scenery and the people that over the year I've nodded, smiled and waved at.
But I couldn't leave the year without a look back, so here's a photo for every month, and maybe a bonus one or two along the way
It's been quite a year getting to know our local park, and there's still places I haven't shown you. I'm sure there'll be posts from Greenwich Park in the future, and I've enjoyed focusing on how it's changed over the year. I'm contemplating continuing with the "a year in" theme, and I'm looking for the next subject to present itself.
More soon... (hopefully!)
The loos with the succulents
Sometimes good loos come at you thick and fast. Or they seem to for me anyway. And as you know by now a good loo deserves to be photographed. Some of these photos might be a little blurry-er than usual but when I tell you these are the loos in a City of London pub, I hope you'll forgive me.
These light fittings meant I was off to a good start. And the central island of offset sinks didn't worry me either.
And then in front of the mirrors I spotted these terrariums complete with succulents, on pebbles and moss.
Large succulents too. Larger than mine.
And if you needed an excuse to stare in the mirror, then you could also pick up some cocktail recipes here at the same time. The Summer Nights vodka and watermelon cocktail sounded great, one to hint at with MOH I think...
And then it struck me, the whole space had the feel of Rockett St George to it - not a bad thing, but not what I expected in a City of London pub either.
And if you're wondering where these loos are, they're in the Anthologist on Gresham Street in EC2. Well worth a look - with maybe a beverage or two, or even a cocktail - if you're ever that way.