granny

One thing I really wanted to do this year was improve my crochet skills so I'm embarking on my first crocheted item (which isn't a scarf using basic stitches - I've made a few of those now).
I find it quite difficult to read patterns though (same with knitting), I just don't get it. I'm fine if I watch a video tutorial though and pictures and words together make more sense to me, so thankfully there are a few out there to help me.
A couple of years ago I was bought 2 huge (400g) balls of Wendy Aran (a mixture of 25% wool and 75% acrylic), and haven't really know what to do with them, so they've just been sitting around, occasionally in the bag of stuff for the charity shop, until I get a guilt pang that I should do something with them.
 I've decided join Lucy at Attic24 (you know, the crochet queen) in her granny stripe blanket HAL (hook a long). I've purchased another two balls of the same wool in contrasting shades (just waiting for them to arrive) and I've started the practice square - which Lucy advised. A practice square was a great idea because I did cock it up on first attempt and please don't look too closely as it's a bit wibbly and wobbly in places too

I've spent quite a lot of the bank holiday weekend doing stuff in my garden and greenhouse - it's really looking quite good now. All being well, later this year I'll be eating my own tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, sugar snap peas and cabbages. I mainly grow in pots and grow bags as I don't have a huge garden. My courgettes are planted in buckets from B&Q with holes drilled in the bottom. They may not look too pretty, but at just 99p each - compared to large plastic plant pots costing between £3-5 each, I'm not complaining

I also went along to my local car boot again today - it's fast becoming my favourite thing to do at the weekend. I picked up some great bargains. I'll tell you about those later in the week though.