Zesty

I think I might be on a roll. Maybe I shouldn't speak to soon though. I'm working on another project, and I have a feeling I might finish it.

It's only a little cushion cover, nothing major. It has a slightly different palette than I would normally go for. It's kind of...zesty. I don't know why, I just wanted watermelon and primrose shades, together with a sort of greeny gold... some brown and cream to balance it out. I think I like it though.

The idea for this came from one of my favourite blogs, which I first discovered through Pinterest - IDA Interior Lifestyle. I love the things she makes - they are always simple, but so beautiful. Showing that you don't need to do anything complicated to create something effective. I think the colour palettes she uses are one of the things I like the most. I love the way she pairs bright colours with neutrals, and that the bright colours are always selectively chosen, and not just the whole rainbow thrown in (not that there's anything wrong with throwing in the whole rainbow - I've done it myself!).

It was the cushions shown in this post that really inspired me: http://www.idainteriorlifestyle.com/2013/04/thursday-pics.html. I have it pinned on my Pinterest board and whenever I see it, it lifts me. So simple, but so effective. I also love the colour blocking throw seen on the foot of the bed. Hmmm, maybe one will have to made at some point.

Blanket ta dah!

Lurking in the background (and in the foreground) of some of my pictures this week there have been some hexagons. Well, now you can see what they are part of! Yes, it's time for a proper, happy, happy crochet ta-dah! It feels long over due to me. I think I had felt a bit uninspired, craft-wise for a while - like nearly a year! Maybe that's one reason, as well as just being busy, why I haven't blogged much in the last 9 months or so.

I feel like my inspiration is slowly coming back now though. And finishing this blanket has felt so good - I'd forgotten how good it feels to finish a major project, and feel happy with it! Can't remember what my last ta-dah was and I'm not going to depress myself by looking back to find out.

All in all, I'm not only happy with the finished result of this blanket, but I also enjoyed the making process. The pattern was an Erika Knight hexagon design from the book Essential Crochet, which I've made before here, but I decided to change the colours so that each shape was all one colour instead of two, and then arrange the shapes into flowers.

It's also just about the biggest blanket I've ever made, which surprised me. I didn't get fed up and have to push on for a while being fed up in order to make it this size. I just sort of finished it naturally when I felt like I was ready to, and it's still big enough to cover a double bed quite well.

So now, feeling inspired, it's on to more projects. I have a few plans - crochet garlands, and two different cushion covers...and maybe a third in mind already. My big brother is moving house next week with his girlfriend (yay! happy for him), and I am thinking they might need a crochet cushion as a housewarming pressie!

Hope you all have a fab weekend!

Favourite books

I was the lucky recipient of a booky-present over the weekend. I love reading, and I always have a book on the go. Sometimes it takes me a long time to finish (I don't get much time for reading these days), but it doesn't matter to me.

I'm not a huge fan of e-readers either. I can see how handy they are, and in fact had one myself. However, when it recently broke, I decided I wouldn't bother to replace it. There's something about the feel of a real book in your hands, and seeing them on the shelf that I love.

S and I were browsing in a bookshop over the weekend (he is a massive bookworm too). I decided I would treat myself to a couple of paperbacks, and was all set to head up to the counter and pay, when S said he would get them for me! He'd had a National Booktoken card lurking in his wallet for about 18 months - a Christmas present from a couple of years ago. He was saving it and saving it to spend on something special (he tends to mainly buy second hand books), and on Sunday he decided that he was never going to find anything to spend it on, and decided to spend it on me instead!

So, lucky me, I not only walked away with the two paperbacks I'd picked up, but also a lovely hard back edition of one of my favourite classics - Sense and Sensibility. All courtesy of S and his book token! He is so great - I really did feel guilty about him spending his money on me, but after protesting for a while, I saw that I might hurt his feelings if I absolutely refused.

Anyway, it got me thinking about what my favourite books are, and I thought I would share a list of some of my top reads:

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
3. Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker
5. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Do you have any favourites that you read over and over? 

May Day

Happy 1st May everyone!

So lately I have been.....

Admiring blossoms

Making hexagons

Making plans with S.

Life ispretty good just now.