Bits of this and bits of that

I have definitely got my creative mojo back and I am sure that it is linked to the return of some sunshine. I am not conscious of being affected by winter time, but as we move into Spring, I do feel my spirits rise and my sense of optimism returning.

This has all been manifested in my bobbing around from one thing to another. Similarly, this post is all over the place as I have lots to tell you.

I loved my fox so much, I have started on another. Here is his green, Slytherin vest.

A lovely friend came round for coffee and cake on Sunday and ordered 3 toys for a little girl, her younger brother and their eagerly awaited new baby sister. This is an exciting project as I was just
told their preferred colours and was given free range. I have started with a dog for the little boy.
It will have pale blue ears like the muzzle and fabric patches on his feet. I had forgotten how quick crochet is, compared to knitting.

I have ordered yarn in the same range for the other toys. I am using the same basic pattern but making a blue bunny for the little girl and a pink teddy for her baby sister. I will post photos when I get the yarn and when the toys are made. Below are photos of some charity knitting I have done from the same King Cole yarn.

I LOVE working with baby yarn and pastel colours. Somehow it always feels so clean and so hopeful. Last week, on a whim and because I could not face knitting another hat, I played around with some pastel colours. These are the Easter eggs I made:

The yarn ids among you will see that my favourite is Hayfield baby yarn.  The mixture of acrylic and nylon makes it so soft (and easy to care for!)

I also made a little bird using an Attic 24 pattern.

As you can see, they are designed to be hung up.

I am going to rope Fin and Atos in to find some suitable branches from which to display them. I think that, along with some daffodils, they will make a pretty Easter decoration.

Also last week, I was feeling low and decided to indulge myself. Something totally frivolous, totally for me. So my trusty iPad and my even trustier PayPal account came into play.

Look at what arrived from Susan at Mary Jane's Tearoom:

It is slightly ridiculous that a middle aged woman should get so much pleasure out of toys, but I do.

I have a variety of crocheting tools that make me happy:  My Clover hooks, hedgehog pincushion, frog tape measure and clicky counter. The cheap plastic stitch markers do NOT make me feel the love.  Good old Etsy to the rescue. Aren't these exquisite? And don't my tools look better with their addition?

To finish off, here are some unmistakeable signs of Spring, to cheer us all up: