Typecast

I recently finished a yarn basket made from those little ends of yarn balls. You know the ones – not enough to make anything useful, but somehow still too much to throw away. When I showed it to a couple of fellow crafters, they asked for the pattern… except there isn’t one. I took inspiration from a few scrap yarn projects I’d seen on Facebook groups and YouTube, but mostly I just winged it. I’ve never written a pattern before, and I don’t even have progression photos, so we can dive straight in without you having to read my life story or a tale about how this was my grandmother’s pattern, passed down through generations using a secret code. PREARATION I used a 6mm hook and two strands of contrasting colours, joining the next colour with a magic knot when I reached the end of each ball of yarn. The entire basket is worked using half treble crochet (UK terms - I believe the US equivalent is a half double crochet). BASE Chain 6, then join with a slip stitch to form a circle. Wor...

You may already have seen my images on Instagram but I couldn't be happier with how my version of the  Storyteller Blanket by Attic24 turned out!  But there's a bit of background to how we ended up here...  One of my team at work was interested in relearning how to crochet a granny square after trying a few years ago but losing interest.  We started a mini crochet club in our lunch break and by the end of the first week, she was stitch-perfect!  I went on annual leave for a week and, by the time I returned, she was crocheting pumpkins for Halloween and decorations for the office.  We both spotted the Storyteller pattern announcement on Facebook and thought it would be a perfect project to work on side-by-side.  She ordered the official yarn pack but I saw it as a great opportunity to use up a good chunk of my yarn stash, which seems to have accumulated a lot of pink and purple. On top of this, rather than following the pattern to the letter, I went a...

For those of you that are new here, I used to host an irregular series called " Soundtrack To My Life " where I invited friends to share five songs that transported them back to a specific moment in time. It didn't have to be a major life event; just a treasured memory that you associate with that particular song. I occasionally interjected with my own lists of music and now I think it's time to revive the series.  This time, I want to share songs that I discovered by accident.  Now, back in the day (haha, that makes me sound SO old!) the only time I heard anything outside of my comfort zone was by friend's recommendations or... well, you'll see.  Nowadays, it's more likely to be by following 'you might like this' recommendations on Spotify.  But it provides an eclectic playlist  This time, I’m sharing songs I stumbled across completely by accident. Back in the day (I know, that phrase instantly adds years on me, doesn’t it?) the only way I’d hear ...

I thought you might be interested in the Volunteer Coordinator set up at Witton parkrun . This is the table where all volunteers come to register for their high-viz hero stint and where they receive all their training (if needed). I have my clipboard which has a list of all the lovely volunteer's names and their assigned role for this week. I check them off as they arrive and issue them with their bib (in a bag, just out of sight). As our route is mainly on trail paths, in the woods, we issue most of our marshals with a walkie-talkie and a lanyard which holds laminated directions to their marshal point and emergency instructions if needed (including the 'What Three Words' reference for their marshal point). They are asked to radio through to the Run Director when the first runner and when the Tail Walker has passed, on both loops. This information is also radioed through to all marshals so everyone has a good idea of where all runners and walkers are on the course. On th...

I have always had short hair. It has rarely been long and the one time in my adult life that I let it grow past my shoulders, it was scraped back in a hair tie, Croydon facelift style. Many people seem to think that my short hair would make it easier to manage but it actually isn't. I have a Pinterest board dedicated to short hair cuts because I am forever on a quest to find the perfect cut. even though my hair will almost always look the same after a trim, cut or re-style. I can never decide what I want my hair to look like and even if I take a picture or two of  a celebrity with a great short haircut  along to the hairdressers it will never look like * that *. Also, before I settled with one hairdresser, all stylists would ask, "Are you sure you want it this short?" which was always a tad annoying but, I suppose, if it doesn't look right after it's been cut, you have to live with it for a very long time - no pinning it up out of the way. Once you are...