A brief crafty blog, with a bit of a rant thrown in!

It's funny how you get fads isn't it? How, once you start doing something crafty, it's the only crafty thing you want to do? Or is that just me? I have always meant to crochet flowers, never got around to it. Got books of designs for knitted and crocheted flowers, all of which terrified me slightly with their diagrams of stitches (I prefer the written word to a diagram), and their complexity of pattern. I am a basic person in most things I do... I have basic cookery/gardening/knitting/sewing/crochet skills, and they suit me just fine. I have neither the patience nor the time really for extending the skills, and as long as they satisfy my crafty needs, then that's fine by me. But at last I found a flower pattern.... and since then, every odd bit of suitable wool has been turned into either a small granny square, or a flower. As you can see... and several of you will already have seen the large orange on in the front of the above group. I made it into a brooch, and sent it to a dear friend, Katiemac, aka Calico Kate, and she made a blog post of it, which elicited many compliments, for which I thank you.

Does the 'I LOVE YOU' button remind you of the love hearts sweets?

This is the result of the crochet squares from a previous blog, turned into a cushion, same front and back.

And this is a tapestry cushion I just unearthed. I made it many, many years ago, on ten count, with two ply wool, two strands together from cones, to give it a tweedy effect. It was looking a bit sad and squashed and dusty, so into the washer it went, and out it came, all plumptious and pretty again.

Cushions feature a lot at the moment... the picture below is of a cushion that Katiemac sent me, posted the day she received my brooch coincidentally... doesn't it look at home on my chair?

And this is it, closer.... she used her shirt front idea as the cushion back, which is so brilliant I am now hovering around my husband's wardrobe waiting for a shirt to be considered past it enough to be ditched. Trouble is, when they get soft and worn, that's when they are at their most comfy isn't it, so I may have a long wait! But to have that ready made opening with buttons and buttonholes already made is just such a good idea isn't it?

And this is my opal fruits ripple cushion...

But if this is a bit too loud for you, then maybe you'd prefer the back...

Here are some more flowers just made... I really must try doing something else now.

And finally, a little rant... and a question about saving/wasting money in the NHS. Yesterday evening, my husband received a text from our local surgery, reminding him he had an appointment this evening. To me, this seems a gross waste of money... I have no idea how much a text costs; I do have a mobile, but haven't switched it on for months since nobody knows the number and it is only there for emergencies (like the landline is only there so I can use the computer!). But my pragmatic husband, if that is the right word (pragmatic that is, not husband!) says that it is probably seen as a saving, since they lose so much each year in missed or cancelled appointments. What say you all... a waste of money, or a saving?

Right, this is my little posting for this week... off to net the pond now, birch leaves blowing about the place now, yet it doesn't seem a year since we were doing it last. How time flies when you're having fun....