Callipo the Very Naughty Monkey

For the longest time, this little guy has been dancing around inside my head with those stripey arms and legs...

And now he's finally here. Hooked into life.

I call him Callipo.

Callipo the Very Naughty Monkey.

Pattern will be released for sale soon - I'm thinking March 2012.

What do you think of him?

If you were to make one of your own, what would yours look like?

Do you have the perfect yarn in your stash? Or would it be a fabulous excuse to shop for something new?

Freeform Exhibition

Apologies.

I know I promised to get back to you about this piece on Friday, but sometimes life just gets in the way - know what I mean?

Prudence Mapstone is planning to host an Exhibition of Art Coathangers called Hang Ups.

And this is my contribution for the Exhibition...

He's a CLOSET MONSTER!
(although Katherine, I love your suggestion that it was "a statement on protecting marine environments by not littering"... alas, nothing so serious)

Remember when you were young, and just a little bit terrified of the dark? I hated sleeping with my cupboard door open - because I just KNEW that there was a monster in there. Of course, I didn't ever see him... but I heard those tell-tale bumps in the night.

Now that I'm older (and oh so much more mature) I know that there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm not saying that The Closet Monster doesn't exist - in fact, I believe that he is VERY REAL! But he's harmless...

Really, he's just a giant Dust Bunny hanging in the back corner of your wardrobe, back with the garments which you rarely wear - like those wetsuits.



And such a hoarder, too! He’s holding on tight to your missing keys, lost receipts, random buttons, and orphaned earrings… there’s even the odd tissue, lolly wrapper, and manky bandaid in there. Not to mention that broken leg from your sunnies, an audio cassette, some odd screws and that missing button from your telly remote.

Back to Crochet Meets

So, I usually have a Crochet Meet at my place once a fortnight... but over the Summer Holidays I took a little bit of time out. Yesterday was the First Meet back again - and I have missed them SO very much.

It is so Nourishing to the Spirit to sit and share your craft with other like-minded souls...

Little Charlotte helped herself to some of the Yummy Yarn on offer... Just like a Little Girl to prefer the 'labels' over my no-name recycled yarn!



And the craft ladies were able to help me nut out the tension problems I spoke to you about the other day. I'm embarrassed to admit that the main issue was that I had changed hook sizes part way through! How embarrassment is that???

So part of me feels relieved that I CAN still make Granny Squares... and another part of me feels like a Right Goose.



On an unrelated note...

Do you think that the grout between my floor tiles is meant to be white?

Sneak Peek

So here's a Sneak Peek at my current Freeform Project...

I'll give you a day or two to guess what it might be, then come back on Friday to tell you all about it!

Time Out from Those Grannies

Thanks for all your messages of support during my "Tension Crisis"...

On one hand, I hate to hear of friends having problems with their own projects... but then again, it's very reassuring to know that I am not the Only One who has these issues - and that it happens to ALL of us at some point!

In the meantime, I've decided to take a little bit of a breather - a time out, if you will, from the Charity Blanket. The plan is to distract myself with another project, and come back to the Blanket when I feel refreshed.



So I'm working up another Jerry Giraffe. This one, in more traditional giraffe colours, will be a gift for a newborn.

Baby Isabella was born less than a week ago, to Mr Goldfish's cousin. She has the most amazing crop of hair on her head... dark and thick and silky soft. It always fascinates me to see babies with so much hair. My own kids have been almost bald until the age of about two years, so the furry babies really are a novelty - and I can't help but stroke their soft heads over and over again.

Tension Problems...

Do you ever have days where you just don't seem to be able to get it right?

Or maybe even weeks?

Frustrating isn't it?

Especially when we're talking about activities that you could usually do in your sleep - but for some reason, you just can't get your act together, no matter how many times you try.

For me, it's the HUMBLE GRANNY SQUARE.

Now I've made The Granny MANY times before, but this past week my efforts have been pathetic. I just can't get my tension right.

I'm supposed to be working on this knee rug for the Nursing Home, but it's doing my head in!

For some reason my tension is all over the place, and the 'squares' aren't sitting at all nicely...

Here's my first effort - I was really unhappy with the way that the greys were so loose compared with the rest of the work



Now the greys were slightly thicker yarns than the navy, so I thought that was the reason for the problems... but then I started a new square, ugh!



This next effort seems to get looser and looser with every round... regardless of which yarns I use!

Aaaarghhhhh!

A little bit of irregularity can be blocked out quite easily - but this is beyond help. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow...

My Little Helper

Actually, it's not really that helpful to have little fingers which get into EVERYTHING!

But she's so gorgeous that you just can't get mad with her...

And it's not her fault that she feels so drawn to fibre... it's genetic, isn't it?

Anyway, I'm working up a knee rug to help a friend who is organising some charity rugs for her local Nursing Home... Hello there Marie!

Hopefully I'll have a lot more progress to show you next week.

Enjoy your weekend - What are you up to?