Therapeutic!

Hooking.  It’s so therapeutic.  The rhythm of in and out, over and round.  You can easily loose yourself.  Switch off from all that is around you.  That is the bare plaster, the strips of wallpaper that are stubbornly not coming off, the steps which seem to have become a permanent fixture and fitting in what was our comfortable lounge.  We last decorated this room 15 years ago, when we were agile and full of the joys of spring!  Now we are reaching that age when it really is too big a room for us to tackle, so we are getting a little man in to come and transform it.  To cross line the walls and emulsion in a very tasteful Champagne Glory with white contrasts.  But first we said we would remove all the old wallpaper.  To steam our way along the walls around the windows and doors.  To pickle at those little stubborn bits which scream ‘I’m not coming off!’   To get them behind your finger nails……..  arghhhhhhhh!!!!!  So in the mean time I have been hooking.  Escaping with the rhythm.  Calming down and loosing myself.  Making these…..

Yes another flower scarf….

I love this colour combination.  I tried it out on a Granny Cowl first and just….  well…. loved it!

I’ve never made one before but discovered them on Ravelry.

A brilliant lady called ‘Fanalaine‘ has a true eye for colour , style and design.  She is a real inspiration.  So I was inspired….

Eight Granny squares with nine rounds, all different and then joined together to make a continuous loop.  Twisted and twirled to go over your head and around your neck.  Brilliant!  But she also introduced me to the wonderful world of Noro.    Ever tried this strange yarn?  It is a bit like string – fine string, with slubs and colours to die for!  Reading between the lines on reviews, you either love it or hate it and I just love it.  It is sooooooo addictive!  How are the colours going to work out?  What will happen if I do just one more row?  Yes, I know we are going out but…….!  You get the picture.  And picture…..

Pinks, lilacs and deep deep PURPLE!!  Yes that beautiful, huggable, lovable hue, that I could just fill my life with, purple.

But it isn’t a ball you can pull from the middle…

It looks as if you should be able to, but no it wouldn’t come.  So I had to take the band off and roll it around on the floor.  Mum always told me to pull from the middle.  ’It will stop the yarn getting dirty and keep it tidy.’  And I have by and large always done that, just the odd occasion when it wouldn’t work.  I must confess that this time I am enjoying seeing the colours roll around!  Watching them develop.  Oooing and ahhing as I see a different hue approaching the hook.  Yes I’m pleased it didn’t work this time Mum!

It is developing into a Half Granny shawl.  A number 3.5m hook which is really a bit big for this thickness, but adding a lacy look….

Sooo textured, soooo colourful……

Sooooo….. I love my Noro shawl.  Now will one ball be enough????????

Thank you! and Instructions.

Thank you, thank you for all your kind comments about my flower scarves.  They are fun to make and pretty at the end.  Pricing them is a difficult thing to do – I want them to sell at the conference in July for the Sun Shine school, but I don’t want them to be too much and bring them home again!!  Hey Ho!

Several have asked me for my pattern, so here it is!  Just the quick version.  I’ll put a version with photos on my Let’s Get Busy  page when I have taken the photos!

I have used a 3mm or a 3.50mm hook and Double Knitting wool.

Chain 4 and slip stitch into a ring.

3 chain (equals the first treble) 11 trebles into the ring.  Slip stitch to the third of the the 3 chain to join up.

Change colour. Working from a space between two trebles, 4 chain (equals 3 chain for the first treble and 1 chain for the space), *1 treble into the space between the trebles on the row below, 1 chain.*  Repeat from * to * 10 times more.  You should have 12 trebles.

Slip stitch into the next space. *6 chain.  1 double crochet into the next space.  1 chain. 1 double crochet into the next space.*  Repeat from * to * 5 more times.  You should end up with 6 large loops and 6 small loops.

*Working into the first of the large loops, 5 trebles, 3 chain, 5 trebles.  1 double crochet into the small loop.* Repeat from * to* to make the six petals of the flower. Pull through the end and weave ends in to underside of flower.

To join the flowers together I make 5 trebles as normal for the petal, 1 chain at the top of the petal, insert hook through the loop of the joining flower and make a chain around the loop, 1 chain as normal and them make the 5 trebles down the other side of the petal.

I hope this answers your queries and gives you lots of pleasure.  Happy hooking!!

Churches.

I love churches.  The architecture.  The feel.  That sense of quietness.  The colours.  The stained glass windows.  Every year we visit the ‘major’ churches where ever we go.  Mr A would like to visit all the cathedrals here, and he, or should I say we are about half way through!!

