* birthday time snippets *

Hello there - this week is all about running, crochet and birthday time

On the 17th September 2011 an 8 year old lad called Alex started parkrunning on Saturday mornings at 9 am with his family at Medina Isle of Wight.  A week later on the 24th September 2011 myself, my husband and a friend of ours also started parkrunning at Medina.  After about 10 weeks of us both starting A and I met during our 5k run.  Since that time we have become good friends. We meet up every week for our run.  We chat the whole time and put the world to rights and sometimes other people run with us - sometimes it is just us two running together amongst the 100 plus runners.  I have done 175 parkruns and A has done 158.  Mostly we do them at our home run and sometimes we do them on the mainland if we are on holiday.

 

Our home location of Medina is in a state of repair after the Isle of Wight pop festival was held there back in June and we are moving back there next weekend on 5th September and meanwhile we had to re-locate to Appley where this beautiful tower is situated

 

 

We run along the top sea wall past the tower out to Puckpool and back along the bottom sea wall and then we do another lap making it a 5k run

 

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 A celebrated his 12th birthday last week and was on holiday with his family in France so his present was made and sent with them for his surprise on the morning of his birthday.

 

 

 

 

All these are made and then things start to take shape and become recognisable

 

 

Is it a hat?

 

 

Is it an eye?

 

 

Is it a hat with an eye?

 

 

Is it a hat with an eye, a smile and arms?

 

 

No it's not a hat - it' starting to look like a minion!

 

 

and here he is finished - Stuart the Minion

Stuart is thirteen and a half inches tall and measures fifteen and a half inches round

 

My friend Sarah who absolutely loves "minions" has been poorly and rushed in and out of hospitals several times over the last couple of months, so I thought I would make her a mini Stuart to send her

 

 

here is mini Stuart

 

 

Here they both are - Stuart and mini Stuart

 

 

Mini Stuart tucked up in his hospital bed because Sarah is in hospital again!!

 

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My friend Coral also celebrated her birthday this week

 

 

 

a little bag for her crochet instead of a carrier bag and her very own scissors

 

 

 

a pom pom to glue on a magnet to make a little jar topper

 

Happy birthday Alex and Coral and get well soon Sarah!!

 

 

Our Saturday morning photographer Peter snapped these swans flying over our course

 

What a beautiful sight

 

See you next week Alex for some running and a lot of holiday catching up chatting!!

 

thanks for popping by

 

Xx Joy Xx

 

PS

 

nothing happened on these this week

 

 

I made a jellyfish

 

 

I have to make 126 of these for my harmony blanket all different colours

 

 

14 different colours done up to three rounds with another three to go

I had best get on with these this week then!!

 

ttfn xx

knittng n nattering

Hello there - There has been a lot of knitting/crocheting and nattering going on! Yarndale the woolly festival that happens in Skipton every year have appealed for "flowers for memories" which are going to be displayed and then made into wreaths, brooches and corsages and will be sold and all the proceeds will be going to the Alzheimer's Society.  Several of the running girls wanted to join in with this great cause and therefore we had a knit/crochet and natter morning in the local café.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I first showed my friend Coral how to crochet back in February and here we are six months later she is helping Debbie, who has only ever crocheted blankets, how to do a flower.  Justine was a complete beginner that morning and she is starting with a granny square.  The first trick with crocheting is to learn how to hold the hook and wool correctly and then you can whizz through crochet projects and patterns.

 

 

 

Here is Liz concentrating on how to do a sunflower and hey presto - she did it!!

 

 

Sheila wants to map out where the flowers she receives are from and the ladies will fill in one of these little slips each and we will be posting them along with the flowers.

 

 

We made these on the first morning - Coral had made some of the flowers and then she said "I haven't sewn the ends in" - "ok Coral I'll do those for you then" (HHhhhmmmm I haven't taught her that well then)!!!!!

 

 

Some ladies who had to go to work and couldn't make the knit/crochet and natter passed these to me another time.  We are planning to do another knit/crochet and natter session next week and hopefully there will be lots more flowers made by those of us who go along and those of us who have made some at home in between sessions!  We are planning to send them to Skipton on the 2nd September and I will certainly post a final picture of all the beautiful knitted and crocheted flowers that are going to Yorkshire from the Isle of Wight.

 

 

We also raised £15.50 with donations that we will also be sending to the Alzheimer's Society

 

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Christine from Winwick Mum (read about it here) is organising a Yarndale sock line wherein ladies from her sockalong society that she is running on facebook are knitting pairs of socks and sending them in.  They are going to be displayed at Yarndale and then the "pairs of socks" will be passed on to people who need them.  The homeless, terminally ill, women's refuge, bereaved will receive the socks, knitted with love in every stitch as any home made gift is, and they will find their way to a new owner who can then wrap their feet in woolly love.

 

 

So of course having been part of Christine's sockalong and having made a couple of pairs of socks because of her help, I had to make a pair.  Unfortunately I have run out of wool and this is as far as I got with them.  I put an appeal out on the sockalong page to see if anyone had used the same yarn and had any scraps left.  Within 35 minutes three people had said they had some of the yarn and would post it to me so that I may finish them.  I will keep you posted on that progress too!

 

 

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Meanwhile as well as flowers and socks, the knitting and crochet that has been going on

 

 

 

 

I made some bunting for the sun lounge

 

 

 

I made this bunting for a friend.

 

 

Scanner pockets for parkrun - I need to sew those buttons on by tomorrow morning!

 

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Back at the beginning of June, Bridget had made 22 centres for a blanket for her daughter,

she needed to do 35 and she has now done them and some more of the rounds

  

 

She is joining the squares now and she is making flowers too.

Bridget started crocheting the same time as Coral - whoop, whoop!!

 

Thanks for popping by

 

Xx Joy Xx

 

PS

 

 

Plum, raspberry, rose, clematis, petrol, storm, sage, meadow, lime, turquoise, aster, cloud, violet, lavender, parma violet

 

 

27 centres

 

 

36 centres

 

 

50 centres, 25 x round 2, 2 x round 3, 1 x round 6

The harmony blanket is made up of 126 squares - 14 rows x 9 rows

fourteen squares of the same pattern and colour - one in each of the nine rows

 

On Friday last week Lucy of Attic24 published the beautiful harmony blanket see here the colours, patterns, tutorial and ooooooooohhhhh being a knitter/crocheter, no matter how many projects you have on the go - you have to do it and therefore I have started.  Look at those beautiful colours! How can you not want to make a harmony blanket in those beautiful colours! Oh well, the works in progress are going to have to wait a little while yet eh??!!

 

 

What a beautiful granny square pattern!!!

 

 

ttfn xx