These images were taken at Winchester where new and old merge together.  They are places where people meet.  Where Christians come together to worship and praise.  Where people visit just to look.  In Israel there are churches which form the same function, but they do slightly more than that – they protect.  Most of the major churches have been built by Catholic communities, at places from the Bible where Jesus did something special.

This is where Jesus met with the disciples after he had risen and cooked breakfast with them.  A little church.  Close to the shore.

Then you have The Basilica of the Annunciation.

A complex about the size of a football pitch which fits over the top of old Nazareth.  It protects the buildings underneath like ‘Mary’s’ house or another house from the same period.

Deep in the heart of this house, little more than a cave, is where the animals were kept, then you have the pillars and the central cooking and living area and then just behind this wall is a platform, a step up, where the family would sleep.  Remember the story of the neighbour having guests late at night and having no bread.  He went to his neighbour to ask for some, but was told no.  It was because his family was a sleep in front of the door.  He couldn’t get the bread to the man without waking everybody up.  It was a similar house to this.  This wouldn’t have made any sense without seeing the house remains.  Jesus lived in a house like this.  Not a grand place.  In John 1 he is asked where he lives and he takes back the two disciples to ‘Come and see’.  I went and saw and because the churches have a protecting role I could see.  My imaginary images are now true pictures, because he took me to see.

Some of the churches I liked, some I didn’t.  Some we felt missed the true reason for being there and some didn’t.  Some were like a circus and some were reflective.  But they are there and on one day may speak to a person in a different way to another day.  So here are my churches of Israel with no comment.  Let them speak to you.  So ‘Come and see’….

The Mount of Beatitudes.

Near to David’s tomb in Jerusalem.

The Mount of Olives over looking Old Jerusalem.

The church near David’s tomb as seen from the Mount of Olives through a zoom.

And lastly the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

But this is the moment I came and really saw….

He had to use colour to meet with me.  A half step I shall never forget.  God bless.

Weekend away!

Yes, our little home on wheels has been out traveling.  We trundled down the A1 to a site on the outskirts of St Neots.  Oh was it good!  Sun, caravan, family, friends and spotty mugs!!  Oh and I mustn’t forget the wind – or should that be WIND!!!!!  Yes it was very windy….

It was a patriotic site with the Royal Wedding taking place!  So the BBQs were going and the food and wine were enjoyed.  Great!!

Saturday saw us visit the Shuttleworth Collection with picnics and flasks.  Those magnificent men in their flying machines were not looping the loop but their contraptions are just amazing.  Wood, canvas, dope, rope. bicycle tyres and paint and even a wicker seat or two.  AmAZzzzing!

From kites with flappy wings…..

and a little more than box kites….

to something a little more substantial…

I did say ‘a little’!!!  The other aircraft were amazing too, in a different way and as we sat with our glasses charged the sunset was equally amazing…

as it slipped away…

Talking of slipping – I slipped down some steps in Israel and badly bruised my hand, hence the reason for no crafting pictures.  But last night I did manage  a flower or two and finished my scarf.  So here is my ta-dah moment….

Not one but two…

Thanks for visiting!

The Sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee.  Lake Tiberias.  Yam Kineret. Lake of  Gennesaret.  Ginnosar.  All names for the same body of water in the centre of Galilee.  A place that we all know from school.  That appears in many a Bible story.  That is below Sea Level!!!!  I jest not!  We took our overview of this beautiful area at sea level!….

If you look in the top corner you can see the mountains and hills of the far side of the lake.  Well this view…..

We were heading for the Kibbutz on it’s shore, and rest!!  It has a serene calmness about it.  A slower pace.  A true resting place.  Yes I know you can often feel that in other places, but here it felt really special.  We stayed at Kibbutz Ma’agan, with a view from our upstairs room to die for….

It is the place where Jesus walked on the water.  Where  he called the four fishermen to become fishers of men.  Where he sat on the hill for the sermon on the mount over looking the sea.  The list is endless.  This beautiful quiet place is where Jesus lived.  Hmmmm….

But where does the water come from?  Well it starts up here in the Golan, welling up as springs and rivulets.  Cascading down in beautiful waterfalls….

From plunge pool to plunge pool….

Washing, cleansing, and refreshing….

Be filled with the living water of Christ.

Flowers.

I love flowers.  I think we all do, but flowers under a brilliant bright blue sky take on that extra wow factor!  That cor!  That phew!    ’Then he commanded. “Let the earth produce all kinds of plants… and it was done.  God was pleased with what he saw.”  Gen 1 v11  Flowers of the countryside around Israel….

Yes, we were pleased with what we saw!